Author: The Predatory Wasp

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Music

Moomin – For Willow

Moomin’s wonderful debut album The Story About You came out a literal entire decade ago, in what seems at this distance to be a time so far removed from my (and possibly the world’s) current circumstances that I can’t be completely sure it wasn’t a dream. In fact I’m pretty sure the only thing that hasn’t changed in that time is the music Moomin makes, which is still dreamy, drifty, dusty and hugely evocative. In my head this track is dedicated to his newborn baby – a fittingly beautiful tribute to a new life entering its first stages of consciousness – a flight of fancy so fitting I’m not even going to bother to check if it’s true.

https://soundcloud.com/moomin

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Music

Erika de Casier – Make My Day

Erika De Casier has now released two albums that sound like nothing else out there. Despite wearing their 90s r&b influences proudly on their sleeves, both 2019’s Essentials and the newly released Sensational (how’s that for a pair of chest-beating titles?) manage to forge new paths for the kind of introspective, moody but ultimately easily accessible pop that I am bang into. Make My Day is an early highlight – that haunting little synthy wail at the start of every bar, I mean come ON! – but it’s all ultimately brilliant.

https://www.instagram.com/erikadecasier

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Music

KMRU – 11

Kenyan artist KMRU follows up the two fantastic albums he released last year with another cut from the same exquisite cloth. Logue came out last week and is another gorgeous, delicate electronic album that explores ambient experimentalism, almost approaching beatless techno with some of its tracks. 11 is meditatively percussive, with spine-tingling synths and rich warm pads creating an intensely cosmic – but also firmly grounded – atmosphere, like a caveman staring longingly at the stars in search of the divine.

https://kmru.bandcamp.com

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Music

SKIIFALL – Bentayga Dust

Montreal based, St. Vincent born artist Skiifall blends disorientating, hard-hitting instrumentalism with rich, melodic flows on latest single Bentayga Dust. There’s a dichotomy between the ominous beats and soothing vocals that works really well, and the rise and fall flow of some of his bars are pure, hypnotic genius.

https://skiifall.com

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Music

Greentea Peng – Dingaling

Arriving as the third single from her forthcoming album Man Made which lands next month, Dingaling is about as chill and vibey as R&B gets. As Greentea herself says early on and repeats throughout, “Here in lies your fortune / In the shape of a good tune” and at the moment this is exactly the kind of straightforward simplicity I’m after.

https://www.greenteapeng.net

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Music

Ray BLK – Dark Skinned

It’s Friday. Which is enough of an excuse for us all to embrace Ray BLK’s breezy new banger Dark Skinned. Not sure I’m going to say anything else about this one, except that it’s the latest in an increasing number of songs making me feel vaguely positive about our ability to have actual fun this summer. Thanks Ray!

https://www.rayblk.co.uk

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Music

Sufjan Stevens – Revelation V

It’s fairly outrageous that despite stealing the name for this blog from one of his songs, I’ve barely acknowledged than Sufjan has put out four (four!) albums in the last month or so. Arguably it’s one album, split into four parts, but still. My various excuses: I’ve been busy! There’s been a lot of good music to cover! Pubs have been open! Etc. Anyway, this is me officially saying: these albums exist and are all out now and are definitely worth your time. Also, they’re all on YouTube in their entirety.

Like many of Sufjan’s albums, they’re self-indulgent and meandering. Also like every single one of his albums, there are moments of such sublime, heart-rending beauty that you can’t imagine listening to anyone else ever again. Revelation V is one of those moments, but there are many, many more.

https://sufjan.com

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Music

Skee Mask – LFO

Honestly, Skee Mask is just outrageously good. I’m only three tracks into his latest album Pool which kinda came out of nowhere last week, and I’m already convinced it will be in my top 10 of the year. Very few other producers can touch him in terms of rhythm, creativity and his ability to create unique, engaging and highly emotional musical landscapes. LFO is one of his gentler efforts, beatless and almost devoid of percussion, with the ebb and flow of synth lines driving it forward.

https://iliantape.bandcamp.com/album/itlp09-skee-mask-pool

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Music

Acetantina – Blindside

Shout out to Album of the Year for being a consistently reliable source of excellent music releases very few other sites seem to cover, the latest example of which being Libyan-German producer Kaizo Ziad’s electronic project Acetantina, and his new album Carmen Winstead. From start to finish it’s a fairly unsettling experience, with tracks emerging out of a static-y haze or being abruptly cut off mid flow, but it’s also consistency fascinating with some moments of truly exceptional sound design, the closing glassy synths of Blindside not least among them.

https://kaizoslumber.xyz/album/carmen-winstead-2

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Music

Greg Dallas – Forget

Created solely with a guitar and a bunch of layered effects, Forget is a powerful and poignant track from St. Louis artist Greg Dallas, recalling the hazy, drifting ambience of artists like William Basinski. It’s really beautiful, and I wish it was three times as long so I didn’t have to keep hitting replay.

https://gregdallas.bandcamp.com/releases