ListenUp
Casey Spooner’s #PrivateJam, Darkside’s final tunes, Lauryn Hill sings about racism in the US and more in the music we tweeted this week
Gorgeous Children: How We Do It
Starting out with playful tooting and honking that sounds like it belongs in an old-fashioned animation, Gorgeous Children’s “How We Do It” quickly morphs into a breezy, but ultimately sex-driven song. Made up of rapper Face Vega and producer Gilamonsta, the hip-hop duo is signed to Jacques Greene’s label Vase. With Vega’s occasionally breathy, bravado-heavy vocals gliding perfectly atop Gilamonsta’s cruisey beats, this languidly bouncy track is just the right blend of summer and sleaze, perfect for end of season dance parties.
Darkside: What They Say
Although they officially formed in 2011 with an experimental three-track EP, it was last summer that saw Darkside gain a cult following when they remixed the entirety of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. The duo quickly followed up with an LP called Psychic, furthering fans’ admiration. Now, Dazed has announced that Darkside’s independently successful musicians—Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington—are splitting up to pursue other projects. To mark the occasion, they released two tracks that didn’t make it onto their album—the “Paper Trails”-like, aptly named “Gone Too Soon” and the spasmodic instrumental, “What They Say.”
Beyonce: Drunk in Love (Brenmar and Finesse remix)
Casey Spooner, frontman of Fischerspooner, brought us this week’s #PrivateJam during an interview about his upcoming book (stay tuned for that soon). He tells us that he’s admittedly all over the place musically, but: “I’m currently listening to a really weird combination. I’m still into the new Beyonce record, but am also into this weird French electronic music from a producer called French Fries—it’s super minimal techno, no vocals, very empty, incredible on the dance floor. Then I found this “Drunk in Love” remix by Brenmar and Fiinesse—it’s so good. Super Hard. So the two things kind of merge.”
Lauryn Hill: Black Rage (Sketch)
After the recent shooting of unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, controversy ensued with race relations at the forefront. An outpouring of responses came in from various stakeholders and commentators, but few hold the power, creativity and simplicity of Lauryn Hill’s “Black Rage (Sketch).” Set to the tune of “My Favorite Things,” the lo-fi track was recorded in the artist’s living room. It’s the first we’ve heard from Hill—who rose to fame in the late ’90s with the Fugees—in nearly a year, but her perspective is a welcome one and her astute lyrical work is as sharp as ever.
Le Sins: Bother
Toro Y Moi, or Chaz Bundick, has dabbled in making dance-ier house music under the Les Sins moniker for some time, like 2012’s singles “Fetch” and “Taken.” This fall, Bundick further develops the alter-ego he’s built with a full-length LP Michael, and this week he’s shared the first single, “Bother“—an aggressive but catchy beat that echoes the repetitive style of Simian Mobile Disco’s debut album. Two and a half minutes into the track, the dancing transcends to an out-of-body, other-worldly experience. Michael drops 4 November 2014 via Bundick’s new label, Company.
ListenUp is a Cool Hunting series published every Sunday that takes a deeper look at the music we tweeted throughout the week. Often we’ll include a musician or notable fan’s personal favorite in a song or album dubbed #PrivateJam.
