Ummagma consists of Shauna McLarnon, who hails from Canada's Yukon, and Alexander Kretov, who is from Ukraine. Since bursting onto the music scene in 2012, they have made a significant impact on the underground music scene. Their potent combination of uplifting and melancholic textured dreampop, shoegaze, postpunk, ambient and electronica rapidly gained them a sizeable international following despite the numerous issues they faced living between Canada and Ukraine.

Canadian-Ukrainian duo Ummagma have blazed quite a trail for themselves in their short history. They've landed press coverage and radio play in more than 50 countries, including Rolling Stone Russia, and have managed to strike an endearing chord with a good number of 'first wave' shoegaze and dreampop artists, particularly from Creation Records and early 4AD rosters.

"Ummagma have something very special about them that you don't find in many bands, that is an honest, believable & beautiful lyric delivered by an honest, believable & beautiful voice," says Malcolm Holmes of OMD. "When you combine this with the swirling ambience of lush layered guitars, this duo end up with their own unique sonic landscape."

Alternative rock powerhouse and Toronto native VENN (a.k.a. Nneka Atto) is an artist of many faces. Her eclectic music style, brought to life by her captivating contralto vocals fuses rock with elements from pop, experimental, folk, and electronica to create a distinct, unforgettable sound.

"We all experience many storms in life, sailing through blissful highs then crashing into devastating lows. These storms can be terrifying, some may even cause you to lose hope and give up, entirely. 'Aquaheart' is about those people who stand by you and help you "weather the storm". These are the people who give you strength; urge you to keep going; and provide you with safe shelter. A much-needed anchor."

The Virgance is Nathan Smith, formerly guitarist with nineties UK indie band Ripley, which saw BBC Radio 1 and MTV Europe airplay, and co-producer of noughties electronica outfit Loveless. Smith's first solo LP as The Virgance was 'Lost Continent', which was released in February 2014, followed by the 'Hiko Shrine' LP in January 2015. Both received critical acclaim in the shoegaze community and blogosphere.

Drowned In Sound recently featured this second album in their shoegaze highlights of 2015, alongside Swervedriver, writing "Hiko Shrine is one of the most beautifully constructed albums to grace the stereo this year, combining elements of ambient post-rock with errant, effects-laden melodies".

'Paradigm 3' builds on the momentum gained from these first two releases, serving up a fresh cerebral road trip for shoegaze and post-rock fans to absorb. Smith demonstrates the strength of the album format as an art form and reminds us of the rewards of patient listening in this modern, digital age of instant gratification and short attention spans. This is perhaps the most balanced Virgance release so far, embracing the more emotional aspects of shoegaze while retaining some experimental rock attributes, as well as the aesthetics of both beautiful noise and ambient music.

The Little Unsaid was stewed up in the badlands of West Yorkshire by multi-instrumentalist, producer, poet and songwriter John Elliott. After beginning as a solo project, The Little Unsaid has evolved into a growing community of touring musicians and producers blending folk, electronica, orchestral music and a meticulous songwriting craft with John’s haunting, androgynous vocals.

Following on the heels of two well-received, crowd-funded albums, his third, Fisher King, is the result of traumatic personal crisis, reflected in the music’s genre-hopping complexity, lyrical honesty and moments of cathartic release. It was recorded over four weeks in a London basement, in the middle of Highgate Cemetery, in the steeple of a crumbling Islington church, and on a tiny island in the middle of the Celtic Sea.

The lead single 'Can We Hear It ?' was selected by Catherine Cunning Coco Media & Artist Management and Mark Gardener OX-4-Sound, frontman of legendary Oxford band Ride, who also mixed the single during breaks from their recent world tour.

The song’s nursery-rhyme style iterations mourn the loss of childhood innocence, over a sliced-up sample of primary school children singing one of John’s older songs (this sample was recorded during his time working in a primary school in East London). This childlike mantra loops throughout the song over a playful electronic beat as sweeping strings and a twisted Mariachi brass section rise out of the nostalgic melancholy into a celebratory climax.

Tune in during The #NewMusic Show to hear 'Can We Hear It' airing daily at 8am and 8pm EST. You can find The Little Unsaid's previous releases on iTunes

Hailing from Chile's capital Santiago, Maff present their debut self-titled EP, featuring 8 tracks that delightfully whisp you in a whirlwind through such genres as shoegaze, alternative rock, noise pop and indie verging on grunge, but with a dose of electronica thrown in the blend. They are inspired by bands such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Pixies, Ride, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine.

Maff is clearly having a beautifully combined love affair with guitar pedals and synth, bringing the listener into a cosmic zone, with feelings ranging from revolution-bent to melancholic and even romantic at times. "After 15 years of personally searching and making music, each band member came to encounter an inflexion point in their lives called Maff," says Richi Gómez, founding member of Maff. "Maff is about serving music that liberates us from all our prior misconceptions," explains bandmate Talo Correa.

Maff was originally founded in 2012 by Ricardo (Richi) Gómez (Vocals / Bass / Guitar) & Nicolás (Nek) Colombres (Drums), who have been friends since childhood and have previously played together in various punk rock bands. They were later joined by Martín Colombres (Guitar) and Gonzalo (Talo) Correa (Guitar / Bass / Vocals / Synth). Maff composed, recorded and produced this EP in their own studio, lovingly called 'The Lab' owing to the experimental output they concocted there. This album explores such themes as innocence, mystycism, true love, loss, drugs, freedom and timelessness.

Their single "Walking On Fire" can be heard during the #NewMusic Show airing daily at 8am and 8pm Toronto time.

The Pinstripe Pigeon Band began as a modest, yet ambitious studio project, incorporating production values inspired by Jon Hopkins, Nile Rogers and Cut Chemist, but this quickly developed into a seven-strong pop force, releasing five well-received EPs throughout 2013/14. 

The Preston UK band's latest material showcases intelligent sophisti-pop, electronica, funkadelia and anthemic rock. The lyrics lovingly articulate personal experiences while finding humour in political and social despair. Kirsty's impassioned vocals hark back to Aretha at her most bombastic and Dusty at her most delicate.

Collectively, the band soak up songcraft and live influences from Fleetwood Mac, The Band, The Beatles, Ryan Adams, Motown, Chic, John Coltrane, The E Street Band and Ben Harper.

The band has the benefit of two keyboardists, one melodically inventive Stevie Wonder/Oscar Peterson-esqe pianist and another more classical, akin to Ludvico Einaudi, both complimenting each other perfectly.

2015 will see the pop collective spreading its wings further afield, headlining Manchester’s The Castle and Liverpool's Lomax later in the year. Their debut track of off their Sound Asleep EP titled "Never Be Apart" can be heard during the New Music Show airing daily at 8am and 8pm. The Sound Asleep EP will be released August 3rd, 2015.