Listen: Change My Mind — Anna Shoemaker

With the kind of stripped-back and vulnerable sound that I find irresistible, Brooklyn-based mucin Anna Shoemaker’s new single Change My Mind glitters with an incandescent earthiness.

Anna’s verse quivers with a human intensity — her vocal enveloped in space, as a guitar is plays gently, the squeal of fingers sliding up-and-down the fretboard almost elevated to the point of being their own instrument. With the chorus, however, Shoemaker’s vocal soars, a previously unexpected gutsiness flooding that space. Guitars take on a more aggressive stance, the folksiness of Change My Mind’s verse suddenly developing a grungy feel.

Anna originally gained attention for No Lie, Bitch Don't Kill My Cocoa Butter Kisses, her cover version mashup of Kendrick Lamar’s Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe, Chance The Rapper’s Cocoa Butter Kisses, Drake’s Girls Love Beyonce & Destiny's Chid's Say My Name. Since then, she has released two EPs, East Side and Everything Is Embarrassing, received support from Refinery29 and Billboard, and been featured by Spotify and Apple Music.

Despite her origin in that creative mashup, Anna Shoemaker has created a song that feels fascinating and surprising, yet free of gimmicks. Change My Mind is the third song to be lifted from her forthcoming debut album, due in 2022, and depicts a growing maturity and emotional intimacy. Describing the song, Anna says,

“It’s about being hopeful while also accepting and welcoming your emotions as they come. Writing this song really changed a lot for me.”

Check out Change My Mind below, and look out for Anna Shoemaker’s debut album next year.

Listen: Whisper — Knife Girl

Having previously released music under the name Olli, Knife Girl is the latest musical creation from Helsinki musician Lili Aslo. Focused on performing songs with distinctive sonic character and organic feelings, her music boasts a sophisticated sound that blends retro inspiration into a modern aesthetic.

Whisper follows on from Knife Girl’s recent release, Oona, which is billed as an EP but at 10 songs and 35-minutes is more of a mini-LP. Regardless, Whisper is somewhat surprisingly a cover of 2019 track that itself takes inspiration from turn of the millennium trance. Where the original basks in its large drum rolls and pitched-up vocals, Aslo has totally shifted the song’s aesthetic to create something still recognisable, but uniquely its own thing.

Describing her version of Whisper, Knife Girl said:

“For the sound of this track, I took inspiration from various disco-funk records from the 1980s. Lyrically, it's a parody of the sexual and objectifying lyrics you would often find in those records.”

There is a strong punk-funk feeling about the resulting song, but underpinned with synths and clattering drums that create a loose, natural feeling in comparison to the original song’s stark, mechanical sound.

Watch: Flower House — Emilia Anastazja

Opening with the insertion of a cassette into a tap deck, it is instantly obvious that Emilia Anastazja’s Flower House is going to embrace heritage and retro aesthetics. And it doesn’t disappoint — it rides a melody that is constructed from a combination of pillowy-soft drums, dreamy vocals and playful synths.

Anastazja claims influences that include Jessie Ware, Mary J Blige and Whitney Houston. I think the sound is actually very close to long-time BlackPlastic favourite and Jessie Ware collaborator Dev Hynes. The overall aesthetic is very close to Hynes’ warm palette — it’s like falling into a warm robe having just had a lovely bath.

Based in London, Polish-Swiss singer, songwriter, and guitarist Anastazja has a somewhat similar sensibility to Hynes… She, too, takes inspiration from a diverse blend of genres, including soul, R&B, Disco and avant-pop. A youth spent surrounded by musicians and jazz, combined with classical training, ensured Emilia ended up committed to music long-term. Having had success and coverage from BBC 1Xtra and 6Music, she has also been featured by The Line Of Best Fit and Dummy.

The song is actually about the impact of gentrification and how that impacts communities, art and our collective memory:

“The lyrics are talking about my reflections and memories of an apartment block that I used to live in with my best friends, which was demolished in front of my eyes. It was a whole community of artists living there, and we always had an open door for everyone and the rent was almost for free. The house was demolished because the state decided to build some more overpriced modern apartments there. This home holds a special place in my memory and is often a place I look back to as the last real place I could call home. I wanted to express both my anger and my fantasy to ‘Burn’ down what now stands in its place.”

Watch: Sirens — Sunflower Thieves

I wrote about the beautiful music of Leeds-based duo Sunflower Thieves earlier this year, after I put them through at my stage of judging Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition in 2020. Back again with a new single, and now a video, Sirens only reinforces in my mind how much promise and talent the pair, Amy and Lily, have.

Once again leveraging their trademark dream-folk sound, Sunflower Thieves have gently embellished their sound with the kind of subtle touches that add to the song without distracting from its emotional core. Amy and Lily’s vocal harmonisation continues to be the central draw, but gently modulated sounds combine with acoustic guitar, light percussive sounds and keys to add to the song’s melody.

Whilst it could be mistaken for a love song, the duo highlight that it’s really about friendship, perhaps irrespective of whether that exists within a purely platonic relationship or not:

“Sirens’ is a song about friendship, inspired by particular people. When things feel overwhelming, tuning into a relationship or friendship with someone who needs you can keep you grounded, and keep you both moving forwards.”

I’m lucky enough to have some of those people in my life, and I recognise and am grateful for the grounding security of those connections with people that endure. They can act as a form of gravity, stopping me from losing my bearings and my place when I require it most. I’ve missed Thanksgiving by a day, and I’m not American, but here it is anyway… Enjoy, and thank you.

Listen: The Windlass — Oribu

As it turns colder in the Northern Hemisphere, I am increasingly for comfy clothes, warm jumpers and thick socks. The nights have well and truly drawn in, and I find myself just wanting to wait the winter out.

Oribu’s new song, The Windlass, feels purpose-made for this time of year. Crisp beats, haunting synths and intimate vocals create the feeling of evenings walking alone, your breath visibly hanging in the air.

The production work is the real star of the show here. Blending elements of alternative hip hop and electronic music, the sound has a fractured and otherworldly aesthetic that suits the vocal performance perfectly.

Perhaps the sound of isolation is to be expected. The Windlass and Get By (the associated EP the track is from) were created during the first Italian lockdown. As a duo, producers Paolo Donato and Edoardo Staffa managed to work online together with singer Rocco Zilli, from the Italian band Mòn, to create The Windlass. The result is surprisingly cohesive — a cool, beautiful slice of frozen jazz-influenced electronic music.