Scala and Kolacny Brothers - Heartbeats
Scala and Kolacny Brothers came to my attention when their haunting cover of ‘Creep’ was used in the trailor for The Social Network to great effect, but I never really sought anything else they’d done until now. Diplo featured this on a mix and it’s the best cover of Heartbeats I’ve heard. Beautiful.
Twigs - Breathe
Potentially the new Grimes in terms of hype and style, but let’s not pretend Grimes isn’t still completely relevent. Twigs seems to have more of an r&b, Aaliyah-influenced sound, spawned from the xx’s intimacy but with more splintering electro background noise. She’s got an i-D cover to her name, and is probably the sound of 2013.
Otis Redding - White Christmas
The most perfect Christmas song? Probably?
Turns out I posted this song at almost the same day last year. Guess I just want to be home.
Earl Sweatshirt - Chum
I guess it’s like when I struggled to understand why Tyler, The Creator made a track with the Game (that only seemed to rip off Tyler’s own style yet has somehow managed to rack up 17mill hits??) but I just feel like A$AP is too cool for this? Kendrick too to a point. Neither of them should not have to work with a rapper as mindless as 2 Chainz; as much as I enjoy Birthday Song, I don’t see the point of him. Drake’s got ‘The Motto’ attitude but I think we all prefer him when he’s miserable.
King Krule - Rock Bottom
King Krule (previously Zoo Kid) has been making music for a couple of years now, and I still find it difficult to understand why he isn’t more widely known. You have an artist like Jake Bugg who is recycling a tired Bob Dylan sound with a ‘brit-grit’ Oasis aesthetic and quickly becoming one of the most boring British artists in the mainstream (a mighty feat considering the charts have been full of watered-down grime, x-factor finalists, and the same 5 American hip-hop/r&b/pop artists for the past few years), who has made an album which is worshipped by radio 1 and critically acclaimed despite aforementioned unoriginality… and King Krule is subtlety creating experimental/indie/trip-hop/I-don’t-know-what in a really unexpected and interesting way and still being kept on the DL. I don’t think chart-crossover is a good thing or proof of worthiness (it quite clearly isn’t) but I find it frustrating when an artist who could grow into something influential is passed over in favour of something safe.
I guess it’s not the chart attention but more the praise from music journalists whom I respect that bothers me about Bugg. I do not understand his appeal and I think it is fleeting.
Charli XCX - Cloud Aura ft Brooke Candy
I enjoyed the track when the video came out a few days ago but I downloaded Charli XCX’s mixtape (free here) and finally had it on replay today for a while. Brooke Candy’s aggressive American rap with Charli’s English drawl works surprisingly well; American/English rap crossovers are becoming more common - particularly for female artists (Azealia Banks X Shystie) - and will hopefully help to showcase the talent that’s out there. Watered-down Grime made a little dent on the American chart thanks to Tinie Tempah, but maybe now’s the time for (British) female rappers to hit the mainstream.
