AAA Six Picks
We’ve come across a lot of music in our time, and we just can’t keep it all to ourselves. In a combination of tracks that have been doing the rounds lately, to acts that we’ve stumbled across, here’s our pick of some new music that you can’t ignore.
Tonik Ensemble – ‘Snapshots
Just adding to the long list of Icelandic music to go head over heels for, the Tonik Ensemble create some of the most strangely addictive tracks we’ve come across. We couldn’t narrow it down to one track off their Snapshots record, so we decided to include the lot. From the fire crackling mesmerising you from the beginning to the haunting cello theme that reappears in multiple tracks, with more “traditional” electronic tunes to round out the record. The Tonik Ensemble has created something very unique and hard to look past.
The Yellow Traffic Light – ‘April’
April is a track that has you hooked from he beginning. With a catchy psych guitar riff and dream like vocals, The Yellow Traffic Light has a Gypsy and the Cat atmosphere with a definite influence of rock writing thrown in. The solo towards the end combines all aspects of the Italian quartet’s talent into one dance worthy instrumental. The track keeps building and building towards a sudden drop off that makes you take a heavy sigh and leavings you pining for more.
Planète – ‘Helix’
Helix is an exploration through the limits of atmospheric electronica. Whilst the track mightn’t be climatic, or have a massive drop, there is no need for this beauty of a tune from Melbourne producer Planète. Twisting clanging rhythms around a backbeat that won’t quit, the track has a white noise affect that shows off such talent and finesse crammed into 17 minutes of ambient bliss.
Nicholas Patrick – ‘Cold and Distant’
Not exactly new music, but this is definitely one worth a gander. There isn’t too much out there on Nicholas Patrick, all we have is that he’s from Brisbane and he’s absolutely magical. With a vocal power comparable to Matt Corby and a stripped back acoustic guitar to accompany, the simple charm is what makes the track shine. The quality of songwriting from such an unknown artist is what makes the track even that much more intriguing, one of our most serendipitous finds.
Tica Douglas – ‘I Didn’t’
A raw guitar to open followed by a husky falsetto Tica Douglas creates beautifully raw track that subtly builds into any indie kid’s love affair. The very ‘Sunday afternoon’ complies a lot of simple elements blended taught by the beautifully dreamy vocals of Douglas to create something that will have you coming back time and time again. Combined with genuine and heavily relatable lyrics, there is something very special about this track.
Kagu – ‘Human’
Kagu’s name has been popping up all over the place since the end of last year, and we just cannot get enough. Human is filled with a psych/trance atmosphere that surrounds his gorgeous melodic vocals captures you from the start. With a catchy beat thrown underneath it all, he combines so many aspects of electronica into one track. Picking up from his previous, more dream like tracks, this one is more catchy and up beat to the rest, which shows versatility in his ability to manipulate such a difficult genre of music.
