Roundup, June #3

From progressive formulations of UK dance styles to heartbroken alt-R&B, 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.

FKA Twigs – Killer

Following the success of her recent mixtape Caprisongs, FKA Twigs has released her new single Killer, which continues her recent exploration into more accessible pop styles. The song is a vulnerable and pensive alt-R&B slowburner which puts Twigs front and centre. Most striking is how direct she sounds. Unlike her usual melodic syncopations or abstracted falsettos, Twigs is crystal clear when she confesses “it’s dangerous to be a woman in love.” 

TSHA – Giving Up

Off the hot streak of her recent acid house mix for the fabric presents series, UK producer TSHA has unveiled her debut album Capricorn Sun with lead single Giving Up featuring her partner Mafro. True to TSHA’s love of emotional gravitas, Giving Up is a cry-on-the-dancefloor jungle anthem that transposes dealing with the difficulties of a relationship into cathartic breakbeats and wistful, effervescent pads. 

Anish Kumar – Steamroller 

Rising producer Anish Kumar doesn’t just make house music, he understands it. It’s his reverence for the sounds and history of his references that drives Kumar’s work with a careful and scholarly approach. Never overproduced, but rather methodically formulated in a way that allows his music to sparkle. On his latest single Steamroller, he allows a looped disco sample to lead the charge, resulting in an infectious and gloriously groovy disco-house cut that threatens to be heard everywhere this summer. 

SBTRKT – BODMIN MOOR

SBTRKT, the tribal-masked moniker of British producer Aaron Jerome best known for his jagged and abstract post-dubstep jungle formulations, is back. BODMIN MOOR is suitably genre defying and boundary breaking. In the span of its three minutes, it surges through UKG bass, decaying kuduro beats, and a sample of R&B group Jodeci. It’s massive in scope, and executed masterfully by a true pioneer. 

Two Shell – Dust

The elusive London duo Two Shell, who dabble in hyperpop and UK bass, have been releasing music since 2019, though little is known about who they actually are. Their new track accompanies the announcement of an EP, Icons. A chugging bass track with touches of deep house, Dust is a lot more polished than the bootlegs like Home which initially garnered them attention, though not lacking in audacity. It’s big, booming, and full of bass, a perfectly programmed piece of contemporary rave nirvana.