Where there’s chaos and loud noises, “Jungle” is the type of song you listen to in a crowded atmosphere. It tunes out the sounds of mayhem and focuses your attention on the smooth electronic production.

Assisted by Canadian producer, Chase Ellestad, Makk Mikkael finds the right beat and feeling. They tapped into a futuristic R&B sound, where the music melts into you, where the music becomes you. The mellow atmosphere of the song can change any darkness into light while bringing a sense of hallucinated stability. He took some time to answer some our questions.

HighClouds: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in music.

I feel like music in imbedded in the fabric of my being. It’s more than just my passion, it’s where I draw my energy from. Both my grandmothers were Opera singers and my mom used to sing in a band. When anything happens in my life I write about it, sing about it and dance it out. I started writing songs as soon as I was able to write sentences. I remember keeping notebooks with poems at first and it wasn’t too long after that I was morphing those poems into songs. I first learned to write music on guitar and later I felt the need to learn how to produce my own music, create my own sound. Everything I have written I hear and visualize the production before I go into the studio to record.

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Do you have any outside influences that helped morph your sound into what it is now?

I listen to everything that makes me feel something. I like sounds that are moody, spacey and have depth emotionally. Jessie Ware, Majid Jordan, The Japanese House are a few other sounds that have helped me morph my own into what it is now. All of these artist have such a unique vibe, each carving their own space in the industry.

If there was only one song that existed in the world, forcing you to play it on repeat, what would it be and why?

Still by The Japanese House. Nostalgia 101 love it.

Favorite music video?

Jessie Ware- Tough love… all the feels.

What inspires you to write? Where do you get your inspirations from?

The music inspires itself I find. When creativity strikes and I get an idea for something it’s just a matter of putting down a simple idea whether it be a phrase or a beat and develop in. My tracks always build from there and I feel inspired to see where the creativity takes me.

“I’ve come out of sessions with a completely different track then what I went in with and it’s so cool watching a song morph into something more.” – Makk Mikkael

What’s your production process like. Do you collaborate with any producers or is this a solo endeavor? i.e beats, synths etc.

I love collaborating with upcoming producers, hitting them up on insta and setting up sessions! There’s so much talent out there especially in Toronto, the energy of this city is amazing! Currently I’m using garageband which is great for just getting the basic idea down and then I bring my ideas to Chase or other producers I’m working with and we go from there! Collaborating is great for artists! I’ve come out of sessions with a completely different track then what I went in with and it’s so cool watching a song morph into something more.

Your track is very light, minimalistic and it possesses dreamy vibes. If you had to describe your genre what would it be?

Sultry dreamy pop.

Une publication partagée par Makk (@makkmikkael) le 2 Nov. 2017 à 21h18 PDT

This being your first single, why is this your first introduction to the world? Many artists have to choose between different tracks to release as singles, why did you choose this one?

I worked with an amazing producer named Chase Ellestad, music runs in his family as he happens to be the brother of Canadian star Kiesza. Out of the 15 tracks we had made this was one of the last ones but was the track that moved both of us the most. I remember when we played it back for the first time our heads turned to each other’s and we almost simultaneously said “this is the single”. That right then is when I knew it had to be the one.

What does this song mean to you and why did you decide to title it “Jungle”?

The Jungle is chaotic, it’s a place that I didn’t feel safe nor familiar with it. I was constantly around a toxic person that drained my energy yet I feel like they depended on me and vice versa. I often felt ungrounded and unsettled around them but I was in a new city and hadn’t made many friends so I felt like there was no escaping them.

“What I am creating right now gives me a deep sense of fulfillment and at the moment I will be sticking with whatever makes me feel good.” – Makk Mikkael

How does your music make you feel? Do you hope to convey that feeling to your listeners?

I feel like my music reflects what I was feeling at the time it was written. To me having that real life correlation is super satisfying when I listen back or perform. It feels as if a chapter in my life closed and I took from it what I wanted to say. My goal is to make people feel things good or bad from my music.

What can we expect from you in the future? Are you going to stick to this type of genre or are you going to surprise us with something?

I’m going to see where the music takes me, I would like to keep creating from my soul. Wherever that leads me it will reflect in the music I make. What I am creating right now gives me a deep sense of fulfillment and at the moment I will be sticking with whatever makes me feel good.

What are you working on now? Is there a potential EP coming?

I am currently working on an album and getting this single out there! Writing lots in the studio and collaborating with dope artists! I am working on a lot of songs that I’m very excited about with some artists that I truly admire. An album is in the works.

Follow Makk Mikkael over Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

From vulnerability to insecurities, her powerful alto voice is paired with an energy of these emotions. It’s energized by her dark tones and a beautiful electric guitar that sounds so enigmatic and emotional all in itself. The track begins soft and somber but ends with all of her emotions uncovered and her music fulfilling her story. Tabor’s music is influenced greatly by the dark emotions so many are afraid to expose as insecurities. About it, she stated:

[su_quote]My music is a direct look into all my fears and insecurities. This song, in particular, centers around insecurity through the idolization of another girl. It’s about not feeling fun or pretty or interesting enough and wanting to be someone else. It’s honestly kind of uncomfortable for me to listen to but there’s also something empowering about being vulnerable and being able to just put it all out there.[/su_quote]

TABOR will be releasing her current project later this Fall 2017. You can follow her for now over Facebook and Soundcloud.

He has created another beautiful track filled with enticing sensuality, all while taking us through into an atmosphere of vulnerability. It is a continuance of his light and soothing blend of sounds. Julius has a way of inciting beauty in simplicity. With this track, slow piano chords are intertwined with a deep resonating bass. His amorous tone is paired with a guitar that bares so much pleasure in each strum. With his vocal range fully exposed with soft reverb, his vocals bare a certain beauty that could make anyone apologize even to someone that’s hurt them the most.

You can follow Julius over Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud.

The title proving to be a reflection of the harmonies and soothing guitar strums, the track is aligned with a simple, soft melody that carries you like a wistful wind.

Sumney opens his first verse by saying, “All my old lovers have found lovers,” words that are simple yet bare a grave magnitude. Where love coincides with risk of it being unrequited, The artist conveys a peace that he’s made with his lovers unrequited love. Now he’s separated himself from romantic endeavors while his old lovers move on. Yet, he isn’t troubled and it seems to be somewhat satisfyingly indifferent to him.

Moses Sumney accepts his anxieties and finds himself in loneliness on “Indulge Me”.

Creating pleasure from loneliness is a process of forgetting and admiring your solitude by completely becoming it. Not loneliness per say, but the art of accepting your anxieties and finding yourself in that loneliness. Where nobody can trouble you, your body or your mind. Where you can get completely lost in indulging in whatever you may desire. This track is soothing in more ways than one. It switches up from the tension and heightened malaise that rings throughout “Quarrel” and it creates more of a defining moment. “Indulge Me” turns into a moment of peace. For Moses Sumney, it seems to be a resolve to his past demons. The solitude of the guitar strums carries the wistful desires of the synths. The track bares no weight and it’s honest and pure.

Having released “Doomed” and “Quarrel” before “Indulge Me,” these tracks have released ahead of his upcoming LP titled “Aromanticisim”. With a word that powerful, yet undefined in the dictionary, his tracks released thus far are arranging this word as a defining moment to his music. Moses Sumney seems to be separating himself from romanticism and the tortures that come with, and he’s fulfilling his own pleasures. He shifts from questioning whether he’s doomed by living his life without a purpose because of his idle heart. Then he awakens his fight in “Quarrel.” “Don’t call it a lovers’ Quarrel,” he says. His fight ends with peace and solitude in “Indulge Me.” Where he’s indifferent, where he doesn’t have to think. It’s just him, his heart wrenching vocals and his guitar, strumming to the beat of his idle heart. He no longer has to question his unrequited love, his lack of feeling for his past lovers. In reality there isn’t anything wrong with his lack of love. He has realized that he does bare and idle heart, so his resolve was to write an album.

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“Aromanticisim” is out on September 22. Follow Moses Sumney on his journey over Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.

Full of dance and electronic vibes, they blend these genres masterfully with a kick of pop. This track follows their last collaboration “Lights,” which sparked their magical partnership. Along with NOVAA’s delicate vocals and LO’s soothing beats, they enhance each others strengths to create something more pleasurable than candy.

“For A Ride” is about not taking things too seriously, and trusting your own gut instincts. It reflects the feeling of ease that you have when you live life without forcing things, or being scared of what will come.

You can follow LO over Facebook and Twitter and Novaa over Facebook and Twitter.

BONUS: You can listen to their previous collaboration “Lights” below.

As her sound of mellow R&B flows within her mesmerizing harmonies, her song caresses you in a way that makes you want to listen to the track on repeat. In her lyrics, she’s talking to herself about loving herself in a beautiful and vibrant selfish way.

When the word “selfish” becomes something to admire and most should not be afraid of. Without judgment, without heartbreak, the idea of unrequited love is now a forgotten battle. There are so many artists that write on their experiences with dual love. Where there is person to person contact, admiration and reverence, but what about singularly, love to yourself? Sabrina Claudio speaks out on just that. Although it may seem as if she’s speaking to another person, she’s speaking solely to herself as she explains it:

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In the song, it seems as if I’m speaking to a partner, but what I wanted to do with the video is make you understand that I’m talking to myself. There are so many mirrors in the video and I wanted to make sure that people understood it was a love song to myself.

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For Sabrina Claudio in her video for “Belong To You”, feeling yourself is not only being confident but also showcasing it.

Aside from the track itself, the visuals in her music video have strengthened her sensual aesthetic even greater. In the video, she is beautiful and effortless as she surrounds herself with mirrors where she speaks to herself in her reflection. She caresses her body and feels herself as she sinks deeper into self-love. She changes from many different bright and glamorous pieces of clothing. Her attire ranging from silver to gold, to gold in her bare skin, she looks as she feels, confident in her body, expressing her sensuality to herself in the mirror. Everyone has danced in front of a mirror to themselves at least once on their life times, whether before you go out, trying on different outfits, before you go to bed and doing so, it provides strength and admiration all within your own skin. The term “feeling myself,” now has a double meaning. Feeling yourself is being confident, and showcasing it; another meaning to self-love.

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You can follow Sabrina Claudio over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud and listen to the audio below.

This mellow and pop infused track is full of heartbreak and self healing to which many can relate to. Her music speaks through her experiences and it brings those past events to life. In creating a lyrical, pop masterpiece, Eilish brought along her 19-year old brother to produce “Watch.” Her youth is fueling her craft and it is definitely incredible to watch her as she rises alongside the greats.

As Billie Eilish explains:

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The song is about letting go of someone toxic and moving on. Setting your ex’s car on fire is a pretty horrible thing to do… but I can think of worse things.

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You can follow Billie Eilish over Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.

Bonus: You can listen to her other two new tracks “idontwannabeyouanymore” and “COPYCAT”.

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The band made up of members, Casey MQ, Kamilah Apong, Miles Gibbons, and Alexei Orechin, project a style of theatrical rock, with their own taste of self discovery and experimentation. This Canadian band is everything you’d hope for in music that challenges its genre. They test their limits by exploring not only their emotions but they groove to the textures of their sounds. With the tracks unexpected noises in the beginning, you think you know where it’s headed, yet it completely changes but in all the right ways. This upcoming LP will take us on an unexpected journey for sure. Only the best kind of ever-changing sound and motion.

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You can follow Unbuttoned over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud.