This week's Agony and Ecstasy, with Katy B, Airbirds and an actually useful aggregation app
Track of the Week: Airbird & Napolian – ‘In The Zone’
Au Revoir Simone's Erika Spring released one of 2012’s most enticing EPs last year on Cascine, and now she returns to the bicoastal label as guest vocalist on Software-veterans Airbird & Napolian's first collaborative single 'In The Zone'. It’s a twisty move for all involved, as Spring is an autotuned seductress over a deep propulsive groove. It's dreamy, a lil dirty, and I don't seem to be able to listen to it less than three times in a row.
Remix of the week: TINK- ‘When I’m Lit’ (The GTW Rework)
We wrote about inventive Chicago singer/rapper Tink earlier this year, and her witty flow continues to attract admirers – this weekend, she performed at Brooklyn's 285 Kent alongside Nguzunguzu, Total Freedom, Kingdom and Kelela. Fellow Chicago up-and-comer The GTW just premiered this bassy remix of ‘When I’m Lit’, originally from her excellent 2012 mixtape Blunts & Ballads, which adds African drum rhythms to ecstatic, party-friendly effect.
Comeback of the week: Katy B – ‘What Love is Made Of’
Katy B takes a sweetly straightforward view on relationships on her new single though, where she declares it’s "something about your style, the clothes you wear, you get it right." Like our friend JoJo, Katy is also a sucker for a guy with a beautiful mind, and while ‘What Love is Made Of’ sticks to the ‘traditional’ Katy B formula of ravey synths and whirring beat (unlike last year’s spectacular ‘Danger EP’), you can't miss that voice.
Collab of the week: Nosaj Thing x Chance The Rapper – ‘Paranoia’
Another stellar collab from Adidas' Yours Truly series from LA's Nosaj Thing, who's previously produced for Kendrick and Trinidad James, and Chi-town's hottest property Chance The Rapper. "It's easier nowadays to find a gun in here than it is to find a fucking parking spot" he raps over a shuffling beat with flickers of light like the sun reflecting off water. Check out Dazed's Drill feature for a deeper look at Chicago’s rap scene built from violence.
Discovery of the week: Silk Rodeo – ‘All Your Own’
Not much is known about Silk Rodeo, except that the moniker likely references the online black marketplace Silk Road, but I’ve been hitting the repeat button on this Chromatics-ish track all weekend since Sleep Over gave it a Tweet-out. With its baritone disco vocals and a wavering neon synth line, it feels like a Miami summer night.
Cover of the Week: Girl Crisis – ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’
Ever-expanding female supergroup Girl Crisis have been delivering Super-8 acappellas of pop classics for four years now. With a current lineup ‘including Chairlift's Caroline Polachek, Apache Beat's Ilirjana Alushaj and many more, it's a lovely, minimal take on The Bangles' gleeful 80s pop jam.
Music aggregation site of the week: Songdrop
Songdrop aggregates streams from sites like YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify to create embeddable playlists for your website or blog. We'll be making one every week along with our Agony & Ecstasy music news - let us know in the comments below if we've missed any of your favourite new songs this week.