Nine years after the staggered vocals and sunken synths of With U and Held stunned fans of sensual vaporwave, witch house, and bedroom R&B, the electronic producer Holy Other returns from an extended stay at Bidston Observatory on the Wirral with stuttering percussion and sinuous snatches of sax, as he unveils the title track from his upcoming album Lieve. Through red river streets, Arca delivers another kick upside the head in the form of her fiery new single. And the Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq issues industrial tongue lashings from a rocky outcrop, through an embedded chin and a tundra laced in lichen.
The renowned wedding band Etran de L’Aïr pack up their guitars and set out from the Saharan capital, as they take their cacophony of sound to a series of dates across Europe. The Indonesian duo Raja Kirik tackle colonial struggles on an album of shamanic trance and traditional percussion. And with a music video from Claudia Rafael which casts the heavenly bodies in gassy distortion, the sound designer Robert Dietz marks his debut on the Frankfurt label Live At Robert Johnson.
There are more blasts from the past as Uffie ushers in a new era of cool, while Wiki and Earl Sweatshirt reminisce on bad habits even as they straddle their own personal demons. Empath crash the funfair, Yikii spins nursery rhymes with a nightmarish ambiance, and while other bands seek the thrill of the chase, seven minutes of slowly strummed dream pop help Mess Esque find their sweet spot. Dua Saleh gets physical with Amaarae, Bomba Esteréo splash in the sea with Leonel García, and tracks by Salamanda, Often, and M1llionz round out the best of the week’s music.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Arca – ‘Incendio’
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Wiki – ‘All I Need’ (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)
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Dua Saleh – ‘fitt’ (feat. Amaarae)
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Salamanda – ‘Puddle Underwater’
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Etran de L’Aïr – ‘Toubouk Ine Chihoussay’
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Robert Dietz – ‘Swallowing Tubes’
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Bomba Estéreo & Leonel García – ‘Como Lo Pedí’
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Often – ‘Trace’
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M1llionz – ‘Provisional Licence’ (feat. AJ Tracey)
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Empath – ‘Born 100 Times’
