This one caught me by surprise a little in that it was unexpectedly gooooorgeous and sounds as close to Odesza as you’re likely to find in our neck of the woods. It’s not altogether reflective of the EP of which it’s a part, being slightly slower and keeping slightly less kick than the three other tracks but for my money it’s the stand-out single. There’s an instrumental hip-hop vibe to the five tracker but not in the same sample-everything-take-no-prisoners way we’ve seen (re)surging this past decade. The sounds are crisp, the percussive tones are warm and the whole thing stirs me just right. Undoubtedly one of the hottest producers based in Nambour right now.
Spirit Faces is Pete and Anatole is Jonathan and when Pete met Jonathan it was even better than When Harry Met Sally which is a movie specifically created to demonstrate how good it can be when two people meet. Pete Covington is the producer~vocalist~instrumentalist known as Spirit Faces and Jonathan Baker is producer~multi-multi-multi-instrumentalist known as Anatole and they’re a rather perfect match in that a) the resulting song was fantastic, b) they both play about 112 different instruments and c) both of them are on the rise. Anatole has a couple of big name remixes on the way while Spirit Faces has a much hyped EP now recorded and some hot-pocket support slots soon to be announced. The track is out through my very own record label called TEEF so if you came here hoping for any degree of impartiality you’re dreeeeeaaaaaming. The track embodies much of why I wanted to start this label- young, talented musicians collaborating and creating art that may not have existed without the label. Even if I never make a dime from the thing, if I can have two or three of these each year and an EP to boot I’ll be a happy little labelfellow.
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As far as I’m concerned, the weirder that Collarbones go, the better. Their 2011 record Iconography was laden with out there beats and chopped and sampled vocals and didn’t sound a whole lot like anything else at that time and evening seemingly at this time. They’ve since dropped a lot of the instrumental sections from their recordings and it’s become largely about Marcus’ voice (which can be a great thing) but producer R&B outfits aren’t a rarity at the moment and I want to hear Collarbones being the rarity they were. To keep on with that phrase, I reckon this new Collarbones track is rarer than some of their more recent recordings have been and I think all the better for it. It’d be easy for me to focus on that Oscar section but Marcus’ first half and conclusion both ride the beat gloriously, almost closer to his work with Black Vanilla than other Collarbones songs.
These past six months of work at the label at which I work at for work have been a rollercoaster ride of promotion and relegation. For a few weeks I was the Deputy-Head of Lunch Breaks before being demoted to Acting Junior Music Sciences Liaison. A few weeks ago though, I took on the mantle of Remix Authoritarian and quickly stamped my mark with two of the damndest remixes you’ll ever darn well hear this week.
We’ll start domestic with youngblood Dylan Tainsh aka The Sugarsynth aka Scarpeggio aka (but also exclusively known as) Dugong Jr. He’s a Melbourne dude who’s been at it a few minutes and is getting some traction now with a single called In Love but I honestly feel like this remix might be one of the best things he’s put online right yet. He’s taken a sit-down with Thelma Plum’s ‘How Much Does Your Love Cost?’ and the resulting jam has been awarded an honourary five star rating from the NSW Hotel and Tourism board for outstanding comfort and excellent service. The original M-PHAZES produced track had some some venom to it and Tainsh has leeched some of the poison to leave it brighter and warmer while still retaining plenty of the residual heat. Dude has something going on here because this song is really, really good and I’ve listened to it a whole damn lot. I tried to imagine where a track like this would sit in the Australian music landscape if it weren’t considered a remix and I really think, if considered on its own merits, it stands out as something remarkably different.
A hard act to follow, sure, but not impossible if you’re a stone cold sample manipulating JAPANCITY colossus with Boiler Room cred and Red Bull Music Academy stripes on your lapel. Yosi Horikawa relaxedly walks into the wilderness, records what he hears, pitch shifts, manipulates the resulting sounds into beats and after planting a flag or two, usually annexes smaller nations as part of the process. The resulting songs are astounding sharp, precise down to the final minutiae and laden with organic samples. ‘Young In Love’ was already my favourite track from Thelma Plum’s Monsters EP but doubly so now that this new Horikawa edit is here for the listening. I’m not bold enough to say it’s improved upon the original but if it hasn’t, it’s certainly come close ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Shoutouts to both these dudes for improving both my job and my iPod.
Yon Yonson are the quintessential music for the sake of music outfit that prolifically release excellent records independently of demand or market. There’s no slow release campaign to build hype, just releases dropped without fanfare and without pride, each one pushing against through boundaries like a young Kim Kardashian while the band have fun with it like a young Kim Kardashian and get by on work ethic and performative quality (like a young Kim Kardashian, you know?). Here’s are my two favourite cuts from their BRAND NEW RECORD called It’s Natural that dropped this very day but I highly recommend sending them some money and having yourself a download of the thing as a whole. Diversity of samples, sounds, lyrics and a beautiful combination of organic and synthetic sounds across this mean it’s a certain yes from me. Just a couple of western Sydney dudes doing it right. See you at the end of year best ofs, Yonnies.
