Los Angeles rapper Duckwrth is back with a new single called “4K.” It’s about life during the pandemic and it features extra verses from his friend and fellow rapper Phabo. Stream it below. “Right when outside started opening up and everyone started flocking to Tulum and Hawaii… that’s what ‘4K’ is about. Trying to adjust and acclimate while still having fun,” said Duckwrth in a press release. “It’s the paradox of the recurring line, ‘Was your pandemic popping?’ ‘4K’ is a movie, and that’s what the pandemic turned into when we were let loose.” Musically, “4K” blends loopy chillwave synths with a bouncy, skittering beat that’s perfect for the final weeks of summer. Both Duckwrth and Phabo sound relaxed as they drop line after line about adjusting to a new world without sacraficing their sen...
Mount Kimbie are back with a pair of new songs. “Black Stone” and “Blue Liquid,” originally recorded during the sessions for the electronic band’s 2017 album Love What Survives, are now finally seeing the light of day to commemorate the acclaimed record’s fourth anniversary. “Black Stone” and “Blue Liquid” are both instrumental tracks that feel right in line with the mellowed-out UK garage feel of Love What Survives, featuring chugging synths, stirring backbeats, and industrial embellishments. Though Mount Kimbie have yet to announce their next album together, new music is on the horizon: “We spent some time together writing new music in the desert,” the band wrote in a recent tweet. “Both very hyped about what we put down — Just got to piece it all together now to release it.” They follow...
Joni Mitchell has been an icon for so long that it’s hard to imagine that she, like most of us, was once a regular, fledgling 20-something, who just happened to possess an insane amount of talent. A massive new box set, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971), due out October 29th captures the prolific songwriter during that defining era. Included in the box set is an unearthed recording captured by Jimi Hendrix, who saw Mitchell in action during her two-week residency at Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa, Ontario, before his death. As a preview of the collection, Hendrix’s recording of Mitchell performing “The Downtreader” is now available to stream below. Hendrix’s tape recorder from his night at Mitchell’s concert was stolen just a few days after the show. T...
Turnstile have unleashed the new song “Blackout” as the latest single from their forthcoming album, Glow On. In addition, the band has unveiled dates for a fall 2021 US tour with hip-hop acts $uicideboy$ and Slowthai. Following the recent release of the chill-out song “Alien Love Call” (featuring Blood Orange), “Blackout” offers a wide range from Turnstile’s eclectic musical palette, including melodic verses, a hardcore chorus, and improvisational drum solos. The song is accompanied by a music video featuring animation by Alexis Jamet and Logan Triplett. Glow On will arrive on August 27th, and was preceded by the recent Turnstile Love Connection EP. With all four tracks from the EP (including the anthemic “Mystery”) included on the full-length album, we’ve now heard six songs from the 15-s...
Though Georgia Maq might be known as the ferocious vocalist of Aussie emo-punks Camp Cope, her solo debut, 2019’s Pleaser, swapped out her band’s scrappy DIY feel for polished synths and softer vocals. Today, Maq has released her latest single “Someone Stranger,” which sees her delving even further into full-fledged pop. With production handled by Melbourne electronic musician Alice Ivy, “Someone Stranger” is Maq’s shot at a true banger, sounding tailor-made for pop radio and foggy dance floors. The lyrics meditate on loneliness, and the role that dancing and nights out play in human connection. She channels Robyn with her arena-sized hooks: “I wander the halls of the nightclub/ And I’ll dance without anyone/ Touch my body, I feel something,” she sings, before a massive beat drop take...
Ava Maybee is a Los Angeles-based musician who writes indie pop songs with a funk undercurrent. She’s also the daughter of Chad Smith, the drummer in Red Hot Chili Peppers and the internet’s favorite Will Ferrell lookalike. Over the weekend, she paid tribute to her dad’s band by covering “Universally Speaking” on Instagram, notes Exclaim. Check it out below. “Universally Speaking” originally appeared on Red Hot Chili Peppers’ classic 2002 album By the Way. It’s a poppy number full of vibrant guitar riffs and hard-hitting yet simple drums. But in the hands of Ava Maybee, the single turns into a moving piano ballad with gentle background ambiance. She’s got a naturally deep voice, and hearing it stripped down for this cover song makes it obvious just how talented of a singer she re...
Travis Scott took to the stage at Rolling Loud Miami on Saturday night with a surprise in store for crowd: the live debut of his new song “Escape Plan.” The rapper kicked off his headlining set with the high-octane track, dressed in a neon green jacket and oversized jeans while on a suspended platform high above the stage. “Twelve figure state plan, that was the escape plan/ But hate investigatin’, that sh-t was a waistband/ But wait, I stopped the facin’ ’cause sh-t just start erasin’/ But wait, it opened gates and this shit just start paradin’, olé/ We out the basement, on one floor where it’s vacant/ She feelin’ anxious to be out where it’s dangerous/ Love all the chains and especially how I bang it/ Jamaica-Spanglish, she mixed up in her language,” he shouted on the chorus as the massi...
Somehow, an entire year has passed since Taylor Swift surprise-dropped her eighth studio album, folklore. To celebrate the anniversary, the singer-songwriter has gifted Swifties with an original version of “the lakes,” the album’s bonus track. “It’s been 1 year since we escaped the real world together and imagined ourselves someplace simpler,” Swift wrote on social media. “With tall trees & salt air. Where you can wear lace nightgowns that make you look like a Victorian ghost & no one will side eye you cause no one is around.” “To say thank you for all you have done to make this album what it was, I wanted to give you the original version of The Lakes. Happy 1 year anniversary to Rebekah, Betty, Inez, James, Augustine and the stories we all created around them. Happy Anniversary, f...
Isaiah Rashad has dropped his latest single “Wat U Sed” featuring guest turns by both Doechii and Kal Banx. Stream it below. Set over a steady undercurrent of sustained synth, Rashad kicks things off with a laidback stanza recounting a “nightmare” he had involving way too many females who weren’t his current flame. While Rashad and Banx rap their respective verses and refrains, the track takes a melodic turn when Doechii takes the reins. “Lookin’ back when it spazz with your curls and your ass out/ Bad like a girl from the ave, goin’ anti/ Keep it bad, pop a tag, go and let it air out/ Drop it fast, let it spazz, go and let your hair down,” she croons on the second verse. Advertisement Related Video “Wat U Sed” is set to be included on Rashad’s forthcoming sophomore album The House is Burn...
After lots of hype, The Sims 4 expansion pack Cottage Living finally hit stores yesterday. The release includes songs by Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus sung in in Simlish, the game’s in-universe gibberish language. For Cottage Living, Baker decided to tackle her Little Oblivions track “Faith Healer,” which sounds surprisingly natural despite the fact that she’s singing made-up words. Baker even adds in the trills and falsetto climbs that occur in the original version of the song! It’s creative and fun, and yes, packs plenty of emotion despite incoherent lyrics. As for Dacus, she chose to perform her Home Video song “Hot & Heavy” for the game. Like Baker, she seems to navigate the familiar-yet-not complexities of Simlish surprisingly well. It almost sounds like Dacus has sung “Hot &a...
Beggars Arkive has unveiled a long-awaited collection of Gary Numan’s hit singles in a brand-new box set, The Singles Collection 1978-1983. The 15 singles and accompanying B-sides span the electronic pioneer’s work from 1978 through 1983, exclusively on translucent vinyl in red, blue, and green. Each set comes complete with a white vinyl DJ case as well as a 64-page tri-color booklet featuring “front and back sleeve images, notes, recording and original release information for each single plus and archival images,” according to a release. Numan’s box set will be available November 5th via both the Beggars Arkive webstore and the artist’s website, with only 2000 limited-edition copies made worldwide. Check out the collection’s special packaging and complete tracklist after the jump. Ad...
Producer Brady Watt has teamed up with Westside Gunn and DJ Premier for their new collaborative single, “The Narcissist.” Along with the two-and-a-half minute track, the artists have shared a music video animated by cartoonist Jim Warren to bring the track’s lyrics to life. “The Narcissist” opens with a drumless, twinkly synth riff, and the beat gradually builds into a swirling instrumental with a jazzy bassline. “I cooked up this composition how I usually do, just jamming in the studio,” Watt explained in a press release. “I used three basses on this; my fretted, fretless, and upright…This song really manifested itself, and I’m honored to have my name next to these titans.” DJ Premier added, “This one was more of me listening to Brady’s direction and vision. I felt like it needed some dru...