ListenUp
The quirky Kelley Stoltz, a stunning 3D alternate universe by Sevdaliza and more in this week’s musical round-up
Synkro: Midnight Sun
Manchester, UK-based electronic music producer Synkro searches for the emotion within his instrumental tracks, regardless of what genre he’s experimenting with. The track “Midnight Sun,” off of Synkro’s debut album Changes, set to release this September, shows the influence of both Boards of Canada and early electronica and propels the listener forward with beautifully layered beats and beckoning warm synths. The accompanying music video enhances this transcendental journey with minimalist black-and-white artwork—simple moving lines and shapes—that narcotizes.
Sevdaliza: That Other Girl
Iran-born, Netherlands-based singer Sevdaliza has just released a video for her arresting and minimalist song “That Other Girl.” Made in collaboration with experimental artists Pussykrew, the visuals are a glossy, metallic, dripping, surreal journey through an eerily still alternate universe. As Sevdaliza’s lyrics aptly explain, she is “operating from another world.”
Kelela: Rewind
Kelela offers another taste of her upcoming EP Hallucinogen, now scheduled for a 9 October release (delayed from its original May date). “Rewind” is much more straightforward in its beats, in contrast to her last single “A Message,” but features the arousing, sensuous vocals that we’ve come to desire from Kelela. She seems to hover somewhere above us mere mortals.
Kelley Stoltz: Cut Me Baby
San Francisco-based DIY bard and multi-instrumentalist Kelley Stoltz shares “Cut Me Baby” off of his upcoming album In Triangle Time, a collection of “future classics” that will release in November by Castle Face Records. The lo-fi, soft rock tune shows off Stoltz’s home recording and production prowess and, of course, his captivating quirkiness. And that’s not all: Stoltz will be releasing two other albums in October: a four-track EP of material 4 New Cuts, and an LP under Stoltz’s alternate universe ego, Willie Weird.
Car Seat Headrest: Something Soon
Will Toledo is pretty prolific for a 22-year-old: he’s already churned out 11 albums straight to Bandcamp in the past five years. Under the moniker Car Seat Headrest (not wanting to be audible to his family, Toledo would take his computer and drive to empty parking lots to sing and record vocals), the singer-songwriter reworks his material with a full band for an official debut album, Teens Of Style, out on 30 October 2015 through Matador Records. Check out the ruthless, anxiety-inducing video for “Something Soon,” which sadistically gives Toledo his own flaming funeral.
ListenUp is a Cool Hunting series published every Sunday that rounds up the music we tweeted throughout the week, also found in Listen. Hear the year so far via Cool Hunting Spotify.
