#1 - Flowers - Sampa The Great, REMI
First of all, I have a special place in my heart for the flute trill at the opening. The instrumentation is generally very varied, classical instruments, wind chimes and different percussion, it modifies and stays fresh throughout. There's a lot going on but that doesn't prevent the song from maintaining a soothing, carefree atmosphere. Born in Zambia, Sampa The Great came through Botswana, LA and San Francisco to Sydney in Australia - maybe this is a factor in why her accent when she sings is so mesmerisingly unique. When she sings the descending patterns on 'free' her voice is like a whistling breeze, it's stunning. Against this, REMI's verse provides a moment to take you out of the trance, which is refreshing in itself. The melodies have this strange quality to them that paired with the rhyming pattern makes it sound like some sort of spell. The drum beat is nice and chilled, but the shaking tambourine leading up to a cymbal crash allow points of climax in the texture which stops it from getting boring and too clearly repetitive.
#2 - Akanamali - Sun-El Musician, Samthing Soweto
Feel good music! It's a South African pop song, it's straightforward to listen to, and it's very enjoyable. The production isn't trying too hard but there's a few little things I really like. The outro solo on the synth from about 4:26 brings a nice resolution to the song. The bassline made from a vocal pitch-shifted down a few octaves is wavey on its own, but next to Samthing Soweto's transcendental and effortless voice, there's a beautiful collision of the high and low. The lyrics are quite standard pop love song in meaning, but to my easily-pleased English ears they sound so poetic. All in all, both singer and producer seem to be on the same wavelength, which results in pleasant vibes achieved through effective simplicity (aka good pop music).
#3 - Do It, Try It - The Blaze Remix - M83
I'm a big fan of The Blaze - their album 'DANCEHALL' was one of my favourites last year - but I had never heard this remix before. It's totally different to the original, and you really can tell its their version just by hearing those distorted and reverbed vocal samples - so it's peng to see totally different interpretations from two French electronic artists. In the opening, the piano chords remind me of Eric Satie's 'Gymnopedies', then one minute the tension begins to build, to 1:21, and the heavy beat allows the electronic side to take precedence. The suspense and texture falls and rises through the next few minutes until we ultimately return to those 'Gymnopedie' chords - genius. It tells such a story, even when the vocals are distorted beyond understanding. The high-pitched synth chords and techno kicks keep the intense moments alive, and at times there's an exhilaration in the lack of warning we're given before they come in. Also, bass is present and important, but it isn't too heavy which I think is vital in allowing the two sections of the song to be able to gel together and fluidly cross over. I really enjoyed the original too, so check that one out also!
#4 - Pineapple - Blue Lab Beats, Moses Boyd, Nérija
Quite the sick little jazztronic number. Blue Lab Beats are a duo from London, Golders Green to be exact. Their style seems to rely quite a bit on experimentation, which is cool, and I appreciate how much they talk about the process on their website, you don't often get that with a lot of musicians. The structure seems something along the lines of intro, A, sax solo, A, B, A, and the melodies are all gorgeous. The solo is balanced and explores a range without going over the top, and whereas the melody in A almost glides through the bars seamlessly, in B it almost struts across, making the section distinct and breaks up the song agreeably. It all comes together to make a great chillout tune, and the more modern/electronic jazz I see the better to be honest.
That's all for today, not quite my average selection and I guess not my most usual genres, but I'm quite gassed for myself to add these to my playlists. Can't stop listening to 'Tin' - Daphni at the moment either, but that's not a new discovery. Hope you enjoy them, and don't wear sunglasses in January. xxx
