MONTHLY MIXTAPE: MAY 2024
BY BRENESSA ROACH | MAY 30, 2024
May seriously flew by. Just yesterday we were writing our April monthly mixtape. This month, we actually had over 25 songs in our mixtape playlist, but we wanted to narrow it down to keep the blog a bit shorter. It was so hard, but in this blog we share our top 18 songs we replayed during the month of May.
Let’s get started…
Release Date: April 8th, 2024
I discovered this band ECLIPSE this month and found out it’s a fictional band created for the Korean drama Lovely Runner (which I have yet to watch). I absolutely love the Korean Indie-Rock genre and this is exactly what genre this band falls under. I loved the whole Lovely Runner, Pt.1 (Original Soundtrack) EP that ECLIPSE dropped, but this was my favourite song on the EP. As I haven’t watched the K-Drama, I do not understand how this fictional band works and if they will continue releasing music (I assume not though), but anyways, loved this song this month.
Listen to “Run Run” by ECLIPSE on Spotify:
Release Date: April 17th, 2024
I have been casually listening to ONEWE since last year and I really like how diverse their songs are. They have some rock-ish vibe songs which I love and they have soft ballad songs like this song “Kiss in the Rain”. I loved the whole Planet Nine : ISOTROPY EP, but this song was my most replayed.
Listen to “Kiss in the Rain” by ONEWE on Spotify:
Check out ONEWE on Instagram: @official_onewe
Release Date: April 24th, 2024
I have been a fan of Lauv for years so I have a lot of favourite songs and this one just got added to the list. This song is so catchy from the beat to the lyrics. I think even though it’s a somewhat up-beat song, the lyrics put you in your feels and can be relatable to a lot of people. Lauv is such a talented artist and I am so happy to support him.
Listen to “Potential” by Lauv on Spotify:
Check out Lauv on Instagram: @lauvsongs
Release Date: April 29th, 2024
SEVENTEEN is another one of those groups that I casually listen to with every comeback. I love their music so much and this song in particular is one of the most catchiest songs. From the lyrics to the production, I was singing this song constantly since I heard it at the end of April. I really want to see this song live.
Listen to “MAESTRO” by SEVENTEEN on Spotify:
Check out SEVENTEEN on Instagram: @saythename_17
Release Date: May 1st, 2024
This is one of my favourite Ian Yoon songs so far because it has that Cigarettes After Sex/Wave to Earth vibe to it. I think Ian did an amazing job with this genre and I definitely want to hear more music in this style from him. I had the opportunity to interview him this month about the song, which you can read here.
Listen to “rome” by Ian Yoon on Spotify:
Check out Ian Yoon on Instagram: @dbn.wo
Release Date: May 2nd, 2024
I discovered KINO this month thanks to his EP If this is love, I want a refund which is a no-skip EP. I had never listened to KINO prior to this EP and I didn’t really know who he was. He is a member of the K-Pop group Pentagon – who I like a few songs from. This EP is very R&B infused with other genres and in particular, my most played song was “Solo” which is why it made it to my monthly mixtape. Definitely am excited to hear more of KINO’s music in the future.
Listen to “Solo” by KINO on Spotify:
Check out KINO on Instagram: @831×10
Release Date: May 2nd, 2024
Baek A is another artist I discovered this month through Spotify’s “New Music K-Pop” playlist. I loved four out of the five of the songs on her EP *Letter.* “Letter” actually was the song that I first heard and fell in love with, but “Movie (2024)” took that #1 spot. This song is so beautiful and I just love her vocal style and lyricism.
Listen to “Movie (2024)” by Baek A on Spotify:
Check out Baek A on Instagram: @100.a__a
Release Date: May 3rd, 2024
The Free Label is such a cool group that we have been listening to since 2022. They have such a unique sound as their music is nu-funk infused with other genres. This song is so catchy and such a great summer song. Definitely on repeat for the rest of the year.
Listen to “Change Your Mind” by The Free Label on Spotify:
Check out The Free Label on Instagram: @freelabellove
RINI is just such a talented artist and I swear every song usually hits. I was so excited for “Miracle” to be released. I love his vocals in this song and the overall production. The cover art is also so aesthetic. RINI has such a soothing and comforting voice.
Listen to “Miracle” by RINI on Spotify:
Check out RINI on Instagram: @rinidawg
Release Date: May 6th, 2024
We have been a fan of 87dance since last year. They are such a talented South Korean alternative rock band. This song “4DL (four-dimensional love)” is track one on their Youth Heritage EP. This whole EP is another no-skip one for us, we love it so much, but this song was our most replayed this month.
Listen to “4DL (four-dimensional love)” by 87dance on Spotify:
Check out 87dance on Instagram: @palchilldance
Release Date: May 10th, 2024
Last year in October, we got to see Alexander Stewart live as he opened for Eric Nam in Toronto. This was our first time really listening to Alexander Stewart and we absolutely love his voice and his music. “easier said than done” is a track on his album bleeding heart – which again is another no-skip album for this month. This song is so beautiful, yet sad and it’s the perfect mix of it. We love his lyricism and his production of every song on this album.
Listen to “easier said than done” by Alexander Stewart on Spotify:
Check out Alexander Stewart on Instagram: @alexanderstewart
Release Date: May 12th, 2024
We absolutely love Dept’s music and have been listening to him for years. “Strawberry Champagne” falls under the alternative/indie-rock genre and we have never heard Dept make a song like this before. He did not disappoint though. This is our favourite Dept song of all time now and we cannot explain how much we loved this song this month. It was our number one song for our most played songs in May. We need Dept to make more music in this genre because he’s amazing at it.
Listen to “Strawberry Champagne” by Dept on Spotify:
Check out Dept on Instagram: @dept113
Release Date: May 14th, 2024
“Spring Snow” is another original television soundtrack created for the Korean drama Lovely Runner. 10CM was teasing this song on TikTok prior to the release and the snippet was going viral. This song is so beautiful and literally angelic. 10CM is so talented and has such an amazing voice which adds more beautifulness to this song. Again, I have not seen the drama so, I don’t know where this fits into the show, but I know it’s a beautiful scene.
Listen to “Spring Snow” by 10CM on Spotify:
Check out 10CM on Instagram: @10cm_official
Release Date: May 14th, 2024
We started listening to Lukey a few months ago and he is so talented. “CRUSH” in particular is our favourite song so far because it has a very retro feel to it. It’s R&B, but the drum beat has a funky feel to it and it kind of reminds us of Bruno Mars’ music. The instrumentation in this song is perfectly combined with Lukey’s warm vocals.
Listen to “CRUSH” by Lukey on Spotify:
Check out Lukey on Instagram: @lukeychicco
Release Date: May 15th, 2024
ben seasons is the new indie/alternative-rock project from BNZA. We are fans of BNZA as you probably already know with the amount of times we have featured him. We absolutely love that he has started releasing music in this genre because he really fits this genre and vibe. We cannot wait to hear more songs from ben seasons in the future.
Listen to “timeless” by ben seasons on Spotify:
Check out ben seasons on Instagram: @ben.seasons
Release Date: May 17th, 2024
This song is literally a masterpiece. We are so happy that we got to learn about Levent Geiger through this collaboration as prior to this song we had never listened to them. JUNNY of course is one of our all time favourite artists and their vocals meshed together really worked well. This song is catchy and the lyrics are so cute,.
Listen to “CLOUD 9” by JUNNY and Levent Geiger on Spotify:
Check out JUNNY and Levent Geiger on Instagram: @jnkmsc and @leventgeiger
Release Date: May 22nd, 2024
baron. had sent us this song prior to the release and we were so excited for this song to come out. It’s definitely one of our favourite songs from him so far and it’s sort of a new sound for him. We love that it’s a mix of Korean and English lyrics. The production by Hvdson is amazing and we are so thankful we got to be introduced to Hvdson because he is also super talented.
Listen to “Distant” by baron., and Hvdson on Spotify:
Check out baron., and Hvdson on Instagram: @reifybaron and @hvdsonofficial
Release Date: May 23rd, 2024
“Colors” is NCT 127’s Japanese song which they first sang in their 2022 tour Japan setlist. This song is so pretty and soft even though it has an upbeat vibe to it. I usually really love NCT 127’s Japanese releases, but this one is definitely one of my favourites so far.
Listen to “Colors” by NCT 127 on Spotify:
Check out NCT 127 on Instagram: @nct127
Check out all these songs in our “MONTHLY MIXTAPE: MAY 2024” Spotify Playlist:
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