1) Kanye West – Real Friends
Moody, downtempo hip-hop track with an overall melancholic tone and brilliant lyrics.
[Because Kanye is a tool and won’t put any of his latest music anywhere where people may actually listen, this is the only clip available: http://bbc.in/1OmSlT4]
2) Shura – The Space Tapes
Fuzzy, spaced-out electro-remixes of three tracks from Shura’s forthcoming highly-anticipated début album ‘Nothing’s Real’. Reverberating vocal samples, frolicking synthesisers and eerie sounds all echo infinitely throughout this nine-minute sampler track.
3) Niki and The Dove – Play it on my radio
Gentle but majestic 80’s-influenced synthpop track. Mirroring Fleetwood Mac at their peak, precarious percussion, dreamy harmonies and fluttering synthesisers drift beautifully through this brilliant song.
4) The Floyds – You
Lovely, breezy acoustic-based track with great lyrics.
5) Liss – Sorry
Dream-like, heavily auto-tuned synthpop track from up-and-coming band Liss, comprised of clinking synths, a waltz-like bass line and a meandering rhythm.
6) WSTRN – Come Down
Another brilliantly catchy R&B track with electro elements from West-London collective WSTRN. Sampling Evelyn King’s 1982 hit ‘Love Come Down’, the trio have created another smash record.
7) KAYTRANDA & Karriem Riggins – BUS RIDE
A beautifully chilled-out instrumental track from Canadian musician KAYTRANADA. Twinkling pianos, soulful and eerie synthesisers and fierce percussion drives this retro alternative-R&B track.
8) The 1975 – The Ballad of Me and My Brain
Brilliant track on which witty lyrics are growled over unsteady percussion and fierce guitar work. Haunting vocal samples evolve into a neurotic punk-pop track which perfectly captures losing your mind.
9) The 1975 – Lostmyhead
Dark and melancholic shoegazing track which is musically simple but incredibly powerful. Heavy, distorted electric guitar riffs and hazy synthesisers form the backdrop as frontman Matt Healy drones ‘And he said, I lost my head, can you see it, can you see it?’. It eventually climaxes in a brilliant orchestral track with percussion.
10) Active Child – 1999
Jazzy and soulful track by electronic artist Patrick Gossi, under his working name of Active Child. Gentle percussion and jazzy pianos with Gossi’s beautiful falsettos all result in a beautiful song.
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