This is Marria Lovejoy, a.k.a. MarzLovejoy, originally a slam poet, now a groundbreaking emcee/rapper. Take 'Sticky', a fine exemplar of her unique and stellar style. Indulge in the intricacy of the rhythms, the articulacy, the witticisms, the throbbing bass and warped male vocal sample. It all entwines immaculately. 'So typical, give me something original', she bawls, a powerful clarion call which she's already fulfilled by way of her own brilliant songsmithery. Download 'Sticky' here:
When Arborea came flying into my inbox with news of their fourth album, my mind was blown. This Maine-based duo are something special, let me tell you that. I am upset at the fact I have turned a blind eye to their music until now. Indeed, I feel silly to be mentioning them in a best new artists feature, but they totally warrant it anyway. Their fusion of drone-folk and every other folk genre is at once haunting and stimulating. They use pretty much every instrument imaginable, whether it be a ban-jammer, a kalimba or a tenor ukulele. They have a new single called 'Careless Love' (video below), a beautiful folk jam led by a voice vaguely reminiscent of Marissa Nadler. Everything is just lush. Their fourth full-length LP, Red Planet, is out on April 26th on Strange Attractors Audio House. Download 'Careless Love' for free on their soundcloud.
Finally, let me introduce you to the new project from Denmark's Nick Ericksen, the intriguing mouthful of a duo that is Taragana Pyjarama. In the blissful ditty 'Oceans', they open with an escalating backdrop of waves and synths before they impose on us some smartly engineered samples and get us wiggling. Female vocals are warped, clicks and bangs are rife and there seem to be about five beats competing at once. But what initially seems like musical chaos almost mystically weaves together and meets us in pure harmony at the end. This is fantastic stuff. I can't wait to hear what these guys conjure up next. 'Oceans' is released on vinyl on March 28th and is available digitally on April 11th.
