ListenUp
James Murphy’s Bowie remix, Kishi Bashi, Boston Bun’s “Flasher” and more in our look at the songs we tweeted this week
Fatima: Black Dough (prod. fLako)
The stylish doyenne of London-based Eglo Records, Swedish songstress Fatima offers up the B-side to her forthcoming single “Family/La Neta” with the Bandcamp teaser “Black Dough.” Produced by burgeoning beatmaker fLako—a self-described “soul-documentarian”—the song reflects not only their seemingly instinctual harmony together, but their common ground as artists who are able to meld playful compositions with velvety smooth, confident deliveries. Hopefully there’s a full-length album on the horizon, but for now enjoy “Black Dough” online and pick up the single on 12-inch vinyl from Eglo on 18 November 2013.
Boston Bun: Flasher
Boston Bun is French artist Thibaud Noyer, who wooed Busy P with his gritty Chicago house-influenced demo “Housecall”—making Boston Bun the newest addition to the tight-knit Ed Banger family, and the two now share a studio together in Paris. Boston Bun’s new single “Flasher” has a similarly underground club feel with minimal synth bass lines, punctuated by women speaking with indignant rage and a voyeuristic music video starring a Peeping Tom with a camera and ladies jumping in slow motion in front of psychedelic graphics. The rest of his just-released EP, also titled Flasher, is rife with NSFW words and noises over stripped-down rhythms and bass lines.
Aphex Twin: Alberto Balsalm
Niki Roberton, founder of LA-based record label IAMSOUND, is typically busy discovering cutting-edge artists like Charli XCX and Taken By Trees or working on forward-thinking museum gigs at MOCA Los Angeles. But for her #PrivateJam, the industrious young woman chose a classic with Aphex Twin’s “Alberto Balsalm.” She tells us, “I love Aphex Twin; Richard D. James is a genius. I’ve learned a lot about visuals and music from his records. I find his music strangely comforting and always tend to go back and listen when I’m in need of inspiration.”
Kishi Bashi: I Am the Anti-Christ to You
After cutting his teeth in the indie rock scene with the likes of Regina Spektor and Of Montreal, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and general creative virtuoso Kishi Bashi has been a critic favorite since his first solo release in 2011. Along with an insightful interview, the self-directed video for 2012’s “I Am the Anti-Christ to You” reveals a more wistful side of the artist. DIY paper-cut animation contrasted with Bashi’s lush, sprawling soundscape create a living environment that is at once blissful and tragic. Bashi’s music calls to mind the late Arthur Russell—also a trained violinist and electronic composer—with its melange of classical strings, pop structure and electronic elements.
David Bowie: Love is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy for The DFA)
James Murphy’s Hello Steve Reich Mix of David Bowie’s 2013 track “Love is Lost” has a lot going on. There’s the busy Steve Reich “Clapping Music” beginning and bouncy synths reminiscent of Kraftwerk’s “Pocket Calculator” underscoring Bowie’s tumultuous vocals from the original, and a few piano references to “Ashes to Ashes”—a Ziggy Stardust classic. But as you would expect from two respective legends, the 10-minute rework is perfectly mixed and swells into a beautiful, futuristic dance tune. Originally premiered on BBC Radio 6, the song will feature on the three-disc deluxe album The Next Day Extra dropping 5 November 2013.
Published every Sunday, ListenUp takes a deeper look at the music we tweeted about that week. Often we’ll include a musician or notable fan’s surprising personal interests—#PrivateJam exposes their musical guilty pleasure.
