May 25, 2018

As promised, I AM BACK! Boom, baby!

I’ll be jetting off out of town for the (American) holiday weekend, so I’m making sure you are STACKED with new music. Impress your friends at the barbecue this weekend with these sweet new tunes.

There are an armful of artists who have been featured in cmd+f in the past who have released new music today, so please be sure to dig through the New Music Friday Selects section at the bottom and support emerging artists.

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.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“Simple Luv” - Oscar Key Sung | I’ve seen Oscar’s name floating about on my Twitter timeline for a couple years now, and all of the Australian artist’s releases have been nothing short of thrilling. With the release of his No Disguise EP today, I’ve plucked “Simple Luv” to help segue into your latest obsession. Perhaps his most accessible release with a throbbing R&B beat looming in the background, the tune sounds almost familiar yet unlike any other tune you can put your finger on. If you dig “Simple Luv,” I highly recommend digging into his entire back catalogue. Fans of Years & Years, How To Dress Well, and Kelela in particular will thoroughly enjoy his music. Listen here

“Want U So Bad” - Gilligan Moss | I genuinely cannot stop listening to this song. That sticky, watery bassline wavering over a funky disco-dunked groove is so damn good, you can’t help but knock this on repeat. Listen here

“Four Winds” - Opia | From one groove to the next, “Four Winds” is a bonafide bop! The production and vocals on “Four Winds” are electrifying. Opia met while attending Yale a few years ago, packed up and moved to LA to “do this whole music thing,” and have since found their songs cropping up on music playlists around the web. With a few million streams under their belt, Opia are refining their sound and preparing to headline their summer US tour. Listen here

“The Other Day” - Foliage | From the first note I knew I was going to fall head over heels for this song. It sounds like a B-side to the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack, a ding-y 80s-inspired jaunt through the streets on a sunny day. The hazy bedroom pop sounds like early Wild Nothing, a unique blend of feigned hopefulness shrouded in daydreams. When I found out the person behind Foliage, Manuel Joseph Walker, is from San Bernardino, it all made sense. In fact, it kinda blew my mind, but San Bernardino is definitely the kind of environment to inspire a project like Foliage. For context, SB is a suburban wasteland about 50 miles east of Los Angeles that’s saturated with dudes who never got out of their skater phase driving raised trucks, with extremely disgusting desert heat in the summer, and a trip to Target is the most exciting thing to do there. Listen here

“I Go” - KWAYE | My initial reaction when first hearing this song was: “B I T C H!! GO OFF!” Swaddled in brocade jackets and high collared shirts, KWAYE is superstar in the making. He was discovered by giving his demo to an Uber driver (who happened to be a former A&R rep) that hooked him up with a connection at Mind of a Genius. “I Go” is a summer-dusted R&B jam ready to soundtrack your months ahead. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

• The ultimate summer album is here! J Balvin’s Vibras is so, so good. It’s got features from the biggest names in the Latinx musicsphere -- even a reunited Wisin & Yandel! Listen here
• Shawn Mendes has released his self-titled album and, dang. DANG. Listen here
• James Blake has shared a stunning new track, “Don’t Miss It.” It’s his best vocal delivery and highlights his true artistry. Listen here
• Jay Park is out here taking leaps to crossover and climb his way up the Western charts. The Seattle native turned K-pop megastar has dropped his first single release under Jay-Z’s ROC NATION, “SOJU” feat. 2Chainz. Listen here
• SO MANY FORMER cmd+f FEATURED ARTISTS HAVE NEW RELEASES TODAY!!!! Please listen to their projects and support emerging talent!
• cmd+f alums HAERTS have a soaring new single, “New Compassion” Listen here
• Matthew Young (another former cmd+f feature) has released a 7-track mini album titled Fruit Listen here
• Hatchie’s (who is, you guessed it, a form cmd+f feature!) got a full on EP! It sounds like you’re dancing on a cotton candy cloud Listen here
• Americana queen on the rise Jade Bird’s (wow, look, another cmd+f alum!) got a new song, “Furious” Listen here
• Clairo’s (who’s been mentioned in the last two cmd+f letters) dropped diary 001, a brand new EP, and it’s got features from Rejjie Snow and Danny L Harle Listen here
• A$AP Rocky got a new album, TESTING, and it’s stacked with a lot of features (as must rap albums do), but the most notable feature is he managed to drag FKA Twigs out of a dance studio for “Fukk Sleep” Listen here
• CHVRCHES return with their new album Love is Dead Listen here
• Jake Shears (of Scissor Sisters acclaim) has a new solo release and it’s as much campy deliciousness as you’d expect Listen here
• I CAN FINALLY TASTE SUMMER!!! Diplo and Mark Ronson have linked up to forge a new house music track featuring Daniel Merriweather under the name Silk City, and it’s a FULL ON FACE MELTER. Listen here and listen to their hour long Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1 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 May 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!

February 16, 2018

Well, damn. Last week I sent out the newsletter to your inbox with the entirely wrong date simply because I was losing my mind over K-pop videos (as mentioned in the previous letter), and lemme tell you: that K-fever hasn’t waned. Between the Olympic games opening in Pyeongchang last week, my nine-step nightly facial routine, the music, and North & South Korea’s budding public political relations coverage, all things Korea have been thrusted in front of me this week. Naturally, I progressed deeper into the Korean music scene (with my pal Agnes) and we both managed to find a handful of sweet indie artists - one of whom is featured in my top 5 selections for the letter this week.

Please go forth and enjoy these five fantastic songs I’ve hand-harvested for you to enjoy this week. Hopefully these inspire you to check out more music from these artists, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard of before!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“Faded Love” - Tinashe feat. Future | While most of y’all may already know the name Tinashe, she’s (unrightfully) still a Who and (unfairly) slept on. Tinashe is my Ride or Die. I will join a #Justice4Joyride campaign and preach the gospel of Tinashe until she’s back on the Top 40 radio circuit. While homegirl hasn’t had a break since her smash single “2 On” a few years ago, she’s managed to throw down a gazillion features across nearly every genre, collaborating with virtually anyone, and taking on absurd marketing campaigns. She’s a hustler. On her latest single “Faded Love,” Tinashe is back to doing what she does best: sexy, slinky, repetitive hooks over watery synths. Future jumps on the track to sing about how he’s ready to give up the player life (and surprisingly not to shit talk CiCi). While repetitive, the beats are more mesmerizing than grating. The end of the track loops perfectly with the beginning, and I spent well over an hour Wednesday night perusing Target with this blaring through my headphones on repeat. Listen here

“Game Ova” - Tobi Lou | Blessings to my pal Agnes for unearthing this gem. While this song has been floating around the net since 2016 (damn!), it’s held up. While “Game Ova” is admittedly a bit of a fuckboy anthem, the hook channels some serious Chance the Rapper vibes, meaning it’s absolutely undeniable. Highly recommend listening to this one in a car on a sunny day with the windows down. Listen here

“Valentine (What’s It Gonna Be)” - Rina Sawayama | Hallelujah! cmd+f alumni Rina has pushed pop further into the hyperactive, futuristic R&B we CRAVE. This jam is a feast for the ears, packed on with lush, dense layers of jerky synths snaking their way beneath guitar licks and melodic hook after hook. There are approximately four different varieties of choruses interpolated throughout, and honestly, the first time I heard it I lost my mind. Lyrically, it’s refreshing to hear an ode to Valentine’s Day with the promise of a short-term fling, and not dripping with corny confessions of undying love: “Making promises is dangers / I’m just a phase / I’m just your Valentine”  Listen here

“찰나 Ksana” - Love X Stereo | Love X Stereo are an electro duo from Seoul producing delicious, dreamy synth-pop. Their latest single, “찰나 Ksana,” was released in a Winter Olympics-inspired compilation featuring a handful of other K-Indie artists. It sounds like an outtake from the beloved and iconic Drive soundtrack, bouncing between near silence and nervous vocals over an unrelenting bouncing bassline, to a soaring chorus. Listen here

“Heart to Break” - Kim Petras | Kim Petras’s name has been floating around a lot for the better part of 7 months, and I don’t think her name is going away anytime soon. This week, Interview Mag has dubbed her the “new Charli XCX” (which has me wondering which identity Charli XCX is morphing into next???), and she unleashed a brand new face melter. “Heart to Break” is honest to god a Grade A, solid pop bop. In stark contrast to dear Rina’s anti-Valentine anthem, Kim goes the distance with a reckless attitude, risking her heart and loving for love’s sake. When you’ve got the bubbliest of pop hooks in your tune, I say bring me some wine with that cheese–let’s class this bitch up. “Heart to Break” is pure poptimism at its finest. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

• I know most of y’all are PERCHT to see the new Black Panther film this long weekend.  Kendrick Lamar, the music supervisor behind the music inspired by Black Panther has gone and released the most fire homage to LA in a new music video for “King’s Dead.” The video opens with Kendrick sitting at the top of a palm tree eating elotes. Truly an icon. Watch here

• Everyone’s favorite lesbian Americana singer Brandi Carlile has dropped her latest masterpiece, By the Way, I Forgive You Listen here

• Ireland’s freshest rapper Rejjie Snow has released his latest album Dear Annie, and it’s got some pretty tight production and features from the likes of Anna of the North, Jesse Boykins III, Caroline Smith, et al Listen here

• And as for the world’s favorite Irishman, Niall Horan’s released an “alternate version” (ahem, a shorter radio cut) of his Fleetwood Mac-lite-esque new single “On The Loose” Listen here

• The highly anticipated Khalid and Normani collab “Love Lies” is out today and I have listened to it exactly one time and can’t remember enough to elaborate beyond that Listen here

• Frank Ocean covered “Moon River” this week and every music critic on the net bust a nut. It was deserved, to be honest. Listen here

• Aussie pop icon Delta Goodrem is back with her sexy new jam “Think About You” - written by Julian Bunetta and John Ryan (of Niall Horan’s “Slow Hands” acclaim), this is a new direction for Delta that I am HERE FOR Watch here

• You have to listen to this Everything Is Recorded by Richard Russell album - it’s got new songs featuring vocals from Sampha, Giggs, Ibeyi, and PETER F*CKIN GABRIEL!!! Absolutely beautiful. Listen here

• Ride have a new EP out called Tomorrow’s Shore - great for fans of shoegaze Listen here

• My favorite music project to ever be put out has been iamamiwhoami - a creepy, maxi-minimalist experimental music project that started ten years ago in which a new song was released every few weeks with an entire fucking music video. Every year and a half, iamamiwhoami would upload a series of well produced, beautiful music videos for every song - and for ages, fans tried to unfold the mystery of who was RESPONSIBLE for the freaking project. Anyhow, word got out a defunct poprock artist name Jonna Lee decided to completely reinvent herself into this Scandinavian Tilda Swinton of synth-pop, and SUCCESS. She gained a loyal following, and entirely new identity… and now she’s thrown the towel on iamamiwhoami and rebranded her music project to IONNALEE. The debut IONNALEE album EVERYONE AFRAID TO BE FORGOTTEN is out today, and I honestly have butterflies in my stomach Listen here

• Stumbled across this interesting article on why most people don’t listen to new music once they “get old” (mid-20s on up) - and appaz the music we listened to as Young Teens is so impressionable, it forms all our opinions on music during those ages! Read here

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As I mentioned above, 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.

New month, new playlist! If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my February 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!

January 26, 2018

On January 27, 2017, the very first cmd+f newsletter was sent out to 12 very wonderful friends via Tinyletter. I initially started it as a new means to share music with friends in a central, organized forum, and as an easy place to document all of the new music I was consuming. It also turned into something I looked forward to writing every week after spending a year of writing empty news bites, elbowing my way through an arms race of publishing passionless content.

Throughout this past year, I trialed a mini radio show through Anchor.FM, and expanded the newsletter into a full on website. I found meaning in this project through the cmd+vent advent calendar in December: understanding ways music brings joy into our lives.

(Nearly) one year later, this project is still kicking. I’m so pleased to have finally established an outlet that aims to highlight the pure joy I take out of my devotion for discovering new music. The act of sharing new music and simply discussing music brings me so much personal fulfillment. The act of putting together cmd+f’s weekly letter alone is deeply satisfying to me. I’ve been vaguely hinting on expanding cmd+f over the past few months, and that next step is a Mighty Big Leap. When the time does come, I hope you’ll take that jump with me.

For now, happy birthday cmd+f!!

So, I’ve rebranded the BONUS section to the freshly titled New Music Friday Selects. It’s more fitting, as a bulk of the bonus content highlights contain the most anticipated releases of the week, surprise releases, and the occasional status update of a new release by a cmd+f alum!

Before you hit that section up, it’s time to check out five smashing tunes by emerging artists!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“A Foreign Affair” - Client Liaison feat. Tina Arena | Opening this week’s batch of fantastic finds with a gloriously campy 80s-injected pop bop by Australia’s Client Liaison. “A Foreign Affair” is a major, major tune that has been HIDDEN FROM THE UNIVERSE. Australia is generally a wash because it’s covered in spiders and snakes the size of school buses – that’s beside the point! Client Liaison have also included pop icon Tina Arena (who I learnt about via my faaaavorite pop music podcast duo Dan and Andy of Popchops) on this blisteringly good chorus. To those who are unfamiliar with Tina Arena, she’s absolutely massive - like, on par with who Celine Dion is to Canada. For as essential as Tina’s pop career has been in Australia and France, I’m surprised I’ve only just stumbled upon this track in the last couple weeks. I’m not sure if it’s been a particularly successful single in Australia, but it deserves to be heard and played at FULL VOLUME. Listen here

“Here Lies” - Jorge Elbrecht feat. Tamryn | Less than one second into “Here Lies,” and you’re suckerpunched straight in the chest by the force of fourteen thousand sounds booming out of the speakers all at once. The jolt of sound rolls open and outward through the song, graciously unfolding layers of a steady synth loop disrupted by a crunchy, disjointed rumble of sirens, police dispatch comms, and machine guns. “Here Lies” is so busy battling through the thousands of layers of sounds battling to bubble through the surface of the song, it’s impossible to decipher what to prioritize listening to first - the sonics or the lyrics? Are the lyrics even important? It wavers between sounding hopeful and the soundtrack to getting decked in the face by an axe murderer. Listen here

“Arms of Pleonexia” - Cabbage | My fav scuzzy post-punk bros Cabbage announced their debut album Nihilistic Glamour Shots is dropping at the end of March! Cabbage have never been one to hold back on making political statements in their lyrics. Their new single “Arms of Pleonexia” is a hot take on the UK’s bloody history of arms deals that have supplied mass destruction in war torn countries around the world. After recently watching the TV mini series The Last Post, this history of disturbing the peace in the Middle East is rather fresh on my mind. “How long til we take responsibility?” the chorus coos. “Arms of Pleonexia” is the most punk drag I’ve heard in at least a decade. Read those greedy government jerks for filth. Listen here

“Freaking Out” -  Yehan Jehan | Imagine: Hall & Oates shared an edible then recorded “Private Eyes” and I’m pretty sure you’d end up with something that sounded very close to Yehan Jehan’s “Freaking Out.” It rests on a low key funky vibe that borders on sounding more careless about enduring heartbreak than complete numbness. The lush harmonies woven through the chorus will stick to your eardrums like white on rice. Listen here

“I’m In Love Without You” - FINNEAS | This song hands down brings the DRAMA. While I’m unsure of FINNEAS’s sun sign, I feel a kindred spirit to this Scorpio-dense bath of groveling for a lover you might not even HAVE to move on from. 12/10 CAN RELATE. The song opens with (no joke) twenty layers of ghostly harmonies echoing “I’m in love without you….please don’t still love me….but you still find a way inside my dreams.” The song chops up the last lyric into a dense, electronic synth line FINNEAS sings over throughout the rest of the song. It’s...fucking genius. It sounds entirely genreless/its very own brand of forward thinking pop, and I am obsessed with it the more I listen to it (pro-tip: it loops perfectly when you have it on repeat). Song aside, the most shocking fact I learnt about FINNEAS is he is the brother and co-songwriter to pop darling Billie Eillish (who’s been doing very well for herself since she featured on cmd+f last March!). I’m excited to hear what other tunes FINNEAS has hiding up his sleeve this year. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

• The powerpop tune of the month, Liam Payne and Rita Ora’s “For You” for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, now has a lush music video. Liam Payne’s involvement on the track has only furthered my Rita Ora stanning, and for that I’m beyond grateful. She looks absolutely stunning in a scarlet gown, swaddled in a bed of roses, while Liam is donning a velvet evening jacket like he’s a baby Enrique Iglesias. This also marks the first music video my man’s reciprocated direct intimacy with another mujer, and honestly, kick up that sex appeal a few notches, please. Watch here

• Talented vocalist and global superstar who keeps testing my patience, Stefani Germanotta, commonly known as Lady Gaga, has dropped a stripped version of her song “Joanne” - it’s beautiful, but I am STARVED for a massive pop tune. Listen here, I guess

• Migos’ Culture II is here and-there-is-a-Drake-co-lab-bor-ray-shun (raay-shun) [skrr skrrr] Listen here

• James Blake has surprise dropped a new, dope single, “If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead” Listen here

• Foaming at the mouth ‘cuz The Vaccines have dropped another banger, “Nightclub” Listen here

• If you’re looking for an atmospheric instrumental music, one of my favorite composers, Nils Frahm, has a new album out called All Melody Listen here

• Franz Ferdinand have gone full-on 1983, whence disco meets the goths, and I’m INTO IT. “Lazy Boy” is a choooon Listen here

• The Cassie of the 20-teens, Jhene Aiko, has whispered her way thru yet another single. Swae Lee knows how to write a damn hook, but this Rae Sremmurd drop throughout “Sativa” isn’t meant to be anything other than a very, super chill ass song. The video on the other hand is pretty freakin’ wild. Watch here

• What’s more refreshing that hearing Jack White jam the fuck out? Listen to his new tune “Corporation” Listen here

• Techno legend DJ Koze has returned with new material for the first time in nearly 5 years with his Seeing Aliens EP. It’s a bit more pop and accessible than other cuts in his archives, but it’s a glorious peak into his forthcoming 16-track full length LP, Knock Knock (out May 4) Listen here

• The legendary CRAIG freakin’ DAVID has a brand spankin’ new album stacked with jams. Standout track off The Time Is Now would be “Brand New” Listen here

• Color me shocked, but the new Django Django album Marble Skies is actually a rather fun listen. Must hear for fans of Temples, Jagwar Ma, Yeasayer, and (the now defunct [R.I.P.]) Wild Beasts 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 January 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!