10 New Music Friday tracks out now for the weekend.
1. Regard – Signals
Following on from the release of his single ‘Signals’, which saw BRIT nominated DJ and producer, Regard team up with the singer songwriter Kwabs, the duo have today shared the official music video which was directed by Stephen Agnew. Watch here
Directed by Stephen Agnew, the video embraces low-lit lighting, upside down camera work and more, seamlessly edited together to appear as one continuous shot – the perfect visual accompaniment for the track.
The release of ‘Signals’ has been widely celebrated as Kwabs highly anticipated return. Upon release, BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo selected the single as her ‘Hottest Record In The World’, and the track achieved 1.5 million + streams within the it’s first week, as well as breaking into the top 40 on the iTunes chart.
With both the single and official music video out now, ‘Signals’ by Regard x Kwabs, continues to drum up excitement.
2. Conor Albert and James Smith – Crescent Moon
Conor Albert & James Smith today release new single “Crescent Moon” – the latest taste of Conor Albert’s upcoming project ‘Collage 2’, out Spring 2022 via Young Poet (UK & ROW) and Ninja Tune (North America).
The new single follows Conor’s momentous sold-out headline show at London’s Jazz Cafe in June, and arrives ahead of his recently announced appearance at The Great Escape Festival’s First Fifty showcase on 17th November at The Hackney Social.
Written alongside and featuring London singer/songwriter James Smith, new single “Crescent Moon” represents one of Conor Albert’s most soulful moments to date. A stunning amalgamation of contrasting songwriting styles, the track brings together delicate piano stabs, rubbery bass lines, bluesy, groove-laden percussion and James Smith’s magisterial vocal.
Speaking on the lyrics, Conor said: “James came in with the concept of being that boy that sits on the crescent moon in the DreamWorks intro, throwing a fishing line through the clouds and reeling in the love of your life. James is a master lyricist in my opinion.”
A wonderfully nostalgic soul-pop song with a heart of gold, the instrumentation on “Crescent Moon” was recorded live throughout, effortlessly
3. Mellah – Yesterday
Mellah shares his new single ‘Yesterday’ and releases his new EP 333 (Them) on Plum Cuts – stream here.
Speaking about the new single, Mellah says: “‘Yesterday’ is about small talk. The chit chat to avoid silence or worse still, honesty. ‘How are you’ has always seemed like a fruitless question to me, it rarely invokes a genuine response and is really hard to answer.”
‘Yesterday’ is the latest single to be lifted from 333 (Them), the first in a trilogy of EPs: Them, Us and Me, or 333 collectively. Each EP will include three songs, which Mellah describes as “scratching a compulsive lifelong tic.” During his childhood and into adolescence, Mellah suffered from OCD which manifested as a fixation on the number 3. “To this day I still see the world separated into 3 parts,” he explains. “One thing, its opposite and together the whole; the liminal space between the two extremes, the point of balance, oneness in duality. For example – future, past, now; birth, death, life; good, evil… human.”
The EP trilogy will now be released on Plum Cuts, an independent label run by producer and long-time collaborator Oli Barton-Wood. Plum Cuts’ signings all pass through their Little Legs Studio in Peckham, which Oli and Mellah built together in 2018. Oli has worked with the likes of Porridge Radio (on their Mercury Award-nominated album Every Bad), Nilüfer Yanya, Molly Payton, Joe Armon-Jones and Obongjayar.
“I was sitting on all this great music that I’d been working on with friends, and realised it might not find its way out there unless I did something about it,” Oli the Plum Cuts founder says. “A few artists seemed reluctant to do the self-release thing because it can be daunting to take it all on, so I just thought ‘screw it, why don’t I just help them do it.’ There’s a really exciting little community of musicians and artists that come through the studio, so it feels natural to pull them together for the label.”
4. The Lathums – Krampus
No ordinary band, no ordinary Christmas single. Chart-topping indie poets, The Lathums accidentally set light to grandma’s paper hat, steal the bang from the crackers and sour the sherry with Krampus, their first festive single. Celebrating the season of forgiveness, light and merriment with a dose of dour, rain-lashed wit, the four-piece take inspiration from the darkest of festive fables to deliver an upbeat carol calling for each day to be grabbed with the same gift-giving, chocolate-eating joy.
After watching the blackest of seasonal comedies, BBC’s Inside No.9 The Devil Of Christmas episode, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s depiction of Krampusnacht was seared into The Lathums’ consciousness, inspiring them to create the two-and-a-half minute rush of scat-singing and bell-ringing. An Alpine fable as old as time, the fear of a visit from Krampus continues to haunt children who have been more naughty than nice.
Always greater as the sum of their parts, Krampus nits together a neat riff, absent-mindedly peeled off by bassist, Johnny Cunliffe in rehearsal, and the nimble imagination of front man and one-man lyric factory, Alex Moore, who heard the faint sound of Christmas within. With a skiffle-beat courtesy of Ryan Durrans and layers of jangling guitars from Scott Concepcion, it’s a seasonal single in the tradition of other, great anti-Christmas singles. File it alongside The Pogues, Gruff Rhys and Wham.
5. Palace – Fade
London-based Palace today release ‘Fade’, the third single to be taken from their forthcoming third album ‘Shoals’, due for release on January 21st via Fiction. ‘Fade’ is accompanied by a striking video combining SnorriCam video of the band with found footage to dive into the psyche of an anxious mind. The band will also play their biggest UK, European and US tours to date next spring, including a date at the O2 Academy Brixton on February 11th.
“‘Fade’ is a song about the link between the body and the mind – how our mind’s response to the body’s state can turn into mental paranoia, leading to an unhealthy fixation on where we go when we meet our maker” explains singer Leo Wyndham; “It’s an anthem to paranoia and the feeling like you could explode with the fear of what will become.”
6. Little Boots – Landline
Electro-pop artist, producer and DJ, Little Boots AKA Victoria Hesketh releases “Landline” via her own imprint On Repeat Records. “Landline” follows ‘Silver Balloons’ and is the second single from her upcoming self-produced album set for release in spring 2022
The dance floor ready track glistens with nostalgic playfulness as Little Boots continues to shine a light on her true DIY disco pop artistry. Luminous vocals shimmer over slinky digital grooves and a pulsing bassline as the track bounces forward with shiny optimism.
Victoria said about the single, “Landline is a nostalgic song about being a teenager in the 90’s, when you would spend hours clogging up the family phone line to talk to your school boyfriend or girlfriends. I got thinking about this in lockdown as music was still something that helped me feel close to friends even if we physically couldn’t be together, emotionally you can still feel connected through a shared playlist or remembering an old track. That’s one of the music’s superpowers and it remains true throughout my life, whether its pressing play on a tape machine down the phone years ago, or dancing with my friends on zoom through the pandemic to a favourite anthem. Sonically the track has a sunny disco feel, I wanted to channel classic Chic via DJ Koze, but through my own DIY sound, putting the piano and big vocal stacks at the centre then weaving strings and synth parts throughout.
7. Blue Violet – Asylum
BLUE VIOLET are back with the intoxicating new single: “Asylum”.
With a seventies hue which nods to the likes of Fleetwood Mac and The Mamas & The Papas, it’s a track which finds the Anglo-Scottish duo of Sam & Sarah Gotley entwined in passionate duet and searching for sanctuary within the comfort of others.
Backs against the wall, but with hearts on sleeves, “Asylum” tells the story of two protagonists outcast from society for their so-called insanity, but who find love within the confines of the institution in which they are held and the troubled circumstances in which they share.
“The word mental health is thrown about a lot these days. As a society we feel we are beginning to address the stigma surrounding mental health issues but we are still far from being fully accepting. “Asylum” is a song that focuses on the isolation of struggling with a mental health issue and the power of knowing you are not alone.” says Sarah Gotley.
Railing against discrimatation, “Asylum” offers a wider message of hope in that ultimately it’s love that connects us all. Sounding-out with a rousing repeated vocal refrain that sees the duo chanting: “they call me mad, I bet you know the feeling too…”, Sam Gotley explains of its finale:
“It’s intended to move away from that narrative and speak of us all as a collective: we maybe all feel in some way that we don’t fit in with the structures and “norms” that society dictates, and this song aims to unite the people and normalise that feeling.”
8. Danko – Be Fooled
Danko return with their second single ‘Be Fooled’, released on Distiller Records today (November 12th). The Scottish four-piece forge an electrifying fusion of Americana rock ‘n’ roll and soulful country blues that vividly constructs a panoramic wall of sound that is entirely their own.
With its mellow groove, brass soaked chorus and pleading vocals, the follow up to debut single ‘Rattlesnake’, ‘Be Fooled’ draws its influences from the likes of Kings of Leon, Alabama Shakes and Wilco. It’s a song about “carving your own path, rather than just bending to fit in,” explains singer/guitarist Lewis White.
But as rousing as they are on record, the true power of Danko can more forcibly be felt in their incendiary live shows. “Nothing will ever beat the sheer joy of shredding in front of a live audience, and that human connection is what drives us.”
The video for ‘Be Fooled’ sees Danko harking back to the days of the classic 70s roller disco, once known as the ‘nightclub on wheels’. Breaking in and performing the single in the middle of the rink, all while the security guard snoozes in his office.
Danko represent the immortal quest for betterment, their passions shining through for all to bask in. Small town boys with big time dreams.
9. The Romona Flowers – Up All Night feat Nile Rodgers
The Ramona Flowers today release the video for latest single ‘Up All Night’ featuring Nile Rodgers.
Directed by Vaughan Arnell (Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams, The Script), the video showcases the band’s love for the fast and the furious, with each member getting behind the wheel of a GT40 to take on the role of professional racing driver. The fast-paced video pairs perfectly with the track, an up-tempo anthem featuring music legend Nile Rodgers and his trademark fun guitar licks.
On the idea behind the video, drummer Ed Gallimore said: “The concept for this came about whilst travelling to Ireland to finish off the album. It was actually our recording engineer Drew that had the initial idea and very quickly we were all onboard. It was pretty ambitious and we weren’t entirely sure how to pull it off. Luckily Vaughan Arnell totally understood the concept and knew exactly how to bring the vision for the video to life. The shoot itself was an absolute dream day! To spend 18 hours around those unbelievable machines was truly incredible. The GT40 has always been a favourite of mine and for the guys to bring their prized motors for us to play in was really amazing. The end result speaks for itself despite our suspect ‘acting’…We are really proud of the video and thankful to all the amazing people involved in bringing it to life. It’s definitely the best we’ve ever produced and it will be an experience none of us will ever forget.”
10. Honey Mooncie – 1953
Sussex based artist Honey Mooncie shares her debut mixtape ‘To Whom It May Concern’, and with it releases final single ‘1953’.
Featuring on the mixtape is the previously released single ‘Here For Me’, an opulent blend of Neo-Soul, R&B & pop opening with lush strings which saw wide spread support across UK press. “This mixtape for me tells a love story from start to finish. ‘Here For Me’ comes towards the end of this relationship and is about feeling like you need more from someone and coming to terms with knowing that you need to let them go.”
‘Four Reasons’, which saw Honey featured as one of Jack Saunders’s ‘Next Wave’ artists on his BBC Radio 1 Future Artists show, is an earnest account of affection towards a partner. Honey’s lyrics (much like one of her biggest influences Amy Winehouse) walk the line between confessional and also instantly relatable.
A delicate, jazz tinged ballad, ‘Better Run’ fully focuses on Honey’s gorgeous vocals, “ itwas written back in 2019 with Adj Buffone and Jim Duguid,” says Honey. “ I wanted to write a stripped back vocal and guitar track and we did just that! ‘Better Run’ is about wanting to leave a party before it ends, sneaking out the back and not saying goodbye to anyone. This is one of my favourite tracks on the mixtape.”
The mixtape also features 5 new tracks from the previously released , including new single ‘1953’, also released today.
