A mishmash of new, intriguing stuff!

Jamie xx.

Oi kids! I've been bloody busy these last weeks, and have had less time to blog than I could wish for. I hope that'll change with getting into a daily routine - right now, things are starting to fall into place for sure.


Anyway, I just wanted to point y'all in the direction of some exciting new stuff! First of all, I packed my stuff yesterday to the sound of Jamie xx' BBC Essential Mix. He's really one of the most intriguing electronic artists these days, and this mix is just genius - never really has a low-point.


I have yet to comment on 'Fall Creek Boys Choir', the much-anticipated co-op between James Blake & Bon Iver. To be perfectly honest, it doesn't really intrigue me. It sounds very much as one could've expected - a bit too much Blake, a bit too little Bon Iver. Honestly, it seems as a tune the two hyped lads did just for the sake of it. James Blake's sound was startlingly original when he appeared, but now it's become very predicable, and you'd really wish he'd dare think a bit outside the box he's put himself in once in a while.


Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz fame, has an extremely intriguing project coming. It's called DRC Music, and if you know your country codes, you recognize DRC as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The coming album, Kinshasa One Two, was recorded in Kinshasa, birthplace of outfits such as Konono #1 and Kasaï Allstars, and judging from the three tunes on the project's Soundcloud page, this could become quite big.


While we wait for the rebirth of The Knife, plenty of artists this year (Battlekat, Austra) have tried to satisfy our thirst for dark, female-fronted electro. Lately, Purity Ring have been all over the blogosphere with excellent cut 'Belispeak', which personally reminds me a bit of Danish-based RebekkaMaria.


Finally, a trio of interesting new albums came out last week. I haven't bought any, as I'm broke as fuck these days, but I'd like to point you in the direction of a pair of Pitchfork 7.2s, both in the dream pop/chillwave department - that's Swedish outfit I Break Horses' (EPIC band name by the way) Hearts, out on Bella Union, pretty much on the crossroads between Wild Nothing and M83, and Active Child's You Are All I See, which is a bit more ethereal and R'n'B-influenced. The third album had flown completely under my radar - that's Kiwi kids Cut Off Your Hands' second full length, Hollow. A band that lives up to the difficult distinction - especially among indie-pop outfits - of being both NME hype band and Pitchfork darlings. For good measure, please check out the delicious 'Oh Girl' off debut album 'You & I'!