Hello everyone, and welcome to what I can guarantee will be a great read, inspired even! Kidding. I haven't got much to report as I've been inside the same four walls this whole time, as have you all, and small talk seems to have gotten increasingly difficult over the weeks. This time, I want to do another one of those '5 tracks to listen to' posts, with a male vocal, female, upbeat club track, something ambient, something random. See the list below, and here's the playlist to listen along (+ some more).
#1 - Louis Culture - Being Me
One of the exciting underground artists from South West London (big up), Louis Culture has been putting out fire for a while now. This new track sets up atmosphere with unnerving undertones pretty quickly, using some detuned chords gliding up and down under Louis' steady, assured flow, as he recites the shit he's put up with over the years. It's a refreshing sound; the production shifts between contrasting sections more intricately than a verse, chorus pattern. In particular, the 'two step' echoing sample into the outro is slick and ominous while still maintaining rhythmic groove that keeps your head bobbing. Milo Blake has provided a sick visual to pair with the track - here - including some clever stop motion collage work that's particularly memorable. Everything great about this city.
#2 - Arlo Parks - Black Dog
Oh Arlo, you can do no wrong. Another massive South London talent at the moment, 'Black Dog' summarises everyone's fears and anxieties right now in an ode to a friend she can't pull out of their dark place. She's emphasised in the past that her lyrics always come first in the process, which is reflected in the poetic simplicity in which she conveys emotions. Simple acts like going 'to the corner store to buy some fruit' are the little gestures we use to communicate with those we love who are closed off from us. The laid back beat shepherds us through the song as the plucked guitar chords plod gently across your sense like ripples on a pond. Molly Burdett directed the video that dropped with the track, capturing human intimacy and interaction in a handful of elegant shots; their collaborations continue to provide stunning results. The melancholic overtones do take the limelight, but the track still sustains the lull of early summer in its sound.
#3 - Tom Jarmey - I Want You Touch
Nothing has made me want to get back out and party more than this tune. Sampling Alicia Keys' 'If I Ain't Got You' and Nile Rogers 'I Want Your Love' and combining them in the best possible way, the Manchester-based producer really captures the essence of Chicago house and sprinkles it into this banger. The chopping of the start of the hook before the drop is a classic technique but feels cheesy in no way whatsoever. The variation of the specific cuts in Keys' vocals keeps the ears entertained and pace is kept consistent throughout the whole five minutes. The track could actually easily finish about a minute and a half earlier, but that last drop is a wonderful surprise. Everything about it feels like sun, skies and drinks in the park. Oh, and beautiful hi-hat.
#4 - Hiroshi Yoshimura - Creek
Hiroshi Yoshimura's 'Green' is a 1986 release of lush, ambient beauty in the footsteps of Brian Eno and others, and itself greatly influential. Spotify uploaded the album onto their service in March, and 'Creek' is my favourite selection to credit the album. The perpetual oscillation of the xylophone instrument fades in and out of focus over fresh, cool and mysterious pads, creating a soundscape befitting of an actual creek, hidden under dense foliage, the water glistening here and there, reflecting the light that sneaks through. It's calming and could certainly suit meditative circumstances, but the continuous movement also gives enough interest to maintain full focus throughout.
#5 - Wilma Archer - Decades
Featuring exciting collaborations with the likes of Sudan Archives and MF DOOM, Wilma Archer provides an instrumental work with 'A Western Circular'. that would have been fantastic to see live in concert. With current circumstances, that isn't yet possible, but that doesn't take away from the quality of the music whatsoever. 'Decades' has a classic quality that sits nicely with the title and features some wonderful interplay between live drums and the vocals of Samuel T. Herring and Laura Groves. I find peace in its solemnity, and the lyrics feel unbelievably potent right now. The message is powerful, 'living in a world so complicated', and ending on 'You'll help me through' before giving us over two minutes of instrumental and riffs to let the gravity of the words sink in.
Five tracks I'm very excited about this week to be honest! Could have left the playlist with just that, but I've chucked a few more cool bits and bobs in there too. I also have made a mix featuring a couple of these which you can find here, I feel like everyone needs lots of fresh listening material at the moment. Stay safe xx
Hello everyone. Hope you're well? Great. I'm doing just fine myself, thanks. As I mentioned last time, Burial's latest EP came out and it's genius. The A side I already mentioned, stunning and classic with a club-ready twist. The last 40 seconds have been going round and round in my head since it came out. The B-side, however, was not what I was expecting at all, but it's magnificent. Pure ambience and dense with this eerie yet serene fog, it pulls you into his world and you don't even realise it till it's suddenly over. Go listen. And on that note, I noticed it's been a while since I just talked about some songs, so I've decided to do another Discover Weekly list of cool music, especially as this week was a good one. Without further ado, let's talk about some tunes.
#1 - Like A Hunger - Wilma Archer, Amber Mark
Mainly releasing under the name Slime, as Wilma Archer he had only released this and a song called 'Scarecrow' when it came out. He's from Newcastle, and he claims in an interview that his instrumental is 'inspired by that crude, bold kind of sarcasm that can follow a misunderstanding between people' and that Amber Mark, the vocalist, never heard it that way, so there's an irony in opposing sentiments. I really like that, and you can so hear it throughout the song. The ominous intro and grumbling of the guitar bounce so cleanly off the sweetness of the harmonies in the chorus, and her voice bounces over the claps underneath so perfectly, and her lyrics hold such a bountiful love in them. It's so satisfying when ideas that stand against each other blend into a wonderful mix like this. On a jokes note, the little drum motif just before the chorus really reminds me of the sound UE Boom speakers make when they're searching for a bluetooth device hahaha, way too specific but there you go. Overall, such a peng chill song, and once you hear it a few times, it's so hard not to sing along.
#2 Slow Centre - Roland Tings
The word ecliptical just naturally comes to mind as soon as I listen to this. It's quite a masterpiece, with sections that can definitely be completely distinguished from one another. The first couple of minutes really create a hypnotic zen and I can imagine meditation working quite well with this on really quietly. Once the kick gets introduced, and not long after a house-esque beat, it rises up into the sky and takes more of an aetherial vibe. The bells used sound quite 'traditional' so I guess that's where this ideas come from, but from 4:45 we're transferred into more industrial techno darkness. The warmth gradually creeps back in and then the two combine, with the odd drone noise here and there, into this finale which has a weird humour surrounding its resounding send off to the piece. It's a great way to bring it all together, and how smoothly he manages to pass from each of these messages makes it really impressive for me. It came out a couple years ago, and Roland Tings is a Melbourne-based producer. Bandcamp calls the whole album 'oddball material' and that's what makes this song sick to be honest, so excited to listen to the rest.
#3 - San Junipero - Llewellyn
Italo Disco vibes in an 8-minute journey through the soundwaves. The synths are so unreal, and how easily it pulls off both an old school dance floor movement and an emotional depth that just continues as the held notes bulge and bend as if you're slowly breathing in and out. The same four chords repeating over and over combined with the length of the song almost makes it feel like a pilgrimage, as if the journey is long but the motive stays the same throughout. It manages to stay very much simple, but at the same time achieve so much with that and never repeats itself. After hearing lots of goofy or cheerful tones in the genre recently, I've found this refreshing and it added a new element for what comes to mind when I hear the word disco. I really can't find much out about Llewelyn, but he's German and this is his main hit.
#4 - Red Lines - Fakear
So this week two of this French producer's songs were up for contention, but I this one topped it for me (check out 'Something Wonderful' too though). This track has an innocence to it, and it feels like the kind of warmth you get watching kids having fun. As I write this, the sample of singing children singing slowly builds up to playful chorus. Whatever the plucked string instrument is, it replies to the vocals and creates this leisurely dialogue that carries you through the song. The album is called 'Animal' and it came out in 2016. I've just found out online that he's supported Bonobo and ODESZA before, which is mad cause the first thing I thought when I heard this and 'Something Wonderful' is that it was giving me 'Odesza' vibes, in the range in world sounds of the samples and the agreeableness of everything electronic. The track just makes you feel happy, and who doesn't want that?
#5 - Dreamless - Young Marco
'This' premier article compares it to Oni Ayhun’s legendary track ‘OAR003-B‘, which is a huge compliment as that 11-minute beast is quite the accomplishment. I don't think this quite achieves such a victorious build up, but it does seem to have a similar sense of grandeur. The bassline and kick are both punctual, paired with the tempo giving it a marching pace, and I'd bare love to hop round in a club to it, it's really light-hearted. Haven't got too much else to say on it, but I couldn't help feeling it was worth mentioning.
#6 - LesAlpx - Floating Points
Okay... this one didn't come up on my Discover but as soon as I heard the first beep-melody I couldn't resist mentioning it. Floating Points is back, and it's a release on Ninja Tune. I'm already dying to hear the B-side but let's talk about this banger first. SO. GOOD. The bulk of the texture is dark and gritty, rasping beneath the occasional signal beam is heard above, as they flit about like vultures. There's such a malice to the sound which I really wasn't expecting, but absolutely love. And, yes, sorry, but at 2:08 the huge crescendo to silence drop obviously made me go mental. Think it's an absolute dancefloor banger, and very excited to hear it at Fabric in a couple weeks. He says he's gone back to the dancefloor routes of his music, recalling places like Plastic People, and through this track you almost feel he takes you back there with him. The release has come with some really peng visuals that nicely compliment the oily murkiness of the music.
So that's all, really enjoyed coming back to doing this, I always think it's best to avoid repeating an idea too much, but sometimes straight up talking about individual songs is the most satisfying thing. Everyone going to Glasto this week have the best time, I flopped multiple times at sorting a ticket but am still so gassed on the excitement. Oh, also just remembered, Daphni's 'Sizzling' EP came out recently and I've got to quickly sing its praises. It keeps up Daphni's 'dance floor ready' theme perfectly and every track has such soul, it's fantastic. The namesake track is a strong leader, but 'Just' also stood out to me as an absolute banger.
