Six new songs you need to know this week (05/03/18)
7 March 2018
Another week, another batch of tracks to become obsessed with. Here are Radio 1's Tunes Of The Week, A.K.A. the songs your favourite DJs are hitting repeat on right now...
Virtual Self - Ghost Voices
WARNING: Contains flashing images. Third party video may contain adverts.
Porter Robinson is a big deal on the electro music scene and now too is his alias, Virtual Self (he's also got a record label of the same name). Conceived back in 2017, Robinson's Virtual Self persona blends speedcore, house, hard trance, garage and electro to bring a fresh new sound to the forefront of the electro world. Enter: Ghost Voices.
Still not convinced you should be listening to this on repeat? Calvin Harris has credited Robinson with reigniting his love for EDM and hailed Ghost Voices an "absolute beast of a tune". Find out for yourself now...
Janelle Monáe - Make Me Feel
Janelle Monae is back! She tells Annie Mac about Prince, the GRAMMYs and releasing new music
Janelle Monae - Make Me Feel is Annie Mac's Hottest Record for Thursday 22nd February.
There's a reason you're getting Prince vibes from Janelle Monáe's new single, Make Me Feel. Speaking to Annie Mac, Janelle elaborated on the influences behind the track...
"Prince actually was working on the album with me before he passed on to another frequency, and helped me come up with sounds. And I really miss him, you know, it's hard for me to talk about him. But I do miss him, and his spirit will never leave me.”
Unsurprising, then, that Janelle's latest material received Annie's Hottest Record title and is Grimmy's tune of the week. BRB, just listening on repeat...
MNEK - Tongue
WARNING: Contains flashing images. Third party video may contain adverts.
We could wax lyrical about the massive track that is MNEK's Tongue, but why not let him do it?
"Tongue is one of my favourite songs from the album," the singer-songwriter told Fader. "It's fun, it's sexy, and it's different to anything I've put out before. It is an indication of me taking risks with my new music. The album is something I'm so proud of because it’s an audio world I've created which is a true body of work. I can't wait for everyone to hear it."
After working with the likes of Zara Larsson, Stormzy, Beyoncé and Dua Lipa, the Brit musician and producer is stepping out to claim the spotlight for himself with Tongue, the first track to be released from his debut album. Worth the wait? We think so.
5 Seconds of Summer - Want You Back
“We failed a lot for a while” - 5 Seconds of Summer
The band chat to Grimmy about making their latest single Want You Back.
We've wanted 5 Seconds of Summer back for a while now (since 2015, to be precise) and finally our prayers have been answered with the announcement of a new album and the release of their latest track, Want You Back.
"It’s been 3 years since our last album and we are so ready to share new music with the world," the four-piece wrote in a statement. "After spending the last 5 years on the road since the age of 16, it was important we took time to reflect as individuals and now we’re coming back stronger and more unified than ever. These songs mean the world to us and we have held nothing back in writing and recording this album. We’ve been rehearsing a lot of the new songs live and can’t wait to get back out on tour to connect with our incredible fans."
A bit more of a grown-up sound but just as catchy as their earlier music? We are alllll over Want You Back.
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What's new with 5SOS? What we found out on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show...
Everyone's favourite Aussie pop-rockers 5SOS are back!
Rae Morris – Someone Out There
WARNING: Contains flashing images. Third party video may contain adverts.
Don't sleep on this track! Much like 5SOS, we've been waiting on some newness from Rae Morris since 2015 and her second album, Someone Out There, certainly doesn't disappoint.
Working solely with long-time collaborator, Fryars, Rae's new music has taken on an electronic edge and a new lease of life. “I felt free to do whatever I wanted,” Rae told NME in December 2017. “I broke my own rules down. There are vocal melodies and hooks that I had never dared myself to do before.”
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Annie Mac chats to Rae Morris
Rae Morris and Fryars are our new favourite musical love story...
Alice Merton – No Roots
WARNING: Contains flashing images. Third party video may contain adverts.
With 64million YouTube views and counting, it's safe to say that Alice Merton's No Roots is already a pretty big deal.
Released across Europe in 2016 (and then in the US in 2017), Alice's debut track received critical acclaim and was named Billboard's 81st best song of 2017. What inspired one of the best songs of 2017, exactly? Displacement, of sorts.
"[The track] evolved from the fact that I get asked a lot where I feel my home is... [I've] never really stayed in one place for very long”, she told The Line of Best Fit. “I got to a point where I was feeling quite lost. So I decided to write a song that would make me feel better.”
