JMSN – Bout it
JMSN has released what is possibly the most hilarious music video of the year, for his latest single Bout It. The clip features the artist singing his heart out in various windy places looking forlorn, reflective and terribly dramatic. I personally got Jesus vibes… It’s been a sweet run for JMSN lately, he’s had vocals on Kendrick Lamar tracks as well as on Ta-Ku’s latest album. He’s also set to do a live Boiler Room set with Ta-Ku tomorrow night in Perth, in which Ta-Ku will be debuting his new album. You can also catch him at Splendour!
Lianne La Havas – What You Don’t Do
Lianne La Havas is one of those artists you just know is going to be big. She is absolutely stunning, and her songs are both charming, uplifting and incredibly honest. The music video for her latest track What You Don’t Do is simple and tasteful. Directed by Leila and Damien De Blinkk, it follows a bit of a jungle theme, using a really beautiful colour scheme of greens, pinks and blacks. The film plays with lighting to highlight La Havas almost as if she’s in a spotlight. La Havas’ eagerly anticipated second album Blood is set to come out on July 31st.
Japanese Wallpaper – Forces ft. Airling
Melbourne based songwriter, producer and instrumentalist Japanese Wallpaper (who is on tour next week) has released a gorgeous video for his latest singe Forces, and it is absolutely uplifting. The film is directed by Jacques Poluleuligaga, and features a girl walking around a big rainforest. It seems simple, but Poluleuligaga captures that incredible peaceful feeing of being completely surrounded by the forest. The track itself is beautiful, featuring vocals by Airling. For more Japanese Wallpaper, check out our review of his latest record here.
Eska – Shades of Blue
One of the UK’s most loved, yet little known singers, has finally taken the centre stage with the release of her new self-titled album. Shades of Blue features on the record, and it is absolutely adorable. Eska has been well-known as a go-to collaborator for years, working with artists like Grace Jones, Cinematic Orchestra, Ty, Tony Allen and Bobby McFerrin. Here she comes into her own. Eska conveys her warm humorous personality effortlessly, both through the lyrics and in her sassy performance. The clip itself is really effective, using patterns with ink to highlight the different emotional impact of various colours.
HOWQUA – Her
HOWQUA has released a fabulous song and video in celebration of women! The song initially started out as a celebration of the artists’ sister, but soon grew to encompass all of the women in his life. The music video features a series women that mean a lot to the artist personally, dancing in front of the camera. It starts out incredibly cute. Everybody’s a little bit awkward but in a nice way.They aren’t actors, they are family and friends so the film has a really nice honesty to it. My only criticism is it doesn’t really move on from that.. as empowering as this track may be, it gets a bit old watching people dance uncomfortably for over three minutes.
Requiem – Louvres
Watching this, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or take it seriously. The track features vocals by singer/songwriter David Crowe, and gives a rapper’s documentation of the artists’ relocation from Melbourne to Darwin. He talks of adjusting to the different way of life, of eating pawpaw salad, sharing a sunset of orange and pink and waiting up for the monster rain. I think a lot of Australian hip-hop and rap artists try to sound like something they’re not, and become part of this bigger Aussie hip-hop narrative, resulting in a sound that is generic and inauthentic. It’s nice to have an artist rap about what he’s really experiencing.
Seth Sentry – Hell Boy
Seth Sentry’s been killing it lately. His latest track Hell Boy has made number one on Aria Charts, and his most recent album Strange New Past was featured as Triple J Album of the Week. The music for Hell Boy is humorous, if not slightly creepy. It features an angrier, more aggressive side to Sentry that we haven’t really experienced before. He speaks about letting that bad side of you shine through, and the clip features a naughty child who goes around doing just that. Sinister lighting highlights the shadows and lines of Sentry’s face, turning that cuddly guy that we’re so used to into someone much scarier. The clip’s actually really effective. For more on Seth, read our feature interview here!