Kelela‘s “Take Me Apart” was one of our favourite albums of 2017 so we’re glad to learn that the Ethiopian American singer and songwriter will release a new project with 20 remixes and updated versions with exciting artists such as Kaytranada, Serpentwithfeet, LSDXOXO or GAIKA. She has also unveiled a first track, the fierce “LMK (WHAT’S REALLY GOOD)”, where she invites Princess Nokia, JunglePussy, CupcakKe and Ms. Boogie (fka Jay Boogie). This announcement also comes with a statement from Kelela:

[su_quote]This project has been evolving in my mind since I was deep in recording Take Me Apart. I obsessed over production choices on the album and my only solace was knowing that the songs would be reimagined in this way. So, it’s not just a bunch of remixes…it’s how my worldwide community of producers and DJs communicate through difference. It’s also about the camaraderie that we experience when we find the overlaps. The same songs get to exist in these alternate realities which means different people get to have a relationship with the music. maybe even with each other.[/su_quote]

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“soil” is the much-hyped first studio album by Josiah Wise, better known as serpentwithfeet. Or you could say that he is better known as the guy with a pentagram and the word “SUICIDE” (all caps, which makes a nice contrast with his choice of songtitles) tattooed in his forehead. Ever since he started to garner attention with his first singles in 2016, Wise has been adamant that he is a one of a kind artist, and even his physical appearance seems to be working towards that goal. Often used as a derogatory term or just as a well-worn cliché that PR agents shoehorn in artist bios, the word “personal” gets thrown around quite a lot to stand for “confessional”. serpentwithfeet’s music might as well be regarded as personal, but definitely not in an unflattering way. If soil is a personal album, it’s not because Wise is engaging in heart-in-your-sleeve, tasteless lyricism, but because he is the only person that could be making music like this – here “personal” stands not for angsty but for unique. For better or for worse, “soil” is an album as much as it is a cocky artistic manifesto – at times brilliant, at times impenetrable, at times simply irredeemable.

As a teen, Wise was a gifted choirboy in the East Coast of the United States. He took part in tournaments, he travelled through Europe – he did the whole thing. It was at that time when he started to be influenced by radically different kinds of music – here was a kid with classical training who was nevertheless worried about queer and black representation in what can sometimes be a somewhat reactionary world. It was this interest in more left-field art forms that has driven him to merge classical influences with experimental electronic music that would be right up Björk’s alley – see the string-led “slow syrup”. Wise even remixed a song from Björk’s “Utopia”, which makes a ton of sense if you compare both albums and their lack of reluctance to embrace fluid, non-.definite song structures and melodies.

Wise’s childhood and teenage years (If you’re looking for an in-depth biography of Josiah Wise, Issue 124 of Loud and Quiet includes a simply suberb piece on him) have certainly helped him craft the fascinating religious overtones that impregnate his whole work (his artistic moniker is basically a reference to Satan, and anyone with a certain level of familiarity with the Bible will recognize how pervasive the world “soil” is in the scriptures”). serpentwithfeet’s songs are very much like prayers that refuse to be sung by a congregation. Here is where his sense of the personal shines through again, as he devotes his efforts to make a kind of music that manages to feel communal and strictly private at the same time. His praise of his lover as if he was a God-like being reconciles the album’s religious influences -as canalized through Wise’s choir-like backing vocals and arrangements- with its overtly sexual, sometimes even camp-y lyrical themes: “When you’re needy and seedless / You’re hungry, I’ll feed it,” he sings in the minimalist, industrial-inspired “seedless”.

At times, Wise’s lyrics are affectionate and touching, as in album highlight “cherubim” (“Sewing love into you is my job”) or in the aforementioned “seedless”: “I love crawling but you’re breaking yourself / Can I make your favorite meal before you move out?” Other times, it’s not quite clear whether one should take his lyrics at face value, as his songs awkwardly move into Lonely Island territory – intermittently terrible (“I’m walking like a virgin again”), intermittently hilarious (“I wanna fuck but can we read about it first?”). At his best, Wise is a wildly talented lyricist with an immense gift for throwing you off when you less expect it. At his worst, he borders so much on self-parody that it’s hard to take him seriously, like in the tuneless “waft”: “He knows I can’t fall in love if he’s wearing cologne.”

From Katie Gately to Paul Epworth, soil has been produced by four different people, which might account for its sometimes irritating vastness. It’s aiming at too many things at the same time – when it accomplishes these things, soil is just excellent, an album that mounts a strong case for serpentwithfeet as one of the most captivating up and coming musicians today. Nobody else could come up with songs like “cherubim” or “whisper”, let alone making his artistic vision so profusely clear. When it fails, though, it fails badly – “waft” lacks any redeemable quality, and it’s not easy to make it through the whole thing without wanting to skip a few bits. Nevertheless, “soil” is a bold, surprising album, an unlikely yet successful merger between Arca and Benjamin Clementine that is as moving as overwhelmingly unabated.

Following up on the excellent “cherubim” and “bless ur heart,” Josiah Wise aka serpentwithfeet has shared a third single off of his upcoming debut LP. The track is named “seedless” and was co-produced by Clams Casino. Tune in below.

Josiah Wise, aka serpentwithfeet, remains as much of an intriguing figure as when he rose to fame in 2016 with his critically acclaimed EP “blisters”. A left-field trailblazer with a classical music training, Wise carries his musical expertise to uncharted territory, infusing his music with far-out electronic arrangements and a peculiar sense of melody that is as influenced by gospel (it’s little to no surprise that Wise grew up in a religious environment) as it is by modern R&B. The latest single off “soil,” his much-hyped upcoming debut album, “cherubim” perfectly encapsulates all we know about Josiah Wise so far.

serpentwithfeet is wise (sorry) enough to start off “cherubim” with its strongest asset: the song’s chorus, which features a melody that is not as instantly catchy as it is haunting, Wise’s voice resonating over a deceptively simple instrumental track. “I get to devote my life to him / I get to sing like the cherubim”, he declares passionately, embroidering the devotion he feels towards his lover with religious overtones only to go explicitly sexual by the time the second chorus arrives: “I get to keep my mouth filled with you / Oh I love the taste of you.” If you’re ever asked to define how serpentwithfeet’s music sounds like, you might as well quote those four lines and stop there: they effectively conjure the essence of his art by letting the religious and normative intermingle with the modern and the queer within cutting-edge musical landscapes.

Sure, Wise is hardly the first artist to compare his earthly love to religious love, but he is doing so through the figure of the cherub, an ungendered and interstitial being that has often been neglected in the history of religious studies. As one of the first tastes we’re getting from his upcoming album, “cherubim” completely succeeds as a single: it is absorbing, provocative and unique; and, most importantly, it keeps you wanting more. We’ll have to wait a month to see if Wise has delivered the goods with “soil.”

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Back in 2016, Brooklyn-based R&B and singer artist Serpentwithfeet ended up on our “Best EPs of the year” list with his forward-thinking debut release “Blisters”. Recently, he joined Björk for an amazing remix of “Blissing Me“. Now, Josiah Wise is back with the exciting announcement of a full-length debut album. The queer artist will unveil “soil” on June 8 via Tri Angle Records and Secretly Canadian. Serpentwithfeet co-produced the album with Paul Epworth and it will also feature work from Katie Gately, Clams Casino and mmph.

Serpentwithfeet has also shared the first single off of the album. “bless ur heart” comes with an Andrew Thomas Huang-directed video which was premiered on The Fader and where the artist shares the stage of a hall with dolls and toys.

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Connect with Serpentwithfeet over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Oscar and Louis are our new daily diggers and every Monday, visit HighClouds to find out their discoveries of the week! There is something for every – good – taste here!

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Nadah El Shazly is a composer and singer from Cairo. She combines tradition and experimentation for an explosive and incomparable rendering. A great sensibility in her work that carries us through the roots of time to the modern complexity of music, mixing electronic sounds and jazz. Her first album was released in November 2017 via Nawa Recording.

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After having caught the attention of Soundcloud listeners with a serie of remixes, young American producer umru continues his ascent to the top by playing more and more stages in New York and Los Angeles. Large underground bass and experimental sound design are the main recipe for his music.

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Abdul Month Pervez, aka Block-2, comes from Pakistan and created his project 2 years ago. Member of the collective and label forever youth music founded in 2012 which brought together the elite of current Indian electronic music. Abdul collaborates with those who will become the new emerging scene of the genre. Heavy bass, some glitchs and acid sounds to make some quality tracks.

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Young Matt Zotti from Nashville (Tennessee) is also one of the young talents in front of the electronic stage on the soundcloud network. Creativity, nuances and textures. Pure crystal.

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Jamal Monsanto aka Scienze originally comes from Brooklyn where he started with his brother from the age of nine to make beats on a Casio Keyboard. Since then, passion has never stopped. Several mixtapes, feats by dozens and an album in 2016. Big influence from the producer J. Dilla. He has even done a tribute mixtape for him. Bon appétit!

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Originally from Baltimore, Josiah Wise reflects a tortured soul that speaks of hate, violence, death through music with a sacred allure. A dark atmosphere and hard texts overlooked by intense visuals. There are rituals that make serpentwithfeet‘s music a separate genre. We feel the influence of gospel and soul that forging his voice. Wiseman.

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Another talent from Brooklyn. Max Coburn, better known as Maxo, unveils tracks worthy of the greatest vintage video games. Acid and glitch for an explosive rendering. It’s a pretty special style, but it’s definitely interesting. Some nostalgia and deep down we’re all big kids. Level up Max!

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We hope you dig this selection of Brand New Sound. If like us, you can’t wait until Monday for discovering their daily find, please follow Oscar and Louis over Facebook and listen to Brand New Sound on Spotify and Deezer too!

The first remix features New York-based artist serpentwithfeet who adds an R&B and mysterious touch to the track without ever taken the essence of what Björk has created. Imagined as a collaboration with producers Arca for most of the songs, and Rabit for one, it makes sense that she continues to give life to this album through collaborations. The second version features the harpe as the main character without any beats. It can give you a first taste of the album without the mesmerizing touch of Ghersi.

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“Utopia” is out now via One Little Indian Records.

“Prima Donna” – Vince Staples

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“There’s Alot Going On” – Vic Mensa

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“Emotion: Side B” – Carly Rae Jepsen

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“In Loving Memory” – Saro

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“The Dream Synopsis” – The Last Shadow Puppets

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“Home” – Obongjayar

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“Dreaming Adjacent” – Modern Chemistry

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“Blisters” – serpentwithfeet

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“Sleepy Hungry” – Bonzai

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“Kuiper” – Floating Points

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“EP” – Ady Suleiman

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“Temporary Fixes” – Arima Ederra

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“Hana” – Hana

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“Okey” – Smerz

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“Vroom Vroom” – Charli XCX

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“Blackened Cities” – Melanie De Biasio

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“Sip!” – Mick Jenkins

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“The Visitor” – Kadhja Bonet

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“Princess” – Abra

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“Futurepunksoul” – AM!R

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Stream this full list on Spotify, for hours and hours!

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You can also check our other lists:

20 Favorite Videos

20 Favorite EPs

20 Favorite Albums and Mixtapes

Radar 2017

100 Favorite Tracks