"Against Interpretation" was the first song that really caught our undivided attention when we first introduced London/Oslo duo Saa back in February, and it was the song we kept coming back to while it was sadlyy gone from their Soundcloud due to the happy news that they got signed to a label. A few thingshave been written about the music of Linn Carin Dirdal and Asher Levitas since then, so suffice it to add that not only are the sombre, slow-burning waves of signature track "Against Interpretation" back for everyone's pleasure, but they're now also accompanied by an absolutely gorgeous and appropriate video, unveiled yesterday and made by Tom Brigden. Watch it below.
Saa's self-titled debut EP is out July 8 on left_blank.
Hey, I remember Wise Blood! That guy that made all of those great, sample-based pop songs that sort of turned into something that resembled hip-hop by way of Panda Bear, rather than, say… J Dilla. With samples (probably) playing a bigger part in music now than they ever have in the history of sound, the simple, Ritalin-treated approach of Wise Blood’s Chris Laufman is a warm gust of wind in the storm of over-compressed Internet beats.
You can listen to "Alarm" below, from his upcoming LP, id, out next week on Dovecote Records.
The new piece by Denver, CO-based Brittany Gould's Married in Berdichev project hit me hard. It came into my ears in the midst of a gentle spring storm, as the rain and wind softly whispered around me and my soul was fragile. That's when I needed it most - the slow-building series of looped whispers and synths laying underneath thoughts of insecurity and dissociation. "I don't feel myself," repeats Gould throughout the fifteen minutes of "Caught". It's an uncomfortable feeling we've all experienced, and Married in Berdichev knows how to drive the point home.
Los Angeles by way of Chicago artist Carol Rhyu records dreamy, reverb-drenched shoegaze as White Blush. New track "Neptune" is a melancholy dream, full of hazy guitars and high-pitched, anxiety-ladden strings camoflauging Rhyu's smooth and calm voice. It's a type of calm before the storm, a dream in between nightmares. We've become enchanted.
White Blush has a full-length album coming out later this year. In the meantime, "Neptune" will be on repeat.
Here's a brand new one from Stockholm's house pioneer Axel Boman entitled "NINJATAPES", breaking most of his self-proclaimed rules in his otherwise more static house jams. It is indeed refreshing to see the Swedish producer make a move towards more of a playful production, but just enough experimentation to allow his core sound shine through.
Now here's a truly excellent one: Pazes is the nom de guerre of Brazilian beatsmith Lucas Febraro, whose origins lie, so we've been told, rather in the post-Dilla school of deranged hip hop. We can't judge on that, to be honest, as all we've heard from the producer so far is one track off his forthcoming album and this remix of "Rompy Exxxtreme" by long-standing NFOP favourite Coyote Clean Up and oh boy, someone's seriously not joking here. It's not that Febraro's interpretation doesn't take any sidetracks and twists and turns at all, but the overwhelming sonic impression is one of surprising and convincing if insidious directness, a 4/4 assault that guides us through a dystopian battleground of virtually infinite reverberation, fading voices, and mind-boggling, unnerving synth lines. Exciting.
Pazes' LP Sleeping Dolls is out 24 June via Time No Place.
Listen to the first unveiled track off the full-length, "Frozen", featuring Istanbul-based vocalist Biblo:
Even tough the music's territorial origin is ever less important in the digital age, it's sometimes worth to investigate the context of a release. Superficially, the song "I Wake Up Tired" by Berlin-based project Better Person is one great online release amongst others. It shares the typical nostalgic, melancholic and dreamy atmosphere and the DIY aesthetic of most of contemprary tunes, so basically the stuff you'll find on every other blog nowadays. But considering its Berlin context, you'll quickly see what makes the song so special and relevant: in fact, Better Person is proof of the development of the city's DIY scene over the last few years. It's pop music by projects such as Yule FM, Easter, Dan Bodan, or Touchy Mob that is truly state of the art and that can easily compete with music produced in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, or Sweden. Berlin is not only a party town anymore - it's more and more becoming a place for great pop music.
Synth-pop four piece Cymbals follow their singles "Like An Animal" and "The Natural World" with a romantic and subdued new track. "The End" taps into those last moments of reverie at the finale of a long and anticipative night out. The darkness of the club is about to lift, daylight about to expose, but the music is still enough to prop you up and keep your limbs moving for one more song. If your whole foray into the club scene is one long night, this is the part where you realize you are getting older and you probably won't recover in time for work the way you used to. The verse, spoken by singer Jack Cleverly, is the fog and magic lifting off of the evening. The electronic breakdown captures the holding on to what's left.
Cymbals' upcoming album will be released on Tough Love.
