PICKLE DARLING — PHOTO BY NICK ROBINSON / WORDS BY CARLA CAMILLERI / LOGO BY ZOE HANNAY
PICKLE DARLING — 'INVERCARGILL ANGEL'
Lukas Mayo, AKA Pickle Mayo, once again serves a dazzling exhibition of experimental bedroom pop with their new single 'Invercargill Angel', alchemizing a sweet blend of organic folk elements with twinkling, mechanical synths into their unique, interstellar sound. The song is sweetly accompanied by a music video directed by Aimee Cooki Martin which captures Mayo and friends celebrating the completion of their new album Laundromat; "I have no memory of what went down but luckily my friends captured it all on film…”.
You can preorder Pickle Darling's upcoming album Laundromat via Bandcamp HERE.
CHRISTOPH EL TRUENTO x BRANDN SHIRAZ — 'RATCHET'
I will never get tired of listening to NO WARNING, the 2022 collaborative effort between producer Christoph El Truento and rapper Brandn Shiraz, a project that is versatile and effortlessly fluent in its delivery. I recently came across it again, and a year on from its release it still sounds completely fresh. I remember hearing 'RATCHET' for the first time, and it remains my favourite on the collection, smoothly embodying a wonderful blend of lush strings and 60's lounge-inspired samples that spread the perfect body of layers beneath Shiraz' vocal chops.
You can support this project via Bandcamp HERE.
DJ BLACK LOW — 'OSKIDO'
South African producer Sam Austin Radebe, known as DJ Black Low, has returned with his sophomore LP Impumelelo. As a master of the genre of amapiano, he effortlessly weaves deep house with sprinkles of jazz and lounge elements atop layers of eerie synths, spinning the familiar sound of the South African subgenre into his own signature dimension.
You can find DJ Black Low's new album Impumelelo via the Flying Nun Record Shop HERE.
PETITE NOIR — 'BLURRY (FEAT SAMPA THE GREAT)
Petite Noir is someone you need to listen to; the new album by the South African artist is a comprehensive statement of his abilities as a vocalist, songwriter and musician. On 'Blurry', he teams up with Sampa The Great to deliver a wonderful synergy atop the downtempo shoegaze-inspired production.
Petite Noir's new album MotherFather is available via the Flying Nun Record Shop HERE.
BALLOT BOX — 'HANUMAN'
95bFM have announced the lineup to their annual Fancy New Band series, showcasing emerging artists from Aotearoa’s musicscape at the end of Aotearoa Music Month at Tāmaki Makaurau’s Whammy Bar and Whammy Backroom. This year, the lineup feature a slew of ridiculous talent spanning genres from across the motu, including Sabreen Islam, Elliot & Vincent, YAHYAH, Chris RL, Chase Woods, BLUSH.MP3 and Tāmaki Makaurau-based band Ballot Box, who released their fantastic song ‘Hanuman’ in 2022 — support them via Bandcamp HERE.
95bFM’s Fancy New Band is on Saturday May 27th — check out the details below.
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PJ HARVEY — 'A CHILD'S QUESTION, AUGUST'
The legendary songwriter PJ Harvey has announced her 10th studio album, I Indisde the Old Year Dying, arriving July 7 via Partisan. Once again teaming with long-time collaborators John Parish and Flood, the album exercises improvisation with the two of them. The first piece to emerge is ‘A Child’s Question, August’. Its dusky tones lay a thick fog which Polly Jean's sweet melodies pierce sunlight through, warping the piece to settle into something otherwordly.
You can preorder PJ Harvey's new album via the Flying Nun Record Shop HERE.
OVERMONO — 'CALLING OUT'
The debut, full length album by British electronic duo Overmono is finally out today. They've been building the suspense for a while now, and a couple of doberman dogs that began gracing all aspects of their visual accompaniments only added to the group's mysterious appeal. Finally, we have an entire album of deep, resonant house to explore and a whole weekend ahead of us to test it out on the dancefloor.
Overmono's new album is out today. You can buy it via the Flying Nun Record Shop HERE.
SHLI x BASALT — 'BRANDY STEP' FROM THE BIG FRESH COLLECTIVE'S FOOTMAHI 2023 COMPILATION
One of my favourite emails to receive is the one from Bandcamp notifying me of a new Big Fresh Collective release, and this week we were blessed with FOOTMAHI 2023, a follow up to last year's SRN Album Of The Year, FOOTMAHI 2022. Curated by label leader Liam K. Swiggs, the compilation series (with the name 'Footmahi' coined by BFC founding member MUSHMANE of Tainu) gives us another comprehensive outlook into some of Aotearoa's most exciting beat makers, including Caru, The Forbin Project, Deepstate, ABG and SHLI X BASALT, who contributed their unbridled footwork piece 'BRANDY STEP' to the mix. Give it all a spin.
You can buy Footmahi 2023 via Bandcamp HERE. Tickets for the release party in Ōtautahi tonight are available HERE.
SOFIA MACHRAY — 'PETALS IN THE RAIN'
Dream-pop musician Sofia Machray has revealed the first single to emerge from her upcoming debut album Language Of Flowers — due for release on July 21st. 'Petals In The Rain' drives along with the wind in its hair, glowing with an exciting sense of discovery, and a deep melancholy that hits the heart with a heavenly punch.
"At times I think we underestimate the significance a single moment can have when we’re in it. These moments can suck us in and spit us out, shaping us into the people we are and want to be. There’s a lot to learn through these experiences beyond what’s seen as good and bad.” — wise words from Sofia Machray about the new song.
Listen to the new single via Bandcamp HERE. Watch Sofia perform at the Flying Nun Store (back when we were in Newtown) live for What Was That Thing? HERE.
TERRIBLE SONS — 'WATCHING AND WATCHING'
Ōtautahi duo Lauren Barus (Fly My Pretties LA Mitchell) and Matt Barus (Duke), otherwise known as Terrible Sons, revealed their debut album The Raft Is Not On The Shore at the end of April. As captivating as its name, the collection is a tender projection of personal stories and open expression; a series of closely-knit harmonies that weave the songs together.
You can buy Terrible Son's new album via the Flying Nun Record Shop HERE.
