Listen: Stitch by Snake Orange Cake

Snake Orange Cake is the new musical project from Berlin-based artist Julia Carlsson. Blending electronic soundscapes, she creates a shoe-gaze, drone-like aesthetic, meshing loops, samples, and synthesisers together with her spoken-word poetry.

On her latest single, Stitch, Snake Orange Cake creates a deep, transcendental piece of music. Shuffling rhythms rub against low bass tones, guitar sounds and slow synth melodies. The result is cinematic and consuming, encouraging the listener to give themselves over to the sound, with the deadpan vocal delivery blending into the collage of noise, an instrument in itself. I found the experience of listening to Stitch meditative and cleansing, pulling me into the moment and creating a sense of presence.

Carlsson took her inspiration for the song and its lyrics from her experience of taking more risks and exploring the world, embracing a sense of adventure. Her work as Snake Orange Cake builds on her prior work as Leoblu, featured on BlackPlastic last year, which saw her gain international recognition and placement on a Netflix soundtrack.

Listen: DYBIRL by SOPE

UK-based duo SOPE perform indie folk combined with pop melodies to create something with broad appeal but a depth of emotion. Channeling the likes of Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver, the pair have recently unveiled DYBIRL, which comes ahead of their debut EP, due for release in the second half of 2025.

With gently strummed guitars that bask in the raw feel of fingers sliding up and down the fretboard, DYBIRL is an atmospheric slice of folk pop with vocal harmonies that invoke a sense of introspection. Each component of the song feels carefully considered, and whilst the overall production is retrained and somewhat minimal, the whole comes together with a sense of emotional release.

Duo Alastair and Niall are at their beginning of their journey as SOPE, but this early single hints at the potential for depth in their music. I’m excited to hear how they explore their sound across a broader collage. Check out DYBIRL below:

Watch: Concordia (Dorian Concept Remix) by Yuma Yamaguchi

Hailing from Tokyo, Yuma Yamaguchi is known for his productions scoring films, drama, animation, and commercials. Concordia started as a soundtrack for an interactive beach art installation in Odaiba, Tokyo. As part of a four-track series of remixes, here Viennese producer and keyboardist Dorian Concept brings a distinctive flair whilst retaining hints of the original.

Both the original tracks and Dorian Concept’s version bask in elements of jazz, but where the original is focused on piano refrains and sweeping strings, the remix basks in loose organic percussion flourishes and glitchy electronics. Dorian Concept is known for his work with Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and The Cinematic Orchestra, and the aesthetics of those artists are present here.

As I write this, I’m sitting on an airplane, about to depart for the sunny beaches of Greece. The lively, organic feeling electronics of this version of Concordia feel perfect — like an early morning sunrise, the earth gently awakening with possibility.

Listen: When I Grace Yr Mantelpiece by Jill Blutt

Shimmering with an 80s soft-focus aesthetic, Jill Blutt’s new single, When I Grace Yr Mantelpiece, is the third and final single to be taken from a forthcoming EP.

With the EP’s first single receiving exposure on Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Fresh Finds Indie playlists, When I Grace Yr Mantelpiece is poised to create further momentum for Blutt’s EP. Spectral vocals feel otherworldly, floating transparently against cools synths and crunchy percussion. The song acts as a plea for success, with unashamedly honest lyrics that ask, ‘please, please make me famous, or I might, quite possibly, die’.

Despite the thematic transparency, When I Grace Yr Mantelpiece has a layered depth to it. The production and instrumentation here creates a dream-like sense of possibility — like waking up and not being quite sure if the glimpsed thrill of success was real or a dream. The song’s bridge, at the one-and-a-half-minute-mark, is particularly wonderful — a lightly textured moment where the bass drops away to reveal Blutt more fully, navigating a maze of ambition.

Listen: Uru Buru by HLLLYH

Having returned just last month with the first release in more than a decade and a half, HLLLYH are back with another song, Uru Buru. The phoenix to the messy electronic punk flames that were The Mae Shi, HLLLYH are gearing up for their forthcoming album, which is both opened by and (sort of) shares its name with this latest song.

Kicking off the album, entitled URUBURU, Uru Buru establishes some of the themes that run through the album. The album’s core focus is featured heavily here, with the release centred on the concept of being trapped in vicious cycles. The song builds towards a crescendo, as the band sing about the twisted shape of Klein jars and the repeated patterns of humanity. We learn and re-learn the same lessons over and over, twisting in on ourselves, and even the song’s title is repeating itself, in the form of a palindrome.

Politics has never felt more stuck in an endless cycle than it has right now. We see moments of inclusivity and liberalism, followed by periods of retreat and isolation. Both states are responses to what preceded them, yet there appears to be no way to establish a steady state of progress. Instead, so much human effort is spent on the latitudinal shift, vs longitudinal progress.

Whilst Dead Clade was one of the new album’s oldest songs, dating back to the days of the Mae Shi, Uru Buru is one of the newest songs on the new album. Here it comes backed with the b-side Cherry Blossom Color Season, a cover of a song from the frankly insane Katamari Damacy video game series. Katamari Damacy has been in my life a fair amount recently, as my son has developed an affection for the weirdness of game designer Keita Takahashi’s eclectic and creative games, especially Wattam. Katamari has also recently made a rather joyous reappearance in the form of the Apple Arcade game, Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE, which adds modern social media parlance to the game in a way that feels deeply ironic and delightful. For the record, Katamari Damacy is the most HLLLYH video game, and Cherry Blossom Color Season is delightful unhinged. Check out Uru Buru below.