When Casey Lowery’s grandfather passed away in 2023, he left him a caravan –&nbsp;an old holiday home on the English coastline, which contained a history Casey hadn’t previously thought about. But when he arrived, moving in temporarily with his dog, removing himself from the metropolitan music industry he’d spent over half a decade trying to make sense of, it unlocked something within him. There, amongst the company of pensioners and nature, the final pieces of lekkerland, his debut album, came together. The album, Casey says, is his effort to “reconnect with my past a bit,” and a reflection on the kind of community once promised to him by a music industry system he’s trying, in a more modest, loving form, to reshape and make work for him. “Lekker” itself is an Afrikaans term Casey picked up on the road and means ‘something pleasing’. After years of recalibrating,Casey has found a way to make something that pleases himself as much as it pleases others.&nbsp; Casey was born in Chesterfield, a market town in the English midlands, an only child with a penchant for the spotlight. Growing up, he was exposed to the greats of early 00s English pop culture, like Gareth Gates and Robbie Williams – two men who set the mould for what he thought he wanted to be. His mother, keen for him to follow that musical path, signed him up to clarinet classes. He played for eight years, all while his musical taste became a little more refined, listening to pop-leaning indie bands, before eventually becoming an Arctic Monkeys boy. “But I can't say it ever crossed my mind that I wanted to be a professional clarinettist,” Casey says. “I just wanted money.”&nbsp;Skateland:Dorian Williams II, known professionally as Skateland, is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Austin, TX. After moving from Las Vegas to pursue a degree at the University of Texas, Williams began writing songs and experimenting with various instruments in his bedroom and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://b4182b3f.streaklinks.com/Cd9B6CyyciCmjE-yqARgszsZ/https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fartist%2F56Ufgy06KtGmwmzBvnMsBc%3Fsi%3D3X7-8ZHkS6C1jN5lCTk8Cw">Skateland</a>&nbsp;was born. Described as a "bedroom pop mastermind", Williams blends "dreamy indie pop, cathartic synth pop, and lush indie rock for a remarkable listen" (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://b4182b3f.streaklinks.com/Cd9B6Cy_P7CeQa-nKQOuzF0H/https%3A%2F%2Fearmilk.com%2F2024%2F11%2F18%2Fskateland-chats-new-ep-sxsw-tour-rider-and-more-interview%2F">via Earmilk</a>).&nbsp;Fresh off opening for Foster the People in October 24, Williams released his second EP "<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://b4182b3f.streaklinks.com/Cd9B6Cy-fsWjhnsSwQ1ywBfp/https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Falbum%2F6s71Y4AFboqd0pUlr7d2vs%3Fsi%3D10lCJlRhRU6J_Zs9082mWw%26nd%3D1%26dlsi%3Ddf28382095ee49f2">Joyce Howell, How are You?</a>" The project is a "time capsule of Skateland's past year as an artist that grapples with insecurity, metamorphosis, and all-too-familiar brain rot," laden with "ear-catching melodies and vividly ethereal soundscapes strike a nerve that satisfy the indie-kid's sentimental cravings." (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://b4182b3f.streaklinks.com/Cd9B6CytbWuTwOorQQGtI-4M/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.onestowatch.com%2Fen%2Fblog%2Fskateland-grapples-with-the-modern-world-on-transcendent-ep-joyce-howell-how-are-you">via Ones to Watch</a>). With more music to come, Skateland is quickly cementing himself as an emerging name you need to know, as it's apparent that "garnering a wider audience is more of an inevitability than an uncertain future." (via&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://b4182b3f.streaklinks.com/Cd9B6C-Y2FILcTKBhwAkrJA3/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.grimygoods.com%2F2024%2F10%2F07%2Fmusic-artists-you-should-know-skateland%2F">Grimy Goods</a>).