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London x Paris is a big slice of pop-R&B that has been bouncing around my head since Spanish artist Sofi de la Torre recently dropped it in support of her forthcoming Mess EP. The track deals with those relationships where one person is giving more than the other. The EP also features previous single and EP title track Mess.
Luka Sol is an LA by way of London solo musical project that is already the result of over two years' work. Their debut single release just came out in the form of Physical.
With a first play of the new single for BlackPlastic.co.uk you can stream Physical in full below. It's a beautiful house track full of warm chords, tight beats and a some infectious funk flourishes. A like a Balearic treatment of Prince...
Physical is out now and available on iTunes.
LA duo Pr0files are back and Empty Hands is another slowly sensual slice of electric dream pop and probably their best track since last year's infectious Forgive, the track which first introduced me to the band and made it into my top-20 favourite songs of the year list.
On Empty Hands Lauren Pardini's vocals tell a tale of betrayal, friendship and love against the trademark chugging synth melodies Pr0files have already made their trademark.
Alongside this new track, the band have today announced their forthcoming debut album Jurassic Technologie, due in February 2016. It's sure to be one to look out for!
Love this gorgeous new psychedelic folk record from London three-piece Wovoka Gentle, who have just announced the forthcoming release of their new EP Wovoka Gentle EP [Blue] following on from their self-titled debut release earlier in the year.
Formed of twin sisters Imogen and Ellie Mason together with William Stokes, the band's sound manages to sound timeless and without place, a combination of distinctly British folk with Americana, sixties sounds layered into something far more contemporary.
Listen to You Have Saved Our Lives, We Are Eternally Grateful below and look out for Wovoka Gentle EP [Blue] from 27 November on Yucatan Records.
Colder, image source: Ramona Deckers
It has been so long since Colder last released an album. Ten years have passed since his second album, 2005's Heat. In those years so much has happened that on paper at least it is hard to see how a new album from the French producer, real name Marc Nguyen Tan, could still be relevant... And yet Many Colours slips on like a comfortable favourite outfit - it's like he never went away.
In part the sense of familiarity imparted by Colder's new material speaks to how ahead of the curve his music was back in 2003 when he first signed to Trevor Jackson's revered Output label. Opening with the ascending distorted bass of the album's title track, Colder quickly paints the aesthetic he is going for. Cool piano keys fall gently as the musician's understated vocals softly monotone a rhythm of their own, and the song sits in a jazz-like state of freeform beauty. It will be familiar to fans of existing Colder material, yet it still sounds modern and fresh.
As an album Many Colours delivers a tonally and thematically consistent experience, from beginning to end it is like a midnight swim outdoors - a deep, dark and sleekly sensual experience. Midnight Fever dares to add a little warmth and femininity to the album, guest vocals from Owlle creating a sultry contrast to Nguyen Tan's deadpan delivery. Elsewhere we experience dark, chugging and sleek mechanical workouts on tracks like Your Kind, which sounds like Junior Boys at their most techno.
With less than 40-minutes of music, Many Colours is a short album, particularly considering how long fans have had to wait for it. Yet each of the nine tracks here are perfectly formed. Closing on the sinister sounding rhymes clicks, snaps and slow piano chords of Silence we are left wanting more even if the closing refrain of "silence is golden" suggests Colder doesn't want to give it to us.
Many Colours is released on 6 November. Listen to album tracks Turn Your Back and Many Colours below.
