Very excited for this… You can currently stream Dev Hynes' forthcoming Blood Orange album in full on YouTube. Check it out.
Video / Single Review: Us - Movement
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This new sophomore release from Sydney's Movement has been out for a few weeks now but I've only just had time to really digest it and it's deserving of a listen.
Us is a deep and sexy tangle of 90s R&B and rough rumbling bass dance music. Movement wear their hearts on their sleeves and this is a record that gives a voice to the inner thoughts of one half of a couple on the brink of… well, something. A confidence exudes as the vocals define the inevitability of reciprocated feelings and yet there is a nervous anxiousness - "And I could take you right now", the falsetto male vocals assert one moment, shortly before questioning "Did I push it too much". As a result the track bristles with a sort of confidence undermined by a very real sounding uncertainty and a sense of gender politics, the hollow and ambient sound only adding to the sense of mis-firing connections.
Us also includes two remixes. San Francisco's Giraffage lays down a sea of complex synth stabs, bass and glossy funk keys that opens the track up to create something a little more sensual. Kowton provides the concluding mix, moving in the other direction, offering up an intense bass-heavy version threaded with steel drums and urban intensity.
Us is out now through Modular, available to purchase on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link]. Check out the video on YouTube above or listen to the EP in full through Spotify:
Stream: Exhale - Ecstasy
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Exhale is the title track from London five-piece Ecstasy's debut EP, due for release on 9 December through National Anthem.
This kind of sounds like a noisy sound clash between the empowered female harmonies of Haim meets the aggression of the excellent CHVRCHES... Which makes sense given that label National Anthem is also home to both of those artists. There's a slight otherworldly feel to this - dream pop and candy all at once. Keep an eye out for the EP next month.
EP Review: Mira - Baio
The Mira EP is the second electronic release from Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio and follows on from last year's Sunburn EP. Baio's first release came out of the so-hot-right-now label Greco-Roman whilst this comes from Aussie label Future Classic and builds on the melancholic but warm and Balearic sounds that Baio is busy making his own as part of this side project.
I'm quite a fan of Vampire Weekend's increasingly sophisticated sound and lyrical sophistication but Mira is enjoyable precisely for being something completely different. To anyone not aware of Baio's electronic work this release will come as a surprise... The EP's title track is built from a chunky groove, with heavy, funky bass that betrays Baio's instrument of choice in his band. Some liberal reverb, sharp synth stabs and minimal drum patterns make this a deep track that still retains an emotional resonance.
Baio's own vocals are given a prominent position on "Welterweight", a track that rides a grimey analogue bass line and features some big house melodies that give the track a more rounded out feel. It's slightly all over the place, complex and messy and big, but very enjoyable... An uplifting an celebratory moment.
"Zona" is based on a heavy calypso vibe that actually marks the EP's closest moment to Vampire Weekend's own material, but it's still a deep electronic piece full of big chords and hard, bumping drums. Final track 'Banj' is darker, a bluesy feeling tech-house track that once again creates atmosphere through ambience and reverb, an appropriate bookend to the EP's title track.
Mira is out now through Future Classic, available on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link]. Check out the title track on Soundcloud below:
EP Review: Space Me Out - Downtown Party Network feat. Egle Sirvydyte
Space Me Out doesn't sound like the sort of thing I expect to hear from artists called Downtown Party Network but it is pretty glorious all the same. Far away from the jump-up party sounds their name suggest this Downtown Party Network track is a spectral and sunny electronic-influenced ballad.
Egle Sirvydyte's delicate vocals create a beautiful centre for this record, delicate as she lays down the verses and breathless and drenched in reverb as she repeats the track's title for the chorus. A warm, round four-four beat provides a little momentum but it is the friction of an electronic bass line and glistening piano that provide the real counter to those vocals. And it's pretty lovely.
Three remixes feature. First up is regular Needwant star Mario Basanov, whose work I have praised in the past even though he occasionally falters. Here he plays it clean - this is a version almost as laid back as the original, and whilst at times he layers in some slightly darker bass it still continues to respect the original. It's very tasteful, but given the quality of the source and Basanov's way with warm Balearic epics it feels a little... tame.
Musk's version is a little more raw, some deep bass and lots of reverb adding a little grit to the mix whilst the vocal is manipulated into a series of percussive cuts. It is clearly more of a club cut but still retains the feel of the original. The final mix comes from Berlin's Hannes Fischer, who gives the track an intelligent tech-house vibe, not far from a Luomo track. It is a considerably tighter version but retains a soulful feel, warm synths and electronic patterns adding some depth and body to the track.
A quality and refined take on electronic soul. Space Me Out is out on Silence Music now soon, and you will be able to buy the MP3 from Amazon.co.uk here [affiliate link]. Listen via Soundcloud below: