With students getting back into their school routines, life can sometimes feel like an endless race. However, music always finds a way between the heaping piles of schoolwork and hours spent on extracurriculars. It’s the little spark that drives students forward on this race track. So for those needing some inspiration, check out these recommended tunes from the Tribune.
Tanvi Rao
Artist: Issadora Ava
Genre: Pop, indie
Quiet feelings and understated moments of romance fill the space of singer-songwriter Issadora Ava’s tracks. With her soothing tone and dreamy beats, each song of hers feels like observing a private, emotionally-charged moment of her life. Her style blooms in her 2019 track “Lipstick,” with its minimal instrumentals and stripped-back vocals that make the track feel less like music and more like a series of thoughtful musings. Ava sings, “Sunkissed / With the freckles on her thighs / Chapped lips / And I bet she looks so good tonight,” and her attention to the fine details takes listeners through the memory of a pleasant, hazy Sunday afternoon. Her ability to paint vivid pictures of happy moments is also evident in her most recent single, “June.” Released in 2023, this track shows the development of her skills as a songwriter: the beat, more complex than in her past works, evokes the excitement of road trips, beach days, and all things summer. Ava knows exactly how to build the background track into a full and catchy chorus, but she also understands when to pull back to create a silent moment of anticipation. Issadora Ava’s attention to detail in her lyricism and instrumental choices enable her to create intimate moments of tenderness and longing in the snapshots of her most special memories.
Emily Wong
Artist: Yerin Baek
Genre: Korean R&B
Yerin Baek’s soft, steady vocals provide solace for listeners in her song “Antifreeze.” The song begins with a simple rhythm and carefree electronic beats to accompany her melancholic voice, reflecting the universal feeling of loneliness Baek addresses in her lyrics. As the song progresses, her passion to “fight against despair,” referring to her isolation, builds in her voice. Furthermore, the addition of drums and electric strums in the pre-chorus illustrates her upbeat and hopeful tone towards battling her desolation with love. As she switches between the alto and soprano voices in the chorus, Baek strategically displays her vocal flexibility to illustrate her heartfelt and determined tone. Concluding her story, the drum beats and rhythm slow as Baek questions if “our generation is the last one,” highlighting her desperation to continue looking for love in order to fill the void inside of her. Through “Antifreeze,” Baek creatively incorporates her musical capabilities to convey her message of love withstanding the bleakness of life.
Anaisha Das
Artist: Andrea Chahayed
Genre: Bedroom Pop, Indie
Andrea Chahayed’s music fits perfectly into the bedroom pop soundscape with its lofi instrumentals and soft vocals. Despite her soothing tone, Chahayed separates herself from other dreamy indie singer-songwriters with her authenticity and smoothness. Chahayed’s most standout track, “Tenant,” flows like water with a melodious voice that oozes its way through crisp production. Her lyrics further complement her hazy tone with her lovesickness. Throughout the chorus, she repeats “I can be the tenant to your love,” encapsulating the feelings of yearning that one associates with a crush. Outside of “Tenant,” some of her tracks experiment with electronic music genres, even UK garage. Her angelic nature and vulnerability creates an organic feel to her music, one that warrants her to receive more listeners and one day reach the heights of indie superstars. Until then, her music will continue to be an hidden gem in Spotify playlists.
Anushka Kabra
Artist: EASHA
Genre: Dream Pop, Indie
Easha Nandyala, professionally known as EASHA, is known for her dream-like pop music created in her world of bittersweet melodies. The dulcet acoustic tones of her guitar paired with her smooth, melodious voice hypontizes her listeners. EASHA’s most prominent track “You Make Me Feel” truly showcases her unique voice. She portrays the vulnerable experience of her first time falling in love through the lyrics of the song, highlighting all her emotions. The song starts off describing small interactions, like “moving close, getting a rush” and “freaking out when you lean in and our hands touch.” These lyrics, combined with EASHA’s light and breathy vocals, convey the shyness and giddyness associated with having a crush. Throughout the chorus, EASHA repeats, “don’t know how to act / don’t know how to be / colors of your love came so suddenly”, expressing her uncertainty in her first relationship. As the song concludes, EASHA expresses her desire to continue being in love through the lyrics, “keep doing what you’re doing / doing what you’re doing / doing what you’re doing to me”. Her storytelling throughout the song explicitly depicts how EASHA’s trust in the relationship has been established. Her ethereal voice and meaningful songwriting sets her apart from mainstream pop artists and will undoubtedly take her to the levels of popular dream pop artists such as girl in red. It’s EASHA’s world of manufactured melancholy, and we’re just living in it.
Andy Mei
Artist: chilldspot
Genre: Japanese R&B, J-Pop
Formed in Tokyo in December 2019 by a group of then-highschool students, chilldspot brings a carefree, groovy tone to the Japanese music scene. Composed of vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Hiyune, guitarist Ryouzan, bassist Kozaki, and drummer Justin, the band has been influenced by a wide variety of music genres. All of the members come from different musical backgrounds and take inspiration from the music they expose themselves to, which contributes to the group’s genre-less nature. Their band name exemplifies this free-form ideology perfectly as well, combining the apparently unrelated words “chill,” “child,” “spot,” and “pot” to form “chilldspot.” However, while these words seem random, the word “chill” aptly represents the mood of the band’s music, with the acoustic instrumentals accompanying Hiyune’s soft vocals. This can be seen quite clearly in chilldspot’s most popular song, “Neon wo Keshite,” which features a slower, jazzy rhythm and a subdued instrumental track. Even though the band has only been around for a few years, they have already released a total of 36 songs over three albums and numerous singles, all at a professional level of quality. Chilldspot has also attracted the attention of Spotify and YouTube Music, establishing themselves as notable next-generation artists rising up the ranks of the music industry.
