ListenUp
KAYTRANADA remixes classic TLC, Bonobo and Rhye transcend and more in our musical round-up
Bonobo feat. Rhye: Break Apart
In light of Friday’s Migration album release, it’s worth revisiting musician and producer Bonobo’s exquisite track “Break Apart,” featuring vocals by Milosh of Rhye. Its video, released last month, acts as an ideal counterpart to the song, pairing breathtaking visual landscapes with the song’s sonic developments. The highly anticipated album, from which “Break Apart” is drawn, will contain numerous additional collaborations, including one with Chet Faker.
Alicia Keys: Sweet F’in Love
With a glittery beat and a simple piano melody, Alicia Keys’ new track “Sweet F’in Love” was revealed by her husband, producer Swizz Beats last night, but he doesn’t seem to have had a hand in it. The familiar bounce is KAYTRANADA’s doing, and while the song has just one lyric (plus some of Keys’ spoken word) it’s a lush tune. (Note: Keys only uses the real F-word once at the end.) The sparkly, lithe song is a little different from those on her November release Here, but of course boasts Keys’ unmistakable honeyed tones.
The Visions: Oceans
With a layer of spacious vocally-derived atmosphere atop funk stylings, “Oceans” by Brooklyn-based The Visions plays with listeners’ ears. Brothers Ben and Michael Shugarman and friend Ryan Brooks dress their funky roots with pop and electro punctuation and the result is relaxed but fun.
KAYTRANADA: Flippin On You (TLC Remix)
Always on-point, KAYTRANADA (aka Louis Kevin Celestin) just released another glorious track—this time, a remix of TLC’s classic 1994 song “Diggin’ On You.” This iteration (called “Flippin On You”) is distinctively KAYTRANADA with that trademark ebullience and groove. Along with some distortion and just a couple lines from the original song, the DJ/producer manages to create something very new, without dismissing the lush original version.
Laura Marling: Wild Fire
With an inherent grace to her storytelling, Laura Marling delivers another soulful folk wonder with “Wild Fire.” The second single off the singer/songwriter’s forthcoming album Semper Femina, out 10 March, the track rises with gentle power, driven by Marling’s depth.
The Flaming Lips: Nigdy Nie (Never No)
The psychedelic alt-rock band releases their new album Oczy Mlody today—already streaming in full on Spotify—and it’s the softly sweet accompaniment to your afterparty comedown, as the sun rises. Coyne has explained the title, which means “eyes of the young” in Polish, appealed to him because it phonetically sounded like a “drug.” “We a Famly” features new bestie Miley Cyrus and the Flaming Lips also share a music video for the track “”Nigdy Nie (Never No)”—a beautiful track simply consisting of yeahs and nos.
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.
