With so much good music coming through thick and fast, it’s easy for new music to drop online and go unnoticed. To help prevent this, we’ve picked five albums you need to hear. Stream music from Roseau, Stuart McCallum, Cara Stacey, lee (asano+ryuhei) and Little Simz. If you like what you hear support the artist.
Roseau – Salt
Marrying stories about modern life both rubbish and wondrous to bold, chiming, futuristic pop, Salt is a stunning record. Roseau’s talent for writing, her purposeful experiments and her mastery of several instruments as well as electronic production techniques, add up to a powerful arsenal. Roseau learned to write songs and perform uncanny harmonies long before she mastered Logic and laptops, and this finely honed ability sees her shine out from the pack. A must listen.
7/10
Stuart McCallum – City
For his new album, City, McCallum steps even further into the world of electronica, whilst still maintaining that magical combination of both acoustic and electronic instruments that gives his music such a distinctive sound. However, two things make City stand out from his previous work. First, the addition of vocals and second, the decision to bring in London-based drummer and producer, Richard Spaven, who he met during his time playing with Cinematic Orchestra, not only to perform but to co-write and produce the album (all tracks are co-written by McCallum and Spaven apart from City). This is so good it almost hurts.
8/10
Cara Stacey – Things That Grow
“Things That Grow” is a fluid musical project exploring the sonic possibilities of southern African musical bows within improvisatory contexts. On this album, Cara Stacey performs contemporary compositions and improvisations on the umrhubhe and uhadi bows with Shabaka Hutchings (clarinet, tenor saxophone), Seb Rochford (drums), Ruth Goller (bass), Crewdson (concertronica), and Dan Leavers (synths/production). Combining original compositions by Cara and Shabaka with freely conceived improvisation, this recording aims to stretch the boundaries of bow music in an ensemble and create something entirely new.
8/10
lee (asano+ryuhei) – Ima
If you’re not familiar with the eclectic, beatmaker/producer/DJ lee (asano+ryuhei), get acquainted with his new EP titled Ima. Check out this 13 track project to see the sonic textures created by the Thailand-via-Japan beatmaker.
7/10
Little Simz – A Curious Tales Of Trials + Persons
Releasing through her own label and retaining full creative direction, Little Simz is a powerful representation of a new generation of independent, entrepreneurial and socially conscious creatives. After a slew of brilliant mixtapes this LP is what we’ve been waiting for from Simz, and it’s everything we expected and more. This is a fiery debut album from the North Londoner, and we love it!
7/10
