Roundup, June #4
From bubblegum bass to mutant reggaeton, 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.
COBRAH – Brand New Bitch
Part of the new guard of pop provocateurs, COBRAH’s formula is equal parts Brooke Candy, hyperpop, and Britney Spears. Her blend of unbridled bubblegum bass and tongue in cheek spoken word is wildly infectious, her image an amalgamation of the underground with iconic pop iconography. Her new single Brand New Bitch is no exception to the rule; a bouncing house/bass hybrid, COBRAH spits vapid lyrics about sex, fame, and celebrity. It’s witty, vapid, and sinfully delicious.
I.JORDAN – Always Been
On their 2020 breakout For You, UK producer I.JORDAN wore their queer influences on their sleeve. Effervescent and at times transcendent, For You took the euphoric house and body music DNA of the gay club and wove it into classic UK dance styles. Their latest single, Always Been, functions similarly but reflects on a different part of the queer experience: romance. After coming out as non-binary, it makes sense that I.JORDAN’s music should reflect this period of immense growth and self-discovery. Beneath the four on the floor, Always Been’s soulful disco sample is mixed in amongst sepia filtered chimes, making for a breathlessly romantic joy ride.
Mura Masa – hollaback bitch
Mura Masa’s string of recent singles has seen the producer go further into his love of early 2000’s kitsch and questionable pop tropes, giving them a new chance at life through his astute pastiches. Roping in frequent collaborator Shygirl and hip-house rapper Channel Tres, Mura Masa’s newest is plain, raucous fun. The juxtaposition of Y2K raps and Nokia polyphonic samples with poolside downtempo house is efficacious enough, but it’s the jazzy sax riff that seals the deal on hollaback bitch being, above all else, ridiculously cool.
Azealia Banks – I Rule The World
Honestly, I Rule The World is not Azealia Banks’s best. Neither does it show any continuation of the direction she hinted at with her previous two singles, Tarantula and Wings Of A Butterfly. It’s sort of a return to her earlier hip-house circa-1991, and could probably pass for something salvaged off the cutting room floor of that album. Its existence though, is… significant. Not only did I Rule The World slip under the radar, it happened to do so at a moment when much of the hip-house innovation pioneered by Banks was appropriated by the likes of Drake and Beyoncé on the mainstream. For that reason, credit must be given where credit is due. So give this one a spin.
Safety Trance, Arca – El Alma Que Te Trajo
Venezuelan artist Luis Garban might be better known as Cardopusher, but now he’s adding the moniker Safety Trance to his arsenal. For his debut single under the Safety Trance umbrella, he brings in friend and collaborator Arca. Garban made a number of appearances on Arca’s recent KICK Cycle, and it’s a creative pairing that works seamlessly. Arca lends her voice to El Alma Que Te Trajo, a mutant reggaeton track featuring humid dembow beats and a spinning rave synthline. It veers incredibly close to Arca’s work on Kick ii, in particular Prada and Rakata, existing as a sort of companion piece that completes the triptych.
