Epidemic Sound Announces Upcoming Releases From King Sis, Ebo Krdum and Ooyy, UK Artist Event, And Genres That Are Trending Up
Artist Spotlight: King Sis
The Los Angeles-based R&B singer-songwriter, King Sis, returns with “Ascension D’Luxe”, the deluxe version of her 2021 album featuring new songs and remixes, releasing on April 30, 2024.
Growing up in a family with strong ties to music, she started singing in her grandfather’s church in Alexandria, VA, at a young age. She learned how to play the classical piano at the age of eight, and one year later she became interested in the recording arts after completing her first job doing voiceover work for a BET commercial. While studying art in college, she started two gospel groups with childhood friends, REIGN & His City, and began performing across the DMV area. Sis continued her performing career after moving to Los Angeles and touring the world as a background vocalist for prominent artists such as Kelela.
Today, King Sis makes her own music about love and a return to the natural world in a modern life filled with virtual realities. Influenced by 90’s hip-hop, she incorporates a spirit of social consciousness and a sense of self-awareness in her music. Her music is now skyrocketing in popularity among fans, content creators, and brands; it has racked up over 30 million streams to date across music streaming platforms, and videos including King Sis’ music on YouTube have now generated over 8 billion views.
Following a successful 2023 with releases such as “a love bomb” and “save yourself”, she was invited to join TIDAL RISING in November 2023 – a program supporting emerging artists to grow. Alumni of TIDAL RISING include Megan Thee Stallion and 21 Savage among others.
Commenting on the new album "Ascension D’Luxe", King Sis said: "'Ascension D’Luxe' takes the original album to a new level with more ethereal and vulnerable but fun songs - beginning again with an ode to the West Coast on “Ocean Breeze (Westside)” and ending with odes to the East Coast on remixes with unique regional sounds."
Artist Spotlight: Ebo Krdum and Ooyy
Swedish-Sudanese grammy awarded singer and guitarist Ebo Krdum has joined forces with Stockholm based electronic music producer Ooyy for their new single “Umbélé”, which is releasing today, April 19.
Ebo Krdum is a self-taught singer, guitarist, artist, actor, and activist. He creates contemporary political afro-blues & afrobeat music rooted in several musical traditions around the sub-Saharan area. With multiple accolades, including a Swedish Grammy, Ebo is known for his soul-stirring music and has released several successful albums with Epidemic Sound in the past, including “Soga Jamalie” and “Revolt for Change”.
Ooyy is known for his unique sound which incorporates a blend of future bass, electronic hooks, and organic elements. Brands such as H&M, HUGO, and Daniel Wellington have used his music in their brand campaigns and his music has generated over 50 billion views on YouTube and racked up more than 150M streams across music streaming platforms to date.
If you put two artists from completely different genres in the same studio, sometimes magic will happen. This is certainly the case for “Umbélé”. In this euphoric afro house anthem, Ebo’s emotive vocal is elevated beautifully by Ooyy’s driving house production, while Ooyy’s melody is given depth by the journey Ebo takes us on in his lyrics.
Commenting on the new single "Umbélé" and the collaboration with Ebo Krdum, Ooyy said; “I remember the moment we met in the studio and I started playing a loop I’d made, Ebo immediately jumped on in and created the beautiful hook that makes this track so special in a matter of seconds! The smooth and beautiful vocals from Ebo and the organic electronic elements just makes me wanna have this one on repeat all summer.”
“Umbélé” is available now in the Epidemic Sound player and on all major DSPs.
Trending Up - PHONK
Artists STRLGHT and ROONIN, now regarded as pioneers in the PHONK-genre, are back with a new release, BACK2BACK 2.0, available now across music streaming platforms. The track was produced to adhere to the growing demand and popularity of the original song BACK2BACK, which is continuing to amass streams and views across DSPs and online platforms. BACK2BACK 2.0 is a three track release and features the viral original track, a high-energy sped-up version, and a smooth slowed-down version.
Listen to BACK2BACK 2.0 here: BACK2BACK 2.0.
In September 2023, the song BACK2BACK by Epidemic Sound Phonk artists STRLGHT and ROONIN was used to soundtrack a video by the US-based, comedic gaming content creator @TheRussianBadger. With over six million subscribers to the channel, the video began amassing tens of millions of views and millions of likes. Overnight, plays of the track on music streaming platforms grew by over 400 percent, and by the following week daily Shazams had more than tripled.
Since then, STRLGHT and ROONIN have experienced a nearly 200 percent collective increase in followers across online platforms like Soundcloud, Spotify, Deezer, and Instagram, while the track has amassed over 10 million streams, subsequently being added to Spotify’s Phonk playlist, which has seven million saves, and Apple Music’s official 2024 Shazam Predictions playlist.
Epidemic Sound celebrates UK artist expansion with artist event in London
In the beginning of 2023, Epidemic Sound started signing artists in the UK. Since then, the company has signed several talented UK based artists such as Hip-Hop and Grime artist Janset, electronic music producers The Yard Woman and Jevon James, and minimalist dub and reggae father and son artist duo Tubby Isiah.
To celebrate its UK artist expansion, the company is hosting an event at Kindred in West London on April 25, focusing on “How to make a living in today’s music industry.” The event will invite UK based artists along with partner networks such as Saffron, Black Lives in Music & shesaidso.
Julia Simonsson, A&R, will host a fireside chat together with Janset, Hip-Hop and Grime artist, where they will discuss Janset’s experience working with Epidemic Sound and how the partnership has helped her expand her fanbase and success. Following the fireside chat, UK-based DJ’s Tubby Isiah, Mizlo, and The Yard Woman will perform.
Looking forward to the event, Janset said: "I’m so excited to see the Epidemic Sound family expanding in the UK and for being part of this journey!"
About Epidemic Sound:
Epidemic Sound has transformed the soundtracking experience for global brands and professional creators, with an expansive catalog of world-class music and sound effects that's seen and heard over 2.5 billion times a day around the globe. Providing a direct license model that comes with all rights included and next-generation soundtracking tools, Epidemic Sound empowers creators to unlock more feeling in everything they create and share their stories with the world. Epidemic Sound continuously enriches its world-class catalog of music by teaming up with artists, composers, and producers to create tracks spanning all genres, while supporting them financially and creatively.
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