Category: New Albums

Belau released their emotional dreamtronica album, ‘Apriori’

Peter Kedves and Krisztian Buzás – aka Budapest ‘s dreamtronica duo BELAU – invites us into another extraordinary emotional trip with new album called ‘Apriori’, their third record since their foundation in 2016. Both the artistic concept of their previous albums, ‘Colourwave’ and ‘The Odyssey’ was built upon emphasizing the importance of self-knowledge and consciousness. All these recordings’ emotional tracing are supported by ethereal lyrics and sounding faraway cultures.

‘Apriori’ is also grounding itself on these patterns both saluting Belau’s basic components and its fresh concept of inspiration using a vast amount of heartwarming nature echoes. For the ten track project, Belau have collaborated with several standout vocalists, including Beth Hirsch (Ethereal) who’s featured tracks with Air and Sarah Jay Hawley (Unimaginable), who’s voice can be heard on Massive Attack hits, Böbe (Altered) and Myra Monoka (Focus).

‘Apriori’ is definitely continuing the journey in Belau’s universe with both on a super sensitive and intensive level, providing a calm and spiritual haven for everyone who is currently searching for its belief in vitality and being ready for receiving the awe-inspiring power of the infinite by providing space for blooming their inner peace. All ten tracks are guiding all modern individuals into resolving the illusion of being atomized in the presence starting with the magnificent intro called ‘Oneness’. 

Belau has achieved several success worthy of note for the past six years – they’ve given more than 200 concerts in more than 25 different countries including outstanding festivals like Primavera Sound Barcelona, Electric Castle, Eurosonic or SXSW. In the past couple of years their songs have been played by serious radios like BBC Radio 1, Triple J, KEXP and KCRW not even mentioning the appreciative credits they’ve received from Billboard, Clash Music, The Line of Best Fit or Rolling Stone. The first record of Belau was given the Fonogram prize (which is the Hungarian alteration for Grammy).

‘Apriori’ is now out for your pleasure…why not have a listen below…

Must Listens: Faraway, Home, Unimaginable, Altered

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J Baby x Ne$$ drop gripping album, ‘The Price Of Bread’

Following up their critically acclaimed 2020 collaborative project ‘21st Century Blues’, RBG rapper NE$$ (previously featured in The Source’s ‘Unsigned Hype’) and UK producer baby J (known for collaborations with Skinny Man, Mark Ronson, dead prez, Iman Thug, and Shabazz The Disciple of Wu-Tang) return with ‘The Price of Bread’, a groundbreaking concept album that dives deep into the lived experiences of oppressed communities navigating the harsh realities of capitalism.

Housing previous support from Earmilk, Notion, Kiss FM UK (MK), Viper magazine, Wordplay magazine, ‘The Price of Bread’ serves as a groundbreaking concept album that dives deep into the lived experiences of oppressed communities navigating the harsh realities of capitalism.

The term “the price of bread”, often referring to the state of inflation at any given time, is an ideal title for an album exploring these themes in a time when inflation is at the highest rate it’s been in decades. In true hip hop form the word “bread”, slang for money, transforms the title into a paradoxical double entendre ‘The Price of Money’. In this context, the album fearlessly poses a poignant question: “What is the cost of money, or to put it plainly, what does it cost us to make money, to navigate capitalism?” Doubling down on this concept, the album’s tracklist is a veritable anthology of money-themed titles (Sell Our Pain, Human Capital, Stripper Money, etc.), each serving as a chapter in a larger narrative.

Baby J weaves a broken, lo-fi, and slightly out-of-tune dystopian soundscape that resonates like the echoes of dusty, long-forgotten 60’s records, but what’s astounding is that no samples were used in creating this haunting and mesmerizing atmosphere. This unique auditory canvas allows the listener to immerse themselves fully in the stories and emotions presented in this album and sets the stage for NE$$’s storytelling and lyricism to paint vivid pictures of lumpenproletariat life.

Known for his work with Brooklyn duo Weekend Money and Dead Prez affiliated rap group A-Alikes, the seasoned hip-hop veteran takes centre stage as a modern-day griot on this opus. His lyrics peel back layers to reveal a world where every dollar counts and every decision can be a matter of life and death.

The album flaunts an impressive tracklist, graced by a carefully curated roster of guest appearances, with standout songs ‘Sell Our Pain’, the aforementioned ‘Stripper Money’ feat. Conway the Machine, ‘Illegal Business’ feat. RBG comrade Coach NYM & Rukus “Vice Grip” feat. Houston rapper Fat Tony, among other gems.

NE$$ and Baby J invite you to join them on this evocative journey, offering a unique perspective on the world we live in, the price we pay and the hope we hold.

Must Listens: Sell our pain, Stripper money, Get rich quick, Dollar 2 the fire

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Liv East shares debut EP, ‘LVE1’ + single ‘LVE Unlimited’

East London producer & songwriter LIV EAST releases her debut EP ‘LVE1’ on EMK, Kartel Music Group’s electronic imprint. Produced by longtime collaborator LOKES LDN alongside Liv herself, the release nods towards classic soul & disco, channelling the likes of Chic and Adina Howard, yet shimmers with future, capturing influences from the likes of Jungle, SAULT and Cleo Sol.

To celebrate the release, Liv East shares single ‘LVE UNLIMITED’, the EPs most raw and bittersweet track. Liv comments on the single, “I wrote it upon reflection of how I’d been denied and cast aside in my last relationship. It was a painful and confusing time but my inner strength pushed me forwards and I knew I wouldn’t be waiting around for this person. It’s a story of self love even in the face of heartbreak. I wrote and recorded the vocals in one sitting with all the final vocals being from the demo recording. The lyrics give nods to classic love songs ‘killing me softly’ and ‘wicked games’, adding to that timeless feel I wanted to create with the whole project”.

2023 so far has seen Liv East release singles ‘You Got Me’, ‘So Badly’ and ‘Love Frequency’, which landed support from BBC Radio London, Rinse FM, The Independent, Dummy, Noctis, Vogue France, Earmilk, whilst also landing playlist support from New Music Friday UK. She’s also collaborated with a wealth of artists in recent months, including Fat Freddy’s Drop, Kid Fonque and Yarni.

Have a listen to ‘LVE1’ EP below…

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Rain to Dust returns with a harsher and murkier sound in latest album, ‘Martyrdom: Eight Exercises’

Turkish Post-Punk duo RAIN TO RUST entered the scene in 2019 with critically acclaimed debut album ‘Flowers Of Doubt’. 2020 saw the release of its companion piece, ‘Stillborn Flowers’. Both albums showcased well-crafted Gothic Rock filled with chorus-laden, orchestrated guitars, atmospheric keyboards and deeply melancholic lyrics. After a period of lockdowns, isolation and death, Rain To Rust return with a new album–their darkest and most punishing yet. ‘Martyrdom: Eight Exercises’ takes Rain To Rust back to the intellectual and experimental roots of Post-Punk with a much harsher and murkier sound. It is not meant to be a pleasant listen; on the contrary, its aim is to take the listener for a mental stroll in rat infested, crumbling squats where young people shoot up and die.

Each song is related and dedicated to an artist who died by suicide: Adrian Borland (The Sound), Richey James Edwards (Manic Street Preachers), Ian Curtis (Joy Division), Per Yngve Ohlin (Mayhem), Yukio Mishima, Peter Tyrrell, Osamu Dazai, Robert Ervin Howard – artists who have been providing inspiration to the band for long years.

Inspired by Adrian Borland’s death by jumping in front of a train, the lead single, ‘Tonight I Will Meet My Friends Who Died Untimely ’is a melancholic yet driving tune with a beat that is supposed to give the feeling of a railway ride. In second effort, ‘Cutting Moments’ the band tries to connect to Richey Edwards’ psyche as he jumped down Severn Bridge (it is still unclear whether he did it or not–he is officially declared deadbutabody was never found).

‘The Killing Room’, a Darkwave requiem, sees Ian Curtis speaking to his demons as he is at his wit’s end. ‘Sleep And Death Are Brothers’ connects to Per Yngve Ohlin’s obsession with death and his constant desire to leave his physical self. ‘The Patriot’, taking its title from Yukio Mishima’s story “Patriotism”, is about thinking of self-sacrifice as the purest form of beauty. The samples used in the song show the two conflicting sides of Mishima: his interest in hara-kiri as an extension of samurai code versus his interest in hara-kiri as something erotic.

‘Letterfrack Penal Colony’, the harshest track on the album, relates to Irish author Peter Tyrrell’s traumatic childhood memories spent in a Christian Brothers Industrial School in Letterfrack, Ireland. ‘Penal Colony’ is a homage to Franz Kafka’s short story, in which the convict is punished by getting tied up to a machine that carves his conviction onto his body in a loop, going deeper and deeper as it works. This is reflected in the music through a repetitive drum and bass pattern.

‘The Big Dive’ is based on Osamu Dazai’s suicide (along with his girlfriend Tomie) by jumping into the flooded Tamagawa Canal. His death was already foreshadowed by his novel ‘No Longer Human’ which was posthumously published (and was the inspiration for a song on the first Rain To Rust album, ‘Flowers Of Doubt’).‘The Big Dive’ turns the story into an innocent love song, inspired equally by Suicide and Angelo Badalamenti.

‘And The Ravens Left The Tower (Howard’s Dream)’is the album’s most experimental track. Based around a piano motive that eventually disintegrates into layers of reverb as the song goes along, it sees H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard’s friend and colleague, having a dream where Howard reads him poems and tells him that he will join him in death very soon. The song then disappears in sounds of hyperventilation and coals burning in a furnace.

‘Martyrdom: Eight Exercises’ is out now for your pleasure across various music platforms. Why not have a listen below…

Must Listens: Tonight I Will Meet My Friends Who Died Untimely, Sleep And Death Are Brothers, The Big Dive

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Anonymous EDM artist Handshake In Space returns with EP ‘LOVE’

HANDSHAKE IN SPACE, the mysterious and emerging EDM artist who has enchanted listeners with his pulsating beats and evocative melodies, has made a swift return with his latest EP ‘LOVE.’

This anonymous music creator has for a long time remained an enigma, but ‘LOVE’ promises to shed a new light on Handshake In Space’s electronic music. The EP will features a collection of tracks, including previously released singles, ‘I Need You Right Now’, ‘Lost Without You’ and ‘Rise Up’, all offering a wide variety of soundscapes, from euphoric uplifting to deeply hypnotic.

Handshake In Space’s music has previously received praise from critics and electronic music enthusiasts for its unique ability to take listeners on a musical journey through space and time. ‘LOVE’ will be no exception and will offer a sonic experience that is hard to forget. Why not check it out below…

Must Listens: I Need You Right Now, Lost Without You, Rise Up

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