ListenUp
An empowering #PrivateJam, SBTRKT goes Higher, Metronomy’s mind-bending music video and more in the songs we tweeted this week
Lo Fang: When We’re Fire (Cello Version)
After garnering much acclaim while supporting Lorde on her most recent tour, Lo Fang has just announced a new mixtape and a listen reveals the work to be as impressive as his live act. This EP, Every Night, is available on 30 September 2014 and features a new cello version of his single “When We’re Fire.” There’s a majesty to his voice and the delicately throbbing string instrument calls to mind a more mellow version of Nick Drake’s “Cello Song.” There’s something haunting to the arrangement—intimate, thoughtful and, at times, piercing.
Metronomy: Month of Sundays
British artist and filmmaker Callum Cooper applied his experimental, MC Escher-like approach to Metronomy’s new song “Month of Sundays” (from their fourth album Love Letters). The result is a dizzying look at the band, as well as London’s iconic Barbican and other Brutalist buildings around town. Cooper—who used a specially made “utilitarian sculpture” that doubled as a camera mount—tells Nowness, “This architecture speaks of a shattered dream in a way.” The concept perfectly matches the tune’s melancholic yet progressive nature.
Drake: 0 to 100
This week’s #PrivateJam comes from Courtney Lowery, Senior Director of Publicity at Sony—whose clients include Future, Yo Gotti, Travis Scott, Bobby Shmurda and Kat Dahlia, to name a few. A bonafide music enthusiast as well as an industry professional, Lowery tells us: “I LOVE ‘0 to 100‘ by Drake. Whether I’m in my car, a club, my office, home or front row at his concert, something comes over me and takes me to another level. I turn the tune all the way up and simply ‘ZONE OUT.’ It empowers me and puts me in a place where I feel invincible. Every time I hear the song, it’s like the very time I’ve experienced it.”
SBTRKT: Higher (ft. Raury)
The generous SBTRKT has been dropping tracks here and there over the past year—from “Runaway” with Jessie Ware to the instrumental EP series Transitions. Known for his tight production, the masked UK electronic musician teases us yet again with the release of two songs off his upcoming album Wonder Where We Land, out via Young Turks at the end of September. In “Higher,” SBTRKT lets emerging Atlanta-based singer/rapper Raury take the spotlight, supporting his vocals with toned-down bare beats and “Ayo Technology” vibes. If “Higher” is your vibe give the jazzed-out, experimental “Voices in My Head” featuring A$AP Ferg and Warpaint a listen too.
Dntel: Ashby
Jimmy Tamborello—also known as Dntel—has remained relatively quiet since the runaway success of his side project The Postal Service with Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard in 2003. This week, the LA-based minimalist electronic artist released a new single from his upcoming full-length Human Voice out 23 September on Leaving Records. “Ashby” is a four-minute track that sounds and feels much larger. Tamborello builds a vast sonic landscape that takes on a life of its own, calling to mind Brian Eno’s structured ambience. Cerebral, layered synths and digitally altered vocals have never sounded so full of human emotion.
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.
