Sunni (Colón) – Little Things
Airy Los Angeles singer Sunni Colón is touched by a love that goes beyond the surface in his new song, “Little Things.” He coasts over the funky Kaytranada-produced track, crooning about his blossoming bond, and comparing the magnetic attraction between him and his muse to the power of the night sky’s constellations. “It’s the little things that matter, to me/ When you make me feel important/ When you make me feel like matter, pull me,” he sings.
“When I first heard the chords on ‘Little Things’ I immediately grabbed my guitar and jammed out over it for about an hour,”Colón told The FADER over email. “A week later, l sat in my room with my electric guitar and began writing. The lyrics stem from mindfulness while living in this beautiful yet chaotic world. Around the time I wrote this song I dived pretty deep into Alan Watts and would only listen to him and play guitar.”
He continued, “This quote by Alan Watts really stuck with me when I would get caught up into bullshit: ‘I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.’”
Read the rest of this article at Fader
Billie Eilish – Bellyache (Marian Hill Remix)
Young gun BILLIE EILISH has made one of the biggest musical splashes of 2017 thus far. Her lyricism and soulful vocal prowess extend way beyond her young years as demonstrated in debut tune, ‘Bellyache’. It’s an emotionally powerful, guitar-driven affair with haunting synths underlaying such lyrics as “Where’s my mind? / Maybe it’s in the gutter / Where I left my lover / What an expensive fate.”
Now, Billie Eilish and her stunning debut have gotten a complete and utter rework thanks to MARIAN HILL. Marian Hill, if you’re unlucky enough to not know already, are a two-piece from Philadelphia that have worked with the likes of Big Sean and Lauren Jauregui (of Fifth Harmony fame). Their style is synth laden and staccato, showing no shyness towards using snappy beats and minimalist melodies to make their tracks as attention grabbing as possible.
Read the rest of this article at Purple Sneakers
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Kiasmos – Blurred
Kiasmos have shared details of new EP ‘Blurred’.
The project released the ‘Swept’ EP back in 2015, and since then have focussed on an extensive period of international touring.
Returning to Iceland to focus on fresh material, Kiasmos will release new EP ‘Blurred’ through Erased Tapes on October 6th.
Janus Rasmussen explains: “To write new material felt like a new beginning for us after two years of touring. The plan was to write something a tad darker than our previous stuff. Spring in Reykjavík had other plans though, as this turned out to be our brightest release to date.”
Remixes on the EP come from Bonobo and Stimming, each taking Kiasmos’ music in fresh directions. Ólafur Arnalds adds: “Stimming was one of the reasons we started making four-on-the-floor music and we have been listening to Bonobo since we were young, so it was a great honour that they wanted to contribute remixes for the EP.”
Read the rest of this article at Clash
Stalgia – Talk To My Skin
As far as indie duos go, Stalgia is at the top of our list. They haven’t put out a bad song yet, or even a mediocre one. Their latest lands itself in either the awesome or incredible category. “Talk To My Skin” will give you goosebumps all over your body from start to finish.
The first few bars are almost haunting, but in an inviting way that lures you in, then the vocal hits and you’re whisked away. Stalgia has you in their clutches, but you don’t mind. This subtle, yet beautiful track is absolutely heavenly, with a progression that couldn’t have been written better. Things build from beginning to end, taking you on a journey. It’s more than just a song and you WILL feel it.
Read the rest of this article at The Music Ninja
James Holden & The Animal Spirits – Pass Through The Fire
It’s been four years since producer James Holden released his last album ‘The Inheritors’ but now he’s due to return – and he’s brought a new, expanded band along with him. The Animal Spirits are a collective force that’s grown from the live touring outfit he’s taken around the world; there’s long-time collaborators Tom Page and Etienne Jaumet, as well as Marcus Hamblett, Liza Blec and Lascelle Gordon in the mix. Perhaps unsurprisingly given their antecedence as a touring group, their upcoming, semi-self-titled new album ‘The Animal Spirits’ is attempting to capture that same live spirit, with the record being recorded in just one room in single, uninterrupted takes with no edits and no redubs.
Part of the raw energy that Holden and his band have attempted to achieve with the record comes from attempting to grasp a kind of “psychic communication” between each member of the band. It’s this heightened form of understanding and musical symbiosis that really shows itself on the album’s lead track, ‘Pass Through The Fire’. Its pulse originally grew out of a trip Holden took to Morocco to work with Maalem Mahmoud Guinia, a legend of Gnawa music (a type of ancient African Islamic spiritual song that also combines traditional music and dancing), and the hypnotic beat-driven spine forms a foundation for hypnotic sax loops, swirling synths and more.
It’s the culmination of Holden’s vision to have each element of the band combine together and reveal themselves as players across the backbone of a song, rather than the other way round. But while each element gets its own unique room to breathe within the euphoria, every aspect that’s introduced and is given the limelight helps to form a unified whole. Across six minutes, Holden and his band capture the spiritual and the danceable with seemingly effortless vibrancy.
Read the rest of this article at DIY
