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Artist Spotlight: Dynamic Art-Rock, Dramatic Melodic Pop, and Heavy Groove Metal

By David Weddle
Exploring the raw talent and resonant stories of the independent music scene.
It is an exciting time for new music currently. With our regular spotlight articles, we love to highlight a massive variety of independent acts from across the musical spectrum. Today we are diving into three incredible projects that swap rigid, over-polished production for pure, raw human energy: Awake & Dreaming, Vinyl Floor, and KOH.
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A new alternative art-rock single from Waterloo, Ontario four-piece Awake & Dreaming has hit the airwaves. With a stunningly cinematic experience, 'Antidote' opens with intimate piano work before catapulting you into a towering, arena-sized behemoth of heavy distorted guitar.

​A song with dark imagery inspired by spiders at its core, the lyrics portray a complex and highly seductive battle of predator vs. prey. The single was expertly mixed by 9 time Juno winner Jay Dufour and mastered by João Carvalho. A fantastic first look at what is to come from the band’s upcoming debut album, Inevitable, due to hit later this summer.

Listen here

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We shine our spotlight on Copenhagen, Denmark based duo Vinyl Floor, composed of brothers Thomas Charlie and Daniel Pedersen. They have brought an incredible amount of emotion to the single ‘Tell the World it Happened’ taken from their sixth studio album, ‘Balancing Act’ out now, with ‘Tell the World it Happened’ being the fourth and final single to be released.

A moody alt-rock and art-rock influenced track, the composition consists of a steady beat provided by the drums, elegant arpeggios on the piano, and lush vocal harmonies. Towards the latter end of the song, bassist Christian Ellegaard of the Danish Symphony Orchestra features, producing an incredible amount of soaring strings to bring a sense of urgency and dramatics to the song, completely transforming the soundscapes within the track.
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Listen here

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Australia’s heavy 5-piece band KOH has in a very short time already made a mark in the heavy music scene by combining the modern metalcore sound with elements of groove metal and alternative to create their very own sound. The new single “Blasphemous” is the last taste of what is to come from the band before they unleash their highly anticipated debut EP Golden Death on July 1st.

​KOH explores the theme of painful self demolition in order to rebuild and grow through their lyrics. Their music is intense and powerful, with commanding vocals paired with heavy, groovy riffs. The band already has proven their live performance to be at elite level, having already played some of the biggest festivals, including Blacken Open Air.

Listen here

​Keep an eye out for more artist spotlights, and if you have any new music that you think deserves a shout-out, feel free to send it our way.

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