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.
Here’s something weird! Billie Eilish is a 17-year-old pop singer with weirdo aspirations and with a massive online fanbase. Roma, on the other hand, is a slow, lyrical, beautiful Mexican art film about the life of a domestic worker who lives with a relatively wealthy family in Mexico City in 1970 and 1971.
The Afrobeat-infused disco project Ibibio Sound Machine, based in London and fronted by Nigerian native Eno Williams, impressed us with last year’s Eiyo EP and the single “Basquiat.”
So his debut, X100PRE, at first seems like an odd concession to the old-school from an artist who made old-school look thoroughly obsolete — if singles are enough to get you into the studio with Drake, why bother with a full-length?
Dev Hynes has returned to Negro Swan – the latest album under his Blood Orange moniker, released back in August — for a remix of “Smoke,” the project’s closing track.
Foxing vocalist Conor Murphy laughs when I say his band’s strange, glittery, and stunningly produced new album, Nearer My God, sounds like they went for broke. “I think we literally went for broke.
Planningtorock has a brand new album coming our way in November called ‘Powerhouse’, and this week she is giving us just a tiny taste of what we can expect with the smooth, gooey sounds of ‘Much to Touch’.
We’ve covered Luboku before, back last year when he was releasing his moody single The Surface. Now, he’s well and truly one to keep an eye on in 2018, with the Melbourne musician following it up with something a bit more colourful and vibrant in Without You.
Usually, Gabe Gurnsey is fifty percent of acclaimed techno outfit Factory Floor which is mostly known for its pumping and eclectic way of designing efficient dance music. It’s probably no surprise that Gurnsey would sooner or later get interested in exploring different structures.
The world needs to get ready for Little Simz. The British MC continues her rollout of edgy singles with her latest entitled “Boss.” Following in the footsteps of her previous release “Offence,” which was her first since her last album in 2016, “Boss” not only continues a new musical aesthetic with live instruments, but it also shows her with a more fiery attitude as she forges new musical ground.
Unless you live in the Bay Area, chances are you probably haven’t been bumping Jay Stone. He’s a 29-year-old MC from Oakland who’s got a knack for painting vivid portraits of everyday life in the heads of listeners.
Tirzah is never not a breath of fresh air, from her casual delivery to the mellow rasp of her tone. This week, the Essex singer announced her debut album, Devotion, which she made in collaboration with her longtime friend, the composer Mica Levi (aka Micachu).
“We get to choose our families; we are not limited by biology. We get to make ourselves, and we get to make our families,” says Janet Mock at the beginning of “Charcoal Baby.”
