2010s 213 Items

Cold Beat is a San Francisco-based quartet fronted by Hannah Lew (synths, vocals) with Kyle King (synths, guitar), Luciano Talpini Aita (synths) and Sean Monaghan (guitar). Formed in 2013 the band has released three albums and two EPs. A Simple Reflection is a 7-song collection of Eurythmics covers, yet feels just as personal as any of their original material. While digging through a collection of 12"s for her record shop Contact Records, Lew stumbled across the earliest Eurythmics B-sides and was floored. This lead to the discovery of their debut album In The Garden. Annie Lennox’s abstract and poetic lyrics really struck a chord with Hannah. What had started out as a single cover quickly snowballed into a full blown obsession. The synth and drum programming resonated with her songwriting process, so reimagining them was very creatively fulfilling. The covers on this EP are simultaneously dynamic and atmospheric post-punk that plays to Lew's ethereal vocals and King’s crystalline guitar. All songs have been mixed by Mikey Young (Total Control) and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The record is housed in a jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, which features pink and purple clouds that evoke a dreamy softness and DIY playfulness and photos Lew in her best Lennox-inspired drag. Each copy includes a postcard with photos and notes.

Soul Sugar drop their own reggae version of Marvin Gaye’s "I Want You". French outfit Soul Sugar – the brainchild of Guillaume “Gee” Metenier – deliver yet another soulful reggae 12”, this time a cover version of Marvin Gaye’s 1976 classic "I Want You". Jamaicain native Leonardo Carmichael sings lead vocals and legendary drums and bass duo Sly & Robbie add their flavor to the mix, with two versions on side B. Marvin Gaye’s single "I Want You" was a big step forward for his sound & vision and marked a change in direction – from hip Motown Soul to a more sultry, Disco sound. Marvin's vocals are notably intimate and the lyrics are more explicit, more personal. An original soul classic, "I Want You" is memorable for its unique combination of lush harmonies, a mesmerizing groove and the apparent sexiness of the theme itself. Soul Sugar's Discomix version combines a smooth mixture of reggae, soul and funk over beefy bass lines, designed for heavyweight sound systems. Sly & Robbie, rhythm duo known for their studio work on countless reggae classics since the 1960s deliver their version, taking us back to the golden age of Reggae, the days when it was typical for Jamaican musicians to record their own versions of American soul tunes ... Ace producer Jahno dubs the mix live and direct to tape, from his very own ' N.O.F Studio'.

Second release single of the new album “Love Letters” including the well-received Jacques Lu Cont Remix!

Turning the mirror on herself, Marie Davidson arrives on Ninja Tune with Working Class Woman”, an album that is sure to be heralded as one of the most self-reflective recordings yet from the Montreal-based producer.

Building on the dancefloor-minded trajectory of her breakthrough LP Adieux Au Dancefloor, released via Veronica Vasicka's Cititrax imprint circa 2016. With “Working Class Woman”, Marie Davidson proves that once again that she can roll acidic new beat basslines and sleek, sexdrops tekno laced with sharp-edged vox like no one else. This super strong selection is sure to take pride of place within the collections and listening habits of anyone into DFA and Regis, Not Waving (with whom she recently collaborated) SOPHIE and GAIKA.

Working Class Woman reshapes Marie Davidson's sharp-edged Italo Disco, proto-industrial and electro influences into new modes of cyberpunk coldwave control, proof that looking inward can project a more expansive vision out into the world.

Always driven by his search for balance, Crayon delivers here his most personal work. Post Blue presents a digital soul, both contemplative and rousing, where acoustic and electronic sounds mingle. This taste of paradox is essential from the beginning, and remains throughout all the EP. One feels at once relaxed and anguished, optimistic and melancholic.

After his early material revealed an ambitious new sound borne on the forward-thinking experimentalism of influences like Nick Drake, David Byrne and Arthur Russell, Westerman’s single ‘Confirmation’ - available here on 7” - brought his music to new legions of fans, with Pitchfork profiling him in their Rising and Best New Music columns, saying it “captures a promising writer who’s learned how to take good ideas and warp them into stranger, more sublime shapes.” Gorilla Vs Bear placed it at Number 10 in their recent Best Tracks Of The Year (So Far) feature.