In the contemporary R&B scene, however, a fresh voice emerges from the Byron Bay shores in Australia. The first part of this year has seen the debut EP from Billie Skye – a 19-year-old prodigy - who takes her place as an emerging star with beautiful R&B moments. For Billie Skye, a person who grew up in a family where music flows through his veins; her...

Balwako’s new single, "Bitch Please," doesn’t so much arrive as detonate – a burst of queer dark-pop that rattles the windows of expectation. This Amsterdam artist, trailing a "Slavic boy-core aesthetic" and a flair for the theatrical, isn't just making electro-pop; he's staging a minor opera in under three minutes, all bass-heavy beats and a synth line that feels like a velvet curtain dramatically...