News – Page 78 – RCRD LBL

January 7, 2021

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 Mike change

Electronic band Little Dragon & singer Moses Sumney collaborate on song, ‘The Other Lover’

Image credit: Arya Haliba

“The Other Lover” sees Little Dragon team up with Ghanaian American vocalist/songwriter Moses Sumney—who released his widely acclaimed double-album “græ” earlier this year—with a track that showcases his unmistakable voice alongside the equally inimitable Yukimi Nagano, the two vocalists intertwined over a gently unfolding swirl of synthesisers, horns, and stripped-back percussion.

The track draws it’s lyrics from Little Dragon’s ‘Another Lover’ taken from their latest album, “New Me, Same Us”, released earlier this year on Ninja Tune and lauded by the likes of the New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Mixmag, Crack Magazine and many more. Entirely self-produced and recorded at the pioneering Swedish band’s studio, “New Me, Same Us” saw the band go back to basics, falling back in love with their instruments: drums, bass, keyboards, harp, guitar and voice, to produce some of their most focused and best music to date. The album hit #5 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the US, with Mixmag calling it “a futuristic record bursting with lush textures and elevated by lead singer Yukimi Nagano’s sublime vocals” and The Guardian finding them on “on deliciously soulful form”.

The band’s hugely popular and highly regarded live performances have spawned a decade-spanning touring career, including festival highlights such as Coachella, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Bestival, Sonar, All Points East, Dimensions Festival, Parklife, Lovebox, Love Saves The Day, Melt and Dour; co-headlining the Hollywood Bowl and Berkeley’s Greek Theatre with Flying Lotus supported by BADBADNOTGOOD and sold out two nights at London’s Roundhouse. While the global pandemic has put touring on hold, the band joined NPR Music for an intimate Tiny Desk (Home) Concert filmed at their long-term home-built studio in Gothenburg, Sweden—watch that here.

Follow Little Dragon:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube / Soundcloud / Spotify / AppleMusic

December 10, 2020

December 10, 2020December 10, 2020 Mike change

Art imitates life in Axel Thesleff’s music video: ‘2 Down’

Axel Thesleff’s popularity has been paced up by his 2014 release, Bad Karma. Which has been streamed more than 500 million times on Youtube and tens of millions more on Spotify and Soundcloud. Axel is widely known for his highly enthralling, cinematic music videos – Bad Karma has reached 48 million views and counting – and his latest piece of work is no different. Thesleff’s “2 Down” music video premieres on his YouTube channel December 4, available on all streaming platforms the same day. The video progressively reveals to listeners a path to letting go of depression and welcoming one’s inner light and forgiveness. Ethereal vocals and synths in flux pair with a mother’s journey through meadows and streams of Lapland as she endures flashbacks of painful memories.

Thesleff says of the release:

“2 Down is about letting go of depression and the cycle of negativity. It’s about letting go of the past and embracing the future, whatever it may hold. It’s about finding your inner light that has always been there, whether you knew or not. It’s about being thankful for life. It’s about love and forgiveness. I hope that through this song, I can help people look at their own darkness straight in the eyes and see it vanish, leaving behind an empty space of their own inner light. I hope to create a feeling of breaking free of the chains in one’s mind, cleansing away negative emotions, and ultimately finding resolve and gratitude in the end. The 2 Down music video depicts a journey of a lonely backpacker in a vast, dreamlike landscape of a never-ending mountain range. The traveller seems to be completely lost in thought. Painful memories start to arise from the past and she is forced to dive into them. She must fight the demons of guilt, blame and sorrow within in order to break free from this mental dissonance and find forgiveness, acceptance and gratitude to replace them. The story is about overcoming the worst of sufferings and clearing one’s mind from agony. It’s about facing one’s deepest fears and painful emotions head on, and growing from them as a person. No one is perfect and sometimes one needs to accept what is in order to move forward in life and strive to do one’s best. Life is short, and we should be spending it loving each other instead of fighting. Ultimately, 2 Down is about gratitude towards life.”

Follow Axel Thesleff:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Soundcloud

December 10, 2020

December 10, 2020December 10, 2020 Mike change

Folk pop singer Rosie Carney announces cover of iconic Radiohead album, The Bends

Image credit: Rosie Carney

Rosie Carney shares two final singles ahead of releasing her ambitious quarantine project covering Radiohead‘s seminal mental health album The Bends in its entirety on the 11^th of December.

“Bullet Proof … I Wish I Was” & “Sulk” follow previous singles “Black Star“, “Bones” and “Just” which found strong support at Stereogum, SPIN, The Line of Best Fit, NME, Consequence of Sound, BPM and much more.

“The whole record is very relatable to me, but Bulletproof in particular really captured how lost I was feeling basically throughout the whole year. So many moments were spent wishing I was mentally stronger and wishing someone could just tell me what to do with my time every day.”

Like “Bones“ and “Black Star”, “Bullet Proof … I Wish I Was” also comes with a home-made video, the song and visual Carney claims as perhaps her most challenging on the album. “I’ve spent a good solid chunk of this year being afraid of literally myself” she says as she looks to capture the dynamic of her internal love/hate relationship.

“Nothing screams anxiety like really fast flashing lights, being half naked and staring down a camera lens at yourself for hours on end. I was completely alone (apart from my sisters hands in one of the shots) on my bedroom floor, which in itself comes with a vulnerability I usually wouldn’t share with the world. It was a weirdly safe but uncomfortable experience”

Tackling a ground-breaking stretch of pop history requires tact and dedication to make it your own. Rosie Carney’s personal connection to the music brings to bear her stunning take of The Bends. Read more about the project in her interview with NME.

“She transformed the whole album into ghostly, Carrie & Lowell-esque folk music” proclaims Stereogum. Co-produced by Rosie and JMAC (Luz, Haux), the project is a poetic example of things coming full circle – it’s not the first time Carney’s battles have dovetailed with her love of Radiohead. She recalls going to see them as a teenager and having an anxiety attack in the arena. She blacked out and woke up in the first aid room and covering the band has acted a a form of therapy, as, like so many others this year, her original career plans and mental health were derailed by the pandemic.

Rosie Carney’s version of The Bends is due for release on December 11th via Color Study and “Bullet Proof … I Wish I Was” is out now. You can pre-order the album here.

Follow Rosie Carney:

Website / Twitter / Instagram

December 1, 2020

December 1, 2020December 1, 2020 Mike change

Recap the year with obylx’s latest indie-pop album

Image Credit: Richard Beech

The final release from obylx has had us on the edge of seats for a while, with the knowledge that his latest album would contain an unseen track. Out Of The Woods, released today via Guise Records, contains the shimmering splendour of ‘Alright’, the final track of the year. Marking three years of blood, sweat and tears, the album is a sign that any young producer starting out can build a similar empire with enough work.

The well-known producer takes us through some of the tracks on the album and the significance they carry: “This year I have been exploring other areas in my life, be it the ending (‘Take Me’) and starting of relationships (‘Alright’), solitude (‘Day By Day’), conflict (‘The Leech’) and good times (‘Skin’). I have also started writing from other’s perspectives -‘Another Life’ being the clearest example. I feel like it has been a year that has concluded my wandering and has led me out of my metaphorical forest. I have learned how to deal with grief and turn it into a driving force. At the start of the project I deliberately left space so that I could grow into it. I have reached that place and now ready to ‘Walk On’ into next year.”

As the producer has been releasing singles throughout the year, Out Of The Woods can be seen as a form of a musical time-capsule, with each track reflecting a part of the dramatic year we’ve all had. The expression of emotions from obylx as he’s travelled the year has been captivating, as listeners have shared in both his joys and his sorrows. Tell us which song you connected with the most in the comment section below.

Stream / Download: Out Of The Woods album

Follow obylx:

Web – Facebook – Twitter – Soundcloud – Instagram – Youtube – Spotify