Sandmoon – I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Led by vocalist Sandra Arslanian, Sandmoon also features Sam Wehbi (lead guitar), Georgy Flouty (bass), and Ayman Zebdawi (drums). Their sound blends pop-rock with subtle Middle Eastern influences, setting them apart in the indie music landscape. Over the past decade, the band has steadily built a loyal following, performing in Beirut, London, and Brussels while receiving recognition from outlets such as Indie Shuffle, Analogue Trash, and Beehype. Their track Confessions alone has surpassed 45,000 streams.

Adding a profound chapter to their discography, Sandmoon presents I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, a song shaped by remarkable circumstances.

In October 2024, as conflict raged in Beirut, the band gathered in a studio to record, undeterred by the city’s bombardment. Amid the uncertainty, they found refuge in their music, turning turmoil into creativity. For frontwoman Sandra Arslanian, the day carried a rare intensity. She recalls the experience:

“It was all very strange; we were staring at each other in disbelief, but at the same time, it felt liberating to be there in the cocooning comfort of a studio working on a song that talks about a bird singing for freedom.”

Lyrically, the track draws inspiration from Paul Laurence Dunbar’s 19th-century poem Sympathy, which also influenced Maya Angelou’s title. “In the midst of his cage as in the midst of chaos, the bird sings for freedom. And so do we,”.

The instrumentation carries a somber melancholy that echoes the song’s profound lyricism. With a slow tempo, soaring guitars, and Sandra Arslanian’s soothing vocals, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings delivers an emotionally gripping experience, drawing listeners in through its raw sincerity and mesmerizing performance.

“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings offers a heartfelt, poetic tribute to hope and freedom, driven by its expressive songwriting and refined instrumentation.”

With their latest release, Sandmoon has crafted not only an engrossing aural experience but also a powerful anthem that stands out for its authenticity, reinforcing the band’s potential. This compelling track has generated considerable anticipation for what Sandmoon will create next.

Discover more from Sandmoon:

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bardz & Fi Sullivan – oil and water

bardz, a seasoned producer and multi-instrumentalist, has built a solid reputation throughout his career. His journey through the music industry has not only provided him with a wealth of experience but has also established him as a skilled and successful producer. Bardz’s talents are reflected in his impressive streaming numbers, including over 500,000 plays for his track I Need and more than 700,000 streams for Little Time. These figures are just a glimpse into his growing catalogue, which boasts hundreds of thousands of streams.

In addition to his success as a producer, bardz has had the opportunity to tour with prominent artists like Macklemore, Louis Futon, and Slow Magic, further solidifying his status within the music scene.

bardz is no stranger to collaboration, and this time he teams up with the talented Fi Sullivan, a singer, producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles. Together, they have released Oil & Water, a track that explores the complex dynamics of reconciling differences and the inevitable acceptance of incompatibility. While opposites may attract, the song acknowledges that separation can often be an unavoidable outcome. Oil & Water captures the emotional journey of recognizing differences, attempting to find common ground, and ultimately accepting the painful reality of parting ways.

With soothing guitar melodies and subtle backing vocals, Oil & Water showcases its exceptional production to convey a deeply emotional message. The laid-back vocal performances from both artists blend effortlessly, especially during the echoing chorus, which adds a soulful touch that gently connects due to its universality.

“Oil & Water presents a bittersweet yet beautifully woven story, touching listeners as it delves into the emotional depth of love and loss.”

With more music and tour dates on the horizon, bardz is only getting started. Be sure to follow him on social media to stay up-to-date with his latest releases and upcoming performances – the best from this talented artist is still to come.

Discover more from bardz:

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Discover more from Fi Sullivan:

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The Castros – 50 Pence

Formed in 2022, The Castros are a five-piece band from Fife, Scotland. Known for their distinct sound and high-energy performances, they’ve gained recognition both locally and beyond, having supported independent acts such as Shambolics and The Lafontaines. With a rising following, The Castros are establishing themselves as a notable force in the indie rock world.

The Castros are kicking off 2025 with a powerful new single, 50 Pence, adding to their already impressive discography. This track stands out as one of their most captivating releases, particularly due to its compelling lyrics. 50 Pence tells the story of loving someone truly remarkable despite the chaos around them, focusing specifically on the turmoil within their family. Each verse is dedicated to a different family member, providing a unique and emotional perspective on this frantic love narration.

With drums so memorable that compel the crowd to join in, and a chorus that sticks, 50 Pence presents a captivating blend of instrumentation. Its unique mix of gospel and modern indie-rock influences creates a perfect balance between alt-rock energy and a melody that stays with you for days.

“Whether it’s a catchy tune to tap your feet to or a high-energy alt-rock track, 50 Pence exudes swagger and an infectious vibe.”

As The Castros gear up for an exciting year ahead, the band is also in the studio working on new material. Fans can expect a series of upcoming shows and festivals across the UK, with two performances already announced:

• King Tuts, Glasgow (supporting Sargeant) – 7th February 2025 SOLD OUT
• Tunnels, Aberdeen (supporting Mickey 9s) – 9th May 2025
• Show these lads some love and remember: No Castros, No Party!

Discover more from The Castros

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The post The Castros Explore The Complexities of Love On ‘50 Pence’ appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.

Gemma Rogers – No Future

With a distinctive, attention-grabbing style, singer-songwriter Gemma Rogers has emerged as a formidable talent. Her unconventional approach to composition and evocative lyricism shine through in her diverse discography.

Over the past few months, Gemma Rogers has steadily gained momentum with the release of Coming For The Top in April and Death Knocked Up in July. These tracks highlight her versatility as a songwriter, each offering a unique perspective on her artistic range. Both singles have significantly increased her presence on Spotify, each amassing thousands of streams.

As is typical for Gemma Rogers, her new single is inspired by a compelling idea. This time, it draws from a trip to the coast with a close friend, where they found connection simply by being present together. The song emphasizes the power of shared moments, reminding us that sometimes all it takes is being in the here and now.

With a more serious tone than her earlier releases this year, No Future instantly creates a cold atmosphere characterized by steady beats and a persistent riff that runs throughout the track. The song features an interplay of futuristic synths, building to a vibrant crescendo that culminates in a captivating verse from the renowned poet Deanna Rodger.

“No Future is a mesmerizing auditory experience, a deep dive into melancholy that is enhanced by a soothing calmness and a subtle richness.”

Featuring four singles, including the previously mentioned Coming For The Top and Death Knocked Up, Gemma Rogers’ new EP, No Future, is now available for digital download as well as a limited edition 12-inch blood-red vinyl. You can secure your copy through this link.

Discover more from Gemma Rogers:

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Words Javier Rodriguez

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JEEBO – Giants

JEEBO have sold out shows in London and Eastern England with only three singles. Their tracks have also received substantial airplay on prominent stations such as BBC Radio 1 and now, JEEBO are building on that momentum, continuing to captivate audiences with the release of their latest single, ‘Giants’, which is both strange and captivating, drawing listeners into the band’s imaginative and vibrant musical universe. 

Starting with a powerful guitar riff that captivates listeners and pulls them along, lead singer George’s haunting vocals commence, narrating a chilling story of the consequences that unfold when extraterrestrials and ‘giant ants’ seize control of the planet and assimilate humans as their vessels.

‘Giants’ provides an unforgettable auditory experience recounting a distinctive, spine-chilling story. 

As the ants and humans learn to live alongside each other, the ants gradually gain insight into the challenges and struggles that define human existence. Throughout the track, there is a distinct criticism of the government, holding them accountable for the dire human conditions. Despite the severity of the critique, however, the track cleverly infuses biting sarcasm to convey its message in a thought-provoking and impactful manner. 

The anthemic chorus of ‘Giants’ sets it apart from JEEBO’s earlier releases, indicating a newfound maturity in the band’s music after 12 months of consistent releases. The chorus is polished and powerful, exuding an infectious energy that is sure to linger in listeners’ minds long after the song ends.

‘Giants’ is unleashed just before JEEBO hit the stage at the iconic Isle of Wight festival, enthusiastic fans can anticipate a live rendition of the track, alongside the band’s existing releases. Boasting vibrant percussive elements, lively drum patterns, and powerful bass, the single is a standout track in the four-piece’s discography that will dazzle during live performances.

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Words Katie Macbeth

The post JEEBO Share Quirky New Single ‘Giants’ appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.

We are delighted to announce BBC Radio’s Honor Morrison has joined the Right Chord Music team to help discover more incredible new music.

Introducing Honor Morrison

Honor Morrison – Good Vibes Only

Glastonbury and Reading Festival

BBC Radio

Honor Morrison Joins Right Chord Music

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Renowned for her artistic versatility, Camila Knight weaves mesmerizing electronic arrangements with heartfelt lyricism. Her mission is to harness the healing essence of music, providing solace to those grappling with loneliness or seeking understanding. This noble pursuit has fostered a supportive community across platforms like Twitch, Instagram, and YouTube.

Drawing inspiration from influential artists such as Bjork, Aurora, Lorde, Ella Fitzgerald, and Joni Mitchell, Camila has garnered critical acclaim from outlets like BuzzMusic, Earmilk, A&R Factory, and Right Chord Music. Noteworthy mentions include the thousands of streams for tracks like No Need To Say Goodbye, Journey, Satellites, and her 2022 EP Uplifted, amassing an impressive 150,000 streams.

Welcoming the new year with a perfectly harmonious blend is Camila’s latest creation, Gone Away. This composition serves as an ode to releasing negativity, fear, and worry, a call to embrace each day as a fresh opportunity for transformative change.

Production-wise, Gone Away boasts intricate arrangements, harmonizing with emotionally charged lyrics. Ethereal synth parts and a groovy bass seamlessly intertwine with catchy guitar passages, creating a solemn yet soothing atmosphere. The track continues in an exhilarating chorus, showcasing Camila’s vocal prowess and delivering spine-tingling moments. Together, these elements craft a dreamlike scenario, radiating hope and confidence.

“An anthem of optimism and courage, Gone Away stands as the perfect musical catalyst for a new beginning.”

Symbolically powerful, Camila Knight has not only set the tone for a positive year but also demonstrated the transformative impact music can have on individuals. Her altruistic endeavours and authentic artistry make every follower and stream a genuinely earned accolade.

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Words Javier Rodriguez

The post Camila Knight Starts Afresh On ‘Gone Away’ appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.

Introducing Poco Poco Records

Poco Poco Records was formed in the UK in 2010 by musical duo The Daydream Club. The name ‘Poco Poco’ roughly translates to “Little, Little Records”. It’s a deliberately eclectic record label covering indie-folk to electronic, ambient to neo-classical and alt-pop to experimental jazz. Nothing is off the table as long as there is passion behind the tunes. The label is currently home to The Daydream Club, A. J. Pickering and Toba Fakt, with more to come.

Adam Pickering from Poco Poco Records will be scouring the Right Chord Music submissions database to scout incredible new talent. Rather than writing blog reviews, he will be creating short-form video reviews highlighting his favourite discoveries. These videos will be shared across the Right Chord Music social channels.

About The RCM Indie Collective

The RCM Indie Collective was created by the Right Chord Music Blog to help promote more incredible independent artists.

We allow unsigned and independent artists to pick up promotional support from our network of partner Blogs, Podcasts, Playlists and now Record Labels all from one free submission to Right Chord Music.

Music blog aggregation services are nothing new, but with SubmitHub and now Musosoup charging musicians just to submit their music, costs are spiralling.

“We wanted to create a service that gets back to the music, which is fairer and more accessible for everyone,” says founder Mark Knight. “With our service, the submission is free and you only pay for a guaranteed review or feature, there is no obligation to accept.”

Mark Knight still continues to write reviews for free, but there are only so many reviews one person can write! To support more artists, Right Chord Music now employs a team of 20+ freelance writers this allows RCM to dramatically increase the number of reviews they can publish. A review on Right Chord Music with a freelance writer costs £6 with 100% going to the writer.

All members of the RCM Indie Collective set their own prices which are agreed upon between the artist and the blog before agreeing to a review.

Here is the growing list of RCM Indie Collective partners

• Right Chord Music Blog
• Right Chord Music Playlists
• Blackmarket Playlists
• Bored City
• Eclectic Ear Candy
• Euphonixx
• Heresiarch Music Reviews
• Indie Music Women
• Lost In The Nordics
• Poco Poco Records
• Pop Passion Blog
• Pretty White Blog
• Rats On The Run Blog
• Tonitruale Blog
• Unseen Plays Blog
• Unseen Plays Podcast
• Up & Coming Blog Blog
• We Make Music Playlists

You can read case studies and success stories here. If you are a music blogger, playlister, podcaster, DJ or live promoter interested in joining The RCM Indie Collective please get in touch here. Artists can submit music for consideration here

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Words Mark Knight

The post Poco Poco Records Join The RCM Indie Collective appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.

Mara Liddle – facebook official

Hailing from Stoke on Trent, UK, Mara Liddle has transitioned from lo-fi bedroom pop to upbeat pop. Her newest single, ‘facebook official’, is a straight-to-the-point, seamless, and enjoyable track that combines Mara’s sweet voice with an infectious melody. 

Inspired by Charli XCX, Pinkpantheress, and Shygirl, Mara’s unique sound infuses bright electropop with cool vibes. The lyrics such as, ‘I wanna tell everyone I know all about our love’ and ‘I thought I’d mention, I wanna be facebook official,’ were inspired by the idea of people defining relationships as something that should be publicized on social media platforms, with Facebook being just one of many ways to share relationship status with friends and family. The subtle hints of synth bass sitting on the background adds a perfect touch to the pop beat too. As soon as I heard this song, it instantly clings to me in a fun way. 

“Let your love be heard, let it be seen, let it be ‘facebook official.’ Mara Liddle’s song depicts the joy of sharing love in the internet world.” 

‘Facebook official’ is the kind of track that’s meant to be shared and enjoyed by all, with a message just beneath the surface. Whether you’re trying to tell someone how you feel, drop a not-so-subtle hint about your relationship status, or simply share a sweet moment with the world, this song is the perfect way to do it. So why not post it on your social media and let your partner know just how much they mean to you? Who knows, your post might even inspire others to share their own messages of love and connection. In a world where it’s easy to get lost in the noise, a little bit of sweetness can go a long way – and ‘facebook official’ is the perfect way to spread a little joy and positivity to all who hear it. Make sure to add Mara Liddle to your list of up-and-coming artists because she’s gearing up to drop an EP this year! 

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Words Abby Teodosio

The post Mara Liddle Wants To Be ‘Facebook Official’ appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.

Chris Moyles – DJ

I must confess I grew up listening to Chris Moyles, first on the early breakfast show, then Saturday mornings, and drive time before ultimately the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1. Back in 1998, he was a blast of fresh air, he made radio exciting, unpredictable and occasionally dangerous. But it was evident from the start that he wasn’t a music DJ and to be fair he never pretended he was. His remit was entertainment, he left the serious music chat to Jo Wiley and Steve Lamacq.

When he joined Radio X in 2015 it felt like a predictable and safe choice. You see in its previous incarnation, Radio X was XFM a radio station that purposely set out to play new and exciting indie and alternative music. For a few years, it was utterly wonderful with the likes of Eddy Temple-Morris and John Kennedy ruling the airwaves. Where else could you hear the likes of Fugazzi and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs during the daytime schedule?

Sadly the halcyon days didn’t last, and when ‘niche’ stopped paying the bills. XFM’s spirit and purpose were gutted and sold to the kings of banal, mainstream radio ‘Global.’ Cutting-edge new and alternative music was replaced with safe indie fodder on repeat and Chris Moyles was the new king. True indie fans switched off, and while Global grew the business, the new Radio X became little more than a ‘bit of rough’ for bored Capital FM listeners on their Greater London school run.

So you see, while I applaud the listener for challenging Chris Moyles to play new music, he was never going to win with a DJ that prefers his own voice to music and a station that stopped playing new music in 1998.

“Most unsigned bands are crap”

There is a lot of music in the world and a lot of musicians making it. A staggering 57,000,000 people agree with the statement “I consider myself a musician or audio creator.” across just five countries (US, UK, Canada, Germany & France) according to Global Web Index.

It’s also never been easier to make and distribute music to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. So it’s no surprise when the barriers to entry drop, so can the quality. For every great artist and musician, there are a ton more that don’t sound as good. Chris Moyles‘ assertion that most‘ unsigned bands are crap was lazy. The counter argument is that there are millions of incredible artists that just get overlooked and that’s the biggest crime. After all every artist starts unsigned and stays unsigned until they are discovered.

Radio has failed new music discovery

While it would be foolish and inaccurate to blame Chris Moyles for the lack of new music on the radio, he is just a DJ after all. It’s clear commercial radio stations bosses and their respective heads of music have utterly failed new music discovery in this country for decades.

At least the BBC try although tokenistic gestures like BBC Introducing don’t do enough. Let’s be clear no new artist has ever broken through on the radio with one or two plays at midnight on a Tuesday on a regional radio station.

The ‘unsigned’ perception problem

One of the biggest challenges facing ‘unsigned music’ is the word ‘unsigned’ itself. That’s because years of low quality production (music, video and imagery) have resulted in negative associations.

For lots of people, including Chris Moyles ‘unsigned’ means grubby, crap and unprofessional. Sadly there is still a lot of evidence to support this assumption, but hopefully that is changing slowly.

When I started Right Chord Music in 2010 one of my biggest motivations was to prove that unsigned didn’t mean unprofessional. That meant every artist we shared on our blog had to look and sound professional.

When we received lazy submissions with missing biographies or photos they are immediately deleted. Sadly when it comes to music, you can judge a book by it’s cover. When music looks bad, it inevitably sounds bad too.

When unsigned music lets itself down

Here are some examples of the worst images that have accompanied submissions to the Right Chord Music Blog. These images only perpetuate the idea that ‘unsigned music is crap’.

But back in 2010 looking and sounding professional was definitely harder. Back then we would also get our fair share of dodgy demo CDs in the post. They would have the names of the tracks scrawled on the front in marker pen, and if you listened carefully you could normally hear their dog barking in the background.

Incredible independent artists

Fast forward to 2023 and now we have smartphones that shoot HD video and take professional-grade images. We have online design tools like Canva that have levelled the playing field. Now there is literally no excuse to submit music that doesn’t at least look and sound professional.

There is no doubt during this time we’ve seen the rise of the Independent artist. Indie has gone on to become much more than just a genre. Indie now represents a spirit, a work ethic and a style. While ‘Unsigned’ bands sit around waiting to be signed. ‘Independent’ artists are out there making it happen for themselves. They write the music, produce the music, design the artwork, shoot and edit the video, produce the social content and promote themselves.

In the last 12 years, the Right Chord Music Blog has discovered so many incredible independent artists and it’s validated our theory that you don’t need to be signed to a record label to make incredible music and art.

But if you’re Chris Moyles a non-music-centric DJ that has never explored this scene or played great indie music it’s easy to see why the old grubby stereotype of ‘unsigned’ is perpetuated.

We would dearly love to change this perception and would urge Chris Moyles to spend some time flicking through the pages of this blog, our Explorer playlist or even our Instagram feed.

But in the meantime, the onus remains on you the artists. I would continue to urge every ‘unsigned’ artist to become the best ‘independent’ version of themselves. Give yourself the chance to cut through by ensuring every piece of content you put into the world looks and sounds professional. Remember you are not only representing yourself but every other new musician out there.

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Words Mark Knight

The post In Response To Chris Moyles ‘Most Unsigned Bands Are Crap’ appeared first on Right Chord Music Blog.