Youniss – New Music Jason’s Picks

Good day to one and all! I hope everyone is feeling fine, and in the mood for some grand New Music.

I’ve found nine titles to share with you this week, so let’s dive in!

One of my favourite musicians around these days is Melbourne’s Billiam. I’ve been with the “Autism-core” Artist through a string of EPs and also his debut full-length back in September. He’s back with a new single. Where is Jackson Reid Briggs? opens with riffing guitars and fiery drums leading into Billy’s frenetic vocals. The B-side is a raucous cover of Shove’s Shane.

*Billiam – Where Is Jackson Reid Briggs?*

A musician and producer from Antwerp called Youniss has just released a new EP. Do We Try Beyond The Edge? is noisy Hip-Hop with skittish beats, aggressive sampling and anxious rhymes.

Kiran Leonard is an esoteric Singer-Songwriter from England with a whimsical kitchen-sink approach to his sound. His new album, Real Home, includes thirteen musicians and vocalists to create a Chamber Pop atmosphere. Leonard’s voice is captivating and strong.

I am an unabashed Beatles nerd. They were my introduction to mind-expanding sounds, and I know that they continue to inspire new Artists, even some fifty or so years later. Case in point is the new compilation record from Ohio label Burnt-Up Records. Featuring twenty-two DJs and Producers including Chill da God, Chef Mike and Busfoot, Strawberry Phillies Forever-The $4.20 Tape Vol III takes sneaky samples of the Fab Four, chopping them up, and reimagining them as Hip-Hop.

*v/a – Strawberry Phillies Forever-The $4.20 Tape Vol III*

Dust Raps The Blues is an MC from Portland, Oregon who released an album last April that I recommended. He’s back again, this time in collaboration with Producer Sxlxmxn. The Dust And Sxlxmxn Album is eleven tracks of laid back Hip-Hop with a Blues soul.

*Dust Raps The Blues – The Dust and Sxlxmxn Album*

You would think, with it being the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that Cleveland would be a hotbed for great new bands. Sadly, that isn’t the case, but I have found one band that is picking up the slack. Cloud Nothings are a three-piece that have been active for fifteen years or so. Their latest album, Final Summer, employs post-Grunge distortion with a carefully-crafted Pop aesthetic.

Somewhere that never disappoints with a plethora of exciting new bands is Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice is a Synth Punk quintet, and their latest record is Total Reality. With a full sound that includes horns and percussion, the album is replete with intriguing twists and catchy riffs.

*Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice – Total Reality*

A band from Greece has gotten my attention with their debut album. Tiffany is a snappy Punk ensemble, and i – EYE has the mosh pit cooking. Major adrenaline injection, with an oddball inflection.

Defiance in the face of prejudice in the pursuit of joy is such a rich and powerful stance in Music. Queer Experimental Punk Band Ekko Astral has released one of the finest albums of the year thus far, and it contains this ethos in full effect. The DC quintet’s debut full-length pink balloons comes for the throat. Led by founder and vocalist Jael Holzman, the group has created an album to experience in full. Smart and endearing lyrics, and sharp instrumentation that embraces odd leaps. And rocks. My Feature Pick for this week.

Here’s hoping you found something that brought some joy to your life. I hope I was able to help!

Take care of yourself!

An excellent Friday to you and yours! I hope you’ve had some time to relax, and that you’re not working too hard. Myself, beyond the shovelling and snowy walk to and from my daughter’s school, my week has been relaxing and calm.

Not a recent photo, but the walk to Abby’s school is nice.

This week brought another load of wonderful New Music. I found ten New Releases this week; some that seek to modernize and/or manipulate old recordings in fascinating ways, some that help to soothe the soul, and some to move and/or manipulate your booty.

Pop Quiz: Who was the first artist to sell over a million copies of a record? If your first guess is Bing Crosby and White Christmas, you are like me, and about forty years late. The answer is the legendary Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, and his recording of Vesti la Giubba, from the Leoncavallo opera I Pagliacci, from 1902. Caruso was not only an amazing Opera singer, he was a Star, the same way that Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson were, but without the benefit of radio or television to help his career. An anonymous Artist from Florida called Chapman Pond Music has taken nine Caruso recordings, now over a hundred years old, and paired them with delicate Electronic Music, utilizing analog synths. Electric Caruso is hauntingly breathtaking.

A six-track EP from Brazilian Experimental Label The Church of Noisy Goat serves, tangentially, as a companion piece to my previous recommendation. Serbian Electronic Artist Lezet (who I recommended just over a month ago), recording as ØÜð, is also taking ages-old recordings as his starting point. Taking loops, both forwards and backwards, and soaking them in glitchy beats, Mold 2 is deliciously weird and satisfying ear candy.

An audacious DJ and Producer from Toronto comes with a more traditional record crate, and then proceeds to transform the samples in magical ways. I’m able to ascertain that 26 year-old celinee has the skills and to sample classic Hip-Hop and R&B tracks, and couch them in deep bass beats, with spacey synths to snack on, on their new full length, tay. That’s all I know about about celinee. #NoSampleSnitching

An Antwerp-based multi-instrumentalist and singer has made one of the more intriguing clashes of sound I’ve heard in a while, to tremendous affect. Youniss Ahamad’s second album White Space is a daringly dark and adventurous ride through Harsh Noise and EDM. Emotionally soulful vocals gives me ‘Moses Sumney-meets-Nine Inch Nails’ vibes.

A.A. Khan is a multi-instrumentalist and Producer based in Berlin. For nearly a decade now he has been releasing Music as King Khan, and I’m happy to have found his new album, The Nature Of Things. Not only is it named after that great Canadian television show (hosted by David Suzuki), the album has its own organic feel to the instrumentation. Breakneck drums drive Brontez Booty Beat, with garage electric guitar, but dig the flutes and horns! Jazz/Rock with a higher consciousness.

Are there any Fever Ray fans out there? I’ve known of this Swedish solo project, led by Karin Dreijer for nearly fifteen years, at the suggestion of a fellow Music Store employee. I never gave them a proper chance. I prejudged them for their fashion and visual aesthetics. I like to think that I’ve grown since that time, and their new album (only their third) Radical Romantics has won my heart. Electro Pop with intriguing melodies, led by Dreiser’s emotionally powerful voice, inflected with Scandinavian punctuation. Sorry Tiffaney, I was an idiot.

I was specifically in search of some new music to dance to. I expect to have the floor filled at My Imaginary Nightclub with this new EP by French DJ and Producer Kyrian Nicolas-Kritter, aka Ekorce. Four tracks of respectable BPMs and foot-grabbing bass synth grooves are found on Puzzled. Get your booty on the floor tonight. Make my day.

If that got your dancing feet warmed up, it’s time to kick them into high gear. Nia Archives is a singer/songwriter, DJ and Producer from the North of England. Last year, her album Forbidden Feelingz achieved great popular and critical acclaim. This week she has released a six-track EP. Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall begins with the high-energy Drum & Bass banger Baianá, before utilizing frenetic beats to accentuate her warm vocals in a Trip Hop-meets-Garage way.

*Nia Archives – Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall*

An Artist that shows himself to also be ‘Trip-Hop-adjacent’ (amongst other things) is London’s Drummer, Rapper and Producer Ricco Komolafe. He comes from the London Jazz scene, and Rarelyalways, he makes his full-length debut this week. WORK is fourteen tracks that showcase his verbal skills upon bassy rhythms and polyrhythms. Mad production.

You can’t dance, exactly, to my Feature Pick for this week. Lia Kohl is a cellist, sound artist and composer who lives in Chicago. What I humbly offer is the notion to to sit quietly for the 35 minutes it takes to unravel The Ceiling Reposes. The seven ambient tracks wash over you, and cello stabs and radio samples bring shivers to the spine in the most delightful way.

An excellent wind down to an excellent week of excellent New Music. So, in conclusion, have a great weekend, and in the wise words of William S. Preston, “Be excellent to each other.”

Tag Archives: Youniss

The New Music I’m Listening To This Winter Week (Whether I Like It Or Not), March 4 – 10, 2023: