Things are starting to sizzle up!
I’ve combed through fistfuls of hours of music to bring you five exciting tunes by emerging artists that may have slipped under your radar. Grab your headphones and let’s dig in!
As always, I hope these songs inspire you to check out more music by these particular artists, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard before!
Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.
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“Controller” - Channel Tres | After hibernating for the winter, the DJs are crawling out the their caves and gearing up for festival season. Expect a slough of dance-anthems-in-the-making to check their way onto the letter over the coming months. “Controller” single-handedly knocked me back with an insatiable hunger to dive headfirst into dance music deep cuts again for the first time in months. Compton based producer Channel Tres swirls bouncy, seductive Detroit techno beats with mesmerizing commands. This song is best enjoyed with headphones on a walk, or on a very loud speaker system (duh). Favorite bit? The way my bones rattle under the rumbling bass: "Throw some SUB in that bitch" Listen here
“Lover Boy” - Phum Viphurit | “Thai born, New Zealand raised, Bangkok resident” Phum Viphurit is a budding South East Asian indie pop GEM. He’s had a string of radio hits in Thailand, and a full length album released last year. Citing influences like Bombay Bicycle Club, Ben Howard, and Mac DeMarco, his music is like a rush of cherry limeade on a breezy, cloudless summer day. Listen here
“Out ‘Ere” - The Manor | South London MCs The Manor are a cornerstone of UK grime. Their latest single “Out ‘Ere” is a primed for soundtracking your pre-gaming antics. The club heavy beats are a 5-minute hype machine. Listen here
“4EVER” - Clairo | Clairo emerged last year with the DIY, lo-fi, left of center bedroom pop “Flaming Hot Cheetos,” immediately grabbing the attention of news outlets and a host of serious fans craving new tunes. She’s racked up millions of streams across platforms, and today has returned with “4EVER,” a funky track laced with Clairo's signature nonchalance. This time the production is much more polished yet hasn't lost an ounce of her charm. Listen here
“1999” - Arrhult | The Scandinavians are at it again! Who’s even surprised?! Scandos know pop music best…. Sounding like the best bits of a Daft Punk and The Weeknd collab, “1999” is a pure pop fantasy. The punch of the pre-chorus is electrifying. Listen here
New Music Friday Selects
This week has been chock full of highs and lows in music, hasn’t it? Survey says: Kanye has fully escalated to new lows, and it’s a bit unfair to say he’s just “lost his damn mind.” Without getting in too deep about this (particularly the tweets on how his house looks like the inside of a jar of mayonnaise), let’s put any more discourse on this subject behind us and think of happier things.
It’s been a Great Week for The Gays™!
Janelle Monae’s new album Dirty Computer is out and has officially been crowned as an LGBT queen after coming out as pansexual in her Rolling Stone profile. Highlight of the album is the confident, unabashed embrace of sexual autonomy. Personal fav is “Screwed” feat. Zoe Kravitz, and it’s literally about fucking everywhere, anywhere, anytime Listen here
Cher performed a cover of ABBA’s “Fernando” at CinemaCon in Las Vegas and None Of Us Could Even about it Listen here
Years & Years have officially announced the release of the sophomore studio album Palo Santo, out July 6th!!! They also had Dame Judi Dench voice over the official trailer for the album! Pre-order here
My forever girls MUNA have teamed up with the Yellow Bird Project to release an exclusive, limited edition charity tee (designed by Naomi). All proceeds are donated to Treskstock, a UK-based non-profit organization that does amazing work supporting young adults diagnosed with cancer. Order here
Heads up: Lil B has dropped a bjillion of his mixtapes onto Spotify for your enjoyment
Twin Shadow has released his new album Caer which features a collab with HAIM on the track “Saturdays” Listen here
The Internet return with their funky new single “Roll (Burbank Funk)” Listen here
Dancer producer ZHU has released a new EP, RINGOS DESERT PT. I Listen here
Sigur Ros have shared a new project of 8 songs, all tracks labeled as coordinates, titled Route One Listen here
Stromae has dropped new music for the first time in 5 years Listen here
Japanese Breakfast have covered The Cranberries’ “Dreams” for a Spotify session and it is absolutely gorgeous Listen here
cmd+f alumnus CYN (featured in last week’s letter!) released a new single, “Believer” Listen here
Oddnesse has a new single, “Trust” Listen here
Hatchie’s dropped ANOTHER dreamy single!!! “Sleep” is gorgeous Listen here
Anne-Marie’s new album Speak Your Mind is out -- half the songs have already been released as successful singles in the UK, but there is enough new content to give it a spin Listen here
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A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.
Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.
If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my April 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!
See you next week!