Industry news & advice blog

Soma Please - ‘Love’

Straddling Manchester and Lisbon, alt pop duo Soma Please, aka Nuno Bracourt and Rob Williamson, have unleashed their effervescent second single ‘Love’, following up from their debut ‘Pockets On My Sleeves’ last November.

On their new track, the duo reveal a more classic side, opening space for guitars and string arrangements while preserving their eclectic identity in a delicate balance between introspection and the urgency of contemporary indie pop.

The pair elaborate on what sparked the song; “We were listening to a lot of Elliott Smith and decided to experiment with making a song with acoustic guitars. The idea of repeating "I love you!" came to us, and we realised that perhaps the song would follow a more epic path.”

Although it’s still very early days for Soma Please, they can already count Johnny Marr as a fan, who turned up to one of their recent shows. They’ve also garnered support from BBC Introducing and have played stellar opening slots for the likes of Drug Store Romeos and Los Bitchos.

Look out for a new single later this month, as well as a debut EP set to drop in May, and hopefully we can expect some more gigs in the near future too.

Instagram   YouTube   TikTok   Spotify




Flair - ‘Nausea’

Before they spiral into a very hectic 2026, the release of pulsating new single ‘Nausea’ seems an ideal time to catch up with Glasgow alternative band Flair, who are riding the success of said track, as well as a slight shift in musical direction over recent months; “...right now we're going through a bit of an exciting progressive phase that has, over the course of the last few months, become a bit more Post-Rock. It’s very eclectic but familiar at the same time.”

But let’s rewind a little and find out more about what instigated ‘Nausea’; “Our guitarist Louis came into the rehearsal room with it and quite quickly it morphed from an idea in his head to pretty much being fleshed out. We think that is the strength of the track. It appears to have layers, but in reality we all just clicked with Louis' thought process and the rest of us just fell into it extremely easily. I think we were all pretty surprised by it in a good way. It was such a deviation from what we’ve done before, but had probably been simmering away, we all agreed it was needed and it spurred us on to keep writing in the same vein.”

To date the band have experienced some significant high points including securing a slot at their first festival Belladrum Tartan Heart last year, being crowned ‘Artist of the Week’ by the Scotsman Newspaper, bagging a shortlist spot at the 2025 Scottish Live Music Awards for ‘Best Live Artist’, national and international radio play, plus sharing the stage with great artists across various cities over the last few years as they continue to build their audience.

“We were walking around exploring Birmingham last year and through conversation someone actually knew our track ‘Run Away’ and who we were. It sounds small but just those small moments are perfect, it was surreal. We couldn't be happier right now.”

There’s no doubt that Flair find themselves in a really good spot right now, and the culmination of their drive and hard work in the build-up to ‘Nausea’s release has sparked an impetus for the coming 12 months and beyond;

“We have all put a lot into the aesthetic, the audience we want to reach, and the performance of this track. Putting it front and centre in our setlist and building a show around this track and its sound, complementing it with new and old tunes. Having a plan and being more strategic has really started to pay off and we're now all even more motivated. The band feels as though we are moving from a place of passion and fun to something that we hope can continue to grow and take our collective selves as far as possible and sharing a connection with music lovers. ‘Nausea’ has become a very special track and already we have achieved so much through the process of its release.”

So, hold tight as 2026 will see the release of Flair’s second studio EP ‘For Lack of a Better Word’, as well as fresh singles. With plenty of the gigs in the pipeline, at home and further afield, a definite date for the diary has to be their hometown headline show at King Tut’s on 17th July.

Instagram   Facebook   X   YouTube   Spotify




Guilty Party - ‘White Sands’

Unveiling the first of 3 tracks they’ve created as one of BBC Horizon’s artists from 2025, Cardiff band Guilty Party present to us ‘White Sands’, a punchy and addictive indie-grunge earworm.

The four-piece let us in on how the song came to life; “White Sands was a blast to write, record, everything really. I guess it's about losing the plot a bit and sneaking your head above those mundane waves that your life can accidentally slip under when you’re not looking - the job, commute, all the fun stuff. Talking Heads meets The Drums, "How did I get here? I wanna go surfing". We did it all live in the room, playing off each other which adds something to it, maybe one of us trips over a cable or something. It also pays tribute to some of the stripped back indie bands we grew up loving, less is more, make everything sound dry and crispy and let it all hang out.”



From the get-go Guilty Party’s early singles 'Lemonade', 'Unwound' and 'Wanna Change', recorded and produced with Gethin Pearson (Jaws, Badly Drawn Boy, Crystal Fighters), all enjoyed strong BBC Radio airplay, with ‘Lemonade’ going on to be playlisted at Cardiff Stadium for the 6 Nations.

Following that, ‘Where Do We Go From Here', released in 2024, made bigger waves with the track featuring on BBC 6 Music's Roundtable, and ‘Little More Time’ from 2025 made the cut for frequent BBC Radio Wales A-List rotation.

On the live front, supporting Origami Angel at Clwb Ifor Bach has been a high point for the band; “their fans are so on it and we were excited they knew the words to our songs too.”

So with 2 more singles on the agenda, we should be hearing new material from Guilty Party imminently; “We've got a new track coming out soon after this which is this scrappy indie meets big, wide, emo tinged chorus thing. ‘Driving at 95’ that one's called. Not MPH, obviously, drive safe.”

Instagram   Facebook   YouTube   Spotify




Madeleine May - ‘favourite band’

Since buying her first guitar after the pandemic, 18 year old singer songwriter Madeleine May has been on a galloping trajectory; gigging for over 2 years, releasing her own debut EP in 2025, and picking up support from BBC Introducing and Launchpad along the way.

And now we reach the release of her latest single ‘favourite band’, which Madeleine tells us all about; “The song came about because I had a really great friend but as we got older we seemed to drift apart. We used to share so much but especially music. I realised that every time I heard one particular song, I ended up thinking 'what happened' and thinking about them. As I was writing it, it made me think about how people split up or drift apart and memories can be affected by music. In the same way that certain songs or bands can evoke memories of very specific good times, they can also remind people of things or memories they don't want to recall.”
 
Recollecting the release of her debut EP ‘all I wanted was time’, Madeleine says “It was all a bit DIY, not really knowing what I was doing, but I submitted one of the tracks to BBC Introducing and they picked up on it and within a couple of weeks I was in doing a live session for the show - it was all a bit surreal. I have been hugely fortunate to have support from Jericho Keys and the BBC Introducing team. I also work with Launchpad in Yorkshire who have also been massively supportive and I was lucky to be selected to play at Live at Leeds in the City in November last year, followed by a headline set at Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds which is one of my favourite venues to see live music. It was a bit of a whirlwind end to the year with both of those gigs being the high point of my music career so far.”

Over the past six months, Madeleine’s been busy working on new material, and in a departure from her stripped back acoustic sound from the EP, she’s been working alongside a full backing band and experimenting with different sounds, layers and arrangements.

With summer plans still being finalised, attention is turned to Madeleine’s first London gig later this month on 17th April at The Spice of Life in Soho. The end of April will see the unveiling of the final single of her second EP, as well as a gig at The Wardrobe in Leeds as part of the Launchpad showcase on 26th April. Her second EP will be unleashed in June, and thanks to Youth Music’s Next Gen Fund, the releases don’t stop there as Madeleine is busy writing material behind the scenes as she prepares to record her first album this year, so watch this space.

Website   Instagram   YouTube   TikTok   Spotify




Fly/Kick - ‘Phone #’

North London-based 5-piece Fly/Kick are currently enjoying their second year around the sun and the release of their third single ‘Phone #’, a deliciously mellow and nostalgic indie-dreampop affair.

Summing up their sound and how ‘Phone #’ came about, the band tell us; “We tend to ground ourselves with familiar indie rock and pop basics and then focus on sounding stylistic, nostalgic and refreshing by going a bit nuts with vocal harmonies and textures. Like many of our songs ‘Phone #’, started as a janky GarageBand beat with a basic structure and dodgy melody. But after a few late night writing sessions and countless mp3 bounces, eventually we started putting the pieces together until we were ready to take it to the studio, polish it up and add a bit of sleaze and euphoria.”

Successfully making their mark on the London grassroots scene, Fly/Kick are pleased to see their efforts at growing their audience paying off; “Having spent time developing our sound and identity, garnering an organic local following feels like our biggest achievement to date. We’ve played to packed rooms in some of our favourite venues, a couple of highlights being the Dublin Castle and Brixton Jamm, and our focus is on continuing to share our music with likeminded music lovers.”

So what does the rest of 2026 hold for Fly/Kick? First up, we can expect a video accompaniment for ‘Phone #’, followed by another single and video due in May. There’s more new material coming over the summer months, all leading to an EP release later in the year which the band are busy honing, so keep your ear to the ground for more updates as they come.

Instagram   YouTube   TikTok   Spotify


How do I get featured on the Spotlight blog?
Our Spotlight blog is compiled every month from fresh new music submitted to us by our members. We want to hear from you!

We select 5 of the best tracks from our members to champion on Spotlight. As well as being featured on our new music blog, your track will also be played on our monthly Reform Radio show, plus the 5 tracks are also forwarded onto a select bunch of music industry professionals...including folks from Big Life Management, Rough Trade Records, Club Fandango, Greyline, Transgressive Records, Full Time Hobby and This Feeling.

The 5 chosen Spotlight artists also get 12 months free access to Ditto Pro, from our friends at Ditto Music. Find out more about Spotlight here.

To be in the running you’ll need to sign up as a member to The Unsigned Guide, then follow the instructions in your Welcome email to submit a track for Spotlight consideration to us.

Members of The Unsigned Guide get access to our huge directory of 8,000 UK music industry contacts, spanning 50 areas of the music business. Check out our quick video to find out more about the directory & other services we provide to help emerging bands and artists.



Calling all musicians! Get 25% off Ditto Music
Get 25% off any Ditto Music plan with discount code UNSIGNEDGUIDE25. Release unlimited music to 150+ platforms including Spotify, Apple Music & TikTok - and keep 100% of your royalties. Plus access industry-leading tools like sync pitching, listener data, free pre-save links and more. Sign up here!