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Music

Orions Belte feat. Shikoswe – Conversations

This is the latest single from Norwegian trio Orions Belte, a band supposedly inspired by “Nigerian 70’s rock, postcards from the French Riviera and Formula 1” and while I’m not an authority on either Nigerian rock or Formula 1, the breezy, heady melodies of Conversations absolutely call to mind sitting on a warm beach gazing out at the gentle swells of the Mediterranean. It’s an intoxicating blend, easily accessible yet with enough of a punch to stay with you for some time afterwards.

http://www.orionsbelte.no/

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Music

Loma – Elliptical Days

I only posted about Loma last week so I’ll keep this short, but Jesus CHRIST this is absolutely brilliant. Consider me sufficiently hyped for the album. Great video too.

https://lomamusic.bandcamp.com

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Music

The Antlers – Wheels Roll Home

In 2014 The Antlers released what would become easily one of my favourite albums of all time, the incredible, haunting Palace. Since then they haven’t released a single track and were rumoured to have broken up, with Peter Silberman going on to release a solo album in 2017. Now, following last year’s 10 year anniversary tour of their breakthrough album Hospice they’re back with a new single, Wheels Roll Home. I only hope that this signals more new material from the band, as fuck knows we could all do with it. Welcome back boys – you have been missed.

https://antlersmusic.com

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Music

Overmono – Everything U Need

The Tweet that brought the new Overmono single to my attention came from grime producer Mr.Mitch and simply said “Think I would cry if I heard this in a club”. This, in a nutshell, is what every single person currently bereft at the lack of nightlife options in the UK is feeling. The specific tracks will differ from person to person, but everyone has at least one tune that if they heard loud, surrounded by other people, would reduce them to tears. It’s something that headphones and watching screens can’t even begin to replicate, and I only hope there are enough producers still making absolute bangers like this left when we’re allowed to party once again.

https://overmono.bandcamp.com

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Music

Eartheater – Volcano

I could have picked pretty much any track from Eartheater’s wonderful new album Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin, and breaking the LP into individual parts is definitely not the best way to experience it. There’s so much going on, such a range of emotions and ideas: from seething, clattering orchestral maelstroms to delicately strummed guitars and fragile, shattering vocals. It’s fiercely jagged and incredibly soothing in equal measure and I can’t get enough of it.

https://eartheater.bandcamp.com

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Music

Kurt Vile – Dandelions

Dandelions is one of two Kurt Vile originals on his new five-track EP Speed, Sound, Lonely KV (ep), which also includes three covers: one of Jack Clement and two of US country legend John Prine who passed away earlier this year. From the opening, carefully picked acoustic melody and dreamy background washes to the hushed, muted percussion, this is vintage stuff from an artist who has that rare talent of being simultaneously rousing and reassuring. “That sounded pretty sick” says Vile as the music gradually fades away. I couldn’t agree more.

https://kurtvile.com

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Music

Gabriel Garzón-Montano – Fields

Fields is taken from the new album from Gabriel Garzón-Montano, on which the NYC-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist presents tracks from three distinct self-created characters (lots more on this in Pitchfork’s glowing review for those who are interested). Fields bears comparisons to to fellow experimental r&b practitioner Moses Sumney, both vocally and its rich, occasionally unsettling production and meandering, unpredictable structure. Both artists are pushing boundaries in intoxicating directions, and Agüita will surely stand up as one of the year’s best (and varied) albums come December.

https://gabrielgarzonmontano.com

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Music

21 Savage x Metro Boomin – Slidin

“I smashed the stripper in the hotel with my chains on” Thus spake 21 Savage at the start of his infamous 2016 collaboration with Metro Boomin, Savage Mode. Misogynistic, nihilistic, but also darkly brilliant and compelling with brooding, eerie production, it stands as a high (or low, depending on your point of view) watermark for both artists. Now we have the much-anticipated Savage Mode II: a lazer-focused distillation of what makes them work so well together. Though perhaps a couple of shades lighter in tone – the Drake featuring Mr. Bright Now is positively buoyant – it conjures the same beautifully oppressive atmosphere as its predecessor. So…. Savage Mode III?

https://pitchfork.com/news/21-savage-and-metro-boomin-release-savage-mode-ii-listen

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Music

Paul White – All Eyes Open (Mixtape)

Previously best known for his production work for Danny Brown, as well as collaborations with Jamie Woon and Charlie XCX in addition to production duties for a vast number of other MCs and singers, Paul White has stepped more fully out of the shadows in the last few years. Following a string of album releases over the last decade, 2018’s Rejuvenate felt like a statement of intent, and clocked up plenty of very positive reviews. His new mixtape All Eyes Open sees his step back from the mic for the most part, instead delivering a kaleidoscopic range of beats, synths and samples from multiple genres, all undershot with a yearning nostalgia that holds everything together.

https://paulwhite.bandcamp.com

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Music

Khotin – WEM Lagoon Jump

Over the last decade or so, Canadian producer Khotin – or Dylan Khotin-Foote to his friends – seems to have been slowly deconstructing his own sound, moving from admittedly slightly off-kilter but still structurally recognisable house music, to increasingly stripped-down ambient and psychedelia. His new album Finds You Well is his calmest to date: at time playful, at other solemn, but rarely rising above a gentle murmur. WEM Lagoon Jump tips its cap quite considerably to the influence of Boards Of Canada with its stumbling drums and hazy, wandering, nostalgic synth lines, but nevertheless stands out as a highlight in a beautifully introspective release.

https://heart.bandcamp.com