This Week’s Top 5 Indie Music Tracks: “Fastracks” 30

This is the brand new track from Dar.Ra. 

The new EP should be out in mid December, 2021. 

Los Angeles based producer and composer Fischer King creates pitch-black alternative pop, with influences that range from James Blake and Nine Inch Nails to Claude Debussy and Herbie Hancock. As a child he forged an early love for tense, bombastic classical music before diving headfirst into the punk rock and hip hop scenes that surrounded him in Detroit. After moving to LA as a young adult, Fischer has spent years working behind the glass for a host of artists, producers and directors, constantly absorbing inspiration and refining his sonic identity.

Released in the fall of a chaotic 2020, his debut self-titled EP epitomized what he calls “existential crisis pop”: familiar pop mechanics wrapped up in an often claustrophobic package, and lyrically preoccupied with self-deception, addiction and rootlessness. Built around simple drum beats, pitch-shifted guitars, and strings and synths that are always falling out of tune, the songwriter explained, “Ultimately I wanted everything to feel just ever-so-slightly bent.”

His latest single “Memory Into Error” veers into more lush, cinematic territory, floating above his signature textural unease, rumbling low-end, and distinctly upfront vocals. Of the song, the musician states, “In a broad sense it’s about how things slip away – time, people, life – both in a literal sense, and the way you feel about them. But more specifically, it’s about how deeply malleable human memory is. It’s not a photograph or a recording. Memories invariably become stories that you’ve told yourself over and over and over again. And sometimes those stories are better than the truth.”

In addition to preparing for live performances around Los Angeles, King also recently completed his first feature film score for the drama “This Is Your Song” and is currently composing music for “Into That Good Night – The Last of The Nightingales,” a documentary about the tragic loss of sound in the natural world, centering on the work of Bernie Krause, a soundscape ecologist.

Los Angeles based artist, producer and multi-instrumentalist Lani Renaldo artfully fuses a diverse mix of grunge rock, bedroom pop and experimental sounds for a wildly eclectic and progressive swirl of cathartic ecstasy. Inspired by artists such as Tame Impala, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Hayley Williams, and SZA, as well as producers Timbaland, Pharrell and Greg Kurstin, Lani shows us an insight into their love of a myriad of genres that permeates into their own music.

Lani’s music often explores themes of hardship, relationships, emotional growth and finding and accepting your true identity. They state,”I think the light at the end of the tunnel has been really finding myself through the music and being able to come to terms with my identity as a non-binary person, wanting to change my name and wanting to physically change things about myself. That was all a part of this journey.”

The singer-songwriter’s passion and talent began at a very early age, when they was chosen as one of six songwriters to attend GRAMMY Camp at Converse Rubber Tracks in 2012. From there, they then went on to study at USC’s Thornton School of Music, which further catapulted their musical education and career. Lani found solace and an outlet for their emotions through music, which became a driving force fueling their passion for music.

Lani Renaldo’s critically acclaimed EP NOHEARTBREAK2020 is an exploration of being in your 20’s. Entirely produced, written, and performed by Lani, the EP is about accepting where you are in the moment and not being so hard on yourself. The EP touches on humanity and queer sexuality, emphasizing the significance of being comfortable with who you are, whatever that may be. Through unbearably honest lyrics, their goal is to show others the importance of self-acceptance and to encourage others to be themselves, be uncomfortable and be truthful.

Now, after a period of deep transformation both personally and musically, Lani Renaldo has released their highly-anticipated defiant new single “Help!”. On the releases, Lani confides, “I think I’ve always been this person but it was coming to terms with that and allowing people to see those parts of myself. I was becoming comfortable with my identity and expression. There was a sense of just feeling unapologetic especially within the songs. And I think I didn’t want to feel bad for myself, I wanted to feel empowered by the fact that I was learning how to deal with my emotions for the first time.”

In “help!” the artist tells the dark narrative of losing yourself completely and watching the world crumble at your fingertips. They confides, “Selfishly, the song was written from a place of just feeling like I was spiraling. I didn’t feel like myself, I wasn’t on medication, I was going through really big changes in terms of my gender and identity and now trying to figure out who I was outside of a relationship. It was really tough. I forced myself to sit down one day and write about how I was feeling.” Featuring a compelling melody over garage rock riffs and a 90’s hip hop influenced beat, “help!” is a brave and complex single about mental health struggles.

The upcoming release “Replay” explores feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and the tendency to overanalyze and dwell too heavily on the outcome of situations. The song is drenched with funk-fueled bass and lofi hazy synths which effortlessly underlay warm layered vocals for an intoxicating sonic fusion.

Lani Renaldo has seen success performing with the likes of Alessia Cara at the AMA’s and opening for Halsey at The Shrine. Their collaboration on “Malibuu” with Matt Dimona topped Spotify’s Global 50 chart and currently has over six million streams. They further confides, “You know, I think that we are often told that our sadness or struggle is a weakness. But I really come to discover that being able to talk about them or acknowledging that you had a bad night or moment, or even crying, that within itself is a win. You’re able to assess those feelings and feel human.”

When I composed ‘Wonderland‘ I knew it was going to be a really powerful track, so I needed a really powerful artist to make it perfect. Immediately I thought of Komi T. a multi-instrumentalist and singer from Berlin. In an inspired studio session we recorded the track. His performance blew me away. Lulu Schmidt and Ina Viola then sang the fairy chants of ‘Wonderland‘ and ‘boom’; and there it was, a powerful track of ‘good and evil’, with a twinkle in its eye. Playing the track as a first test at my recent shows was very motivating. The dance floor was raging.’

NHOAH has made his name as a producer, composer, DJ, mixing engineer, record label owner and artist. To his core, NHOAH is devoted to creative culture and its inhabitants, drawing recognition from leading music publications such as Resident Advisor , Quietus , Mixmag Brasil , TRAX Mag , Clash Magazine , PopMatters , Magnetic Magazine , Data Transmission , The Arts Desk, MTV London and Electronic Groove as well as airplay on BBC 6 Nemone’s Electric Ladyland . He performed a live video on a suspended glass stairway on the Dachstein Glacier called ‘ Stairway To Nothingness – Glacier Concert’ as well as a ‘ Live Set In A Storm In A Wall-less Skyscraper’, both of which premiered via BE-AT TV and has racked up over 900k views across streaming platforms to date.

NHOAH has worked alongside the producers of The Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, and Bronski Beat’s Larry Steinbachek , and his album Tangowerk was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Through the years, Dario’s music has morphed into music that serves the purpose of promoting spiritual teachings and life lessons. His music doesn’t reflect anger, because it’s best not to add more anger to this already sick world. During the day, he works in the office but finds time in the nights and weekends to create songs like his 2016 song “I’m Not My Brain”.

When Dario was a kid, the music was very different. The music of groups like Chic had strings sections with violins, Prince not only sang but was a masterful guitarist and the italo-disco gave joy to the listener. There were so many lessons learned from that music. Now, here in 2021, Dario is combining it with today’s new reality of software and smartphones.