Svartsengi emerges at just the right time it seems, when it can often feel as if music has lost its way, lost its depth, lost its magic. OUTER and Arve Henriksen capture something profound and powerful with this composition and song. The subtle artistry is phenomenal. An easy highlight from the year.
Lo-Fi
Marc Nevermind encapsulates the art of escapism, letting the creative process take him into this new world, and providing the same other-worldly embrace for all who press play. The music is the driving force, creative connection the goal, and that’s a refreshing and invaluable quality – particularly in a world so seemingly infatuated with image and daily life updates. The mystique returns, and with it, the true talent.
Following a string of collaborations and subtle shifts in genre, established producer and artist Big O returns to an immersive conceptual pathway this season, with the immensely atmospheric, soulful to funky new album When It’s Not Said, But Done.
Contemporary by design, a fuzzy overtone that’s easy to escape into, and the contrasting lightness of those ethereal, colourful keys – Fall Again carefully walks the line between stylish and deeply moving. It’s simple but incredibly memorable, and engaging; rare qualities amidst a saturated music realm.
Softly impassioned bars light up a smooth lo-fi production, as Saint Rivera brings character and good vibes back to smart, purposeful hip hop.
Lo-fi production with upbeat, tribal to tropical rhythms – all subtle, all smooth. DJ Bruno Costa and Friza lead with mellow, deep vocal fragments, and enchanting drum-work, for Mina de Responsa. An industrla groove and contrastingly dreamy, etheral synths rise and fall, as this melodically freesyle then catchy voice meandesr through an exotic story and … Continued
Quiet confidence in the form of lo-fi indie guitar grooves and chilled, modest hip-hop – a timeless set-up and sound, with clever, relatable bars backing a smooth underlying beat. Drainhair and Roman Barks join forces, for the memorable visuals and vibe of Attention.
Chinese composer, producer and artist CDA REVE, intertwines the softness of ambient piano, with the modern lo-fi escapism of a trap-style beat, and divinely gentle vocals, for the enchanting calm and embrace of 22:22.
Ambient lo-fi production welcomes a trap rhythm and dreamy synths cascading around the outskirts. Then in stark contrast with the mellow ethereal calm of the soundscape, KZKelly adds a rap vocal and hook to sharpen the energy, and to showcase a unique flow and performative style that’s confidently unpredictable.
Summer in full swing – the sound of good vibes, organic and warm; eclectic grooves that keep on giving. Creative producer IcyBeast lights up the space this season, with tracks like the iconic PAJAMAS, and the impressive album BLONDE in full.
Smooth lo-fi beats and diverse vocals ride the wave of heartfelt contemplation, as songwriter and artist Luvmelater delivers the 8-track album devotedly titled Moments.
“They like it when I smile, not when I speak.”
Raina Wiles sets the mood beautifully for this project – an opening line and ambiance fit to captivate, for an EP that evocatively follows suit.
Glass Skin is divine, a lo-fi trip hop project with a soul-pop vocal lead, and lyrics that pierce through the noise as soulful reflections on life for a girl in the modern world.