Klay Cartier is an emerging artist who dabbles in the deep end, where the borders between genres have evaporated into mist. His latest offering, a percussion-heavy (or should I say heavy percussion) single titled ‘Good For Nothin’’, showcases his ability to veer off into new lanes without changing course.
To this end, he shared: “I recorded and worked on this song over a year ago. I knew I wanted to step out of my wheelhouse like I usually do, and it pushed me to make this incredible song. I took aspects from R&B, Pop, Rock, and Latin genres and mashed them together to create this electrifying experience for the listener.”
Signed with Kult Klassic Studios, his latest offering is a bare-bones production. This is not to say that it is by any means sparse, but rather that the focus on the raw physicality of the drum rhythms mixed with Cartier’s unblemished voice makes for an essential and directed work of art.
Following the release of their exceptional new album, Off Planet, Django Django have revealed a new video for the trance-inducing dance anthem, ‘Slipstream’.
The fast-paced techno of ‘Slipstream’’s humming beat, and addictive synth tones are accompanied in the new video by Tron-esque flashing lights and neon scenery, while lead singer Vincent Neff journeys through a sonic landscape that visualises Django Django’s unparalleled musical electronica.
Speaking of the video, the band said: “The lyrics are a bit of an ode to watching the Tour de France with Pete Shelley’s signature track playing as a kid. We thought it would be fun to build upon that with the video, which sees Vinny being put through his paces, ramping up in speed until he breaks beyond reality”.
Director Daniel Nellis continues: “In ‘Slipstream’ we join Vinny on his wayward journey through a twilight town. In this parallel universe characters are stuck in motion forever, their soundtrack cosmically transmitted between them, leaving each other in a state of ecstasy. Vinny’s search for his non-existent destination leaves him in ever increasing kinetic states of blissful speed fed highs, leaving the others in his world forever and ever in his Slipstream.”
The video’s unveiling arrives just after the announcement of a new headline UK and European tour, which includes a show at London’s KOKO on 14th December.
Off Planet, the band’s fifth full-length studio album, is out now via Because Music (stream / purchase it here.) Released in four parts, each representing a different “planet”, Off Planet is the biggest, boldest, and most varied statement the band have made, with a cavalcade of mainstream and underground stars – Self Esteem, Jack Peñate, Stealing Sheep, Toya Delazy and many more, all of them either friends of the band or personally sought out by Dave – bringing entirely new creative angles into play. Off Planet was conceptualised by Django Django co-founder and producer Dave Maclean as “a way to go beyond”, to bring new voices, new rhythms, new experimentation into play, and effectively to deconstruct the band’s identity. From bluesy pop and Middle Eastern cabaret goth to Afro acid and piano rave, to call it kaleidoscopic is putting it mildly. Despite at times not sounding like anything on their previous releases, Off Planet is very much still recognisably Django Django.
The album was described by Uncut (8/10) as “their most accomplished and ambitious record to date”, by The Arts Desk(4*) as “sprawling, eclectic and ear-pleasing” and Record Collector (4*) as “a rewarding listen”.
Off Planet features multiple standout singles including the BBC Radio 6 Music A-Listed 90s dance-pop explosion, “Complete Me” ft. Self Esteem, the genre-bending “No Time”ft. Jack Peñate, the futuristic club track “Don’t Touch That Dial” ft. Yuuko plus “Slipstream”.
See below for the full tour routing and click HERE for tickets.
TikTok users can now look forward to a new product from the company that brought the world the highly addictive video-sharing social media platform. With a simple hum, users can generate entire songs using the new Ripple app. It is worth noting that the app is still in its beta testing phase, but for those who have access, Ripple offers a world of untapped creativity.
Ripple is unique in that it allows musicians who don’t possess the skill to play an instrument to generate instrumentation at a moment’s notice. Then, they can use the app’s built-in editing feature to cut and shift parts into an arrangement of their choosing, much like audio workstations FL Studio and Ableton are capable of. Only, with Ripple, the process appears to be more mobile-compatible.
“Ripple is designed to inspire musical creativity and help musicians, artists and composers express themselves,” said a ByteDance representative. “We’re excited to see how creators use Ripple to tap into their creativity to soundtrack their own short-form videos.”
Is Ripple the future of digital audio workstations? Who knows. But we do know that it is only a matter of time before TikTok floods with hum-generated music, being that the new app links directly to its sister platform, enabling a seamless segway from music creation to music publication!
Hailing from Puerto Rico, R&B duo COASTCITY has released their new single ‘Afterlife’, a Latin-flavoured record brought to life with the help of Venezuelan artist FABRO. The track was born in an unforgettable session in the city of Buenos Aires. Toeing the line between dark and romantic, the song tells of love continuing into death, extending passed the mortal confines of one lifetime.
‘Afterlife’ is a minimal production that spotlights the vocals. With retro hues akin to the early 2000s scene, bringing forward aspects of Christina Aguilera, the team of musicians add a splash of pop appeal in the lane of The Weeknd to create something mellow yet emotive for fans to soak up.
The artists let us in, saying: “”Afterlife” is the continuation of our last song “Futuro”, its the new Latin R&B sound that bilingual, rhythmic and emotional. It’s COASTCITY’s first time collaborating with FABRO who is an up and coming artist out of Buenos Aires Argentina.”
