6LACK – Switch
6LACK has released a new track today titled “Switch.” Last week, he took to social media to tell fans that he “thinks” that his “album is done.” “Switch” is a dark, melancholic track about a stormy relationship and breakup. “Now switch (switch) / Tell me how it feels (feels) / To be somebody else (else) / Now switch (switch) / It wasn’t what you thought it was (was) / Another story to tell” he sings with Ty Dolla Sign in the chorus. Earlier this year on Valentine’s Day, the crooner dropped “Cutting Ties.”
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Channel Tres – Jet Black
At first blush, Channel Tres’ deep voice may sound unassuming, but it’s actually his secret weapon. Adopting a formula perfected by Midwest house DJs over the past four decades, the 26-year-old producer from Lynwood, California, uses his cool deadpan to command the dancefloor and counterbalance his prismatic four-on-the-floor instrumentals on his debut single, the gripping Detroit house salvo “Controller,” He whispers, “Your body is in chains/Fuck ya brain/Fuck ya man,” before declaring that he is in fact both the “controller” and “promoter” of the party. Combined with the song’s colossal low end, Tres gives the listener no choice but to succumb to the music.
His follow-up track, “Jet Black”—the second single off his upcoming self-titled EP—is equally gripping, as Tres dares potential suitors and challengers alike to keep up. “No shame girl if you’re feeling yourself/If you want to get up, I might give you a little help,” he sings. The song’s beat, co-produced by Nick Sylvester (a former Pitchfork contributor), is another driving groove, constructed with fierce claps and pulsing bass. When a synthesized version of a church-like chant enters under the second chorus, it’s not hard to imagine a dance circle forming on a strobe-lit floor; in the center sweaty clubgoers buckle to the beat. Pan to Tres, bending another dancefloor to his will.
Read the rest of this article at Pitchfork
Bluestaeb – Left & Right
Multi-talented producer Bluestaeb thrilled us with his Noah Slee assisted single “Mind” a while back but now he is back with another solid effort titled “Left & Right.” The instrumental single is a brilliant blend of funk, neo-soul, hip-hop and then some. The producer delivers a multi-layered soundscape that builds every minute from the throbbing synth bassline and the rhythmic groovy drums. Additional piano production was supplied by instrumentalist Jonathan Aréna who employs the Korg SV-1 to good use.
He also gives us an insight into the background of the song ” This song is a result of moving from Berlin to Paris. I was in a new environment, felt freer, and had to switch it up from all those 91bpm Hip-Hop beats. In Paris I met the pianist and producer Jonathan Aréna. We immediately connected and started having sessions pretty much every weekend, which formed the sound aesthetic of the album (even though at the end he only plays on 4 tracks) – also because he has all this analog equipment laying around.”
“Left & Right.” is off Bluestaeb’s upcoming LP “Everything Is Always a Process” which will be out in June this year.
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Westerman- Easy Money
Westerman makes pop music for everyday frustrations and aspirations. And whether his muse is writer’s block or romantic ennui, his graceful touch turns it into bewitchingly simple electronic folk songs. His latest single, “Easy Money,” is yet another charming number from the London musician.
Westerman’s composition always conjure up liquid imagery—there’s a coolness, a blueness, and a general pleasant waterlogged sensation. On “Easy Money,” the pleasant strums of guitar, chunky drum machine beat, and cosmic blips of keyboard float by like a raft moving down a lazy river. As Westerman sings in a high, soothing register of the pleasures of worries melting away, it’s hard not to feel lulled into a similar state. But the trick to Westerman’s music is how he eventually punctures the spell he casts: At first, this is a song about the glory of taking it easy, then becomes something far more carnal (“Ornament my body/Cause I like how it makes me feel”). It turns on a dime, and its placid introduction is replaced completely with turbulent synths, crashing guitars, and howling affirmations. It’s rare than any track can feel so languid and bracing all at once. But Westerman is an uncommon songwriter, and “Easy Money” is more evidence of his stunning skill.
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T-E-E-D – Don’t You Forget About Me
Earlier this year, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs emerged from a four-year radio silence with a new track, “Leave A Light On.” The British musician, born Orlando Higginbottom, relocated to Los Angeles since the release of his debut album Trouble in 2012, and has been working on and recording music over the years he’s been out of the spotlight. Today he’s debuted another new track, “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
Sadly, it’s not a cover of the famous Simple Minds song by the same name, though it’s likely that it was one of the influences on the track considering its widescreen ambitions. It’s a woozy slab of synths that on its back half turns into an outright jam with duet vocals and some slicing guitars. Those guitars come courtesy of the Invisible’s Dave Okumu, and the track was co-produced by Julian Bunetta.
Read the rest of this article at Stereogum
