Listen Up
Five new songs that defy classification
Rico Nasty: Magic
Genre-bending rapper, singer and songwriter Rico Nasty takes a slight departure from her previous releases with the more R&B-leaning “Magic.” The catchy song (which she co-wrote with Vincent van den Ende, Romano Wijnstein, Ramon Ginton and Amit Nagra) will appear on her upcoming mixtape, Rx. The LA-based, Brooklyn-born artists says she wanted the track to “bring out another side of you and almost feel like you’re being taken over by Magic.”
LOONY feat. Pell: Mine
Toronto-based R&B singer-songwriter LOONY teams up with rapper, musician and producer Pell (aka Jared Pellerin) for the silken song “Mine.” From her soft thing EP, the hazy tracks tells the tale of a nighttime relationship. “Never enough you for me / 24 hours, nocturnal, I’ll travel / Anywhere that makes daylight move faster,” she sings on the sultry track.
Amen Dunes feat. Sleaford Mods: Feel Nothing
Amen Dunes, the amorphous musical project of recording artist Damon McMahon, returns after three years with “Feel Nothing,” their first track to come via Sub Pop. Co-produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and featuring vocal contributions from Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods and synths by collaborator Panoram, the track is an engrossing, evolving sonic experience that does, in fact, cause listeners to feel something. Repeat listens reveal the depths of dimension and nuance—which, in turn, offer moments of reflection but sometimes antagonize a little dance party for one’s brain.
Natalie Bergman + Beck: You’ve Got A Woman
Part of a two-track collaboration with Beck, Natalie Bergman’s cover of Lion’s “You’ve Got A Woman” finds the Wild Belle vocalist—fresh off the release of her debut solo album, Mercy—dueting with the iconic recording artist. It’s a soulful, smooth and laidback single. For their collaboration, Beck also remixed Bergman’s “Paint the Rain,” emphasizing the song’s ethereal but energized atmosphere.
Nite Jewel: This Time
Nite Jewel (aka Ramona Gonzalez) makes a welcome return, four years after her last solo release, with the announcement of her upcoming record, No Sun. Out in August, the album features “This Time,” a slow-burning, delicate tune that the artist says is “a deconstructed ode to Prince.” Leaving plenty of quiet moments in the song, the LA-based singer-songwriter creates space for listeners to revel in the piece’s gentle magic. The album, her press release states, “questions and remodels the archetype of female pain.”
Listen Up is published every Sunday and rounds up the new music we found throughout the week. Hear the year so far on our Spotify channel. Hero courtesy of Nite Jewel
