Listen: tu:orbit — Tom Ashbrook x Greta Svabo Bech

Charting a musical path not dissimilar to Bonobo and Jon Hopkins, Tu:Orbit is a little more deep than I typically cover. Transcendent synths build an emotive sense of momentum, with angelic vocals deep in the mix. It was that human feeling at its core that pulled me into the track.

The overall sense of Tu:Orbit is one of a feeling, then, rather than a thought. In that sense, it actually reminds me of Sigur Rós, insomuch that there are words here, but what they say feels potentially less important than the feeling the voices communicate.

tu:orbit is the work of multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Tom Ashbrook, and it is taken from his EP, ko:da. Exploring a series of variations of his 2020 track, Klass, from his album, Sensibus, the EP uses “original melody ideas” to build a collaborative new body of work.

Guest vocals come from the Faroese vocalist Greta Svabo Bech, known for her striking performance on Deadmau5’ Raise Your Weapon. The result sees Ashbrook apply Greta’s vocals to great effect — as much an integrated instrument as anything else on the song, and wholly original.

Watch: Tell Me — PELA

Tell Me, the new song from Brighton duo PELA, bristles with an infectious organic warmth. Producer and instrumentalist Olly Shelton’s fuzzy synths and snappy hip-hop inspired drums come together with singer/songwriter Hannah Coombes’ crisp vocals to create something truly seamless. The combination feels timeless yet modern, like Haim partnering up with Dan Snaith.

The video of Tell Me features a one-take live performance, the band joined by Dom Walker on saxophone, in St Mary’s Church near Brighton. I love the clean, classy feel of both the performance and the recording.

Tell Me is our first exposure to PELA’s soon-to-be-announced EP. The song itself bubbles with a sense of determined optimism, and the band talk about their inspiration of having the purpose of mind to make better decisions:

“Tell Me is about learning to interrupt the spirals we find ourselves in and how to navigate unhelpful thoughts. It was the first track we wrote after moving to Brighton and embodies the sense of a fresh start.”

It’s an important notion that I have found myself reflecting on and requiring in the past, and I love the quiet confidence demonstrated on Tell Me.

Listen: Romantic Logic — Billy Vena

Billy Vena’s new single, Romantic Logic, fizzes with a kind of energetic Prince-like energy that I find pretty much irresistible. Made up of a combination of warm feeling bass and crisp percussion and clean lines, the song feels futuristic yet also like lots of fun.

That sense of playfulness, present in Vena’s falsetto delivery, permeates Romantic Logic’s lyrics too — likening love to a game, in a direct reference to the Nintendo 64, even the very notion of “romantic logic” being a thing.

Describing the song, Vena says:

“The clues lead to love, but love leads to someone else they’re a little more content with. I wrote this song about understanding what it takes to be in a healthy relationship, and not understanding why you aren’t in one with the love of your life.”

Hailing from Panama but now based in Converse, Texas, Billy Vena made his musical debut back in 2020. Three singles came that year, and last year Vena began to release material from his upcoming debut EP, led with the excellent Rabbit Hole. Marking the release of Romantic Logic, Billy is auctioning of a single one-of-a-kind NFT that grants the owner a 10% royalty share on all master recording income from Romantic Logic, after expenses. You can find the auction, which ends on 28 February, on OpenSea here.

Watch: Mariah — Anna Shoemaker

I’ve been a touch obsessed with Anna Shoemaker since she put out the gloriously intimate Change My Mind in December, together with its fabulous video. Now she is back with something a little different, in the form of Mariah.

Where Change My Mind felt like the kind of grimy and grounded indie that Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy might make, Mariah packs a more overtly commercial aesthetic. Warm bass notes gently unfold and bend slightly under the weight of the song as an 8-bit style rhythm clicks and bleeps, guitar adding a steely-eyed determination right before Shoemaker drops her chorus.

And what a chorus it is, for Shoemaker is becoming the queen of deadpan delivery… The emotion held back in the performance itself, and all the more resonant in the words Anna sings. Compared to Change My Mind, Mariah took a little while to sink its teeth into me, but I find myself a little more hooked on Anna’s tale of fire and gaslighting every time I hear it. The song is a haunting, beautiful, cinematic ode to being really fucking done.

Describing the release, Shoemaker says:

“This is a final straw song, the one where you borderline get in trouble for putting it out, so I figured if it sounds sweet, maybe no-one will notice how mad I am.”

Check out Mariah below:

Listen: Sofie — Cayo Coco

Sofie floats on a cloud of fleeting, ephemeral emotion. Muted guitar scratches an itch against ethereal melodies, as a vocal punches through an understated-yet-emotional performance.

As cool as the whole performance is at first, by Sofie’s final third it culminates in a gut-wrenching cry out. An insistent and repeated yelp, “You’re the last one left”, sees us through to a conclusion.

Cayo Coco is the solo project of LA-based multi-instrumentalist Lumen Loraine. With cited influences that include Lord Huron, King Krule and Mac DeMarco, you can get a sense as to the expansive sound Lumen is shooting for.

Describing the song, the artist says:

"This song touches on fear of abandonment, which is something I've experienced most of my life. Sofie represents a specific person, but I know I was writing to myself in certain moments. I feel I was questioning the part of me who abandoned myself every time I connected with someone else."

Check out Sofie below, and look out for the debut album from Cayo Coco on 22 Feb.