New Tunes 12.07.2024

Hello, music lovers! 🎶

If you're following me, you might have noticed I've taken a break from my usual weekly #newtunes post. It's just temporary, though. I've been on holiday, relaxing in the shade with a beer in hand, so I haven't been in the mood to think about much of anything else. Two weeks went by in a flash. I've just been listening to old summer mixes and reminiscing 😎

I'm back with a new selection of music, primarily by lesser-known musicians operating in the underground and alternative music scene, far from the mainstream and global hits. If you have a few minutes, please consider supporting them by listening. Who knows, you might discover something you like. However, if something isn't to your liking, feel free to skip it.

Music4life!

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Johnny Cash - Hello Out There

But let's begin with a legend who has been part of our lives for quite some time. Like always, unreleased recordings from 1993 have emerged from somewhere, rearranged with the assistance of Cash's sons and daughters. Posthumously, the 72nd album, 'Songwriter,' was released two weeks ago. It contains 11 songs with lyrics written and sung by Johnny Cash.

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CANDY - Love Like Snow (featuring MIRSY & mmph)

Candy is a band from Richmond, Virginia, USA. They began playing together in 2017 and released one EP and three albums, with their latest, 'It's Inside You,' released in June of this year. Their sound combines hardcore, metalcore, drum' n bass, noise, and shoegaze. The mix of styles and the distorted, hyperreal world that Candy presents with fast and intense music is not typically heard in one place.

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Still House Plants - Headlight

Still House Plants is a London trio that has been on the music scene for about ten years. Their fourth album, 'If I Don't Make It, I Love U,' showcases their relentless pursuit of indifference in their musical expression. While their creations may not appeal to all listeners, they display incredible coherence and unconventionality through hypnotic minimalism, repetitions, echoing guitar chords, and surprisingly soulful vocals.

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Wu-Lu - Blunted Strings

Another performer from the London Underground, but with a completely different story from the last, is Miles Romans-Hopcraft, also known as Wu-Lu. He is a producer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and DJ who has been active since 2015. With five albums and a couple of singles to his name, Wu-Lu recently released 'Learning To Swim On Empty' at the end of May. This album shows a departure from his previous work in hip-hop and punk, leaning towards softer versions of these genres. The lyrics and memories in the album still carry the essence of South London, particularly Brixton, where Wu-Lu spent his childhood.

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Mary Ocher - Sympathize (feat. Your Government)

Mary Ocher, a Russian artist and multi-instrumentalist with a classical music background who has been living and working in Berlin since 2008, with a rich oeuvre of music and essays, released her tenth album 'Your Guide To Revolution' in June. As is her custom, she has also released a companion essay for artists' livelihoods and nonconformists entitled 'A Guide to Radical Living - A no-nonsense guide to living comfortably with just enough, why wealth needs poverty and how not to play along.'
I have chosen Sympathize, a dream-electro pop song, for this presentation, and I recommend listening to the whole album.

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HYPNA - RAIN LIKE HAMMERS

Hypna is a producer, DJ, and sound engineer based in Brussels. He has been working with experimental ambient and techno soundscapes since 2019. His third album, Arteria, was released at the end of March this year.
The sound reminds me of ritual African or Brazilian rhythms. The track I have chosen to showcase, 'Rain Like Hammers,' is an instrumental, moody, and sensual techno beat that will at least invite you to move, if not dance.

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Iceboy Violet & Nueen - Closer

Iceboy Violet is a non-binary vocalist and rapper, best known as the backing vocalist for artists Aya Nakamura and Loraine James. They released their debut album 'You Said You'd Hold My Hand Through the Fire' in June, collaborating with Spanish producer Nueen.
The album features a blend of emotional charge, ambient atmospherics, and eclectic minimalism, with layers of light-hearted club beats and a fusion of rapping and free conversation.

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Moving as a Giant - The World

Moving as a Giant is a new band from Murska Sobota, Slovenia. I started following this trio last year when they were one of the Radio Student Club Marathon winners. They recently released their debut album, which I enjoyed listening to. Their intricate music features a range of effects, fluctuating vocals, repeated guitar riffs, feedback, synth drones, rhythmic percussion, and much more. I've selected the song 'The World' for the showcase because I recorded it at their show last year.
You can even compare the sound recorded with the phone and watch live performance here, and the YT version from the studio.

🎶That's all for today, and enjoy your weekend with new songs!

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newtunes2024 21.6.2024, 14.6.2024, 7.6.2024, 31.5.2024, 24.5.2024, 17.5.2024, 10.5.2024, 3.5.2024, 26.4.2024, 19.4.2024, 12.4.2024, 5.4.2024, 29.3.2024, 22.3.2024, 15.3.2024, 8.3.2024, 1.3.2024, 23.2.2024, 16.2.2024, 9.2.2024, 2.2.2024, 19.1.2024, 12.1.2024, 5.1.2024

If you're interested in #newtunes suggestions from the past five years, you can listen to them at these links - there are Spotify playlists for each year:

newtunes2019 | newtunes2020 | newtunes2021 | newtunes2022 | newtunes2023

If you like rare and alternative live performances, take a look at my recordings - 3speak video channel, or Seckorama Music Podcast - audio.

If you like jazz, I recommend Jazz-Matinee regular Sunday blog by @w74.

And here's something else:
I post everything in the @ecency front-end. So, I invite you to support Ecency Development And Maintenance #4 Proposal because I (and many others, too) would like to keep using it.

Support and vote for those exceptional witnesses:
@good-karma, @liotes, @fbslo and @detlev.witness.

Music4life!
Listen loud!