INDIE MUSIC DISCOVERY
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New Indie Music Discovery: “Fastracks” 21
Rectangle image with 5 boxes of 5 artist headshots with podcast title in light seafoam green text

New Indie Music Discovery: “Fastracks” 21

Discover & preview 5 new tracks in less than 5 minutes f. Tom Tikka & The Missing Hubcaps, Mike Walsh, Guyville, Boon & Sitrekin.

You can submit a track for consideration (below).

ARTIST INFO & VIDEOS

Watch full videos and get more info about this episode’s featured artists below:

Tom Tikka picked up the guitar at the tender age of six after hearing Paul Anka’s “Lonely Boy” in his father’s old Chevrolet. Soon afterwards, he began writing songs. Tom’s infatuation with music only deepened after his aunt’s husband Timo “Oippa” Oinonen introduced him to the concept of lead guitar and even more importantly to the music of such legendary groups as The Beatles and The Doors.

Tikka formed almost as many groups as he disbanded in his late teens and early twenties. Yet, when he finally signed his first recording contract on his 21st birthday, it was a solo deal and not a band effort. He recorded a three-song EP for Olarin Musiikki, a small indie label in Espoo (Finland), under the alias of Tom Spark. Unfortunately, the EP disappeared as quickly as it was released. Consequently, Tikka found himself in square one, without a band or a record deal.

​Disappointed, Tom withdrew from music for a few years but began writing songs again once his brother Lappe Holopainen suggested that they form a songwriting team. Lappe had founded a group he was convinced would go far and he needed tunes for his new outfit. This group was Carmen Gray.

Carmen Gray was signed to Sony/BMG in 2005 and during the next nine years, they went on to record three albums and one EP. The group’s entire catalog (including such radio hits as “Lost In My Mind Again”, “Gates Of Loneliness” & “Life Can Be Beautiful”) was penned by Tom Tikka & Lappe Holopainen.

​After Carmen Gray disbanded in 2013, Tikka formed his current group The Impersonators with poet Antti Autio. In 2017, The Impersonators signed with FBP, a German label based out of Frankfurt. Together with their producer Janne Saksa, the Josie Award-nominated The Impersonators have released tunes to rave reviews, considerable amount of radio attention and chart success. “Rodeo” rose to #1 on the International iTunes charts and “Scarlett Hell” to #9.

​In April 2020, Tom began working with MTS Records and has released three critically-acclaimed EPs since as well as six iTunes hit singles, “Working Class Voodoo” (#99), “Driving Me Insane” (#2), “Jaded Mind” (#4), “That’s What Winston Churchill Said” (#3), “Heart’s On Fire” (#2) & “Doormat” (#1).

​In 2021, Tom Tikka won an ISSA award for International Male Emerging Artist Of The Year. He has also been awarded four Josie-Award nominations. This year, the Josie Music Awards Event will take place on September 17 & 18 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

New album “This Is My Happy Face” comes out September 17, 2021.

 

A singer, songwriter and poet from London via Madrid, MIKE WALSH attributes his raw and observational writing style to influences in philosophy, literature, and music; infatuated by the works and words from the minds of Seneca to Jim Morrison.

Launching his debut project with lead-off single ‘PICKINGFIGHTS’, the single joined the iTunes chart at No. 10 in Spain and No. 115 in the UK.

Mike’s subsequent single ‘RIDE’ was accompanied by a music video, with both singles added to the playlist at Amazing Radio, Regional FM and Online Radio Stations in Europe and as far as Australia.

Mike’s new single ‘FALLING’ speaks of societal disharmony and how important it is to lose the egos and to care for each other.

“People in general judge other people without knowing them, people jump over other people, promise and don’t deliver… but even though I see it as a third party, sometimes I have to work on myself to avoid falling into these conditioned behaviour patterns too”, says Walsh.

Released on Wednesday 1st September, the single continues a journey of eight songs sharing Mike’s hidden secrets, fears and life experiences as a young man finding his ground.

Guyville is a Los Angeles based duo comprised of its founding members, Kat Hamilton and Emily Hulslander. The pair craft songs that combine elements of 90s rock, pop and country. As their name suggests, the legacy of Liz Phair brought these two powerful women together in songwriting bliss. The duo strikes the perfect chord with Hulslander’s intelligent pop approach and Hamilton’s confessional lyricism.

Guyville was formed during your usual Los Angeles writing session in the Valley. What was unusual, was the easy flow and chemistry between the two prolific writers. Within a few hours, the duo had written their first song “Should’ve Never Dated”.

Emily Hulslander had already made a strong name for herself in LA songwriting circles, but was struggling to find another writer who she could relax into the process with. Kat Hamilton was newer to LA, but felt unfulfilled as a writer. On that pivotal day, Emily and Kat found common ground in their failed relationships, artistic journeys and the women of the 90s.

This connection is highlighted in their debut Guyville single, “Nothing”. The end of summer jam combines elements of indie rock and 90s girl anthems with a sprinkle of Shania Twain. “Nothing” celebrates the wonderful post- breakup feeling of absolutely nothing for your ex. In the music video, Hamilton and Hulslander frolic in rose gardens and dance along sandy beaches. The result is a bubbly, tongue in cheek ode to getting over it and moving on.

Nashville’s very own, Boon, the 18-year old writer, singer, mixer, producer, and master of all his own music- not to mention shoots and directs all of his videos- has immersed himself into the music industry at a young age with his father as Carrie Underwood’s lead guitarist since the start of her career.

Boon’s releases “i might like u” and “You” were featured on Spotify’s “New Music Friday”, “Fresh Finds”, “hyperpop”, “Salt”, and Apple’s “Alternative” playlists. Boon exemplifies the meaning of creating his own unique sound and style of production, classifying him as a true, young prodigy. His last release “Can’t Be Love” features an enhanced rock driven sound that is heard throughout his upcoming project.

Danish artist Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg is off to an historic start as she launches a new project under artist name Sitrekin. She is the voice behind US Grammy nominated Twilight Saga soundtrack hit song ‘Eyes on Fire’, which has racked up close to 100m streams, and now releases her debut solo track in English since her departure from the award-winning Danish group Blue Foundation. The track is entitled ‘Open Chest’ and is a spellbinding, infectious love song. Earlier this year, the track was chosen to be the perfect sonic launchpad for Apple Music’s new lossless format available on iTunes using Dolby Atmos. ‘Open Chest’ was released exclusively for Apple Music on July 1st in their new revolutionary Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos format and now gets a full release via all other major digital platforms. The track was mixed by Dyre Gormsen in the legendary West London Eastcote Studios – one of the most important and influential of music studios in the world, where artists such as Massive Attack, Depeche Mode, Adele and Arctic Monkeys created some of their greatest works. Dyre explains, “Open Chest is mixed by myself and was the first track I put into Dolby Atmos as an experiment to begin with, but it became clear that it was a perfect media for Kirstine’s music and what we were looking for all the time, as a way to demonstrate how you are able to move objects around as the music is very element based. We used the mix to play for Dolby who were instantly very excited by what they heard and gave approval for this to be the launch track for this new groundbreaking format.” When Apple announced in May that they would make The Dolby Atmos format available to the general music user via Spatial Audio, Dyre was already in full swing working with the format and had a finished mix of ‘Open Chest’ ready. The track was originally planned to be released in the late summer but was then chosen by Dolby Laboratories and Eastcote Studio to manifest the new Dolby Atmos format at their July 1st press launch event and was available exclusively on Apple Music also from July 1st. With intense nearness and openhearted vocal expression, Sitrekin tells a story of love and passion, in a cool and dreamy musical arrangement of minimalistic, organic elements, a pulsating electronic beat and incredibly beautiful strings. The infectious hook of the melody sticks in the ear, and the atmosphere of the production is a warm, musical embrace, filled with amazing detail and melodic lines. Sitrekin composed and produced the track herself, and draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources; including 18th century Baroque bass lines, traditional Asian scales and contemporary pop music, such as Bat for Lashes, Ed Sheeran and Lana del Rey. She explains, “It’s about attraction, passion and longing and the potential and power of letting go completely into the embrace of the other. The song is also about the pain of being separated from this intense, ecstatic state. Once experienced, you will always long to go back. It’s in your blood and bones.” Kirstine explains the new artist name, “Sitrekin is an anagram of my first name, Kirstine, and when I found it, I just knew. It’s crispy and firm, and it fits perfectly with my new music. ‘Sitre’ is Danish and is always in motion – it is vibrations and frequencies, just like music and sound – and ‘Kin’ means relatives, family, clan in English. The name is my quivering anchor, somewhere I belong, somewhere in constant motion and development.”

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