Category: New

Expander – Bonobo

If you cast me out onto a desert island with only one artist loaded onto the iPod, I would choose Bonobo. The depth of his back-catalogue, and the evolutionary arc of his music are, to my mind, unmatched. He added to his library in August with the release of Expander.

With some production help from Chris Lake, he brings together a few elements – vocal and flute samples, a deceptively intricate drum track, some spooky synths, and a rampant baseline – to flutter between the club and the living room.

For a deeper dive into this track, and some gems from the back-catalogue, check out the excellent Tape Notes podcast with John Kennedy.

TN:144 BONOBO

If you could only listen to one artist for the rest of your life, who would you choose? Let us know in the comments.

Dare Myself – Saison & Amy Douglas

We are now deep into Autumn in the UK, but if any track is going to transport you back to sunnier climes then it will be Dare Myself. In fact, it might just transport you back further – it has a really uncomplicated energy that feels ready-made for MTV Dance circa 2007. Pretty infectious. Enjoy.

This track was released in May on Future Disco. I came across it on the excellent Future Disco Radio. They release weekly mixes with guest artists and label boss Sean Brosnan (no, not Pierce’s son).

RADIO

Sad Girl – TSHA

Sad Girl, TSHA’s second album, is out today. In 40 minutes the 12 tracks give you an updated take on the sounds of noughties dance and R&B. Modern sounds infused with nostalgia (or maybe the other way round).

Despite its glossy veneer, the release deals with TSHA’s feelings of loneliness and depression. The artwork is inspired by a nightmare in which she fell through the ice of a frozen lake. But in both the visuals and in the audio, we see and hear a human and an artist coming to terms with herself and her art.

And look, it’s a lot of fun. My two picks are Drive and Sweet Devotion (which sounds v. good in a club by the way).

Brooklyn Heat (Feat. Andreya Triana) – Quantic

I’ve been loving this one for almost a year now, since its release last November. It has a infectious little refrain that will, mark my words, get you going “Wooh! Yeah!”

Andreya Triana is one of my all-time favourite vocalists, and she is smattered all over Quantic’s latest album Dancing While Falling. As Wordplay put it, expect “sunkissed guitar licks, breezy percussion and… luxurious vocals”. Here is the full release.

Enlightenment is now – Gambian Disco Express & 12tree

It might feel like Summer is coming to end. But maybe it doesn’t have to. Maybe Summer was really all the friends you made along the way. Here’s one more friend to make before it’s too late. Sisters and brothers, enlightenment is now.

It’s a groovy stomper if ever I’ve heard one. The track is a collaboration between Robin Twelftree, The Gambia and Bongo Koi. It was recorded at the culmination of a drive in a Mercedes from London to Gunjur, on the banks of the River Gambia. The vocals belong to none other than Joseph N’Gole, a mystic. How about that.

The vinyl release also has a delightful less edited version, which is well worth picking up if that tickles your fancy. You can hear a snippet and pick that up here.

Shout out to Ben Gomori’s Turned On podcast for the tip.

BET YOU NEVER – SBTRKT

I like it, but there are a lot of music producers out there combining RnB vocal loops, atmospheric drones, some breaks and old school house piano chords. It’s good, but I think we get it…

And then this came along.

A little touch of SBTRKT alchemy and the whole shtick comes alive again. I challenge you not to throw your hands up 2 minutes in. For me it easily surpasses anything on his 2023 album The Rat Road.

For more SBTKRT, here is his seminal 2011 album.

Please Keep Shimmering – Tom VR

Since I came across this album today I’ve had it on repeat. It was released in 2021 on Seb Wildblood’s All My Thoughts imprint, and the music shares a lot stylistically with his releases. You’d also be forgiven for at times mistaking it for Four Tet or Jacques Greene. Which is all really to say that it is pretty lush.

The world of Please Keep Shimmering is heavily textured, flitting between organic ambient soundscapes and tracks that are more recognisable as house. In the words of RA, it “flutters and glistens”. He also introduces subtle IDM influences in a really cute way that never overpowers the deep groove. The album is a rich, contemplative, work of art. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Please keep shimmering.

Hyperdrama – Justice

Iconic French electro duo Justice have released their first album since 2021. Tame Impala (twice), Thundercat and Connan Mockasin all pop up on vocals. All in all it’s a nice release but I can’t shake the analysis from this tweet…

French electro doesn’t need polish.

Bonus tracks: my two Justice faves: one classic, one newer.

Journey – Bondax

Post #365, would you believe it?! And we have a whole new visual identity to celebrate the milestone. You could now read a new post every day for a year* – what a year it would be.

Journey is Bondax’s second full length album, and it’s a real treat just in time for the summer. Feel good electronic music to soundtrack escapades in the sun. The album sits somewhere in between Flight Facilities’ blissed out electronica, and Disclosure’s high energy dance music – and for me, that’s a very nice place to be.

They have a great set of vocalists on the release, including one of my all-time favourites in Andreya Triana, also Tara McDonald and SHELLS; you can read my post on Fade (feat. SHELLS) here.

* Yes I know we are in a leap year

Drawn Onward – Alan Goffinski and Sarita Bhatt

Trust me when I say I have something very different for you today: Drawn Onward is a palindromic audio documentary about the migrant experience. It plays the exact same forwards as it does backwards. The producers were inspired by the yearning of migrants to return to the lands they and their people have left behind. If they got it wrong this could have felt gimmicky, but the result is magical, unnerving and powerful. The reversed speech almost sounds like a foreign tongue which is then translated. All in all it is an amazing piece of sound design.

https://radiolab.org/podcast/short-cuts-drawn-onward

Credit to two of my favourite non-music podcasts, RadioLab, and BBC’s Short Cuts, presented by Josie Long.

Image credits: Jared Bartman