THE BEST MUSIC: NEW & OLD
Prequel’s debut album sits somewhere between Laurence Guy, Leon Vynehall and Romare. Not a bad place to sit.
As you would expect from a long-time Rhythm Section producer, the style is heavily influenced by jazz, and draws from a number of ‘world’ influences – he is described as having a ‘keen crate-digger’s ear’. Love Or (I Heard You Like Heartbreak) is a really engaging listen, and the execution is classy as hell. Enjoy.
Just dropping in to celebrate the good weather and present to you the aptly named Grass is a Fairweather Friend. Indeed.
This is one of those tracks that has come from absolutely nowhere. And by absolutely nowhere, I mean the moderately successful 2017 Bollywood film Daddy. Just trust me, it bangs. Shout out to Georgie for the tip
Looking for some visual goodness? I’ve got you.
Every time Laurence releases another track, the state of my soul improves just a little bit. Mutual Excitement is a Wonderful Thing is the next up on his string of hopefully-titled, glowing, low-fi releases on Shall Not Fade. Happy to report that it is every bit as good as the last. Enjoy.
Ah, drum & bass. Fire your day up with 1 hour of Netsky right here. A sprinkling of some new bits, and some classics. Grande.
Bonus tracks: since we’re talking about classics, here you go:
Shout to John for the tip
Flume was right at the forefront of the golden days of Future Classic – the Aussie label burst onto the scene with a new sound that bridged dance, electronic and pop and had a lot of success with it. Since then, their popularity has only increased, but I haven’t heard anything for a while that has felt as original as the early days.
The Difference isn’t the track that is going to change my mind about that, but sometimes a generic, feel-good electronic song hits just right – and this is one of those. Good times are ahead people. ❤️
More Toro y Moi here.
It is fair to say that Leon is becoming increasingly experimental. To give you a feel for it, here is the copy accompanying his latest release Snakeskin ∞ Has-Been:
over and over in a snake’s life it will molt and shed it’s old, outgrown skin. it does not grow with the size of the snake itself, and soon hinders its advancement, leaving the skin behind like a memory. an artefact of where it once was. I believe good artists do this too. it’s what I try to do with every record. SNAKESKIN ∞ HAS-BEEN is my recognition of that. I SHOULD. I COULD. I WOULD. 🐍
The music itself does pick up where Nothing is Still left off, with introspective, moody soundscapes. They swing and build and fizzle in a pattern that is mesmerising, if not exactly approachable. His style fills you with a huge sense of anticipation, while never quite unscrambling into something that’s easy to ingest. If you like your music challenging, then you’ll find Snakeskin ∞ Has-Been pretty rewarding – if you prefer your Leon more banger-centric scale (and there’s no shame in that) head back into his dicography.
I almost forgot, he is playing at Heaven on 24th November. You can get presale tickets here
José Padilla, long-time resident of Cafe del Mar and all-round Ibiza institution passed away in October last year. As a tribute, Matt Crocker has created this lovely film. Well worth a watch.
If that has piqued your interest and you would like to hear a mixed selection of José Padilla inspired tracks, then look no further:
On paper, GoGo Penguin and Machinedrum feels like a good combination. And it doesn’t disappoint. GoGo Penguin’s melancholy, emotional jazz is energised and twisted by Machinedrum in a way that respects the soul of the original version. Enjoy.
Bonus track: the original is pretty beautiful and a much more relaxed listen. Listen to more similar stuff on Gondwana here.
I’m sorry, I’m not writing a Daft Punk post.*
Now that I’ve got that off my chest I want to draw your attention to Youtube channel Cercle. They take DJs to beautiful locations, and let them do their thing. The result is a magical combination of sound and visuals. Until we can get back to the real thing, this will have to do.
*I like Daft Punk, I really do, but I just don’t know if I have anything interesting to add to the avalanche of media that has been created about them this week. Here’s some reading if you want it.
HARRY'S MUSICAL EMPORIUM 