Fresh Tracks: 4/14/23
New music from Teen Daze, Colin Stetson + 5 more
Your internet farm cat is back with new tunes share.
What did I find around the homestead this week? Scroll on to find out or click here to find the playlist.
Teen Daze - “Proof”
Dance your way into spring with this new track from the upcoming Teen Daze EP Fountains of the World. It’s fun, it’s fashionable. Hip! Cool! Chic!
The EP is the second of four that we expect from the newly minted Juno-award winner. Based on this and February’s Natural Movement, I await with baited breath for the next two.
Colin Stetson - “When we were that what wept for the sea”
I’ve been a fan of Colin Stetson since 2009, when I saw him open for The National in Montreal. It helps that I played saxophone in high school and then later in The Magician and the Gates of Love (shoutout!), but his circular-breathing wizardry and mesmerizing compositions are what bring me back every time.
“When we were that what wept for the sea,” the first single off Stetson’s upcoming album of the same name, gives any newcomer a perfect introduction to what this guy is all about. From what I can gather, everything you hear comes from his horn here, layered and reverbed to give the track its overwhelming effect. Pure magic.
Lowswimmer, S. Carey - “In Five”
It’s great to have things in common with your partner. Love for these two artists is something I share with mine. A show in Copehagen cemented our affinity for Bon Iver drummer and excellent solo artist S. Carey, and I think we can thank Spotify’s algorithm for connecting us to Lowswimmer. Sometimes you have to give credit where credit’s due.
This track is another prime example of what these two do (morning-mist folk?). If you’re in the right mood, it can fill your chest with feeling.
Madison Cunningham - “Inventing the Wheel”
A little more folk for you. Madison Cunningham is another one Erica gets props for introducing me to. It was either her or the cultural institution of Alberta that is the donor-supported radio station CKUA. One way or another, Cunningham found her way in my sights, and I’m hooked.
As in “Inventing the Wheel,” the thing that gets me everytime with this songwriter is her melodies. She never goes exactly where you expect her to go, but it works every time. If I were in her line of work, her skills would make me bitter.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - “The Garden”
I’m a sucker for the new-wave psychedelic bands that popped up in the last decade, Unknown Mortal Orchestra included. The part of the trend? Making these sounds danceable. Whether we’re talking UMO, Tame Impala, or a growing list of others, these guys know how to groove.
“The Garden” starts off the group’s new record, V, with a bit of everything. We get the aforementioned hip-moving rhythm, plus a mantra-like chorus and even a pretty good guitar solo. I’m here for it.
Jimmie Green, Shoestring - “I Need You So”
Speaking of groove, this new release from legendary re-release record label, The Numero Group offers original source material for what Ruban Nielson and the rest of Unknown Mortal Orchestra is going for: truly old-school R&B, dug out of the crates.
Not much can be found about either artist online, but somehow, that adds to the mysterious effect. How can a voice like that not be world renown? Hopefully this ‘45 will help rectify that.
Tommaso Cappellato - “Ascension”
More music from Calgary’s Inner Oceans label. I can’t get enough! This time it’s from L.A.-based world traveller Tommaso Cappellato.
The producer/drummer has collected sounds from across the globe, from Egypt to Senegal to Brooklyn and home again, and you can hear it all here in “Ascension,” his part of Inner Ocean’s jazz singles project. Keep it coming guys!