🐣 OSO LEONE — VIRTUAL U

Both sexual and sexless at the same time, 'Virtual U' by Spanish band Oso Leone pushes robust breathy basslines and cold drum machine beats – the continuous white noise of an icy analogue cymbal giving it a sense of pace as it slowly unfolds – alongside slinky licks of liquid guitar, chords clanging and chorused, warm timeless synths. Naked groove crawls beneath reverse guitars before it falls away and luscious synth chords play ahead of the song's languorous coda sprinkled with a palm-muted guitar riff that drips with retro tropicalia, the vocals – aching throughout, telling secrets the whole time – soothe themselves in a falsetto mantra till the end.

This whole track is a slow and blissful freefall into a kind of contented nocturnal oblivion, a passage of music constantly in flux, each new change in course or sound presenting yet another face of beautifully soft experimental R&B pop. This realm of organic and synthetic merging, each sound caressing the other like dyed oil and water nebulously embracing in a psychedelic light show. And in relation to the track's title, it is touching from afar, this hazy atmosphere of longing yet remaining inactive, waiting and procrastinating, the song's changing nature a reflection of conflict and deep human desire lost online oozing through fibre-optic cables.

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• 🔔 Oso Leone's 'Virtual U' arrives as a single on 16th February via Barcelona label Foehn Records and El Segell del Primavera (the record label associated with Primavera, the festival). It will be available digitally and as a limited edition 7".

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☟ Oso Leone Internet Presence ☟
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🐣 TOUCH SENSITIVE — LAY DOWN

There is something instantly classic in this track, something that is instantly gratifying, a dose of familiarity with just enough unfamiliar infused, a sound an atmosphere that virtually lives in our collective memories with the easy sway afforded by the clean bouncing syncopated synth bass throughout, with the clonking stabs of piano chord that summon a resurging era of yesteryear, kicking up dust and giving this track the raw organic feel that effuses from real instruments like that, the sweating bodies hot skin real life humans on the other side of the speakers, a sense of sensual reality also rising from those vocals: "Why don't we lay down for a while?" The poetry in this simplicity is too much to bear: the electric charge behind those words, what it suggests as a situation, what preceded, what follows, it quivers carnally.

Australian musicmaker Touch Sensitive has certainly evoked something in 'Lay Down', that is for sure. Lyrically, because language is what we understand, but also in the warm crowded varying layers of the vocal, the aching reminiscence of the melody, the repetition of "lay down for a while" calling to mind some unnamable nostalgia—and then that shivering falsetto. And next to all this human organicity is of course the synthetic, the neon chords that fade in and out towards the end, the French touch splat and thud of the beat, the construction of it all, its artificiality, desperate desire for closeness in closed quarters, in private, spinning mantra-like in this track that both suits and evokes public dancing places, where you are alone in a crowd, an internal juxtaposition that combined with its timeless retro appeal gives 'Lay Down' a sense of tragic beauty, a yearn for something that was never there.

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• 🔔 The very fitting video for 'Lay Down', decidedly of a different era with its flashing fonts and collages of dancing 3DCGI objects and imagery – and directly inspired by Prince's lyric video for 'Sign 'O The Times' – was directed by Lost Art with the 3D bits created by Melbourne-based Adam Parata.
• 🔔 'Lay Down' is the latest single by Touch Sensitive released by Sydney-based record label Future Classic. You can purchase and stream the track variously if you click upon this link right here.

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☟ Touch Sensitive Internet Presence ☟
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EN2AK WOODWORK MISFITS (JOLLY MARE REMIX)

It's Jolly Mare! Hooray! I probably could've written about this guy a hundred times between now and the time that I last wrote about him, but I haven't, so— anyway, here he is again with a remix of Wrocław-based Polish musicmaker En2ak's bristling track 'Woodwork Misfits'.

Before I go any further, some of you may be thinking, "who the literal hell is Jolly Mare?" – well, that's kind of easy to answer. From Italy, his real name is Fabrizio Faberismi, and I've written about a couple of his songs before – namely 'Nobody Cares', a vaporwavey number, and 'Castlemare', sounding like the hardest videogame boss fight ever; he was also a participant in the Red Bull Music Academy. So too was En2ak – and that is how the two met. And so Jolly Mare ended up as one of the artists featured on 3 Remixed – a set of remixes of the songs from En2ak's 3, set for release on Christmas day (25th December lol) of all days, via Warsaw-based label U Know Me Records.

But what about the actual remix? En2ak's original – from his third album, simply titled 3 – is a bustling tin-pan assortment of percussion mixed with bubbling bass and phasing synths polka-dotted with tuned vocal samples, turning in its second half into a more menacing rumbler of a track, all with a distinct ghetto house feel to it.

Jolly Mare's version is nothing short of brilliant. Taking on the mind-bending dub sounds of reggae, this remix is a warm and synth-laden foray into a stress-melting atmosphere; bass bulges lazily alongside the raw drums and the glitchy lead synth sounds. Occasional samples from the original cut through the chilled blanket of noises in thin reverbing stabs. By the end of the track, you're so far engrossed in its bliss that it's almost as if you could be on holiday – soaking up the sun and feeling a single beat of sweat drip from your forehead. It also positively aches with an 80s sensuality, perhaps in the raw, almost primordial synth sounds that Jolly Mare chose to use in the track.

His remix, though different to original (which ain't a bad thing yo), is a sultry, head-bopping number that whisks us away from the cold gusts of wind that winter is currently throwing our way – at least in the UK anyway – and takes us to a fantasy island, where the beach is endless, and all the amenities you could ever desire are sitting right behind you, nestled under rows tall palm trees. It's the soundtrack to a sexy dub holiday, that's what.

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INC. ANGEL [VIDEO]

It was really weird when I stumbled across this song because I was sure, in fact I was rather certain, that I had heard of someone called Inc. before. And sure enough, I had. I scrolled back through the posts I've done over the two years this blog has been active (albeit with some blips in activity - but how art reflects life!) and found a draft post I'd saved for a live performance by Inc.. I really dug it at the time and I suppose I do still dig it now.

[actual words from the draft] It's called 'A Usual Thang', but is actually a live rehearsal of two of their songs, 'Special Tensions' and 'Fountains'. I'm sure you'll agree it's pretty interesting. Nothing but a few guys playing their lovely music in what seems like a warehouse. Formerly Teen Inc., the band is fronted by twin brothers, Andrew and Daniel Aged. As for their music, it's a sometimes speedy, sometimes soul-filled melting pot of 80s jazz fusion and early Prince. Even the guitar effect used during a solo about three quarters of the way through makes the guitar sound like a soft synth.[end]

How funny. If you're interested in that, you can watch it here.

Anyway, now they have some new music. This particular one is called 'Angel' and it's really to celebrate the video release because the album it's from, No World - their debut - was out 19th February this year.

What we have now is a majorly R&B-influenced song. It's undeniably sexy. The beat that's slow and every now and again marks the ends of bars with agitated fills and extra heart-pounding kicks. Speaking of the beat actually, it's lovely. Those snare rimshots (lol I know but that's what they're CALLED) are something else. Wholly ambient synth gives this bubblesome, quilted or maybe isolated vibe to the song - like it's cut off from the rest of the world. Intergalactic whistles chime in and out in slow patterns.

The vocals are really nice, too, striking a pretty balance between whispering and pleading. The lyrics are touching too. Why not listen to them and space out for a bit? You know what I mean? Cause you can. Cause it's that kind of song. That kind of sound. It's just like a futuristic slow jam wearing the filigree of new-school R&B sex music, complete even with cheeseball electric guitar whines that creep in - it's all rather good. I like it a lot. Do you?

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Like Inc. on Facebook
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FKA TWIGS HOW'S THAT [VIDEO]

Oh man, don't you just hate it when you can't find out anything on an artist you want to write about? Gah, it just makes me crazy! But that's ok. I don't mind too much. After a while searching, it's kinda just clear that it's gonna be hard to find even a shred of info or links to any of their stuff on any kind of sharing site that's ever been made in the history of the internets. OH WELL. I'll live, don't worry.

It happens a lot of the time when an artist or band or whatever doesn't have a very googleable name, when it's the same name as some other word that exists in the world, like Twigs for example. Twigs are little bits that come off of trees. Right? RIGHT? But Twigs is also the name of - from what I have found out - an artist from London. And what music they have made. Woweee. Trip-hoppy chill, smooth and fluid and sexy and late-night...

Almost a bit lost for words so just listen for yourself yo and oh enjoy the video cause it's nice too.

Aiya this song is just so... well it's good. It's very good. I love the drugged sound of it, the slow cyclical repetition and what seems to be a loving, lingering touch on every element; the clip-clopping glass-filling-up percussion, the hard rebounding snare, the glowering bass blanket like a deep bath overflowing and I get this image of pitch black sweaty sexful nights, utterly lost in the totality of the moment. It's beautiful.

The voice is honest and soulful, falling on the whole expanse of the song like heady perfume that seems to flood the room it explodes into, a water balloon exploding in super slow motion, noir sex scenes. And the lyrics... "How's that feel"... answered by the spine-tingling "That feels good in my... so so amazing..." - the noises in this song drip like luscious flowers that you've never seen and maybe never will see. You'll have to listen to this song just to relive the uniqueness of the unnameable unknown that slow walks its hips right out of the glorious smoke which is this music.

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Check Twigs on Tumblr
Watch Twigs on YouTube

AUTRE NE VEUT COUNTING

This is what I like to hear: a complete disregard for the perceived stigma surrounding certain genres of music - in this case, R&B. Brooklyn-based Autre Ne Veut (aka Arthur Ashin) is one of those artists creating the music that he wants to create, no matter of what genre it will be doubtless shoved into. Indeed, in an interview with Dummy Mag, he said as much, revealing that "Sexy music and soulful singing, regardless of genre, has always been a preference." With that said, it's safe to say that this first taster of upcoming album, Anxiety and gives an inkling to how formidable a follow-up this will be to his 2010 self-titled debut. It's going to big - really big - so hold on to your hats, jump into the music, and await the album, scheduled for release 11th February 2013, with eager, hungry ears.

With Ashin's professed influences ranging from Annie Lennox to Katy Perry - all purveyors of radio-friendly pop hits - it's clear to see that there is a definite passion here for weighty sing-alongs, big choruses that drain the lungs of sound and feeling and words that people on a general level can get on board with. So, of course, sensual vocals play a big part in the slow-jams, R&B aesthetic of teaser single 'Counting', it starting with a wordless, choral refrain that isn't difficult to fall in love with straight away. Listen up:

The chorus of this hi-hat-riddled, ten-storeys-tall song is an instant classic from the moment it erupts in a multi-layered "I'm counting on you..." - a few listens to this song and you'll be guaranteed to summon the karaoke-lover in you and belt it out as the song grinds forward (grind like the dance, not like a literal grind). It's honestly that catchy. And with that slow, hip-hop pop rhythm, those softened pan-pipes, that breathy synth, those kaleidoscope arpeggios, 'Counting' has all the right elements that are mixed perfectly genuinely heartfelt pop song.

Yep. It feels like pop, it sounds like pop, smells and even looks and tastes like pop, but something about its not-so-highly-polished veneer and its masterful use of the space or the silence between the sounds (in the verse at least) to create a powerful atmosphere of the feelings that go with putting oneself 100% in the care of another, i.e. counting on them, suggests that it is so much more than just another pop tune.

Again, this has been the joyous Autre Ne Veut - 'Counting'. The album Anxiety is out 11th February 2013. Tell all your friends.

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Autre Ne Veut on Facebook
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Autre Ne Veut on SoundCloud
Autre Ne Veut's official site