ListenUp
Farewell to Dennis Edwards, new music by PJ Harvey, a fascinating piece by Mark Pritchard and more
Dennis Edwards feat. Siedah Garrett: Don’t Look Any Further
Off and on again lead singer for the Temptations, Dennis Edwards has passed away at 74 years old. Fronting one of the world’s most recognizable and timeless groups, Edwards was a pioneer of Motown’s psychedelic soul—thanks to songs like “Cloud Nine” and “I Can’t Get Next To You.” Edwards (who had a background in gospel singing) had a voice that could bounce from smooth to gritty, but was always commanding and full of heart. His solo career peaked with his 1984 duet with Siedah Garrett, “Don’t Look Any Further,” a track with a surging, sexy bass line which has been sampled countless times since. The music video was (and remains) widely regarded as so bad that it’s actually magnificent.
PJ Harvey + Harry Escott: An Acre Of Land
Drawn from the soundtrack of the forthcoming film Dark River, “An Acre of Land” demonstrates a timelessness to PJ Harvey, with her voice unmooring itself from genre and era. A collaboration with composed Harry Escott, the track truly stuns with its beauty and while not a simple track, with layers of instrumentation supporting Harvey, it’s direct and easily enjoyed.
Blood Orange: Black History
Under the title Black History on Soundcloud, Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes) has released two beautiful new tracks: “Christopher & 6th” and “JUNE 12TH.” Celebrating Black History Month, the latter song is a mostly spoken-word piece (“you must love yourself, you must love yourself”) over a drum machine, with a few moments of Hynes’ singing and distorting his voice. “Christopher & 6th” is perhaps more approachable, with Hynes embracing his gorgeous falsetto atop gentle guitars and vulnerable back-up vocals. Each song is exquisite in its own way—and undeniably Blood Orange.
Mark Pritchard feat. Gregory Whitehead: Come Let Us
From his new collection of work The Four Worlds (out 23 March on Warp) comes UK-born, Australia-based Mark Pritchard’s “Come Let Us.” A fascinating track, it features samples of Gregory Whitehead’s “Ziggurat” from Disorder Speech (a 1985 release of audio and radio art) and trippy visuals from the always-impressive Jonathan Zawada. Pritchard pays homage to ’80s cassette culture, avant garde, sound poetry, and dadaism while creating something entirely new.
The Suzan: Desire
With a concept touching upon bizarre Japanese inventions, the video for The Suzan’s “Desire” is an experience unlike any other. Director Yu Nakajima addresses human desire in various other ways, many of which are comedic, and unexpected shots are bound by a thematic color spectrum. The track itself is wild but pop-friendly and easy to play on repeat.
Katie Dey: Data
Like a blanket of warmth laid over a cold, digital world, Melbourne-based musician Katie Dey delivers “Data,” a love song to the cloud. Piano- and vocals-driven, the track’s emotional strength nods to Kate Bush but this is something entirely and unexpectedly Dey.
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.
