What So Not, Jaguar

Flume + Emoh Instead = What So Not

Jaguar is out next week through Sweat It Out / OWSLA.

Xodiak, My Soul To Take

Brooding, sultry darkness, Xodiak opted against importing their hometown LA sunshine and instead slow step their way through a sexy five minute black and white frown. So good.

(Via BangTidy)

Hot New Stuff // Stacey, Worst Part

Record Of The Week //

Stacey is from Toronto and Worst Part is the first single from her self titled EP. It's sultry, sombre, intimately stripped back and all kinds of wonderful.

Tinashe, Vulnerable ft Travi$ Scott

Record Of The Week //

From one of the most underrated singers out there, this Tinashe jam is dark, space age R&B with bass growling all over the place, twisting breathy vocals and a seedy guest verse from Yeezus collaborator Travi$ Scott. Filthy and awesome.

Lincoln Jesser, Something Right

LA's Lincoln Jesser makes rich soulful electronic beats, Something Right has just the right amount of synth growl, airy breeze and Roosevelt/Washed Out style haunting vocals. Very good.

Hot New Stuff // Lion Bark, Longhorns

Brighton four piece Lion Bark met at music college, started this band then dropped out to make sweet, melodic indie pop with shades of Wild Beasts and Dan Croll. Longhorns is immediately infectious and between their songwriting and the distinctive (and pretty fantastic) vocal they're onto a winner.

Emily Underhill, Dreamcatcher

Turn those lights down low gurrrl, Dreamcatcher is the sexiest silky chocolate R&B future pop you're getting this week. Well played Emily Underhill. Boss. 

Via Don't Need No Melody

Bodhi Glitch on the remix too, daaaaamn son.

Will Lister Remix - Pedestrian, Hoyle Road

Will Lister is a 16 producer from Dorset who's recently started making waves for his impressive remixes of first Jamie XX and more recently Pedestrian. Big talent.

Shout to DNNM.

Dustin Tebbutt, The Breach EP

Australian singer Dustin Tebbutt retreated to Sweden for a couple of years to live, work and make music and the result is a chillingly glacial EP about that experience and his consequent gains and losses. Lead single The Breach has already had influential support from Zane Lowe and Triple J and the crisp freshness of his Scandinavian experience flows right through this four track EP. The Wolves will tear straight into the heart of Bon Iver's fans while the harmonious Where I Find You and closing track White Lines seem to draw influence from Sigur Ros' patient and atmospheric builds, swirling textures and an unfaltering gaze which you can't help but hold. Expect to see a lot more from this cat in 2014.

The Breach EP is out now in Australia through Eleven. Stream in full here.

Rejjie Snow, Black Pancackes

Is Rejjie Snow already Cork's biggest rap export? Really digging this, kind of like a relaxed and hushed, more subtly menacing Tyler.

Flume & Chet Faker, Drop The Game

Flume and Chet Faker are definitely two of the better artists striding out of so-hot-right-now Australia so the fact that they're putting out more collaborative music with those beats and those vocals is a gift.

Drop The Game is the lead track from Lockjaw EP, available from 22nd November 2013 through Future Classic.

Sam Smith & Disclosure & Nile Rodgers & Jimmy Napes, Together

I have a long weekend out of the game and what happens? A crack team of talent springs out of the upper echelons of music and puts out a track with an artist tag as long as Miley's tongue. The title of this blog post will be a problem. Inconveniences aside though, great tune.

Breton, Envy

Breton channel the spirit of early Foals with this summery explosion of stabs, triplets, hooks and golden grooves. There's so much creativity in these guys and the build towards the end is just heaven.

Sega Bodega, Security

Rushing for a flight so I'll keep this brief; Sega Bodega reworks Heartbroken and it's sweeeeeeeeeeeet (listen to it).

Barnaby, Bored

Record Of The Week //

Behold; 4 minutes 29 seconds of silky, smokey, golden warmth from Southampton's main man in the R&B game, Barnaby.

Hot New Stuff // Saol Álainn, Nostroke

Saol Álainn is based in Los Angeles. Nostroke suggests Vampire Weekend to begin with but gives way to some messed up glitching and forward thinking discomfort, pushing conventional boundaries and taking you down a 22nd century musical rabbit hole.

Nostroke is out now through No Recordings. Order the 7" here.

Hot New Stuff // Looks, Everest

Looks come from London and they need more followers so like them here and follow them here. I don't say this in sympathy, I say it because it's what their Late Of The Pier x Friendly Fires blend of creative guitars and technology deserves.

Hat tip to Don't Need No Melody on another great call.

Battleships, Take Your Rest

FFS Australia, we get it, lots of good music over there, it's almost embarrassing blah blah… Well here's more Ausie gold, this time from Sydney four piece Battleships who rock the Panama/Local Natives vibe very well.

Solomon Grey, Firechild

Elusive UK duo Solomon Grey score a huge electro/R&B/pop crossover win with Firechild, thanks to some relentless, driving, train track shuddering synths. Love this.

Firechild is released on 18th November 2013 through Black Butter Records. Pre-order here.

Sway Clarke II, I Don't Need Much

An incredible introduction to Toronto via Berlin's Sway Clarke II, I Don't Need Much could have easily been sold to a major label artist but thankfully he kept it for himself to rival Frank Ocean's smart future soul.

Live // Nick Mulvey, Rhodes, Sam Fender - Manchester

Friday 8th November
Nick Mulvey || Rhodes || Sam Fender
The Deaf Institute
Manchester

Manchester's historic Deaf Institute served as the perfect host to three of the UK's most promising singer songwriters on a dreary yet enthusiastic Manchester evening. Elevated stepped pew seating, exposed rafters and centuries old wood and stone offered the best acoustics you could demand for stripped back and rustic music. The talented trio were all lone rangers for the night with no hint of accompaniment for any of them. Just as well they were good then.

Sam Fender comes from the North East of England and isn't a name I've come across before and his songwriting was evocative of James Morrison's accessible and well constructed pop for the acoustic guitar romancers. His real strength though lies in his incredible voice which sits somewhere between Ben Howard and George Ezra, the raspy grit, emotion and power in those vocal chords is show stopping and he certainly made an impression tonight.



Rhodes appeared on staged dressed like he was in The xx and that in itself seems to indicate his place amongst singer songwriters. He's not from the usual mould; his songs are soulful and full, his voice gyrates between yearning tenderness and rip roaring intensity and most strikingly he plays the guitar with no band yet without sounding like a solo guitarist. The nights highlight was set closer Always which would have brought even the most hardened criminal bastard to his blubbering knees as the mood from his Raise Your Love EP was magnified and expanded live.



And so to our headliner, Nick Mulvey who received rapturous applause from an adoring full venue. I was curious to see how many of the turnout were there because of his recent Radio 1 playlisting but Nitrous was scarcely the best received song of the night and Mulvey's back catalogue was lapped up by an apparent hardcore of followers. His stripped down cover of Donna Summer's I Feel Love was unexpected and encapsulating and he delivered an hour long masterclass in being a guitar maestro. He expertly blends textures, swells and dips velocity and mood, flexes incredible control and coordination between vocal and guitar and did some transfixing, Spanish finger-fan strum thing to stunning effect. The set ending gratitude and audience photo opportunity was a nice touch too from a talent very much on the rise.

Kove, Lose You

Kove comes from London and makes great big beats. Lose You is shuddering the worlds bass bins for free, via the first lady of dance, Annie Mac.

Gorgon City ft MNEK, Ready For Your Love

Huge, H U G E tune, premiered as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World, Gorgon City featuring MNEK. We're living in a golden age of dance music. (Huge)

ASTR Remix - Bel Heir, Kiss The Devil

We love Bel Heir, we love ASTR and now these two titans of North East American new music collide on one slamming remix the latter did for the former. The snare slaughters everything in sight, love this. The original is here.

IYES, 'Til Infinity

IYES are a delicious electro pop duo from Brighton with delicately sweet vocals and a big fitty of a chorus. This 'Til Infinity song is their best so far. 

'Til Infinity is out now through Duly Noted Records.

Hot New Stuff // Rosie Lowe, Right Thing

Record Of The Week //

Somewhere between The xx, Portishead and Sade, Rosie Lowe's ambient future soul Right Thing is pretty special. It'll start burrowing into your skin as soon as it's finished playing and before you know it, oh, look it's on repeat.

Right Thing is taken from the EP of the same name, released on 2nd December 2013 through 37 Adventures.

Royal Blood, Come On Over

Royal Blood are absolutely owning UK rock music right now. This is another killer dose and they recon it's only worthy of being a B-side.

Hot New Stuff // Broods, Bridges

Broods are a two piece from Aukland and Bridges is the sound of the world falling in love with it's favourite new electro pop band. Free download over here.

Bombay Bicycle Club, Carry Me

Bombay Bicycle Club never fail to deliver in the creativity stakes and Carry Me is another stroke of magic, bursting at the seams with ideas and a fresh take on the bands sound. This is bloody amazing. Go here for the interactive video.

Pompeya, Power

Moscow four-piece Pompeya seem like a funky bunch. Power is a vibrant, clavi-synth-sunshine extravaganza with funky ass bass, uplifting disco beats and a strong statement of a purple suit.

Power is taken from Tropical, out now through No Shame, available digitally and on 12" here.

NONONO, Scared

I have to be honest, Pumping Blood didn't really do it for me (I am in the minority, I know) but Scared, a track NONONO did for the forthcoming Kitsune Maison Compilation 15 has got me in a big way. It's a slow burner with cool grooves, beauty and hooks for days. Pretty addicted to this actually.

George Ezra, Budapest

Observers of the British Broadcasting Corporation will note that George Ezra's lovely Budapest has been featured in the recent BBC Introducing adverts and was Zane Lowe's record of the week this week. Not bad eh? Free download.