Hey, it’s shaping up to be a great Friday for music. I’m finishing up Week 4 of being mostly indoors, so if any of my blurbs are off-kilter you now know why. That said, my recommendations are solid. You’re going to find a hell of a lot of bliss here.
Anoraak – “Gang”
Life is better when there’s new Anoraak music (or pre-existing Anoraak music — basically just go ahead and play some Anoraak). On new single “Gang,” the Marseille-based musician is joined by singer Sarah Maison for a delectably kinetic French disco experience. (This is the title cut off an EP coming on April 24 via PartyFine.)
(Don’t miss Anoraak’s nu-disco bliss from the Vehlinggo Presents: 5 Years compilation last year. “Panarea” has been a popular track from the album — it’s been streamed 25,000 times on SoundCloud alone.)
Zoon van snooK – Se·pa·ra·ción
The London-based Lo Recordings is brimful of creative souls and Zoon is among their best. On Zoon’s new LP, we find the artist focusing on tender, nuanced solo piano compositions with Zoon’s trademark field-recording infusions — all based around different ideas of separation. (Fitting, given the times.) I love this album so much.
Sébastien Tellier – “Domestic Tasks”
Record Makers pushed back the release of Tellier’s Domesticated album to May 29, most likely because of the global outbreak of COVID-19. However, the concept behind the album and also this song is a stroke of lovely serendipity. We are all domesticated now.
Angel Olsen – “All Mirrors (Johnny Jewel Remix)”
For some reason this caught me off guard at first — I hadn’t anticipated such a pairing. Their respective worlds are too different? Nah, silly Aaron. A few moments in it’s pretty clear Angel Olsen’s richly evocative original is prime material for a Johnny Jewel remix. I think it’s safe to say Johnny and Angel should work together on her next release.
Dana Jean Phoenix & Powernerd – “Megawave”
The title cut from an upcoming collaboration album from DJP and Powernerd is a gorgeously upbeat romantic synth-pop number. I’m addicted to it. It amplifies enjoyable elements of latter-half 1980s pop without succumbing to cynical genre mimicry. I wish synthwave had more songs like this.
Joon – “E.T.”
Basically every Friday brings us a new Italians Do It Better release — and almost every one of those Fridays we get a new artist. The IDIB family is expanding rapidly. Maltese artist Joon and producer Johnny Jewel give us a hauntingly entrancing extraterrestrial walk home alone at night. Bonus points for the theremin. Fittingly, June is the scheduled release date for her album.
More about Joon: Her real name is Yasmin Kuymizakis and she is the co-founder of the Malta Sound Women Network — according to IDIB, she “aims to bring like-minded women together through a shared knowledge of skills in music, sound technologies, sonic arts, and production.”
Ollie Wride & Sunglasses Kid – “Stranger Love”
FM-84’s Ollie Wride and long-time synthwaver Sunglasses Kid have teamed up for a beautiful mid-tempo number called “Stranger Love.”
SOPHIE – “Pretending”
I am unashamedly recommending a three-year-old track, because I firmly believe SOPHIE should be scoring horror films. Although known for her avant-garde pop and dance productions, SOPHIE shows on “Pretending” that she’s a multi-faceted composer who would fit in well in the SpectreVision world.
(Editor’s Note: As established in this post, the One-Liners column is a concise but meaningful way to highlight Vehlinggo-recommended releases. It’s not exactly weekly, but it can be. Entries are almost never one line, but they could be. Check out last week’s post.)
