It’s list-mageddon in the music biz right now. I’ll be joining in and adding my ten pence to the pile by doing some end of year observations before the year is out!
Industry side, AI continues to run amok as a dominating convo, The Grammys’ songs of the year nominations might be some of the worst in recent history, but at least we’re getting good new music from Rosalia, Robyn, Dave, Tems, etc.
Since I last posted here, I’ve been to see Erika De Casier, Smerz and Clara La San, I caught a really inspiring DJ set by composer Mica Levi, I finally got to see Akinola Davies Jr’s movie My Father’s Shadow (10/10 recommend) and Hamnet (which is good, though features the most overused piece of cinematic music of all time).
In other news, was pleased to see my audiophile article picked up for a piece in The Guardian about soundsystem culture in fashion and art, with many thanks to Lanre Bakare. I’ve also been working on new projects with FAVE, Mr Eazi and Cholita/Skillibeng too.
Let’s get to the links!
Sound
There is a lot of cool stuff coming out of France right now. A LOT! Particularly Denden, Yseult, Sarafina (and Aya Nakamura has a new album), who all have different styles drawing from coupé decalé to bouyon to afropop. A stand out rising star is Theodora.
I’m here for Tems’ new uptempo EP, but mostly the single “Big Daddy” that feels sort of 3-step influenced.
This Somali disco song from the 80s is going on viral on UK TikTok. Flames!
A lovely NTS show with Chuquimamani-Condori, featuring Andean Huayno music and country.
Norwegian artist Swank Mami is making some interesting Brazilian funk inspired club music.
The chorus of this El Alfa track has me in chokehold (full disclosure: I can’t speak Spanish, yet).
I admit I know next to nothing about indian music, but this Bollywood star has made a 150bpm dembow track.
Kenyan artist Joefes with the fun as hell Filthy Riddim relick.
Incredibly heavy “spectral dub” from The Bug vs Ghost Dubs joint album.
Bristol club label Timedance celebrates its 10 year anniversary with this compilation, I’m particularly into the Pearson Sound track.
Vision
Jamaica was hit hard by Hurricane Melissa and is still deep in the midst of rebuilding efforts. There’s a lot to do and a lot of different ways to support - please do if you can. One particularly great fundraiser is Prints for Jamaica - all prints are $150, and there are some beautiful works in there, not to mention world-renowned artists. Otherwise, consider supporting an organisation like The AFJ.
FKA Twigs is on a video tear for Eusexua Afterglow.
Congolese banger of a video:
See also: Amaarae’s “Free The Youth” video.
Love this Lou Reed interview, via Charli XCX.
Death is Not The End - one of the coolest labels in the world - has put out this book of UK soundsystem flyers.
JT (not Justin, the cooler one), cover for Culted XO.
Thought
AI tools are racing far ahead of the regulations, with AI tracks in Country, Christian music and Dance supposedly topping the charts. Not to mention this Jorja Smith legal battle.
Related: Spotify Netherlands’ viral chart is flooded with AI-generated, far-right racist tracks.
Also chart-related, The New York Time’s profile on NBA Youngboy:
The day YoungBoy performed in San Antonio, Billboard reported that for the first time in 35 years, no rap song appeared in the Top 40 of the Hot 100. But while that news spawned much discourse about hip-hop’s purported fading relevance, it more reflected how that chart doesn’t properly account for the ways contemporary rap fame works.
Ian McQuaid profiles the UK rap underground for The Guardian.
W. David Marx has a new book out about the cultural history of the 21st century, and in this companion piece in The Atlantic he talks about “making culture weird again”. A final thought for us all today!
The past 25 years have taught us that the contemporary economy and media will not prioritize creative invention. The question is: Will you?
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