Parisian trio Keep Dancing Inc. are, as their name suggests, fully aware that the process of creating sounds to make bodies move is big business. On the evidence of this debut album, they have done extensive market research, too, although less predominantly in their home country than you might imagine.
“There are a couple of tracks on this project where I was thinking—is this listenable?”
There is a twinkle in Dorian Electra’s eye as they say these words. The Los Angeles-based artist knows full well that their music is not made for mass consumption. Speaking ahead of the release of their new LP, My Agenda, Electra pulses with enthusiasm when talking about the record’s deliciously disorienting aesthetic. (They refer to the album as a “project,” perhaps giving a sense of its scope and scale.) The twin poles pushing and pulling at the heart of the record are Electra’s genuine affection for mainstream pop and their desire to mangle and warp it at the same time.
Continue reading at Bandcamp Daily.
Moonchild Sanelly has picked the perfect moment to grace the world with her good vibes. With external misery continuing to closeaa in, her debut international offering, the ‘Nüdes’ EP (released last month via Transgressive), offers the perfect escape – its jubilant ac brimming with body positivity, sex positivity and a determination to let nothing stand in the way of a good time.
The Johannesburg-based singer and rapper established herself on home turf some time ago, where she’s been hailed as the ‘Queen of Gqom’ – the style of minimal house that arose in South Africa during the 2010s. After immersing herself in the Durban poetry scene of the late 2000s (“Give me a word and I can tell you a story,” she says), Sanelly branched off into making her own music because she “wanted something more exciting, something that wasn’t already being done”.
Continue reading at DIY.
From studying fashion design and working for John Galliano in Paris, to having her original poetry published in the esteemed London Magazine, her creative instincts translate far beyond the confines of any one medium. However, it is her debut EP Drowning in Blessings that presents the most impactful realisation of Sinead O’Brien‘s work so far.
Over fiery post-punk backing, O’Brien’s spoke-sung vocals and densely evocative lyrical imagery across the EP’s four tracks single her out as one of the most direct and thoughtful emerging musical artists of the moment; O’Brien has, in other words, found her calling.
Continue reading at The Line of Best Fit.
UK drill has, since its inception, ignited reactionary embers, with videos being routinely removed from YouTube, police pre-emptively shutting down gigs, and West London group 1011 even being banned from making music without police permission. But on Edna, as on so much of the best music from the scene, the story is not one of glorification or provocation, but of articulation and explanation. Across 20 tracks, Headie One weaves a tale of self-examination and personal growth, using his own life to assemble a fable that hinges on an individual’s capacity to overcome.
Continue reading at Loud & Quiet.
Finding My Edge 