Young Lean's cooing autotune, DJ Paypal's spin on Drake and a hypnotising Lily Allen rework
YUNG LEAN – “RECHARGE”
Our number one sad boy from Sweden, Yung Lean, brings deep reflections on his SoundCloud release “Recharge”. An autotuned “recharge my whole life, upload all my sorrow” floats on, ushering in Lean’s soft rap inflections about his worldwide tour life, and how sometimes he feels fuzzy.
ANTWON – "METRO NOME" (FEAT WIKI)
The latest cloudy track and video from west coast experimental rapper Antwon takes you from a shot of Antwon walking around his home, to Wiki (of Ratking) meeting up with his girlfriend Princess Nokia. Ponder relationships and personal issues with this visual's gritty, faded filter.
SLUGABED – "ANOTHER CHANCE 2K14"
When Ninja Tune's London producer Slugabed shared his Coolest EP on Facebook, he attached his current feelings on it as “drinking beer out of a coconut” – and it’s suitable for all six tracks, especially the tropical “Another Chance 2K14”. This one's an updated quirky dance edit with assorted textures and airhorns of Roger Sanchez’s “Another Chance”, pairing perfectly with any summer cooler.
BLEACHERS – “TAKE ME AWAY” (FEAT GRIMES)
New Jersey’s singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff (previously of Steel Train and fun.) is releasing his debut solo album as Bleachers. Strange Desires features a softly-looped synth snippet featuring the diaphanous coos of Grimes – if her Blood Diamonds summer track "Go" whipped up summer into a sugar rush, then this is the perfect comedown.
LAPSLEY – "PAINTER (VALENTINE)"
Liverpool's soulful vocalist Lapsley shares a certain twisted minimalism with James Blake, Jessie Ware and newcomer Shura. Her tender, pitched harmonies in “Painter (Valentine)” airily hover over a toybox beat, while the video lingers on shots of her with and without the special painter of the song's title.
RICKY EAT ACID – "P U L L (MAY 15)"
In the sixth installment on Ryan Hemsworth’s digital label Secret Songs, Ricky Eat Acid shares his own vocals through various distortions in “p u l l (may15)” – and it feels like the most intimate piece from your Baltimore boy yet. This synth-heavy track contains fluorescent melodies with brief gentle strokes from a glockenspiel that wonderfully complements Ray’s deep cries.
LILANGELBOI – "CLOSE YOUR EYES"
As of right now, Calgary’s Lilangelboi has around 300 SoundCloud followers and signed to Manicure Records, an electrifying pop label founded by Canadian "disco-queen" Ghibli. “Close Your Eyes” reworks a track of the same name from Lily Allen’s Sheezus record, tastefully pitching her vocal with optimistic production which sugarcoats and flirts around the surface of the song.
DJ PAYPAL – "FROM TIME"
Anyone can make a Drake remix – but when Berlin's DJ Paypal jumped on that boat, nothing was the same. His juke/footwork flip of Jhené and Drizzy's "From Time" turns it up into an emotional rager – download a 30-track bundle of his Drake edits here.
THE XX – "INTRO"
The xx recently took it right back to the late 00s – uploading a touching fan made video for “Intro” directed by Vincent John Conti. He created the short-and-mesmerising video by following the voiceless stories of two attractive girls on their hustles – and as we wait for album three, it's a reminder that the London trio continue to make their audience sensitive each and every day.
PARIS HILTON – "COME ALIVE"
Okay, we couldn't miss Paris Hilton's euphoric twirling amidst a million flowers, digital rainbows, sunsets and unicorns. For all its fabulous non-sensicality, it's a swooning and soaring electro-pop return from the heiress.