Friday is release day and here’s the first things that caught my ear while listening to new songs out.
See the New Music section for individual posts on tracks.
Billie Eilish & Rosalia – ‘Lo Vas Al Olvidar’
The long-touted collaboration between two of the coolest rising artists in recent years, Billie and Rosalia’s ‘Lo Vas Al Olvidar’ features on the newest episode of the HBO show Euphoria which airs this Sunday in the US.
The track isn’t a marquee melding of the two artists, and with Billie singing in Spanish, it leans more in Rosalia’s favour overall. The song was produced by Finneas and the video directed by Nabil. In the end, it’s more of a nice curiosity.
Bicep – ‘Cazenove‘
Bicep’s new album Isles dropped today on Ninja Tune and ‘Cazenove’ is an early previously unheard track from my first listen.
Anna B Savage – ‘Baby Grand‘
With a debut album out next week on City Slang called A Common Turn, Anna B Savage’s ‘Baby Grand’ encapsulates the London-born artist’s craft with a true from her life story about an uncertain relationship that pulls you into its intimate vignette.
The song is about her ex-boyfriend and filmmaker Jem Talbot who codirected the short film with Anna accompanying the song which retells some of the story of their relationship.
“Jem was my first love. For three years we’ve been working on a film together about our past relationship. This song is written about a night Jem and I had, just after we’d started work on the film. This night was – like much of the filmmaking process – very confusing. Taut with unexpressed emotions, vulnerability, and miscommunication.
Anna B Savage
“Having not spoken to me in seven years, Anna sent me a text out of the blue saying she’d had a dream about me. Perhaps by chance, or by cosmic serendipity, I’d been listening to her EP and already dreaming up a film idea the two of us could collaborate on. Three years later, she’s releasing her debut album and I’ve finished that film. In that time, both our mediums have been in a constantly shifting dialogue with each other, a dialogue that has mirrored the ebbs and flows of our connectedness in the present day. The film is an exploration of the how and why some people just crawl into your heart and make a home there.”
Jem Talbot
Savage just moved to Dublin from London as it happens.
Madlib – ‘Dirtknock‘
Madlib’s new album made with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden, Sound Ancestors, is out next week and they’ve been teasing out wonky rhythms like ‘Dirtknock’ and not to say it’s not interesting but I think it’s going to make a lot more sense all heard together.
Sal Dulu – ‘Girl‘
Ahead of the release of Xompulse, the Dublin producer’s debut album on February 19th, Sal Dulu comes through with a beat production that sounds like he’s captured soul music in a rotating prism.
CHAI – ‘Action’
The Japanese foursome CHAI announced their third album Wink will be out on Sub Pop in May and I really like the contrast happening on ‘Action’ compared to their previous material. It’s electro-spun track was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement last summer.
Ailsa Tully – ‘Parasite’
The Welsh singer-songwriter Ailsa Tully is a new discovery to me today, which came via the intriuging track artwork which the drew me in. The song is what held my attention.
Caz9 – ‘OK’
Electro-pop artist Caz9 is taking the New Year’s resolutions seriously and renouncing her bad habits through song. “Chasing the high from a party to alleviate your worries is cathartic, but too much of a good thing can leave you empty and eventually I realised I couldn’t keep “doing this to myself” – which is the last line of the song.”
The Gauze – ‘Uphold’
Bantum’s Ruairi Lynch and Ealadha’s Dom Murphy continue their murky electronic exploits under The Gauze banner.
Tropolis – ‘Silver Line’
A new one from Michael Hopkins and Andrew Lloyd’s new project, which arrived with promises of much more to come this year.
Badlands – ‘Southbound Call’
The Swedish producer and composer Badlands (Catharina Jaunviksna), recently collaborated with the Irish musican J.Cowhie and the followup is a glittering wall of sound with ’80s influences. The Badlands album Djinn is out on March 5th on RITE.
Joshua Burnside – ‘The Only Thing I Fear’ – uladh remix
As Uladh, Joel Harkin provides a floaty and wistful take on Burnside’s original from his recent War On Everything EP.
Jehnova – ‘Unplugged’
This tune from the Dublin rapper is definitely not an acoustic version.
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