Octo Octa – I Need You
The incantation that begins Octo Octa’s “I Need You,” 30 seconds of euphoric moaning, could introduce any number of songs. A post-yoga chant could develop with layers of blissed-out voices and the hum of a harmonium. A ’90s house sound might emerge, with a diva calling the shots over groovy drums. What actually happens is a bit of both, nine full minutes of bliss masquerading as a beauty of a dance track. “I Need You” is unquestionably the most perfect moment yet for Octo Octa, a producer who was a core member of the scrappy and adventurous house sound of the California label 100% Silk just a few years ago. Newly signed to Ninja Tune, her skills as a producer have caught up with her ambition. While “I Need You” is not a complicated song it still grabs you tight and hugs you close.
There are brief jabs of dissonance that do give the song dimension, a few separate melodies that ebb and flow. And about halfway through “I Need You,” someone speaks. It’s a quiet, brief list of people who are needed: family, friends, loved ones. “I love you. Thank you for being there. It means so much to me.” That last sentence is repeated, until it eventually fades away. But it’s so earnest you won’t forget it. If you’re listening to the song close, if you’re dancing hard, if you’re sad and need a pick-me-up, if you’re in love and want an anthem, you’ll shout it from the rooftops.
Read the rest of this article at Pitchfork
C Duncan – Impossible
Set for release via FatCat Records on March 29, 2019. C Duncan’s highly-anticipated third album sees the Scottish multi-instrumentalist ditch his bedroom studio and work with other producers, engineers and musicians for the first time. “This was the biggest shift in dynamic for me,” he explains, “having always worked alone, it was a daunting prospect but one I knew I had to explore.” Navigating themes of love, anxiety and sexuality, HEALTH (produced by elbow’s Craig Potter) is a deeply personal record that delves into a world Duncan had previously felt uneasy exploring. “Writing it was a very cathartic process” he continues. “It helped me through a lot of tough times and also to celebrate the good.”
Warm and harmonically rich, Duncan delightfully juxtaposes the vibrant and wholesome aesthetic of the album with an often-darker lyrical undertone, pushing himself to refine and explore new ways of writing. As the sole protagonist of his self-carved niche, Health sees Duncan evolve and expand its parameters in mesmerizing fashion.
Out now, the album’s first single “Impossible” documents the highs and lows of a long-distance relationship with an ex-boyfriend. “At one point he was working night shifts, so it was very hard to communicate with each other because our schedules were completely out of sync. I wanted to see him all of the time, but it was impossible to do at that point in time,” Duncan explains. Strings and oddball psychedelic sounds combine with equal vigor, it’s jarring rhythmic art-funk of offering an accurate portrayal based on personal experience.
Read the rest of this article at The Prelude Press
Theophilus London – Whiplash (Feat. Tame Impala)
Theophilus London and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker have been circling around each other and collaborating together for a couple of years now. Last fall, they debuted music they wrote together at a show in Los Angeles, and soon after London took to online radio to play a few tracks that they had worked on together.
One of them was “Only You,” a cover of a song by Nigerian musician Steve Monite that was officially released back in October, and another was “Whiplash,” which has been available illicitly online for a few years.
Read the rest of this article at Stereogum
Powder – New Tribe
As dance music devotees around the world began to rave about the DJ sets and tracks emanating from Japanese newcomer Powder, the discussion pivoted to how producer Moko Goto worked by day in a windowless office on the 43rd floor in a building in Shinjuku, a hyper-commercial Tokyo district, and made her tracks at night. But as her bookings expanded worldwide, she found herself torn: pursue the mirth-making if uncertain lure of music or remain at her secure job in the face of economic anxiety?
Powder’s quandary gets transformed into an anime superheroine origin story in the video for “New Tribe,” the delectable highlight of her forthcoming Beats in Space mix, the choice between stay or go played out on the streets of Tokyo. (You can watch as those two forces pound at her brain until she turns into a peach-headed superstar DJ spinning fish on the decks.) Full of martial snares, giddy acid lines, gruff worker chants, and glassine chimes that send tingles through the nervous system, Powder carefully tilts the track towards the transcendent. For as enthralling and eclectic as her past productions have been, “New Tribe” foregrounds her own sense of joy, with an angelic chorus joining in as the track builds towards a zenith. It contains all the unbridled ecstasy of walking away from your miserable day job, never to look back.
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Afronaut – SEED ENSEMBLE
Named after Samuel R. Delany’s 1971 collection of science-fiction short stories.
SEED ensemble – the ten-piece outfit led by composer and saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi – are releasing their debut album Driftglass, via jazz:refreshed this March.
SEED Ensemble’s sound combines elements of jazz with West African and Caribbean-influenced grooves, while also nodding to London inspirations.
Describing the mission of the group, Kinoshi explains: “SEED Ensemble is my way of celebrating the vibrant and distinctive diversity that has significantly influenced what British culture has become over the centuries.”
“I also hope that aspects of the music succeed in planting a ‘seed’ of awareness within the current climate of our society. It’s important to me that I shine a light on political subject matter which is often disregarded by the masses and highlight what it means to exist as a young Black British citizen today.”
Featuring members of Nerija, Kokoroko and Sons of Kemet, the group also includes tuba player Theon Cross, whose new solo LP Fyah is one of our favourite records being released in early 2019, trumpeter Sheila Maurice-Grey, tenor saxophonist Chelsea Carmichael and guitarist Shirley Tetteh.
Read the rest of this article at The Vinyl Factory
