The Playground Picks 29/11/19
Every Friday we highlight the fresh selections from our CHILL, EXPERIMENTAL, POP and INDIE playlists.
Whether you’re looking for music to relax to, soundscapes to study and immerse yourself in, catchy tunes to express yourself to or something more introspective, we have something for you below.
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Fresh selections:
Wugo – ‘Wugomania’
This dreamy bedroom pop track from French producer Wugo radiates an emotional quality that fills the listener with warmth. Gorgeous synths, lo-fi percussion and the alien-like quality of his processed vocals paint a vivid psychedelic image of internalised feelings.
Lists – ‘In The Breeze’
Scottish singer Lists presents ‘In The Breeze’, a moving, minimalistic song about maintaining a steady heart and mind through difficult times. It is the second single from his upcoming sophomore EP, EP 2, which comes out on the 13th of December.
dj poolboi feat. Lucy’s Mirror – ‘Lilacs’
dj poolboi took off on Youtube self-releasing on his Youtube channel where he now has 60k subs and gets over a million monthly streams. This is a new song from his debut EP, which is coming out on Majestic Casual in early 2020, being released to all streaming platforms and his first release working with a vocalist.
Fresh selections:
Kreatiivmootor – ‘Seletamatu heli’
A glitchy dark ambient piece from Kreatiivmootor‘s new album Mentalbau. Their uncompromising approach to music-making and the mixing of different, sometimes contrary, elements (electronic/acoustic, pop/avant-garde) is on full display here, with hypnotic electronic grooves enriched with psychedelic acoustic sounds, instrumental and vocal improvisation.
Lazy H – ‘Large or Small’
‘Large or Small’ presents the second track from Lazy H‘s fourth coming album Where’s Bill? – a dark and brooding chugger bursting at the seams with huge analogue synths, misbehaving electronic glitches and fat brass samples. The song exhibits Lazy H‘s forward facing approach to electronic music combining outrageous electronic sounds with improvisation, live recordings and jazz harmony.
OdNu – ‘Plastic Islands’
On ‘Plastic Islands’, OdNu makes use of a variety of recorded classical acoustic instruments which have manipulated with the help of granular synthesis to create an evocative dystopian orchestral experience. On OdNu‘s Falling Down in Slow Motion, each song feels like it inhabits both the past and the future, is both familiar and alien where one feels lost and found and also equally hopeful and sad.
Fresh selections:
Ghost Suns – ‘Stuck on the Wall’
‘Stuck on the Wall’ introduces us to the notion of a third Ghost Suns EP release, due in early 2020. Like its predecessors, and much like all the best crestfallen electronic pop from the ZTT heyday, Ghost Suns bring warmth and sadness to coldhearted synthetics as Lola’s yearning vocals float above the dainty flowing keyboards which err on the side of primetime ELO at their fluid peak. Or in the words of Ghost Suns themselves…
Nation – ‘Surface’
‘Surface’ explores the feelings of loneliness with a gracefully slow tempo, pondering how to navigate one’s relationship to oneself in a world where we are constantly pressured to connect with others. Nation reveals an artist whose universe is both delicate and rhythmic.
Ariza – ‘Patience’
New single from Colombian native Ariza melds worldly sounds and production to shock your auditory system with its uplifting energy and modern electronic production. ‘Patience’ has got a feel-good energy that is equal parts infectious and captivating and possesses a heartwarming sensation from start to end.
Mint Julep – ‘Blinded’
‘Blinded’ is the first single from Mint Julep‘s new Stray Fantasies album, out January 31st 2020 on Western Vinyl. The upcoming album delivers twelve fully crystallized, iridescent pop pearls glimmering with the interplay of synthesizers, pulsing basslines, and punching drums that ballast Hollie’s oneiric singing as she unfurls themes of vulnerability, insecurity, and other aching minutiae of love and relationships. It marks a deepening of the discography of wife-and-husband duo Hollie and Keith Kenniff under their collaborative moniker Mint Julep, an expertly manicured electric-pop venture.
kelz – ‘Passerby’
‘Passerby’ is a homage to the missed summer days. It’s about being in a place of comfort. The grooving, gentle beat and melody will get your head moving. Sometimes the best place to be is to be with yourself. Listen to it with friends and vibe. Or better yet, listen to it alone as you dance in the bedroom at 3 am. This song tells a story and whatever else it may be to you.
Arjuna Oakes – ‘The Watcher’
The title single from The Watcher EP – from fast-rising young New Zealand musician Arjuna Oakes. ‘The Watcher’ is a wonderful showcase of Arjuna‘s charismatic and soulful vocals and the impressive musicality and fearless experimental flair of the whole musical outfit he has assembled for this release.
Fresh selections:
Mungo Parker – ‘Always Brings the Sunshine’
A song all about that feeling of someone not being able to do any wrong in your eyes – a girl who “always brings” that feeling of sunshine when she is around. This is the opening track of Mungo Parker‘s album which comes out in December.
Suzy Callahan – ‘Out there, somewhere’
A song about self-reflection and coming of age, ‘Out there, somewhere’ features Callahan‘s powerfully moving vocal capabilities over a unique blend of subtle textured synths and delicate organic instrumentation.
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