Guest Love: Elysse Ralph

Ladies and gentleman,

Do you ever have the feeling "man oh man I want to just sit, tap my toes, and roam the internet with some groovy tunes in the background?"

If you do, here's a playlist just for that. I'm always and forever on the prowl for new/toe tappin jams with thick bass, so here are my top picks that are currently on my playlist.

My taste is so widespread and eccentric, whether it be dark and soulful to electronic inspired hits.

Sit back, have a whiskey(or whatever poison you fancy), and simply enjoy.
-Elysse

Elysse Ralph is a rare gem who's currently situated in LA, follow her on Instagram. 

FRESHVIBESMONDAY #54

Happy Monday, you guys! Hope you're as excited as I am for this week's edition of FVM. Starting off with the latest from Bwana, can't believe it's been years since his last release, but the wait has been worth it. It was only right for it to fall into the next track which is one of my favorites by Milosh (aka Michael Milosh of Rhye) that's too mesmerizing for words. I recently stumbled across an artist by the name of Jack Garratt who easily won my ears over with "The Love You're Given." Good luck getting that one out of your head. 

Also, TUCH was last week's Friday Fascination, if you might have missed it - no worries, click here.  In the midst of Johnny Jewel (of CHROMATICS) releasing tracks on his SoundCloud page, a new one popped up called "White Light" that has me wondering if a new album might be surfacing soon. *crosses fingers* So as you can see, I can easily go on & on about each of the tracks I've selected - but I'll let you be the judge.

 Any new discoveries lately? 

P.S. Beyoncé Platinum edition is out now, and if you aren't one of the 20 million who've already watched the video for "7/11", I'm just going to leave this here. 

 

and this...

ICYMI: FRESHVIBESMONDAY #53

Friday Fascination: TUCH

TUCH is a creative duo from Los Angeles composed of Austin Taylor Tirado and Michael James Lee. I was recently exposed to them from a friend, and was surprised to find out this duo only has one track (not that i'm complaining.) It's called "Unlock" and in a way, it's essentially unlocking our ears and introducing us to what TUCH has to offer in the future as rising artists. 

What I found was something mysterious in the sense that these two have something up their sleeve, which will have every listener wanting more after hearing "Unlock." As stated on their Facebook page, "R&B first picked up where funk and disco left off and TUCH picks up where R&B left off." Definitely a great way to describe their sound, and I'm looking forward to where they go from here. The single drops on November 25th via International House of Sound. 
P.S. If you've never checked out IHOS, definitely do yourself a favor and click on the link above. This California label knows how to cover multiple bases with ease. 

TUCH Twitter

TUCH Tumblr

Miss last week's Friday Fascination? Click here.

FRESHVIBESMONDAY #53

new week ~ new music 
ICYMI: FVM#52

Friday Fascination: Liza Anne

I recently stumbled across this singer-songwriter from Nashville a couple weeks ago, and am super thrilled with what I've discovered. Liza Anne aka Liza Odachowski won my ears over with "Thin Ice" from her debut release The Colder Months, and when I listened to the rest of the album - I fell in love. Get ready to feel the chills in the best way possible from how nostalgic and beautiful this record sounds. Liza Anne's talent is truly unique in a way that could come off as haunting but in an elegant manner that can draw listeners in immediately. 

Grab The Colder Months on iTunes here.
Earlier this month Liza Anne released her latest single "Room" which serves as the first taste of album #2. The single will be released on December 18th.



I appreciate how deep this song gets, and is borderline mesmerizing just like everything I've found in her debut release. "Room" reminds me a bit of a TORRES track. If you didn't already know, TORRES aka Mackenzie Scott is one of my favorite singer-songwriters who was featured on LYED back in September of last year (read here.) Definitely do your ears a favor and visit Liza Anne's SoundCloud page where you'll not only find the music featured above, but some pretty promising tracks as well. As always, keep an eye on this talented artist, because I have good feelings about her future. 

Liza Anne // Twitter
Liza Anne // YouTube

FRESHVIBESMONDAY #52

*Let Your Ears Decide just reached 1,200 LIKES on Facebook!! A big thank you to everyone who took the three seconds out of their day to push the like button.* 

Before you let those Monday blues get the best of you, here's this week's edition of freshvibesmonday! 

Plenty of new names in this selection, but that shouldn't make a difference - discovering new artists is always an exciting adventure for me personally. 
The combination of Tourist and Years & Years is probably one of my favorite collabs. Also, if you haven't watched Father John Misty's performance of "Bored in the USA" on the Late Show with David Letterman, you should probably click here. As always, don't forget to check up on this playlist as the week carries on, you'll never know what might end up on here!

While you're ears deep into this week's edition of FVM, i'll be over here trying to accept the fact that it's already November. NOVEMBER! I cannot believe next month is December which means the year is practically over & also - my birthday is next month. :D 
P.S. If you happen to have Spotify, definitely check out LYED's end of year playlist. It won't be long before the end of year lists appear, what are your favorite records of the year so far? 

(If you missed FVM#51, play catch-up by clicking here.) 

Friday Fascination: Billie Black

When I first heard "I Waited For You" by Billie Black, I couldn't believe my ears (literally.) Combining simplicity and emotion in a way that provokes an essence that's all-around dominant is what I get from listening to her music, so how could I not be fascinated by this talented woman? It just takes one listen of this track to get a complete understanding of the vibe this young woman from London is getting across. How young you ask? She's 19, and I'm floored by the talent found in her debut EP 000100. 

Listen below to hear for yourself. 

This EP is the epitome of being easy on the ears, and you can bet it will have a solid spot when it comes to the end of year shenanigans for LYED. As always, I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this artist. Definitely one worth keeping your eye on, and/or letting a few friends know about.

www.billie-black.com

Billie Black Twitter

Billie Black SoundCloud

Billie Black YouTube

(P.S. Click here to see who was last week's Friday Fascination.) 

Getting Back Under The Covers: Part VII

In this edition of "Getting Back Under The Covers" you'll hear artists such as Tei Shi cover Beyonce's "No Angel" & not one but TWO Drake covers that sound so unique from each other you would imagine it was their own!  Also, I am still head over heels for Eddie Berman & Laura Marling's cover of "Like A Rolling Stone." Seriously, so good. POLIÇA covering Lesley Gore's classic "You Don't Own Me" is from both the Shulamith deluxe edition & 'Raw Exit 10"', and easily one of my favorite covers, ever. I could go on expressing why I love each of the covers on here, but you've got some listening to do.

Which cover was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below! 

ICYMI: freshvibesmonday #51 is shaping to be one of my favorites so far, click here to play catch up. 

FRESHVIBESMONDAY #51

Monday Monday MONDAY. Here's another batch of fresh tunes to help get the week started! Billie Black just released two additional songs that fill up the spots on her debut EP 000 100 out today! (Grab it on iTunes here.) Another favorite from the current selection above is Jack Steadman's (of Bombay Bicycle Club) edit of Hozier's "From Eden." Also: Moon Boots is back with his latest "There's No Love" & did I mention - it's a free download!

P.S. Last week was the 50th round of FVM! If you missed it, click here.