Roundup, June #2

From hard hitting techno by an old master, to gorgeous covers of forgotten gems, we roundup our favourite releases of the week. Listen below.

Follow our Roundup Selections playlist on Spotify to stay updated on what we have on repeat.

Shygirl, Arca – Come For Me

The second single off Shygirl’s upcoming debut album Nymph is produced by Arca, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was an ‘Arca featuring Shygirl’ affair. Arca brings a distorted, industrial baile groove that changes shape constantly. Impressively, Shygirl keeps up and manages to find an ethereal lyricism beneath the jaggedness. The result is a meeting of two alt-pop titans, and one of Shygirl’s most left-field singles to date.

µ-Ziq – Magic Pony Ride

The new album from Planet Mu label head and producer Mike Paradinas (µ-Ziq) is a whimsical joyride through twinkling synths and a buoyant, feathery jungle beat. Recalling the early 2000’s pop effervescence of William Orbit, Magic Pony Ride sparkles with wide-eyed whimsicality and dreamy, candy coloured acid squiggles. It’s joyous, wonder-filled, and a touch naive. 

Neneh Cherry, Anohni – Woman

Neneh Cherry may well be one of the most underrated women in hip-hop and R&B. The NME Icon award winner, rapper, and singer’s latest project is an intriguing retrospect of her most influential tracks, covered by contemporary artists handpicked by Cherry. Taken from this project, Anohni’s cover of Cherry’s 1996 single Woman is nothing short of astonishing. In Anohni’s hands, the queer subtext of Woman jumps to the fore, breathing new life into the already potent lyrics while updating the original’s bluesy jazz to something a bit more fractured and ambiguous. 

Carl Cox, Nicole Maudaber – How It Makes You Feel

Carl Cox’s latest single is an absolute banger. Wasting no time, How It Makes You Feel opens with a pummelling four on the floor and chugging techno bass. As the eight minute epic unfurls, layers of acid synths and trance arpeggios explode from the beat, leading to a bouncing house breakdown that pivots the direction of the track slightly. Relentless and pounding, the first taste of Cox’s first album in nearly a decade is unsurprisingly a hard techno behemoth.