ListenUp
Frank Ocean covers “Moon River,” Dita Von Teese sings with Sébastien Tellier and more
Frank Ocean: Moon River (cover)
There have been hundreds of covers of “Moon River” since the original (performed by Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”) but Frank Ocean’s surprise version—released today—is certainly one of the most beautiful. Pared-back and relying mostly on Ocean’s divine vocals, the track is (in Ocean’s style) both celestial and haunting. This serene cover is more evidence that seemingly everything Ocean touches turns to gold.
Dita Von Teese and Sébastien Tellier: Porcelaine
For her debut self-titled album, Dita Von Teese has enlisted the sublime talents of Sébastien Tellier, who wrote and composed the entire record. Tellier says that the super-dreamy “Porcelaine” is about Von Teese’s skin: “too perfect to be real.” The track is synth-infused and sweet, with the two exchanging verses in French. Sounding a little like a throwback tune from the ’80s, it’s a pretty song and certainly bodes well for the album.
JB Dunckel: Love Machine
An electro-pop love song from JB Dunckel of AIR, “Love Machine” is a hazy, almost sci-fi number. One can easily find innate beauty in the dreamlike orchestration and lyrical repetition. It’s not Dunckel’s first foray into solo material; he released a music video at the end of 2017 for a track from his forthcoming album—and had an acclaimed album release under the name Darkel back in 2006.
Makeness: Stepping Out of Sync
With joyous dancing on the streets mixed up by side-swipe cuts and sequences of blended time, the video for “Stepping Out of Sync” toys with a relatively normal concept and timeline, elevating it into dizzying conceptual territory. It’s fun—as is the Makeness’ (aka Kyle Molleson) track which delivers accessible, exciting dance vibes. The song will appear on his debut album, Loud Patterns, out 6 April.
Mount Kimbie feat. King Krule: Turtle Neck Man
Recorded during the sessions for Mount Kimbie’s Love What Survives last year, “Turtle Neck Man” is a previously unreleased tune featuring frequent collaborator King Krule. Set on a loping synth soundscape, King Krule (aka Archy Marshall) offers a stream-of-consciousness-style spoken word that’s almost stony in delivery. The result is an intoxicating fever dream.
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.
