Stream: Keep It Close To Me - Yumi Zouma

Blogger's favourite Yumi Zouma have at long last announced the release of their debut album, Yoncalla, and ahead of its 27 May release the band have put out the first single to come from the album, Keep It Close To Me.

Having originally grown up together in Christhurch, New Zealand, the band created their twice sold-out debut EP and EP II spread across three continents, with members in Auckland, Paris and New York. The success of those EPs led to the band touring extensively, and the time on tour enabled them to write together in one place for the first time, and during a three-week period in Paris they recorded their debut album. Mixed in Philippe Zdar's Motorbass studio during a week last October the album is now ready for the world, and Keep It Close To Me sounds like the band at their best. 

In the words of guitarist Charlie Ryder, “Yumi Zouma has always been an exercise in refining ideas and collaborating, but this was the first time we weren’t limited or protected by distance. With Yoncalla, the process was different, and it can be scary to present raw ideas to your friends ‐ but it’s also incredible to see songs evolve through the sparks of inspiration that bounce between people in the same room.”

Preorder Vinyl: http://smarturl.it/YZYoncallaVinyl (first 500 come with limited edition 7" containing two unreleased tracks) Apple: http://smarturl.it/YoncallaYumiZouma Spotify: http://smarturl.it/YumiZoumaSpotify _____ "Keep It Close To Me” is the first single from Yumi Zouma's debut album, Yoncalla, due out May 27 on Cascine (and Arch Hill in Australia, Rallye in Japan and Double Deer in Indonesia). The band will embark on a tour in support of Yoncalla that stretches across New Zealand, North America, Europe and Japan starting next month. Dates below. Where Yumi Zouma’s previous EPs were created in isolation, capturing the nuances of each member’s life half a world away, the new material was given a singular voice. “Yumi Zouma has always been an exercise in refining ideas and collaborating,” reflects guitarist Charlie Ryder, “but this was the first time we weren’t limited or protected by distance. With Yoncalla, the process was different, and it can be scary to present raw ideas to your friends ‐ but it’s also incredible to see songs evolve through the sparks of inspiration that bounce between people in the same room.” That intimacy is apparent on Yoncalla ‐ an album about being close to people, rather than miles apart. Yumi Zouma’s effortless waves of harmony have been redefined and the creative process laid bare to expose an act more unguarded and interconnected than ever before. Additionally, Yoncalla sees Yumi Zouma continue their tradition of creating collectable vinyl releases, with the new album including a limited grey 7” that includes two studio outtakes from the recording sessions. The 7” will be bundled with the first 500 copies of the Yoncalla 12”. These outtakes are exclusive to the limited edition vinyl and will not appear digitally. To capture the concepts on Yoncalla, New Zealand visual artist Henrietta Harris was tapped to create the cover art, illustrating the band together on a front cover for the first time. TOUR DATES: May 4 - Christchurch, NZ @ Blue Smoke (w/ Doprah) May 5 - Dunedin, NZ @ Re Fuel (w/ Doprah) May 6 - Auckland, NZ @ The Crystal Palace (w/ Doprah) May 7 - Wellington, NZ @ Meow (w/ Doprah) May 25 - San Francisco, CA @ Brick + Mortar (w/ Maria Usbeck) May 26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos (w/ Maria Usbeck) May 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust (w/ Maria Usbeck) June 2 - Boston, MA @ Middle East June 8 - Washington, DC @ DC9 June 10 - Montreal, QC @ Brasserie Beaubien June 11 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison June 21 - London, UK @ Moth Club (tickets) June 22 - Paris, FR @ Point Ephémère (tickets) June 23 - Amsterdam, NL @ Sugar Factory Small Hall June 24 - Berlin, DE @ Karrera Klub Birthday Bash at Bi Nuu September 12 - Tokyo, Japan @ WWW September 13 - Nagoya, Japan @ Tokuzo September 14 - Osaka, Japan @ Pangea ___ Yumi Zouma on FB: on.fb.me/1RWozre Cascine on FB: on.fb.me/1jAp5ZG

Album Review: Panorama Pacifico - Satin Jackets

Having teased us over the past few years with their contributions to Eskimo's compilation albums and a clutch of gorgeous electronic pop singles, Satin Jackets have finally removed the wrapper from their debut album, Panorama Pacifico.

Things start with a reimagining of the duo's hit track You Make Me Feel Good, simply re-titled Feel Good and with additional vocals from LA four-piece Scavenger Hunt. It retains all of the gloriously bowled over sentiment of the original but with some of the extra polish Satin Jackets have picked up since that track was originally released.

The rest of the album unfurls like a collection of hit singles - each track boasts an instantly accessible hook and the trademark sun-kissed Satin Jackets sound. Recent single We Can Talk maintains its tight percussion and string FX to create a slick piece of disco-influenced pop. Say You features an appearance from Jane Elizabeth Hanley, AKA Kids At Midnight, who described the song as "about being afraid of being happy". It's a cool record wrapped around an insistent desire to give happiness a chance.

Find Out represents one of Panorama Pacifico's more dramatic moments, Marble Sounds' Peter Van Dessel providing a heartfelt pleading vocal to "Shut your eyes and you'll find out..." In comparison to much of the music hear it feels like it draws more on 80s electro-pop more directly. The vocals, enveloped in melancholic synths, reference both the excited moments of receiving a surprise gift and the potential to comprehend more about our situation when we close down some of our senses.

Whilst most tracks feature guest appearances, there are exceptions. Cala Banana is an electro-funk influenced exercise in retrained house music - drums bask in their reverb and guitar riffs glisten in the heat. Similarly, the NTEIBINT featuring track Coast To Coast is full of dramatic strings and stirring baselines, all the better for it's minimalism.

Panorama Pacifico rounds things out with the duo's staples, Girl, Forever and the original version of You Make Me Feel Good... Effectively closing the album where it began, back where we started. It is almost indulgent, but they come as a full-stop to an album full of hits, and in closing the album here it feels like a generous reflection of everything Satin Jackets have given to fans of their style of electro soul, pop and disco. We are just one album in, but there is lots here to enjoy.

Panorama Pacifico is released on Friday on Eskimo. Check out Feel Good below:

Stream: Break Over You - Draper feat. Prides

UK musician Draper has just come back with this explosion of passion and positivity, delivered in collaboration with Scottish synth-pop band Prides.

Following up on his singles Home and All I See, Break Over You is the latest track from Draper to come out on London label Hot Source Records. The track features infectious production and a simple lyrical refrain ("Would you die for this?"), encapsulating the headstrong determination the artists felt. In Draper's own words:

"I've pushed myself to be more bold with my writing and I'm at my most confident point creatively. Prides blessed this track with their vocals and I think they nailed it, from the first time I heard their idea for it I knew this was going to be a big one."

Video: Iona - Jarbird

London four-piece Jarbird have just released this new single and video. Titled Iona, both the track and the accompanying visuals are gorgeous. The band combine a slow building crescendo and falsetto vocals to create something that feels delicately transformative.

”Wrap the sky around me like a blanket and let me lie in perfect quiet" sings vocalist Ric, encapsulating the warm sense of reassurance Iona offers. It's an impressive statement for such a young band. 

Iona is taken from Jarbird's debut EP, Such Is The House, which is out now on French indie label Oskar. 

EP Review: Hold On - The Lytics

Having already made waves with their first two releases, Canadian hip hop group The Lytics are hearing up for a big 2016, culminating in their third album.

But first we get Hold On, an EP set for release in April. The Lytics wear their inspiration loud and proud, drawing from some of hip hop's greatest acts across this five-track release. The end result is a release that feels like a mix tape made by a friend covering their favourite joints... Only rather than tracks from a variety of artists, The Lytics have managed to put together a release where they sound like five different classic groups at once.

And so opener Friction sounds like classic J Dilla produced Pharcyde. Loose keys loop beneath a huge boom-bap drum loop whilst the emcees drop some raucous bars.

Title track Hold On's chunky bass and looped soul sample is pure early Slum Village, even name-checking their Fantastic joint Get Dis Money. It's a gloriously back-to-bass-ics track in contrast to modern hip-hop's paranoia.

Legendary and Tried So Hard plough similarly catholic territory - purist tracks for vintage hip hop heads.

Daydream stands out as a great moment on an already strong release. A female vocal provides a sense of mellow femininity amongst thundering snares, kick drums and hi hats. Calling to mind A Tribe Called Quest, it's like someone took the insanity of What's The Scenario? and updated in for 2016...

All in, Hold On is a confident demonstration of a group well able to draw down on some 30-years of classic hip-hop to transform it into their own thing. An impressively focused and confidently delivered release. 

Hold On is released on 8 April. Check out to Legendary below: