Fluid silkiness radiates from Lady Lazarus, moniker of LA singer-songwriter Melissa Aan Sweat. A new video for the track "Argosy" may have snuck past some of us early last week. Her folk-experimental nature lures you into a bohemian-esque world of ceremonial ritual. While sensing a whimsical ambience, the firm and repetitive piano chords comfortably drift us near a lucidly haunting dream. The entire aura of this piece drowns in beauty.
If you enjoyed "Argosy", check out the remainder of her album, All My Love In Half Light.
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Important announcement: Due to an unfortunate overlap with Berlin outfit Nadine and the Prussians who are going to perform at Schokoladen at 2pm tomorrow, the show by 케이프 on our Torstraßen Festival stage at CCCP has been postponed to 2.45pm. That time will now also mark the official beginning of all things NFOP x TSF13. See you there tomorrow.
Revisit 케이프's latest tunes below:
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DJ Rashad’s latest track, “I Don’t Give a Fuck”, sees the producer continuing to push the footwork genre forward. The song is built around a vocal sample saying “I don’t give a fuck” (occasionally adding “about you” or “about myself” to the end of the statement). Set against a sparse production of some percussion and intermittent beeping, “I Don’t Give a Fuck” is close to being the darkest Rashad has gone, while still keeping one foot squarely in the dance floor.
Listen to “I Don’t Give a Fuck” below. I Don’t Give a Fuck EP is available from Hyperdub.
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The graphically-named Los Angeles duo, Skin Town, will be releasing their debut album The Room on October 28 on the always reliable Time No Place. The album's first single, "Slidin'", has a synth that is nudging by Nick Turco (who does piano and synth for Zola Jesus, too) and masked charges of piano. Singer Grace Hall yearns "I want you to touch me right here" but nothing about the song is oversexed. In light of recent events, Hall and Turco's music falls on the right side of sexy (Ciara fits the bill for this too). Hall waits to really belt when she sings: "Teach me how to slide...All you have to do is stay right here" and that's what makes everything work even better and suddenly it's like it's 2011 and we're listening to Kelly Rowland's "Motivation."
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Hecker is undoubtedly one of the main dudes of ambient loop music. His acumen, fittingly endorsed by Kranky over the years, is at this point a stunning aural spectacle. It is however refreshing to learn that "Virginal II," a preview track taken from Hecker's forthcoming Virgins, hooks us with something other than blaring electric organ discord and drone. The track fades in with a dulcimeric cadence which is eventually taken over by a stinging rush of confused and shimmering synth, Hecker style. The synth is only for a moment victorious. It suggestively mimicks the chords already produced by the dulcimer loop, an effect creating a hint of progression, before thinning out to stringy resonance. The song behaves like a response to a beckoning to "hold that note" and cultivate relentless repetition, something momumentally represented in the work of Bvdub.
Virgins will be available October 14 on Kranky and Paper Bag Records.
Last month, we premiered UNKWON's amazing remix of Danish loner Frederik Sølberg aka Rough Days For Diamond Trade's equally brilliant single "Somehow", taken from the upcoming Somehow Remixed. Today we present another rework off of that EP, Yen Sleep's reimagination of "Doubtful Mind". Yen Sleep is the side project of Danish outfit Spleen United member Kasper Nørlund, and although this might all seem like a very closed off affair between some likeminded compatriots, everything sounds compellingly fresh and open-minded. Nørlund's version is distinctly leaning towards house, without neglecting Sølberg's beautifully melancholic twist. Take a listen below.
Somehow Remixed is out September 5 via Looking Forward.
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Currently living in Berlin but born/raised in Adelaide, Jian Kellet Liew makes dreamy music as Kyson. Mixing together intricate synthesizers and obscure live percussion, his sound is smooth and moving. "How Long", the first taste we got of his forthcoming debut LP The Water's Way is a silky ballad, incorporating vaguely R&B-influenced vocals over dimmed synths before building into a dreamscape. Continuing that trend, "How Long" grows slowly and numbs in the process, retaining an overall sense of familiarity and anticipation. It's a nice preview to Kyson's tendency to intoxicate listeners.
The Water's Way will be released on September 24 via Los Angeles label Friends of Friends. Listen to "Missing Things" and "How Long" below.
It took us a little bit longer than we had hoped, but last night, Interview Magazine finally premiered the b-side of our second Stratosfear 7" - and we couldn't be more proud. The wonderfully wistful, classic pop song "Vagabond Dreamer" comes courtesy of Philadelphia-based The Interest Group, the latest project founded by NFOP veteran Yohsuke Araki (of BAnanas Symphony and Blackhawks) together with Marissa Lesnick – plus Kyle Garvey, Matthew Keller, and Steve Urgo to transfer the duo's brilliant songwriting knack to a full-band setting. Read some words about "Vagabond Dreamer" by its authors over at Interview Magazine, and take a listen to the song below.
The Passenger b/w Vagabond Dreamer is out now. Head over here to order your copy of beautiful 7" vinyl or get it digitally via iTunes.
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