Aluna
Aluna is our new release of the week as Getintothis’ James Baker serves up Singles Club.
It’s Friday again. Another week down, and things are getting there, aren’t they?
As bleak as it still may seem, the global shit-storm looks closer to the end than the beginning more so by the day. Huzzah!
As the weeks have gone on I’ve been amazed by the ideas artists and publications have brought together to keep things ticking on the music front.
Online gigs, conversations, even festivals; stuff that seemed to have been ripped away from us has been kept afloat in ways that hadn’t really been explored much before.
Even while we’ve been apart, the wonders of music still allows us to come together.
Plenty of these ideas, long may they continue way past this period (I’m looking at you Roy, and Getintothis Live).
One thing that never slows down, is the song-machine that is our inbox. Whatever the world throws our way, Getintothis will always be here on a Friday bringing you the best single releases of the past week.
My bias kicks in here saying there’s an amazing collection this week, but I would say that… I chose them.
Aluna: Body Pump – Single of the Week
Aluna makes her mark as a solo artist with the release of her spectacular debut single ‘Body Pump,’ out everywhere today.
One half and front-woman of the internationally renowned duo AlunaGeorge, the critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer is stepping out on her own having inked a global deal with Los Angeles based record label Mad Decent, with a debut album also on its way.
Body Pump is a fun dance number that is without a doubt going to be the start of a huge new chapter for the singer. There is a recognisable flavour of an AlunaGeorge track, but considering their impressive back-catalogue that’s far from a bad thing. Having spoken about the debut, Aluna talks about being successful in her own stead.
“Having enjoyed being the main ingredient to many successful dance records, I started wanting to create the whole dish.
“In the past when performing on the stages of my white male peers, I always felt like a visitor being one of the few Black women I could see, so it never fully occurred to me to claim dance music as my music, as an artist, even though it was at the heart of my connection to music.” Aluna admits.
Podge: 100% Orange Juice
Dark Morph: Dark Wave
Dark Morph is a collaboration between sound and visual artists Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson. In celebration of the release of their second LP, Dark Morph II, the duo have released the single Dark Wave, along with a video directed by Embryoroom
The project has a clear message, and this song makes no exception. a sense of threat builds from the repetitions and ominous progression of the tune, pair this with the visuals and you won’t be able to avoid the severity of what they are trying to get across.
‘Dark Morph II’ was made using ocean recordings and is dedicated to the oceans of planet earth and to the lifeforms that live in and around them, with the duo stating: “The exploitation of the oceans, in conjunction with the heavy pollution (from plastic waste to nuclear radio-activity) has to stop, and be replaced by collaborative manners co-operating with all life on our globe.”
Darkstar: Jam
Darkstar have announced their fourth album Civic Jams for release on Warp on June19.
On what is described as their most personal record to date, Darkstar counterbalance observations of their home with those of the community surrounding it.
Speaking about their latest single Jam, Darkstar explain: “Jam is like a peripheral two-step banger.
Like if you were listening to your neighbour playing tunes through the wall or a car sped past and the bass reverberated out.
It’s built with all those classic two-step presets from an altern8 sample pack we found online.
The organ bass is too tempting and satisfying not to use and with Jam we were able to link it in nicely. We called it Jam cos it’s a Jam duh.”
Ali Horn: The Waves
“I can’t wait for the waves!” Me neither Ali… Me neither.
Before the all too real reality of a summer stuck at home became apparent, Ali Horn wrote his latest single looking over the grey skyline of Toxteth and dreaming of getting away to the beach.
Horn’s return is a massive Summer tune, with every sense of the idea. Notes of surf-rock allow you to take yourself to a world away.
We all know Liverpool isn’t world-renowned for its swell. In fact other than attempting to surf the wake behind a Mersey ferry there’s no chance of catching any waves.
But that’s not to stop anyone California Dreamin.’ What else do you need to be doing?
2019 saw Ali Horn release his debut EP ‘It Wears Off‘, six songs exploding with hazy pop hooks, sunburst psychedelia, and themes that stray between birth, death, love, and paranoia.
2020 is building up to be just as big for him, with the radio likes of BBC 6 Music and Radio X becoming more and more of a fan of his work.
Lianne La Havas: Paper Thin
Paper Thin is a moving, sensual song, and is the latest single to be taken from forthcoming album ‘Lianne La Havas’.
Its intimate simplicity exposes Lianne’s incredible voice at its most delicate and helps set the tone for the album that follows.
The delicate instrumentals allow La Havas‘ emotion in her voice to take centre-stage. Lianne La Havas is ten songs that span the arc of a love relationship, and Paper Thin shows how open and honest the sound of the record as a whole is going to be.
Lianne La Havas, Lianne’s third album and her first in five years is released on July 17.
Made entirely on her own terms, it has been quite the journey. In one sense, geographically: La Havas spent a lot of time moving back and forth between the UK and the States working on writing and exploring her own identity.
I SEE RIVERS: How
I SEE RIVERS have returned with the fourth portion of their forthcoming long-awaited debut album, ‘How’.
Told through the legend of Perseus and Andromeda, ‘How’ sets the scene of a couple’s turbulent love story.
This crisp electro-pop track uses driving drums and pizzicato synth to keep you in line amongst an upbeat cheery chorus, knitting together with I SEE RIVERS’ clear, distinctive harmonies.
Speaking of the track, the band have said; “Through Andromeda’s eyes, the song echoes her deep understanding of her connection to Perseus and her belief that even through hardships and turmoil, they have always been destined to be together – even after death she and Perseus is to spend the rest of their existence as constellations in the sky. Although drawn from the Greek myth, the deeper and more personal message of the song is about the need to make sense of things whilst battling the fear of losing face and understanding.”
OVVLS: Lockdown
Liverpool duo OVVLS(pronounced “Owls”) have re-emerged with Lockdown, a new single written amidst social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic – all proceeds from the single to be donated to mental health charity, Mind.
Accompanying the Lockdown single, is a music video constructed remotely with Brighton-based filmmaker Chris Daw.
The song has a dark feeling to it, which is quite fitting considering the state of the situation it’s about. Although this is a perilous time for artists across the board, here is an example of a good opportunity to talk about an important topic.
The duo are keen to acknowledge the emotional challenges during these unprecedented times and bring together socially distanced artists through music whilst putting across the message that people are not alone.
Jehnny Beth: Heroine
Jehnny Beth, of Savages fame, is setting out on her own with a powerful debut record, proving the power she possesses with new track; Heroine
Heroine is a story of self-exploration, self-doubt, and self-realisation. The torment in Jehnny Beth’s voice shows how she wrestles with the idea of what a heroine is, and how she wants to be one.
About the idea of the track, Jehnny explains; “When I think of this song, I think of Romy from The xx strangling my neck with her hands in the studio. She was trying to get me out of my shell lyrically, and there was so much resistance in me she lost her patience. The song was originally called Heroism, but I wasn’t happy because it was too generic. Flood was the first one to suggest to say Heroine instead of Heroism.”
“Then I remember Johnny Hostile late at night in my hotel room in London saying, “I don’t understand who you are singing about. Who is the Heroine? You ARE the Heroine”. The next morning, I arrived early in the studio and recorded my vocals adding ‘to be’ to the chorus line: “all I want is TO BE a heroine”.
Flood entered the studio at that moment and jumped in the air giving me the thumbs-up through the window. I guess I’m telling this story because sometimes we look around for role models, and examples to follow, without realising that the answer can be hidden inside of us. I was afraid to be the Heroine of the song, but it took all the people around me to get me there.”
Matt McManamon: Goodbye
Formerly of The Dead 60s and recent live guitarist for The Specials, Matt McManamon is strongly associated with ska, punk, dub and reggae. His solo work, however, is more closely aligned to his Liverpool Irish roots. Building up to the release of his debut solo album, Goodbye is here to show those roots in a solum yet beautiful way.
The acoustic track and accompanying video follows the end of a failing relationship, with powerful lyrics that will touch anyone who has been in the same shoes. The repeated acoustic melody provides the basis for a story to be told, a story of realising your worth and doing what is right for you.
“All my songs are written from a personal and autobiographical point of view, and this one draws inspiration from a fractious & toxic relationship.
“I wrote and first recorded “Goodbye” around 7 or 8 years ago – it ended up in my vaults and never saw the light of day until now. The original recording was unearthed and taken to Transmission Rooms Recording Studio in Drumlish, Ireland, adding drums/percussion and bass, the track was ultimately given a facelift by friend and musician Mick Cronin.”
A decade in the making, after The Dead 60s parting ways in 2008 McManamon’s debut solo album will be released via Fretsore Records in 2020. It features a collection of songs that Matt describes as ‘Scally Folk’, brewed in Liverpool, bottled in Ireland, enjoyed all over the world.
KingFast: Never Felt This Way Before
A soulful and chilled admission of love is the main front of KingFast’s latest track.
Merseyrail Sound Station winner KingFast has been honing in on his skills as a solo artist. Working away and putting in amazing live performances across Liverpool, this second single shows an amazing talent.
Belfast-raised, but adopted by Liverpool, KingFast’s falsetto, acoustic sound can be drawn to comparisons of the chill RnB vibes of Daniel Caesar. I dare you to listen to this without having some sort of a sway by the end.
If you’re in the mood for more than the two single he’s released, there is a brilliant collection of covers on his Youtube channel.
Dirty Projectors: Lose Your Love
At a moment when social distancing threatens to collapse into social alienation, Felicia Douglass implores us: “Just hold on, let yourself be found!” This is an anthem that invites connection and celebrates our need for one another.
The song’s great, lively beats and joyous instrumentation are a world away from the acoustic meditations of the Windows Open EP. But this is another side of the same dynamic band: keyboardist-percussionist Felicia Douglass takes the lead, joined in harmony by Maia Friedman and Kristin Slipp, on music written and produced by Dave Longstreth.
The upbeat tempo of the song paves a way for a different sound to the next EP from the band, a sound that will without a doubt put plenty of feelings of joy through anyone who listens.
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