It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but I’ve managed to squeeze some time during work to listen to some music, and so here we go with another installment of Friday Music!
Most of the time, I’m discovering new music via my “Discovery Weekly” curated playlist on Spotify — so it occurs to me: would it be useful for you folks if, in addition to these blog entries, I also put together a “Friday Music” playlist on Spotify, regularly updated, with the link shared here? Are enough of you even using Spotify to make that worth doing?
Drop into the comments and let me know.
OK — this week’s music: The album cover up there is from our first selection, a London-based 80s-influenced electro-artpop quartet called Artificial Pleasure, whose debut album, The Bitter End, is now available. I read a review that described the band as “If ‘Let’s Dance’-era David Bowie fronted Talking Heads.” Throw in a bit of Georgio Moroder & Bryan Ferry…but they manage to do it without sounding like a pastiche. Seriously, this is SO GOOD. Artificial Pleasure – “Wound Up Tight.”
I haven’t shared any hip-hop since relaunching Friday Music, and thankfully, this week I get to remedy that. Long time readers will recall that I’m into the less-commercial stuff. This is an excellent example — a stomping amalgam of Jamaican dancehall and Brooklyn beats by way of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Apparently, this track was also featured on the TV show “How To Get Away With Murder,” so it looks like an alternative hip-hop act might be getting some attention. LLgL TNDR – “Enormous.”
And now, a drastic shift in gear. Charlotte Gainsbourg is the daughter of British actress Jane Birkin and legendary French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, and has followed in both her parent’s footsteps. She’s an actress (several Lars Von Trier films, among others) and a singer with five albums — this track is from her most recent album, Rest, which was released late last year. I love the disco-house bassline mixing with Gainsbourg’s breathy vocals and the unexpected rhythm of those vocals. I put this one on repeat for a few times when I first heard it. Charlotte Gainsbourg – “Deadly Valentine.”
Another shift in genre — this time into a more folk-country-tinged Indie track from the Canadian band Carmanah. The quintet from Victoria, British Columbia refer to their sound as “West Coast Soul.” Canadian music critics have called lead singer Laura Mina Mitic “the Stevie Nicks of our generation.” High praise — and honestly? Well-deserved. Carmanah – “Roots.”
And lastly, also from Canada, but from the other coast, an excellent example of what some of my friends call “Beep Boop Music.” Richard Aucoin is from Nova Scotia and creates alternative electronic music, mixing in experimental sounds and a pop sensibility. When this track began, I thought Spotify had given me some avant-garde electronic, but it graduatually shifted, blending those sounds into a pop structure, and I fell in love with it. Richard Aucoin – “Release.”
There you go, folks. I hope you enjoy them!
See you again next week.