Aging Youth

We are back after a month of inertia. So there have a lot of great releases in the past month! Check out the latest from Charlie Lim (SG), YAØ (SG), Wonderframe (TH), 萬妮達 (CH), IV Of Spades (PH), Kit Chan 陳潔儀 (SG), Dose Two (MY), Rozella (MY), Pyra (TH) and more. Peep the playlist below.

YAØ, rising multi-hyphenate (singer-songwriter-producer), is back with his 4th single in the past 3 months. Besides being extremely prolific, the young musician is pursuing a distinctly unique music direction. He is melding his love for R'n'B and 80’s Japanese City Pop, with a huge dose of pop melodies, into a sonic concoction: ‘Scenery’.

​Lamenting the lack of commitment in modern relationships, he shares his thoughts on the dancefloor burner, “The feelings, for a person you love, never really go away. A relationship changes over time but like the beauty of a scenic view, it remains the same no matter good or bad. So, rather than the usual emotional, mellow heartbreak songs, I wanted to go for a more carefree kind of vibe for this song, like going out for a drive and admiring the city lights.”
 
YAØ elaborates on his musical influences on crafting the unique, yet familiar sounds of ‘Scenery’, “I am really inspired by music from the early 80’s. Artists such as Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Stevie Wonder really open my mind and ears to the timeless melodies of the past that still resonates in today’s music. The sampled strings and vocal chops in the song are heavily inspired by this decade’s most compelling music artist, Kanye West. I'm still finding my own sound. I guess, I won't stop experimenting, even if it’s trying out things that are way out of my comfort zone.”
 
Released on Friday 28 September 2018, ‘Scenery’ is written and produced by YAØ and mixed and mastered, with additional production, by Jason Gelchen at Homeground Studios.
 
Listen: hyperurl.co/YAOScenery

'Synthwave producer don.a.a.ron has just released his 4th single this year. Simply titled ‘Cherry’, he has collaborated once again with singer Emi Wong who is on his debut single 'Over U' in January 2018.
 
‘Cherry’ has been influenced by the New Wave sound that dominated MTV in the early 80s with hints of Cyndi Lauper, The Buggles and The Cars thrown into the mix. The song is also the product of an idea that the musician/ producer and Emi put together one afternoon during a writing session.
 
don.a.a.ron says, “I realize that there are lot of people singing about love or sex. Most of them are about how a man feels towards a woman, or vice versa. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were songs that talk about other kinds of love? People are expressing themselves in their own unique ways. This song represents the freedom people actually have right now to be themselves. No matter what turns you on.”
 
This would be the second collaboration between don.a.a.ron and Emi, who is currently living in New York. The producer continues, “Emi has a magnificent voice. I love working with her because she is full of wild ideas and knows where I’m getting at whenever I present her with some music. It’s real easy working with her too. Expect more from us.”
 
Listen to 'Cherry': ​hyperurl.co/DonAARonCherry

... and this week's Aging Youth Delights features new heat from Airliftz, Axel Brizzy X Marian Carmel, Zadon x Tosh Rock, ROYAL ESTATE, YAØ, Fern., JAMES, Subsonic Eye, Yoshi Flower X Rico Nasty, Yokez 叶玉棂 and more. Take a listen and subscribe to it.

'你完美' is the first collaborative work between Zadon and Tosh. It is also the first release for a series of R'n'B/ HipHop mandarin singles that are about to be put out by Zadon. The two artists came together to create a song to encourage listeners to embrace their quirkiness and to find beauty by being themselves.

The music is co- produced by Zadon and producer Shorya Sharma. The music video and single are released on 31st August 2018.

Zadon的⾳乐吸收了东西⽅流⾏⾳乐的精髓，为华⼈乐坛创造出独树⼀帜的新鲜作品。 他说：“作为亚洲⼈，我们必须记住我们的根源，并且宣扬我们的⽂化和语⾔。” 这⾸歌的⾳乐是 Zadon和⾳乐制作⼈Shorya ⼀起制作的。

Zadon 和 Tosh 在《你完美》 这⾸ 歌⾥⼤胆把⾃⼰表达出来并且在中⽂⾳乐⾥表现出了⼀个不⼀样的风格。这首歌是Zadon和电影演员／⾳乐⼈Tosh ⾸次合作的⾳乐作品。这两位 ⾳乐制作⼈希望这⾸歌能够⿎励听众⼤胆 做⾃⼰并且不要害怕和别⼈不⼀样。

这⾸歌是在 Zadon 未来的⼀系列单曲中的⾸个发⾏。《你完美》的MV和⾳频即将在8⽉31⽇发⾏。

Listen: ​hyperurl.co/ZadonNiWanMei

Fresh off 2 new releases, producer-singer YAØ drops a remastered version of his 2017 debut ‘Wish U The Best’. The revisited track was the start of his music journey, kicking off the first step of his upcoming EP.
 
The remaster improves on the original by making it more ready for the dancefloor and the vocals crispier than before.

YAØ shares, “This song is about that feeling of wanting to start again/ afresh even after going through all the doubts in life. On the other hand, it is also a story about being brave enough to forgive someone even though they've hurt you in the past.”
 
He reminiscnes, “I think the song still resonates with me in a very strong way. In 2017, I was really into experimenting with different genres of music which I really liked. House and dance music was one of them. Personally, I feel that this song has stood the test of time as I still have people coming to me, humming the melody of the chorus.”
 
Self-produced and written by YAØ, ‘Wish U The Best’ is a house-pop number and the re-releases serves as a pre-cursor to the next single ‘Scenery’ coming out late September.
 
Listen: hyperurl.co/YaoWUTB

We took a break from our weekly playlist last week. Now we are back with the latest from Jasmine Sokko, Charlie Lim, Linying, Fariz Jabba, Zamaera, Talitha Tan, Wyane Hausley X G Preme X Louie Indigo and more! Hear the new bops right here!

Jasmine Sokko returns with her new single ‘HURT’. The banger melds her penchant for melancholic lyrics with fiery beats and talks about getting hurt by tough love in a relationship. Written and produced by the enigmatic singer, the song delves deep into a new music direction for Jasmine Sokko as she fully embraces her love for electronic pop.
 
She shares, “In life, the person you care about will hurt you because they were trying to be honest. A person’s intention is something that can never truly be transferred. It’s just created and understood. Their actions might come from a good place but you could perceive it in a different way. In my case, I wanted to do the same to the person who unintentionally hurt me – just so they’ll understand. It’s a bit petty but it was how I felt at the time.”
 
Jasmine Sokko divulges that she has gone through a long period of writer’s block, sharing, “I couldn’t do anything for three months. ‘HURT’ came and flowed so naturally. I wrote the song in one session and it made it clear why I do what I do. I played it for my friend and we both cried. It’s very honest.”

‘HURT’ is released under exclusive license to Warner Music Singapore for Asian territories and KnightVision Records for the rest of the world on Friday 24 August 2018. 
 
Listen to ‘HURT’: www.jasminesokko.com