One of my favourite new discoveries this side of 2018 and lucky for me I caught Sam Rendina at a time when he's still a new discovery for most people. After listening to his voice, it's almost impossible to believe that this is his very first single.




When my friend sent me one of his videos over Instagram the first thing that caught me was the tone of his voice. Such a silky smooth tone with so much control, range and versatility. The visuals owe a lot to the transitions - they build with the song seamlessly, all the while showcasing some of the highlights of London. It's a fantastic introduction to Sam as an artist, and before I start to overplay this, I would absolutely love to hear an acoustic piano version of this song. Sam has been belting out acoustic covers on YouTube for almost a year now, and listening to this latest single not only highlights his creative growth but perhaps more so illuminates his potential both as a performer and a vocalist. As fantastic as he sounds, I don't believe that this was far outside of his comfort zone. The ability to make something so emotive sound so effortless is nothing to be taken lightly. If this is only the beginning, then I expect that we'll continue to hear bigger and better from Sam moving forward.

Serendipity is one of my favourite things; a couple of weeks ago I spontaneously ended up at an Amaroun show - also one of my favourite new discoveries this year so far, please have a listen - and just so happened to bump into Annie (a.k.a. Austel). Talk about right place, right time. After a quick chat my interest was piqued on what the project would sound like, especially after later finding out that Annie has worked with a number of varied artists beforehand. All I will say is that I was not disappointed...



As delicate as Austel's vocals sound in portions of "Crows", the strength of her voice and the message of rising above uncertainty had come through clearly by the end. After attending her debut full band show in London yesterday, I can confidently say this is a name you'll be hearing again soon. I would have never imagined that this was their first time performing live together. Austel's ability to convey emotion and float seamlessly between hard-hitting and quiet comtemplative moments in music is stunning. You can hear a little taster of that during the bridge on "Crows" and you'll without a doubt be hearing more examples of this on any releases to come. Austel's EP entitled Unfold is due to be released later this year and I can't wait.