This past week has been big for the broad genre of electronic music. From dubstep to hyperpop and plain vibes, here’s the definitive recap of some of the amazing tracks and talent that have come out in the past week.
Beginning the list is the new sensual experience from one of Australia’s favourite electronic powerhouses, Just A Gent. ‘Between Two’ is reminiscent of old school dubstep with added future bass spice throughout, creating a classic and true Just A Gent sound. The song is a collaboration with Israel’s David Feldman, and Tim Moyo, a British vocalist. This takes the track beyond borders, with three continents under its belt.
In terms of meaning, the song is about a relationship, funnily enough, between two people. It's about holding onto the relationship, staying strong. The vocals drift in and out of the piece, whilst pulsing bass lines border trap-esc beats and wobbly synth melodies. It creates quite an atmospheric feeling, that fills your body with happiness, or in the second drop, dread.
Continuing on, ‘Breathe’ is the newest track from experimental artist AViT, who meticulously crafts their songs through layering of vocals and instruments, both MIDI and physical.
‘Breathe’ is fast paced with a lot of moving elements and follows their most recent album Lines of Death, which itself features 12 tracks. AViT sings of not fitting in through the song with “no place to call my home.” They also sing about the effect of this, self harm and hatred of themselves. So they decide they just need a break, to realign themselves with the world's pressures closing.
The song’s opening is quite interesting, including a mellow sounding piano, one that may be reminiscent of childhood. But it also includes sped up guitar chords, which give off quite a chaotic sound, likely representing the fragile mind the character has. ‘Breathe’ is quite a pretty story, despite it ultimately being quite dark in tone. It gives me great hope for AViT, one of Virginia’s greatest modern artists.
Next up on the list is Direct’s newest track ‘Twice Now’, which has been released through Bitbird, an independent record label.
Hailing from the US, Direct has been in the electronic scene for about a decade now, collaborating with heaps of artists along the way. He has also contributed to many Monstercat compilations, whilst being signed to the label.
‘Twice Now’ continues the signature sound Direct has created over the years, smooth droning synths, house drums, and of course digitally altered vocals. They blend together especially well in this song, moving like a fast car on a highway at night with no one around would, as smooth and as satisfying as butter. This is a testament to how masterful Direct is when it comes to creating a silky smooth track perfect for relaxing all of your muscles after a hard day.
This next track is a biggie - one I’ve personally been counting down the days until its release. ‘Falling Down’ is the first new track from SAFIA in over 3 years.
To say fans have been waiting patiently is an understatement. The Aussie trio hailing from Canberra formed around a decade ago, where they won the Groovin’ The Moo competition, kick starting their careers. Since then they’ve released two albums, and collaborated with the likes of Alison Wonderland and Peking Duk.
‘Falling Down’ is a lovely tune, drifting through the continent flawlessly, becoming one with the air around it. The song is about someone who is tearing themselves apart over what sounds like something out of their control to do with a romantic relationship. This is not only shown through the vocals, but also through the band's use of instruments: pulsing synths, ambient chimes and pianos, consistent percussion and of course the glass-like vocals themselves. The elements fuse, really relaxing when listening. It’s great to see SAFIA back, hopefully they continue to bring us new music in the near future.
Alison Wonderland is the Australian born, LA based electronic powerhouse, who you may have even seen play at a festival without even realising. As someone who is able to top the Billboard electronic charts twice consecutively, her new song ‘Down The Line’ is certainly a hyped song.
With the release of Loner (her third studio album) earlier this year, it’s a pleasant surprise that she’s releasing new music so soon. This track is about moving on from a bad relationship and the realisation that you’ll be fine later on in your life. In the chorus, the sound features Alison’s layered vocals, as if she’s reinforcing her mind with strong thoughts, as they chant about being okay this time. The instrumentation in the song follows similar motifs that Loner did, making me think this will be the new look for Alison moving into the future. The drop of this song includes a scattered melodic synth which plays over the backing vocals, which creates a really cool sound for ‘Down The Line’.
The penultimate track of this recap is ‘PAINKILLER’, which is by SUPERGROUP, a project consisting of Hearteyes, Lonelyspeck, and cookii, - all Australian hyperpop artists in their own right. This follows their last collaborative single ‘METAL FLAKES’ which came out in July of this year on the COALESCE record label, one that mainly focuses on Australian hyperpop.
‘PAINKILLER’ features the vocals of Hearteyes and half of cookii, who create an interesting dynamic, playing off each other quite well. These vocals are also digitally altered to create the distinctively hyperpop sound. Guitars loft and bounce around the reverberated walls of ‘PAINKILLER’ with laid back drums following. This is quite different from the normal when it comes to genre defining features of the genre, however :cookii often uses this throughout their own music, bending the genre norms.
Hyperpop itself came from a place of experimentation and genre melding, so the fact that people are still experimenting with the genre is very cool. I hope the SUPERGROUP continues to make music together, because these songs are really good.
Polishing off the list is the Californian producer and DJ, Slippy, who's been in the scene for many years as both Slippy, and as Slips & Spurs earlier in his career. His new track named ‘2Nite’ brings me back to the early days of electronic music. This song is a dubstep anthem, something that will be played at raves for many years to come.
This song, in my opinion, doesn’t have any kind of deep and complex meaning like some of the other songs on the recap. It’s simply about feeling yourself on the dance floor, getting in the groove. The sound that Slippy creates here is what he’s known for, fast paced trap drums, lurking synth bass, and of course the drop. ‘2Nite’ in particular goes hard on the drop with what sounds like what lasers would sound like if they were an audible noise.
Overall the track is a simple demonstration of Slippy’s power to create and an absolute house banger.
This week has been absolutely hectic for electronic music releases, so I’m hoping this list helps you find your new favourite track, for at least the next week…
Comments