It’s Friday! Before the weekend, don’t forget to check out our new EP and album recommendations, with an emphasis on up and coming artists’ projects you might have missed. As usual, support what you like if you can: it really makes a difference for emerging musicians.

Ece Era – War on Innocence EP [debut]

Time Wharp – Spiro World

Σtella – Up and Away

Tirzah – Highgrade [Colourgrade remix album]

TDJ – TDJ123

Dylan Moon – Option Explore

Stella – Détends-toi EP [debut]

0171 – Welcome Back To My Channel EP

Nailah Hunter – Forest Dwelling

Barbie Bertisch – Prelude [debut]

Ahead of their highly anticipated third EP Welcome Back To My Channel, London duo Joe Bedell-Brill and Georgie Hoare, better known as 0171, have dropped not one but two tracks to give us a taste of what’s to come.

0171‘s forthcoming EP as a whole is inspired by the weird and wonderful world of ASMR, combining this digital cocoon of sounds with the general feeling of sadness and uncertainty that stemmed from the global pandemic. As they posted on Instagram, these new tracks were conceived in the peaceful countryside of Wales.

However, the two newly released singles, which pose dichotomous emotions felt in response to the rollercoaster year, are nothing but quiet. Where “Burnout” is the emotional low point of the EP, focussing on the cyclic and spiraling nature of depressive thoughts and the feeling of despair that comes when you are physically and mentally exhausted – or burnt out -, “The Basics Are Coming Back” points focus onto a return to normality, with a more positive outlook conveyed.

Mixed by Joe Visciano (who has worked with the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, Jamie xx and SZA), both tracks are tightly produced, with a slick, underground vibe.

“Burnout” is composed of glitchy, garage beats, repetitive and swirling darkly in amongst 0171’s airy vocals. With the repeated lyrics “so tired, I think I’m dying”, the track is imbued with sadness and uncertainty. Don’t let this put you off though; the beat is relentless and evolves hypnotically into a beautiful nightmare.

“The Basics Are Coming Back” still retains the techno environment of “Burnout”, but uses these textures to convey a more progressive, forward moving sounding track. 0171’s vocal blends, when melded with the vast soundscape, create a sensation of motion, of picking oneself up from the darkness of “Burnout” and moving on.

The double A-sides work together to create a mood board of the entire pandemic; depressing, stoic and heavily imbued by the influence of the digital in our lives.

Following their previous two singles “Automatic” and “Follow“, London based experimental electronic pop duo 0171 have dropped their latest warped offering in the form of single “Photograph”. The pair have been lauded for their innovative take on electro-pop, and their third single follows along in this trippy vein.

Steeped in dark synths yet naturalistic earthy chimes, “Photograph” traces a journey through the past in a paradoxically futuristic manner. The combination of Joe Bedell-Brill and Georgia Hoare’s succinct and perfectly sweet vocals, entwined throughout the throbbing synthesisers, creates a lush soundscape full of delicate textures.

Speaking of the inspiration behind the track, 0171 commented: “‘Photograph’ is inspired by looking at a photo of an ex. A photo that records a moment when everything seemed perfect, but now it’s a lie, and it makes you feel strange, like you can’t really remember who you were in that photo, when you loved that person. Like a life that never happened. We’ve all picked up old photos like that we find in our bedroom, that make you sit down and feel sad for a time that is lost, even if you don’t regret the relationship ending. I’m (Joe) definitely someone who spends a lot of time thinking about my past, and the feelings that I’ll never get back. Georgie’s there in this song to tell me to get over it ffs.”

In the accompanying video for “Photograph”, we see grainy and colour saturated photos of what we presume to be the band. At the bottom of each clip, there’s a sentence ruminating on how these pictures are tied up to various thoughts and feelings that 0171 possess.

The highly nostalgic and retro feel that stems from the photographs themselves is completed by a varying patchwork of colours and textures. The effect is pleasantly jarring to the viewer and helps to carefully tie together the conceptual narrative behind “Photograph”.

Following their critically acclaimed debut EP Red Light, the Hackney-based producer-singer duo 0171 have given us a taste of what to expect from their anticipated sophomore EP Change Nothing in new single “Follow”.

Comprised of Joe Bedell-Brill and Georgie Hoare, 0171 collaborate to create a sonic world that’s as experimental as it is thrilling. Their sound is one of catchy electronic pop with a more sinister side being explored simultaneously. Their latest single “Follow” continues in this vein.

Of the track and its inspiration, the duo spoke of the positive vibes that accompanied the classic 90’s pop that they grew up on and how they wanted to take this energy and morph it into something darker. “Songs like ‘Sex On The Beach’ or Vengaboys’ ‘We Like To Party’ come to mind; but we wanted to push those pop fantasies until they became sinister”.

On “Follow”, the buzzing synths that act as the anchor speak to this aim; there’s a Grimes-esque feeling to the track as it unleashes the same restless and ominous energy that tracks like “Genesis” and “Oblivion” possess. In the same way, “Follow” is inherently otherworldly, a kind of humming, dangerous track that throbs around the vocals duo’s vocals.

Adding percussion and keys to the chorus, however, makes it a near dance track, something that wouldn’t sound amiss in the midst of a nightclub. “Follow” is all about energy.

Commenting further on the track, 0171 said: “‘Follow’ is a fantasy. It’s all about a longing to just let go and believe that everything’s fine, everything’s perfect, even if you know it’s a lie. This is the fantasy world that pop music provides – a world where you really can just take someone’s hand and drive off into the sunset with the top down. We know it’s fake, but we might as well believe in it.”

Accompanying the track is a video made whilst in lockdown by good friends and collaborator to the band Jake Alden-Falconer. Made of stock footage, it tells the warped tale of a man who becomes so engrossed into the virtual world of the internet that he loses his sense of self as he’s so consumed by the idyllic lives of people that he sees online. Watch below.

Before your well-deserved holiday break, we come up with a playlist loaded with good music only. We are aware that it’s not always easy to keep up with all the daily releases and posts. Therefore our team made everything easier just for you. Enjoy our 50 favourite songs of 2019 so far and don’t forget to follow our Spotify playlist to check future additions.

1 GEORGIA – “About Work The Dancefloor”

2 BIG THIEF – “UFOF”

3 ARLO PARKS – “Super Sad Generation”

4 CRUMB – “Part III”

5 REQUIN CHAGRIN – “Sémaphore”

6 YOT CLUB – “No Way !”

7 CARLY RAE JEPSEN – “Julien”

8 070 SHAKE – “Morrow”

9 MEN I TRUST – “Numb”

10 TEEN BODY – “Validation”

11 HAND HABITS – Can’t Calm Down”

12 MARIA SOMERVILLE – “Brighter Days”

13 ERIKA DE CASIER – “Do My Thing”

14 SHARON VAN ETTEN – “Seventeen”

15 BEAUTY QUEEN – “The Only One”

16 MORABEZA TOBACCO – “Ally McBeal”

17 GRACE IVES – “Mirror”

18 BARRIE – “Darjeeling”

19 KEVIN ABSTRACT – “Georgia”

20 ALDOUS HARDING – “The Barrel”

21 EMILY REO – “Ghosting”

22 BOY HARSHER – “LA”

23 AUGUSTINE – “A Scent Of Lily”

24 PURE BATHING CULTURE – “All Night”

25 ΣTELLA – “Samba”

26 CELESTE – “Father’s Son”

27 CHARLOTTE ADIGERY – “High Lights”

28 LALA LALA, WHY? – “Siren 042”

29 PRONOUN – “Stay”

30 STAINWASHER – “Joy For Me”

31 LANA DEL REY – “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have…”

32 JACKIE MENDOZA – “Mucho Más”

33 BASEBALL GREGG, PECAS, WILLIAM CORDUROY – “The Movies”

34 BEA1991 – “My Own Heaven”

35 GRACIE GRAY – “Morphine”

36 ROSALÍA, J BALVIN – “Con Altura”

37 WEYES BLOOD – “Movies”

38 HATCHIE – “Without A Blush”

39 PECAS – “T-Shirt”

40 FKA TWIGS – “Cellophane”

41 OMAR APPOLO – “Ashamed”

42 MAKTHAVERSKAN – “Demands”

43 SANDY (ALEX G) – “Gretel”

44 CLAUD – “Easy”

45 JAI PAUL – “He”

46 JAPAN, MAN – “Stop Staring”

47 THE DAWDLER – “Sylvie”

48 ARIEL – “Dream Team”

49 EUGENIA POST MERIDIEM – “Blue Noon”

50 0171 – “1000 Words”

Following up on their singular debut single “1000 Words,” Hackney’s left-field pop band 0171 unveil today a brand new song and video. With “SMTHN RL”, the up and coming duo, comprising of Joe Bedell-Brill and Georgie Hoare, is searching for authenticity in a world where emotions and experiences are altered by social media and the internet. Paradoxically, people feel more and more lonely and isolated in our modern world.

This confrontation between intimacy and hyper-connection can be felt in their modulated vocals but also in their soundscapes which simultaneously combine acoustic and electronic, rough and polished up elements. To go even further in their concept, “SMTHN RL” also comes with a brilliant video which was made with Google Earth and plays with the different meanings of “being lost”.

About their sophomore single, 0171 stated:

[su_quote]We like to sing about nostalgia, looking back at your life, memory, and how that shifts and changes. We’re building memories upon memories, storing them, and then forgetting about them. Like the pile of old phones you have in your parents house. Or all the stuff you’ve made, which you record on hard drives but leave in a room. There are all these forgotten fragments that were once part of who you were. We try to put those things at the centre of our music.[/su_quote]

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UliSc1tgMuM”]

Ray Newlan, Noah Salem – Dreaming – 00:00

Maria Somerville – All My People – 03:18

Dwen – Tr Pp N – 09:05

Kip Nelson – Laced Up – 12:50

Deep Sea Peach Tree – Xanzibar – 15:27

Arlo Parks – Super Sad Generation – 17:45

Bathe – Kimmi – 20:26

Virgin Pool – The Wanderer – 24:45

Hand Habits – Can’t Calm Down – 28:14

Mini Dresses – Rank and File – 31:36

Melby – VCR – 34:05

Jessica Pratt – Aeroplane – 37:53

Jackie Mendoza – De Lejos – 41:13

UTO – Synthetise – 43:47

Konradsen – Baby Hallelujah – 47:08

Pecas – Tshirt – 49:58

0171 – 1000 Words – 53:02

Emmett Kai – Taste The Sunset – 57:00