Having captured the attention of i-D, The Quietus and EARMILK, Los Angeles based creative crooner Raven Artson combines his internal monologue with enigmatic pop culture and underground art.
Returning with new single ‘Whatever’, Raven delivers a powerful testimony; to empower your authentic self. Intertwined with a synth-fuelled melody and a hint of autotune, a detail which compliments his ethereal vocals; the new woozy bop sees Raven step out of the shadows to present his most confrontational outpour of emotions yet.
He says: “Whatever was written in a stream of consciousness, the words just poured out of me. When finished the brutal honesty struck me. I created a mirror, forcing myself to look into my own eyes.”
As a highly ambitious singer-songwriter who creative directs his own shoots and produces for artists including Sevdaliza, Pip Blom and Ray Fuego, Raven can just about do anything. More recently he started curating his own interdisciplinary shows, which has led fashion designers like Hardeman and Hanger Inc. to collaborate with artist like himself, True Blue, Beskhen and Cosima.
With a new EP, Raven is ready to take the next step in his career: “As a person I try to be as honest as possible in my relationships. It’s exciting to share music that’s just as genuine.”
Music producer Nuit Oceān releases his inspiring EP Fire Divine via ROUGE NEON RECORDS today, just in time for winding down this weekend.
Born with the name Steve Mesmin, Nuit Oceān is a well-traveled French composer, that has roots in the DRC and Algeria. His mother would indulge him by playing the saxophone frequently. These factors would lead him on his own musical journey, and we are so grateful for that.
This EP shows the essence of vulnerability and strength in one breath. It is a work of art that can be interpreted in multiple meanings, but we can all agree that this EP is fragrant and colorful as well as easy on the ears.
Nuit Oceān elaborates on the concept behind the EP: “I always have this “mantra” in my head during the creating and recording process: “When there is nothing left. When you no longer have the strength to move forward. There he is, in each of us… The FIRE DIVINE guides us to a better version of ourselves, towards a brighter future. Let it flow.”
Ultraflex is made up of Norway’s Farao & Icelandic musician Special-K. Who have announced their debut album ‘Visions of Ultraflex’ is set for release Oct 30th. Packed with playful disco pop, the new single & video from the record “Work Out Tonight“ is online now.
Speaking about the video, the band said “‘Work Out Tonight’ is the first in a trilogy of Ultraflex videos directed by genius artist and our good friend OKAY KAYA. Bathing, sunshine, pickles… We decided to give our fans a special glimpse into our everyday lifestyle.”
‘Visions of Ultraflex’, the self produced album by Icelandic/Norwegian duo Ultraflex is a joyride through a disco theme park. The conflux of the individually accomplished artists, Farao (NO) and Special-K (ISO), channels the cheekily frank Icelandic nature through Norwegian acuteness and reason, resulting in an interdisciplinary artistic collaboration that oozes charisma.
The pair met when they were both living in Berlin and had mutual artistic crushes on each other. The opportunity to collaborate arose when they were hired to make a piece for the Scandinavian electronic music festivals Insomnia and Extreme Chill in 2019. After a few short, intense writing sessions in the remote Westfjords of Iceland, the arctic Tromsø and Berlin, they managed to construct their sound, image and debut album.
‘Visions of Ultraflex’ is a cocktail of contemporary disco and futuristic boogie, the production style falling somewhere between Peggy Gou and The Rah Band, topped with lyrics and vocal performances reminiscent of Easter, Saâda Bonaire, and Janet Jackson. Live, they perform exercise routines in synchronisation with visuals largely based on 80’s Soviet aerobics, which goes well with their overall fashion output, a look that would make Lotta Volkova proud. The project has an easily detectable background in fine art, an everpresent tinge of wit and self irony enveloping everything.Their music videos, many of which are made by fellow Norwegian pop artist OKAY KAYA, are a sophisticated blend of camp and chic and their internet presence is as nonsensical as it is carefully curated.
The album gently glides open on a lingering high-pitched string sample, which little by little blossoms into the fully formed synth bouquet that is “Get Fit”. Along comes a bouncy and borderline corny bassline accompanied by a pumping 80’s drum beat. The only vocals are the band’s watermark ‘Ultraflex’ and the occasionally repeated phrase: “Get fit, get ripped, get a lover, get kids”. This inviting opener establishes the lush and mischievous world we are about to enter.
After this appetiser we’re hit full force by “Work Out Tonight”,a track that fully showcases the band’s brashness. Overtly sexual sport metaphors are whispered atop a naked drum beat and thrusting bass line, and via a breezy pre-chorus we take a dive into the deep and sensual chorus:“I’m gonna make you work it tonight, gonna make you work out tonight.” The ever present cheekiness climaxes with a lewd dialogue between a man who wanders into the women’s dressing room and the person he encounters there.
Sunny instrumental “Papaya”, with its glittering saxophone solo and a dell’Orso-esque interlude, perfectly sets the mood for the melancholic dance anthem “Never Forget My Baby”.The effortlessness with which the girl’s voices blend together in the chorus and the sentimental, verging on saccharine, lyrics make this song stand out in an already delicious assortment.
This luminous dreamboat sails and sinks into the next track, “Man U Sheets”,which contains considerably more shade. A remorseful saxophone opens the door to a roaring bassline and heavy beat as we are told a merciless tale of adolescent sexual debuts. The slightly dissonant chords and the deadpan delivery of the lyrics enhance the awkwardness of the subject. The next track “Olympic Sweat” lightens the mood with a Michal Rother-esque harmonised solo and a slow yet triumphant tempo, allowing us to lean into the bright stream of synths and chimes feeling like we’ve just crossed a finish-line in slow motion.
Right before the end we reach the final energetic crest – the bold and seductive “Full Of Lust”,with exaggeratedly sensual vocals and bratty lyrics like “When I tell you I’m tired, you light up a smoke, tryna fill up the silence when I don’t laugh at your jokes”. The album concludes with the repetitive and wacky “Secret Lover” with sentences spoken by Farao in a thick Norwegian accent from the perspective of a private investigator. The last words of the album are accurately: “So we’ve done a good job. Very happy with our work”.
Musically and conceptually, ‘Visions of Ultraflex’ is a seductive and inventive debut. Glimmering through it all is the warm and playful relationship between Special-K and Farao; they seem to have found a home in each other where they can progress musically while feeling relaxed enough to be nonsensical. “With our solo projects we are both miserable and lonely, so we are coming together like step sisters or lovers to keep each other warm when it’s cold outside”, they say about their unification. Ultraflex brings us a bundle of joy, self-irony and snarky attitude wrapped up in danceable beats – it’s a breath of fresh air in today’s intricate landscape, reminding us that we must not forget to have fun.“
Ancient Astronauts have released their song ‘Do It To The Beat feat. Blessed San’, along with their anticipated EP Kampala Fire on the 16th of October.
Speaking about the EP release, Dogu mentions: “We have always been huge fans of African music and rhythms from different African regions. Afrobeat from artists like Fela Kuti or Ebo Taylor inspired us a lot when it comes to creating grooves in our own music. Kampala is our home base in East Africa and the studio of my partner label East African Records is the place where we record a lot of music and singers. The city of Kampala is such a special place with a really unique music and party scene that I cannot compare to any other place in this world. As a long follower of Nyabinghi Reggae Music, I was overwhelmed that the origin of Nyabinghi and its unique way of drumming is in Uganda. Since my first travels and tours in East Africa, I was stoked by the huge talent of young and mostly unknown artists within the city that it was a natural move for us to pay homage to that powerful vibe of Kampala.”
This latest offering by this duo embraces the country of Uganda and its many intricacies. ‘Do It To The Beat’ flows naturally rather than feeling pressure to conform to a particular style.
Kampala Fire EP Tracklist:
1. Ghetto Youth Never Give Up feat. C Wyne Nalukalala
2. Ddala feat. Spyda MC
3. Pump Up The Sound feat. Bani Fyah
4. Do It To The Beat feat. Blessed San
5. Source Of Life feat. Nilotika Cultural Ensemble
