There is a lot of music around, so it’s okay that you might get a little overwhelmed. Each and every week, artists bring their A game with brand new singles, and we have taken it upon ourselves to select ten of the best to treat you, because you’re good to us. This week is pretty electronica heavy, but the tracks are so good even the strongest of sceptics will be boogying in no time. Have a good weekend!
Sofi De La Torre – 19 in Mexico
Sofi De La Torre has continued her steady but rapid rise to international fame and fortune this week, with another new single in the form of 19 In Mexico. It’s got attitude, a good beat and just enough sultry vibes to reel you in. She is just one week out from releasing her Mess EP, and if her slew of tracks that have trickled out over the past few months isn’t enough to make you excited for that, 19 In Mexico should definitely do the trick!
Sonia Stein – Baggage
Sonia Stein wins the award for “Best Voice” this week. Just have a listen to this track. Soulful, rich, deep and perfectly suited to the bouncy, bassy beats she’s singing over, her range and abilities are on full display here with Baggage. Fierce and fiery, she is putting her foot down here and having absolutely none of your shit. Giving a whole new meaning to electro-RnB, Stein makes it almost sound easy to pull off a song like this, and quite frankly, we can’t get enough.
DiamondDahi – NMDB (ft. Little Simz)
DiamondDahi is a brand new collaborative project from bloodpop (formerly known as Blood Diamonds) and DJ Dahi, who have collectively produced for Big Sean, Lupe Fiasco, Tinashe, Madonna and Grimes, with bloodpop even writing a whopping six tracks on Justin Bieber‘s newly released Purpose. So it’s safe to say that this is really, really well-produced song. N.M.B.D or No More Blood Diamonds, features UK rapper Little Simz, who is probably my favourite rapper to have emerged in 2015. For such a young artist, her flow is so on point, and makes for the perfect top line above the swooping synths and smooth percussion. This is a really, really cool track. I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more from DiamondDahi!
Alice Ivy – Walk on (ft. Indigo Fly)
Melbourne’s Alice Ivy has returned with a wonderful new track, Walk On, featuring rappers Indigo Fly. The smooth electro-soul and hip-hop blend is seriously smooth and so catchy, with intricate brass and scratch-infused instrumentation and a rhythm that you can’t help but bop your ahead along to. I absolutely love that more and more music like this is coming out of Australia. Indigo Fly (Eloji and Branford) steal the show with their wicked, on-point flow – again, an indication that the local landscape is not only changing, but growing up.
Owen Rabbit – Denny’s
This isn’t the typical music that I’m into, but Owen caught my attention with Holy Holy back in August, and I LOVE his latest, Denny’s. A weird and wonderful blend of organic and electronic sounds, the soundscape has been pieced together, growing in intensity, layer by layer, with each sound fitting precisely in with the next. The artist has spoken about how the track was influenced by his experiences with depression and anxiety – and it makes for an absolutely powerful track, emotionally as well as musically.
Cubenx – A Sheltering Sky
This is a bit of a left-field entry, but it’s expansive, psychedelic and utterly electric, filled with all kinds of mysterious intrigue and allure. The track’s Soundcloud description includes the following quote, and instead of reviewing it any more, I recommend you have a think about it while you listen: “We’re not tourists, we’re travellers: tourists are someone who thinks about going home on the moment they arrive, whereas a traveler might not come back at all.” This is a STUNNING release from the Mexican producer, aka Cesar Urbina. It features on the just-released 11-track LP Elegiac, which you can and should listen to right here.
Swick – R6 Wheel (dub)
Swick is one of my favourite producers in Australia. I like to think of him as a King Midas of sorts, except whatever he touches turns into a banger instead of gold (aural gold, maybe). R6 Wheel (demo) is no exception. It’s HUGE. Long term friend and collaborator with none other than Nina Las Vegas, this track comes as his “sampler” in a month long series released by Nina’s label NLV Records to showcase the label’s signings. I mean, there are debut tracks, and then there’s this. We cannot possibly get enough of Swick, or anyone on NLV Records for that matter, so here’s hoping this is an indication that even more new music is on the way!
Lower Spectrum, Proxima
This song immediately stopped me in my tracks. The track begins slowly, with deep, drawn-out notes of all kinds of tone and thickness, coming together to shape one hell of a musical landscape. Once the rhythm kicks in, there’s this ominous, suspenseful drive, before giving way to a delicate melodic section with vocal samples and more. The sections all then fuse together, eventually creating an hazy atmosphere filled with shuffling rhythms, a catchy hook and a beat that’s ready for a late-night dance-floor. This is the lead single on Lower Spectrum’s upcoming EP New Haze, set for a 2016 release via Pilerats.
Clubfeet, We Are Affected
Clubfeet have returned! That’s right. They kind of left fans hanging a little since their 2013 Heirs & Graces LP, so this week we are imagining more than a few Clubfeet faithful would have been pleasantly surprised indeed to see the band finally release a new song. Was the wait worth it, though? Absolutely. This slow jam is a sparkling slice of emotive electro pop, and will have you side stepping in no time. It’s groovy, funky, a little disco and mellow-but-not-too-mellow – all the things that make Clubfeet so great. Welcome back guys, we missed you!
XXYYXX, Red
Any day that includes new music from XXYYXX is a good day in our books, so this week was pretty great indeed. Responsible for some of 2013’s best songs, Red is the first release from the young but prolific producer in quite some time – and it does not disappoint. Big, shifting beats fill the space whilst muffled vocal samples are chopped and changed and scattered throughout. Synths whir, the bassline pounds, the groove makes you sway, and the drop is enough to bring you to your knees. We’re not too sure where he’s been, but we sure as hell are glad XXYYXX is back.