Category: New

Laurence Guy

Laurence Guy always delivers. Two 2020 EPs on Shall Not Fade consisting of 7 tracks for your listening pleasure today.

First up, the wonderfully titled, The Sun is Warm and Directly Above You. My pick is Untitled Needs – it wanders and sprawls, all the while punctuated beautifully by Laurence’s trademark piano chords. Healing and heartwarming. The title track is equally picturesque. What stands out for me is the gentle chatter sample that lives in the background – it gives me the feeling of being surrounded by people I like, having a good time – a feeling that is seemingly tough to create in 2020.

Your Good Times Will Come – how sweet is that? My favourite is The Spirit. It has, you guessed it, stunning piano chords, and also a bass section that resonates and vibrates with warmth and beauty. Also a shout out to Experience Health which somehow manages to create a meditative acid vibe; strings and gurgles combine in a way that I didn’t think was possible.

More of my favourite LG here and here. I’m a bit of a fanboy. Sue me.

Thin Skin – Pèt Nat

Remember New Navy? Well the producer from that (James Chave-Dubois) is back on the airwaves. He has combined with singer Jazz Barry to create Pèt Nat. Probably your new favourite Australian indie electronic duo. Their debut single is Thin Skin, it’s out now, and it’s lovely. Keep your eyes out for more soon.

Bonus track: fun fact, I once convinced a random American that I was on tour as a part of New Navy. Just about obscure enough to get away with…

 

 

Douha (Mali Mali) (Feat. Fatoumata Diawara) – Disclosure

*GUEST POST*

Another release from Disclosure, another banger. This first featured in their Streaming From Isolation set for Boiler Room and they’ve been good enough to grace us with the full release just as the sun comes out.

The prolific pair team up again with Malian singer-actress Fatoumata Diawara (if you like this, check out the 2018 release Ultimatum), who gives an impassioned tribute to her home country, heralding its ‘unity, harmony, love and brotherhood’. An uplifting message over characteristically uplifting beats from Disclosure which will transport you from home office onto a sweaty, packed, carefree dancefloor (remember those?) in an instant. The video is great; it was shot via drone during lockdown in Jo’burg, Como and NY and features phenomenal scenery and dancers alike. Disclosure’s new album ENERGY drops end of August…

Written by Al Richards

Jigoo – Peggy Gou & Maurice Fulton

Big ol’ housey banger. It’s strange, it’s creative and it’s large.

This is a track that I cannot wait to hear out. As in out out.

I came across this little beauty in another of Boiler Room’s Streaming From Isolation mixes. Peggy Gou from the highest point in Seoul. Solid. Very solid indeed.

P.S. A divisive question for you: is Peggy Gou…
a) fucking awesome – the incredible global female DJ superstar from a traditionally underrepresented minority that the whole world needs, OMG I love Peggy!
or
b) a bit basic?

I’m hearing both sides of the argument. Let me know please

Photo credit: JUNGWOOK-MOK

Natural High – Melbourne Drum Authority

If you’re having the feeling that Summer has been cruelly ripped from your grasp by this COVID-crap then I have something to help. Melbourne Drum Authority. They describe themselves as a “Melbourne house music collective looking to make you groove” and that is pretty bang on. In the Groove is my pick, a cheeky acid-infused disco chugger with a lovely little brass section – what’s not to love?

Natural High is their debut release, out now on Sydney-based label Refuge Recordings, and that’s all I know.  Enjoy.

Shout out as always to Ben Gomori for the tip.

Taken Away – Moodymann

Moodymann has two modes: lusty and haunting. His new album Taken Away retains some of his signature erotic funk, but ache come to the fore.

At the start of 2019 Moodymann (Kenny Dixon Jr.) was involved in a pretty terrifying incident with the police – a reality that people of colour face in America on a shockingly frequent basis. Famously enigmatic, he does his talking through his sampling, and his message comes across loud and clear, especially in the title track. It’s house music, it’s foot-stomping, but it is filled with pain and anger.

My take on some more upbeat Moodymann here and here, or you can read an excellent review of the album on Pitchfork here. Shout out to Ben Gomori’s Turned On for the tip.

Superego – Harvey Sutherland

Harvey Sutherland makes music like a man who lives in perma-Summer. It must be the Aussie in him. Anyway, a couple of months ago he foretold our weather by releasing a typically upbeat funky single, Superego. It’ll tick a lot of boxes.

Bonus track: Superego is nice, but nothing on his classics. Know this one?

Bonus playlist: if you like your tracks house-y and and your instruments piano-y then I have the perfect playlist for you. Bloody hell I want to go out.

The Slow Rush – Tame Impala

The Slow Rush is without a doubt my album of the quarantine session so far. It’s Tame Impala’s 4th and it’s a cracker.

Kevin Parker recorded this between native Australia and LA – and that provides a really nice window through which to understand the sound. It’s this awesome struggle between a lazy, beachy indie sound, and the more intense, highly produced electronic LA vibe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

Bonus track: Ben Gomori’s remix of Breathe Deeper gently lifts it up one notch. Lovely.

Photo credit: Neil Krug