Imlay – Gaze
I came across this new release by chance the other day, and I was floored on first listen. From what I could gather, Imlay is a fresh solo future bass project from Seoul, South Korea, with a heavy trap influence. A lack of presence on the web and language barrier kept me from learning more, but if material like Gaze keeps popping up, we’ll definitely let you know.
Check out Imlay here.
Jaymes Young – What Should I Do
Seattle native Jaymes Young’s ascent began in 2013 after he signed with Atlantic Records and went on tour with London Grammar. September 2014 marked the release of his sophomore EP Habits Of My Heart, which beautifully showcased both his singer-songwriter and production chops. What Should I Do is a standout, laying down funky bass lines, crisp vocals and an irresistible indie rock/R&B-influenced chorus. Listen for the break at 0:56 — you won’t be disappointed.
Check out Jaymes Young here.
Tennyson – Lay-by
Teenage sister-brother duo Tess and Luke Pretty are Tennyson, an instrumental act from Edmonton, Canada. The B-side to their new single With You, Lay-by is a modern-day nocturne that slows the car to the shoulder, kills the engine, slides on the hood, and melts under the stars. Born from that oh so familiar sound of the open car door, the two manage to craft a jaw-droppingly creative and lyrical piece that is anything but monotonous or commonplace. The sample slowly dissolves into the mix, becoming nearly imperceptible as we become more and more absorbed in a deep and warm stereo image painted with broad, dark basslines, and dotted with bright, twinkling synth plucks. Tess and Luke “hope this song reminds you to slow down. Sometimes the dark can be beautiful.”
Definitely a group to keep your eye on, check out Tennyson here.
Mullaha – For You Only
UPDATE: SoundCloud link was removed by ENM for some reason. You can still listen to it here:
UK promoter ENM has a knack for finding the sweet spot between glitch-hop and nu-disco. They’ve enlisted a staggering number of budding artists in their ranks, among them London locals Mullaha with a new single For You Only. Coming from a huge Lemaitre-meets-Jamiroquai influence, this 3-year-old underground group is making moves to break out, opening a show for LeMarquis, Oliver Nelson, and Tobtok just a few days ago. They’re worth a good look — and if that Rhodes solo at at 0:45 doesn’t make you double take, I don’t know what will.
Check out Mullaha here.
Jack Tipper & Mike McCann – Caverns
Jack Tipper is an electronic producer from Vermont who recently finished his music schooling at Middlebury College. For his senior composition study, he teamed up with classmate Mike McCann to write Caverns, a fittingly deep and dark cut marked by spacious drip synths, a catchy vocal hook and accompanying vocoder, and a level of depth that screams “talent”. Listening, I can’t help but imagine spelunking endless crystal caves and shadowy grottos — the two captured the theme extremely well.
Check out Jack Tipper here.
Real Slow – 1990
Real Slow is Dylan Marks, a producer from Port Macquarie, Australia, with a fresh new EP out titled things that remind me of you. Released under label and promoter alaya, it’s his first substantial collection of work. 1990, a short but sweet future bass selection decorated with bright bells and filter sweeps, is our must-hear from the record. Little clips from TLC’s classic No Scrubs manage to slide a few words into the hook, but inevitably command the outro in full with a sing-along nostalgia that made this one worth coming back to.
Check out Real Slow here.
Cypress – Fruition
After a long period of silence, the blog is finally back and eager to pick up where we left off. We’ll start with New Orleans native Peter Klingelhofer, 23, who had been making aggressive glitch and step house since 2011 under the title Murder Beach. In 2014 he decided to turn a new leaf, unapologet- ically shifting his influences from the likes of Wolfgang Gartner and Knife Party to alternative electronic artists like Disclosure and What So Not. Now working with a new sound under a new name, Cypress, he caught our ear last month with Fruition. An original, in his words, “inspired by Flume’s Lorde remix and the new Odesza’s new album – this is the result.” You can taste Flume in the hook and What So Not in the build, but there’s a different flavor there in the mix that could, in the future, prove to be distinctly Cypress.
Check out Cypress here.
Genghis Clan & Bott – Roff
DJ Claude VonStroke started throwing free BBQ parties in Golden Gate Park back in 2001, showcasing a different, more experimental breed of house music that drew from hip-hop and garage influences. The success of the parties and talent of the lineup led VonStroke to found Dirtybird Records. Boasting names like Justin Martin, Shiba San, and Eats Everything, the label grew while the parties swelled, eventually becoming so large and infamous that SF officials withdrew VonStroke’s event permits. So, Dirtybird decided it was time to take its BBQ on the road, traveling to Brookyln, Detroit, Toronto, San Francisco, and LA. Now returning home, the label is celebrating the wildly successful tour and holiday spirit with The 7 Days of Dirtybird, 7 new tracks from the label’s seasoned veterans and newcomers. Here’s our favorite, Roff, from Genghis Clan and Bott.
Check out Dirtybird here.
Alexander Lewis x Brasstracks – Distant Memories
Feeling horny lately — A fresh graduate of the Manhattan School of Music’s jazz program, Alexander Lewis got back together once again with Brasstracks for something new, titled Distant Memories. Turning down the tempo since Life is Good, the New Yorkers managed to squeeze a lot of soul into less than three sweet minutes of Brooklyn beat. Those trumpet layers are the work of Ivan Jackson, if you want to give his solo work a listen. Can’t get enough of this combo.
Mura Masa – day 82
It’s been a while since Mura Masa released Miss You, the toy-box track that got us hooked back in September. Since then, the 18 year old producer has put out his debut LP, Soundtrack To A Death, achieving some big recognition across the web and growing an audience he deserves. He’s now back with new material — packed to the brim with bass, brass and R&B samples, here’s feel-good day 82.
Check out Mura Masa here.
Oslo Parks – The Night
Hitting that nonchalant sweet spot between disco-infused electro pop and bass-driven alternative rock, Oslo Parks’ The Night breezes by, leaving a good taste in your mouth and good rhythm in your feet. Coming just after their debut single, Twins, this one is for all you Foster fans out there — should be right down your alley.
Check out Oslo Parks here.
Osca – Trumpet
Osca saw the release of their debut EP Blood recently, and Trumpet was our favorite of four tracks. Introspective and wide with reverberated falsetto harmonies that bring Chris Martin of Coldplay to mind, lead vocalist Jack Kenworthy had this to say in an interview with Q Magazine:
Trumpet was inspired by a novel I was given of the same title. The book is about the life of Joss Moody, a jazz trumpeter in the 50s, who was born a female but chose to live his life as a man in order to pursue a career as a musician. It discusses the question of true identity in relation to our own actions – when Joss was playing the trumpet his gender and sexual identity became irrelevant. I really liked this idea of individuality and it became the basis for the lyrics of the song. The idea of telling someone to be who you are and not to be afraid of that. The line ‘It all doesn’t matter, let the trumpet sound’ is a direct reference to the book.
Check out Osca here.
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.
Myself & Others Advent Calendar
Myself & Others is a year-old London promo group organized by freelance music journalists Tiffany Calver and Errol Anderson. The two usually bring budding underground artists to the fore with regular mixtape features, but in the spirit of the season, they’ve put together a musical advent calendar. Hip hop, soul, downtempo — each day is a new earworm coming from rising names like Karma Kid, Ta-ku, and Stwo. We’ll keep updating this playlist as Christmas day draws near; definitely one to keep coming back to.
Check out Myself & Others here.
Lips – Marian Hill
After a week-long hiatus, we’re back with new music. Samantha Gongol and Jeremy Lloyd together make Marian Hill, an electronic pop duo breaking ground with a new 7″ release yesterday — A-side Got It and B-side Lips — and despite the former reaching #1 on HypeM in October, the latter is our favorite song we’ve heard from the two yet (if you have a soft spot for AlunaGeorge, this one is for you). They met in their childhood, Lloyd hearing Gongol’s voice for the first time at a middle school talent show. After a few years working independent gigs in composition and songwriting, the two got back in touch and began developing a collaboration project: Marian Hill. Now at home in Philadelphia, the two are leaving an impression. And with Lips, they’ve brandished a lot of raw songwriting firepower and creative ammunition — lots of potential for the future.
Check out Marian Hill here.
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