Listen: Zeitgeist - Calcou feat. Bastien

Calcou is a Berlin-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Having grown up with jazz and funk music, he has played piano since early childhood and when he isn’t making electronic music he plays in contemporary jazz band White Noise Trio.

Whilst jazz is in his roots, electronic music opened Calcou’s eyes to the world of music production. The creativity enabled by electronics represented a challenge to how he even thought about writing music, moving from focusing on theory and harmony to sound and vibe. The result is a form of music driven by ambience, mood and shape, whilst retaining an inherent sense of humanity.

On Zeitgeist, Calcou’s third release, the artist has looked to fuse elements of jazz together with deep house and electronica. The result is a highly atmospheric tech-house track that boasts soulful vocals and dark electronics in a way that feels both elegant and eminently danceable. A solid four-four hits your body, underpinned by bouncing low end bass and thick, fuzzy synths.

For this track Calcou teamed up with his long-standing friend, Romanian born singer Bastien. The resulting vocals gracefully float above the track as sampled vocals are spliced into the track itself, creating an intimate and human touch that recalls those jazz influences.

The lyrics for Zeitgeist are a warning about the level of noise and unhelpful provocation we currently experience from politics and the media. Despite this the track aims for a considered but optimistic sound, a warning that comes with a bit of hope.

Listen: Watchu Saying - Hugh feat. Jylda

We are all a little lucky, because Watchu Saying is the third release we have had this year from Hugh, the collaborative project between Andy Highmore, Joshua Idehen and Martin Kolarides.

Watchu Saying gradually unfolds in a particularly distinct way - initially riding in on a weird wave of distortion, Idehen and Jylda’s vocals pad along on a gentle bed of electronics before jumping into the kind of cyclical chorus that feels as though it has no beginning and no end. This track feels like it gives lots of airtime to Kolarides’ guitar work, which initially delicately weaves its way around the bed of the track before becoming a focal point in the second chorus. This is a track that feels a little disorientating, but at the same time that trademark Hugh warmth feels like a musical embrace.

Whilst this is Hugh’s latest song, it’s actually one of the oldest that Idehen and Highmore have written together. Idehen’s inspiration for the lyrics came as he wrote a love song based on Star Wars after he read an old novel that is no longer considered part of the official canon. The line “You are the X-Wing, and I am the Y” stuck out, and ultimately Watchu Saying was the result.

Listen: Love You Too - Robert Loud

Robert Loud is a touring member of The Killers, but with Love You Too he is looking to reach out and release his own music.

Love You Too was written in hotel rooms with Killers vocalist Brandon Flowers whilst on tour in Australia. Robert’s general way of working is to record whilst travelling, then work with his drum machines in his home studio.

The resulting track combines the emotive lyricism of The Killers and key influence Kate Bush, with the kinds of experimental and electronic influences Robert Loud cites, including LCD Soundsystem. There is a stoic, unfussy feeling to Love You Too, which Robert produced himself, with Mikaeline “Blue” Bluespruce (Blood Orange, Solange, Empress Of) mixing the track. It feels like the song takes the straightest line towards the exact emotional sentiment it wants to land - bouncy electronic bass, deep 808 style drums and glossy keys. The main vocal is heart wrenching, but it is when the female led chorus enters, half instructional statement, half bandaid, that the song really lands it’s statement: “Nobody can love you if you can’t love you”.

Sometimes loving people is hard. Sometimes being loved is hard. I know there have been times when I need seemingly endless reassurance and reinforcement of love... Insecurity and a bottomless well of neediness leave me feeling empty, ignored and worthless. I try to remember the actions, the velocity, the direction, but sometimes I forget, and I know it can be a drain on those around me, like the value of their love is somehow in question.

So yep... Loving people is hard. Particularly yourself. But it’s so important, and this record is a wonderful reminder of that.

Produced by Robert Loud Guest vocals: Jenessa Smith Additional musicians: Brandon Flowers, Aaron Anderson, Stuart Maxfield Mixed by Mikaelin Bluespruce Mastered by Joe LaPorta Written by Robert Connolly and Brandon Flowers

News: Jon Hopkins announces Polarity tour 2020

Following his sellout Singularity tour, electronic music wizard Jon Hopkins has announced his upcoming Polarity tour.

One of the things that always strikes me with Hopkins’ music is his ability to combine both the dramatic, distorted electronic elements of his sound with fragile, delicate and beautiful moments of quiet. His standout album Immunity leant into this contrast, with the first half taking a far more electronic and upbeat approach before plunging into beautifully melancholic and slower second half.

It is this sense of distinct tension that Hopkins intends to explore with his Polarity tour. The show will tether together “the two disparate elements of harsh and fragile in my music,” Hopkins says. “And by going between the two, we’ll hopefully create some profound moments of stillness.”

With Hopkins at times playing a grand piano, he will he joined on stage by a number of additional live musicians. The tour takes in a number of venues across Europe, with London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall playing host on 18 March.

Tickets are available now at jonhopkins.co.uk

Watch: Right Here - Chitchat

Chitchat are a musical duo from Denver, Colorado, who take inspiration by human interaction and the unspoken moments that often go unnoticed. The band name itself reflects this - an attempt to create a focus on lighthearted introspection focused on everyday connection.

With Right Here, Chitchat sought to write a pop song about love, inspired by a mid-summer night spend falling in love in the backseat of a car parked on the side of the road. Unlike most modern love songs, with Right Here the duo had a unique focus:

“We really wanted to write a feel-good love song that focused less on the physical aspect of falling in love (as so many modern love songs tend to) and instead shift attention toward the ways we change our communication with someone as we begin falling in love.”

That funny moment, when two people both feel something happen but it’s too new to shine a light on... It’s one of the best feelings of connection out there. Sentences that end with “and... and... and...” and conversations that never quite end and feel like they bleed into days.

The resulting song buzzes with analogue electronics and sweet vocals in a way that reminds me of Sylvan Esso. The production work here is impeccable and full of little touches. The deep synths, rhythms that pop and crack with a burst of treble, and a vocal that playfully cuts back and forth, childlike in its unbridled enthusiasm.

Right Here is Chitchat’s first original release. Check it out below.