The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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Over the space of a couple of singles last year London-based yunè pinku introduced herself as a producer with one hand in the modern world another reaching much further back in time. Her sleek, poppy garage beats slipped effortlessly into algorithmic playlists alongside peers like Pinkpantheress and Tommy & Piri. Dig a little deeper, however, and songs such as “Fai Fighter” and “Laylo” revealed ancient celtic references and ASMR textures.
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New song “Night Light” continues to reveal new layers to yunè pinku’s world. The pop sheen remains but there is an added urgency to the track, which takes place in an imagined metaverse. Taking inspiration from the advances in A.I. technology, yunè imagines a world in which the technology develops to the stage at which the creations develop self-awareness and understand the transactional nature of their existence in a human world. Like the best electronic music, there is a deep strain of melancholoy running through the track and one that twinkling synths and a high BPM do little to disguise.
Steve Lacy, boygenius, LCD Soundsystem curate new touring concert series
The inaugural Re:SET will take place in 12 different cities across four weekends this summer, with each top-billed act building their own opening lineup.
From left: Steve Lacy, photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; boygenius, photo by Harrison Whitford; LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, photo by James McCarthy/Getty Images.
Re:SET will take place on the weekends of June 2, 9, 16, and 23 in California (Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater, Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, and San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium), the deep south (New Orleans’ City Park, Atlanta’s Central Park, and Dallas’ Texas Trust CU Theatre), the northeast (Queens’ Forest Hills Stadium, Boston’s Suffolk Downs, and the DMV’s Merriweather Post Pavilion), and the midwest (Nashville’s Centennial Park, Chicago’s Riis Park, and Colombus’ KEMBA Live! festival site), respectively. The three groups of performers will cycle through the selected cities in each region, performing at different venues every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. View the full lineup and schedule below.
In mid-January, Fall Out Boy announced So Much (for) Stardust, their first album in five years, due out March 24 via Fueled by Ramen and Elektra. Today (January 31), they’ve announced the confusingly named “So Much For (Tour) Dust” tour, a 29-date North American summer run kicking off June 21 at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. British metalcore quintet Bring Me The Horizon will head the tour’s prodigious undercard on all but two of its dates (Alkaline Trio will step in as direct support in Kansas and Colorado). The rest of the bill will comprise a rotating lineup, alternately featuring Royal & The Serpent, Games We Play, Daisy Grenade and Carr. Fall Out Boy will follow the cross-continental trek with a headlining performance at Tokyo’s Summer Sonic festival on August 19.
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Check out the “So Much For (Tour) Dust” tour’s official poster and full schedule below.
June 21 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field June 23 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino June 24 – Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater ≠ June 27 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion June 28 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion June 30 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre July 1 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre July 2 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium July 5 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre July 7 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre July 9 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre ≠ July 11 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP July 13 – Somerset, WI – Somerset Amphitheater July 15 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center July 16 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center July 18 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center July 19 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live July 21 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion July 22 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Amphitheater July 24 – West Palm Beach, FL – iThink Financial Amphitheatre July 25 – Tampa, FL – MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre July 26 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheater July 29 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre July 30 – Toronto, Ontario – Budweiser Stage August 1 – Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium August 2 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park August 4 – Corfu, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater August 5 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center August 6 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
≠ Alkaline Trio replaces Bring Me The Horizon as direct support.
Texas-born singer-songwriter Jana Horn has announced her sophomore studio LP. The Window Is the Dream — the follow-up to her 2022 debut album, Optimism — is due out April 7 via No Quarter Records. News of the forthcoming record arrived today (January 31) alongside its lead single, “After All This Time.”
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The new track is a pensive, methodical number, meticulously arranged with help from producer Jared Samuel Elioseff’s cello section. “Remembering is not the same / As looking back,” Horn reasons at the start of the song, setting up a nuanced portrait of memory, loss, and forgiveness. “After all this time / There is only so much / I can say for sure,” she sings later. “Experience has taken me / Into her arms again / Mother of my own making.”
The Window Is the Dream was mostly recorded with Elioseff at Pale Moon Sessions in Cambridge, New York, with additional tracks laid down alongside Craig Ross at Studio 4 in Austin. At the latter venue — still under construction at the time of the project’s creation — Horn was joined by old friends such as drummer Adam Jones (a frequent Bill Callahan collaborator) and guitarist Jonathan Horne. “They were making the studio at the time, so I was part of the process,” Horn explains in a press release. “I would be tiling the bathroom floor… during the breaks, or helping Adam install the toilets.”
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Read Horn’s full statement on The Window Is the Dream, listen to “After All This Time,” and check out the album’s tracklist and cover art below.
From the desk of Jana Horn:
“The Window Is The Dream began as a failed poem. I wrote it as I was waking up… ‘The last thing I want in this breath of existence / is not to throw myself into it / as any bird might stop flying / when the window is the dream.” I think the original line was “toad breath.” My classmates were nice about it, even the teacher.
I was taking a class on esoteric lit, a fiction workshop, a poetry class. And while the poem wasn’t quite… a poem… a song did rise from it, like smoke from a fire put out. The song is called “The Dream,” which maybe the album is pointing toward. These recurring lines which depict the image of a bird hitting a window, though not out of oblivion, but because the bird knows something we don’t.
I think of a line from a favorite story of mine, [Denis Johnson’s] ‘Car Crash While Hitchhiking,’ in which a man is observing someone badly hurt, and about to go: ‘And therefore I looked down into the great pity of a person’s life on this earth. I don’t mean that we all end up dead, that’s not the great pity. I mean that he couldn’t tell me what he was dreaming, and I couldn’t tell him what was real.’
I won’t bore you with more quotes… but perhaps my idea with this song, and album, was in part to help keep this broader, ongoing conversation in the air, like a beach ball.
I wrote these songs in the thick of a writing program. I was reading all the time, sometimes five-hundred pages a week or more, there was no music on, for years maybe; my record player broke, the stereo in my car, my laptop was on its last speaker and then it started twitching. The feeling of those days was holding on, as though centripetal force alone was keeping everything going. Songs spilled. ‘Days go by / they don’t have time.’ Even the walks I took were circular, around the cemetery and back.
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The Window Is the Dream tracklist
1. Leaving Him 2. After All This Time 3. Days Go By 4. The Dream 5. Love In Return 6. Old Friend 7. Song For Eve 8. In Between 9. Energy Go 10. The Way It Is
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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Asake celebrated in impeccable style last year on his debut album, Mr. Money With the Vibe (The FADER’s 18th favorite album of 2022). But where that record was full of swagger and sophistication, his first single of the new year is a full 180. “Yoga” is a document of humility and simplicity, an effort to find balance after a year defined by unprecedented success but tinged with tragedy by a crowd crush that killed two fans during his December show at O2 Academy Brixton. “The song is about minding my business and guarding my peace so no one can disrupt it,” the 28-year-old Lagosian scene leader confirms.
In keeping with its theme, the new song’s sound is much more rooted in tradition and repetition than in the cosmopolitan sleekness of Mr. Money. Drum machines disappear, replaced by hand-pounded percussion; synths and saxes are subbed out for sweetly bowed strings and a backing choir; and Asake leaves Auto-Tuned melismas behind in favor of direct, from-the-heart refrains. “I dey on my away hey / I dey maya / Make nobody kill my yoga,” he sings, praying for peace with the sincerity of a dedicated 12 stepper.
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Despite the earnestness of the track’s message, “Yoga” is still a lush affair, and Asake’s love for textural decadence is reflected in its TG Omori-directed visual treatment, a rush of colors provided by the gorgeous beachscapes of Dakar, Senegal. Watch the clip below.
Yves Tumor has announced details of new album. The fantastically titled Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) will be released on March 17 via Warp. The album’s lead single, “Echolalia” is streaming now. Check out the Gulliver’s Travels-esque video below.
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The new Yves Tumor album follows 2021 EP The Asymptotical World and 2020 album Heaven To A Tortured Mind and features the single “God Is a Circle,” first released last year. The album is produced by Noah Goldstein, who has previously worked with Frank Ocean and Bon Iver.
In addition to the new music, Yves Tumor will also embark on a tour running throughout 2023. After festival dates at Coachella in April, Yves Tumor will play across North America before hitting Europe and the U.K. later in the year. Scroll down to see the full schedule. Tickets go on sale on Friday, February 3 at 10 a.m. local time.
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Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds):
1. “God Is a Circle” 2. “Lovely Sewer” 3. “Meteora Blues” 4. “Interlude” 5. “Parody” 6. “Heaven Surrounds Us Like a Hood” 7. “Operator” 8. “In Spite of War” 9. “Echolalia” 10. “Fear Evil Like Fire” 11. “Purified By the Fire” 12. “Ebony Eye”
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Yves Tumor live dates:
April 25 – The Marquee – Tempe AZ ^ April 27 – Warehouse Live – Houston TX ^ April 28 – Austin Psych Fest – Austin TX April 29 – The Factory – Dallas TX ^
May 1 – The Joy Theater – New Orleans LA ^ May 2 – The Eastern – Atlanta GA ^ May 4 – Echostage – Washington DC * May 5 – Franklin Music Hall – Philadelphia PA * May 6 – Higher Ground Ballroom – Burlington VT * May 7 – MTelus – Montreal QC * May 9 – History – Toronto ON % May 10 – Majestic – Detroit MI % May 12 – The Riviera – Chicago IL % May 13 – First Ave – Minneapolis MN % May 15 – Ogden Theatre – Denver CO % May 17 – Knitting Factory Concert House – Boise ID May 18 – The Vogue Theatre – Vancouver BC # May 20 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle WA # May 21 – Roseland Theater – Portland OR # May 23 – The Warfield – San Francisco CA #
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All shows with Pretty Sick Also featuring: ^ Izzy Spears * Frost Children % Nation # Evanora Unlimited
November 7 – Roxy – Prague CZ November 9 – Progresja – Warsaw PL November 11 – Slaktkyrkan – Stockholm SE November 12 – Vega – Copenhagen DK November 14 – Paradiso – Amsterdam NL November 17 – Huxleys – Berlin DE November 21 – Elysee Montmartre – Paris FR November 24 – New Century Hall – Manchester UK November 26 – O2 Academy Glasgow – Glasgow UK November 27 – 3Olympia – Dublin IE
Björk will play arena shows across Europe in the last quarter of 2023 for her revamped “Cornucopia” tour. The dates begin in September in Lisbon and runs for six shows before a break till November for the remaining six. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 3 at 9 a.m. local time with the exception of the Madrid date.
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“Cornucopia” debuted in 2019, two years after the release of Björk’s Utopia. The new version of the theatrical, band-backed show will contain music from last year’s Fossora. “Cornucopia was always intended to be a world for both utopia and the album after that,” Björk says in a press statement, “which is now out there called fossora. so i am truly excited to premier those 2 worlds colliding, this autumn in southern Europe.”
Thomas Bangalter. Portrait illustration by Stephane Manel
Last week saw the announcement of Mythologies, the new solo album from Thomas Bangalter, one half of the pioneering (and now inactive) electronic dance duo Daft Punk. The new project is an orchestral score, performed by the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and written for a ballet of the same name choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj, and today we’re getting the first excerpt from the album. “L’Accouchement” (French for “childbirth) has, despite its title, an inescapably ominous feeling coursing throughout the composition, like we’re witnessing the sea levels rising around a maternity ward. Listen below. Mythlogies is out on April 7.
Jafaar Jackson. Photo by Araya Diaz/Getty Images for REELZ.
The upcoming Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic of Michael Jackson has found its lead. Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew and the son of Jermaine Jackson, will play the singer in the film, which is currently in pre-production.
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Fuqua announced the casting with an Instagram picture of Jaafar dressed as his uncle shared on Monday (January 30). “Proud to announce @jaafarjackson as Michael,” he wrote in the caption, “the motion picture event that explores the journey of the man who became the King of Pop.” Jaafar shared the same photo on his own page, writing “I’m humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon.”
Graham King, the Bohemian Rhapsody producer behind the Jackson biopic, told Variety that Jafaar was cast after an extensive worldwide search. “I met Jaafar over two years ago and was blown away by the way he organically personifies the spirit and personality of Michael,” King said.
The casting of Jafaar Jackson will only fuel speculation that the film will not fairly address the allegations of child sex abuse that followed Jackson for a fair portion of his career (it was previously announced that the film will be produced in partnership with Jackson’s estate). Jackson steadfastly denied the allegations, and his estate stood firm after his death.
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In 2019, HBO aired Leaving Neverland, a two-part documentary detailing the allegations of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, two men who claimed to have been abused by Jackson as children. The film won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, which the Jackson Estate called “a complete farce.” The estate sued HBO in 2019, claiming the documentary violated a non-disparagement clause HBO signed in 1992. A judge denied the network’s appeal in 2020 and ordered the matter into arbitration.
Bktherula is back with her first new solo song since gracing The FADER’s GEN F profile series. “TAN” rides a beat equal part cyberpunk and SpaceGhostPurrp, with BK matching the distorted menace in her boisterous lyrics that stress her authority over everyone else in the room. The music video acts like Bktherula’s own episode of Cribs, if she lived on a boat docked somewhere deep in a remote waterfront suburb. Watch above. BKtherula’s new tap LVL 5, PT. 1 drops February 27 via Warner.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Latin Recording Academy
Rosalía has shared new song “LLYLM.” The track is her first release of the year and takes its title is shorthand for “Lie like you love me.” Check it out below.
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“LLYLM” follows the release of Rosalía’s most recent album Motomami, as well as the deluxe edition (Motomami+) that followed. She recently shared a remix of album song “Despechá”featuring Cardi B. Motomami was named one of The FADER’s best albums of 2022.
Chlöe has announced details of her debut album, In Pieces, and shared new single “Pray It Away.” The album, released via Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records, is due in March. “Pray It Away” is a bittersweet moment in which Chlöe, reeling from heartbreak, turns to God for answers. “I’ma just pray it away before I give him what he deserves first,” she sings over a soulful beat lit up with gospel backing vocals. It comes with a new video that shot in a Los Angeles church. Check that out below.
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“I have been the rawest, the most vulnerable, and the most open I have been in my entire life with this album,” Chlöe says in a statement. “I used to believe the way I love so hard without question, was a curse. Only to find out, it’s been my greatest gift all along.”
After kickstarting her solo career with the single “Have Mercy” in 2021, last year Chlöe dropped the Bubba Sparxx-sampling “Treat Me,” and “Surprise.” Her sister and bandmate Halle will next be seen playing Ariel in Disney’s live action remake of The Little Mermaid.
Gorillaz have a pretty funny reputation on social media for their galaxy-brained collaborations but on new song “Silent Running” Damon Albarn and co. are keeping things in the family. The song, which will feature on upcoming album Cracker Island, features Adeleye Omotayo on vocals. Omotayo is a member of The Humanz Choir, who provide vocals on stage during Gorillaz live shows. The song was co-written and produced by Greg Kurstin. A video for the song is coming soon but a visualizer can be found below.
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Cracker Island is due on February 24. So far we have heard Tame Impala-collaboration “New Gold” and “Skinny Ape” from the animated group’s forthcoming eighth album. Other guests on the album include Stevie Nicks, Bad Bunny, and Beck.
Taylor Swift has shared her video for Midnights track “Lavender Haze.” The video stars transgender actor Laith Ashley de la Cruz as Swift’s love interest. The pop star fills their bedroom with the purple smoke which, in turn, opens up a series of trippy scenarios, from fish in a TV set to a floating cloud that transports her through the sky. Check it out below.
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“The ‘Lavender Haze’ video is out now,” Swift posted on Instagram when sharing the video. “There is lots of lavender. There is lots of haze. This was the first video I wrote out of the 3 that have been released, and this one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights, like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream. Hope you like it 😁”
Later this year Swift will begin her own headline tour. The Eras Tour will take Swift across stadiums nationwide alongside guests including Paramore and Phoebe Bridgers. In December fans of the pop artist filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster, and parent company Live Nation, after the roll-out of ticket sales for the tour proved disastrous. Their complaint accuses the corporations of “fraud, price-fixing, and antitrust violations.”
Song You Need: Luh Tyler and Trapland Pat can’t help but talk their shit on “Can’t Move Wrong”
Luh Tyler’s Florida rap road trip continues with a stop in Broward County.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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Luh Tyler is a rapper from Tallahassee, Florida whose freewheeling day in the life of a teenager raps make me recall less stressful days. He’s been making music for less than a year—”Law & Order,” his breakout song, was recorded on his phone using BandLab—but he knows just as well as anyone else that rap is about saying some fly shit in a way that only you can. In an interview, Tyler’s talked about having music from fellow Tallahasseeans Wizz Havinn and Real Boston Richey, Flint’s Rio Da Yung OG, as well as Detroit’s Peezy and Veeze in his rotation, and it’s easy to see shades of all those artists filtered through him.
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For the last few months, Luh Tyler’s been taking a lap around Florida, hopping on songs with everyone from Pompano Beach’s LOE Shimmy to Orlando’s DTE Lil DayDay and popping up in the background of videos. On “Can’t Move Wrong,” Tyler and Deerfield Beach’s Trapland Pat can’t help but talk their shit. They’re practically speaking in punchlines. Tyler’s flow is calm and steady like a Box Chevy bending around corners. Next to Tyler, Pat’s elastic flow makes him sound like he’s rapping twice as fast. “If early bird get all the worms, these niggas super late,” he scoffs. They could make reading The Cheesecake Factory menu sound cool.
Daniel Caesar has dropped his latest single “Do You Like Me?” The song is described by Caesar as being about “a woman I respect deeply. 90 degrees of a love triangle.” Produced by Raphael Saadiq and Dylan Wiggins, Caesar uses the track to gain clarity on a romantic situation while feeling time’s hand looming in the background (“we’re still young, but for how many moons?”). It’s a delicate, funky, and flirty return from Caesar, whose most recent album Case Study 01 came out back in 2019.
It’s hard to view “Blow Up” and “If I Stop Now,” the new songs from Kentucky rapper EST Gee, as anything other than an attempt to reassert his dominance as one of the strongest and most versatile street rappers working today. Fortunately, his effort is pretty convincing.
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“Blow Up” has a mafioso-inspired mood beneath booming 808s, with Gee issuing threats in his now-iconic dim-lidded mutter (the chorus at one joint interpolates Juvenile’s “Slow Motion). By contrast, Gee gets vulnerable and melodic on “If I Stop Now,” a pain rap-tinged cut outlining the stakes of his success and their effects on his daily life and mental health. Hear them in their music videos, streaming above and below.
EST Gee released two albums in 2022: I Never Felt Nun and Last Ones Left, a full-length collaboration with Detroit rapper 42 Dugg. That album’s track “Thump Shit” was ranked at No. 32 on our Best of 2022 songs list.
Song You Need: Zach Bryan and Maggie Rogers are looking for a win on “Dawns”
Listen to a new collaboration between the country-folk singer and the Harvard-graduate.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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Zach Bryan is a country-folk singer who releases music at a rate that would put some rappers to reconsider their work ethic. Last year his major label debut American Heartbreak crashed the Top 20 of the Billboard album chart despite, or perhaps in part down to, its epic 34-song tracklist and 2hr-plus running time. If that didn’t leave you full, he followed it up with another EP in the summer and a live album (the excellently-titled All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster). Listening to the crowds roar his hearty anthems back at him during that Red Rocks concert it is clear he has managed to turn a fairly new form of sharing music, streaming, into a far older one, touring until you don’t remember the last time you slept in your own bed.
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For someone with such a huge musical output, Bryan is not a prolific collaborator. There are no guests on American Heartbreak at all, for example. This makes his decision to work with Maggie Rogers an intriguing one. Bryan has not yet been embraced by the country music industry at large and is rarely played on the all-powerful radio stations that dictate who succeeds in that world. Anyone keen to change that scenario would be hitting up, say, his fellow Grammy-nominee Kelsea Ballerini for a star-making duet. Working with Rogers feels like a turn in a more purely pop direction.
On those terms, “Dawns” is fascinating. The pair have plenty in common, with both artists attacking melody as if the sheer size of a chorus is enough to knock them off their feet. Bryan starts off in a grizzled and regretful mood. “I get fucked up just ’cause I’m scared,” he sings vulnerably. “Love’s just another drug I have grown a victim to.” The sparse piano that sits quietly behind his ruminating then gives way to a rowdy string section that stabs and swoops as Bryan pleads to nobody in particular for “one small victory” and the song begins to soar. At his best Bryan is a heartland storyteller and Rogers appearance on “Dawns” fleshes out the narrative with new perspectives. “I lost her last July in a heart attack,” she sings as she joins him on that quest for a hard-fought win. It’d hard to not get swept up on their humble mission. Or at the very least cheer them on loudly from the sidelines.
Lil Yachty‘s early career choices have continued to haunt him. Initially, he didn’t run away from those who labeled him the unserious godhead of mumble rap when he blew up in 2016 with “Minnesota” and “One Night,” and mostly embraced the ascribed aura of a happy-go-lucky teen making low-stakes music. The result: no matter how many impressive lead lyrical performances he turned in or features he ate up, to some Yachty would always be the harbinger of rap’s clout-chasing era, a clown right to the tips of his once-Flamin’ Hot Cheeto-dyed hair.
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Let’s Start Here., his new album, is Yachty’s attempt at being a “serious artist.” It’s a psychedelic album with elements of rap, with production and contributions from indie luminaries such as Alex G, Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberley, Magdalena Bay, Jam City, Mac DeMarco, and Nick Hakim. Above all, the drastic shift in Yachty’s style suggests an understanding that in order to break through the constraining (and at least partially self-imposed) perception of his talent, a demolition is necessary. That alone would be worth a commendation, but Let’s Start Here. also succeeds on its own merits; it’s easily the best Yachty album since his debut that digs through the artist’s limits and style in a way he never has before.
Along with the new album arrives a music video for the song “sAy SOMETHINg.” Yachty plays many versions of himself in an Alice In Wonderland-esque romp through love, heartbreak, and the aftermath. For anyone skeptical about Yachty’s new direction, “sAy SOMETHINg” is a great introductory showcase for how Yachty’s game-changing melodicism works so well over the twinkling psychedelic-pop instrumentation. Watch above.
Song You Need: Steve Gunn and David Moore take the scenic route
“Over the Dune,” the first single from the duo’s newly announced joint LP, Let the Moon Be a Planet, is a gorgeous, glacial revery.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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Prolific guitar bender Steve Gunn and Bing & Ruth pianist David Moore have fused their ambient auras into a single entity. On Wednesday (January 25), they announced their debut joint LP, Let the Moon Be a Planet, due out March 31 via RVNG Intl.. It’s the first installment of the label’s newly launched Reflections series, a curated cycle of collaborative works with a portion of proceeds benefitting the food security non-profit benefit St. John’s Bread and Life.
The record’s first offering, “Over the Dune,” forgoes the fierce calmness competition one might expect from the two master relaxers, instead settling on a sort of mutually assured tranquility. Lasting just under seven minutes, it’s less a slow burn than a trickling stream, with Gunn’s open-tuned strumming and Moore’s sustained major chords allowing overtones to cascade at a gorgeous, glacial pace.
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The new song comes with a video courtesy of Jason Evans, compiling slow tracking shots of an overcast day in Prospect Park. “This film is my attempt to inhabit the world Steve and David created with their album,” Evans writes in a press release. “Like the songs themselves, I was trying to find an approach that favored a light hand and the curiosity of a child.”
Watch the clip, view Gunn and Moore’s upcoming performance dates, and check out Let the Moon Be a Planet’s cover art and tracklist below.
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Steve Gunn & David Moore tour dates
April 2 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival April 5 – Helsinki, FL – G Live Lab April 6 – Copenhagen, DK – Loppen April 8 – Brussels, BE – BRDCST Festival April 9 – The Hague, NL – Rewire Festival April 19 – London, UK – Cafe OTO April 12 – Glasgow, UK – Stereo April 27 – New York, NY – (Le) Poisson Rouge
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Let the Moon Be a Planet cover art
Let the Moon Be a Planet tracklist
1. Over the Dune 2. Painterly 3. Scattering 4. Basin 5. Morning Mare 6. Libration 7. Paper Limb 8. Rhododendron
At the start of the second night of Drake’s two-night stint at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater for SiriusXM, he sits on a bed in what’s supposed to be a replica of his mom’s basement, surrounded by a single nightstand, a boombox, and a space heater. Sporting a cozy cardigan reminiscent of something he’d worn a decade ago, he starts his set with “Over My Dead Body” from Take Care, still his most cherished album. The first couple of chords set off a chain of screams before Chantal Kreviazuk’s vocals are piped in: “How I’m feeling, it doesn’t matter. ‘Cause you know I’m okay. Instead, I ask myself, ‘Why do you worry?’”
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Drake has reopened a time capsule. Everyone here is their old self again, listening to Drake talk them through a very important heartbreak; and their present self, likely in a better place, a little more grown-up, probably less obsessed with that lover. I post a clip of it to my Instagram Story, and an influential DJ who produced a track for Drake on Nothing Was The Same, replies: “Soundtrack to soooo many amazing after parties” followed by five single-tear crying emojis.
I may as well admit here that I was once the ultimate Drake stan. I had every song memorized. I had a photo of him on the background of my phone case. I had been granted “The Drake Award” at my sorority formals for being “the most likely to Drake and drive to my ex’s house.” (I don’t drive.) And, while there was one part of me that wanted to stay home tonight, the little Drake stan inside me wanted to say yes instantly when The FADER tried to send me here tonight.
That part of me had a good time at the Apollo. I’d seen Drake twice before — both at Madison Square Garden on his Views tour in summer 2016 — but hearing him perform “Marvins Room” in 2023 was an entirely different experience. That voicemail recording is spine-chilling and the percussion pulses heavily. Every voice in the venue is reciting the lyrics, every hand up in the air with a phone in hand, re-recording Drake’s peak.
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He ricochets through his discography, spending a little extra time on his earlier works, continuing to sit on his bed to play songs like “Best I Ever Had” and “Karaoke” from So Far Gone and “Jungle” from If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (still my favorite project of his). The lights go out for a few minutes and Drake returns in a new fit. Now, in a leather jacket in front of a label boardroom serving as the scene’s backdrop, he stands with blazing confidence as he raps through “Started From The Bottom,” “Energy,” and “Know Yourself.” The room goes from being in their feelings to being in their bag, feeding off of Drake’s newfound boldness.
Dimitrios Kambouris
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Getty Images for SiriusXM
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It’s not until he gets to Views and the two girls next to me, seemingly in their early 20’s, ask me to record them screaming to “Controlla” that I realize, shit, maybe I am too old for this. I move to the back of the venue and grab another drink.
It triggers the part of me that wanted to stay home tonight. On the surface, maybe it’s just how weird Drake seems today. He’s on the front page of every hip-hop blog because he just dissed the newest and hottest rapper in one of his endless cascade of new projects. His texting habits are questionable, as is his obsession with talking about every woman he’s ever been associated with.
But the euphoric nostalgia at the Apollo tonight makes me realize that it’s something more nebulous, something that maybe isn’t all Drake’s fault. The Drake whose face covered my phone case, the Drake who made music for momentous life events instead of Spotify playlists, disappeared a while ago. Today’s Drake is more convoluted. He’s now just become an avatar — a discourse magnet, whether you’re talking about his newest album, his newest relationship, or his newest cultural costume. Whenever Rihanna breathes in a different direction, Drake is brought up. He’s trending on Twitter for posting something strange on his Instagram story. The man is inescapable.
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There was a time when Drake was the most relatable musician for young adults. The Canadian child star-turned-rapper was somehow the go-to artist when we were going through it, because, as the pilot episode of Insecure puts it: “He really gets us.” Drake’s nuance while navigating his relationships seemed to mimic our own coming-of-age conflicts. We had a role model who understood our struggles and made it feel okay to be the “furthest thing from perfect like everyone I know.” So even if he was one of the biggest pop stars in the world, there was comfort in acknowledging your toxic tendencies — as long as you learned from them. Drake still seems to be coming to terms with that.
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In the moment, though, it’s easy to give in to the nostalgia. I did text my ex tonight. At the Apollo, it felt good to go back to a less complicated time. Maybe Drake wanted to go back there too.
Last year I saw both Skrillex and Bladee at Porter Robinson‘s Second Sky Festival. I have to wonder if that wasn’t the site where the dubstep producer and DJ enlisted the Swedish rapper for “Real Spring,” the latest in Skrillex’s line of singles, out today. Like the other new songs we’ve heard this year, “Real Spring” does a good job of getting into the pocket of the type of music its featured artist is comfortable with — glittering, fantasy-land trap music a la Mechatok and Whitearmor — while adding some trademark Skrillex whomps and shakes. I know that a lot of people went gaga for “Jungle“ with Flowdan and Fred again.., but this track is easily more assured and less of a nostalgia trip. Listen to “Real Spring” below in the song’s music video.
(L) Rauw Alejandro. Photo via Cyb3rW3nch. (R) Daddy Yankee. Photo by Isaar Reyes.
When Rauw Alejandro shared his excellent album Saturno last year, it included a few seconds of spacey noise and distortion as its seventh track, titled “LOADING.” You may have reasonably mistaken it for an interlude, but today Rauw shares the real song, a Daddy Yankee collaboration called “PANTIES Y BRASIERES.” Bawdy and instantly fun, the song samples Yankee’s 2007 track “Camuflash” and contains a lyrical allusion to his global hit “Rompe.”
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Alejandro kept up the reverence of Daddy Yankee during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1 promoting the new song. “Daddy Yankee for me means Reggaeton himself,” Alejandro said. “He was one of the first artists who put that type of genre outside the island, around the world, with his biggest hit, ‘Gasolina.’ Even in China, Japan, they were dancing to his songs. So it’s like he helped to support and put more big Latin music in the Reggaeton culture. And for me, it means as a Puerto Rican, I feel really, really proud.”
Guvna B is a creative whose work has led him through music, writing, fashion, podcasting, and even a stint in sports broadcasting. Though his lanes of work have been varied, musically the London-born artist has focused mainly on gospel – winning multiple MOBO Awards for his work in that lane. On new album The Village is On Fire, however, Guvna B is changing things up and dipping his toe into a range of different sounds and styles. Long time friend Ghetts brings the energy of grime to “U Get Me?” while the omnipresent sound of afrobeats in his home city is reflected on “Amplify.”
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The album is not just a chance to experiment musically, however. The catalyst for Guvna B’s tenth album came following an unprovoked attack in which he was harmed not just by the perpetrator but also in the struggle to get justice through the legal system. Speaking to his cousin Michaela Coel, star of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and creator of the Emmy-winning I May Destroy You, she told him the best way to deal with feelings of frustration is to write about them.
“Bridgeland Road,” premiering below, establishes the tone for an album that takes a zoomed out look at where the fractures in our communities begin and how best to heal them. It’s a deeply personal song about that racially motivated attack in 2021 that begins with Guvna B recalling his days as a child in east London and the efforts his family put in to raise him, as well as the reality of having to help them with the rent. There’s a swing to the drums and low basslines that are deceiving, the vibe may be smooth but what he has to say is clearly still raw. “Wrong place, wrong time,” he says as the song opens up. “Pain by the blade of a long knife.” Coel’s voice appears via voicemail, speaking directly to her cousin after seeing a picture of him after the attack. “I am livid,” she tells him. It feels strange hearing such a private moment aired like this but the point is clear, nothing is secret from here on in.
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Speaking via email, Guvna B told The FADER: “What I experienced was tough to deal with and my mind was loaded with nuanced thoughts around race, identity and the structures which contribute to shaping society.
“Michaela reminded me that art isn’t just for others to consume, but it’s also a processing tool for ourselves. She encouraged me to write about what happened and the result is not only this song, but an album that provided me with the closure I desperately needed.
I’m really proud of it and I hope it helps people to think about how they can positively impact the world around them.”
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The video for “Bridgeland Road,” featuring Guvna B making his way through the streets of London surrounded by memories of his past, can be seen below. The Village is On Fire is out May 26.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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Lucinda Chua‘s music can have the texture of a whisper, but you’d never mistake it for timid. The London-based artist emerged in 2019 with the first Antidote EP and introduced the world to her entrancing songwriting, deeply personal dispatches wrapped in the plush embrace of downtempo and trip-hop acts like Zero 7. Chua actively fights against listener complacency, though, repeating lyrical phrases like mantras that illuminate the distinct burdens of another’s soul.
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“Echo,” Chua’s latest song and the first from her upcoming album YIAN, is a definitive statement preaching protectiveness over her hard-won identity. She pares back her already spartan approach, foregrounding her vocal performance on a bed of electric organ keys and a choir of the self. “I couldn’t be anyone else,” she sings on the chorus, “I look to you, I see myself / I won’t, I won’t / Be your echo.” Then the song’s title is literally echoed, a moment that instantly becomes the song’s emotional lynchpin, the harmonies bolstering Chua’s newfound resilience. A reminder of the many forms strength can take, “Echo” is a battle cry with words made of silk, soft and unyielding.
slowthai has announced details of his upcoming third album. UGLY, which stands for U Gotta Love Yourself, will be released on March 3. Lead single “Selfish” is streaming below.
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To mark the announcement of UGLY, slowthai spent the night alone in a room fitted with two-way mirrors and streamed his experience live. The stream is still active at the time of writing [8:30 A.M. ET]
slowthai, nominally a rapper, has collaborated with a number of rock and indie artists on the new album, which was produced by Dan Carey alongside frequent collaborator Kwes Darko. Irish band Fontaines D.C. appear on the title track while musicians on the record include Ethan P. Flynn, Jockstrap’s Taylor Skye, and Beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden. Shygirl contributes vocals on “Feel Good.”
“The first album was the sound of where I’m from and everything I thought I knew,” slowthai says in a statement. “The second album is what was relevant to me at that moment in time, the present. And this album is completely me — about how I feel and what I want to be… it’s everything I’ve been leading up to.”
UGLY follows slowthai’s 2019 debut Nothing Great About Britain and 2021 follow-up TYRON.
Bill banning TikTok will be introduced in the United States Senate
Senator Josh Hawley, who authored the legislation, called TikTok “China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives.”
TikTok. Photo by MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images
The United States Senate will consider a bill that would ban TikTok in the country, the Kansas City Star reports. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is set to introduce the bill at some point during the senate’s current session.
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Hawley has long criticized TikTok’s parent company ByteDance for its connections with the Chinese government and the app’s extensive data collection policies. In a statement on Tuesday, Hawley called TikTok “China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives.” His bill is reportedly part of a larger messaging campaign targeting China’s government and the tech industry at large. TikTok has claimed that the company does not share user information with government officials.
In response, TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter cast doubt on the efficacy of Hawley’s bill. “Sen. Hawley’s call for a total ban of TikTok takes a piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy, and online harms,” Oberwetter said. “We hope that he will focus his energies on efforts to address those issues holistically, rather than pretending that banning a single service would solve any of the problems he’s concerned about or make Americans any safer.”
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It’s likely that, if passed, a bill banning TikTok for every person in the United States would face a court challenge on First Amendment grounds. Speaking with the New York Times, Electronic Frontier Foundation general counsel Kurt Opsahl said, “[TikTok] is taking away a means of communication for people who use the app as a way to present themselves to the world and in some cases for political speech and commentary,”
More targeted TikTok bans have spread across the United States. President Joe Biden signed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act in December. barring federal employees from installing the app and phones owned by the government. Nearly half of the states have banned the app on government-owned devices with a number of universities preventing TikTok from being accessed while on campus WIFi networks.
This March Fever Ray will return with new album Radical Romantics, their first project since 2017. So far Karin Dreijer has shared the singles “What They Call Us” and “Carbon Dioxide.” The upcoming album is not just the first Fever Ray project in a minute but also the first time Dreijer has worked with their brother, Olof, since their time together as The Knife.
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New song “Kandy,” streaming below, is one of four Radical Romantics tracks Olof co-produced and co-wrote, marking the first time the siblings have produced and written music together in eight years. The accompanying video is an homage to The Knife’s “Pass This On” visual and sees the siblings appear on the same set they used in 2003.
In a statement, Olof says: “I tried to tune in as much as possible into Fever Ray vibes and tried many different styles, or clothes as I usually say when I talk about different music production suggestions. But in the end we took out the same synthesizer, the SH101, used for The Knife track, ʻThe Captain,ʼ and it just worked!”
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Later this year Fever Ray will hit the road for the Thereʼs No Place Iʼd Rather Be Tour, their first live shows in over four years. Karin Dreijer will play a series of shows across North America and Europe, with new shows now added in Washington, D.C. and Pasadena as part of Just Like Heaven.
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Fever Ray tour dates:
March 23 – Oslo, NE – Sentrum Scene March 24 – Copenhagen, DK – VEGA March 25 – Gothenburg, SE – GBG Film Studios March 27 – Riga, LV – Hanzas Perons March 28 – Tallinn, EE – Noblessner Foundry March 30 – Warsaw, PL – World Wide Warsaw Festival April 1 – Amsterdam, NE – Melkweg April 3 – Brussels, BE – Cirque Royal April 4 – Cologne, DE – E-Werk April 6 – Luxembourg City, LU – Den Atelier April 7 – The Hague, NE – Rewire Festival May 1 – Washington, DC – The Anthem May 3 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 May 5 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner May 7 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed May 10 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater May 13 – Pasadena, CA – Just Like Heaven Festival
Bad Bunny, Steve Lacy, Mary J. Blige among first wave of 2023 Grammys performers
The newly announced group also includes Lizzo, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, Brandi Carlile, and Luke Combs.
From left: Bad Bunny, photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Mary J. Blige, photo by Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images; Steve Lacy, photo by Julian Klincewicz.
The 2023 Grammys will take place on Sunday, February 5 at 8 p.m. EST at the Crypto.com Arena (previously known as the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by Trevor Noah for the third year in a row, the event will stream live on CBS and free online for Paramount+ subscribers.
All of the 2023 ceremony’s announced performers are nominated for at least one Grammy this year. Bad Bunny is nominated for three, including Album of the Year (Un Verano Sin Ti is the first all-Spanish-language LP to be nominated in the Grammys’ most coveted category). Blige also earned an AOTY tap for Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe). Lacy is nominated four times — three for his ultra-viral hit “Bad Habit” alone. Lizzo has five chances to win an award this year, Carlile has seven, Combs has three, and Petras and Smith’s joint track “Unholy” is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. View the full list of nominees here.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
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In 2020, Avalon Emerson released her DJ-Kicks mix, an installment of the long-running series that soon became a fan favorite. It was a significant career moment for Emerson, who moved from San Francisco to Berlin in 2014 and became a regular at Berghain, as well as a tent-filling staple of festivals across Europe and North America. It was all the more striking, then, that she chose that mix album as a platform to debut a cover of The Magnetic Fields’ “Long-Forgotten Fairytale.” Though her vocals were smothered with effects, the message was clear; Emerson was eyeing a spot beyond her decks.
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Three years later and Emerson is making good on that promise. She has debuted her new artist project The Charm with “Sandrail Silhouette” acting as the jump-off point. Co-produced with Bullion, “Sandrail Silhouette” is a soft slice of calm with Emerson’s pillowy vocals floating over the gentle strum of a guitar that calls to mind the poppier end of shoegaze, bands such as Slowdive or Galaxie 500. It’s about as far away as you can get from a wild night in a German techno club; think more like a gentle Sunday stroll across a sun-dappled beach.
“Sandrail Silhouette” isn’t just another blissed out piece of genre revivalism, though. Keivon Hobeheidar’s bass-heavy cello cuts through the blissful textures to create something a little jarring amid the wash of guitar as well adding melody to the mix. It’s a heady combination and one that is matched by Emerson’s lyrical exploration of time and the humbling power of the natural world. She sounds overawed and yet at peace with the situation, slowly turning toward the light and letting a whole new sound light the way.
