Latest Music Releases Q2 [2021]

By Music Press Asia Staff

25 May, 2021 9:53am GMT+8 / MYT

Music Press Asia highlights one list a month of the latest music releases from all genres. Submissions covers all artists and music producers from the region of Asia-Pacific. For inclusion into the list, please send press release, cover art and/or description of the latest single or album titled ‘New Releases’ to our editorial staff at editorial@musicpressasia.com.

In the chronological order of artists or producer’s names. Due to a high demand in request for new music, these releases was part of a growing list of the latest music releases from Asia-Pacific only. If you have submitted new releases in the last three months and have yet to be published here, please get in touch with our editorial team for more information.

Abangsapau — “hahaha”: Singaporean artist ABANGSAPAU makes his Def Jam South East Asia debut with an assertive and dominant new rap single titled hahaha. The song, produced by Prodbydan, marks an exciting new phase for the bilingual rapper that begins with a trap-inflicted statement of intent, written in Malay and English. ABANGSAPAU marches to the beat of his own 808s with a message: when life comes at you, have the last laugh. He raps about the story of a boy anchored by family and a desire to “break out the cycle”. The song’s music video, directed by Island Boys, depicts the whirlwind of celebrity life at his grasp — with stylish sequences of hectic car rides, press junkets and alleyways lined up with his likeness.

Alena Murang — “Sky Songs”: The Sape’ songstress’ latest album is produced as part of the Roads To Our Heritage (RTOH) project that features Alena Murang alongside Estranged and Stonebay, supported by KKMM through its Digital Content Fund 2020 and the Dayak Cultural Foundation Sarawak. Inspired by the stories of her ancestors that lived in the skies and on Earth, the album is a journey of song through the cosmos. The production of the album is supported by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia and the Dayak Cultural Foundation Sarawak. Mixed and mastered by Ian Koren at Goldensound Studios, produced by Joshua Maran. It is also nominated for the International Indigenous Artist-Group Recording of the Year by the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards Canada, recently. In conjunction with Gawai, she’ll be releasing a music video end of this month titled Warrior Spirit.

Daniel Chai — “Blue Sky”: Singaporean singer-songwriter Marcus 李俊緯 has released his newest self-produced and self-arranged Mandopop acoustic ballad ‘蔚蓝天空’ Blue Sky; a brand new self-produced and self-arranged acoustic ballad, available on all digital platforms from 7 May 2021. This new single is a reflection of Marcus’s nostalgia over a past relationship, and touches on themes of change and moving on, as he looks back on his fond memories, and looks forward to new beginnings to come. The recording is helmed by veteran guitarist and producer Daniel Chai and Singaporean sound engineer Darren Sim. Recently, he was awarded the “Artist of The Year (Non-English)” award at Singapore’s Youth Music Awards 2021.

Dom Guyot — “Unbeloved”: Cebuano singer-songwriter Dom Guyot releases his first full-length album, Unbeloved, a 43-minute music journey retelling his story of loss and a redefined version of love. Contrary to the title, the album tells a story of a young queer’s journey of falling in love, losing love and finding love again, recounted in five parts (chapters) with 12 songs of genres ranging from contemporary RnB, soul and pop. Dom tirelessly poured his heart into songwriting and production, spending two years in the studio even in the midst of a global pandemic, fully turning his hurt into what is now his official first full-length album. “I learned to celebrate my wins and be proud of my losses,” says Dom. “Because my loss in love gave birth to the body of work I am most proud of, and I know will help a lot of people cope with the feeling of being unbeloved.”

Jodie Chen — “Strongest”: Singer-songwriter Jodie Chan has recently released her single Strongest. Her roots in musical theatre, acapella, and acoustic songwriting come through in an interesting mix reminiscent of Broadway artists Ben Platt, Phillipa Soo, and youthful singer-songwriters like Priscilla Ahn and Sigrid. During Jodie’s months’ ‘at home’ last year she wrote a satirical love song which she posted on HitRecord titled The Apolocolypse Love Song, which Joseph Gordon Levitt halfway across the world gave a shout-out across his social media. Off the back of that momentum, Jodie then went to release her first single in December 2020 Inevitable, followed by Raindrops on Roses this past February which features cross-border collaborations with OK Go’s Dan Konopka, and Gene Micovsky through Spotify’s SoundBetter platform. “Strongest” will be her third release and first ballad, co-produced with fellow Hong Kong singer-songwriter Isaac Chan.  

Nabowa — “Kiraku Ni”: Kyoto-based instrumental band Nabowa is going to release their seventh full-length album “Fantasia” in June. The vocal song Kiraku Ni (feat. AAAMYYY) from this latest album is released digitally on May 7th, with a guest appearance by AAAMYYY, a popular Japanese SSW/trackmaker (also known as a member of the band, Tempalay) who has been active in various fields in recent years. The song is recorded by Keishiro Iwatani (Safe and Sound) at MORG Studio who happens to have also mixed and mastered the song, Vocals recorded by Ayato Taniguchi at Studio SEEZE. Nabowa is signed to Bud Music record label. Their live performances cross genre boundaries, blending post rock, jazz, ambient and modern elements. Watch their official music video below:

Nyk — “On Me”: Having garnered over 100 million streams in China with the successful hip-hop tinged releases AAA and No 808 over the past year, Malaysian singer NYK has returned with his first solo release of 2021, On Me. The track was produced by Singapore-based Japanese-French producer Teiji, known for his work as Duumu and Charlie, and released independently through PLAIN PACK. Musically, the song represents an almost-satirical farewell to the full-on pop sound that NYK used to release under his former label, as he transitions into a completely different soundscape. The dancy, jubilant aesthetic of the song was constructed to provide a form of escape for his listeners as he embarks on his new, independent direction.

Qilla Records — “Forte Vol. 8”: The 8th edition of various artists mini-compilation series titled Forte released by Qilla Records, an underground dance music imprint founded by Kohra & BLOT!. The compilation is an electronica offering, with Three Oscillators and Corridors creating their own interpretations of glitchy dreamscapes interspersed with heavier base lines and breaks. When I’m Human’s track Daydream is accompanied by music video shot by Anmol Khurana, featuring contemporary dancer Puneet Jewandah. Shot with the backdrop of the brutalist architecture of Chandigarh’s public buildings, the bareness of ageing concrete combined with the noir theme creates a stark contrast to Puneet’s fluid movements. The video is her pursuit of trying to breathe new life into these derelict concrete spaces with her interpretive dance and terse emotions. Click here to watch the dance.

Shihori — “Fire”: Japanese singer-songwriter Shihori celebrates resilience on her new track Fire, an empowering EDM track full of booming drums, epic horns, and an irresistible melody. Shihori fittingly showcases her strong and powerful vocals on a track that is inspired by resilience. Based in New York, She found a sense of community and the ability to “belong” through music. She hopes that she can become a role model for young Asian women in America by sharing her story and music. Her work encompasses original songs as well as compositions for internationally-acclaimed anime tv shows and computer games. She boasts 11 gold-certified singles and albums that total over a million sales. Most recently, she enjoyed international success performing lead vocals on the Billboard #6 single “The Real Folk Blues” and composed the million-streamed ‘Battle Queens’ theme song for the video game League Of Legends. 

Waterweed — “Deep Inside + Unknown best”: Since the early 2000s, waterweed have been pioneers of Japan’s screamo and post-hardcore scenes. Recently, they released Deep inside + Unknown best, a 15-song single and best-of album that includes their track Deep Inside, used as the ending theme to the popular anime series ‘Kingdom’. With roots which began in melodic hardcore, they went on to sign with Lockjaw Records, a British hardcore label, and regularly release works in the UK. In 2018, they completed a successful tour across five countries in Europe, including the UK, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Germany, with shows at the Manchester Punk Festival in England and Burning Ramp Festival in Germany. Watch their music video below:

Yams — “Day/Dreams”: Following the single release of part gospel-influenced ballad and upbeat rap single, do you drive a nice car, and dual contract 2-part singles day/dreams & tears, Singaporean producer and singer-songwriter yams has released a full album, day/dreams on all major digital streaming platforms. The album centers itself around imperfect oppositions – day and dream, leaving and loving, runaway and home – things that are opposed and yet also not quite when presented together reveal much about the space in between. For the launch, yams commissioned 10 artists of different mediums, each crafting animations reflecting and responding to songs and themes of the album. These artists include celebrated local artist, Yanyun Chen, recipient of the Young Artist Award in 2020, and pixel artist and actor, Numhom Techalapanarasme.

More Releases…

Sheppard/Sekai No Owari — “M.I.A”: Following the success of their highly awaited third studio album ‘Kaleidoscope Eyes’, Brisbane based band, Sheppard have teamed up with Japanese pop sensation Sekai No Owari ‘End Of The World’ to deliver us yet, another adrenaline driven track – M.I.A (End Of The World Remix). The single M.I.A. is indicative of the album more broadly, an upbeat stomper preaching self-determination and the overall message of ‘Kaleidoscope Eyes’: living your life on your own terms. The animated music video blends elements from the original tracks artwork and composition to create a consistent state of self-journey and one’s pursuit to chase life’s unexpected beauty.

Andreas Langvad — “Look at Me Now”: 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Copenhagen has a new single released through record label Audeo Music Studio. Langvad has recently performed on several Danish venues including Frederikssund Festival and Copenhagen Sonwriter Festival. In 2020, he has established the concept of ‘balcony concerts’ in cooperation with music platform “UncoverMusic” which enabled artists all over Denmark to perform in spite of the ongoing pandemic. The song is composed by Andreas Langbad and produced by James Thomas Bennedict.

Music Press Asia highlights one list a month of the latest music releases from all genres. Submissions covers all artists and music producers from the region of Asia-Pacific. For inclusion into the list, please send press release, cover art and/or description of the latest single or album titled ‘New Releases’ to our editorial staff at editorial@musicpressasia.com.