Brit-Rap

Today’s Track: Swindle (feat. Loyle Carner, Kojey Radical & JNR Williams) – “Lost”

September 23, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘The New World’ (Mixtape) (Available from October 29th, 2021) (via BMG)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come around for me to get typing up for yet another daily track on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘LOST’ comes to you from the South London-based Grime, Garage and Dubstep producer Swindle – his real name is Cameron Palmer – who first emerged on the UK’s Grime scene with his self-released debut mixtape, ‘The 140 Mixtape’, in 2007. His earliest influences call back to Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and Bob Marley, and Palmer has a background in Jazz, Soul, Funk and Hip-Hop music. This is because his father was a Blues guitarist who gave Palmer lessons at a young age, and so he has been making his own music – starting from his Bedroom studio – since 2004. Palmer has been known for his fruitful collaborations with other artists in recent years, and he has worked with the likes of Terri Walker, Flowdan and P Money during his career. The trend will continue on his upcoming new album ‘The New World’, which is hitting record store shelves late next month – on October 29th – via BMG. The lead single, ‘LOST’, has been playlisted for BBC Radio 6 Music’s daytime rotation, and it finds Palmer linking with Loyle Carner, Kojey Radical and JNR Williams. Check it out below.

The follow-up to 2019’s ‘No More Normal’, Swindle wrote and recorded ‘The New World’ over the time of just two weeks at Real World Studios in Wiltshire after the lifting of the UK’s national lockdown period in late 2020, with the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic forming the backbone of the album’s themes. The release also features a diverse line-up of guests, including the likes of Greentea Peng, Maverick Sabre, Joel Culpepper and Poppy Ajudha among the collaborative track listing. ‘LOST’ finds Loyle Carner lending his intimate, socially conscious rap style to the first verse, while Kojey Radical contributes his slightly heavier rhythms to the cause. The two have more of a verbal spar in the third verse, delivering some motivational lyrics about finding purpose like “Pinocchio knows no bounds but he’s trying/That brother say he run the jungle but they lying” and “They was trying to make darkness a weapon/I was trying to make darkness a blessing” that duel at times, with the two narrators controlling a mid-tempo journey through some slabs of warm Bass and some stretches of orchestral Brass sections. JNR Williams, meanwhile, keeps the pace flowing with the memorable hook of “Oh, they lost themselves in lying” during the chorus. Swindle’s work behind the decks on production is diverse throughout, as he serves up some snatches of horns that gives Williams a Gospel quality to his voice, and he plays around with understated Bass to provide a sonorous, laconic style to the proceedings. Although it begs the question of “How many people does it take to make a song?” just a tad (You would be suprised, a lot of mainstream Pop tunes have at least 15 writers credited), the sum of all the parts here is certainly worthwhile and that’s all what really matters. A diverse, colourful take on Grime and Dubstep that feels grounded enough by the ‘Jam session’ style of collab vocals, and it sounds fresh.

  • Pictured: Swindle (Cameron Palmer) at ‘Real World Studios’ (2021) (Photo via TheVinylFactory.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for joining me on the blog today and for showing your support. It is very hard to believe that it’s been almost an entire week since RP Boo made his return and proved that he’s still got it – but here we are. It is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow as we divert our attention to the hyped new album release from the drummer Betamax and keyboardist Danalogue from The Comet Is Coming.

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Today’s Track: The Bug (feat. Flowdan) – “Pressure”

September 14, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Fire’ (Album/LP) (Released on August 27th, 2021) (via Ninja Tune)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke and it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day, so it’s time to put that into practice by publishing yet another daily track on the blog! Having been active in the UK’s underground Techno scene since the 1990’s, notably as one of Hyperdub’s most significant signings during the early 2000’s, Weymouth-based electronic music producer and journalist Kevin ‘The Bug’ Martin has dabbled in the genres of Dubstep, Post-Hardcore, Industrial Hip-Hop, Dancehall, Power Electronics and more in experimental ways throughout the course of the last two decades, fronting different music projects like ICE, Curse Of The Golden Vampire and Techno Animal. There was also the collaborative moniker of King Midas Sound, which he has fulfilled with graphic designer Kiki Hitomi and poet Roger Robinson. There’s an air of 80’s Avant-Punk on his recently released solo album, ‘Fire’, which quickly became one of the year’s most anticipated hardcore album releases when it was released in the same month that it was announced, arriving in late August on the excellent Ninja Tune label. The album features collaborations with several vocalists including Logan, Flowdan, Nazamba, Manga Saint Hilare and more. This is Martin’s first solo album release since 2014, and he’s pitched it as a spiritual sequel to 2008’s ‘London Zoo’ and 2014’s ‘Angels & Devils’. The record has a scorching hot tone and it explores a range of socio-economic tensions and climate issues. Give the single, ‘Pressure’, a listen below.

“I’m always asking – how can I ramp this up more? How can I get more people out of control? For me, a live show should be unforgettable, should alter your DNA, or scar your life in a good way – that’s always been my goal, to set up shows that are unforgettable”, Martin told us in a press release, adding, “I like friction, fanning the flames with sound, and this album is the most reflective of the live show in terms of intensity and sheer f**k-off attitude of those shows”, he explained. ‘Fire’ is certainly one of Martin’s heaviest releases for a few years, but, as per usual from Martin, this isn’t a record that simply feels like a turn up the dial and shout for the sake of noise, in a Scuzz Sundays guilty pleasure way, but it instead uses Drone sounds and Dark Ambient influences to comment on a diversity of issues that seem to plague the modern world that we’re all a part of today. Working with frequent partner Flowdan on ‘Pressure’, Martin kicks the intensity of the new release into full gear with some anthemic two-step Drum beats and some relentless attacks from a string of reverb-drenched rumblings of Bass. Flowdan’s Hip-Hop vocals show serious flair, with the London-based MC adding a heavy Grime element to the chaotic energy of the tune, spitting thought-provoking lyrics like “Babylon time dun/Yuh sing for the stretcher” and “Wait for the revolution, but the revolution can’t stand” at a breakneck pace, as he conjures up some striking imagery of fleeing refugees and recent events in Alfghanistan that hit at a great speed and with an understandingly strong impact. Martin’s electronic soundscape deserves plenty of credit for the well-developed and uneasy atmosphere too. He kicks off the tune in riotous fashion with a jagged blast of sirens and foghorns, before he complements Flowdan’s hard-hitting vocals that rails against poverty and inequality at the fault of the government with a genuinely post-apocalyptic variety of sounds that shows his considerable experience and doesn’t hide behind the vocals from Flowdan as a literary device. Instead, the two together decide to hit their problems at their core with a passionate energy. On the whole, this is certainly not a mainstream release by any stretch of the imagination, but Kevin Martin and Flowdan do an absolutely brilliant job of unleashing a barrage of pent-up rage with good intelligence and academic creativity. There’s a ton of atmosphere as a result here and it feels undeniably cool. A release which you certainly should not skip.

  • Pictured: Kevin ‘The Bug’ Martin in a studio PR shoot for ‘Fire’ (2021) (Photo via TheVinylFactory.com)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day, and thank you very much for your continued support with my daily project. I will be back tomorrow for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, as we take a break from my recent recommendations to revisit one of the most influential sounds of the past for the present. This week’s pick comes from a female-led band who were one of the greatest Bristol-based pioneers of Trip-Hop in the mid-90’s, and they were named after a nearby town of the same name. The trio sometimes bought a fourth member, Dave McDonald, on board as their own engineer.

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New Album Release Fridays: Little Simz – “I Love You, I Hate You”

September 3, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ (Released on September 3rd, 2021) (via Age 101)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the rather excited words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘New Album Release Fridays’ returns today, and this week’s array of competitive new offerings includes fresh releases from Drake, Iron Maiden (Just saying), Manic Street Preachers, The Wildhearts, Lauren Alaina, Priya Ragu, LANY and more. However, the biggest release of the week for me certainly comes from Little Simz, who is a female British rapper (of Nigerian ancestry) from Islington, London. I’ve raved on about her multiple times as the future of Hip-Hop music on the blog, and the ‘Drop 6’ EP and the singles lifted so far from her new album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, out now on her own label Age 101, have certainly whetted my appetite for some more. The new album is centered around the theme of introversion and how Simz handles a shy, reserved personality in a business driven by the talkative social media influencers and complicated job recruitment processes of the modern times, and so it sounds like an interesting exploration of ideas when you consider that Simz is quite a fast-rising producer whose job is to project her voice to the public at large. This is her fourth full-length LP release, and it is the follow-up to 2019’s ‘Grey Area’ in album terms, an LP that won Album Of The Year awards at both the NME Awards and the Ivor Novello Awards following its release. Check out her new single, ‘I Love You, I Hate You’, below.

“Inflo {her co-producer] asked me, “What do you love and what do you hate”, I knew the answer immediately”, Simz says to us of her latest deep-cutting single, adding, “I wanted to just let people know like, yo, I’m actually this way inclined, being this introverted person that has all these crazy thoughts and ideas and theories in my head, and not always feeling like I’m able to express it if it’s not through my art”, to her general press release. If you’re fan of Little Simz, like me, then you may have noticed how the new single is just a little bit more alike to her early stuff because it focuses more on the introspection elements, trading in anthemic experimentation for a more personal quality. Lyrics like “Hard not to carry these feelings even on my best days/Never thought my parent would give me my first heartbreak” expresses her troubled relationship with her mother or father, and these quick bars are recited over the top of a driving Snare drum which forms a well-rounded bassline, and these sequences are interspersed with a darkly soulful male backing vocal that repeats the hook of “I love you, I hate you” at a consistent tempo formed by a sample. The subject matter of the heated vocals flow from hot to cold throughout, and Simz expertly communicates a tense feeling of not being able to live with or without a part of her heritage. The rest of the instrumentation honestly reminded me of The Avalanches because these wistful Horn sections and sprawling String arrangements feel very virtuosic and carefully curated in texture. The harp riffs build some tension for the murkier segments, and the crescendo of Classical instrumentation samples cuts right to the bone, allowing for the uneasy emotions to flourish in the soundscape. I like how Simz is never afraid to shift geers when she needs to, and the track certainly heads in a more unpredictable formula than we may be used to hearing from her. On the whole, this is another solid-as-a-rock showing from Simz, where she delivers her very raw and smartly written lyrics on top of an engaging sample-based backbeat that heads in some creative storytelling. She is an excellent role model for young girls, and she cements that claim with the natural talent that she shows on singles like this.

  • Pictured: Little Simz in a ‘Drop 6’ Promo Shoot (2020) (Photo Credit: TAMIYM)

Are you a fan of Little Simz? If you haven’t been converted yet and fancy checking out some more like this, why not start with some of the singles that we have previously discussed on the blog here? Check out the excellent ‘Where’s My Lighter?’ featuring Alewya here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/15/little-simz-feat-alewya-wheres-my-lighter/, an go back to where the build for the new album started with ‘Introvert’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/04/27/todays-track-little-simz-introvert/

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Drop 6” (EP) (Released on May 6th, 2020) (via Age 101 Records)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you for joining me again today, as always, and I’ll be back tomorrow for some brand new music from an Indie Rock group currently signed to Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union record label. They previously impressed me on the blog with their debut album two years ago and made a pair of appearances on the site, and they’re back with a new album set to release in November. This group is centered around two Brighton-based siblings who originated from the Isle Of Man, and they have embarked upon three US tours. They have hit the road with notable groups such as The Flaming Lips, The Magic Numbers and Wallows.

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Today’s Track: B-Wey – “Psych Police”

August 24, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Section 1’ (LP) (Released on July 16th, 2021) (via Self-Released/Bandcamp.com)

Good Morning to you! You are here with Jacob Braybrooke, as always, in time for yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Approaching the cusp of 30 years of age, South East London-based independent rapper Ben Weyman has been reflecting on his twenties in his tell-all debut album, ‘Section 1’, which he self-released last month. The new record examines tragedy – familial grief, mental health struggles and his run-ins with the law. This is a very hard-hitting and stripped-back listen that was partly inspired by the tragic loss of his parents, which occurred due to battles with cancer and within only four months of one another. The record was also named after his development of Bipolar Disorder which has led to an arrest pertaining to his share of psychotic, manic episodes. Brutally honest, B-Wey has laid bare on the taster track, ‘Psych Police’, which specifically refers to the heavy-handed treatment of those who need support. The new LP was mixed and mastered by Ryan Sullivan, the former head engineer of Red Bull Studios, and Weyman wants you to know that he has been stable for 3 years – and hopes his work can guide others to peace. Spin ‘Psych Police’ below.

Following a tumultuous period, Ben Weyman has turned to music as a way to express himself like never before, writing, “My musical journey and influences give way to a unique production style while my life experiences give me something tangible to write about and gives my music a real direction. I hope to raise awareness and influence change in his neat address to the music press. A deeply personal call to others going through serious pains, B-Wey delivers some candid, and catchy, lyrics that cut like a knife sunk in deep to your heart. The repeating hooks of “What they want from me, I’m not sure/Now they’ve got me pinned to the concrete floor” and names the likes of corporate greed and the vanity of 20’s youth as the stigmas surrounding his times of downfall. The refrain of “1 to the 2 to the 3 to the 4/Psych police are knocking at my door” is a memorable and wickedly melodic one, while he spits the rest of his bars with a rough-edged first person perspective. His beats harken back to J Dilla and Madlib, where his sampling goes for a more playful brand of style collage, and his turntable scratches equally evoke the old-school Hip-Hop production of Boom Bap. He peppers this material with some sombre Piano notes and a gently ethereal female backing vocal that get the dramatic subject matter across to the listener in a way that continues to ditch flashy Synth schemes or the mincing of his words. I like how the overall track feels rather unpolished to an extent, as this really allows for Weyman’s personality and his expression to come across naturally and without any hesitation of mentioning the more hardcore scenarios of his narrative, as he continues to seek introspection through his lowest of moods. Overall, this is an effective example of DIY UK Hip-Hop production, and it harkens back to the days of The Streets or Kate Nash that feel increasingly rare to come by in this day and age. A hard-hitting listen, which B-Wey’s personality makes all the more attention-grabbing.

  • Pictured: B-Wey (Ben Weyman) (2021) (Photo via slavestotherhythm.monkjackpublishing.com)

On that note – we’ve reached the end of the page. Thank you very much for joining me for another day, and, as I have already mentioned, I will be going on a short break starting from Thursday because I’m busy attending my sister’s big day! I shall leave you tomorrow with a track, taken from our ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ feature, from a particularly special act. This androgynous Synth-Pop and New Wave band were formed in 1983 and they found their fame after supporting Depeche Mode’s tours in 1985 and 1986. The group have been described by The Houston Press as “forward thinking” for their lyrics that used to deal with gender politics and sexual orientation.

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New Album Release Fridays: Mr. Jukes & Barney Artist (feat. Kofi Stone) – “Check The Pulse”

August 6, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “The Locket” (LP) (Released on August 6, 2021) (via The Locket Records/Virgin)

Good Afternoon to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s finally time for me to, like always, get typing up for another daily track on the blog, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’ve reached the end of another long working week, and so it’s time to unpack one of the weekend’s biggest new album releases. Kanye West is dominating the headlines this morning for his still unreleased LP, ‘Donda’, which is meant to be released today, with fans making lots of memes in the process. Alternative options come from the likes of Ty Segall, Laura Stephenson, Fredo, Ishmael Ensemble and Nas. However, the new release that I have been pining for is ‘The Locket’, which was originally delayed to August 6th when it was initially set to arrive last month. ‘The Locket’ is a surprising collaborative album between Mr. Jukes, the solo side project of frontman Jack Steadman from Bombay Bicycle Club, and the East London-born MC Barney Artist, who first popped up in 2012 with his ‘BAEP’ EP. The two got together for this joint venture when Steadman stumbled across Barney on Spotify, and he was never forgotten since. The title of the record refers to memories of more cheerful times, “We fill a locket with memories we protect and don’t forget to keep it round your neck”, Jukes & Barney both said. The record has gained positive reviews from critics, with Sean Kerwick of DIYMag.com writing, “A fantastic collection of tunes that encompass everything from bangers to slow jams that leaves you hoping Mr. Jukes and Barney Artist’s schedules continue to align” in their review. Time to ‘Check The Pulse’ below.

“The aim is to bring hope to people after the maddest year”, Barney & Jukes write about ‘The Locket’ in their press release, and they will be bringing this positive energy to stages in Manchester, Brighton, Bristol and London later in the year. ‘Check The Pulse’ brings Kofi Stone, a close friend and frequent collaborator of Barney Artist, to the party, and he told the press, “It was a pleasure to link up with my brother Barney and go back-to-back with him, also, Mr. Jukes is a wizard on production. This one’s got a real nice bounce to it, looking forward to playing it live” in his own statement. It is bouncy indeed, with a East Coast Hip-Hop synergy that calls back to A Tribe Called Quest and The Jungle Brothers to me, since there’s a clear chemistry between Barney and Kofi as they rap fast lyrics to the tuneful sound of a very Soulful sample and a Psych-tinged instrumental beat composed of Vinyl scratches and a crawling bass guitar riff. Lyrics such as “Drillin’ the bars, feelin’ the lyric when I’m spittin’ this fast” respond to music and memory, while lyrics like “Slithering snakes wanna get into your business/Wanna get into your brain” are a reminder to ignore bad influences and those most critical of your work as a creative. It’s got a very feel-good sound, but the relatively mid-tempo pace is very slick and smooth, filling the left-field indie Pop vibes with something more reminiscent of 80’s Boom-Bap rap and sharp rap beats that gleam brightly above the underlying warmth. There’s also not really a full chorus of-sorts, but the samples and the melodic backing vocal harmonies keep the influences sounding engaging. We’ve heard Steadman dabble in sampling a little bit during his time as the leader of Bombay Bicycle Club, but this project gives him the space he wants to fully flex those production muscles. I also want to point out how his smile adds a lot to the performance video. This is a songwriter who clearly loves writing and performing his music with a genuine passion, and his sparkling smile lit up the room in there. He provides a fantastic platform for the solid cohesion between Barney and Kofi to really get across, too, as they fluidly bounce water-tight lyrics seemlessly against one another at a great flow, and with superb chemistry. Overall, I felt that ‘Check The Pulse’ was an utterly joyful listen from the beginning to the end, and it’s a very enjoyable tune that could really brighten up your day in a time where we’re all looking for fun distractions, expertly mixing Jukes’ Indie production with decent Hip-Hop material, and all topped off by the love for the music which the three artists have.

  • Pictured: Mr Jukes (Jack Steadman) & Barney Artist at CHALK, Brighton (2021) (Photo via PR)

That brings us to the end of another post for the day! Thank you for your support once again, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow for some more brand new music from a big-name artist! Tomorow, we’ll be listening to some brand new music from an Indie Punk 4-piece from Amsterdam who played not one, not two, but THREE performances at Glastonbury in 2019! Signed to Heavenly Recordings, the band have been praised by publications like Brooklyn Vegan, Double J and Rolling Stone. Their debut album ‘Boat’, made it to the top spot of the Independent Album Breakers Chart.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Definition Of Sound – “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”

July 21, 2021 — 2 Comments

If you’d asked in 1991 – I would not know the meaning of the word. Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Moira Jane’s Cafe’ (Single) (Released in 1994) (via Circa Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke, and I hope that you are ready to take things down a notch for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! For ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, we revisit one of the sounds from the past that influenced those of the present, or an oddball rarity that may have slipped by the radar. ‘Wear Your Love Like Heaven’, however, was something that I swiftly noticed on an old repeat of ‘TOTP 1991’ on BBC Four, and so you know what we’re probably getting into here. The tune seems a little forgotten, and I admittedly couldn’t find out a great amount about it on the internet. It was released in 1991 by Definition Of Sound, a London-based Soul and Dance duo made up of Kevin Clark and Don Weekes, who collaborated with musicians including ‘The Red King’ Rex Brough and, eventually, Michael Spencer. The single performed decently, reaching the #17 spot in the UK Singles Chart at its peak, and reaching the #28 position of the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Another notable hit of theirs was 1992’s ‘Moira Jones Café’, which also reached the UK Top 40 and later hit #1 on that specialist chart in the US. Let’s get a blast from the past below.

Despite sharing the same title, Definition Of Sound’s ‘Wear Your Love Like Heaven’ was not a cover of Donovan’s 1967 Psych-Funk classic, but, if you listen closely to the chorus, the duo obviously used a key sample from that track. I also read that it was used in an episode of The Simpsons where Homer goes on an acid-filled psychedelic trip in his mind. This sounds like the sort of obscure 70’s record that The Avalanches could have used for a sample on ‘Wildflower’, as quick sample work and the pastiche House structure with playfully pitched vocals call back to the upbeat, laidback Hip-Hop sounds of De La Soul and the old-school Trip-Hop beats reminiscent of Mos Def. There’s a call back to A Tribe Called Quest in terms of the vaguely Jazz elements, and although I’m not certain that I would categorize the whole recording as Hip-Hop, as such, it’s more of an energetic Psych-Soul tune with a knack for rapping. More or less, it’s a connected thread of breakbeat elements from a selection of styles. It’s not an entirely derivative collage of past sounds, however, because there’s a hint of Fat Boy Slim to the easygoing, roughly Disco sound, and the kooky vocal samples add a nice level of individual personality to the mix. The lyrics aren’t much to write home about, with rapped verses about uniting the world around ourselves and working together to create a sense of heaven creating an optimistic mood that, while a slightly generic effort, fulfills its purpose and refrains from overstaying it’s welcome too much. For me, the lead vocals work pretty decently almost 30 years later, with an early flair of Chicago House and the brightness of the Sunshine Pop style giving the relaxed tempo enough good material to bounce off. It certainly nodded appreciatively to the East Coast for their hip-hop scene, and the combo of the Bass and Drums hardens the melodies up just a slight bit. On the whole, this was surprisingly better than I had expected. There’s nothing about it that feels incredibly unique on paper, but it’s an eclectic mix of clear influences which jangle together effectively. It’s inspired enough. The production is very early-90’s, but it never felt too outdated, as such. It may not have rewritten the dictionary, but it is water-tight when the parts are pieced together.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Love And Life: A Journey With The Chameleons’ (LP) (1991) (via Circa Records)

That’s all the ‘love’ that I have to give to you today, but, please feel free to join me yet again tomorrow for some more music. Tomorrow’s pick brings some female voices to our week, as we review a recent track from a rising-star female-led Psychedelic Rock 4-piece band who met while attending Tufts University on the borders of Medford and Somerville in the US where the members had all lived and played together until 2016.

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Today’s Track: Baba Ali – “Black Wagon”

July 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

This house is not a house – It’s just a couple of sticks. Well below Zero. New post time!

  • Pictured: Baba Ali in a PR shoot for the ‘Rethinking Sexual Pleasue’ EP (2020) (Photo via Twitter.com)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and allow me to be your cool down away from the shining sun for your daily track on the blog, as per usual for this past week, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! A London-via-New York songwriter and producer, Baba Ali is never far away from reliable airplay on Alternative radio stations like BBC Radio 6Music and Cherry Red Radio, and he’s announced that he will be releasing his debut solo album, ‘Memory Device’, on August 27th via Memphis Industries. Ali was previously a member of the Alt-Soul duo Voices Of Black, before he moved to the UK to pursue a solo career and to study a Masters degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, a university in London. He’s since supported acts such as Kele Okereke (The lead vocalist of Bloc Party) and Gold Panda on tour, and he will be adding Leeds Post-Punk breakouts Yard Act to that list later this year. A musing on community and mortality, check out ‘Black Wagon’ below.

Working with Joe Goddard (from Hot Chip) and Al Doyle (from LCD Soundsystem) as producers for ‘Memory Device’, Baba Ali is now striving to get the glittery dancefloors moving again, after the year-plus long spell of the pandemic’s delays, with modern Disco records like ‘Black Wagon’. Ali says of the single, “Where I live in London, my window faces the High Street and I’m not far from a church. In the autumn, there were a lot of funerals, and the horse and carriage procession would often come down the street. It’s quite an arresting image; It feels like it’s from a different era. That’s the “Black Wagon” and the rest of the lyrics are me reminiscing about the feeling of going to raves and coming home at sunrise”, per his press notes. The path of Baba Ali’s ‘Black Wagon’ has taken him from a native home in New Jersey to a winding road in East London’s mixed community. Along the way, he fuses the styles of 90’s New-Age and electric Post-Punk for an effortlessly cool Alt-Disco beat. He opens with “Hopped on the 109/Wiping the cold out of my eyes” as an air of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ hits the ground running as a shimmering bassline and flickering Synth patterns drives the melodic tempo forwards. Some lyrics, like “It’s a winding road/And every corner’s blind” observe paranoid society at a distance, while others, like “We caught the Metro North/We took in all the sights/A long way from home”, discuss the after close experience of a multi-cultural club night. The beats begin as fairly subdued, before the instrumentation pulls elements of Future-Soul and New-Wave into the fold with twisting Synth hooks and warped Keyboard riffs. The chorus goes for a euphoric feel, as Baba Ali sings “Round we go/Where we end, nobody knows” and “Black Wagon roll/Where we land we’ll dig our whole” as the songwriting becomes quite cryptic, but the added reverb to the Synths and the soaring bass guitar brings new energy to the equation. Ali comments on the experiences of changing a life cycle through living in different cities and experiencing different communities in a stimulating and thought-provoking way, but there’s some tension to the slightly distorting Synths and the loud guitar sample in the home stretch. A merticulously produced and elegantly balanced offering, ‘Black Wagon’ rolls along its road at a brisk pace, with plenty of engagement.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Memory Device’ (LP) (Available from August 27, 2021) (via Memphis Industries)

That’s the end of the road for ‘Black Wagon’, but please feel free to join me tomorrow for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ as we go retro once again for an in-depth look back at a mostly forgotten London-based dance music group who peaked within the UK Singles Chart on two occasions during the very early 1990’s. A handful of their tunes also reached the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, including a #1 entry on that specialist chart. The duo worked with musicians like ‘The Red King’ and Mike Spencer.

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Today’s Track: Pizzagirl – “Car Freshener Aftershave”

July 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

Love a bit of 80’s soft-Rock or 00’s Psych-Pop? You’ll want a Pizza this! New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Softcore Mourn’ (LP) (Released on July 16th, 2021) (via Heist Or Hit Records)

A good afternoon to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for a brief respite away from the scorching heat for your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Monday’s music comes from Liverpool’s Liam Brown, who has recorded his material under different names over the years, but his current and most notable solo project is Pizzagirl. He goes all-in on that theme as well, recording his brand of Indie Pop and R&B-infused Psych-Rock from his bedroom, which he calls his “Beatzzeria”. His influences include The Orielles, Grimes, David Byrne, Ariel Pink, and he loves a bit of Kelly Clarkson too. The follow-up to 2019’s ‘First Timer’, his second album ‘Softcore Mourn’ was released over the past weekend via Manchester’s Heist Or Hit independent label. It finds him venting out his own lovelorn frustrations of 21st century dating and pulling in some elements of Vaporwave. Check out the lead single, ‘Car Freshener Aftershave’, below.

After being away from Liverpool’s scene for a short break, Liam Brown had this to say about the new album: “Over the last year or so I’ve been screaming, sighing, crying and lying at my computer, which has manifested itself into my aptly titled second album Softcore Mourn”, adding, “The first single ‘Car Freshener Aftershave’ is a cold reminder to the internet that I still exist and I still haven’t figured that out yet. I’d say this is a break-up song” to his press release notes. Likened to LCD Soundsystem and The Postal Service by Gaby Mawson of Clunkmag.com, the new tune goes for a hint of nostalgia with 90’s dial-up tones and Prog-Synth sounds that appear directly lifted from the 80’s by complementing the retro, teen-hood aesthetic of the self-referential lyrics. The Chiptune-leaning vocals contort themselves around different layers of instrumentation that are continuously adjoined to the soundscape, as the percussive finger clicks and fizzy Lo-Fi synths emerge in the cutting edge of the fray at elusive key changes. Quirky lyrics, like “Where are the cameras? I must be punk’d” call back to outdated popular culture, and lines like “Well, if you’re gonna cry, then at least make it snappy/Cause once in a while, well, I kind of feel happy” add subtle sentimentality to the mix with a vocalist who feels socially pessimistic leading us on the charge. The chorus, led by “The California motel vomit/It’s like a Jackson Pollock” and “The California motel vomit/It wasn’t me, I promise”, emphasizes the quirky sense of his own self’s inertia. The ambient electronica bulk of the track feels like it’s been lifted from a falsely futuristic 80’s infomercial. Constructively, I think the production space gets a little too busy at some points, and I would have liked for his voice to come out more naturally at times. There’s more here to enjoy than not, though, with a fun edge of Prog-Synth and hyperactive visuals that make his breaking point seem believable, and there is clearly a welcome personality to this track. A stuffed, but delicious, Crust.

  • Pictured: Liam Brown (aka Pizzagirl) in a ‘Softcore Mourn’ PR shoot (2021) (Photo by HeistOrHit.com)

That’s all for today, but please feel free to join me again tomorrow for another slice of action. BBC Radio 6 Music are a huge fan of my next artist, who makes his debut appearance on the site tomorrow. The London-via-NYC songwriter and producer previously found his footing in the Future-Soul duo Voices Of Black, and he’s set to support Yard Act later this year ahead of the release of his new album – due in August.

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Today’s Track: Confucius MC (feat. Strange U & Lee Scott) – “Cicada 3301”

July 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

Mixing poetry like a famous Chinese philosopher with a Grime flavour. New post time!

  • Pictured: Confucius MC in the music video for ‘War & Peace’ (2021) (via YouTube.com/YNR Productions)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for you to read all about your daily track on the blog, yet again, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music each day! ‘Circada 3301’ is a fresh new UK Hip-Hop tune which finds the trio of Confucius MC, Strange U and Lee Scott joining forces. The leader of the crew is Confucius MC, a rising star on the UK’s underground who is a unique voice from Peckham, a Southern district of London. Confucius has been active in the London hip-hop scene for several years now, including a stint as one-half of the ‘Con+Kwake’ duo with drummer Kwake Bass. His two highest-profile releases, 2014’s ‘The Highest Order’ LP and 2017’s ‘The Artform’ EP, released on YNR Productions and WeStayTrue, have given him critical acclaim as one of UK rap’s most elite lyricists. Inspired to make music by the high school money that he used to spend on J Dilla, MF Doom and A Tribe Called Quest records, Confucius is now living a dream of his own, supporting the likes of Mos Def, Public Enemy, Slum Village and Jehst on tour. The new single, ‘Cicada 3301’, is taken from his upcoming second solo album, ‘Somewhere’, which is set to be released at a TBD time in the year. Check it out below.

Confucius MC has also become close friends with Kae Tempest after supporting her on tour, who cites him as “a huge influence on my life, my character and my rhyme-style”, and, similarly, Confucius is well-liked among his community in the urban environment of Peckham because he runs creative workshops for the young people in his ethnic minority’s community, giving them a solid role model to grow up with. A collaboration with the French Jazz-heavy producer Keor Meteor, ‘Circada 3301’ finds Confucius MC channeling his retro childhood influences, along with the assistance of Strange U and Lee Scott, to serve up a social commentary on the modern man of Britain. It’s a vengeful piece, dished out with a side order of salt. Named after the mysterious organisation who lays puzzles to recruit code breakers from the public, we get a boom-bap produced hip-hop track with charismatic rhythms all about linking the abstract with the everyday. Confucious MC opens with fast jabs like “The moment that I put an ear to the beat was an omen/The door way to reputation was opened” that mimic a stream of consciousness with a colourful flair, as steady guitar rhythms and shimmering drums embody a 60’s Sci-Fi soundtrack. Strange U’s verse bring lyrics like “Catch my words like the preacher” to the table by drawing on the sample-delia heroes like Madlib to bring the concept to life under fast sample work. Finally, Lee Scott’s verse leaves things on a more hopeful note, with prayers like “Motivate/Kill the world we pro-create” and “All we’re left with is an empty bag of tricks” to touch upon the poverty of London life. Together, the three target themes of neglect and ‘cancel culture’ with a venomous poise, but the melodies remain old-school. It never goes too heavy, with Meteor’s production bringing on a smoky Jazz aesthetic to the table. Overall, it is a brave effort from every creative involved, which is bolstered by the clearly spoken sample which sounds like an extract of The Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2, as the trio mix current political affairs with retro-futurist Rap influences.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Cicada 3301’ (Single) (Released on June 11, 2011) (via YNR Productions)

That’s all I have to share with you today! Thank you for the support, and please feel free to reconvene with me for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow as we look back at an 80’s Pop gem that my mother says she used to own on cassette tape. It comes from a Nothern Irish OBE who used to be the lead singer of The Undertones, and, in recent times, he has been an enviornmental advocate for the rivers in my area of Cambridge.

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Today’s Track: All Cats Are Beautiful – “Thought I Saw U In The Shop Last Nite”

June 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

The perfect pair of indie musicians to send off LGBT Pride month with. New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “The Things We Made” (Available from August 6, 2021) (via Moshi Moshi Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and it’s time for you to read your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Steve Lamacq has been loving ‘Thought I Saw U In The Shop Last Nite’ on recent BBC Radio 6 Music shows, and I have subsequently been loving it too. It comes from the new duo of All Cats Are Beautiful, an Indie Soul and Chamber Pop pair of best friends Elena and Kyle (I couldn’t find out what their surnames are, sorry) who are residing in Hackney, the Eastern district of London. The two producers are queer and non-binary best friends releasing their music on Moshi Moshi Records (of Hot Chip fame). This single is the follow-up to April’s ‘(U Know) U Mean A Long Minute 2 Me’, and both are taken from the duo’s upcoming first EP, ‘The Things We Made’, which releases in a handful of weeks on 6th August. Prior to that, the two have released cover versions of Daniel Johnston’s ‘True Love Will Find You In The End’ and Arthur Russell’s ‘Lucky Cloud’. Check out their latest offering here below.

“When you miss someone you think you see them everywhere. You find yourself turning around to check if the person that just walked past you was them, even if you know it’s impossible, even if they look nothing like the other person but for a split second you were absolutely sure it was them”, the East London pair spoke of the track’s concept, adding, “We wanted to use the city as a sort of third character in the video and decided to use locations particularly familiar to us both to give the feeling of being comfortable in a given space”, to their press notes. You’re perhaps thinking of The XX when you listen to this, and I think that’s a fair comparison to make. The drum loops aren’t too sparse, yet the lyrics have a small scope. Elena focuses squarely on capturing the moment with lyrics like “Even though we’re miles apart, my mind is playing tricks on my heart” and “I wanna circle back into that place/Where we listened to Frank Ocean on the fire escape” that turn a small situation into a deeper, more psychological space, where a sexual tension remains intact. I also noticed how the instrumentation is kept fairly pop-oriented, with lo-fi basslines and R&B sonics weaving in and out of the frame to create depth for the dense chill-hop grooves. A change is teased when Elena sings “You can come around any time/Now would be a good time” in the bridge, before we go back to the more intricate guitar progressions which create a catchy, laid-back tempo. The shifting Drum patterns feel percussive, as the pair blend Experimental Pop with a 00’s Singer-Songwriter sound. The credits also list the use of a Nylon String Guitar, Keys and Drum Programming, each of which add a Woodwind-like effect to the later verses, keeping the instrumentation vibrant and detailed. Overall, the pair do a great job of capturing a snapshot, or a moment, with the music. It’s small-scale, yet evokes a deep sense of emotional nostalgia with the layered percussion, their soulful voices, the focused lyrics and the melodic backdrop.

  • Pictured: Elena (Vocals/Guitar/Percussion) & Kyle (Keys/Synths/Drum Machine) (2021) (Photo via PR)

That’s all I had planned for today! Feel free to join me again tomorrow, however, as we trend towards a completely different direction as we go ‘Way Back’ for Wednesday. We’re going for a Country classic tomorrow, who owns a star on the Hollywood Hall Of Fame, and, before a Stroke sadly left him unable to continue his music career in 2013, made acting appearances in Film and Television productions like ‘National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets’ (2007), ‘The Rainmaker’ (1997) and seven episodes of the ‘Touched By An Angel’ US television series. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/