Photography by Eric Johnson
I asked the rest of the office what I should put in the intro for this week’s music round-up and one editor suggested: ‘What were you listening to the week Boris ascended to power and the apocalypse came?’.
While that’s not the route I’m going down (give or take the screaming in the Shygirl track), I think when things are mad there is some comfort in nostalgia – and from the schoolyard to fuzzy sci-fi vibes, there’s a lot of looking back in this week’s five on it.
R.A.E – ‘Haters’
With a video of schoolyard memories and silliness, rising SE London artist R.A.E (it stands for “Rise Above Everything”) is bringing colourful, 90s kind of heat on this, with slick bars and a sweetly melodic chorus.
Shygirl – ‘UCKERS’
It’s rare that a track will be simultaneously banging and kind of terrifying, but that’s exactly what the rising UK artist has managed on her latest: a darkly sexy track that swirls with club heat and screaming.
Miles From Kinshasa – ‘Maybe’
London artist Viv Kongolo returned recently with this lush, loved-up, 80s-tinged bop, and now he’s dropped the self-directed, Saved-By-The-Bell-meets-late-night-shopping-channel aesthetic video to go with it. UK R&B is having a moment and Miles From Kinshasa needs to be on your radar as part of that.
Joji – ‘Sanctuary’
This is a beautifully captivating, glimmering piece of R&B-pop. We’re not entirely sure what’s going on in this video but, then again, Joji is FKA Filthy Frank, the YouTube star directly responsible for beginning the Harlem Shake – so we trust he knows what he’s doing. Plus the epic space drama playing out is befitting of the cosmic romance of the track.
Free Nationals ft. Kali Uchis and Mac Miller – ‘Time’
Known best as Anderson .Paak’s backing band, LA-based band the Free Nationals are about to release their debut album. This slice of breezy sunshine is a gorgeous cut from that, featuring typically dreamy vocals from Kali Uchis and a beautiful guest verse from the late, great Mac Miller.
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