Pumping Up The Volume

What’s up pals,

With just 48 days left in 2024, now is the perfect time to achieve big breakthroughs. This is your friendly reminder to refocus on the goals you’ve been holding off the past 11 months, if you haven’t done them yet 👀

To help you get up to speed with your progress, I’ve curated some beats to get you inspired and energised. Let’s make sure you’re on track (pun intended)!

In other updates, Spotify Wrapped is around the corner, so make sure you're tuning into the right vibes! While you wait for your personalized year-end recap, I’ve curated some interesting websites that analyse your music preferences. Check them out below to rediscover your music tastes — just be ready to get lightly roasted, though!

As always, my DMs are open to new music recommendations. Feel free to send me an email, or fill up the form below to get started!

Thanks for reading! Here’s to ending the year on a high note 🎉🎶

Your music mentor,

Val ♫

(P.S If you are reading this in your email, please click “Read Online” at the top-right corner next to the date for a better reading experience!)

In This Week's Setlist:

• 💪 Workout Beats

• 🎤 Artist of the Week: Grace VanderWaal

• 🎧 Does Your Music Taste Pass The Vibe Check?

• 🎶 New Music This Week

💪 Workout Beats

When you think of gym music, the first thing that might come to mind are songs with booming bass, like high-energy EDM and top pop hits. Just ask your spin pals — your instructor’s spin playlists could be the new raves.

But workout music doesn’t always have to be loud. The key is focusing on big buildups and lyrics to keep you energised but composed.

Ready to hit the gym? Here are some underrated songs that will get you through every rep:

• Dare You To Doubt Me by The Script: Nothing will top the powerful lyrics from Hall of Fame, but this song is a close contender.

• Soft by Babygirl: I noticed that I keep listening to this song during my own workouts. Something about its chill beats makes me feel energised.

• motive (with Doja Cat) by Ariana Grande: Take a spin with this steady beat — it’s house R&B with a catchy tempo that perfectly fits a cardio workout.

• Give It Up by The Millennial Club: You better not give up on those squats like the song title says!

🎤 Artist of the Week: Grace VanderWaal

America’s Got Talent’s second youngest winner started her music career as an indie folk prodigy, writing her songs as early 12 years old. Now, she has expanded her musical style to include synth-pop and indie rock, which reflects her unique artistry and bold, eccentric fashion choices.

Considering that she’s still so young, I was genuinely surprised at how incredibly mature her voice sounds now. She has transformed from a bright, high-pitched mini Lorde to a soulful raven in a matter of years.

For new listeners, I’d suggest listening to her songs in chronological order to fully experience her growth as an artist.

Here are my personal picks:

What’s Left Of Me: I haven’t heard of her in a while since she won AGT, and this was the first song that drew me to check her out. In her latest single, she delivers raw emotions and powerful imagery that pull you into her world. I highly recommend this one!

Repeat: Grace showcases an edgy, street grunge vibe in this beat. She embodies a rebel but in a quiet, I’ll burn it down with my mind kind of way.

Lion’s Den: Although she previously transitioned from folk to synth-pop in her earlier releases, I felt the most dramatic shift in her creative style here. Before this, her songs sounded quite bright-colored, but now I can feel the depth of her storytelling of a girl striving to break free from the expectations placed on her music. This song serves as a powerful reminder that music is constantly evolving and always moving toward what feels right and authentic.

🎧 Does Your Music Taste Pass The Vibe Check?

Have you been listening to the same song on repeat throughout the year, or is your taste in music all over the place? Many of the algorithms used to review your most listened songs might not reflect your actual music taste, but if you’re curious to see how they’ve missed the mark, then it’s worth a shot.

Find out how cool or cringey your music profile is from these mus sites:

Receiptify

This top track generator is compatible with Spotify and gives you a rundown of your top songs of the previous month, designed as a shopping receipt. Most of you would have heard of it, but now’s the perfect time do a refresh if you haven’t checked it out in a while!

Here’s an example of how mine looks like:

How Bad Is Your Streaming Music?

This AI-powered music review tool analyses your streaming profile on Apple or Spotify, and then roasts your music taste like the intelligent basher it is.

As it generates your personalised review, it engages with you informally through a ChatGPT-like interface, all while lowkey giving you the criminal offensive side eye.

You’ll also be prompted with interactive, multiple-choice questions, so it can generate the worst possible review for you.

After all the sarcastic banter, it finally tells you what kind of bad your Spotify is. This is mine and boy, is it clever with its vocabulary.

And if that’s not enough to embarrass you, it gives a detailed description of how bad your music taste is:

It also tells you which songs you listen to a bit too much. I’ll spare you my own stats, but I’ll let you figure yours out for yourself.

Guess it’s time to find even cooler songs to put on repeat ~ runs off into the sunset ~

🎶 New Music This Week

Stay in the Moment by Tyra Chantey: This is such an ocean vibe! The piano takes center stage for most of the song, playing low-key notes in the background.

Night Talks by Maisyn: Looking for a song to play on a night drive? This track delivers smooth, easy beats to bop to while you’re cruising down the freeway.

Marilag by Dionela: How could I forget Dionela’s latest single? The song is 90% English, but all you need to know that “marilag” means magnificently gorgeous. And the rest is all vibes ~~~

📼 Your Regular Mixtape

Best of 2024: Here are my best music finds this year, in one playlist. Check this space regularly, I’ll be adding songs every week — or better yet, save this playlist on your Spotify so you never miss a new beat:

Inspired by this week’s music picks?

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