My Life as Ali Thomas didn’t have a beginning, though it took up to early 2013 for ‘Pie’ Kanyapak Wuttara to fully realize it was always there. The true meaning of Ali Thomas lies in Greek roots, which translates to ‘another twin’. This is the name she gave to the songstress in isolation, which she felt was in true contrast to her waking life.

When the songs she created in her bedroom became concrete, so did Ali Thomas. Her acoustic guitar and soulful voice resonates a longing for creative realization and old lovers, and bleeds a refreshing emotional honesty.

In 2014, Pie joined with guitarist ‘Rack’ Wipata Lertpanya and drummer ‘Taw’ Wannaphong Jangbumrung. This is when My Life as Ali Thomastook shape, combining a unique ambient Brit rock style with Pie’s distinctive folk sensibilities. What emerged was a unique and experimental sound.

They began distributing their work with Warner Music Thailand in October 2015, and were signed to the label in August of 2016 and released their debut album ‘Paper’, which helped establish the band as a favorite in local and regional festivals and earned them an invitation as the first Thai artist to showcase at SXSW in 2019.

Having just put the finishing touches to his debut album ‘The Drama’ Vangelis Polydorou is confident that it sounds like nothing else. “We didn’t have a preconceived idea of what the record was going to be. What I mean is, we didn’t reference any tracks and try to make it into something that was already out there. I do think that subconsciously everything has an influence, but I like to put my own spin on things.”

His unique musical identity is also informed by his ongoing creative collaboration with Boy George, whom he met when he auditioned for The Voice UK in 2016. At his blind audition, Vangelis performed a mournful, stripped-down version of George’s own Do You Really Want to Hurt Me – a gutsy choice which paid off when the Culture Club icon pressed his button and welcomed him to “Team George”. Vangelis made it all the way through to the show’s finals, by which point it was clear their working relationship was built to last.

“When I met George he said ‘I can’t promise to make you famous but I can give you work’ and he kept his word”.

Moods is the project of Rotterdam-based producer Nick Lubbersen.

Having already established himself as one of the most exciting prospects in electronic music with his slinky original productions and tight, crisp mixes the man is in demand right now. Recent collaborations and remixes with the likes of Two Another, Pip Millett, and Bondax have enhanced his reputation further and on Spotify he has received in excess of 60 million streams.

Announcing himself with a style that owed much to the soulful producers like Pete Rock, J Dilla, and Nujabes, Moods’ early beats quickly began gaining traction online and started building an impressive following after winning favour with several key tastemaker blogs. Before long he attracted the attention of Dutch dance music royalty – Kraak & Smaak and they requested he remix their track ‘Don’t Let People’ on their 2013 release ‘Chrome Waves Remixed’. The mix he turned in impressed them so much he became the first signing to their newly formed imprint ‘Boogie Angst’.

Three EP’s and a debut album later his support to date reads like a who’s who of tastemakers… Blogs including the likes of Majestic Casual, Indie Shuffle, Complex, La Belle Musique and The Sound You Need have all lauded his productions, while the story with radio is much the same. Mistajam, Monki and Jamz Supernova are consistent champions for his work across BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra while in the US he enjoys regular play on key stations including KCRW and Sirius XM.  

Upcoming ‘Stargazer’ is the latest instalment in a remarkable solo career that’s seen Pellow embark on a new project pretty much every other year since he left multi-platinum selling pop sensations Wet Wet Wet in 1999. He’s done more as a solo artist, for longer, than he did as frontman with the totemic pop band who dominated the British charts in the Eighties and Nineties. How, then, did this prolific artist approach the creation of Stargazer, a collection of new songs that in part pay homage to his  love of everyone from David Bowie to Harry Nilsson, Curtis Mayfield to John Lennon?

Pellow says, “I believe Stargazer is about imagination, every day is a school day in songwriting, and that’s what this album took me back to. It was a big learning process.”

These Are The Days is the debut single, out now. A ballad with a timeless and instantly memorable melody, Pellow reflects, “These Are The Days lyrics have really found their place in the world right now. They’re about growing up, me and my mates, just running about the streets, not a care in the world, those formative years, helping you become the man you become. I love the simplicity of it.”