Timely Tunes has been on hiatus but we are back this week with five new tunes for you to check out. And as always, we also have a curated playlist for your summer listening pleasure. Enjoy!

TIMELY TUNES

 

Denai Moore “All the Way” (From “We Used to Bloom”)

British-Jamaican artist Denai Moore first came to my attention for her beautiful vocals on the SBTRKT album “Wonder Where We Land” in 2014. “All the Way” is an immaculately produced, aching track from her upcoming sophomore solo album; a duet with singer Kwabena Adepong, better known as Kwabs. Sad, yet hopeful, like so many of us seem to be these days.

 

Vince Staples “Rain Come Down” (From “Big Fish Theory”)

It is hard to believe that Vince Staples is only 23 years old. In a blink-and-you-miss-it hip-hop world where three years can see multiple trends come and go, often taking flash fire careers with them, Vince has established himself as one of the most consistent and independent voices. Kendrick might be the King, but Vince is carving out a lane of his own that is just as inspired. The third track released from his upcoming sophomore full-length sounds like nothing else on the rap charts; a gothic, minimalist, and understated track that finds him meshing perfectly with the raw but sensuous hook of Ty Dolla $ign over a bed of subsonic bass. Vince’s verses are virtuosic, bare, and effortless (“I’m the blood on the leaves, I’m the nose on the Sphinx/Where I’m from we don’t go to police/Where I’m from we don’t run, we just roll with the heat/I’m the back of the bus, take a seat”).

 

Torres “Skim”

Singer/songwriter Torres, born Mackenzie Scott, released one of 2015’s best and most under-appreciated albums (“Sprinter”), an intense and occasionally discordant record that positioned her as a worthy descendent of PJ Harvey. Her new single, “Skim”, is especially stunning; a coiled snake ready to strike. As she told NPR recently, “It’s basically about exploring all the dark corners of the mind and of the subconscious, and making sure that you’re not fooling yourself, you’re not hiding from yourself.”

 

Zola Jesus “Exhumed” (From “Okovi”)

Nicole Hummel has a spine-chilling and operatic voice, able to convey the crushing weight of a pained world. Her music often points toward the admitted influence of Diamanda Galas, but there is also plenty evidence of “Hounds of Love”-era Kate Bush or the solemn beauty of Dead Can Dance. “Exhumed” is a triumph in her impressive discography; a heavy, heart-rending, and towering monument.

 

Daphni “Tin” (From “FABRICLIVE93”)

The music that Dan Snaith has made as Caribou (formerly Manitoba) has, since 2001’s “Start Breaking My Heart”, slowly become more and more comfortable with embracing the impulses of the dance floor. His other alias, Daphni, is 100% committed to those impulses. “Tin” is a forward-momentum, UK garage-indebted anthem from the latest installment of the Fabriclive series of DJ mixes. The song first made an abbreviated, but jaw-dropping appearance on the Caribou Essential Mix on Soundcloud way back in 2014, and I am so grateful we finally have the full track. Now if someone could just tell me what that vocal sample is from, because it is driving me crazy that I can’t figure it out.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 48

 

TRACKLIST:

1. Roger Miller “Am I All Alone (Or Is It Only Me)”
2. Betty Harris “Cry to Me”
3. Denai Moore “All The Way”
4. Roberta Flack “Ballad Of The Sad Young Men”
5. Vince Staples “Rain Come Down”
6. The Knife “Silent Shout”
7. Terry Reid “Seed Of Memory”
8. Torres “Skim”
9. Mirah “Look Up!”
10. Sinead O’Connor “Jackie”
11. Zola Jesus “Exhumed”
12. Kate Bush “Cloudbusting”
13. Ahmed Fakroun “Ya Farhy Beeku”
14. Can “Shikako Maru Ten”
15. Daphni “Tin”
16. Floating Points “For Marmish”

 

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