Sasha & The Bear - Wake Me Up
pop
As intrinsically annoying and intentionally attention-grabbing as pop music is, not even chin-stroking music academics can deny its redemptive power. On a song like "Wake Me Up" by Sasha & The Bear, one can get a simple yet effective mood booster that feels like a warm autumnal breeze after a hot summer; a sip of iced tea that could perk up even the most forlorn musicologist. A collaboration between artists DOV and Sasha Daniel, Sasha & The Bear playfully blends super modern lo-fi electronica with a nostalgic pop sensibility in this pleasant production.
Rival Consoles - Running
electronic
Rival Consoles is the beguiling moniker of London-based electronic producer Ryan West. West will put out the LP 'Now is' on Erased Tapes in the coming days, and the early cut 'Running' is a promising introduction to that release. Heavily rhythmic and repetitive, the track employs atmospheric pad strikes and economic percussion to create a mood somewhere between pensive and inspiring. The production here is textured and carefully balanced, the melodic drive and minimalist core given plenty of room to flourish.
Penny - Crucial
experimental
Sweden's Penny sits somewhere between bizarre and accessible. The artist's first single, 'Crucial', is a strong mission statement; whispering vocals and pop hooks delivered in a cocktail of electronic beats and sound. It introduces Penny as an idiosyncratic and explorative performer working on the outskirts of the mainstream. No real information on Penny is readily available, adding to the mystic, if not bordering on creepypasta thanks to the unsettling tune. Coproduced with Alex Zethson and Anton Toorell, this is an exciting glimpse into something that could go skyward from the gutter from whence it came.