Today’s Track: Ibibio Sound Machine – ‘Electricity’

November 25, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Eno Williams (Lead Vocals/Chief Songwriter/Producer), Scott Baylis (Synths/Trumpet), Max Grunhard (Saxophone/Synths), Alfred Kari Bannerman (Lead Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), Tony Hayden (Trombone/Synths), Phillip PK Ambrose (Bass Guitar), Anselmo Netto (Percussion) and Joseph Amoako (Drums) performing at the Pool Recording Studio, London for NPR’s ‘World Cafe’ (2019) (Photo via Kimberly Junod/WXPN)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to take you through yet another eclectic variety of sounds with 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! Led by Eno Williams, Ibibio Sound Machine are a ten-piece Afro Jazz collective that she formed with producers Benji Bouton, Leon Brichard and Max Grunhard in 2013 with their idea of combining the unique vocals of the Ibibio language that she used to speak whilst growing up in Nigeria with both traditional West African and more modern electronic music elements. Although currently based in London, Williams sings her lyrics in both English and the Nigerian tongue of Ibibio, and the group are known for taking their musical inspirations from the golden ages of West African Funk and Dance music, modern Post-Rock and Electro-Pop music. Since forming, the band have been interested in creating music which fuses elements of 1990’s Drum & Bass and 1980’s Afrobeat. The band also notably performed at KEXP’s ‘International Clash Day’ event in January 2019, and they have since linked up with Merge Records to issue 2017’s ‘Uyai’ and 2019’s ‘Doko Mien’ for release, with their self-titled debut album being released on Soundway Records in 2014. Their latest single, ‘Electricity’, was premiered by Lauren Laverne during her breakfast show on BBC Radio 6 Music a pair of weeks ago, and it was recorded in Hot Chip’s studio. The group will also be embarking on a UK tour next March and April, including dates in Bath, Birmingham, Worthing, Newcastle, Manchester, London and Leeds. Let’s give it a spin.

Giving her insight into the direction of the new single ‘Electricity’, frontwoman Eno Williams says, “This one started out as an idea to mix Afrobeat with Giorgio Moroder-style synth vibes”, explaining, “The end section with Alfred’s korogo (Ghanian 2-stringed Folk guitar) solo was already there when we got into the studio, but then we added the big kick drum that happens underneath and Owen from Hot Chip’s crazy drum machine percussion at the end, which gave it a futuristic Afro feel when mixed with the more talking drum parts”, in her press statement. More or less doing my job for me with the press release, ‘Electricity’ is lyrically exploring the connection between different people and the power resource. The instrumentation leans towards an 80’s Synth Pop style, with a buoyant bassline and some tight drum melodies undercut by some more grounded, progressive Synth loops courtesy of the drum machine sequences. The pace builds gradually, starting off with mid-tempo beats and purely Synth-based rhythms before introducing a decent amount of variety with sparse Saxophone melodies and short Horn sections towards the middle. A big crescendo of danceable Synth riffs and more cerebral Jazz production creates a burst of energy in the third fourth of the track, before a longer instrumental section of ritualistic chants and quick, extravagant Horn scatterings rounds off the track before we get a final repeat of the chorus. It brings a somewhat new element to the chorus, where Williams talks about love and speaking from the heart as the simple answer to life’s complexities. An uplifting track with a slightly rougher edge that reminds me of Soccer 96’s ethereal Prog-Jazz production during brief intervals, ‘Electricity’ is a single that is lyrically radiant and evidently listenable. A focused and charming return.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Electricity’ (Single) (Released on October 26, 2021) (via Merge Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading my latest post, and it is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow, meaning that I’ll be guiding you through one of the weekend’s most notable new album releases. This week’s pick gives you a taste of the new posthumous album by a cult favourite Alabama-born singer-songwriter who sadly left us in March. Encompassing a variety of styles including Blues, Rockabilly and Country – you may know him for opening on-tour for The Hives and The White Stripes in 2007.

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Today’s Track: Nightmares On Wax (feat. OSHUN) – “Breathe In”

November 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Shout Out! To Freedom’ (Released on October 29th, 2021) (via Warp Records)

Good Morning to you! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to indulge your senses into yet another 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! ‘Shout Out! To Freedom’ is the latest LP to come from the legendary Leeds-born and Ibiza-based electronic Trip Hop producer Nightmares On Wax – the now solo project of George Evelyn that used to be a trio with Kevin Harper and John Halnon up until the early 90’s – who has scored multiple crossover hits like ’70’s/80’s’, ‘Aftermath’, ‘Finer’, ‘Know My Name’ and ‘I’m For Real’ in the UK Singles Charts. He is the longest serving signee to the iconic forward-thinking experimental label Warp Records, and the critical acclaim of classic albums such as 2006’s ‘In A Space Outta Sound’, 1995’s ‘Smokers Delight’ and 2008’s ‘Thought So’ have led to his projects being highly anticipated among electronic music fans as some of the genre’s most important offerings. Sadly, he became more like ‘Nightmares No Vax’ in some Twitter posts leading up to the marketing machine of the new record, but, luckily, none of these controversial opinions have really cropped up on-record or became too preachy, and he opted to explore the general themes of freedom and meditation on his new album, and so it’s quite nice to see that he’s supporting freedom of speech without bringing any harm to others, and I could see his perspective as a creative coming from a non-white background. ‘Shout Out To Freedom’ has instead been released to pretty positive reviews, and it features a solid guest list of names including Greentea Peng, King Shabaka Hutchings of The Comet Is Coming fame, Mara TK, Pip Millett, Haile Supreme and others – each of which have been asked by Hill to collaborate on songs exploring what freedom means to them. The only single taken from the record with a music video attached is ‘Breathe In’, a mid-album track which includes vocals from the NYC duo OSHUN. Check it out below.

“I feel like I’ve been set free of something and I am now becoming who I really am”, says Evelyn of Nightmares On Wax fame, adding, “I’ve been gigging non-stop for 10 years, and that experience has been beautiful but it also drained me emotionally. As a creative, you’re always questioning everything. So, having the time and the space has meant that I could do a proper deep dive into this stuff. So it was all about this journey of going back to myself, and realizing being at home with my wife and my daughter that I’ve not really been here properly. It’s like I’ve just woken back up to what I actually have – and it’s already here”, when writing all about his new album – ‘Shout Out! To Freedom’. ‘Breathe In’ still contains the influences of Curtis Mayfield and Quincy Jones that have all shaped his typical concoction of Funk, Soul, Jazz, Downtempo Electronica, Dub and Techno that have kept his project alive for many decades and have characterized his sound, while putting a more modern spin on these styles predominantly within the lyrics, which discuss the simple act of staying off your phone and meditating instead. ‘Breathe In’ takes a slinky and psychedelic groove, embedded with the lyrical themes of nature and mindfulness, and Evelyn arranges some 90’s Trip Hop beats and a playful 90’s ploy on old-fashioned Dancehall melodies that have a weightlessness and an airy sense of production to them, mixing nicely with the deep and spiritual vocals from OSHUN that echo Dub all over the track. Some interesting String samples and subtle Keyboard loops make up the rest of the instrumentation, and there seems to be a lush 70’s Black Exploitation vibe to things where the usual elements of Jazz, Funk and Soul come together from Hill, some genres that he’s well known for exploring. A mix of darker Piano chords and punchier beats differentiate this track from some of his familiar 90’s and 00’s chilled out House offerings, and the more spacious parts of the vocals build to some longer harmonies and some sustained notes in the latter half of the track. While there aren’t any lyrics that specifically stick out to me, it seems like a variety of ideas are being conveyed through the balance of Urban and Nature that OSHUN evoked here. Overall, ‘Breathe In’ was a track which I enjoyed from the new album, which really strikes me as a good headphones-in-bed type of listening experience. While not as essential as other recent Warp Records efforts from the likes of Yves Tumor or Jockstrap, due to some of the melodies feeling as though they meander along a little bit, I still have a pretty positive perception of it. I like how it manages to not quite sound like any other track that I have heard from Evelyn to date, as the tribalistic drum loops and the psychedelic Soul feel manage to sound interesting. Whereas most of his tracks gives me a warm and comforting feel inside, this one feels more urgent in taking action, which is different to the way that most of his other singles make me feel. While there’s a general sense of positivity, it seems slightly more alarming. A great-sounding return.

Pictured: Nightmares On Wax (aka George Evelyn) performing at Wire (2016) (Photo by Justin Gardner)

That’s all for now and thank you for continuing to support the site. ‘Scuzz Sundays’ is set for tomorrow, and we’ll be focusing our attention to an English rock band who got their big break in 2006 when their Platinum certified debut album won the ‘Indie Album Of The Year’ gong at the 2006 PLUG Awards and each member of the band have continued to work on their own solo side projects in more recent times. Whilst together, the London band have sold over three million albums worldwide as of 2012.

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Today’s Track: Cathy Jain – ‘Green Screen’

November 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Artificial’ (EP) (Available from November 5, 2021) (via Yala! Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and you’ve arrived at the right time for yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This is a brand new week and a brand new month, so I’ve got some brand new music from a brand new artist to mark the occasion of the theme. Cathy Jain is a 17-year-old singer-songwriter who mostly gravitates towards Bedroom Pop and Alternative R&B in terms of her production. She was raised in China and Australia before moving to the UK when she reached the age of 13, and she now finds herself currently based in Wistaton, Cheshire. A recent Brine Leas student, Jain can speak Chinese fluently and, in her time there, she learned how to play the Guzheng, a traditional Zither-like instrument. Jain found her break when she landed a top five place in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Talent Search among more than 10,000 entries, and she will be releasing her debut EP – ‘Artificial’ – on November 5th via Yala Records. Her fans include BBC Radio 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq, and BBC Radio 1 hosts Clara Amfo and Jack Saunders, and she’s also gained support from NME, Clash and The Line Of Best Fit. The follow-up to her debut single ‘Cool Kid’ is ‘Green Screen’, which was co-produced and co-mixed by her frequent collaborator Rob Heron at the Cracked Analogue studio. So, let’s give it a listen below.

Cathy Jain’s work has been featured in major playlists across streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer, and when talking about the major themes of her soon-to-be-released EP, she explained in her press release, “Together, the four tracks take a look at how we define what is really ‘real’ when we spend so much of our time either in our own heads or in a virtual world online”. For ‘Green Screen’, Jain aimed to write a single with a more “epic vibe”, and she gradually weaves together several layers of Soulful instrumentation and vocal harmonies to build the recorded track up to create some accessible Alternative Pop with hints of Lo-Fi ambience and mild Psychedelic Rock. Pulling in some Vaporwave and Chillwave influences for a surprisingly laidback opening, she complains, “I’m bored/It’s late, the stores are closed and I’d explore my phone I have some more”, during the introductory verse. The themes of virtual interaction soon become clearer, with seductive lyrics like “Notes on every sting, making each one sting” and “Things I pretend to have experienced” in later sequences while the electronic textures dabble between blissful Synths and tender, acoustic guitar riffs. Jain refuses to follow the traditional Pop/Rock/Indie single structure of the present day and abandons this pre-conceived idea in favour of switching over to different backdrops to keep things interesting, including a more glitched combination of Keys and Synths aided by some more ballad-like and sing-song vocals in the later part of the single. A few hooks like “Sometimes we just wanna be/Some melodramatic teens in the feels” and “Kissing the green screen/Making me feel things” seem to reoccur now and again, but she places a larger emphasis on sweetly drawled verses and changes of tone plus timbre rather than relying on a typically catchy chorus. The music of the overall package has a back-and-forth pace to it and the harmonies feel a little playful at times, with the attitudes of self-awareness and reflection mixing neatly with the more Dream Pop-inspired backing beats that complement her explorations of exploring a virtual self shared with her colleagues and friends. Overall, ‘Green Screen’ is an intriguing and alternative Lo-Fi Pop single that may take some less acquired listeners a few listens to wrap their heads around, but I really enjoyed how it subverted my expectations of a teen, emo dream Pop song and she does things differently to her peers. The chilled synths reminded me of Still Woozy, the long-winded romantic croons made me think about La Roux, and her youthful take on the Alternative Soul game feels fresh while appealing for fans of Lorde. One that I’d like to experience outside of my own screens.

Pictured: Cathy Jain in an official publicity shot for her ‘Artificial’ EP (2021) (Photo courtesy of artist)

That’s all for now! Thank you very much for your continued support regarding the blog, and I’ll be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at some more brand new material, this time coming from another gifted female solo singer songwriter from Wales who has pulled in an appearance on the site before, although it was covered in the early stages of 2019 and so I would forgive you if you’ve forgotten all about it. The Carmarthenshire-born artist, who sings in English and Welsh, will issue a new album via Mexican Summer in early 2022. She’s toured with St. Vincent and Perfume Genius.

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New Album Release Fridays: Remi Wolf – “Quiet On Set”

October 15, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Juno’ (LP) (Released on October 15th, 2021) (via Island Records)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and you are joining me for another daily track on the blog, which is the platform for my mission of writing up about a different piece of music every day! We’ve reached the third Friday of October, and the competition is heating up in time for the end-of year lists that will be rolling in by various music publications and YouTube channels shortly. This week – new albums from the likes of London-based, Art Pop-driven Psychedelic Jazz quintet Vanishing Twin, Swedish Electronic Pop producer and blog alumni Sir Was, Cumbria-born Wild Beasts multi-instrumentalist Hayden Thorpe, Billie Eilish’s beloved brother FINNEAS and retro international DJ Purple Disco Machine are all vying for a place on said lists. My pick for this week – however – is possibly the most vibrant one of the pack, and it comes from the California-born Alternative R&B and Synth-Funk singer Remi Wolf, who appeared as a contestant on ‘American Idol’ in 2014 and completed her studies at USC Thornton School Of Music in 2018. Earlier in the year, she made an appearance on a major US talk show – ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ – to perform a medley of her hits. The follow-up to 2019’s self-released ‘You’re A Dog’ EP and 2020’s ‘I’m Allergic To Dogs’ major label debut EP, ‘Juno’ continues Wolf’s running trend of pooch titles since it was named after her adorable pet dog. The album was announced with two singles, including a catchy Pop number titled after a phrase that your favourite actress – mine are Kathryn Newton and Natalia Dyer – might mutter while shooting on location if they weren’t such sweet people. Be ‘Quiet On Set’ below.

Telling us about her debut full-length LP, Wolf states, “Every song on this record is a vivid snapshot into what was going on in my life and mindset the day I wrote each one”, adding, “The album is named ‘Juno’ after my beautiful dog I adopted during lockdown. He ended up being in every single writing session for this album and I consider him my partner, witness and support in the making of this record”, to her press release while explaining how Juno was her true companion when mastering her material.’Quiet On Set’ has a 00’s sound that reminds me of R. Kelly and Usher in tone, and her vocals feel very quippy, with one-liner lyrics like “I’ve been stealing Corvettes, stunting” and “Eating my ass like the human centipede” that have a playful Hip-Hop delivery on top of a Pop-oriented drum groove and some funk-oriented guitar licks that form a smooth, polished bassline. The lyrics veer strongly into over-the-top territory, providing a quirky and comedic dramatization of Wolf’s issues with ADHD and overworking, themes that my otherwise feel bleak or mundane. Wolf, however, uses lyrics like “I ain’t leaving my bed/The work be killing me dead” to spin the typical emotions into something more bouncy and quirky, with a hilarious refrain of “I don’t want to be a debbie downer” being played out right across the middle of the track. The overall package feels marvelously Beck-like and it reminds me of his 90’s LP, ‘Hollywood Freaks’ in its muddled pastiche of commercial Pop-Funk music. Pitch-shifted narration ends the track, where Wolf goes into a bizzare tangent reminagining herself as a baby, while earlier lyrics like “Wait, there ain’t no steeze if there ain’t no grease/Unless you order that sugarfish sushi” feel directly taken out of Beck’s late-90’s playbook by combining strange and obscure hooks with a false rhyme delivery. Overall, ‘Quiet On Set’ was a fun tune that makes me imagine what may happen if Beck and Brockhampton had a love child together, with Wolf displaying a frivolous personality while discussing the ruminations of her mental health. Some of these retro, Chiptune-like Synth melodies and unique lyricism could come across as irritable to some, but I feel that she would definitely appeal quite well to children and teenagers if she went a little bit easier on the bad language. She probably doesn’t want to target this mass audience, however, and that’s a really good thing because it allows her peculiar lyric elements and her throwback Synth Funk sounds to resonate without any restriction. Overall, this is mental health stigma represented in a fun way.

Pictured: Remi Wolf at a LA Drive-In Benefit Gig (2021) (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images/TNS)

On that note, that’s all I’ve got time for today. Thank you for heading to the blog for your daily fix today, and I’ll be back tomorrow to rave on about some brand new music from a UK electronic house producer who I honestly think is one of the most underrated musicians in the whole of history. I’ll be thrilled to present my post about the technological wizard, who is pretty prehistoric in his fashion and approach. Last year, he collaborated on a tune with Bonobo to signal the arrival of the ‘Outlier’ label. He’s also known for the launch of the Nice Age cross-platform label in 2014. The first release was a collaboration with gifted Aussie DJ and Apple Music 1 host, Anna Lunoe.

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Today’s Track: Wayward – “Camden Road”

October 14, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Lawrence Gayle Hayes (Drums/Synths) & Louis Greenwood (Sampling/DJ) (2021) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time 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! Wayward is the fast-emerging Experimental Electronic music project of the London-based duo Lawrence Gayle Hayes and Louis Greenwood, who have gained acclaim from Pitchfork, Mixmag and Vice. They have worked as A&R’s for Silver Bear Recordings, and released material through the Australia-based Beasts Of No Nation label and Fort Romeau’s Cin Cin Records label, and they have been in the studio with the likes of Ninja Tune’s Park Hye Jin and Grammy-winning producer Skrillex. In March, the pair of producers released their debut LP, ‘Waiting For The World’, which was influenced by Burial’s ‘Untrue’ and they combined Drum & Bass, House, Breakbeat and Ambient elements into a concise record. Their latest release is ‘Sapphire Eyes’, a four track EP which was self-released on September 29th. It was inspired by the rave experiences they had while growing up in London – an ode to nightclubs and community. Let’s spin ‘Camden Road’ below.

Citing influences like Addison Grove, Machine Drum and Overmono for their latest short form release, the duo shared on their own Bandcamp page in a press statement, “If our debut album showcased the more reflective side of our yearning for clubs, and a softer side of the lockdown experience, this EP is the anger, frustration and urgency coming out”, concluding, “Stuck indoors again just wanting to band it out in a club with the intention of making something completely focused on the dance floor” in the notice. Their fourth track on the record, ‘Camden Road’ sticks out amongst the others for the emotive feelings which it shares, coming across to me as more nostalgic than euphoric. It boasts a similar sound to some early 00’s Hyperdub recordings and more recent Footwork releases, where the Synths and the propulsive basslines feel as vibrant as the mixed multi-cultural community that their hometown, which they are paying tribute to, has become known for in recent developments. Their vocals play with escapism, with Lawrence reciting the likes of “So much life, so much fun” and “Festivals in Hungary with black people” with a slightly muted Spoken Word delivery that doesn’t feel massively poetic, and feels grounded in approach instead, with a soft Hip-Hop rhythm and a mumbled tone of speech which fits the wonky production aspects and the very metropolitan aesthetics of London. The rest of the instrumentation goes down a treat too, with a looped Piano melody and light Synth pads creating a gentle opening, before Wayward flip the switch for the big chorus where they replace the light-hearted beats with a more rugged dance style, using some swooping drums and syncopated vocal chops to hit a BPM of around 130, which feels subversive and unpredictable when the earlier melodies are flipped on their head. Overall, I was very impressed with ‘Camden Road’, a modern dance track that has an ability of conjuring up some feelings and visuals for their listeners, a rare technique that greats like Aphex Twin and Burial have achieved in their career. It feels as fresh and lively as the street it is based on – A sprawling, multi-cultural metropolis.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Sapphire Eyes’ (EP) (Released on September 29th, 2021) (via Self-Released)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you for joining me, and I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow as we take an in-depth look at the soon to be released new LP from a US female Funk, Soul and Alternative R&B singer-songwriter who performed a medley of her hits on an episode of major US talk show ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’ earlier this year. She completed her studies at USC Thornton School of Music in 2018, and she was also a contestant on ‘American Idol’ in 2014. Her latest album is named after her dog – Juno.

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Today’s Track: Tirzah (feat. Coby Sey) – “Hive Mind”

October 12, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Colourgrade’ (LP) (Released on October 1st, 2021) (via Domino Recordings)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and now is the time for me to get typing up for 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! I honestly had not heard of the Essex-based Psych-Soul multi-instrumentalist Tirzah Mastin before hearing ‘Hive Mind’, also featuring her close knit friend Coby Sey, on a recent episode of New Music Fix that was hosted by John Ravenscroft, but I walked away intrigued. Just to give you some details, Tirzah was raised in Braintree as the youngest of five children, before she attended the Purcell School For Young Musicians with Mica Levi, who you may know as the film composer and DIY Noise-Pop maverick Micachu. She released a pair of EP’s on Greco-Roman, and her first full-length solo record, ‘Devotion’, debuted to rave reviews from the UK’s music press in 2018 via Domino Recordings. Her follow-up, ‘Colourgrade’, which was released two weeks ago on Domino Recordings once again, finds Tirzah straying even further away from the mainstream than before. ‘Hive Mind’ is also the title of a 10-minute short film edited by Leah Walker and Rebecca Salvadori which acts as a compilation of behind-the-scenes footage of a Tirzah concert from a few years ago, and it connects with her new album by exploring Tirzah’s relationships with her loved ones and her musical collaborators. By delving into ‘Colourgrade’, you are also delving forensically into Tirzah’s depictions of what the world means to her. I have embedded the short film to the bottom section of this page for your viewing pleasure. However, for the sake of convenience, I’ve embedded the basic audio for ‘Hive Mind’ below. Let’s give it a spin.

In her recent cover story for FADER, Tirzah Mastin explained, “The roughness, the accurate recording, the time it takes to get to places, it’s a bit of a statement on how things feel live”, elaborating, “It’s sort of unpolished. I’ve left it as alone as much as possible, basically, like a warts-and-all attitude towards it”, as she told the publication about how she approached the development of ‘Colourgrade’ with a raw, in-the-moment ethos to her songwriting strategies. This idea of stripping a flood of emotions down to the core is a key theme for ‘Hive Mind’, which functions as a rather bizzare and experimental duet between Tirzah and Coby Sey. The two trade intimate lyrics like “Two by two/Tethering like hive mind’s do” and “Given times we do/Sing different tunes” that feel playfully poetic over the top of a spiraling, glitched backdrop. The bassline has a gentle kick and a shuddering quality to the soulful minimalism, and the pieces are held together by a crying Arpeggio synth that feels harsh and rather abrasive in mood. The two vocalists sound intuitively tuned with one another, using lyrics like “But who we were/Do we see things through?” to add an ambiguous element to their complex relationship. The electronic melodies feel rather sparse and nocturnal, while the guitar licks and the emphasis on their harmonies create enough of a soulful backbeat for the cerebral production to feel melodic enough, although the brooding and gritty style of Tirzah and Sey’s duet remains undisturbed and fairly bleak. Their push-and-pull vocals imply a sense of kinship between the two partners through trials and tribulations. Overall, ‘Hive Mind’ is certainly not a mainstream offering, but it is certainly an intriguing one, with the steady metronomic pulse of the Synths creating a screeching bark and the icy, minimalist sketch format of the tune creating a tapestry of mood which commands your attention. Great minds think alike.

Pictured: Tirzah Mastin before an interview with Rolling Stone (2021) (Photo by Domino Recordings)

That’s all for today! Thank you for checking out what I had to share with the world today, and I’ll be back for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ tomorrow, as we look back at an all-female Punk band who were active from 1976 to 1979 and became an overseas sensation in Japan. A biographical coming-of-age flick about them was released in 2010 that was directed by Floria Sigismondi in her directorial debut. The film starred Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon and grossed $4.6m worldwide.

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Today’s Track: Metronomy (feat. Biig Piig) – “405”

October 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Joseph Mount (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar), Oscar Cash (Saxophone/Backing Vocals), Anna Prior (Drums/Occasional Backing Vocals), Olugbenja Adelekan (Bass Guitar/Occasional Vocals) and Michael Lovett (Keyboards/Guitars/Percussion) (in 2019) (Photo by Gregoire Alexandre)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m wishing you a very enjoyable weekend along with the uploading of yet another daily track of the day, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘405’ comes to your ears from the established Electronic Pop 5-piece band Metronomy, who have been quite prolific on the UK’s indie circuit since they were founded in 1999 by frontman Joseph Mount, merging Indie Rock influences with 80’s Pop sounds and modern Electronic soundscapes which have been grounded and progressive in their adaptations of both vocal and ambient material. The band have remixed a staggering line-up of other artists including Lady GaGa, Klaxons, Franz Ferdinand and Goldfrapp, and their most recent LP release was ‘Metronomy Forever’ in 2019, which was well-received by critics. The lead single, ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream’ earned a rave review on this very blog too, and I’ve embedded the music video of that track to the end of this post because it’s an exceptionally amusing one. After reminding fans a few weeks ago that “there’s normally a new Metronomy album every two to three years” on social media, the quintet quietly released the ‘Posse: Volume 1’ EP that finds Mount’s misfits tinkering around with guest collaborations from Spill Tab, Sorry, Brian Nasty, Folly Group and Pinty. ‘405’ has made the daytime A-list over on BBC Radio 6 Music, and it features the seductive vocal talents of Irish producer/singer-songwriter Biig Piig (aka West London’s Jess Smith), who has been regularly featured on BBC Radio 1 and used to always pop up on focus group playlists that used to be sent to me from the SRA for student radio purposes, and so it’s always felt like she’s just small steps away from breaking into more mainstream territory for a very small sum of years now. Take their collaboration, ‘405’, for a spin with me below.

On Twitter, Jospeh Mount posted, “I made the EP after finishing the new Metronomy album, please consume it in the same spirit it was made; discover some new artists and share the music with your friends”, on Metronomy’s account. Meanwhile, Jess Smith has also spoken about ‘405’, penning, “Joe sent over the Piano instrumental and it was so beautiful and brought back so many memories. I feel like when you hear a piece of music that does that, you know it’s special. My melodies and lyrics over it came out really easily and it just felt really nostalgic”, in a press statement of her own. On ‘405’, Smith sings about frantically searching for love in different relationships with lyrics like “Cuz’ I ran off in the wrong direction/Looking for love when you were stood right there/Under my nose” and soon realizes that a true partner was spending time with her all along, singing lyrics like “You smiled in the mirror with those bright eyes/And you froze time, you’re an old soul” with a sweet and soulful tone during the verses. The delivery feels calm and assured, but the self-realization comes through with a sense of eerie contentment in her voice, and lyrics like “You taste like Vanilla, and your hand is soft” that feel romantic and quite dream-like, with an 80’s-leaning Synth Pop instrumental that reminds me of Eurythmics and La Roux’s androgynous style, and these vocals evoke her confused emotions nicely because they add a soft sense of Jazz and R&B to the gently pulsating Synth beats. The vocal harmonies from Smith add a loose, ambient mood to the silky Synth lines, with a few hints of a more shy and seductive tone that adds a little more emotional depth to the otherwise straightforward, if solid, songwriting. On the whole, ‘405’ is a great collaboration as it marries the enchanting vocal tones of Biig Piig and the 00’s Electronica roots of Metronomy together with a strong sense of cohesion and, while the Synth pads feel a little repetitive by the end, there’s a nice balance of melancholy and comfort in the mixture to give the lightly melodic sounds more atmosphere. One for the drive home.

Pictured: Biig Piig (Jess Smith) in a Wonderland Magazine photoshoot (2018) (Photo by Elliot Wilcox)

When you write up about a different piece of music every day, you end up covering a few releases from most of the UK’s most prolific emerging artists, including Biig Piig and Metronomy. You can still check out my thoughts on Metronomy’s ‘Salted Caramel Ice Cream’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/26/todays-track-metronomy-salted-caramel-ice-cream/ and their instrumental masterpiece ‘Miracle Rooftop’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/11/todays-track-metronomy-miracle-rooftop/. As for Biig Piig, you can hear more of her soothing voice in ‘Roses & Gold’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/14/todays-track-biig-piig-roses-and-gold/

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Metronomy Forever’ (LP) (Released on September 13, 2019) (via Because Music)

That’s all for now! Thank you for your continued support for the blog and for streaming the first episode of my new podcast – ‘The Subculture Sessions’ – if you got the memo. I’ll be back tomorrow for another new entry in our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ feature, as we take aim at a Canadian Hard Rock band who have yet to been featured in our library before. They were formed from the ashes of the 00’s band The Dropouts.

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Today’s Track: Sans Soucis – “On Time For Her”

September 30, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Sans Soucis in an official photoshoot for ‘I’m On’ (2021) (Photo via PR/GetInHerEars.com)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for yet another daily track because, as you’ve already guessed, it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It looks like you’re right on time for ‘On Time For Her’, the main title track of the debut EP from the brand new Neo-Soul/Avant-Pop singer-songwriter Sans Soucis. She is a London-based songstress of original Italian-Congolese heritage who moved to the UK at the age of 20. Her new EP – which was self-released last Friday – explores the end of a traumatic period of depression for Sans Soucis, caused by racial issues and childhood anxiety. This short-form project tackles her search for identity in Western society and her challenges of finding her authentic self, set to some soft Synth-led backdrops that are built upon a goal of “effortlessly blending the sounds of Congolese Rumba, Electronic, R&B and Alt-Pop with her perceptive lyricism” according to the official Sans Soucis website. The irony is that her creative alias of Sans Soucis is taken from her childhood nickname for “Carefree”. She is also notably part of the iluvlive Artist Development scheme, an initiative designed to support new artists to further their careers through their platform and networks. Check out her latest single below.

Sans Soucis’ real name is Giulia Grispino (Which is the Italian version of the English name for Julia) and her new EP is a life-affirming statement for her development. She tells us, “Regardless of how proficient you can be in a foreign language, it does take time for you to authentically convey your personality through it”, explaining, “Understanding culture and feeling in a foreign country can leave a person in limbo for a few years of their life and that’s what happened to me”, in her press notes. Luckily for Soucis, her music has received well-deserved praise from publishers like Wonderland, The Fader, BBC Radio 6 Music, Clash, Spotify’s New Music Friday, BBC Introducing London, The Line Of Best Fit, and a handful of others online. ‘On Time For Her’ feels more like a relaxing massage to your eardrums than a particularly harsh exploration of tense human introspection, with Soucis reciting her poetic lyrics with a tone of an unfurling, crystalline shaping. Her breathy, spacious vocals are given plenty of time to sink into your ears nicely with a radiant feel, with a warm sense of breeze being created by the stilted backing vocals. It is unclear if the backbeat is formed from a sample or a purely looped vocal originally created by Soucis, but it feels rather eclectic in terms of genre and it adds some entrancing warmth to the proceedings. The instrumentals are woven together by a multi-layered array of Staccato effects and tuneful Synths, which creates a nice sense of intimacy and vulnerability when the more ethereal vocal arrangements – within the chorus – begin. The lyrics are quite introspective, yet ambiguous, with a Lo-Fi Hip-Hop style of delivery that allows sequences like “No answer if you don’t look right” and “Feast in the darkness, sing alone” that imply some themes of displacement and self-security, and the titular refrain of ‘On Time For Her’ evokes the meaning of being committed to doing right by your own standards. Overall, this made for a lovely listen. I don’t think we’re quite there yet in making the instrumentation a little more interesting, but this is some feedback that Soucis will build upon constructively as her time goes on. The track feels hard to really box into a specific genre, and that is really appealing to me. I think that she simply has a very nice voice as well, and her perspectives on living in Western society as a foreign native allows her to convey a diverse variety of emotions. A rich combination of 00’s Bjork and Fana Hues – which is a kind compliment by itself.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘On Time For Her’ (EP) (Released on September 24th, 2021) (via Self-Released)

Thank you for reading my latest blog post, and I’ll be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at one of the weekend’s most hotly tipped new album releases for the ‘New Album Release Fridays’. This week, we’re tasting the debut LP release from a Brooklyn 5-piece who have gained serious popularity from NME and BBC Radio 6 Music in recent months. Brooklyn Vegan calls them one of New York’s “hardest working and most reliably fun bands”. They’ve even opened up stages for Beck and James Chance.

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Today’s Track: Dawn Richard – “Nostalgia”

September 20, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Dawn Nostalgia in a ‘Second Line’ official press shoot (2021) (Photo by Alexander Le’Jo)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to, yet again, get writing up on the blog for another daily track on the blog, not forgetting that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A multi-talented Disco producer, Louisiana’s Dawn Richard is a singer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and animator who shot to success when she auditioned for the US TV reality talent series ‘Making The Band 3’ in 2004 as a member of the US girl group Danity Kane, who were officially active from 2005 until 2009. Since that time, Richard joined the duo of Dirty Money with her fellow American singer-songwriter Kalenna Harper, and she began her solo career as DAWN in 2011, before releasing six full-length albums on her own merit. Her latest, ‘Second Line’, was released through Merge Records and Entertainment One to critical acclaim earlier in the year, and the title refers to the parade tradition of the same name that occurs in Richard’s hometown of New Orleans, with the new record exploring the African-American cultural heritage of the practice and fuses elements of R&B, Disco, Hip-Hop and Ambient Pop together as a tribute to, as Richard states in the LP’s product description, “A movement to bring pioneering Black women in electronic music to the forefront”. The recent album also follows Richard’s alter ego as King Creole, an “assassin of archetypes, a Black girl from the South at a crossroads in her artistic career”. Sounds good! Her latest single, ‘Nostalgia’, has also seen tremendous support from BBC Radio 6 Music, KCRW and MPR’s The Current. Give it a listen below.

Regarding the album’s themes, Dawn Richard explained when her latest album was announced, “The definition of a Second Line in New Orleans is a celebration of someone’s homecoming. In death and in life, we celebrate the impact of a person’s legacy through dance and music”, adding to her press release, “I’m celebrating the death of old views in the industry. The death of boxes and limits. I’m celebrating the homecoming of the future. The homecoming to the new wave of artists. The emergence of all the King Creoles’ to come. This is our revival”, and so, on that note, it’s not tricky to see why forward-thinking radio stations like 6Music have pushed the track so heavily in recent months. A feel-good dance anthem for the modern society, ‘Nostalgia’ has a retro-revivalist sound that strikes me as Sophie Ellis Bextor goes experimental in terms of its creative direction, with Richard constantly asking rhetorical questions like “What does it mean to Second Line? To give the good footwork with the good work” atop a video game-like soundtrack that mixes twinkling Keys with chilled Lo-Fi House melodies. Later lyrics, like “I’m trying to find purpose/But I’m lost in your circus” are highly processed, and pulsates off the back of flickering bass lines that feel bouncy in texture, and uses spaced-out synths and ad-lib vocal sequences to put a more contemporary twist on the euphoric street dance traditions of the big, colourful parades of 80’s New Orleans. She also repeatedly asks the likes of “Do you love me anymore?” and “Can we work this out?” atop a robotic monotone ad-lib effect towards the end of the track, before declaring “I want those days back” in a stilted tone. The grooving synths and the rhythmic utters, however, thread different elements of Psych-Funk, Prog-Pop, House and R&B together in an effective way by mixing a slightly comical delivery with a nostalgic throwback feel that leans into Soul and engaging Synth-Pop. All in all, this is a well-developed dance track which feels eclectic and varied, and Richard nods to the past while pointing to the future in the way that she re-contextualizes the traditions that inspired the record.

Pictured: Dawn Richard in an official press shot for 21Ninety.com (2021) (Photo by @steviedphotos)

That’s all that I have time for today! Seriously… I have a shift at work coming up right after I’ve published this one. I’ll be back tomorrow, however, as we globe trot outside of my native UK again. My next pick comes from a Brazillian Alternative Folk singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger who has enjoyed heavy support from KCRW in recent months. Netflix fans will know him for performing ‘Tuyo’, the theme track for the Netflix original TV series’ ‘Narcos’ and ‘Narcos: Mexico’.

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Today’s Track: Caroline Polachek – “Bunny Is A Rider”

September 18, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Caroline Polachek in a PR shoot for a ‘Fader’ interview (2019) (Photo Credit: Nedda Asfari)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for us both to take a few minutes out of our frantically busy Saturdays to invest in yet another daily track on the blog, seeing that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! If you asked me to give you a list of solo artists that I feel could be right on the cusp of breaking out into mainstream territory, the New York-based electronic Art Pop singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek would be near the top of such a list. She began to explore her interests in music production when she studied at The University Of Colorado, where she attended gigs by the Post-Hardcore, Dark Pop and Post-Punk bands of the Brooklyn scene of the late 90’s and early 00’s. Since that time, she co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift, who were active until 2017, and she worked on her solo side projects of Ramona Lisa and CEP. In more recent years, she has started releasing music under her own name and she began working frequently with the producer Danny L. Harle since the release of her debut solo album, ‘PANG’, in 2019. Polachek has now worked extensively with other artists, including Charli XCX and Blood Orange, and she wrote Beyonce’s single ‘No Angel’, which was released in 2013. She has also penned music for Travis Scott and SBTRKT. ‘Bunny Is A Rider’, her new single, was released last month, and it yet again finds her working with Danny L Harle as her producer. She will also be supporting none other than Dua Lipa on her ‘Future Nostalgia’ tour that starts in February. Let’s give it a spin.

First making its grand debut as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record In The World’ on BBC Radio 1 on July 14th, according to Polachek, “Bunny Is A Rider is a summer jam about being unavailable”, which she states in her press notes. She tells us, “Bunny is slippery, impossible to get ahold of. Maybe it’s a fantasy, maybe it’s a bad attitude. But anyone can be blurry, at least for three minutes and seventeen seconds”, and she finally concludes that the single “features a scorching Bass performance from Danny L. Harle, plus his baby daughter’s first vocal cameo” in the statement. I would start by writing that I think classifying this one as a total Afrobeat tune is a bit of a push, but I can definitely sense an influence of the Nigerian genre in the spicy and absurd palette of sonic sounds. The lyrics are vague, with Polachek simply using lyrics like “Bunny is a rider/Satellite can’t find her” and “No sympathy/Ain’t nothing for free” that skew towards Art Pop and create a sense of intrigue for the song’s real meaning. It is unclear what ‘Bunny’ represents, with some allegories for ‘Alice In Wonderland’ and ideas on the illusion of womanhood being scattered around the electronic Pop direction of the freshly conceived melodies. For the verses, Polachek even switches to a first-person perspective, reciting lyrics such as “But I’m so non-physical/I do, I do, feel like a lady” with a twitchy and gliding delivery that feels widely processed to a point. There’s also some parallels to Of Montreal’s tune ‘Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider’ from 2007 in the track title and subject matter, but it’s no more clear whether this is an intentional decision or a pure coincidence. The production feels more detailed, however, with Danny L. Harle mixing up some catchy R&B backdrops and a punchy bassline to make the single feel accessible enough to casual listeners, despite some obscure lyricism that feels literacy-based, and I think the songwriting would have been more effective when given the context of a full album to connect the themes more tightly together. Overall, what we’ve already gotten here is pretty decent. The creativity feels unique enough to not draw an immediate comparison with her contemporary peers and so the track feels quite original on the whole. The enigmatic lyrics are given plenty of energy to bounce from too, with the chopped child vocal samples and the snappy, Pop-driven Synth arrangements giving the single a light-hearted danceability. Although not dream-like, it’s a cryptic puzzle of mostly pleasure.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Bunny Is a Rider’ (Single) (Released on July 14th, 2021) (via Perpetual Novice)

That note brings us to the end of the page for another day, and, thank you for your support, because it is always very much appreciated. It’s ‘Scuzz Sundays’ tomorrow, and we’ll be revisiting one of the few surviving Pop-Punk groups of the very cheesy era of Emo anthems. The Wichita Falls-based rockers have made two appearances on the blog, although it has been a while since we’ve heard from them, and so I’m letting myself off a bit for the potential overexposure. Today’s youth might know them for releasing a rather nerdy rock anthem titled after the female WWE wrestler Alexa Bliss.

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