Fresh Spins Vol. 16: New Music from Independent Artists on DISCO

Federale – “Advice From A Stranger”

The project of frontman Collin Hegna, Portland’s Federale evokes spaghetti Western cinema on this compelling psych-rock-meets-country track. Titled “Advice From A Stranger,” Federale’s distortion-filled cut appears on their 2024 album, Reverb & Seduction.

Collin tells DISCO a bit more about this Fresh Spins selection: “With ‘Advice From A Stranger,’ Federale leans into its psych-rock roots. As a 20+ year member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, I’ve been party to a lot of feedback and fuzzed-out guitars. And while the Pebbles and Nuggets oeuvre has crept into the works of Federale on occasion, it has always been as a background influence. For this song, I had the desire to outwardly embrace the aesthetics of personal genre heroes such as the Electric Prunes, the Pretty Things, and the Chocolate Watchband.”

Aysia BerLynn – "Manife$ting The Affirmation"

Aysia BerLynn tells DISCO that her slick and moody track “Manife$ting the Affirmation” came to life during a period of reflection after moving from St. Louis to Atlanta. “I was staying in corporate housing, home alone one day, just staring out at the pool,” the singer and rapper says. “Something about that stillness made me set up my mic right there. I was sitting in all of it: the newness, the possibility, the question of what I wanted to create next. Then, out of nowhere, a photographer and model came out to the pool and started this whole beautiful shoot. The sun was shining, the energy was creative and full of life, and I just recorded right in the middle of it.”

She continues: “The record was produced by Native Genius, and the vibe of the song reflects exactly what that moment felt like. My hope is that I motivate and inspire others, creating an affirmation you can bump with your windows down and let the frequencies seep out to attract what’s next. I allowed the energy of that moment and the journey of being new to a city to pour into the record. I had fun with it too, switching up the cadence, going back and forth between singing and this cool flow.”

The Crooked Stuff – “Die This Way”

San Francisco post-punk act The Crooked Stuff turn existential thoughts into a synth-stacked, highly danceable banger on “Die This Way.”

Singer Tom Gorton tells DISCO about the anxious themes permeating this Fresh Spins selection, which also appears on their 2025 Darkphased EP. “We are not our thoughts, we are not our feed. At the intersection of the pandemic, personal turmoil, and the ever-growing impact of social media, I went looking for a way out,” he says. “After a long simmer, I found clarity in the elusively simple idea that we are not our thoughts and there is no thinker. ‘We’ are simply consciousness. The rumination cycles, fed by the constant feed of internal thoughts and external media, lost their grip. The present was there the whole time. The struggles and disassociation have since lightened, yet the path ahead is still plagued, for us all. Are we gonna die this way?”

Samantha Margret – "Imaginary Numbers"

Alt-pop singer Samantha Margret teamed up with producer bluuwav to create this dramatic and commanding electronic track.

She tells DISCO: "’Imaginary Numbers’ is a song about creating our own reality with imagination, defiance, and magic. My collaborator bluuwav and I had a conversation over breakfast about imaginary numbers — how I never quite wrapped my mind over the edge of them in school but they continue to fascinate me. It led to a conversation about math and the ways we understand and invent our world simultaneously. We were inspired by Labrinth's production style and transmuted some of that landscape into our own."

Laura Jadi – “That Boy Is Dangerous”

New York singer-songwriter Laura Jadi expertly blends multiple genres on the dizzying “That Boy Is Dangerous,” which weaves in pop, R&B, and electronica to describe the breathless feelings of having a (temporarily distracting) crush.

“I wrote ‘That Boy Is Dangerous’ in my revamped storage unit studio in Long Island City while on this crazy ride of making one whole song from start to finish in a week,” Laura tells DISCO. “I met this guy, he caught my attention, and I wrote [about] a flirty way to say that I don’t oppose, but I am too busy. The track captures that exact lighthearted, idolized crush that I had.”

Laura continues: “I love, love, love the process of sound design, so the whole song builds around this weird loop that I created by making eternal effect chains. I left a lot of room in the production to allow space for a lot of harmonies to brighten the song and make it feel like a breeze… I knew I had something fire, but it needed to be elevated. I was blessed to connect with ASHILEE ASHILEE, an outstanding artist and producer, who completely understood my vision. Then she mixed and mastered, and it became pure magic.”

Music supervisors can access Fresh Spins Vol. 16 in Discover Music.

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