"Show me your São Paulo." Mountain peaks. Dark streets. Lost in a maze of crisscrossing roads in some misty South American city, Trails and Ways brings us upbeat rhythms and lyrics that relive late-night Brazilian escapades. Far from these hazy memories and the stories in which they dwell, the four-piece finds its home in Oakland, California. You can download Trails and Ways' latest release, a collection of singles entitled Trilingual , over at the band's bandcamp . Think Jorge Ben Jor having a little night out in Malmö with The Radio Dept. Well, not [...]
The forthcoming LP from Sweden's Victoria Bergsman (aka Taken By Trees ) is set to drop in October. But we mustn't wait 'til then to indulge in more swedish dreamscapes. Next week Victoria's Dreams 12" arrives via Secretly Canadian . The release includes 'Dreams,' the first single off Other Worlds, as well as instrumental and dubbed-out versions of the track, courtesy of the Tough Alliance 's Henning Fürst, who produced the full length. Listen to the 12" below.
Madràs is a place far away- a place that no longer exists on maps but the city's name alone evokes strong memories ('childhood innocence, railway stations, being in an auto rickshaw, wisdom from simple people') for Jeevan and Mathew Antony. The two brothers were born Madràs, now known as Chennai, in southern India and much of their music under the name Madràs is a product of their nostalgia for the place. Last week they released their beautiful debut album thingscanchange , which you pick up at their bandcamp . I've spent the past few days entranced by the thirteen-track [...]
In northeastern Puerto Rico there's a place that I've been but I can hardly remember. Aided by old photographs of a small me sitting underneath towering cliffs watching water pour down, the El Yunque rainforest and its tumbling falls rekindle memories of my earliest years growing up in San Juan. The rainforest holds a similar place in the memories of the San Juan-born, Miami-based artist Gabriel Berrios, who records under the name Bayatas . On his latest release On Your Clothing , Gabriel includes a track named after the rainforest, a place that he say he misses very [...]
Swiss beat maestro Simeon Cristallin, who crafts glorious dreamscapes as Cristallin , has, after several silent months, left us with a new moment of bliss- 'Grand Combin'. The track's title, alongside its general aesthetic, first brought me memories of my adventures last year, all soundtracked by Southern Shores' jam 'Grande Comore'. However, I soon realized that despite its sun-soaked feel and the endless light leaks of the accompanying film, 'Grand Combin' climbs high snow-packed peaks of the Swiss mountain by the same name. It is about getting to that moment when the air gets thin, when you feel your legs starting to shake, the [...]
Your best friends, Elin, Joakim Here to let you know everywhere we wanna go. I'm exhausted, barely breathing, holding on to what I believe in. This feeling, no ceilings guided me back home To my zone, to my throne in my Rome. People wanna talk but they ain't sayin' nothing Oh baby, now I'm ready for something And I got cameras in my face I guess the revolution will be televised. And I got 23 years of this [...]
World Tour , the Swedish trio that crafted a most luscious EP which was released by Cascine earlier this year, is at it yet again. From a small village in northwestern Sweden, they bring us our latest indulgence. 'Forever Tonight' begins in a deep cavern, echoing a beclouded call from below- however, it soon opens up and spills out and into a heartfelt tune laced with ethereal melodies paired with a sort of transporting yet tangible simplicity of which World Tour is so familiar. 'Forever Tonight' will be released on Swedish label Emotion .
Slow Magic and Beat Culture have recently come together to collaborate on a blissful jam of the sun-soaked variety that seems to come quite naturally to the two dreamscape-crafting artists. Despite the fact that he's just 17 and is currently finishing up high school, Beat Culture (aka Sunik Kim) has dropped several new tracks in the past few weeks and this collab with the rather mysterious Slow Magic, who released an extended version of his debut album ∆ in April, is surely just a glimpse of what's to come from the young Hong Kong-based Korean. Check out [...]
After several months, DC-based television producer Fritz, the man behind the bedroom pop project Long Walks On The Beach , has resurfaced from his day job with yet another jangle pop gem. A while ago he looked set to drop an EP, but the release was put on hold as he worked to maintain the steadfast authenticity and simplicity of the project. Fritz writes, "I care about what I put out, and these songs are home-made, like laptop recorded/headphone mixed/unmastered homemade, and I just wasn’t happy with how the other cuts for the EP were sounding. I straight up [...]
Last week I was in Regla, Cuba, an industrial suburb situated on a small peninsula to the east of Havana. Two members of the cuban hip-hop group Obsesión , Alexey and Magia, whom I'd met the week before at their show in downtown Havana, welcomed me into their home, a small but confortable apartment lined with posters of Bob Marley, Tupac and Marvin Gaye and Afrocuban artwork. They were two of the most sincere and genuinely wonderful people I met during my time in Havana. From their rooftop we watched a grey haze billow out of the nearby oil refineries and drift over [...]
Mexico City's Oscar Rodríguez has delivered a new tune under his tropical pop moniker Matilda Manzana . A dreamy wander, 'Pez Espada' (swordfish) is the first single off Oscar's upcoming album Conjuntos Cartográficos . The release, pegged to drop sometime before the end of year, will hold ten tracks, each paired with a different map (hence the albums title). Matilda Manzana is not a name, it is a place- imaginary, distant, familiar. Matilda Manzana - Pez Espada
On trade winds— I’m headed for those southern shores. The sun shines. The moon climbs. Havana, Cuba. Escucharemos will return in three weeks. There’s so much on the horizon. Just a dream away. A veces sueño. Adiós, Jordan
Stockholm's Einar Andersson & Hampus Klint have emerged together as Ditt Inre under the veil of their sultry six-track EP, En Värld I Brand. The release will see the light of day May 29 on the ever-indulging bearer of good news, Cascine . The duo crafts a dreamy dance pop which at first gleams with sun-soaked ambivalence, but, at its depths, thoroughly realizes a steeping sensitivity. The boats rocks as wind simmers the sails. The stars bob endlessly above. A haze rises like cool mist after a nighttime rain- the dark [...]
If Bebel Gilberto were from Finland... I've recently come across a brilliant trio from Helsinki by the name of Regina . Their latest effort Soita Mulle (Call Me) emerged in September. Their song 'Ui Mun Luo' (google translated to My Swims Create) possesses a sort of laid-back bossa nova-inspired sensuality. Before I knew anything about Regina, I heard this song I expected to understand a few Portuguese words- they never came. Iisa Pykäri sings in a language of which I cannot utter a single word; however, the pure joy and enthusiasm that Regina brings to their [...]
Maryland-based producer munno just dropped his debut EP early idle . The five-track release brims with pitch-shifted samples and intricately sliced beats. I've already spent the whole morning blissing out to this album. Pick it up for free over at munno's bandcamp . munno - mine munno - yours
Philadelphia's favorite smooth-fiers Work Drugs are back with yet another summer cruisin' tune. 'Lisbon Teeth,' a single off their forthcoming album, is about "one crazy summer in Europe... Drunken nights in Paris back alleys, afternoons on the beautiful beaches of Portugal, early evening ciders on the banks of the Thames. The girls names we couldn't pronounce... and the faces we couldn't forget." Summer escapades feel that much closer. Take it for a spin below. Work Drugs - Lisbon Teeth
'No soy una artista, pueda ser un cuadro' From Maracaibo, Venezuela, Linda Sjöquist delivers revealingly beautiful songs under the name ...Al Cruzar la Calle . Her debut album is out and it's stunningly tangible. Her emotions arrive relentlessly, her songs fragile. A certain delicacy permeates each songs- a delicacy in tone and theme, but Linda is full of conviction. In 'Girasol Rojo' she warns of the risks of love. "No ten amores. Se inteligente. Sigue tu mente." The song, or perhaps the album as a whole, is a thoughtful introspection. Linda's advice echoes as words [...]
jj returns. It has been too long. Longing for life. Doers never die. Where the sunshine hits our eyes. It's a beautiful night. To live our Beautiful Life. Out May 8th on Sincerely Yours , jj nº 4 will finally come in from a distant shore. jj - Beautiful Life
Brighton, England's Bearcubs crafts pulsating dreamscapes laced with trickling sunshine and rekindles memories of a full moon's reflection in a placid sea. The Cadence Collective 's debut release features a pair of songs from each of the collective's five artists: Bearcubs , Cube Face , Kruisemode , m∞n and Theo Bass . Download it here . Bearcubs' contributions to the album, 'Home' and 'Cascade,' remind me of a mélange of Southern Shores and Star Slinger . 'Home' satisfies yet leaves me begging for more from this british college student. Last month he began recording his debut EP [...]
Vancouver’s Teen Daze has emerged with a new album from his side project Little Chords . A beautifully laid-back set of ethereal lo-fi jams, Afterlife , presents a care-free middle ground between Jamison’s Teen Daze and Two Bicycle projects. The release comes at an exciting time for Jamison as he’s set to embark on European tour in April and his debut Teen Daze LP, All Of Us, Together , is set to drop May 22nd on Lefse . Check out a couple tracks from Afterlife below— you [...]
Escucharemos
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