The 5 best songs of the week

Błoto

Muchomor

Błoto are a Polish experimental jazz group with hip-hop influences whose 2021 album Kwasy i zasady put them on my radar.

Their fourth album Grxybnia (which means “Mycelium”) was just released and ‘Muchomor’ sounds like a Bernard Herrman horror score, a Psycho-esque stringed tension mounting instrumental as played by BadBadNotGood.

Biig Piig

Decimal

After the 2023 debut mixtape Bubblegum soft landed a full-length experience from Ireland-born Biig Piig, the artist has teased songs from a forthcoming debut album release with the pounding club pop of ‘Watch Me’ and the lower key ‘4AM’.

‘Demical’ is the latest from that soon to be announced record, with the artist switching between Spanish and English on a full-bodied song about an inescapable attraction. The club-leaning bassline is partly inspired by the studio where it was made – Paris’ Motorbass studios, founded by recently deceased French producer Philippe Zdar of Cassius. A lot of great dance music, and French touch was made there.

Ahmed, With Love.

GeorgianFlip.

Dublin/Sierra Leonean rapper Ahmed Karim Tamu’s debut mixtape Comma, Full Stop (instructions for the stylising of his name) dropped last week, and among the nine-track 25-minute collection of vibey hip-hop and Brazilian-influenced tracks is this short and memorable beat that demands an elongated guest verse remix if you ask me.

Warmduscher, CouCou Chloe

Cleopatras

The new Warmduscher track is a percussive garage breaks meets punk funk hoedown, and teases their forthcoming album Too Cold To Hold, to be released- out November 15th on Strap Originals.

I featured the London-based French artist CouCou Chloe’s solo work last year, and Warmduscher’s album also featuresIrvine Welsh, Lianne La Havas, Jeshi and Confidence Man’s Janet Planet.

They play Opium in Dubin on November 16th.

Skinner

Geek Love

As Skinner’s manager, I’m obviously biased in liking his music, and ‘Geek Love’ is another fine twist of the no-wave knife, which is collected on a short-EP alongside the previously released songs ‘New Wave Vaudeville’ and ‘Tell My Ma’.

‘Geek Love’ is pure taut noisy punk-funk with bongo percussion, firey saxophone, razor-wire guitars and a lyric that celebrates the outsiders. A debut album is released in January.

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The 5 best songs of the week

“This song is inspired by one of my favourite books “Geek Love” by Katherine Dunn. It’s about a bunch of circus freaks that live in an isolated travelling circus community who never interact with the general public apart from their live shows for fear of harassment and persecution for who they are. I think being a functional member of society can be claustrophobic at the best of times and it’s draining to constantly be trying to meet people’s standards and fit in if you’re different. I liked the book because it celebrates being weird and original instead of always trying to sweep that part of your existence under the carpet. I also think it’s quite empowering to be able to make someone uncomfortable by doing nothing more than just being yourself.”