THE BEST MUSIC: NEW & OLD
Okay, this is about as obscure as it gets – credit to Ben Gomori for the find.
Midnight Runners are, in their own words, ‘Indonesia based Bandung bred DJs, producers, record label owner, graphic designer & music enthusiasts’. Meri Sun is on the compilation Bhangra Selection Cuts No. 2, the follow up to the wildly popular (maybe) Bhrangra Selection Cuts.
Anyway, what you need to know is that it fuses strong 80s disco camp with East Asian vibes and ends up with something tasty af.
This is Jesse Bru doing something very simple, very well.
A drifty piano chord, a little vocal sample, a little horn, a skitty little drum line and a little bass. That’s all it takes to create some blissful, sun-drenched good vibes.
Just look at the happy little fella!
You can find more of my favourite Jesse here, or if piano house is your thang, then I’ve got whole playlist sorted for you. You can thank me later.
How has the pandemic affected content creation? Well this video is certainly a product of the miasma, the confusion and the isolation. It’s a decent track as well – a tinge of Bonobo’s clubbier pieces to it.
When this first came on I wasn’t so excited. The intro feels a bit disjointed – over-tricksy, over-sampled. Too Future Classic-y.
But after a while the threads begin to come together and what this track really hangs on is the strength of the main sample*. The bass underlines it, and the synths bring out the flavour. Sing it with me, “Me and My Heart, we’ll make it, we’ll make it through”.
* It’s Demi Lovato!
Did you know that the gaming industry is bigger than film and music combined? Crazy huh?
Well Omar S has clearly done his homework, because he has gone and made a game. It’s called Record Packer, and you can play it online, for free, right here. Oh, and the soundtrack is dope, obviously.
Happy New Year music fans. As ever I’m pumped to bring you a load of new music this year, but before I do, let’s have one final post on the cursed year that was 2020. Here are my most played tracks of the year courtesy of Spotify. You’ll find some new ones, some old ones, some quick ones and some slow ones. Pop it on shuffle and enjoy.
Quick note – as ever there are a couple of albums on here that I’ve rinsed for chilling out. So expect some abrupt vibe changes. You’ve been warned.
As you might have been able to guess it is 5 years since Bristol-based label Shall not Fade entered the scene. To celebrate, their 5th compilation. There is a lot to like packed into the 16 track double-LP (with 5 bonus tracks on the digital version).
My picks are Everything You Need by Module One & Soela, Welcome Aboard by DJ Psychiatre and T Garden by the ever-impressive Lxury.
Unmistakably Jacques Greene, in the best way possible. Haunting. Cool. Emotional. Deep. Beautiful.
Thaw is his first solo release since Dawn Chorus. Check it out.
I know everyone goes on about the Spotify annual round-up (I love it too, don’t get me wrong). But sometimes Soundcloud bangs. Check out a playlist of HarrysMusicalEmporium’s top played tracks this year, right here.
Unlike Spotify, it features a bunch of artists I don’t know so well. Just really nice vibes for the weekend. Enjoy.
“Heyy I’m Jess, I make tunes about my life. i grew up in Spain but i’m Irish and living in London. dunno if you care about any of that but was told I should make a bio so hope that was alright lol x”
So says Jess Smyth, aka Biig Piig, and I think we’d better listen up.
Photo credit: Matilda Hill-Jenkins
HARRY'S MUSICAL EMPORIUM 