File download is hosted on Megaupload
More great sounds to accompany your weekend. Some excellent vocals this week, including Malaika, Cobalt Chapel and Rationale. Hope you enjoy the music, and please let us know what you think, in the comments below. Many thanks to all contributors!
Malaika – Stop for a Minute: “Produced and co-written by Grammy-nominated songwriter John Beck and recent winner of BBC’s ‘Let It Shine’ Curtis T Johns, ‘Stop For A Minute’ is the latest track from Leeds based pop/jazz vocalist Malaika. Turning heads across the UK since supporting JONES and winning ‘Best Jazz/Blues’ at The Unsigned Music Awards in 2016, Malaika’s saccharine vocals and jazz inspired melodies have received plaudits and support from Jamie Cullum at BBC Radio 2, Huw Stephens at BBC Radio 1 and BBC Introducing.”
Catching Flies: Klangstoft – Hostage (Catching Flies remix): “Amsterdam-based alternative band – Klangstof (Mind of a Genius/WBR) – released a new remix of their single “Hostage” by Catching Flies. Clash premiered it … saying, “Catching Flies have given ‘Hostage’ a clinical, techno-driven re-work, one laced with brutalist electronics.” They will also be joining The Flaming Lips and Miike Snow on their summer tours as well as other festival dates.”
Ciaran Lavery – Bad Man (Bonnie Prince Billy cover): … “special Record Store Day release on 22 April, A King At Night is a collection of Bonnie Prince Billy covers. Will Oldham is an artist that has long fascinated Lavery and this release acts as “a fitting nod of appreciation” … Standout tracks include “New Partner”, the lead track from the EP and “Bad Man”.
Dallan – My Man: More from Dallan, from her album “Overturn” (due for release in August). “My Man is a powerful slightly angry song about having enough of all the trouble … She … only recently began performing and recording her songs publicly … DALLAN will be supporting Norwegian folk-pop wonder Thomas Dybdahl’s “The Great Plains Tour” when it hits Zurich at Mascotte on the 7th of May.”
REIGHNBEAU – Hide: “Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, REIGHNBEAU is the work of visual and sound artist Bryce Hample. Frequent collaborators include Colleen Johnson (Twig Palace) and Madeline Johnston (Sister Grotto) … REIGHNBEAU’s new EP, Hide, was created alongside Madeline Johnston, who has been a longtime collaborator … In the past two years, Johnston and Hample have performed live and toured together as REIGHNBEAU. Johnson’s own project, Sister Grotto, has a new album coming out this year as well (Midwife). Her vocals feature throughout Hide, and the track “I Want Love” specifically is comprised almost entirely of her voice. The duo of REIGHNBEAU will be touring this fall.”
Fond of Rudy – OMG! – “‘OMG!‘ is the perfect slice of summer to listen to all year round. Start your week in complete style with this breezy, summery tune from Fond Of Rudy. ‘OMG!’ is the 3rd release from their new EP ‘TWO’. It’s chock-full of crystal-clear guitars, blissful melodies and harmonic jangle, providing the ultimate blend of Indie Pop. Fond of Rudy have spent the last year marching full steam ahead with their melodic rattle and enviable arsenal of songs, this month being championed by BBC Introducing London.”
High Tropics – 15 Years: “The debut single from Roll Call’s latest signing, Aussie band High Tropics — fronted by Josh Stewart, formerly of The Ninjas. The new track is out everywhere … and has a bit of that early Strokes, garage-rock vibe.”
Grok Enrol and the Nu Thing – Gotta Get Back to Glastonbury: This is the new single from the Sheffield based band Grok Enrol & The Nu-Thing, released on May 12th as a 2 track digital download on Premonition Tapes. It’s a two and a half minute chunk of electronica and thrashy guitars, and includes an anecdote regarding the true story about when the Pulp single “Little Girl (with blue eyes)” was played over the sound system in between bands at the Glastonbury festival in 1987 – when Jarvis Cocker found at the time that his then recent single had been played, he responded “That’s the nearest we’ll ever get to playing at Glastonbury”. The single also contains an alternate mix of the track.”
Cobalt Chapel – Singing Camberwell Beauty: “Psychedelic band featuring Cecilia Fage (Matt Berry & The Maypoles) and Jarrod Gosling (I Monster, Regal Worm). Based in London and Sheffield.” https://www.facebook.com/Cobalt-Chapel-1883182601909163/
True Gents – Camomile: “True Gents are an 8-piece band from Scotland with a special vein of atmospheric, psych-infused jangle-pop. Formed by school-mates Euan Nicol and Toby Jeffery in 2006, True Gents would meet up in the haunting woods of lnvermay, Perthshire and work on songs late into the night upon formation. Shortly after beginning to write songs together, the duo entered and won a singer/songwriter competition at Perthshire Amber – The Dougie MacLean Festival … Having gone down an alternative-folk route in the past with their self-funded EP in 2009 and their debut album ‘In the Dark we Set Sail’ in 2013, the band are now set to release their latest piece of work ‘Blood Moon’.”
Rationale – Deliverance: Tinashé Fazakerley (Rationale) is a Zimbabwe-born British singer-songwriter with an amazing voice. Wikipedia tells me that “In 2015, he relaunched his career as Rationale, releasing songs such as “Fast Lane” and “Something for Nothing” on Soundcloud and Spotify. It was on these streaming platforms that he gained notable recognition, with a mention by Pharrell Williams on his Apple Music Beats1 radio show, OTHERtone, calling him someone who had “found the beauty in their voice”… His debut self-titled album is due for release in 2017, under exclusive license to Warner Music UK.
Tove Styrke – Say My Name: Swedish artist Tove Styrke has a brand new single released this Friday. This will be Tove Styrke’s first new material since her 2015 album Kiddo (which spawned hits “Borderline” and “Ego”). The new track is a summer-ready pop gem titled “Say My Name”.
Renton – Whistled: “Hello. We are Renton. We are from Poland. We love rough guitars and sweet synths. We love catchy melodies and rich vocals. We like to take it easy and simply enjoy making music.”
Four Star Riot – Slayed Pretender: “A new track … the first cut from the follow-up to last year’s Waves album. “Slayed Pretender” finds the band revisiting days of shoe-gazed flannel in a hazy trip through youthful ways. Layered guitars and a lonely electric piano guide the melancholy song toward a shimmery bridge and memorable chorus … Songs from the band’s catalogue have been featured in film and TV … and the group has garnered a positive reviews from outlets including Relix among others.”
Clay – Saint: “Leeds based Clay are re-inventing the modern perception of a ‘band’. Having received critical acclaim on their few releases to date from the likes of Huw Stephens at BBC Radio 1, Zane Lowe, and across the board at Radio X, the band’s latest release ‘6AM’ saw them sell out shows nationwide on only their second ever headline tour in December. Fans now wait in eager anticipation of the next Clay release. A band that continually push boundaries in every aspect of their art Clay are destined to headline festivals one day very soon.”
