Back for 2016 with his first track of the year, Sincerely follows on from Stephen's track Crossfire, which topped Hype Machine back in December.
Sincerely features a fractured beat, buzzing synths and an earthy guitar solo amidst Stephen's earnest vocals, with a big focus on the message behind his words.
Sincerely is taken from the forthcoming debut album Sincerely, Stephen - due on Halfway House Records on 26 April.
Pr0files have been on my radar since LA duo Lauren Pardini and Danny Sternbaum unleashed their single Forgive, a track that channels Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive to create an infectious throbbing electro ballad.
Forgive was back in October 2014, wind on a little over a year and off the back of a slew of individual singles we now have the band's first full length album, Jurassic Technologie. And it very much takes the sound we know and applies it to an album format - what we have here is a collection of songs in the trademark Pr0files sound, albeit with two additional interluds. These include the breathless Missing You Tonight, which repeats the song's title as its single vocal refrain over a slow moving electronic melody that sounds like a off-time heartbeat, and the instrumental title track.
Aside from the shorter interludes Jurassic Technologie consists of nine tracks that could all as easily be singles, and many of them will be known to anyone who has followed the band's drip feed release of new material. There is no real concept here to tie this together, but for a band's first release that is perhaps understandable - instead we simply have a collection of storming electronic ballads, and they are all at least good, and several of them are great... The only catch being that there is a good chance you have already heard this album's highlights - Forgive and Get It Up.
Jurassic Technologie is a solid intro to Pr0files, it just doesn't add as much new material as it could have. At eleven tracks, including those interludes, it's a brief but enjoyable affair. Where Pardini and Sternbaum go from here is entirely their call...
Pr0files' Jurassic Technologie is out now and currently available to stream in full via Soundcloud below:
Loving the bouncing beat and washed out vocals on this new remix of Keep Shelly In Athens' Now I'm Ready by Anglo-French duo Loframes. Rather than apply a full-on dance treatment, Loframes keep some of the laid back feel of the original but take it in a more pop direction and giving Ocean Hope's vocals more prominence.
Check out the mix below - you can currently download it for free from the Soundcloud player.
House For You is the beautiful atmospheric new track from LOYAL, who first appeared with their debut Blue & The Green back in December. The track is mainly made up of space and the cautious use of vocals and elements of electronic influenced instrumentation. LOYAL come on the Good Years label, who previously brought us Banks and Lil Silva amongst others.
Following on from last year's Lingua Franca by Len Leise, International Feel are back with the second release in their mini-album series, this time featuring CFCF.
Real name Michael Silver, Montreal-native music producer has created a timeless slice of cool ambience in the form of album On Vacation. In it's attempts to capture places and travels the album has the whiff of a concept album.
Les Fleurs Laissés Dans Un Taxi may act in a tribute to Paris and Lighthouse On Chatham Sound depicts late afternoon by the Canadian sea, but in reality everything hear would sound at home on beaches in the Mediterranean. There is a nod to Parisian cool of Les Fleurs Laissés and Sate Padang (named after a a type of satay from Pedang) has elements of Indonesian music running through it, yet it would be as easy to enjoy On Vacation without paying attention to any of this. As a piece of left field experimental music it hangs together to create a wonderfully atmospheric experience.
This being a mini album there are just eight tracks, but each feels like a discrete experience in a broader narrative. Pleasure Centre basks in sunny 80s groove, funky guitar licks and a cool piano melody creating the feel of a gorgeous sunset at the end of a wonderful day. The aforementioned Lighthouse On Chatham Sound is full of jazzy keys and elastic bass notes, creating a constantly shifting sense of calm and relaxation.
Overall On Vacation is a short but perfectly formed trip - subtle but beautiful.
On Vacation is out on International Feel on Friday. Listen an album preview consisting of snippets below: