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Vasili Papathanasopoulos

ŽIVA'S TOP 5 UP AND COMING ARTISTS

Dualism is out now!

Image: Jess Brohier


Croatian-born Melbourne-based avant-garde artist ŽIVA recently unveiled her new single, Dualism. To celebrate the release, the singer has shared with MILKY five emerging artists she thinks we should all be listening to.


“I’ve been working on myself for such a long time, learning how to fight depression, live with OCD and all sorts of anxiety disorders that make simple things much harder. And to realise that I am my own biggest enemy was the hardest truth to swallow. Dualism gave me an opportunity to set myself accountable - to visualise the feelings of burnouts and mental entrapment (hence mask/cage on the artwork) I put myself through over and over again, with the hope that I can become my own best friend.” the singer shares of the track.



NEMEČEK (CROATIA)

Friends from Croatia make some crazy good music with traditional Slavonian instruments but manage to write songs that resemble bands such as Swans and Wovenhand. Really unique and special, totally out of any comfort zone which I deeply respect. My personal favourite is the song called ‘DajBog’ but you can’t go wrong, just press play! There is something about those traditional instruments that scream ‘home’ as soon as you hear it, and this one has tamburica. Although placed in a very experimental and noisy soundscape, the sound still maintains its softness and warm vibe.


ŽEN (CROATIA)

This will probably be my personal favourite forever - also friends but so freaking talented that it sometimes blows my mind. I actually had the opportunity to share a stage with them on multiple occasions and one thing is sure - their live performance is always strong and anything but disappointing. They are one of those bands that just have that natural connection and when you see them live, it feels like they are born into this and one person rather than 3 completely different people.


I saw them live a couple of months ago in Melbourne and was f*** blown away! While their sound is recognizable and sort of fits well into the existing Aussie punk scene, they keep surprising me with how they introduced experimental sounds and stepped away from the usual, safe zone. Additionally, they are a really tight and strong live band which is awesome!


SØLV (UK)

This artist I’ve discovered via Spotify, on a totally random occasion and fell in love with her songs immediately. I am usually not into pop music but her songs have such a good flow that it’s really hard not to have them replay in your head for the rest of the day. On top of that, she is doing almost everything by herself - music writing, production, mixing, even filming her video clips! It’s always inspiring to find artists like that who are just full-on ready to push.


DIE!DIE!DIE! (NEW ZEALAND)

I know that they are sort of established, but it’s still underground and still worthwhile resurfacing as they are such a FANTASTIC band (in case someone reading this hasn’t heard of them). I had the honor of meeting Andrew (frontman) and seeing them live in Melbourne just right before the pandemic. I love their sound, bring me back to my teenage days and years when I was obsessing with No Age and post-punk bands. It is also the only artist from NZ that I actually knew about years ago when the internet wasn’t so normal.



Dualism is out now!


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