Nialler9’s favourite songs of the month, all in one place. See the Spotify playlist at the end of the piece.
Featuring: Jamie xx, Caribou, Babyrose, BadBadNotGood, Curtisy, Sloucho, Fontaines D.C., UTO, Jessica Pratt, John Glacier, Kara Jackson, System Olympia and more.
Baby Rose, BadBadNotGood
Weekness
The Canadian jazz band BadBadNotGood have proven themselves boundless collaborators in their work with rappers (Ghostface Killah, Danny Brown) and singers (Charlotte Day Wilson) but there’s a special alchemy at play between the notes of their latest work – a full six-track EP collaboration with Atlanta-based Washington singer Baby Rose.
Rose’s voice oozes classic soul and jazz diva operatics – her singing voice sounds older than her 29 years – closer to the howling vibrato of Shirley Bassey. On ‘Weekness’ the combination of the throwback singing voice and BadBadNotGood’s tightly-wound loose playing leads to an elegant musical repartee.
Jamie xx, Honey Dijon
Baddy On The Floor
Arriving days after Caribou’s UK Garage inspired ‘Honey’, and between his B2B with that artist and Floating Points, ‘Baddy On The Floor’ is Jamie xx’s latest pitch for festival tune of the summer.
A remotely recorded collaboration between Jamie and Honey Dijon, the song’s piano-house and horns bring this track into the summer zone.
Curtisy, Ahmed With Love, Lonely Chap
Wok To Blackrock
Dublin rapper Curtisy’s debut album WHAT WAS THE QUESTION is one of the finest rap albums out of Ireland in quite a while.
‘Wok To Blackrock’ is a woozy rap tune with pals Ahmed, With Love and Lonely Chap in tow.
System Olympia, Working Men’s Club
Sanctified
You could float away on this sweet track, a convention-defying turn from a London-based producer, songwriter and vocalist, mostly known for synth-pop and electro tunes. ‘Sanctified’ features vocals from English act Working Men’s Club.
It’s from a four-track EP out May 16th on Okay Nature Records.
Sloucho, Emby, k-caz
Brand New
‘Brand New’ is a track from enigmatic Irish producer Sloucho, from his debut album NPC, out now on Sweet Sun.
As the title of the album suggests (“non playing character”), Sloucho’s work explores identity and expectation of form in the visual aspect accompanying the music’s hyperpop bass Cloudclore-parallel electronic music.
‘Brand New’ features MCs Emby and Zack Oke over a taut synth line and garage beat.
The video by digital creator Aisling Phelan who has exhibited at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and UNIQLO’s Tate Lates Display at Tate Modern.
The rapper avatars were made using a motion capture suit worn by EMBY and Zack, which was then imported into Unreal Engine, using different environments scanned from around the Greek Islands as the backdrop, which were degraded to look more like a digital wasteland, before being shot like a real-life rap video.
The end result feels like a surreal GTA Easter Egg, and the video was two years in the making.
Nilüfer Yanya
Like I Say (I Runaway)
Nilüfer Yanya is back with her first song since 2022’s album Painless.
‘Like I Say (I runaway)’, the English artist’s first release new label on Ninja Tune, and dominates with wonky alternative guitar fuzz (I hear Nirvana ‘All Apologies’) and a tamped vocal delivery.
“It’s about how you choose to spend your time. Time is like a currency, every moment. You’re never going to get it back. It’s quite an overwhelming thing to realise.”
The video featuring Nilüfer as a runaway bride was directed by Yanya’s sister Molly Danie, and the song was written in in collaboration with Yanya’s creative partner, Wilma Archer, who has been part of her work since the excellent debut Miss Universe.
New Jackson
With The Night At Our Feet
The closing track on David Kitt’s latest New Jackson album Oops Pop! is a techno pop crown for the album as a whole.
‘With The Night At Our Feet’ is a glorious dance pop track with Margie Jean Lewis on backing vocals. It’s a fine curtain closer on a strong release for the Irish artist.
OOPS!… POP features collaborators Rita Lynn, Donnacha Costello, Riche “Jape” Egan, Yenkee, Kean Kavanagh,Margie Jean Lewis, Meg Cronin and Fehdah so it’s all-cast affair this time around.
Kara Jackson
Right, Wrong Or Ready
A worthy reminder that Kara Jackson’s Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? was one of 2023’s best albums, so it’s nice to hear Kara cover a folk songwriter classic in Karen Dalton, a stopgap song released to mark some US dates and that Jackson plays live to open her shows.
“‘Right, Wrong or Ready’ is one of my favorite songs that has become a mainstay in my live sets. I love the song because it’s not quite a love song, but more so a statement of the kind of limbo love can become when a person has been on your mind for way too long. A love song for the lonely.”
John Glacier
Nevasure
I have been putting this tune from London experimental rapper, producer, and poet John Glacier’s recent EP Like A Ribbon into heavy rotation.
I previously featured a Vegyn collaboration, and ‘Money Shows’.
Caribou
Honey
Honey’ is a the first Caribou from the Dan Snaith’s project in over two years.
The song takes more of a dancefloor vibe than most Caribou music to date, echoing the work of Daphni, his dance moniker.
The track was arranged by Snaith and Kieran Hebden.
‘Honey’ leans on the UK garage wobbling bassline and comes with a video by Shynola’s Richard Kenworthy with flamingos as the theme.
No word on a new album as yet or whether this features.
Fontaines D.C.
Starburster
Four albums deep, it’s exciting to hear Fontaines D.C explore production and sonics with James Ford at the helm.
It’s hard to know how ‘Starburster’ will stack up in the context of Romance when its released on August 23rd, but it’s clearly a swerve in the rock’n’roll road with nods to nu-metal guitars, and the panic-motioning breaths from Grian Chatten (who sounds more like Liam Gallagher than he ever has previously).
The song’s lyrics are largely rooted not in place (with the exception of “For a GPO and all the hits in it”) but desire, and as the bumpf which accompanied the release suggests a band unmoored from addressing their home country (“Now we look to where and what else there is to be romantic about,” Conor Deegan said of the album title).
‘Starburster’ marks a new chapter for the band, their first without producer Dan Carey, and there’s enough of a widescreen feel to the song, particularly the gentle breakdown – to suggest that Fontaines have new shades to show us.
UTO
Napkin
A French duo making intriguing largely indie IDM electronic pop (with nods tdream-pop, indie, shoe-gaze and folk), with their second album When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire on InFiné – the title is actually a Bill Callahan lyric, and the album is partly or wholly informed by Neysa Mae Barnett and Emile Larroche’s relationship as a couple and artistic collaborators.
‘Napkin’ is the album’s most edifying track moving from atmospheric songwriting to ’90s rave pianos and breakbeats.
“Everything starts, everything stops in the unknown” are the opening words of this song, handwritten on a paper towel. Much like the fate of a paper towel. This song speaks to all those who jot down their thoughts and leave words on the bedside table..”
The Streets, Overmono
Turn The Page
Overmono have ben playing their own version of The Streets’ ‘Turn The Page’ in their live shows over the past couple of years.
The official remix just dropped on XL and is also available on 12″.
Overmono play Forbidden Fruit this summer, and are on tour across Europe as below.
Since the release of last year’s Good Lies, Overmono dropped one of their tune highlights in their collaboration with Joy Orbison and Kwengface in ‘Freedom 2’ along with ‘Blowout’ and a recent collaboration with Lil Yachty and Fred again..
Kynsy
Money
Dublin indie artist Kynsy has returned with a new song ‘Money’ on the UK indie label Nice Swan (Sprints, Chalk and English Teacher.)
‘Money’ is the first tune from Kynsy since the 2022 EP Something To Do With Love, which featured ‘Love of Your Life’, ‘Point Of You’ and ‘New Year’.
I love the song’s indie throwback brightness.
“‘Money’ is a song about the depths of love, nostalgia, and longing, painting a vivid picture of emotional complexity. Through references to past memories, desires for something more, and a mix of conflicting emotions like love, tears, and uncertainty, I explore the intricate journey of the heart. The repeated mantra of “I’ll be okay” and the juxtaposition of swimming and drowning in money hint at a quest for stability and reassurance amidst the emotional whirlwind. Ultimately, my words reflect a personal narrative of love, longing, and the unwavering belief that clarity will come in due time.”
Debby Friday
To The Dancefloor
I Loved Debby Friday’s alt R&B pop tune ‘So Hard To Tell’ which featured on the Polaris Music Prize-winning album Good Luck, and on ‘To The Dancefloor’ things are toughened up with the same production team of Debby Friday, Holy Fuck’s Graham Walsh and Detroit ghettotech producers HiTech.
There’s a bit of a PC Music vibe to the song’s irreverent dance music style, and it comes with a early 2000s VR games-referencing video directed by Friday with camerawork by Stella Gigliotti.
“I <3 the internet. I got the idea from watching Youtubers and TikTokers and thinking about how I used to spend hours playing games like Sims 3 and IMVU.”
IDER
Girl
The under-rated UK duo of IDER are back with their first song since the 2021 album Shame. ”Girl’ is a sonic reminder of the Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville’s evocative electronic pop music, and their derft hand at writing earworm melodies, this time out with a bit more of a club-dynamic feel.
“Girl is a celebration of our inner wolves and the many different faces of femininity – soft, powerful, gentle and fierce, compassionate, destructive, demonic and divine.
“It sums up the feeling of freedom when you’re moving with your favourite people, and you don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
NxWorries
86 Sentra
Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge are back on their beat-nodding bullshit with
A second Nxworries album, Why Lawd? is out on Stone Throw on June 7th, 8 years on from the debut Yes Lawd!.
Cruza
Supa Anxious
Also very much vibing on this track from the Orlando four-piece Cruza.
Woozy textures, downbeats and razor-thing guitars under whispery vocals that feel like walking into a particularly nice band jam.
“I <3 the internet. I got the idea from watching Youtubers and TikTokers and thinking about how I used to spend hours playing games like Sims 3 and IMVU.”
Rory Sweeney, EMBY, Keanu The Pilot
Pull Up
Producer Rory Sweeney has an Irish hip-hop mixtape coming out May 17th, set apart from his more sonic electronic focused work.
Irish Hash Mafia pulls together some of the best voices in Irish hip-hop under Sweeney’s pseudonym Carlos Danger.
It features ‘Pull Up’ with Emby and Keanu The Pilot and tracks with Curtisy, E The Artist, Owin, Ahmed, With Love; Yeire13, Lonely Chap and more.
“Irish Hash Mafia mixtape is a love letter to the DIY sound and ethos of 90s Southern hip hop, as well as a time capsule of the left field DIY sounds being explored by the Irish underground. Myself and a lot of the artists here are starting to get caught up in the cogs of the music industry and I think its important to put out this mixtape as an archive of the free spirited sounds we’ve been exploring together over the past 2-3 years. The mixtape, While primarily being southern trap, also explores other fringe sounds, such as experimental grime and abstract hip hop amongst others. Heavily inspired and indebted to Tommy Wright iii, Princess Loko, Ten Wanted Men, Lil Noid, DJ Paul, Lo Key, Lil Yo, SpaceGhostPurpp, Lil Ugly Mane, Shawty Pimp, too many to even list here. Their groundbreaking art, attitude and disregard for the music industry is an endless inspiration and I would encourage everyone to dig deep into this beautiful sound. Youtube channels such as Psychopathicsavage and SouldjahFromTheNorth have done an incredible job archiving the tape only releases from the time.”
Jessica Pratt
The Last Year
How does Jessica Pratt manage to sound like she’s being beamed in from another era of time past?
‘The Last Year’ is the third single from the new album Here In The Pitch
Every week, the Nialler9 Spotify Weekly Playlist is updated with new music, and in this corner, we share the playlist and highlight some some select songs from the list below.
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