I love it when friends introduce me to new music because it saves me the effort to search for good, new music upon the vast internet. Theres an abundance of musicians putting themselves online through soundcloud, youtube etc. but only a minority of them are actually worth listening to and downloading to your iTunes. Music blogs or online magazines, like Hypetrak, are helpful to an extent but they practically post any music of any new artist so there is a mixture of good, average and awful musicians. I always read the description/overview of the music and artist and the writer always makes the musician sound great but I'm often disappointed when I press play. Whereas, friends know your music taste and have relatively good judgements on what or what not to 'link' you.
Here is a list of upcoming and established musicians my lovely friends have introduced to me / or I've discovered through various outlets (since I also want to return the favour) :
Logic
If Frank Sinatra was reincarnated as a rapper,
he would be re-living his fame and glory as 23-year-old Logic (whose real name
is actually Sir Robert Bryson Hall III – I’m not kidding). Logic embodies the
Sinatra charm and confidence while he blows our mind with his wordplay and the
speed of his rhymes. Although his raps are complex and quick, he manages to
maintain a certain smoothness and an effortless flow. He has a clear vision of achieving mainstream
success while staying loyal to hip hop and we shall see if he remains true to
his word. Logic will be propelled into the
spotlight since his debut album is set to be released this year with the
support of major record label, Def Jam.
source of discovery: www.xxlmag.com
King Krule
There is a Punk renaissance infused with Jazz, Blues and Hip Hop and 19-year-old King Krule (aka Archy Marshall) is leading the way. Don't let his red hair fool you into believing he is an 'Ed Sheeran' type instead I'd say he is more like 'Johnny Rotten' if we were to be generalising gingers (which we shouldn't do). He brings angst to the foreground with his rough, tortured moans and groans while he tells us, "In my head I'm getting dead tired of this shit you've caused/ You fucking bitch." (check out those internal rhymes - he is obviously an avid listener of rap). King Krule freely moves between these indistinct states of singing and rapping (basically punk-rap) against the smoothness of his Fender guitar. Amongst the underground hip hop scene, King Krule has also gained respect with his collaboration with Ratking, a NYC hip hop collective, in So Sick Stories so don't feel your "street cred" is at jeopardy for listening to him.
source of discovery: don't actually remember
FKA Twigs
Although FKA Twigs' music lacks excitement, there is something enchanting and eerie about FKA Twigs and her ethereal electronic production. FKA Twigs deceives the audience with her innocent-Bambi-look while she expresses her sexuality through her lyrics, "That feels good in my/ That feels good/ so so amazing/ I want you in my", - why won't she finish her sentence? To be honest, I think her lyrics are too basic and boring but her use of sound is reasonably intriguing. And If I'm going to be fully honest with you, I think it was her "cool" image rather than her music that convinced me to like her.
source of discovery: Pitchfork... I think?
Glass Animals
I don't know much about Glass Animals except they're a London band consisting of four guys that make great music and understand the effectiveness of minimalism. When my friend tagged me in the Glass Animals' Facebook post of their song, Gooey, I assumed they were some kind of "alty" band. Therefore I was hesitant and wary because I have stigmatised "alternative" music in my mind but I can't always trust my judgements. Glass Animals' repertoire is a delicious mixture of psychedelic, whimsical, electro-pop flavours that I'm obsessed with now, like holy shit.
source of discovery: friend
Grimes
Two years ago, my friend sent me Grimes' Oblivion music video and my initial reaction was, "What the hell is this? Like oh my gosh, this is so weird that I'm slightly creeped out by her." I hated her but yet I could not stop watching her videos and interviews and slowly I became a fan. I truly admire her and her clear vision of herself as an artist (but I'll save my fangirling for another blog post). Visions is a bizarre, phenomenal album with music I thought I wouldn't ever enjoy but Grimes surprised me. Her innovative, futuristic production creates a hypnotic trance amongst listeners and transports them to the Fifth Element. Grimes definitely knows how to take advantage of the influence of pop music as she lures people into the catchiness of her synths. Thank goodness Grimes is currently working on her fourth album otherwise I would have started a riot because I've been anticipating for her to release more music for far too long.
source of discovery: friend - Emma
Arctic Monkeys
I know they've been around for a long time that they are practically veterans of British indie-rock music. I had disregarded the Arctic Monkeys over the years until my friend played AM on vinyl. The opening of the kick drums and moody guitar line (Do I Wanna Know?) instantly opened my eyes to the potency of the Arctic Monkeys. The booming sound system projected the domineering vibrations of the bass amongst the walls, windows, furniture and bodies. It was a stranger, wonderful sensation. If I had listened to their music on the internet, I highly doubt it would have had any influence over me.
source of discovery: friend - Gabbi
Hope this has expanded your music preferences.
- freak out
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