I'm back with another 10 songs to pop inside your walkman and cruise to.
10 - "Dust", HÆLOS
This is the first of four artists I bring to you that feature strange diacritical marks in their names. Well, I suppose the overring, acute and umlaut fit the bill, Æ is technically a grapheme. But I digress. I'm actually killing space because very little is known about HÆLOS (formerly just Halos). I can confirm that they are a trio and that they are from the U.K. They have also signed to Matador Records. Beyond that, nothing. "Dust" was released last year and it was followed up earlier this year by "Earth Not Above".
9 - "Memo", Years and Years
Another trio, this time definitely from London. These guys won the BBC Sound of 2015 award this past year, an annual award that has previously been given to Sam Smith, HAIM, Michael Kiwanuka, Jessie J and Ellie Goulding (James Bay finished second this year) since 2010. They are probably more known for their single "King" (I'm also listening to that one a lot), but "Memo" is the standout for me at the moment.
8 - "Betray My Heart", D'Angelo and The Vanguard
It's taken a while for one of the tracks from Black Messiah to make it onto my monthly list and the one that finally cracked it was not one of the more popular songs out there...but it's my current favourite from the album. It's been a while since I've seen critical reception for an album like I saw with this one - it's still growing on me, but I definitely enjoy a few tracks including "Ain't That Easy", "Really Love", "Till It's Done" and "Back to the Future (II)".
7 - "You Didn't Need My Love", Ánders
Wow - I know nothing about this guy from the UK. Soundcloud reports that this was recorded on the Greek island of Sifnos. Oh and if you're interested in having Ánders come play your house party, click here.
6 - "Memory", Tom Misch
Another smooth jam from Tom Misch. Is this guy seriously 19? Apparently he has now cleared 10M total streams on Soundcloud. Wow. Looking forward to more electro-jazz-hip-hop-fusion from this guy. Oh and for those of you who want to pay your respects to J Dilla, feel free to give this a listen.
5 - "Won't Look Back", Duke Dumont
I'm really not sure how, in the midst of my Duke Dumont phase last year, I managed to miss out on this one. Maybe it's because, out of the three singles D.D. has released in the U.K., "Won't Look Back" is actually the only one to stall out at #2 and not top the chart. I'm posting the video because it's kind of funny.
4 - "No Enemiesz", Kiesza
I am actually showing no signs of Kiesza fatigue just yet. The first time I heard "No Enemiesz", it was a pretty crazy remix that didn't really do the song justice. After "Giant in My Heart" failed to crack the top 50 in Canada, I'm not too sure what to expect for this single. It's getting some run in Ottawa, but it might not take off nationally. P.S. I very much support the z at the end of the title.
3 - "Goodbye", Who is Fancy
I have a feeling that this song will be everywhere in short order. I also have a feeling that this is going to be filed under "guilty pleasure" when all is said and done. It came out a few weeks ago that Who is Fancy is actually some dude named Jake Hagood who is wrapped up with Dr. Luke, Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun. Look out world. He gave his first highly visible performance on Jimmy Fallon this week (seen here) and I'm sure it will feed into the buzz. It's a pretty simple earworm...beware if you haven't heard it...
2 - "I Had This Thing", Röyksopp
Jamie Irrepressible and Röyksopp first appeared on my playlists almost two years ago with "Something in My Heart", a track that would eventually be included on Röyksopp's curtain call "The Inevitable End". I'll really miss these guys and will have to settle for spinning their catalogue repeatedly in memoriam.
1 - "Falling Short", Låpsley
This is Holly Lapsley Fletcher from Liverpool and was also featured on the BBC Sound of 2015 long list (i.e. did not finish in the top 6). This song blows me away. As you might know from my previous (and frankly, current) posts, I like me some uptempo music. So it takes something special for a slow burner like this to catch my ear. I will likely be listening to this one right through the summer and will try to dig up some more Låpsley to see what else is out there.
Happy listening!
