EP Spotlight: Troye Sivan – WILD
Troye Sivan is not a newcomer to the limelight. Raised in Australia, Sivan is a decorated actor, YouTube personality, and finally musician; his resume includes the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), winning a Teen Choice Award for his collaboration with YouTube sensation Tyler Oakley (2014), as well as being featured in Papercut off Zedd’s album True Colors (2015). Amidst all of his other successes, Sivan’s music and unabashed openness regarding his homosexuality is quickly propelling the 20-year-old into new heights worldwide. Riding off of the success of his previous label EP TRXYE, which included his earlier hit Happy Little Pill, Sivan’s latest project WILD is surpassing already elevated expectations and is set to make Troye Sivan a recognizable name in popular music.
Read More…
EP: Imagined Herbal Flows – Floating
Ben Gorvine has been churning out 2 to 3 original trip-hop instrumentals a month for the past year from his home studio in DC. With that kind of productivity, you’d expect only a handful of gems to surface among the rest. But his project, Imagined Herbal Flows, is something special. Each and every (and we mean every) IMF experiment has left us stunned since we came across Gorvine’s self-released MindFull LP last spring, a collection of all his published beats up to that point. Now taking the next step, IMF has signed with DDM Recordings (the new label arm of French radio Dealer de Musique) to promote his best new material since MindFull. The Floating EP contains 5 past originals and 1 previously unreleased track, Clouds. We fell in love with these songs when they had first quietly and humbly appeared floating down IMF stream. With this professional debut, Gorvine is now stirring up a storm, and we’re excited to see where it takes him.
EP: Ruck P – Corcovado
Ruck P, of hip-hop turntable duo Ruck N’ Wiz and nu-disco trio Boulevard 95, releases his first solo EP with Flow-Fi. It’s a snapshot of his production skill, stretching across a broad range of genres from jazz and soul to hip-hop and downtempo. Crisp sounds for some weekend r&r featuring artwork from Aywy.
EP: La Mar – Anchor
Just a few weeks ago we fell in love with Mazde’s Shifted Thoughts EP, marking the launch of Stoney Roads Records. Now to follow up we have a debut from Sydney’s Dylan Wright (vocals) and Andrew Grant (production), better known together as La Mar. The duo turned heads upon uploading a demo of Anchor several months ago. The song caught fire and eventually served as the impetus for business talks with Stoney Roads Records. Now La Mar is firmly rooted in the scene with this, their debut EP release. It’s an impressive introduction, and features a noteworthy Mazde remix that cleverly plays with the vocal rhythm of the original.
EP: Mazde – Shifted Thoughts
Stoney Roads is a passionate and reliable Australian editorial organization that’s been promoting hot dance music since 2007. Today they’ve taken the next step, proudly announcing the launch of Stoney Roads Records along with the newborn label’s first release: Mazde’s Shifted Thoughts EP. Mazde, a 20 year old producer from Germany, got a big break with his remix of Disclosure’s Help Me Lose My Mind (playing off the popularity of Flume’s take on You & Me) climbing to well over a million plays. Tastefully drawing from trip-hop, house and bass influences, Mazde built up a unique and polished sound through a substantial collection of remixes and originals, and Shifted Thoughts is short but sweet proof that he has a lot to offer in the future.
EP Spotlight: Anna Lunoe – All Out EP
After enduring months of teasers and promos, Anna Lunoe’s All Out EP is finally all out. Fresh, smooth and sophisticated, it’s a standout in a male-dominated industry that seems to be saturated with uninspired, dull content. Anna is an innovator, citing inspiration from “Sheila E, DJ Spindarella, Kim Deal, Frente, Teena Marie . . . and all other innovative babes.” And this EP is a welcome breath of fresh air, boasting four unique and intricate tracks with a powerful and unabashed feminine edge.
EP Spotlight: Seasons – Alexander Lewis
As the summer quickly winds down and fall rushes in, we have a great season to look back on. Over the next several days we’ll be sharing a few of our most favorite cuts from this summer, and as we transition, reflecting both on the past and the future, it felt fitting to start with Alexander Lewis’ Seasons. A fusion producer from New York, Lewis brings together a strong electronic blend of jazz and hip-hop. Independent label and music collective Flow-Fi recruited him as their first artist to feature on TapeTracks, a biweekly promotion series that produced a handful of great new sounds this summer. Seasons includes two songs: Life is Sweet, a collaboration with Brooklyn’s loud and proud Brasstracks, and the Seasons single itself.
Black Sheep Music Blog 