Formation – Hangin’
This is a fantastic funk song from a pair of south London brothers (Will and Matt Ritson) who have remixed everyone from Shura to Tobias Jesso Jr. They tap into the avant-funk action of Dinosaur L, Liquid Liquid and their postdisco/no wave ilk. It’s early-80s New York via the NYC of whenever LCD Soundsystem were at their peak. It’s not a fluke, either – they’ve got another track called Young Ones that is equally entrancing, in a noir kind of way. It’s a fluid kind of funk that comes from them learning to play/create from improvised music, especially jazz, although they are equally steeped in northern soul, hence more clipped, charged could-be-anthems such as Back Then. Not sure about the vocals – they’re harsh, strident, a brusque, barked distraction from the luscious, liquid grooves – but the beats and production are spot-on.
Powers – Beat of My Drum
Powers are a double-act with an impressive pedigree: Mike del Rio had a hand in the writing and production of Christina Aguilera’s Make the World Move, Skylar Grey and Eminem’s C’mon Let Me Ride and Kylie Minogue’s Into the Blue; and Crista Ru (AKA Crista Russo) co-penned Selena Gomez’s Birthday and has written with Icona Pop. Touch the World, one of their tracks as Powers, does indeed have some of the shouty teen-female brio of Icona Pop’s I Love It. The pair also contributed to the Knocks’ Classic, which didn’t just include an intro resembling the opening to Ian Dury’s Hit With Me Your Rhythm Stick, but was featured in a Victoria’s Secret ad campaign, so even if their new track bombs they should still be able to afford suncream this summer. Then again, that new track, Beat of My Drum, sounds as though it could do well in clubs and holiday resorts: it’s a bit French touch, a bit dancepop (without sounding overly generic), and already it’s had 165,000 Soundcloud plays. Now all they’ve got to do is convert those into sales.
Holly Waxwing – Vibe
Holly Waxwing is Alabama producer Garrett Crosby, and Vibe is the follow-up to 2013’s Goldleaf Acrobatics EP, described at the time as “pitch-shifted cosmic soul built on euphoric triggers and tugged emotions, meticulously blurring samples and featherweight beats”. It is taken from the Peach Winks EP, released next week by the excellent Cascine, the label that brought us such recent greats as Jensen Sportag, Chad Valley and Keep Shelley in Athens. How to describe this one? Something about its ornateness and intricacy suggests an unexpected but alluring brand of oriental footwork, like DJ Nate doing his hyperfast motion thing using traditional Japanese instruments.
Sivik – U Got (XXYYXX remix)
LA’s Sivik, who thus far has only appeared via a single publicity photo showing his colossal quiff from the side, is rumoured to be the alter ego of Zayn Malik. Unlikely because, like Powers, Sivik has a background as a songwriter for several mainstream artists. It would appear he is being promoted as a sort of male Sia. Or should I say “pitch-shifted”? His vocals are invariably stretched and tweaked, so that the high-haired singer can achieve pop perfection. But he’s up for having his voice and music messed around with: his track U Got, from his Spring Collection EP, has been remixed by experimental producer XXYYXX (Marcel Everett to cognoscenti), who has made it sound a little like something Usher might do in the studio with Clams Casino: woozily languid soul that ventures into Weeknd territory, decelerating towards the end, becoming chopped-and-screwed R&B.
Broen – Iris
Five-piece Broen comprise Norwegian and Greek members, making music of indeterminate provenance. They mix conventional indie instrumentation (guitar, drums) with elements of electronica, while lucky old Heida Mobeck drew the short straw and gets to play the tuba. Perhaps as revenge, Mobeck got her granny to supply sparkly costumes for the band to wear live. They’re a peculiar mix of silly and serious: their new single, Iris, is a catchy indie affair whose jauntiness belies the fact that it’s about obsession. “It’s about being in a relationship but being overly jealous of your spouse,” explains singer Marianna Røe. “When you start getting paranoid and doubting everything they say; listening in on the phone and thinking you can hear someone in the background. And then you’re like, ‘Oh, wait a second, I didn’t speak to you last night. Where were you?’ All these stories that we make up in our heads that are usually so far from the truth.” Basically, it’s an Every Breath You Take for indie stalkers.
