POSTS TAGGED : London

Introducing: Best Friend

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Best Friend are a production trio from London, who slice up old 12 inches and Youtube videos and reassemble them into summery, soulful chill hop beats.

The trio’s taste for epic cut and pasting takes us on a gorgeous, colourful and sampladelic adventure. Our intrepid excursion begins with their new record Weekend With Best Friend; a sample-driven gem with scenic production and a hazy, tranquil vibe fit to lift the spirits of even the most glum among us. ‘Spotlight’ is a lavish, cool and irresistible blend of hip hop beats and slick, shimmering samples, leaving us in a state of blissful relaxation. ‘Colourful’ meanwhile marries a beautiful vocal with dazzling flourishes of glistening strings and gentle percussion for a wonderfully hypnotic feel. Throughout Weekend With Best Friend, the trio explore a world of genres, styles and eras to serve up a record which manages a real sense of familiarity without having heard it before – and all done with immense skill, style and substance.

Check out ‘Spotlight’ & ‘Colourful’ below & the full record is available here. This production trio are definitely ones to watch – keep tabs!

Swimming Tapes – ‘Cameos’

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Swimming Tapes are a London five-piece who deal in dreamy guitar-pop.

The band released their debut EP Souvenirs a few days ago, and with it, shared their fourth single ‘Cameos’. It is – as is the entirety of their debut EP – blissfully woozy indie pop, pairing blissed out, sun-soaked indie pop with bittersweet ache. Amid the laid-back hazy undulations, sparkling guitars and general breeziness, it is placing solemn verse against brimming optimism that rules the day. Swimming Tapes sound nostalgic yet fresh, melancholic but hopeful, and that’s a tough nut to crack, but so far these guys make it look all rather easy.

You can listen to new cut ‘Cameos’ below and if that is to your liking (and I rather think it shall) you can listen to their debut EP Souvenirs here.

Ten Fé – ‘Another Way’

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London duo Ten Fé (Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan) have steadily been building a name for themselves and with their debut album out this week, the pair have shared their latest cut ‘Another Way’.

Having already distinguished themselves an unrivalled purveyors of positive, optimistic and uplifting sounds, ‘Another Way’ most certainly solidifies this reputation. The swaying melody, warm synth, soft cushioned beat and rather sublime vocals combine for a gloriously uplifting track that is big in ideas and big in heart. Although influenced by a lot by the films the pair watched while recording the album – offering bleak, expansive portrayals of America – the new single is imbued with a bright air and hopeful tone. Just the aural antidote for troubled times.

Ten Fé’s debut LP Hit The Light is out this Friday, February 3rd – needless to say it is one most definitely to keep an eye out for. Ahead of that, well, go and listen to ‘Another Way’ below. Your day (and week in fact) will be better for it.

Listen to Happyness ‘Falling Down’; Album to follow in April

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London trio Happyness, comprised of multi-instrumentalists Ash Cooper, Benji Compston and Jon EE Allan, will release their second album Write In in April.

Alongside news of a follow up to 2014’s Weird Little Birthday comes lead single, ‘Falling Down’. Unfolds pensively, ‘Falling Down’ slowly-building before eventually elegantly swells to a warm but somewhat moody, melancholic burst of rough-edged guitar pop and bubbly drums. Like a slowly settling pint of stout, the reward is as gratifying to wait for as it is to behold. Being the first track unveiled from the forthcoming record, to be honest, you couldn’t ask for a better, more enticing introduction to Happyness.

Write In is penned in for an April 2nd release via Moshi Moshi and Bar None, in the UK and U.S respectively. Also, Happyness shall be in Dublin on April 21st, when the trio play Whelan’s – all the info is here.

For now, listen to ‘Falling Down’ below, it is wonderful.

Alexander Teller – ‘It’s All Happening in Berlin’

Alexander Teller Photo by Karina Stevens

Brighton-born, London-based musician Alexander Teller, has returned just in time to close out 2016 with a sublime new single, ‘It’s All Happening in Berlin’.

A multi-instrumentalist, the singer-songwriter writes, records and produces his music from his South London home; a formula that seems to be working a treat.Teller’s previous work came in for praise here before but his latest single might be his best and most affecting work to date. A beautiful song – musically and lyrically – it is powerful and emotive, with a melancholic and lamentable feel. It is as though we are privy to the the last days of a declining world, a world falling apart at the seams. Led by piano and acoustic strum, and back by some swish, swooning orchestral sweeps coalesce while Teller’s powerful, deep, dark brogue endeavours to raise his lyrics to pride of place – emblematic of the song’s stirring emotion and rousing defiance. Powerful and compelling, this is Teller’s finest hour thus far.

Listen to ‘It’s All Happening in Berlin’ below, now.

Introducing: False Heads

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London grunge/punk trio False Heads have marked themselves as noisemakers supreme over the course of the past 12 months.

They have released a slew of blistering singles and their latest ‘Weigh In’, is as ferocious an intro as possible. ‘Weigh In’, and indeed their grunge/punk hybrid, is rammed with vicious hooks, fierce, crunchy guitar riffs, hammering percussion and banging bass line. Three-and-a-half-minute burst of coiled up aggression, delivered with a primal energy; this is raspy, aggressive, and downright infectious. The companion to ‘Weigh In’, ‘All Eyes’ leans toward the grungier end of the spectrum yet similarly menacing, viscerally snarling and hard to resist. False Heads certainly sound like a trio with fire in their bellies, and with a bunch of singles and live dates planned for the coming year, these guys look like an exciting prospect.

Three lads who make a whole lot of noise, what’s not to like? Well, for now, check out ‘Weigh In’ & ‘All Eyes’ – as good a start as any.