12 Indie Music Blogs To Submit Your Music To In 2019

Aquarium Drunkard

Based in Los Angeles, California — Aquarium Drunkard is a rather eclectic indie music blog featuring tantalizing daily music reviews, interviews, and features from all sorts of exceptional artists. They particularly dig vintage garage rock, psych-rock, folk, country, soul, funk, and r&b — among many other genres.

The Blue Walrus

The Blue Walrus is an online music publication based out of London, England. They’re obsessed with all things indie. Particularly electronic and folk music. Their vintage site design is very cool, but the fresh music they feature, is even cooler. Check these guys out for some intensely interesting music. We promise you won’t regret it.

The Monday Morning Tape

The aim of Monday Morning Tape is to encourage music recommendations and discourse. MMT gets roughly 200 submissions each week — most of them are from PR reps and other industry people. However, approx 20 each week come from some random person that says something like: “Hey man, I recorded this in my basement with some friends.  It’s our life’s work to this point and we think it turned out pretty cool.  It’d be great if you’d take a listen and maybe help spread the good word.” These are the best kind of submissions according to MMT. Take heed.

Various Small Flames

Various Small Flames believes that music and writing have the power to connect people and help them better understand themselves and each other. VSF shares radical music from independent artists, especially home recordings and DIY labels. In a previous life, this site was known as Wake the Deaf. They’re quite legit. Trust us.

Tome To The Weather Machine

Tome to the Weather Machine is an aloof music blog that was founded back in February of 2009 by Crawf and Ryan H. The blog features an eclectic array of indie pop, folk, and other alternative artists bordering on experimental brilliance. We love these guys — so be sure to give their site a visit!

Spectral Nights

Spectral Nights is a conglomeration — or rather a collective of music fans, not critics. Their site is a space for them to wax lyrical content about bands they like and gigs they’ve been to — from album reviews to new music videos, and so much more — including the occasional intimate interview, festival review, and gnarly playlist. Spectral Nights mainly digs alternative music, but also has a deep love for pop music — and will quote High Fidelity until the end of time. This site is something special.

Obscure Sound

Obscure Sound is an indie music site that was formed way back in February of 2006 out of a passionate love for finding new and emerging quality music. The site’s aim is to provide music fans with the latest and greatest music, preferably from artists nobody has ever heard of. Obscure Sound also offers streaming and/or downloadable audio content in addition to in-depth write-ups and reviews. Most of their content is one track-focused — but with an option for the listener to hear more.

Hearing Gold

Hearing Gold is an independent music blog showcasing emerging artists from around the globe. Very cool music, modern site design, and in-depth interviews here — so be sure to check them out!

Drunken Werewolf

Bristol, UK-based Drunken Werewolf supports independent and unsigned artists of all shapes, sizes and colors from around the world. DW provides daily music reviews, features, interviews and more in a sometimes heated, but always passionate manner. They’re particularly fond of new and innovative music. We implore you all to give them a gander.

God Is In The TV

God Is In The TV‘s core ethos is about giving music fans, writers, and bands an independent platform, regardless of genre, position or hype. If the name of their site is any indication of the quality of their music — well then you will not be disappointed my friend.

Kid With a Vinyl

Kid With a Vinyl is an exceptionally independent music blog devoted to covering the very best new music spanning across many genres and subgenres. KWV is a delightfully quirky indie music blog featuring in-depth write-ups of obscure music from around the planet.

The Owl Mag

The Owl Mag is a nocturnal, handcrafted music blog who has been unearthing diamonds from the rough and amassing credibility in the music world since the early days of digital music. Superb music reviews, brilliant ticket giveaways, water cooler talk, or break-time browsing — The very wise Owl Mag has it all. Some describe The Owl Mag as a bronze medal music publication and gold medal drinkers — but we think this one is a drunken dandy fit for true lovers of all things indie.

A Note to Artists & Publicists: How to Submit Music to Blogs

Sunday Cover: Wicked Game by CAii

CAii is an up-and-coming artist out of the UK — who mashes-up indie pop with a somewhat darker vibration. She’s been writing music and playing shows for years — utilizing music as a form of therapy and an outlet for her pent-up creative energy. 

After initially working with a variety of commercial producers in more of a traditional pop direction, CAii felt more creative control was necessary in order to curate her very own unique sound.

“Wicked Game” is CAii’s newest mesmerizing debut single — her uniquely fresh take on the Chris Isaak standard features exquisite vocals, ethereal strings, and a post-modern electronic soundscape fit for a lonely heart shrouded in a damp darkness.

CAii’s honest lyrics and strong vocals make it quite easy for one to connect with her music on an introspective level. 

CAii is currently working on her debut EP — due out sometime next year.

“Wicked Game” has always been one of my favourite songs as I feel like it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being afraid to be vulnerable and the reluctance to surrender yourself to someone. I wanted to create my own stripped back version of the song that conveyed the fear of falling in love and how fragile that can make you feel.” – CAii


“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Bandcamp Exclusive Ft. Kicksie [and] Laarches

Kicksie

Kicksie is the minimalistic bedroom project of indie pop artist, Giuliana Mormile — just a local teenage loser with a burning passion for music and a knack for infectious melodies.

Giuliana has been into music since she was little — spending her free time learning how to play all of the old instruments her family had lying around the house.

Using nothing but a ukulele, some shakers, synths, and of course, her iconic lazy vocals — Kicksie’s music is a chilled out homage to the light vibrations of summertime.

The tracks mesh like milk and cookies — making the entire EP seem like one little journey through the woods on a long hot afternoon.

Kicksie focuses on infusing happy sounding soundscapes with vocals that will make you ponder the intricacies of life.

“I feel like my generation and I are so focused on every negative thing that is happening to us…we never really take a second to just live and be happy anymore. That’s why I wrote this EP, just to try and get back in touch with the simplicity and beauty life has to offer us while still trying to educate people about serious topics like mental illness and how it makes people feel.” – Kicksie

Laarches

Laarches is an intensely dark and ominous post-rock band out of Lyme, New Hampshire — dishing up sublime tracks of sensational underground psychedelia.

Former veterans of the garage rock and the indie electronic scene, Laarches now manifests ambient and mesmerizing soundscapes drawing from a diverse range of influences across the underground, post-punk, and psychedelic landscape.

Their debut EP Fell Moon was released back in October of 2018 — but a full length album is on the horizon!

Here is the very first single off Laarches’ new EP, Fell Moon. Here is, “Sunday Morning”.

Listen and dig my fair-weather friends.


“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Sunday Cover: (Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Hollow Twin

Hollow Twin is an intensely dark folk-rock band based out of Vancouver, BC. The group is fronted by Emmalee Watts and Becky Wosk who discovered common ground between their love for classic rock and other things now dead.

Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” has always been a track I turn to in my darkest of hours — it’s haunting lyrics always seem to ooze their way into the annals of my mind in the strangest of times.

Overcoming the fear of death is a feat that few have truly mastered, but as I age and become more self-aware of the bizarre nature of this reality — the idea of death has become more about the adventure into the great unknown, and less about the finality of darkness, or the abyss. Besides, we’re already dead.

The Hollow Twin’s poignant cover track was produced by Ryan Worsely at Echoplant Studios, BC.


“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

Portable Midi Keyboard Controller Picks for 2018-2019

Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII – Limited Edition

Amazon Rating: 4 Stars

The Akai MPK Mini MKII — Limited Edition in white easily fits into a backpack and seems to be quite durable after playing on mine for the past year. It’s powered by USB — and is full of all the features one would need to bring your musical ideas to life. The keyboard controller is equipped with 25-synth-action mini-keys, 8 velocity-sensitive rubber drum pads with two banks, and eight assignable control knobs — look no further than the MPK mini MKII, and for only $99, this midi controller is a steal.

Novation Launchkey 25 USB Keyboard Controller – MK2 Version

Amazon Rating: 4.3 Stars

Novation’s 25-note USB keyboard controller comes equipped with 16 velocity-sensitive RGB pads, 8 knobs, and dedicated navigation and control buttons. The keyboard is compatible with both Mac and PC and is fully USB-powered — working without drivers or a power cable. The controller is also covered by a 2-year limited warranty on manufacturing defects, and for a measly $149 — might be worth adding to the collection.

Nektar IMPACT LX25+ MIDI Controller

Amazon Rating: 4.4 Stars

The Nektar IMPACT LX25+ MIDI Controller comes with 25 expressive synth-action keys, on-board pitch bend and modulation wheels for performances, and 8 Hyper-Sensitive backlit pads. The keyboard is Mac, PC and iOS compatible, and includes a Bitwig 8-Track DAW. Registering in at $99 — this controller provides a whole lot of bang for the buck.

Arturia MiniLab MkII 25 Slim-Key Controller

Amazon Rating: 4.4 Stars

The Arturia MiniLab MkII 25 Slim-Key Controller is Portable and Compact – and claims to be the most responsive keyboard experience in its category. It comes with 500 of the V-Collection 6 presets / 21 Keyboard Instruments and Synthesizers / fully mapped right out of the box. The Arturia is the perfect solution to get started with music production. The controller also comes with 16 Assignable Encoders to control your DAW. At $99, you can’t go wrong with the Arturia MKII 25 Skim-Key Controller.


“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan