After putting out garage rock records for the last two decades, King Khan is looking to try something new on his next effort. Enter: The Infinite Ones, his first-ever jazz album, due out October 30th via Ernest Jenning Record Co. and Khannibalism. The 11-track effort boasts contributions from Sun Ra Arkestra members Marshall Allen and Knoel Scott. Calexico bandmates John Convertino and Martin Wenk also appear on select songs. According to King Khan, The Infinite Ones comes from “a place from deep within the soul” and serves as a tribute to iconic composers like Alice Coltrane, Ennio Morricone, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Carpenter, and Quincy Jones. The Canadian musician explained further, “In my 23 years of being a composer of music I have had the great opportunity to score severa...
Earlier this year, Hop Along frontwoman Frances Quinlan issued her excellent debut under her own name, Likewise. The album quickly became one of our favorite of the year — though technically speaking it wasn’t her first solo release. She initially launched Hop Along as a solo project, dropping the freshman year LP back in 2005. Today, in celebration of that record’s 15th anniversary, Quinlan has released it to streaming services for the very first time, in addition to sharing a brand new EP of tracks from that era called more songs from 2005. The sessions that led to freshman year and (eventually) more songs from 2005 were as DIY as can be. Quinlan recorded in her parents basement in the Pennsylvania suburbs, with additional backing vocals and field sounds picked up everywhere from a house...
St. Vincent (photo by Ben Kaye) and Julia Stone (photo by Brooke Ashley Barone) Julia Stone returned this past July with her first solo single in eight years, “Break”, produced by St. Vincent. It turns out there’s quite a lot more to come from this pair, as a “greater body of work” is eventually coming down the line, according a statement. As another preview of this larger collaborative project, Stone and St. Vincent are now sharing a new track called “Unreal”. Not unlike her previous offering, Stone again sidelines her folk roots here, leaning further into synthpop territory. It’s a new look for the veteran Australian songwriter, but one that works in much the same way acts such as Sylvan Esso have built electronic music using the foundation of folk stylings. According to Stone, this late...
Dual threat rapper/singer Saint Bodhi pops off on a cheating partner in the new song “Gold Revolver”. A former ghostwriter, the 27-year-old SoCal native earned her stripes collaborating with Beyoncé, Kevin Gates, Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, and more. Now a solo artist signed to Def Jam, she first made waves in August of 2019 with the hard-luck R&B of “FlowerChild”, and then returned in the spring of this year with the balls-to-the-wall banger “Bad Mood”. “Gold Revolver” is her most exciting release yet. Over haunting pipes and head-nodding drums, Saint Bodhi raps a tale of violent madness worthy of early Eminem. “Yo, I have a n—- hogtied to the furnace/ Bitch should’ve watched his words/ I’m slipping in my mental/ I’m whispering to the birds.” The narrator’s unfaithful partner is in for a...
George Clinton (photo by Raj Gupta) and Nina Hagen (photo by Christliches Medienmagazin) Nina Hagen, a longtime fixture of Germany’s punk and new wave scenes, has teamed up with funk legend George Clinton for a new song called “Unity”. It’s the first single she’s released in nearly nine years. According to Hagen, “Unity” was written and recorded following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests that took place worldwide. As such, she intended for the song to serve as an “homage to the Black Lives Matter movement,” reports Pitchfork. Musically, “Unity” is a trippy dub number that sees Hagen and Clinton getting lost in an atmospheric beat. While gentle keys and hi-hat stutters guide the song, Hagen sings about people coming together for the greater good in equal parts rasp and...
Arca returned this past spring with her acclaimed new album called KiCk I, which touts high-profile collaborations with Björk, Rosalía, and SOPHIE. Now, to coincide with Bandcamp Friday, the electronic music producer has unveiled the latest installment in her Mutants Mixtape compilation series, and it features a new solo offering called “Mallorca”. Clocking in at two-and-a-half minutes, the track finds Alejandra Ghersi conjuring an ambient yet shapeshifting world — one that’s fluid and multi-faceted in nature, much like Arca herself. “I’m asking for recognition that we have multiple selves without denying that there’s a singular unit,” Arca told Paper earlier this year, in a discussion about her identity as a Latinx trans woman. “I want to be seen as an ecosystem of minor self-states ...
Lil Durk has shared a surprise new single called “The Voice”, as well as a corresponding music video. The track finds the Chicago MC ruminating on the rough times he’s going through. “Money ran low right, felons can’t vote, right?/ I can’t even vote for who I believe in, shit ain’t goin’ right,” Lil Durk spits over a wistful yet clacking beat from TurnmeupJosh. “I just dropped a tear inside the funeral, ain’t more right?” Even if it’s hard to connect with some of the finer details, the overall feeling is still something to which we can all likely relate. “The Voice” is accompanied by a simple visual that depicts Lil Durk rapping in front of a fleet of white cars and on a private jet. Take a look below. Editors’ Picks Lil Durk’s latest solo offering comes amidst a summer season filled...
Following the release of their Women in Music Pt. III in June, Haim just dropped a remix bundle called The Summer Girl Remixes Volume 1. The new set includes five versions of the track, featuring Lauren Auder, mmph, Amber Mark, Solomonophonic as well as Jack and Henry. With the addition of horn sections and chopped-up electronic distortions, each take is sonically different from the other. And considering all the choreography that the Haim sisters have shared on social media during quarantine, this is perfect to add to your next Haim-fueled dance party. While the pandemic stopped all tour plans, Haim celebrated the release of their latest album with a live-streamed deli show. They also released “I Know Alone,” “Don’t Wanna” and “Gasoline” prior to Women in Music Pt. III’s release...