Listen Up
Silky neo-soul, funk-laden pop, dreamy R&B and more new music
Gabrielle Current: Make It Right
The opening track on Gabrielle Current’s recently released debut EP Virgo, “Make It Right,” is a silky, lush tune tinged with elements of ’90s and early 2000s R&B. The five-track release carries on the theme, blending neo-soul with R&B and jazz for a gossamer sound that’s buoyed by the LA-based artist’s honeyed vocals.
quickly, quickly: Everything is Different (To Me)
Portland, Oregon-based quickly, quickly (aka Graham Jonson) wrote, produced and played almost everything on his forthcoming LP, The Long and Short of It, out on Ghostly International this August. The self-reflective, layered and almost meditative track “Everything is Different (To Me)” releases today with an official music video. It follows “Feel,” a refreshed introduction to Jonson’s sonic style and the way he seamlessly weaves together diverse influences.
Genesis Owusu: Same Thing
Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu (aka Kofi Owusu-Ansah) released his debut album Smiling with No Teeth just months ago, but quickly follows it with the dazzling, synth- and funk-drenched “Same Thing”—a song that was recorded during the SWNT sessions, but ultimately didn’t make the record. Owusu says the band made some 60 hours of music. “The songs chosen for the album conveyed a very specific narrative, but we also made a lot of great music that didn’t necessarily fit the album’s narrative points. ‘Same Thing’ was one of the tracks born from the seemingly limitless SWNT” he says. “The track is still in the realm of the album’s themes of mental health (more specifically, the crazy shit the mind makes up).” The song comes accompanied by a trippy, colorful video by Byron Spencer.
Janette King: Ooh Yeah
From Montreal-based producer and recording artist Janette King’s forthcoming debut album, What We Lost (out 25 June), the soulful R&B track “Ooh Yeah” aligns thoughtful, self-reflective lyrics with dreamy vocals. King says in a statement, “‘Ooh Yeah’ is about breaking trauma patterns, “killing” your old self in order to be reborn into the greatest version of yourself. This idea of walking into a new sense of self came from the forced time alone due to the pandemic where I was left to reflect and learn what my soul truly needs in order to feel whole.”
Buzzy Lee: Strange Town (Julia Holter Edit)
Singer, songwriter and producer Julia Holter remixes “Strange Town,” a single from Spoiled Love, the debut album of fellow LA-based musician Buzzy Lee (aka Sasha Spielberg). Spielberg’s captivating debut released in January 2021, with production collaboration from Nicolas Jaar. As with the original track, Spielberg’s vocals entrance; Holter, however, enhances the entire enveloping and ethereal nature.
Listen Up is published every Sunday and rounds up the new music we found throughout the week. Hear the year so far on our Spotify channel. Hero courtesy of Genesis Owusu and Byron Spencer
