Good morning, wonderful community! As announced on our socials earlier this week, this "Friday Releases" column is a bit different, this week. We wanted to go a little further and offer you a more complete user experience, by offering you a radio version as a bonus. We invite you to meet later today on our radio station, at 5 pm UK to discover exclusive interviews with some of the featured artists and listen to these little musical gems together. How exciting is that? :) A good way to start November with a time of communion and sharing with our artists, who have a lot to tell you.

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Allison Leah - 24 Years Down

Discovering a new single from Allison Leah is like being a 5-year-old again, in front of the Christmas tree on the morning of December 25th. Each new release is a gift that we take pleasure in unwrapping, except that this time, we were fooled: the gift wrapped us up.

That's it. Wrapped up in an intense emotional wave that managed to make us shed a tear. "24 Years Down" is like a milestone in Allison Leah's life. As if she were pausing, to look behind and contemplate her memories. But also to reflect on her current situation, and move forward with hesitant steps in her future.

My favorite line is definitely the bridge because it perfectly sums up this idea of ​​a timeline: "Some of us are still kids, some of us have kids ... and I'm somewhere in the middle".

Allison grows, evolves, in a world that also changes and goes very fast. Too fast? That's the whole point of this song. Ask yourself the right questions about who you are right now (the person built with past experiences), and who you want to become.

With a heady piano and a very catchy melody, "24 Years Down" is like a transitional song, lost somewhere between adolescence and adulthood.

We were honored to chat with Allison about this fabulous song, and she even recorded an exclusive live version for us. Tune in tonight at 5 pm (UK Time) to IMC's Radio to discover the incredible journey of this talented artist and the story behind this little masterpiece. But it's not over, Allison will be back in a few days on IMC with another surprise for you guys.

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The Satellite Station - Back of my Heart

The Satellite Station is back with one of his most upbeat tracks and to our delight.

"Back of my Heart" is a joyful and nostalgic song, which recalls that feeling we all know in September when summer ends and we have to return to a more "normal" life. If you too still feel the beat at the back of your heart, you'll love this little indie-pop anthem that only Travis Rue has the secret to.

Teenage memories brought up to date, inevitable nostalgia, and a sign that we are all growing up, that's what the song is about. And we love these very cinematic lyrics. You just have to close your eyes to imagine yourself in the car of this friend mentioned in the song.

The electric guitar, quite rare with The Satellite Station, surprises us just before the bridge. A successful bridge (it is however a delicate step in the process of creating a song).

I believe that you are going to feel the beat of this song in the back of your heart for several days, even weeks, because it is highly addictive. As often, with Travis songs.

The artist is evolving, constantly trying new things, new musical universes, and things are going very well every time. Probably one of the most promising artists of his generation, we will never get tired of his catchy melodies and flawless creativity. And Travis will tell us a bit more about this song on the show tonight!

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Vishaal Ganesh - Hamster Wheel

Let's continue the journey with the United Arab Emirates, to discover Vishaal Ganesh's new single. Unfortunately, he won't be with us on the show tonight because we didn't get any answer. But we'll be glad to play his track cause it's awesome!

It's a perfect mix of modern production with a few touches of electronic and organic sounds like the superb acoustic guitar, "Hamster Wheel" ticks all the boxes to become a hit.

The writing is really sharp, mature, and well thought out, and the speech flow is impressive on the verses, and might remind you of a certain… Ed Sheeran. Yes, we can dare this comparison when the quality score is so high.

Like many of us, Vishaal grew up with these somewhat cliché values ​​of "you have to finish your studies, have a job", etc. But if you think about it, in the end, we all end up in the same place. The artist thinks outside the box and definitely offers something different that really stands out.

Like a hybrid musical gem, straddling yesterday and tomorrow, like a breath of fresh air in the independent music industry, "Hamster Wheel" is likely to get you hooked in just a few seconds. And we guarantee you're going to have this song, trotting in the back of your head, all weekend long.

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Grand Alpaca - Wolves / Little Lies

Alexander, aka Grand Alpaca, comes from Norway and had already seduced us only a few weeks ago with "Holding You Back", whose little electric guitar melody is still present in a corner of our mind.

There is a new single out today, "Wolves / Little Lies", which would fit very well in your playlist right next to "Shadows on my Wall" by Luna Keller. You know, those weights from the past that we sometimes carry on our shoulders, and which do not want to disappear. Even if we accelerate, facing the wind, nothing makes them fall.

So we have to continue on our way by doing with it and do our best to move forward, even if it means moving more slowly.

Grand Alpaca still manages to move us, with relatable lyrics, and a vocal performance that does not need artifice, just honest and sincere.

The song is easy to listen to, and although it's over five minutes long, you don't see the time go by, and it just might be your weekend soundtrack. Grand Alpaca's debut album is coming soon, and we'll talk to him about it tonight on the radio version of "Friday Releases".

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Cormac Looby - Patriot

If I suggest a trip to Galway (Ireland), you will probably tell me "oh, will we hear typical folklore with violins playing loudly?" Well, not really.

It's time to stop the clichés and Cormac Looby does it very well in his new single "Patriot". Paying homage to his country, the Irish artist combines traditional music and modern arrangements, which give a stunning result.

From his debut EP, "Patriot" combines the poetry of words and the poetry of instruments to provide the listener with limitless musical pleasure. We appreciated the simplicity of the melody and the exceptional quality of the vocals, which offer us beautiful flights as we like them.

The violin is present, of course, because Ireland wouldn't be Ireland without it, but it's not the main instrument of the song.

The writing seduced us, line after line, with its delicacy and precision. Cormac Looby uses words with elegance and paints a faithful portrait of his nation, and especially the Irish men. I went to Ireland about fifteen years ago, I could understand that Irish men do not like to show their feelings too much. This is precisely the theme of this song, which the artist himself qualifies as introspective.

Cormac is not unknown to us, because our writer/presenter Luna Keller has already introduced him to you in her show "Why Doesn't Everyone Know These Songs". And it seems that she did well, because we will now keep an eye wide open on the future of this artist, who release after release, continues to amaze us.

Tune in to the radio tonight to hear what he has to say about the song!

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This column has been made with love by Niko. All songs added to our "Fresh Indie" playlist on Spotify.

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