Shura has unveiled her new single ‘the stage’, the latest track to be lifted from her upcoming second album, ‘forevher’.
Intimate, unorthodox and affecting, ‘the stage’ switches between sensual, Minie Ripperton / Prince-inspired disco and ecstatic electronics, which work together to capture the tension (and possible release) of a potential new love. It’s that do-or-die moment which Shura drew direct experience from, having written ‘the stage’ – she says – “about my first date with my current girlfriend. I had travelled to NYC to go on it, so I was a little bit nervous as this was definitely THE most high stakes date I’d ever been on. I DM’d my friends MUNA who were playing a show the night that I arrived and asked them if they could get us both in, and they loved the concept of a first date at a MUNA gig. I wasn’t sure how the date was going until she took my hand whilst trying to lead me to a spot where I could see them play (i.e. basically nowhere in the venue as I’m too short!). Then I knew it was all going to be OK.””
Although this is his producer debut, Adam Griffin is no stranger to the industry. A keen DJ from the early-90’s playing pivotal London venues such as The Cross and Hanover Grand, Griffin has also commanded senior roles within the music industry at imprints such as RCA and INCredible.
Signed to Perfect Havoc, Tobtok a.k.a Tobias Karlsson is one of the most exciting young producers to emerge from the Swedish scene in recent years, releasing tracks on labels including Kitsune, Toolroom and Ministry of Sound. And now, following their back to back DJing appearances at multiple Perfect Havoc events around the world, plus their first collab ‘The Sting’ back in March, the duo have now dropped another heater with ‘The Stand Off’.
Featuring vocals from Hayley May, ‘The Stand Off’ is a cut perfectly ripe for a pre-party warm-up – an infectious piano riff and driving synth melodies come together for a song that’ll no doubt make you smile.
Fast-rising trio Mad Teeth have unveiled their latest single, the frantic ‘Saucin”.
The song, which follows their release of ‘Dirty Diamonds’ and ‘Underground Boogie’ (both of which received heavy support from the likes of DJ Charlsey, Idris Elba, Rudimental, Horse Meat Disco and Don Diablo), comes off the back of the trio’s love of house, garage and grime. ‘Saucin” smashes the genres together, delivering a heavy, jumpy 4/4 beat with a notoriously-deep bassline. The catchy lyrics top this one off to give the track a real signature UK sound (and sounding perfectly-ripe for next month’s Carnival season).
CamelPhat show no signs of slowing down. Just days on from hooking up with Jake Bugg for ‘Be Someone’, the duo have now reverted back to their art of electrifying remixes, this time taking on the challenge of Dirty Vegas’ iconic ‘Days Go By’.
Moving the track to 2019-territories, here CamelPhat deliver some deeper, more-driven sounds – shivering synthy pads and chords build an atmospheric feel, which lead toward a low, progressive styled minimalistic drop.
Rudimental have joined forces with Preditah for their new UKG-infused bubbler, ‘Mean That Much’.
Lifted from Rudimental’s forthcoming ‘Distinction’ EP, ‘Mean That Much’ follows lead track ‘Sitigawana’, which was produced with The Martinez Brothers and also featured Malawian vocalist, Faith Mussa.
Meanwhile, the quartet’s new track sees the band collaborate with Preditah for the first time since he remixed ‘Scared Of Love’ earlier this year – vocals come courtesy of rising star Morgan.
Acclaimed singer/songwriter Gallant has shared his new single ‘Crimes’.
Premiered as Zane Lowe’s recent ‘World Record’ on Apple’s Beats 1, ‘Crimes’ hears Gallant team up with The xx on production for the first time, with the song itself expected to appear on the RnB artist’s upcoming second studio album, the follow-up to 2016’s ‘Ology’ which will land later this year.
Sampa the Great has shared her new single ‘OMG’, alongside announcing her hotly-anticipated debut album ‘The Return’.
Premiered as Zane Lowe’s recent radio show on Apple’s Beats 1, ‘OMG’ follows the recently-released ‘Final Form’, a song which quickly received accolades from the likes of Annie Mac, Mistajam, DJ Target, Gilles Peterson & Lauren Laverne (6 Music).
Built on four years of personal and musical soul-searching, ‘The Return’ is an assured statement, the product of meaningful musical connections and of Sampa having to redefine her self-identity away from the comforts of family and old friends. With reference points ranging from classic hip-hop to ancient Southern African sounds, the album sees Sampa tackle bigger questions, exploring what it means to feel at home, to feel excluded, and to see someone as an outsider. It stems from the rift Sampa has experienced in the rise of her career, where she’s celebrated as part of a new generation of musicians – with “BEE9” winning the prestigious Australian Music Prize in 2017 (she shares nominations with the likes of Tame Impala, Jordan Rakei, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and previous winner Courney Barnett) – while at the same time still being seen as an other.
On “The Return” Sampa has enlisted a string of esteemed collaborators and peers to create the album. Mixed by Jonwayne (of Stones Throw notoriety), MsM (Skepta/Boy Better Know) and Andrei Eremin (GRAMMY-nominated engineer for Hiatus Kaiyote and Chet Faker), productions are by Silentjay, Slowthai producer Kwes Darko, Clever Austin (Perrin Moss of Hiatus Kiayote), Blue Lab Beats and Syreniscreamy. The album also features collaborations with Ecca Vandal and London jazz collective Steam Down. Many of them are the fruits of the network Sampa has built since first making waves in 2015 – following time spent studying in San Francisco and LA – as a new arrival in Sydney’s hip-hop and jazz freestyle nights. Since then, she’s performed with Denzel Curry on his breakout track ‘Black Balloons’ for Triple J’s ‘Like A Version’, and toured globally, supporting the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Thundercat, Joey Bada$$, Hiatus Kaiyote, Noname, Ibeyi and Little Simz.
Watch the new video for ‘OMG’ below; ‘The Return’ lands on 13th September:
Madeon has shared the second song from his upcoming ‘Good Faith’ album, following up last month’s ‘All My Friends’ with ‘Dream Dream Dream’.
Premiered on the debut episode of his Good Faith Radio show on Apple’s Beats 1, the young producer describes the track as “one of the songs i’ve made i’m personally happiest with”. ‘Dream Dream Dream’ has also been confirmed as the opening cut of Madeon’s new album when ‘Good Faith’ lands later this year.
Ahead of her appearance as Nala in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Lion King, Beyoncé has confirmed plans to release an associated album (titled ‘The Lion King: The Gift’) alongside the movie’s official soundtrack next week.
‘The Gift’, which arrives on 19th July, has been both personally-curated and executively-produced by Beyonce, and will include a brand new song – ‘Spirit’ – which you can hear below. The rest of the record will hear songs inspired by the movie, and feature a wealth of as-yet-unannounced artists – “This is sonic cinema” Beyoncé said – “This is a new experience of storytelling. I wanted to do more than find a collection of songs that were inspired by the film. It is a mixture of genres and collaboration that isn’t one sound. It is influenced by everything from R&B, pop, hip hop and Afro Beat.”
In a statement, Beyonce continued “I wanted to put everyone on their own journey to link the storyline…. Each song was written to reflect the film’s storytelling that gives the listener a chance to imagine their own imagery, while listening to a new contemporary interpretation. It was important that the music was not only performed by the most interesting and talented artists but also produced by the best African producers. Authenticity and heart were important to me.”
Alongside lending her voice to Nala, ‘The Lion King’ movie will also see a wealth of other big names among the cast, including John Oliver (Zazu), Seth Rogan (Pumbaa) and Donald Glover (Simba).
British DJ / Producer duo Gorgon City need no introduction! Their brand new single ‘Elizabeth Street’, comes hot on the heels of a number of club focused, smash cuts and they show now let up with another fully fledged heater on their underground-focused REALM imprint.
The inspiration for ‘Elizabeth Street’ is driven from the time the lads recently spent in Chicago, whilst the song’s deep bassy melodies and rumbling low synth notes work together to deliver on heck of a summer groover.
