Obscure Agency Artists Blend Bold Pop, Mongolian Influences and Unconventional Ideas

What makes this Obscure Agency selection interesting is how little its artists have in common. One is reworking Tolkien; another turns romantic resentment into pop; someone else puts on a party for the apocalypse. Some have spent years touring, while others are only a few singles into defining their sound. The thread is choice: unusual references, sharp titles, and music that doesn’t feel obliged to tidy itself up.

Magnet Brain

Magnet Brain’s range is the reason she leads this group. Last year, she received Obscure Agency’s inaugural Best Emerging Artist special award at the Berlin Music Video Awards, where “Soul Mantra” also won Best Song. Those honors set a high bar; her newer work suggests she isn’t interested in simply repeating what earned them. Magnet Brain

“Mature Man,” released in March, leans into Y2K-inspired R&B and explores love, trust, and intimacy. “Seven Dipper,” which came out last October, is more contemplative, pairing harp with traditional Mongolian musical elements and the cultural symbolism of Doloon Burkhan, the Seven Dipper constellation.

That gap between the songs matters. It would be easy to package her Mongolian heritage as a fixed musical identity, then expect every release to stay inside it. Magnet Brain gives contemporary R&B and Mongolian cosmology room to coexist without turning either into an explanation for the other. Where she takes that freedom next is the more interesting question.

KYNG

“SCARGAZING” is an excellent title for a pop song about a romantic bruise. KYNG’s May single sets that mischievous tone; she followed it with “SIREN” in July and “COME BB” on October 16. The latest track is an invitation, but the Songs with Strings session she recorded for it adds a full string performance and gives the song a broader frame. KYNG

Her art-pop pairs expressive vocals with bright synths and a queer-feminist view of desire and self-possession. The presentation is part of the point: pink hair, candy-colored styling, and visuals that insist on being seen. Hurt has a place in the music, but KYNG doesn’t seem interested in making it look discreet.

Since her 2023 debut single, “PYTHON,” she has built a persona that treats femininity as something that can be confrontational, funny, or deliberately artificial. That leaves room for desire to be messy and for a bruised feeling to live outside a stripped-back ballad. “COME BB” makes its invitation plain.

Kate Voegele

“Petty, unapologetic, and probably one of the most fun songs on the album” is how Kate Voegele describes “Bad Taste.” Good. Pop doesn’t have to turn every breakup into a lesson in taking the high road. Kate Voegele

Released October 23, the single catches the pleasure of realizing someone who once had power over you has lost it. Voegele is happy now—and suspects that knowledge might irritate the person who hurt her. “There are a lot of things in this song that you’re probably not supposed to say out loud,” she says. That admission gives the song more personality than a polished declaration of personal growth.

“Bad Taste” previews the forthcoming Age of Alchemy, written entirely by Voegele and returning to the guitar-driven energy of her earlier work. Her role as Mia Catalano on One Tree Hill is familiar history, but this single makes a case for hearing what she’s writing now. Sometimes moving on includes enjoying the fact that the other person hasn’t.

PIA

PIA’s upcoming take on “Gollum’s Song” has an unusual production timeline: the vocal took twenty minutes to record, while the film around it took nearly two years. She completed the orchestral arrangement herself and had the track mixed on the day she recorded the vocal. PIA

The visual production required learning motion capture. Joe Sill directed, with Nico Aguilar as cinematographer; PIA and Sill developed the concept and creative direction together. Their previous collaboration was “Follow the Toad,” a music film starring PIA and Abhay Deol. Her interest in fantasy runs from Tolkien to games such as Bloodborne, so the song choice has roots beyond the films.

Howard Shore composed “Gollum’s Song,” Frances Walsh wrote the lyrics, and Emilíana Torrini performed it for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The original already carries a particular sadness. PIA says she wants to preserve the lyrics’ meaning while making the arrangement and imagery her own. The track and film are both planned for November 11.

Mark Fernyhough

“The World Was Crying” sounds like a title built for an epic, but Mark Fernyhough made it an acoustic ballad. Recorded in Edinburgh, the song sets love against the imagined refuge of a mountain hideaway. The contrast gives a private feeling an outsized horizon. Mark Fernyhough

It’s the second song from his Socialites EP. The title track goes bigger, with a full band, cello, and a broad chorus; “Vee” turns inward as a tribute to his close friend and drummer Vincent, who died in 2023. Those shifts let Fernyhough move between romantic scale and personal loss without asking every song to play the same role.

He has opened for Suede, and his photography has been selected for Best of PhotoVogue. Fernyhough also says he grew up in a haunted English mansion. That claim fits the theatrical unease around his music and fashion, though the songs don’t depend on the ghosts. The mountain, the absent friend, and that enormous title are already plenty.

The Falling Doves

The Falling Doves are continuing their EU/UK tour with a changed lineup and a fundraising effort for Music Support, the UK charity that helps people in music affected by mental ill-health and addiction. The original plan involving Aleks Syntek changed, but Christopher Leyva and Katie Harold have kept the dates going. The Falling Doves

Leyva and Harold share lead vocals and work together on writing and arrangements. Their guitar-led rock draws on British melody and Los Angeles glam, with live performance at the center of the project. For the updated October 19 Manchester bill, they played alongside Joe Leath and Phil Quinn.

Syntek won’t appear on the current UK and European dates, though the band’s team says he remains supportive. The group put its position simply: “Behind every artist is a human being. Health must always come first.” Leyva’s JustGiving fundraiser gives that message a practical outlet. You can contribute without buying a ticket or asking anyone to make a private struggle part of the show.

PRYMA

PRYMA’s “John Doe” grew out of an industry insider telling the band their singer couldn’t sing—and, the band says, criticizing her appearance too. The Kent four-piece turns that dismissal into a challenge, with a chorus that keeps asking the critic to show himself. “John Doe”

Their groove-heavy metal and thrash are making room for more hardcore. Guitarist Max describes the change in practical terms: fewer solos, more riffs, and no lead break just to prove he can play one. Gaby’s clean vocals and growls anchor the sound. Her influences include Amy Lee, while Freddie Mercury’s command of a stage is something she admires.

After PRYMA’s Download Boardie Takeover appearance, Gaby told , “I just wing it.” That confidence sharpens the story behind “John Doe.” Someone questioned her voice; now he may be regretting it.

BlackJeans

The world may be ending, but BlackJeans has arranged the entertainment. BlackJeans

END OF THE WORLD (Part 1) runs six tracks in twelve minutes and forty-nine seconds, mixing dance-pop, electronics, punk, and cabaret. Co-produced with Adam Thein, it opens a planned four-part series and gives the New York artist space to explore clowning as more than a costume.

The jester can be ridiculous and still make people uncomfortable. BlackJeans extends that permission to queer listeners, late bloomers, and anyone tired of performing respectability. Self-parody becomes a way to loosen self-consciousness: you can fall on your face and keep the night going.

His recurring End of the World events bring the idea into New York nightlife, with his band The Sick Fucks and guest performers on the bill. The music has a place to meet an audience beyond the release page. Three more installments are planned. If the apocalypse takes its time, someone might as well book the party.

DISTEYO

DISTEYO treats a release like an invitation to play. “KTF” comes with a browser game; “LOST” gives listeners a map for sharing their stories. It’s a smart way to give songs a life beyond the usual release cycle, though the music still has to carry its share. DISTEYO

He released “LOST” in August, “KTF” in September, and “COFF N ROSE” on October 23. After coming up through rap battles, he built a home studio where he writes, records, mixes, and produces. He moves between French, English, and Spanish, switching between rap and melodic vocals as the songs call for it.

DISTEYO also practices mixed martial arts and coaches children at a local sports school. That detail doesn’t need to become a parable about discipline; it simply rounds out the picture of an artist whose life extends beyond the rollout. PHX Records now supports the releases. His official site offers a simpler instruction: “Don’t overthink it. Just keep the flow.” The game can wait until after the song.

Sciarra

The more revealing part of “Obsessed” may be how lightly it carries its title. Sciarra calls the electronic-pop single upbeat and sassy, a sharp change from the darker, more cinematic sound that often defines her catalog. At just over two minutes, it gets in, makes its point, and leaves.

Sciarra is the music name of Candace, who works between Los Angeles and Nashville. Her visual identity runs through both her songs and her SCIARRA fashion line: indie sleaze, late-night clothes, and the afterimage of 2010s Tumblr. That connection makes the clothing feel like part of the project’s language, not an add-on for an album release.

There’s a harder story behind the playful single. Sciarra says she has spent the past few years rebuilding after a fire destroyed her home and studio. The experience gives her current work context, though it doesn’t seem to require every song to carry that weight. An EP, more music, and new designs are underway. For now, “Obsessed” leaves room for a smirk amid the rebuilding.

That’s the point of these introductions: they should send you toward the music. Follow the OFF THE MAINSTREAM playlist to hear the songs behind our picks and keep tabs on the artists featured each month. Skip around, find a favorite, then see where the rest of the catalog takes you.