The best songs of the week
Looking for more new music? Follow the Nialler9 New Music playlist on Spotify. Updated weekly. Hit the last page for the Soundcloud playlist.
1.
Jessy Lanza
It Means I Love You
Shangaan electro-inspired minimal dance on Hyperdub.
Katharine Philippa is one of my favourite Irish artists and one of the most talented I’ve seen play live.
Jessy Lanza’s new single has a Shangaan Electro bounce to it. From her forthcoming second album Oh No produced with Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan in her hometown of Ontario, as the first one was, ‘It Means I Love You’ is a playful electronic track that is spacious but bangs hard due to the fast BPM. Lanzy says new album Oh No addresses her own constant nervousness and is inspired by Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Oh No is out in May.
2.
Massive Attack feat. Tricky
Take It There
The band release EP featuring Tricky, Roots Manuva & Young Fathers.
With the Bristol dystopian trip-hop band back on the road and with a new generative app released, the band dropped the first of two EPs due this year before an album and Ritual Spirit is chock with collaborators: Tricky, Roots Manuva, Azekel & Young Fathers.
‘Take It In’ is Massive Attack moodiness on autopilot to be honest, but they excel at these ember-burning dirges. The addition of old pal Tricky lifts the song’s stature.
The EP in full is on Spotify and iTunes:
3.
DJDS
I Don’t Love You
The US duo formerly known DJ Dodger Stadium bring the power.
Jerome LOL and Samu Soundboy released a collaborative album together as DJ Dodger Stadium which notably gave us the building euphoria of ‘Love Songs’. On new album cut ‘I Don’t Love You’ they are at it again, using the titular lyric as the foundation for a marching band beat and synth elevation. New album Stand Up And Speak dropped Friday.
https://soundcloud.com/bodyhigh/djds-i-dont-love-you
4.
Luh
I&I
Ex Wu Lyf singer makes something sweeter with Ebony Hoorn.
Luh is the newest project from Ellery Roberts, formerly of the band Wu Lyf. Teaming up with Ebony Hoorn, for the band which stands for Lost Under Heaven, resulted in a debut track ‘Unites’ in 2014. They’ve spent the last 18 months working privately and are now ready with new music.‘I&I’ is something sweeter, made with the help of the Haxan Cloak on the island of Osea, and the vocals of Ebony Hoorn contrasting Roberts’ scratched gravelled voice. The band are based in Amsterdam.
5.
XO
Divine Disaster
More bounce to the ounce. Jamie Woon style.
The 20 year-old English producer Sunil Heera aka XO introduces himself with a sweet headnodding beat that ushers in some piano stabs and the soulful voice of Sydney James Chatburn on ‘Divine Disaster’.
The song develops an Kaytranada R&B beat style swing and things continue to seep in from there, sounding like a popper bouncier Jamie Woon or AlunaGeorge.
The song is from a two-track EP released 26th February He Loves You Not Recordings.
6.
Cian Nugent
Lost Your Way
A standout from the Dubliner’s third album Night Fiction.
Cian Nugent’s album Night Fiction, released this week on Woodsist, is a culmination of all of his previous explorations, folk, country, guitar blues and alternative indie. The introduction of Nugent’s cracked, tender loped voice for the first time that sets this album apart from the rest of his work and draws comparisons to Kurt Vile and Tobias Jesso Junior while retaining a more amateur innocence. Album opener ‘Lost Your Way’ is an example of all of the above, set to a lilting expressive arrangement.
7.
Fraser Jane
Enough
Charming alt-pop.
The London-based Irish singer-songwriter wrote, played and produced her debut single and what an interesting first gambit it is: percussive scratches, tribal drums that skate and voices that boom and groan along with soaring strings and a sweet timbre.
https://soundcloud.com/fraserjanemusic/enough
8.
Katy B x Kaytranada
Honey
A new smooth track from the Londoner’s new LP
Katy B has a new album called Honey coming described as “a love letter to Katy’s natural home – the global club underground.” As a result, everyone who works in music is on it – Major Lazer, Kaytranada, Jamie Jones, Four Tet, Craig David, Sasha Keable, Floating Points, Novelist, Mr Mitch, Hannah Wants, MissngNo and Wilkinson among them. ‘Honey’ is the Kaytranada co-production, a smooth and sweet song.
9.
Flume feat. Vince Staples, Kucka
Smoke & Retribution
Third track from the Aussie producer’s second LP
Just two weeks after introducing ‘Never Be Like You’, Flume teams up for a skittery beat banger featuring rising rapper Vince Staples, and Kucka, who undeniably sounds like Aluna Francis (AlunaGeorge’s new track incidentally sounds like Major Lazer). New album Skin comes out later this year.
10.
Mikael Seifu
How To Save A Life (Vector Energy)
Ethiopian inspired experimentalism.
Addis Ababa-based musician makes music clearly inspired by his country’s established music traditions but there’s a search for new forms too. The result is a “dream brew” of Jazz, Electronics and a new Ethiopian music slang.
Here’s this week’s Soundcloud playlist with some extra new music tunes:
More new music? Follow the Nialler9 New Music playlist on Spotify. Updated with the best in new music.
