“Fonda” is the debut single online for London-based five-piece SHEIKH. The track, produced by Ian Dowling who has worked with a couple of bands you may have heard of called Jungle and Catfish and the Bottlemen (that Jungle production fidelity is particularly applicable here), ably bridges that especially difficult nexus of artfulness and accessibility quite well with the overall coherence and stickiness of the track being especially accomplished. Stream “Fonda” below.
Luunes are the Australian duo of Sam Litchfield and Anna Milat. On “Torrents”, the twosome operate in an idiom of vibe-y R&B-tinged dream pop boosted up by A+ production and arrangement ideas (we love the little bits of percussive guitar in the choruses particularly).
We’re digging the feel good Sunday afternoon R&B of “Save Your Love” from Italian-Danish newcomer Mikala. “Save Your Love” excels on it’s spot-on alto main vocal and fresh production that gets the old head noddin in a hurry. We love.
Recently I’ve been obsessed with SKAM, a Norwegian teen drama that’s not as pretentious as Skins but cooler than Gossip Girl. Anyway, Norway doesn’t just produce amazing teen dramas, they also produce amazing music. Electropop artist and producer Emma Jensen dropped her first single “Closer” recently and it is pure magic. The minimalistic synths create the perfect bass for Jensen’s lovely vocals. I can’t wait to see what else 2017 brings for Emma Jensen.
We’re digging the Cardigans Gran Turismo vibes on the new one from POWERS entitled “Heavy”. The track does well in connecting that late 90’s minor-key mirrorball sound with a beefed up rhythm track and a killer set of cool harmonies (particularly that “heeaaavvvvvyy” bit in chorus).
StéLouse links up with talented 19-year old newcomer Mascolo (check that vocal tone, oooh wee) for soulful new number “Shivers N Gold”. Particularly special on “Shivers N Gold” is the stickiness/magnetism of the track’s pocket and how well it frames Mascolo’s super strong vocal. A+ track.
The melancholic shuffle of “Swamp” is the excellent latest track from Futuro Pelo, a new project from Paris-based musician Benjamin Sportes.
The cool Nacey-produced kinetic pop of “They All Say” is new from New York-based singer and Sammy Bananas collaborator Maggie Horn.
The “Bassically” artist announces debut Crawl Space LP for Downtown Records with great first stream “Keep Running”.
Previewed below is the (B3SCI-approved) kinetic pop of “Talk to Trees”, the first single from Swedish artist Cajsa Siik’s forthcoming DOMINO LP.
Right on. Of we course, we love this! The latest remix entry from one Tom Misch is a re-imagining of Michael Kiwanuka’s 10-minute opus “Cold Little Heart” complete with a pitched-up main vocal, jazzy guitars, and a cooled-out vaugely house-y rhythm track. Michael Kiwanuka’s Love & Hate LP is available now.
