The announcement of the top 20 APRA AMCOS NZ Silver Scroll nominations was recently released & as I was listening to all the nominees to vote, I liked so many that I thought I would spotlight my top 5 & why I like them in the lead up to the awards on the 28th of September.
In no particular order:
Rainbow by Louis Baker. From a purely vocal perspective, his smokey liquid gold tone is so distinctive. Add the lyrics & beautiful melody & you’ve got a wonderful sonic experience.
When I first heard Liability, I was taken with the phrasing & breath expression choices Lorde makes (throughout the entire Melodrama album actually) & the overall control she has over her voice. Pretty impressive.
Have another listen with fresh ears & pay attention to her choice on where to take a breath & in turn spotlight certain words or phrases.
Another gem is CHELSEA JADE‘s “Life of the Party”. I love the lyrics, melody, the build & hook are awesome, (that chorus drop & bass groove gives me life) as is her voice & she knows how to highlight it with great vocal production choices (I’m a fan of octave layering). Songwriting & singing aside, the video is pretty cool too.
The next tune in my spotlight is Lucky Girl by Fazerdaze.
I love the multiple hooks that make up this song & Amelia’s great voice shining under that interesting effect!
Just a vibey (very technical term), fun song that made me feel good & strangely hopeful! Love a feel good song that I can sing along to.
There’s so many great elements in this next song that I find it hard to pick one to highlight. Seeing as voice is my thing, I’ll focus on how conversational & awesome the delivery is on “O Heathcote” by Lawrence Arabia. The lyrics & melody (plus great vocal layers & additional support vocal lines) are all so so good.
I can’t say enough great things about Seth Haapu, as a person & a creative. He’s extremely humble for the phenomenal songwriter & singer that he is. Sunday Best is a fantastic example of his talents. This song & his singing is a massage for the soul…