Golden Mixtape

http://goldenmixtape.com/

[goldenmixtape]

The Audible Swiftness of Makk Mikkael

Some years ago Makk Mikkael was one of the many teens obsessing over Taylor Swift. The blend of pop and country spoke volumes to her. Swift was not only inspired to start singing, but she soon picked up a guitar and started posting covers on YouTube. While country was where she spent her early teens, she moved onward. She notes of her style now, “I’m happy I’ve found my sound. I’m inspired by the Toronto R&B scene and I feel like my music represents where I’m currently at right now.” Now is where we are and we’re talking about her latest single “How It Feels,” her time in Los Angeles, and next steps. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Mélissa Laveaux Takes Listeners Abroad

Knowing her album needed something more than her current locale could offer her, Mélissa Laveaux bought a ticket to Haiti and let the homeland of her parents to its thing. The sights, sounds, and all around culture worked overtime because it took Mélissa less than a week to record a Haitian inspired record. That’s where we’re starting but not where we’re ending. Read the words below, then not only are you going to want to pick up Radyo Siwèl, out now, but you’re also going to want to check her out live if you can in London on April 13th.

[goldenmixtape]

Expand Your Universe with Cebratrack

Sharing the same school with Bonander, Cebratrack stumbled this little blog here and I’m glad she did. She’s got this great sound that’s all her, especially the new gem “Universe.” The latest single was a huge part of our back and forth as was her life as a podcaster, sexism, feminism and more. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

The Odds of This Way North

What are the odds that you could travel around the world and wind up meeting someone from where you are? No really, what are they? Because that was the reality for the Australian pair that make up This Way North. Cat Leahy and Leisha Jungalwalla were a world away from their own homes when they had a chance encounter in Canada. After hitting it off, well the music soon came and This Way North was born. Roots rock was where they started, but they changed lanes this time around. We talked about why they decided to switch it up on the new record, their touring that picks back up in April, and more. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Skyrah Bliss Is an Open Book

There was no doubt that Skyrah Bliss would be a singer when she was younger. A natural poet that soon transformed her words into songs, she was a natural performer. She remembers, “I would mimic the songs I liked that came on the radio. I’d even throw my own mini-concerts at my daycare using the CDs my mom would buy me and a radio. Shortly after I developed a love for expressing myself through words came the melodies that blossomed into songs around eight-years-old.” Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Daiza Delivers Major Manners

Parents. It can be creepy how right they can be sometimes. Daiza wasn’t that hot on heading off to school but thanks to her parents, she did. Now looking back she’s glad she listened and said, “I am not sure where I’d be now if I hadn’t gone to college. I probably would have come to LA sooner, but I am glad I had the time to grow, make friends and create.” Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Take The Retro Road with Bonita Jalane 

From the fashion at Forever 21 to Bruno Mars to all those reboots, the ’90s are back. There is no denying that, especially when you hear Bonita Jalane‘s stellar throwback “Retro.” The song comes from her inner essence. She notes, “My style is so retro. No matter how I’m feeling, what I wear or what the trends are I will always be true to how I feel and what that looks like thru my fashion. Imma vibe.”

A self-professed storyteller happy to narrate her story to listen, she’s about to drop the video for “Retro” that’ll have you saying, that’s da’ bomb. Before that, see what she had to say about the song, video and what’s to come. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Bonander Slams The Expectations

The idea of gender was something I’d never even considered until it came up in a college course. The following year, Gender and Women’s Studies was my minor. So diving into the topic in the musical realm was quite the experience with Sweden’s own Bonander. Her latest single, “Quit Everything and Become a Princess” dives into gender expectations and finding the release from them. Speaking of release, the single’s out now but Bonander’s EP, It’s a Girl, will be dropping March 23rd. She also let us know that she has some things brewing for later in the year. While you stay tuned for what’s to come, check out more on what Bonander had to say about the single, musical theatre and more. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Kareen Lomax Found a Sound Route to Love

When the year boils down in December it’s easy to forget what you cared about when it was still fresh at the start. That will not be the case when I think back to my favorite songs, especially since Kareen Lomax‘s “Been in Love” has already dug itself deep into my core. Penned in the suburbs of Georgia, Kareen’s interpretation of an emotion we all know a little something-something about hits you, flips you and leaves you wanting more. Thankfully an album is one the way. We talked about that, single life and more. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Miss Eaves Slays Once Again

Arts and crafts are a normal part of every upbringing. Using the typical was not for Miss Eaves though, the feminist rapper utilized her favorite cereal boxes to make sick jewelry. Perhaps it was those days with sugary cardboard that played a part in shaping her style as she compared her sound to that of Froot Loops; “bright, fun, and a little silly.”

That blend helped land her on a tour overseas. So she packed a bag and left North Carolina. Then a mix of spontaneity and wanting a change in her life led Miss Eaves to avoid a plane back home after the tour. She soon found herself like Kevin McCallister – surrounded by the vast opportunities New York City had to offer. But instead of spending her time focused on avoiding the Sticky Bandits, she worked on her music.

Music that includes 2017’s hit “Thunder Thighs” and what’s soon to be yet another “Paper Mache (Single AF).” We talked about both, her Every Body Project and what’s coming up! Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Take a Wild Ride with Demar

Typically anyone who teaches themselves how to play an instrument or two would be seen as disciplined. Demar said that’s far from the case when it comes to her story. Instead of going to her lessons she was hanging out with her friends, so her parents eventually stopped paying. So Demar had to go ahead and teach herself.

The soulful pop singer noted, “I honestly just started looking up tutorials on YouTube or having friends show me things. I got to the point where I realized if I wanted this to go any further I needed to be able to write songs and I needed to be able to accompany myself so I could play live. That’s what led me to learning the basics.”

The basics eventually led her to live in London, her debut EP Rebels and touring with Howie Day. She shared about all of that and then some. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

The Cardinal Songbird Caitlyn Scarlett

A lot of kids have a hard time putting their thoughts and emotions into words. For Caitlyn Scarlett, it came easy. Only nine-years-old when she started writing music she remembers, “It came really naturally. I’d always had a passion for singing, and wrote poetry a lot. Once I combined the two by songwriting, I was compelled to learn some instruments so I could be self-sufficient and express myself even further.”

She was born a creative soul but was also born in a place that left her feeling on the outskirts of the norm. Knowing she needed more she packed her bags and headed towards London. That’s where we pick up the story as Caitlyn shares about the move, happiness and her attachment to red. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Christina Holmes Stands Up and Sings Proud

Right around the time Christina Holmes and I crossed paths she was coming off the road with Nahko and Medicine for the People. A “dream come true” for the acoustic singer, she nestled back into home life after what her fiance has called her “post-tour coma.” A period of one to three days of well-deserved sleep. Now she’s wide awake and ready to get back to working on a new album. We talked about what to expect from the follow up to her very personal Stand Up, discovering a new side of herself and more as she sat in her home in the smallest state known to the US. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Clara Engel’s Songs For Another

Taking the life and work of another and interpreting it isn’t an easy feat, but it’s a challenge that Clara Engel took on for her latest Songs for Leonora Carrington. An interesting concept, we talked about that as well as where she’s at in her head when she steps on stage, and her plans as far as 2018 is concerned. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

From One Stage to Another Shalyah Fearing Works Them All

Shalyah Fearing admits that even though she was singing since she could speak, she was happy her parents intervened. They noticed her love of music and stepped in. With vocal and piano lessons in her life by nine, she was on her way to great things.

Some of those including the theater. Appreciative of her time on stage at 12, she said she’d definitely love to head back to the musical theater in the future. For right now though she’s focused on her career in music. With a beautiful, soulful pop tone she was able to impress on The Voice. Now she’s out on her own with her latest single “I’ll Get Over You.” We talked about that, what’s to come from the 17-year-old and more. Read the rest here...

[goldenmixtape]

Eves Karydas Proves To Be There For You

You have to go all in when you’re passionate about something. Dipping your toe in is never enough. Pop songstress Eves Karydas knows that all too well. She packed up her life in Australia, hopped on a plane set for London and has been planting some new roots there for some time now. Making quite the impression with her single, “There For You” she decided to give an acoustic makeover and honestly, either way, is a good audible time. We chatted on her reasoning for redoing her own tune, settling in a new land and one of the most romantic movies I’m sure you’ve all seen.

[goldenmixtape]

Tee Krispil Finds Solace in Rhyme 

Tee Krispil came up in a community she notes was “heavily into hip-hop.” So when she started to take more of in interest, it wasn’t out of the norm for the Scottish/Moroccan/Jewish girl to start laying down her own tracks. For Tee, it was more than the music. It was a calling. A sense of something bigger. Like a spiritual awakening Tee Krispil dove deep into her new passion as a fan, and out came an artist. She talked to Golden Mixtape about finding that connection, her latest single “Let It Slide” and more. Read the rest here...