A trio of tunes you should hear this week - w/e 15 December
Every day we play you a track that has just grabbed our attention. As soon as we hear it, we send it into the digital ether for you all to enjoy. Sometimes it's an exclusive, sometimes it's a favourite artist and, at other times, it'll be someone brand new
As the end of 2017 approaches, we spent the latter part of this week revisiting favourite tracks from the show, and also from film. Why not listen to our 2017 Day show, which opens with Sir Was (the artist behind Lauren’s Album of the Year) and includes Snoop Dogg, Stormzy, Ibibio Sound Machine, Torres, Sampa The Great, Father John Misty, Nick Hakim, Phoebe Bridgers and many more. Or Chris Hewitt’s 2017 Friday Film Club round-up, with its added celebration of soundtracks (not to mention a chat with Star Wars star John Boyega).
To hear this week's choice selection, just click on the links, where you’ll see the full Just Added playlist:
GoGo Penguin - Bardo
The first track to be taken from A Humdrum Star which will be released by jazz label Blue Note in February (and follows Man Made Object and their 2014 Mercury Prize-nominated V2.0). The Manchester trio draw on a genre-spanning range of influences - from Brian Eno, to John Cage, Massive Attack and Aphex Twin - to create a distinctive sound that combines piano themes, propulsive bass lines, and electronica-inspired drums. Bassist Nick Blacka (whose sounding sultry in places on this record) says there’s never been a shortage of inspiration with GoGo Penguin. “Someone brings an idea, then it snowballs into this other space nobody was expecting”. And, as they felt “even more liberated” making the new album, we can’t wait to hear more.
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 – Kuku Kee Me
This track’s taken from Seun’s fourth album, Black Times, which was released by Strut on 8th December. Seun’s descended from Afrobeat royalty Fela Kuti, while Egypt 80 is the dance orchestra created by his father, which he inherited in 1997 at the age of 14. Now 34-years old, the singer, bandleader and musician, says Black Times is a “true reflection of my political and social beliefs…it is an album for anybody who believes in change and understands the duty we have to rise up and come together.” Heavy on the brass, funky guitar, and call and response, the finger-pointing Kuku Kee Me borrows from a Nigerian saying (“When someone is always on your case, you’re like ‘Save yourself the stress and kuku kill me now’”). We’re hoping the stars align to bring Seun to the 6 Music Live Room, when he’s in town next year.
Tusks - Last (Vök Remix)
Tusks, AKA Londoner Emily Thornhill, is one of our favourite prospects for 2018 and if you’d like a neat summation of her sound, think James Blake in a jumpsuit. She’s a talented musician and producer who also happens to be very adept at choosing the right people to remix her tracks (we first discovered Emily through a Throwing Snow remix of Ivy). The original track features on her album Dissolve (which was released by One Little Indian in October, and gets a double thumbs up from us). This slightly more sedate re-working is by the Icelanders Vök. Emily says: 'I discovered Vök through Brett Cox, who I produced the album [Dissolve] with, and ended up meeting them when we were both touring through Europe earlier this year. I love what Margret has done with ‘Last’, she’s put such a dreamy electronic spin on it.’
You can hear all the tracks via the Just Added Playlist
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