Today’s Track: Automatic – ‘New Beginning’

April 28, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Izzy Glaudini (Vocals/Synths), Lola Dompé (Drums) and Halle Saxon (Bass Guitar) (2019) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time is now to fill up your electric car as we take a trip of futuristic Motorik proportions to outer space as we get invested in yet another daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I don’t think that a fortnight ever goes by where we don’t cover an artist signed by Stones Throw Records – known for artists like MNDSGN, Maylee Todd, Kiefer, Sudan Archives and John Carroll Kirby – but the truth is that the California-based soul specialist label has been churning out loads of great material lately, and I am about to add Automatic to the aforementioned list of their all-star acts. A Synth-Punk trio comprised of Izzy Glaudini (Vocals/Synths), Halle Saxon (Bass/Vocals) & Lola Dompe (Drums/Vocals), Automatic became a mainstay on the L.A. dance club circuit after forming in 2017. Their biggest influence is The Go-Go’s – an 80’s New Wave band who are the only all-female band to have written and played every instrument on a #1 album in the US as of 2017 – who have also provided the three-piece’s namesake. Glaudini and Saxon have played in other Los Angeles-based bands like Mega Bog and The Black Windmill, while Dompe is the daughter of Bauhaus’ Kevin Haskins who – as a teenager – played in Blackblack alongside her sister, Diva Dompe. Automatic will be releasing their second studio album ‘Excess’ on June 24th and they will be touring alongside Tame Impala, Parquet Courts and Osees throughout 2022. Check out the lead single ‘New Beginning’ below.

The music video for ‘New Beginning’ was pitched by director Ambar Navarro as an homage to the Swedish sci-f film ‘Aniara’ – and the band have continued to tease the album’s explorations of the edge of the 70’s club underground and the industrial side of the 80’s by writing that it aims to capture “That fleeting moment when what was once cool quickly turned and became mainstream, all for the sake of consumerism“, adding, “The record is about what happens to our psyches when we’re conditioned to certain values, the consequences of those values and a desire to resist them“, in a press statement. Starting off with more of a Dream Pop-like sound set to the tune of fairly deadpan vocals that recalls many retro female vocal groups like The Ronettes, as Glaudini contemplates the idea of leaving behind a dilapidated Earth in solace of false hope created by the ultra-wealthy who are eyeing manned space travel with piercing lyrics like “In the service of desire/We will travel far away” and “Heard the final echo/It’s almost time to go” as the beats behind her gain traction with a stomping bassline and thudding drums. Once these melodies up the ante a little bit, later lyrics like “Falling through the distance/The stars will light the way” and “Endless service of desire/Every night and every day” are recited more energetically, as Glaudini weighs up some pro’s and con’s of attempting to escape the planet when it gets scorched – with a fair quality of inevitability in her rather unphased voice – as unchecked consumerism continues to reach its logical outcome. While a bit bleak, the lyrics are given more flair by the instrumentation which is undoubtedly more optimistic and colourful. The early insistent Bass groove and her intentionally ‘flat’ vocals slowly morph into heavy Synth stabs and lockstep Motorik drums that give ‘New Beginning’ its distinctly Industrial character, topped off by handclaps in tandem with the percussive combo of an atmospheric Keyboard section and fuzzed-out Snare effects. ‘New Beginning’ ultimately adds a splash of colour and imagination to an otherwise bleak topic, plus it replicates the Disco vibe and the 80’s influences with a modern twist due to the more current social commentary of their lyricism. Overall, this is another eclectic, exciting song being supported by a label who are killing it right now.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Excess’ (LP/Album) (Available from June 24th, 2022) (via Stones Throw Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I will be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ as we preview the new album by an established urban Indie Rock band from London who were formed through an NME advert in the early 00’s. They won NME’s Album Of The Year award in 2007 for ‘Silent Alarm’ and, in addition, they have roughly sold over three million records worldwide.

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Way Back Wednesdays: The Knife – ‘Silent Shout’

April 20, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Karin Dreijer (Lead Vocals/Keyboard) and Olof Dreijer (Splicing/Effects/Bass) (2006) (via NPR; press shoot)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to go retro with a striking piece that will tell you a story of fairly recent history with another entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on One Track At A Time, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Ever an elusive and dynamic duo, cult Swedish electronic music duo The Knife (Comprised of siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer) were never afraid to, somewhat uninentionally, capture the attention of the mainstream with their dark-leaning blend of Dubstep, EDM, Art-Pop and Psychedelia, also including some slower and darker strains of Hip-Hop and R&B, throughout the years to create music that, although Pop, was more far-reaching and progressive. First gaining an international following through their 2003 album ‘Deep Cuts’, the duo managed their own record company – Rabid Records – throughout their years of activity between 1999 and 2014. They were known for donning their Venetian masks to hide their faces in many public appearances, and they have won a number of Swedish Grammis awards despite refusing to attend the ceremonies. Although the duo decided to call it a day and disband in 2014, Karin started her own solo project Fever Ray in 2009, while Olof performs as a DJ under the monikers of DJ Coolof and Oni Ayhun. Last year, The Knife celebrated their 20th anniversary by announcing a range of re-issues on Vinyl and concert streams including BTS footage of their various album’s development. ‘Silent Shout’ – their third LP and arguably most well-received release – was among the works being featured. Let’s remember the title single below.

‘Silent Shout’ spawned four singles and the music video for the title track, along with some of the promo photos doing the rounds of the album’s press campaign, were equally inspired by the works of German-American animator Oskar Fischinger and the ‘Black Hole’ series of comic books created by the American cartoonist Charles Burns. This was also a highly influential release – with fellow artists like Lykke Li, Niki and The Dove, Tove Lo and Denmark’s MØ picking up on The Knife’s Dubstep-influenced blend of Dark Electronica and subversive Dance music rather noticeably in the years following its release in 2006. ‘Silent Shout’ – the title track – is an amalgamation of the record’s club-driven musicality and rewarding lyricism, as the deep House-leaning anthem starts off with a drawing set of Synths that evoke a Sci-Fi aesthetic as they waver along to a chilling, unearthly electronic backdrop of multi-tracked Keys and brooding Drums. A barely audible vocal comes in shortly, which also evokes a ghostly – not to mention a slightly haunting – atmosphere at times as the processed vocals are crashed through the ringer of digital manipulation. The severe distortions of Karin’s lyrics create a daring and jarring presence that pulsates from the mid-tempo opening to the early 90’s Techno and Trance qualities of the slowly bubbling outroduction, telling a narrative of a life gone awry that feels tense and high-octane while suiting the template of unpredictable Pop that shapes the rest of the full-length album. The lyrics give the tempo a slightly melodic uplift with their robotic feel, but the rich electronic backdrop incorporates a wide-ranging series of Lo-Fi Hip Hop and Dark Ambient elements, especially in how the reverb keeps the Drums and Synths feeling grounded, without overstating their direct influences. Overall, ‘Silent Shout’ represents some of The Knife’s most consistent and layered work, both in terms of the heightened production and the forward-thinking concept, from their golden years. The stunning title track marries elastic vocals and cosmopolitan instrumentation to a perfectionist level and there’s clearly a valid reason why it is remembered very fondly.

Pictured: Vinyl bundle of ‘Deep Cuts’ (Released on January 17th, 2003) (via Rabid Records)

Thank you for checking out my latest blog post and supporting my creativity, as you have no idea how much that it means to me to see some love being registered for the site. I’ll be back tomorrow, as always, to do ‘Thursday’ with a cheerful dance track by a Los Angeles-based Alternative Soul duo with a confusing name who, originally formed in Chicago, met in 2012. Their debut LP is out now via Nettwerk Music Group.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Hamid Al Shaeri – ‘Ayonha’

April 13, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Hamid Al-Shaeri in a recent photoshoot to promote the ‘SLAM Years’ LP (2022) (Photo via KCRW.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to go retro for another new weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ for 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! Egypt’s leading representative of Arabic Pop (A genre that sounds like westernized synthesizer pop music) is Hamid Al-Shaeri, a key artist for the SLAM! label throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. Often considered to be the key pioneer of Al Jeel music, this Libyan-Egyptian singer, songwriter and producer is acclaimed by critics for providing a homegrown alternative to foreign Pop artists, both as a solo musician and for his production and writing work for other artists. His impact also extends to the wider popular culture of his native country, following his recent appearance as a guest judge on an Egyptian alternative to the ‘Got Talent’ franchise of TV talent shows. In 2011, he also condemned the actions of Muammar Gadaffi – his native country’s then-ruler – against the Libyan people and he issued a call for Egypt to support them. On 25th February, ‘Habibi Funk 018: The SLAM! Years (1983 – 1988)’, was released. His first single – ‘Ayonha’ – roughly translates to the title of ‘Her Eyes’ in English and it still holds a special heart of the Habibi Funk label’s team. They say, “If you were to ask us for a defining Habibi Funk track, there are a few that come to mind. However, none are as widely connected with us at this point as Hamid El Shaeri’s ‘Ayonha”, in a press release. Although it was not as commercially successful as the popularity of his later work that ran into the 00’s, Egyptian music journalist Malak Makar considers the era as a precursor to El Shaeri’s Al Jeel style than representative of genre. In 2017, Pitchfork’s Andy Beta also described his London-produced cut ‘Ayonha’ as “the most arresting track” on Habibi Funk’s seventh release.

The recent compilation is dedicated to Hamid El Shaeri’s work for the SLAM! label throughout the times, and the idea for the project came about when Habibi Funk met Hamid El Shaeri through singer Youssra El Hawary in 2016 at his office and rehearsal space in the outskirts of Cairo. They insisted on collaborating with him after hearing his songs from the early 1980’s, composed at a time where he had just left Libya to pursue his career in Egypt via a detour in London, where he also recorded his first album. The label recalls, “He liked the idea of an effort to amplify his early works again, which, when originally released, were far from an economic success. While he was down to assist with an interview and his blessing for the project he also told us that for any license we needed to speak with the original label SLAM! who released these songs, still held the rights and also remained in business over the decades though they didn’t actively release any new music”, in a press statement. ‘Ayonha’ is an upbeat and whimsical offering that wouldn’t sound out of place on morning AM radio in California, as the cheerful melodies and the easy-going vibe, combined with the abundance of glistening Synths and the airy harmonies which convey a radiant mood, captures a burgeoning interest in wistful production and exuberant, glitzy Pop sounds for El Shaeri. The lyrics are just as generally glowing in atmosphere, as they roughly translate to lines like “Take me in your hands/Take me to a moon in the clouds” and “Give the life which has gone and which I lost back to me, let me forget the sadness and the wounds, and years of loss and suffering” in English, according to the lyricstranslate.com website. The sound is not excessively Pop-based, but there’s a generally upbeat feel evoked by the opening 60’s-leaning Strings and the percussive acoustic lead guitar melody. Ultimately, this is a crucial encapsulation of the career of a top European star. While he may be relatively unknown to music lovers in the West and there was an initially underwhelming reaction to his early work at first, it hasn’t aged terribly at all and it can lift your spirits on a day where your mind is somewhere else. Buoyant spectacle that became popular across generations in his native market.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The SLAM! Years: 1983 – 1988 (Habibi Funk 018)’ (Compilation LP/Album) (Released on February 25th, 2022) (via Habibi Funk Records)

That brings me to the end of yet another daily track on the blog. Thank you for checking out my latest post and showing me your support today, and I hope that you found it interesting. As my duty demands, I will be back tomorrow to highlight some refreshing new music by an emerging experimental electronic music artist who utilizes 90’s Acid House sounds and UKG influences to the best of her abilities, and she has a Malaysian and Irish heritage. Her debut EP, ‘Bluff’, is out now via PLATOON.

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Today’s Track: James Righton – ‘Pause’

April 11, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘JIM, I’M STILL HERE’ (LP/Album) (Available from July 8th, 2022) (via DEEWEE)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has arrived for me to get you re-acquainted with some new music from a familiar face with 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! If you remember the Mercury Prize-winning New Wave rock band Klaxons, known for tracks like ‘Golden Skans’ and a cover of Grace’s ‘It’s Not Over Yet’ in the late-00’s, that will be why you’re so sure that you’ve seen Stratford-Upon-Avon’s James Righton before and couldn’t quite put your finger on exactly where. Righton is married to actress Keira Knightley of all people and he also fronted the Shock Machine project that he began in 2016. He also worked on ABBA’s Voyage virtual concert tours in London last year and following from that project, a new solo album has been announced. Produced by Soulwax, ‘JIM, I’M STILL HERE’ is hitting record store shelves in July through DEEWEE. It follows the shiny Synth-Pop single ‘Release Party’ that he released on the same label last year for DEEWEE’s ‘Foundations’ compilation album release. It’s also the follow-up to 2020’s ‘The Performer’, an Alternative Pop record about the distinction between performer and person that he released during the height of the pandemic in March 2020. This was a record that I grew fond of, due to the Baroque instrumentation and the String sections that he played around with. It saw Righton grappling with his own identity, and the upcoming new album plays a somewhat similar role in exploring the family-based serenity that Righton experienced during the promotion of ‘The Performer’ through lockdown in the eyes of an alter-ego named Jim, and the songs were written in Jim’s perspective as an outrageous rock star. The new album features a guest appearance from ABBA’s Benny Andersson, and ‘Pause’ has been unveiled as the first single. It gets accompanied by a music video that was directed by Julian Klincewicz.

“The alter ego of Jim came to me whilst promoting my previous album The Performer during the first week of lockdown. Life shut down and became centered around family and domestic life. At the same time (and this did feel rather strange) I had to promote The Performer. I was asked more and more to live stream concerts through various social media platforms”, Righton says about the creation of his Jim character, adding, “So, I’d put the kids to sleep, head downstairs to my garage studio, put on my Gucci suit and became someone else. The juxtaposition of these lives felt extreme but also interesting to me. I created Jim. Jim would be the deluded rock star, living out his fantasies from the confines of his garage”, about the exaggerated semi-fictional version of himself in the form of Jim. Prince and Midnite Vultures-era Beck are clear influences the second that you press play on ‘Pause’, with 80’s Synth textures and quirky basslines creating a clear relationship between the sonic juxtapositions of Soulwax’s instrumentation work and Righton’s silky voice, where the eminently danceable Synths and the crunching Drums collide to form a warped take on 90’s Synth-Funk. The lyrics reek of narcissism and sensuality, but there’s a hint of actual romance in the more vulnerable tones of Righton’s voice despite the smooth Synth and keyboard work. A variety of lyrics including “Girl there’s never going to be no other/If I could only be your lover” setting up the stage for this contrast, while the cascading backing vocals and the preening artistry of sequences like “You can’t pause with me for the rest of my life” play with the duality between James’ true personality and the more fanciful aspirations of Jim as his alter ego. It’s an interesting proposition for the new album as the lyricism is not too different to those of 2020’s ‘The Performer’ on the surface level, but the sound is a lot more electronic and the Soulwax blueprints are definitely there. While the sound evolves the palette of The Performer’s sounds, the themes still feel just as intriguing and the explorations of self-identity remain intact. Overall, this was a refreshing and welcome return for Righton.

Pictured: James Righton in an official photoshoot to promote ‘The Performer’ (2020) (Photo Credit: DEEWEE)

If you don’t want to hit ‘Pause’ on James – fast-forward to some of his other cuts here.

‘Release Party’ (2021) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/05/17/todays-track-james-righton-release-party/

‘Edie’ (2020) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/04/02/todays-track-james-righton-edie/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘The Performer’ (LP/Album) (Released on March 20th, 2022) (via DEEWEE)

That brings me to the bottom of the page! Thank you for checking out my latest post on the blog, and I will be back tomorrow to introduce you to a brand new artist who goes by the name of Junior, a 24-year-old rapper and songwriter based in Bedford – here in the UK. His fantastic new single – ‘Long Way Home’ – was recently spotlighted on a recent episode of BBC Radio 6’s ‘The New Music Fix’ curated by Tom Ravenscroft.

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Today’s Track: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – ‘Blood In The Snow’

April 5, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Vinyl copy of ‘When The Lights Go’ (LP) (Available from July 22nd, 2022) (via Nice Age Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for you to get invested in yet another daily track on the blog, despite any incredulous looks on my face, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! 2012 (Although I discovered this soon-to-be specified record a year or two later). Picture the scene. I was a young sprog, sitting on the college bus every morning, beginning to experience alternative music outside of the mainstream for the first couple of times with a hair full of dandruff, finding my place in the world. I was being simply swept away by the vibrant Drum ‘N’ Bass and ethereal Jungle sounds of Orlando Tobias Higginbottom (aka Oxford-born House producer Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) who injected colour in to the club environments of the 2010’s with his melancholic textures and a sense of longing in his voice, one in few of which I truly connected with at the time, with TEED’s critically acclaimed debut album release of ‘Trouble’. An entire decade later, ‘When The Lights Go’, the follow-up to that “Jacob Classic” of an album, is finally set to arrive on July 22nd. Higginbottom is a classically trained musician who is the son of a former choir conductor from New College, Oxford and he found his own footing through his studies at the Junior Royal Academy Of Music in London, before he became obsessed with electronic music through tapes lent by his siblings. He has since become one of my favourite musicians, and one of Britain’s most underrated exports in my honest opinion, although he is currently based in Los Angeles. To say that this dinosaur has been totally er, extinct between the ten year gap would be totally untrue, however. He has released several EP’s like 2013’s ‘Get Lost VI’, 2020’s ‘I Can Hear The Birds’ and 2021’s ‘The Distance’ to typically amazing results. ‘Heartbreak’, a collaboration with Bonobo, was also nominated for the ‘Best Electronic/Dance Recording’ nod at this year’s Grammy Awards. He has also collaborated with the likes of Anna Lunoe, SG Lewis, Kelsey Lu, Shura, Dillon Francis, Porter Robinson and Amtrac over the years too, as well as touring regularly. There is a great deal of excitement towards the new album, as it represents his most substantial body of material in ten years. Check out the lead single – ‘Blood In The Snow’ – below.

‘When The Lights Go’ will feature seventeen tracks, which were all largely recorded at Higginbottom’s own home in Los Angeles, California. He will also resume touring the US and Europe throughout the spring, including a Brooklyn show at Elsewhere Hall on April 29th alongside Kate Garvey and Heathered Pearls, with solo shows in Miami, Austin, Chicago and more to follow. Talking about the arctic theme of ‘Blood In The Snow’, he says, “The song is about melting glaciers and about wanting a daughter, and where to put love in this tailspin”, in his press assertion. Hitting the ground running with a haunting Double Bass intro accentuated by glistening Keyboard riffs and hazy Synth pads, Higginbottom warmly sings lyrics like “How much longer?, Before the damn begins to break” and “Precious winter, enough will all the growth” that feel downbeat and contemplative, while ominous and slightly reclusive in tone, as he questions his ambitions towards some parenthood and compares the emotions to the cyclical processes of nature. The chorus is gentle but striking, with the colder textures combining to the somber tune of lyrics like “Names for a daughter/Blood in the snow” and “But I want her, More than you know” that feel insular and precise, although the beat-driven pacing is laid out fairly sparsely. The instrumentation blends these arena-level electronics with his human, poignant vocals, where the distorted Synths create some interplay with the melancholic qualities of his vulnerable vocals by building gradually towards a halting crescendo, where his layers of textures simply crunch together. The verses are given space by the progressive Jazz-influenced Drums and the warping Synths that build to a slight alter in pace and mood in the late stages of the track where the different Snare sound comes in and, like his vocals, these changes feel subtle but delicate and merticulously crafted. This feels very different to the more club-driven sound of 2012’s ‘Trouble’ because the assortment of sounds deliver a low-key groove instead of an anthemic ‘danceability’ to them, but the delicate vocals of Higginbottom and the progressive, yet certainly grounded, take on Indietronica is still in there. It is admittedly a slow burn, but it makes for an emotional experience when you hear the different elements come together by the end and it has a similar tone of quintessentially British sadness and almost deliberately ‘flat’ vocals that only Higginbottom could really get away with, while the lyrics promise more maturity and growth from him as a songwriter, and it feels like rarity for him to use his own voice as the producer in this day and age too. ‘Blood In The Snow’ really stands out if you hear it on the radio, and it feels different to the spectrum of genres that he is often associated with, while sounding unmistakably like him in its bold production. Instead of totally extinct, this feels totally brilliant – and I’m stoked to hear the album.

Pictured: Orlando Tobias Higginbottom (aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) (2019) (Photo via EDM.com)

Here’s my TEED-related posts to get you warmed up for this highly anticipated album.

‘Los Angeles’ (2020) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/08/05/todays-track-totally-enormous-extinct-dinosaurs-los-angeles/

‘Heartbreak’ (with Bonobo) (2020) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/10/06/todays-track-bonobo-totally-enormous-extinct-dinosaurs-heartbreak/

‘The Distance’ (2021) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/10/16/todays-track-totally-enormous-extinct-dinosaurs-the-distance/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘The Distance’ (EP) (Released on October 27th, 2021) (via Nice Age Records)

That brings us to the end of yet another daily track on the blog, and thank you for continuing to support the site, as your time and attention is always appreciated very highly. It feels quite unbelievable that we’ve almost come up to another ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ post so swiftly, but that feature continues tomorrow with a post regarding a North Carolina-born Funk, R&B and Soul singer-songwriter who sadly left us in February. She was known for her controversially sexual-oriented performance style and songwriting. She was also the second wife of beloved trumpeter Miles Davis.

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Today’s Track: Lucius – ‘Next To Normal’

March 31, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Second Nature’ (LP/Album) (Available from April 8th, 2022) (via Mom + Pop Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for a fairly occasional slice of Pop Pleasure for 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! A track that can appeal equally to a mature audience and the typical Eurovision enthusiast, ‘Next To Normal’ is a retro-futurist Dance-Pop track that celebrates eccentricity and quirks, and it comes to you from the Nashville-based project of Lucius, whose line-up appears to include only Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig this time around, although the line-up has included Coco’s Dan Molad and lead guitarist Peter Lalish, alongside the touring musicians Casey Foubert (Guitar) and Josh Dion (Drums) in the past. Lucius have received acclaim from publications such as The New York Times, Paste, Rolling Stone, NPR and The Village Voice over the years. They have contributed to the work of numerous other artists including Harry Styles, The War On Drugs, John Legend, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow and several others. The duo’s previous album, ‘Good Grief’, was released some time ago, in 2016, but that track record is set to shift with the release of their fourth studio album – ‘Second Nature’ – and that takes place in just a handful of days away, releasing on the Mom + Pop label on April 8th. The album was recorded in Nashville’s RCA Studio A with Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb. Check out the lead single.

“It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them”, Lucius say about their upcoming album collectively, explaining, “It touches upon all these stages of grief – and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness”, in a press release. ‘Next To Normal’ starts off with a disco-esque exchange between the lead and bass guitar, before steady drums and a psychedelic, Funk-driven bass guitar line escalate the ethereal quality of the electronic soundscape, before the two Berklee College Of Music graduates begin crooning with a confident yet laidback tone. Their lyrics speak about having the power to stand out instead of just fitting in, losing friendships as a consequence of bad mental health, and finding someone who could love your vulnerabilities, with lyrics like “Laughing at the wrong times/Saying things too straight” and “All of this translation/I was over-compensating” that feel defiant and headstrong in texture, but they are still acknowledging the grief that a difficult emotional time can bring to your life in a straightforward way. It continues to evolve in terms of instrumentation, with scattered breakbeats and sharp guitar accents that are held together by a consistent drum groove. The chorus feels more celebratory and anthemic than the punchy verses, with declarative Pop hooks like “When I’m close to you, I’m next to normal” and “I feel immortal/I’m high without the paranoia” that perfectly suit the Disco theme of the rhythm while suiting the more confessional lyricism and slightly slower beats of the verses. Overall, ‘Next To Normal’ works well because the hooks and rhythms are eminently listenable and their catchy melodies grow on you in many listens, yet there’s a subtle hint of a darker theme lurking in the background that gives it larger depth. As a wise follower of the BBC Radio 6 Music community group on Facebook noted a few days ago, if you don’t like just a little bit of Pop, you are a snob.

Pictured: Jess Wolfe (Co-Vocals/Bass Synth) & Holly Laessig (Co-Vocals/Keyboard) (2022) (Photo via TheBoot.com)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for another day! Thank you for supporting the site for the first time or the hundredth time, as it really means a lot to share this music with the world using the platform. I will be back tomorrow for ‘New Album Release Fridays’ as we take a glimpse into the new LP record by a charming London-based Post-Punk group currently signed to Bella Union with an uncharacteristically German name. Their previous LP – 2019’s ‘Tainted Lunch’ – got a 9/10 from The Line Of Best Fit and they have always been supported kindly by BBC Radio 6 Music. They also released the three-track ‘European Cowboy’ remix EP for Record Store Day, 2020.

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Today’s Track: Röyksopp (feat. Alison Goldfrapp) – ‘Impossible’

March 22, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Röyksopp (Svein Berge & Torbjørn Brundtland) (DJ’s/Producers) (2022) (Photo via SynthpopFanatic.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to raise our spirits above from the depths of despair with 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! Weaving between Progressive Synthpop, Acid Techno and Dark Ambient across the last two decades, the Norwegian electronic dance duo of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland have decided to tear up the rule book in retiring the traditional album release format with their upcoming sixth LP release – ‘Profound Mysteries’ – that hits store shelves on April 29th via Dog Triumph Records. To date, the duo – who were formed in Tromsø in 1998 – have been nominated for two Grammy Awards, won seven Spellemannprisen Awards, performed globally on tours, had four consecutive #1 albums in Norway, and collaborated with huge names like Robyn. Therefore, it’s somewhat strange that, aside from a vague familiarity with their name, they have largely slipped my radar in their time. However, I heard ‘Impossible’ on The Current’s Song Of The Day podcast and its deep, dark grooves were enough for me to keep listening on rather than just hitting the skip button like I sometimes do. ‘Impossible’ features the vocal abilities of Alison Goldfrapp, the lead singer of 00’s commercial euro-disco heavyweights Goldfrapp, and Röyksopp are pitching their imminent full-length new release as “an expanded creative universe and a prodigious conceptual project” in their press release. One of these projects is ‘The Conversation’, a recent short film uploaded to their YouTube channel last month that was directed by Danish filmmaker Martin De Thurah. To give you some more context about what they actually mean, the duo say, “As human beings, what we don’t know vastly overshadows what we do know. As teenagers, we would discuss our own fascination with the infinite and the impossible. The most profound mysteries of life”. Check out the lead single below.

It has been a long time since we’ve heard from the duo since their last LP release – 2014’s ‘The Inevitable End’ – launched almost eight years ago. Commenting on the collaboration for ‘Impossible’, guest vocalist Alison Goldfrapp says, “It’s been great working with the wonderful Svein and Torbjørn from Røyksopp. I’ve been a fan of their music for years and it was a fascinating joy creating ‘Impossible’ together. I truly hope everyone enjoys the track as there’s more to come”, in her press notes. Mimicking the visual of a glittery disco ball slowly fading to a liquid ink black in terms of sound, ‘Impossible’ starts off with a smooth set of Synths that recall a clear Disco influence before slowly growing into a barrage of assaulting textures as the bassline becomes more crunchy in style and the percussive Drum melodies contribute to the shimmering delivery. Goldfrapp’s lyrics feel hypnotic and alluring, with vague and enigmatic, in terms of mood, lyrics like “You’re the world ablaze/You’re the space between/Impossible/The perfect dream” and “I can touch the sky/Hear your lion heart/Feel the inside” that reveal little in the way of clear-cut details, but they carry a sensual yet not overtly sexual tone that floats above the more relentless pace of the instrumental parts to give the thumping concoction of downtempo electronica and progressive disco music an ethereal, polished feel. It builds to a neat closing stretch where the same lyrics are repeated amongst a more silk-like texture of electronic beats, where it feels like high-stakes tension has been relieved in favour of more operatic thrills. It sounds far from overly commercial, but it sounds melodic enough to feel like a natural selection for a single rather than purely an album track, and the vocals from Goldfrapp’s vocalist seem musically upbeat in the vein of their more well-known cuts in the mainstream while retaining an experimental, high-pitched finish. The production feels delicate overall, where a diversity of textures and genre ideas have been put together in a meticulous way that makes them feel coherent together when the sum of each part is added in unison. The spaced-out synths grow a little bit tiresome by the track’s end for me, but the pacing feels sublime and the chemistry between the two acts is excellent too, making the disillusioned grooves feel addictive while rewarding and challenging to keep listening to. Overall, although I feel that ‘Impossible’ is more of a “good track” than a “truly special” one due to it’s tendency to grow just a tad tedious by the end, it features an intriguing array of sounds that indicate subtle hints of different dance-related genres that are whipped together in a blender to conjure up a pretty well-textured smoothie. One for a long night ride home.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Profound Mysteries’ (LP) (Available from April 29th, 2022) (via Dog Triumph Records)

That brings us to the end of a fairly cryptic new post on the blog today, and I’ll be taking a break from my recent recommendations tomorrow as we go retro for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’. Thank you for supporting me today, and please feel free to join me again then for a look back at an early 00’s UK Hip-Hop classic by a British rapper and producer who has produced numerous singles and albums for the Big Dada label since 1994. His track in question was memorable for it’s intentionally similar melody to the ‘Doctor Who’ TV theme track and it reached the top spot of the UK Dance chart.

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New Album Release Fridays: Charli XCX (feat. Christine and The Queens & Caroline Polachek) – ‘New Shapes’

March 18, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Crash’ (LP) (Released on March 18th, 2022) (via Asylum/Atlantic Records/Warner UK)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to look at one of this weekend’s new album releases which is so highly anticipated that it cannot be ignored with 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! It has been an interesting career trajectory for the Cambridge-born singer and songwriter Charlotte Emma Aitchinson to say the least, who began posting her videos to MySpace in 2008 (Ask your parents!), where she was scouted by a promoter who invited Charli to perform at urban warehouse gigs. She later signed to Asylum Records in 2010, where she had some pretty traditional and fairly mainstream Pop hits like ‘Boom Clap’, ‘SuperLove’ and ‘Break The Rules’ while also writing well-known singles for Pop heavyweights like Selena Gomez, Iggy Azalea, Icona Pop, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. She later became a pioneer of the emerging ‘Hyper Pop’ and ‘Bedroom Pop’ genres while gaining a lot of new fans in the alternative music community with universally praised releases like her 2020 lockdown EP ‘How I’m Feeling Now’ which she produced collaboratively with her fans in a span of six weeks while in self-isolation, a record that played with unconventional Pop structures and experimental electronic production in previously uncharted ways, and it was shortlisted for the 2020 Mercury Prize alongside appearing on year-end lists by Paste, Uproxx, NPR, The Guardian and Consequence Of Sound. Today, she fully leaves the major label Pop music world with her fifth studio album ‘Crash’, which tackles a deal-with-the-devil idea visually. Lyrically, she says that it explores the power of the femme fatale with inspiration from dark spirits and curses which follows the spirit of David Cronenberg’s 1996 film of the same title. Musically, we’re getting a bold fusion of 80’s/90’s power-pop and 00’s synth-pop with a hint of futuristic Bedroom Pop stylings that Charli says was inspired by Janet Jackson. On the BBC Radio 2 playlisted pre-release single ‘New Shapes’, she enlists the help of French Art Pop trailblazer Christine And The Queens and continually rising American star Caroline Polachek. Let’s take it for a drive below.

Charli XCX will be taking her alternative assortment of retro-futurist Pop sounds on the road for a tour of Europe and North America throughout the summer months, and her new LP record features contributions by Rina Sawayama, Digital Farm Animals, Oneohtrix Point Never and several more creatives. ‘New Shapes’ follows a simple story of a stale relationship where both sides are being manipulative, with lyrics like “I don’t know why I got a tendency to run away/Don’t know why I’m always pushing for a sweet escape” that set the scene with bright Synths and 808 beats that will remind you of freestyle girl groups like The Cover Girls or Company B, before a more complex narrative unveils where the narrator is fighting the urge to desert the relationship while feeling exhausted by it, with a cycle of mistreatment manipulating the narrator to feel like a different person while still succumbing to the sexual desire which they share for one another. There are two sides to every coin on ‘New Shapes’ seemingly, where the upbeat keys and the energetic Synth arrangements make it quite easy to overlook the frustrations of the narrator and the complications of their relationship. A strong and consistently high tempo makes the rhythm feel punchy, but the lyrics replicate something a little more mournful in balance. Polachek and Christine are there to play the role of emulating some emotional support from a girl of group friends, who are attempting to cheer Charli XCX up with a scene that may replicate how a group of girls always seem to go to the bathroom together (I went clubbing in my university days, and so that’s a trait I’ve noticed). Their verses are met by a similar soundscape of mechanical drums and reverb-drenched Synths while adding some additional voices to the track for more variety. It doesn’t feel quite as experimental as some of Charli’s other efforts and feels like more of a traditional ‘radio record’ to promote the album, but the blueprints of her wildly successful pandemic EP are still here. I always thought there was something a little different in Charli XCX’s ‘SUCKER’ days of more mainstream Pop where she dealt with overtly sexual content in very expansive ways with a punk attitude, and tracks like ‘New Shapes’ continue to add more nuance to that format. Overall, I think that ‘New Shapes’ is one of the best singles to introduce the more bolder and updated version of Charli XCX to newcomers or previous fans due to it’s accessibility and danceability. It may not feel quite as bold as the tracks on her lockdown EP, but it begs the listener to dance along with it while conveying a sense of urgency and immediacy that clicks together nicely, and that’s coming from somebody who is a little snobbish about this style of Pop music at the best of times. Charli is an extraordinarily talented young lady, and so it’s good that she finally has a platform to show what she’s truly capable of making as a performer and a producer. ‘New Shapes’ may not be her most memorable offering, but there’s something for everyone in here and it conforms to a more accessible Pop sound while not ignoring the experimental EP, and so ‘Crash’ looks more like smooth sailing to me.

Pictured: Charlotte Aitchison at the red carpet of the BRIT Awards (2020) (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

That brings us to the bottom of the page for another day! Thank you for taking a moment out of today to visit the site, and I’ll be back tomorrow to review another fresh new Pop-oriented single – this time coming from an Australian DJ/Producer who is recognized as a ‘Future Bass’ pioneer of the 2010’s with several Grammy Award nominations and ARIA Awards attention to his name. He reportedly chose his name after his favourite Bon Iver track – although his name is shared by a type of ravine.

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Today’s Track: Porij – ‘Figure Skating’

March 14, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: ‘Eggy’ (Lead Vocals/Keyboard), ‘Tommy’ (Rhythm Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals), ‘Jammo’ (Bass Guitar/Percussion) and ‘Tom’ (Drums/Occasional Backing Vocals) (in July 2021) (Photo via The Guardian/PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke here – and it’s time for me to kick off another long week’s worth of daily track posts on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Porij are back with ‘Figure Skating’, their first new track of 2022, and it warms me up for what’s shaping up to be yet another hectic and engaging year for the Manchester Art-Pop collective – who were formed by Eggy (Vocals/Keys), Tommy (Guitar/Vocals), Jammo (Bass/Percussion) and Tom (Drums/Vocals) when they studied and stayed together at The Royal Nothern College of Music. They explore a fluidity between genres such as House, Liquid Drum ‘N’ Bass, Garage, New Wave and Lo-Fi Rock under the Indie Pop umbrella, with early covers of tracks originally from The Prodigy and Disclosure earning them attention from industry insiders. Porij have released a wide range of singles like ‘Nobody Scared’, ‘Can’t Stop’ and ‘Dirty Love’, some of which were also released on 2020’s ‘Breakfast’ and 2021’s ‘Baby Face’ EP’s, and a lot of these tracks have been selected for daytime airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music. Support has also poured in from ITV Granada, The Guardian, NME, DIY Mag and more including, since I haven’t forgot to mention, this very blog. As I mentioned, it’s looking like a restless year for Porij as they will be supporting Lynks, Metronomy and Obongjayar on tours throughout the year, playing a handful of solo headline gigs, and they will be performing at various music festivals in the summer months like Green Man and The Great Escape. The Winter Olympics may finally be over, but, for their latest track, Porij explore intimacy and immovability through ‘Figure Skating’. Let’s give it a spin below.

Porij – pronounced as ‘Porridge’ as you would expect – seemingly picked their name at random as an inside joke between the band’s original four members, and they recruited future touring partner Lynks to show off his ice figure skating skills in the music video for their most recent track. The band break ‘Figure Skating’ down by saying, “Figure Skating is about intimacy and sensuality in moments that aren’t overtly sexual”, in a press release, explaining, “It’s appreciating romance in the day to day, not the big dramas or passions but the kind of stuff that’s put in a montage in a film. It’s an insight into a secure relationship and explores the moments that are beautifully average, but somehow turn out to be the best bits”, in the note. Starting off with humming synths that evoke a Horn-like texture, Porij take to the rink with soft and gliding vocals which convey the high level of trust and the rehearsed training that goes into a couples ice skating dance routine, with lyrics in the verses like “Crinkled eyes cut white and blue/When I tickle your elbow grease” that sound a little witty on paper while also toying with the close level of intimacy found in the warm textures of the euphoric synths and the right drum melodies. Lyrics like “Inverse, Focus/I’ll hold you down, just you and me” and “Drifting past subconscious feel/Phaser building from within” achieve the similar effects of the Soulful vocals in the verses and chorus, while Eggy’s post-chorus croon of “Skin lying under me” glides seamlessly above the more high tempo percussion. The bassline has the driving melodies and the lyrical determination of a modern dance track, but their croons keep the tone feeling very warm and more grounded in emotive qualities throughout the 4-minute number. Overall, ‘Figure Skating’ just shows Porij getting even better and better, and they were already fairly good to begin with. The track embraces dance music culture, but the band never forgets the inward ideas of intimacy and profound deepness in which they shaped the songwriting and production around. I was simply along for the skate.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Baby Face’ (EP) (Released on September 22nd, 2021) (via Oat Gang Records)

If ‘Figure Skating’ finds you scavenging for more of Porij, you can check out some of their other tracks on the blog below:

‘Can’t Stop’ (2021) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/11/30/todays-track-porij-cant-stop/

‘Nobody Scared’ (2021) – https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2021/06/15/todays-track-porij-nobody-scared/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Nobody Scared’ (Single) (Released on April 21st, 2021) (via Oat Gang Records)

That brings us to the end of another blog post for today! Thank you for checking out my little musing and thank you for sparing a moment of time out of you day to show some support for independent creatives like Porij and myself today. I’ll be back tomorrow for something a little bit different as we take a listen to some contemporary classical music from another Manchester-formed act who were shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2014. They are currently signed to Blue Note Records, and their most recent single is their first to feature drummer Jon Scott, who replaced Rob Turner in December 2021 for their line-up. They will play at Cambridge’s Junction in November.

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Today’s Track: Maylee Todd – ‘Show Me’

March 10, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Toronto’s Maylee Todd in a recent photoshoot to promote ‘Maloo’ (2022) (Photo via TheStar.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has arrived for me to guide you through yet another exciting daily track on the blog from a very brave and ambitious singer-songwriter, given how it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Brave’ and ‘Ambitious’ are just two words that describe the Toronto-based Art Pop musician Maylee Todd, who is new to this young writer’s eardrums, who has experimented with instruments as obscure as the Paraguayan Harp and the Tenori-on in her career since she began recording material in the 00’s. Todd has played across numerous festivals including the Crossover Jazz Fest and the Billboard Live Stage, she has performed alongside the likes of Janelle Monae, The Budos Band, Aloe Blacc and Thundercat on stage throughout the years, and she contributed her vocals to Bob Wiseman’s collaborative LP release ‘Giuletta Masina At The Oscars Crying’ in 2012. Todd was also the creator of Virtual Womb, a practical art exhibition where the audience walks through an enlarged CGI image of a Vagina and lies on the floor, awaiting the vibrant projections that float across on the ceiling, in 2017. Maylee Todd’s music seems just as visual and provoking, as a wide assortment of Indie Pop, Prog Jazz, Psych Funk, Bossa Nova and more have been incorporated into the sounds of her musical projects. Her latest full-length album – ‘Maloo’ – was released on March 4th via Stones Throw Records – an eclectic Funk, Jazz and Soul specialist label based in Los Angeles, California that has introduced several amazing artists like MNDSGN, John Carroll Kirby and Kiefer to my streaming libraries throughout the last few years of my work. Let’s give ‘Show Me’ a listen below.

To produce her latest artsy-craftsy LP project, Maylee Todd spent a lot of time researching VR throughout the pandemic, which led to some ideas on utopian, futuristic technology. The result is ‘Maloo’, a fictional character that she has designed in virtual reality that she created while working on the story and setting of a prototype VR video game, as she learned the skills of 3D modelling and body tracking to bring her vision to life. Dubbed as ‘The Age Of Energy’, a virtual space where the character is based, the concept album and the ‘Maloo’ avatar are influenced by intimate, personal origins. As Todd writes, “We participate in the digital landscape and our digital life has real-life implications”, in her press statement. Musically, she wrote and recorded ‘Show Me’ as the introductory single with the Yamaha Tenori-on – a discontinued electronic sequencer that was built by Toshio Iwai, a Japanese interactive media and installation artist. Her single begins with some glitched keyboard chords that convey visuals of futuristic cyberspace and post-modern technology immediately. The bass grooves grow deeper as her downtempo vocals become more hypnotic, and she allures you in to ‘Show Me’ with a noticeably Soulful skew that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Sly & The Family Stone or a Toro Y Moi record in it’s nostalgic, but free-form, nature. Lyrics like “Watch the birds, take their form/Icy hands, blood is warm” complement the peaceful and tranquil vibes, while the minimalist chorus of “Show me, your heart” is deep and intimate in it’s Lo-Fi textures. ‘Maloo’ may be conceptually driven and visually influenced at large, but the single is accessible enough to a fairly mainstream because it feels simple yet not simplistic. I also really admire the work that Todd has put into ‘giving the project her all’ by focusing on how the audio-visual aspects of the piece were written in tandem with her vocals. It reminds me of Bjork and St. Vincent, who are undoubtedly driven artists that have similar characteristics of boldness and communicating an idea through all aspects of the media at their disposal. In conclusion, it seems clear that Maylee Todd has a lot more to ‘Show Me’ – and I look forwards to seeing the rest of it.

Pictured: Vinyl Copy of ‘Maloo’ (LP/Album) (Released on March 4th, 2022) (via Stones Throw Records)

(That brings us to the end of the page for another day! Thank you very much for reading what I had to say about Maylee Todd for a few moments today, and I’ll be back tomorrow to guide you through a sneek peek at one of the weekend’s notable and new album releases. This week’s post involves the debut LP release from an emerging Alternative Rock 4-piece Post-Rock band who have been supported by the daytime playlist of BBC Radio 6 Music and they have been praised by NME. If you’re a fan of hard rock outfits such as Coach Party and Kid Kapichi – you’re going to enjoy it!

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