pop

Music lulls us into a meditative state. It allows us to relax, reflect, and, ultimately, recharge.

Sydney-born independent singer, songwriter, and producer grentperez unlocks this place—whether in the studio, on stage, or under the watchful eye of the computer camera in his childhood bedroom. Generating over 15 million YouTube views, amassing nearly half-a-million streams, and attracting an audience of 320K subscribers, his handcrafted D.I.Y. pop instantly soothes on a series of 2020 singles and more to come.

“On days where I don’t feel good, I’ll pick up a guitar, and it just makes me feel better,” he admits. “I heavily believe in everything I sing. Whatever it is, I try to put myself in a position to relate and fully immerse myself in all of the words.”

As if by fate, he immersed himself in music during his childhood in Sydney. Growing up as the youngest of three kids in a Filipino family, he listened to The Eagles, The Beatles, and Queen with his dad before moving on to the likes of Musiq Soulchild. A diligent YouTube search might even unearth videos of a six-year-old grentperez on the microphone! Eventually, he received his first nylon string acoustic and taught himself Jeremy Passion’s “Lemonade,” learning chords, shapes, and plucking patterns. At the end of 2013, he launched his YouTube channel. Under the influence of ASMR queen Alaina Castillo, he introduced his own “sing u to sleep” series highlighted by popular covers of Daniel Caesar (1.6 million views), Rex Orange County (1 million views), Plain White T’s (800K views), and many more.

At the top of 2020, he found himself at a crossroads as a freshman in college.

“It was either, ‘Finish Uni’ or ‘Do music’,” he recalls. “Guess what I chose?”

He served up his first original single “Wait For You” and racked up 175K Spotify streams as “Dreams” followed with another 270K Spotify streams. Along the way, he perfected his own “laidback chill sound with a lot of soul.” That style crystallizes on his 2020 single “In My Heart.” A showcase for his dynamic vocals, delicate guitar, and nuanced production (punctuated by a whistle), it reaches for a heightened level of intimacy.

“I’ve been writing a lot about various love interests,” he smiles. “I wanted to do something very sweet and straight-to-the-point here. Once you hear the title, you already know what it’s going to be about. The main premise, is no matter where you go or how far you’ll get from me, a piece of you will always be in my heart.”
As he releases more tunes, grentperez will ultimately find his way into your heart too.

“When you listen to me, I want you to feel relaxed,” he leaves off. “I hope this is something you can replay, fall asleep to, or drive to. Maybe you take a piece of how I am from it too. That would be pretty cool.”

If you ask renforshort what kind of music she makes, her response may surprise you. “Tastefully weird,” she’ll say. And yet, no descriptor would be better suited to characterize the enigmatic rising pop star’s personal brand of deeply reflective, yet undeniably relatable, left-of-center alt-pop.
Hailing from Toronto, the prodigious 17-year-old singer-songwriter was destined for pop stardom long before she signed with Geffen Records and racked up more than 5 million streams on streaming (with only two songs out at the time, by the way). Inspired by the work of icons like Bob Dylan (“Growing up, my dad would tell me that he’s the best songwriter in the world,” renforshort wisely recalls) and Amy Winehouse, as well as atmosphere- and emotion-driven films like Coraline and Call Me By Your Name, renforshort’s creative childhood was packed with piano and singing lessons, musical theater, movies, and writing stories — activities encouraged by the young performer’s artistic-leaning family.

Though she was always interested in singing, it was during one serendipitous open mic night in 2016 when 14-year-old renforshort realized she was truly meant to make music. In early 2019, just two years after her open mic revelation, renforshort released her debut single “waves,” an atmospheric, wistful ode to burgeoning romance. But it was a few months later that she was catapulted into the upper echelons of digital fame when her second single, the twisted love song “mind games,” went viral thanks to its unexpectedly edgy tone, instantly catchy hook, and eerie, Tim Burton inspired music video.

renforshort’s debut EP — a genre-spanning collection of soul-baring, youth-driven songs about young love, anxiety, restlessness, and self-image, among other personal topics — indeed captures the fleeting, ultimately beautiful uncertainties that come with growing up. Sure, streaming and social media numbers are a fantastic way to quantify an artist’s impact (renforshort’s got both in droves), and it’s an impressive feat to be named on lists like Apple Music Artist of the Week (May 2019) or Soundcloud’s Artist to Watch (August 2019), but for renforshort, the true measurement for success is found in the salient connection between artist and listener.

It has been a busy couple of years for Fergus James, breaking out with his debut single 'Golden Age' and supporting Ed Sheeran on his Divide tour. In late 2019, playing the main stage at Splendour In The Grass after winning the triple j Unearthed competition, completed his first headline tour (including a sold-out shows in Sydney and his hometown of Armadale) and released his debut EP ‘All Of The Colours’, which featured singles ‘What Are We Waiting For’, ‘Back To Life’ and ‘Mistakes’ (all of which were the most played songs on triple j during their time of release). Bridget Hustwaite proclaiming ‘It has that Dean Lewis charm and a Gang Of Youths kind of adrenaline. You know those songs that leave you feeling both breathless and full? This is definitely one of them’.

Fergus James’ presents his first single of 2021, his anthemic new bop ‘Backseat’.

‘Backseat’ follows last year’s standalone single ‘Good Man’, accompanied by his Triple J 'Like A Version' performance of Benee's 'Soaked'.

With the release of ‘Backseat’, Fergus is thrilled to announce an east coast headline tour for October. Playing shows in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Wollongong, fans are urged to secure their tickets for what will be a phenomenal tour!

Like scorpions who distinguish between light and dark in order to navigate by moonlight, Baby Velvet negotiates the low light of self-doubt with an innate sense of purpose. Scorpions populate her dreamscape, wilting roses portents of heartbreak, warnings and change.
Hannah Crofts, under her new moniker Baby Velvet, is on a mission to find whether you always get what you deserve. With St Jude whispering in her ear, Crofts is welcoming a stranger into her living room, or standing on the curb with her thumb out, or fossicking for treasure in the bargain bin. Her soaring harmonies and aching lyrics are gloriously gritty and heart-wrenching but always familiar with hard-won reflections on the artist’s life.

Cropped Coral Scorpion 2.png
As one quarter of the indie folk group, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Crofts has toured the world in vintage gowns and rhinestone boots. The band’s debut When We Fall reached #6 on the ARIA charts and won an ARIA for Best Blues and Roots Album. The band supported the Backstreet Boys, sung on Kesha’s Grammy Nominated Album Rainbow and travelled across the USA supporting Midnight Oil.

In 2022 she will release her debut solo album produced by LA legend Kevin Ratterman and Melbourne royalty James Gilligan. It features songs like ‘What The Hell Is Wrong With Me’ and ‘Normal People’ with reflections on heartbreak and repeating the same mistakes. The album reaches the zenith of self-doubt with Best in Show, a song about the darker realities of being a touring musician. Lines like room service and hotel rooms are all I have to offer you are reminiscent of Charley Pride’s classic, ‘All I have to offer you (is me)’.

A musician and activist, Crofts feels the world sparkle around her. Baby Velvet inspires lucid rage, clarity and power from which to take on the world. Her soaring harmonies and aching lyrics are gloriously gritty and heart-wrenching but always familiar with hard-won reflections on the artist’s life. This is strident power pop that saturates and sparkles while sinking sharp teeth into the patriarchy. There is no turning back.