These Fresh Faves were picked by our readers over the weekend – and reviewed by Fresh On The Net’s NEIL MARCH this week. You can hear all these tracks in a single Soundcloud playlist here.

A word from Neil: Yo Ho Ho! And Bah! Humbug! It’s now perilously close to Christmas. There are already fewer passengers on the train on days I have to go across London so some people have clearly awarded themselves an early extended break! When you work exclusively in music, there doesn’t seem to be any great urge to take a break but I have promised my wife and son that my only compromise on Christmas Day will be wishing everyone a great day on socials when I get up in the morning! But as I frequently say, new music never sleeps! I’m not going to bring the mood down with a socio-political rant this week (!) so instead let’s deck the halls and enjoy our own musical ‘Feast of Stephen’ as chosen by our always discerning readers from the weekend’s Listening Post. Maybe you have some mulled wine and mince pies! I have coffee and biscuits which will do just fine for now. Fun Fact: We have every continent represented in this week’s ten.

DRAE SYNES – Life’s So Precious

Drae Signs is a South East London artist who recently won a prize from the Mellanin Health and Wellness Open Mic in Walworth which has been featured in Southwark News. He has developed a style that fuses Hip Hop, Funk and Soul influences and he has released two albums including this Autumn’s Funkadelic High.

If you like your Hip Hop to be funky, you’re going to love Life’s So Precious. This has a great riff and beat that gives it instant momentum. Drae’s lyrics are observational and relatable. The chorus sees him soar into a soulful falsetto while cool backing vocals contrast this. In many ways the rapping style is Old Skool, taking us back to an early nineties vibe but the mix of ideas and sounds is very contemporary and a clever mid-section with lower range harmonised vocals adds to the aura as does the throwing around of some cool Spanish language late in the track. ‘Tis the season to be jolly then.

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DUB TROPICO – Never Sell Your Soul

Jetting in from Rio (via Mexico), international collective Dub Tropico arrive with some sound advice. The band, a coming together of musicians, producers and DJs, was formed in Brazil but has roots in Mexico, Kenya and possibly other nations too. Dub Tropico have played some awesome festival stages, built a global reputation and have been championed by legendary BBC presenter and groundbreaking DJ Don Letts. We like them a lot here at FOTN too.

Never Sell Your Soul is a vertiable chocolate box of tunes, drops and echo effects to light up even the lowliest of cattlesheds! It begins with vibrato strings like something from a Disney soundtrack before trademark dub features take over, a soulful female voice echoing into the distance as deep bass and clattering drums lead the way through a series of sounds, effects and extensions. The message is repeated periodically while events are so fluid and unpredictable that you cannot switch off even for an instant. Although there is an air of melancholy, it nevertheless sounds like it was a lot of fun to produce.

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EIMHIN – The Winding Stair

From Australia’s Gold Coast via Ireland, where he is originally from, comes Eimhin Healey aka Eimhin. Barely a week ago, Eimhin was performing at the Gold Coast Awards and he clearly maintains an energetic performing schedule. He has also been featured in HappyMag who reveal that he cites David Bowie and Elliott Smith as two of his key inspirations.

A single repeated piano note brings The Winding Stair into play before strummed guitar and enormous cinematic string synths engulf the mix. This drops down to allow the male vocal to occupy centre stage with shades of Shawn Mendes in a mash with Lukas Graham while Oasis and The Verve bring chops. Well, something like that anyway! The feel is epic and emotionally charged. Against a stirring musical backdrop, his voice flies merrily on high and the dynamic contrasts lift the whole thing up an extra notch.

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HANNYA WHITE – Slow My Mind – Devil Threw The Night

The fact that my wonderful, kind-hearted and uniquely talented friend Hannya White is such a regular fresh fave is proof that Fresh on the Net is a place where experimental musicians and sound artists, operating far outside the pop mainstream, have a home where their creations are demonstrably appreciated. Hannya has been building a formidable reputation in electronic ambient, experimental and sonic art territories for the past seven or eight years. Her live sets, which I have experienced numerous times at gigs [and festivals] we have promoted and at others’ events too, are electrifying and intense, yet always Hannya delivers the avantgarde with a smile on her face; something that is not necessarily synonymous with that most serious scene. In that time, she has guest presented several radio shows including The Freak Zone Playlist on BBC 6 Music and shows on Reform Radio, NTS, Resonance FM and others.

By Hannya’s standards, the thumping beat on Slow My Mind – Devil Threw The Night is more persistent than usual. It dominates the centre of the mix, occasionally giving way to bursts of rapid-fire semiquavers like a stampede of reindeer before returning to its onbeat hammer. No jingle bells here! Against this, a range of ambient sounds and noises drift around and Hannya’s voice, deadpan and low in the mix, metes out barely audible [spoken] words. As I have said many times when reviewing Hannya’s works, it may sound as if some of the ideas are random and spontaneous but there is always a strict, logical structure underpinning her tracks, helping to bring an unmistakable cohesiveness even if you can never quite pinpoint why and how. She has her own niche and long may she continue to develop it.

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MACY – Cinema

Welsh artist Macy has been enjoying a heck of a year with appearances on BBC Radio 1, performing at the Principality Stadium, the BAFTAs, 110 Above Festival (co-organised by recent and long-time FOTN mod Oldie Rob), Montreal Festival and even putting her own mini-festival on (and that’s just a selection of her successes!). She has also worked with Focus Wales who play a big part in supporting grassroots talent.

Cinema is a smooth R’n’B-infused pop track in which, set to a syncopated beat and some lush instrumental interplay, Macy’s dexterous and distinctive voice dishes it out to an unfaithful lover caught red-handed kissing another woman as she watches from the back of the cinema. He’ll surely have no crib for a bed [and that may be the least of his worries] if he dares to come home after this! This tragic tale is delivered with a tough edge and dynamically controlled defiance in a superb vocal performance by Macy. Meanwhile the hook will grab you by both ears. You have been warned!

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MI.EL – Grains Of Sand

Belgian-British band Mi.El were formed at ICMP where I am a module leader and tutor although neither Ming nor Ellie were my students. We have put them on at a gig this year though and have watched them hone their unique combination of Post-Punk, Dream Pop and Alt Rock influences. I ran into Ming earlier this week and she told me the band had just played a lovely gig at the prestigious Sebright Arms. They have been building their live following and reputation with some impressive dates also at The Finsbury, Strongoom, Next Door Records and a support for another recent fresh fave Zo Lief at the Garribaldi Hotel. I can thoroughly recommend seeing them live.

Grains Of Sand starts with an unusual drum programme before a slightly Eastern-sounding riff ensues, the guitar wrapping itself around the bass in a kaleidoscopic pattern. Initially the vocals are in a lower register but, as the track swirls into the chorus, the vocals are high and ethereal, bringing the dreamy element that is always there in their music. There is a great mid-section where a melodic bass figure takes the lead and the dynamics and nuances throughout keep events moving. Mi.El have such a refreshingly original approach to melody and structure. In that sense, as well as the slightly hypnotic and reverberant atmosphere, there are touches of Lush about this, perhaps with a dash of Breeders in the verses and a smattering of Been Stellar too. But they have carved out their own unique sound and this track adds a further dimension to it. Joyful and triumphant.

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MIA WILKS – L.Y.A (Love You Always) (Liar)

Fellow FOTN mod Mia Wilks was winning the approval of our readers well before she joined the team and this weekend has again seen her surge into the faves. Mia has been singing and performing since childhood. 2025 has been a fruitful year for her with radio play across the USA and UK and impressive streaming engagement. She has also been writing with top professionals and generally placing the Turkey and all the trimmings around her reputation in the industry.

L.Y.A (Love You Always) (Liar) pulls no punches lyrically as she socks it to a dishonest ex in a song that is infectiously catchy from the outset. The track shows off Mia’s vocal range, making very effective use of her upper register. The harmonies are the perfect match for her agile voice and there is a buoyancy about the instrumental arrangement that complements her so well. Mia Wilks is riding a wave right now and this track takes her triumphantly into what should be an exciting new year.

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OLIVER SAY – Still As Still

Oliver Say has an intriguing story that has been evolving on his Instagram page. He has been working with some cool musicians including another FOTN favourite Tony Njoku and appears to have travelled a fair bit, taking his music far afield. Not only a winter’s tale by any means for this intrepid traveller!

Still As Still immediately grabs my attention with its extended guitar chords in a descending figure and unusual rhythmic configurations. As harmonies play dreamily against the intensity of the almost military drumming and warm strings float into the mix, the whole thing becomes highly atmospheric and evocative of vast rocky landscapes and voices on the wind. The vocal overlaps are insistent and mesmerising. Oliver’s arrangements are highly fluid and use a wealth of contrasting timbres. Suddenly, at the end, the mood and tempo changes and some sweet chord-based figures carry the track off into the ether. Fresh and invigorating.

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SHARON KATTA – Death Said, Breathe

Indian artist and producer Sharon Katta is a returning fresh fave. He is also an artist my band [The] Music Of Sound have had the great pleasure of working with recently and, until his recent return to India, he was our go-to sound engineer for London gigs, such is his versatility. He is an artist who never does anything by halves; always incredibly focused on making his work as good as it can possibly be. Sherry and I were treated to the maiden voyage of this track when he had just finished production and mastering so I was hoping he would submit it at some point. 2025 has seen him release three epic cinematic singles including a collaboration with Nat. 2026 promises to be an exciting year for him.

Death Said, Breathe is an astonishing work. Seven and a half minutes that never seem overly long or indulgent, it is a mini-symphony of contrasting sections. Sharon’s vocals can represent frailty and a sense of hopelessness in the face of such an unforgiving and callous world but then at times the music soars, spreading great cinematic technicolour amid the bleakness. There are so many ideas at play and Sharon weaves them into a musical and sonic story, helped by picking guitars, colourful warm synths and enigmatic ambient effects. Plenty of ‘fa la la la la’s for your boughs of holly! He has made three bitesize versions of the track for those who want shorter form versions but I am glad he sent us the full length version; the director’s cut if you like. This is, quite frankly, a masterpiece and I am so pleased our readers have given it the thumbs up.

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SOMEDAY, SKY – Sweet Mother

Electronic Music duo Someday, Sky have had recent success from BBC Introducing in Sussex & Surrey courtesy of indie warrior Melita Dennett which gives us a large clue as to where they are from (a detail they seem keen not to divulge in their online profiles). They have played a DJ set in Southsea for a fundraiser and have played a support set at Camden’s iconic Electric Ballroom as well as at Portsmouth’s Wedgewood Rooms, both venues I am familiar with.

Sweet Mother is built around an intriguing synth riff in blocks of notes with a sort of bubbling but mechanistic aura. Their voices combine (although later) but with the female vocal dominant and the track develops, underpinned by short ripping deep notes and a sparse translucence that has a Trip Hop edge. Initially it is just the striking female voice that occupies both the lead and responding BVs. Then, as what sounds like a xylophone adds another dimension. Not quite sleigh bells in the snow but otherworldly all the same. The beat becomes more crisp and persistent, the sounds fill out and a range of timbres appear and disappear. Despite all this activity, the main hook and synth figure are a constant around which everything else revolves. The ending, when everything except the vocals drop out, is a great final touch.

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PS from TR: If you’ve submitted a track that hasn’t been picked for the Listening Post, our team has definitely listened to it and there’s no need to send it again: feel free to send us an even stronger track another week. The same goes if you were picked for the Listening Post but didn’t feature in our Fresh Faves.

But if we’ve recently featured you in our Fresh Faves – or on my BBC Introducing Mixtape – please wait three months before sending us another track, so we have space to help other deserving artists… For more info see Robinson Has A Good Old Moan.