Weekly Roundup: what we’ve had on repeat

Image by Dan Medhurst

From audaciously explicit hip-house to ambient chamber pop, we roundup our favourite new releases from some of electronic music’s iconic and emerging female artists. In no particular order, here’s what we’ve had on repeat:

Azealia Banks – F*** Him All Night

Azealia Banks is one of pop’s most polarising figures, but in the same breath also one of our most painstakingly real cultural figures. The controversy soaked reputation of her unhinged online presence may often overshadow the fact that Banks consistently produces top-tier dance music, but her latest single finds a common ground between the two that sees her marry her unfiltered persona with her infectiously good brand of hip-house. F*** Him All Night is a shamelessly horny banger that sees Banks spit gold along the lines of “we can dig in the guts,” against an equally scuzzy club-ready house beat. New York’s Galcher Lustwerk’s production throws a debaucherous and buzzing synth riff against a dirty deep house beat to create what is ultimately a welcome restart for Banks and another crown jewel in her already opulent discography. The single is released via Chaos & Glory Recordings, listen below. 

Nite Jewel – This Time

As a mechanism to process the breakdown of her marriage, This Time is a track full of complex and juxtaposing emotional textures for Nite Jewel. The first single from the artist’s upcoming album No Sun, This Time is a strikingly simple and barebones cut that places Ramona Gonzalez’s vulnerable and pensive vocals centre stage. This Time has massive chamber pop influences, and also draws from the aesthetics of ambient electronica. The track unfolds itself slowly, with simmering synth arpeggios that build towards more hopeful sentiments, culminating in a powerful electric guitar riff that brings a glorious sense of catharsis in the vein of screaming into a pillow. No Sun is out August 27th on Gloriette. Pre-order it here and watch the music video for This Time directed by Anna Stypko below.

박혜진 Park Hye Jin – Let’s Sing Let’s Dance 

South Korean DJ, producer and rapper Park Hye Jin has made considerable waves since arriving on the scene in 2018. Her DJ sets have been described as ‘flawless’ and her own brand of minimal house and electronic hip hop follows suit. The latest single from her upcoming album Before I Die, due September 10th on Ninja Tune, is a sophisticated and loungey house cut that is both an ode to the memory of the dance floor and a call to arms to make the dance floor groove. Impossibly chic piano chords float against a sparse 90’s inflected four on the floor pulse, with Jin’s own understated and consoling vocals providing a jazzy melodic template around which the beat ebbs and flows. It’s a dreamy piece of effervescent dance music that is destined to start the party once clubs return around the world, but in the meantime is completely comfortable making it happen in your living room. Listen below, and pre-order Before I Die here.

Moor Mother – Obsidian 

American poet and rapper Moor Mother’s signature hip hop experimentations have always felt radical, apt sonic iterations of her public persona and presence as a commentator on America’s socio-political climate and Black identity. Obsidian is the first single off her forthcoming record, Black Encyclopedia of the Air, which is out on September 17th via ANTI Recordings. The track is a creeping trip-hop cut which, like its namesake, emanates with a dark, volatile energy. Obsidian comments on the reality of violence as part of the Black lived experience, and this ominous energy seethes through the track in storming, rapturous bass and a distorted IDM that recalls early Massive Attack. Pink Siifu mostly dominates Obsidian’s short runtime with a powerful guest verse, and Moor Mother’s own chilling, compressed vocals make for a haunting experience with big impact. See the music video directed by Ari Marcopoulos below.

Peggy Gou – I Go 

Gou’s second release of the year leans further into her 90’s dance inspirations on a synth driven offering inspired by childhood frivolity and Gou’s love of rave culture. The rave influences are evident in squelchy, swiggling synth riffs and a propulsive bass line that give I Go a rolling, kinetic energy. Shimmering chimes and Gou’s nursery-rhyme vocals round off this love letter to childhood innocence. It harkens back to the funky tech-house energy of Starry Night, and after the lowkey chill-house of previous single Nabi, locates Gou firmly back on the dance floor where she belongs. I Go is released via Gou’s own Gudu Records, and is available digitally and on vinyl here. Listen below.