diSKOAver weekly: Week of December 8, 2021
Hello gorgeous internet friends!š„°āØš
Did you miss me? I sure missed you.
I think the hiatus is over? IDK. I feel like I keep saying that, but Iām pretty sure this is the real deal this time, haha.
In the past I have spent a lot of time overthinking what I share on this silly little site because I want it to be an equally fun and informative space that also happens to be aesthetically pleasing to My People. Plus thereās that pressure to figure out how to monetize the thing that makes you happy š¤, which can easily become a thing that makes you really unhappy when you get caught comparing your internet offerings to someone elseās. Juggling all of those feels on top of a pandemic made trying to express myself even more stressful so I gave myself as much space from this as I needed until I missed it so much that I couldnāt stop thinking about it.
And some of you even reached out a few times to ask when the next update was coming. š„ŗ Youāll never know how much that meant to feel like my contributions are actually meaningful to yāall even though most of the time I feel like Iām gushing into the void, lmao.
Anyway I hope you all are doing well and have been stuck at least twice by now. š
Enjoy!
Mickey Kojak - āClub Is On Fireā
Okay so for whatever stupid reason when I want to take myself seriously about loving on this Sydney sweetie I always tell myself his full name is actually Michelangelo Kojak. I might have dreamed that once? Either way, thatās not even remotely true. I know his real name is actually Michael Dable and yet here we are lol. At any rate, our fateful hero has been doing his part during the pandemic to regularly drop techno treats on Tuesdays of his choosing to keep the fire burning in our hearts for his adorkable ass while he continues to work on new music. Luckily we managed to get a remix and two originals from Mickey in 2021, āLights Outā and āClub Is On Fireā, the latter being the more splendidly chaotic of the two.
Pat Lok x Party Pupils - āSo Fineā
Over the course of 2021 the Twitter homey Pat Lok has been doing the Lordeās work by keeping us satiated with shit that slaps. His recent collaborations with Party Pupils have been especially hitting the spot as of late. āSo Fineā is an obvious fave because it makes it easier for me to pretend like Iām getting the attention I know I deserve, but I also really love their latest, āI Want Youā. Which is also more attention seeking from me I guess? lol ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
Lxury - āPAD MAā
I was really glad Londonās Lxury snuck in another EP after last yearās No Real Rush. This new one, Smart Digital Life is a lot more airy and brighter than NRR. Thereās not a track Iād cut. In a parallel universe I wouldāve included āUp Highā but I was really feeling the high energy of "PAD MAā to compliment everything else in this weeks playlist.
Simon Hinter - āWanna Make Love - Mixedā
I love a good DJ Kicks mix, which is where I fell for German producer Simon Hinter. While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire mix that Disclosure put together, āWanna Make Loveā easily stands out as a moment to shut the fuck up and dance. Do not try to shift your focus otherwise you might get swept away on the dance floor.
Alfie Templeman - āWait, I Liedā
If these are the kinds of songs that Alfie Templeman is writing at 18, mannnn Iām like dying to know how his sound is gonna evolve in the next, like, 5 years. The progression from Donāt Go Wasting Time to Forever Isnāt Long Enough is somewhat subtle but you can tell that heās feeling a lot more confident in his sound. Hereās hoping he continues on this trajectory heās clearly on at the moment.
Jaded - āWelcome To The Peopleā
Lovely London lads Jaded have also been doing their part holding it down in 2021. I think āWelcome To The Peopleā is a nice change of pace for the trio. The beat is super addictive. It keeps you stimulated as if youāre slightly over caffeinated and leaves you wanting like a 10 minute edit of this or some other absurd length.
Darius - āFeels Right (feat. DuƱe)ā
Let the record reflect that the only show I went to in all of 2021 was to see Darius and Ćtienne de CrĆ©cy while I was in Paris for part of August and most of September. I just canāt bring myself to do shows in the US yet. I got hella trust issues with this country related to this pandem. Meanwhile, Franceās vaccination efforts coupled with the countrywide implementation of the Pass Sanitaire put my mind at ease to dance the night away. And you better believe I barely moved the next day I went so hard at that show. While every track on Dariusā new EP, OASIS (Prelude), has its each little flavor to savor, āFeels Rightā is my favorite mood enhancer of his and I had to make sure this one got to yāall. š„°
Louis La Roche - āOne Big Gay Discoā
I very much like Louis La Rocheās new album, Weāre Not That Different. There are so many good details about this record that make me keep coming back to it. My first taste of the record was, āOne Big Gay Discoā, which is how I would succinctly describe what I hope heaven is like if it exists. I did ā”ļøThe Kibbe Thingā”ļø and hunted down the origin of this sample. Iām not going to publicize the hateful homophobic personās name who said some horrible shit in an interview that Louis chose to transform into something positive and fuckin fabulous. Iām not mad it wasnāt easy to find the clip. Maybe just take my word for it that itās awful and as someone who has people who lost people in the Pulse shooting that this song advances the slay agenda and is defiantly gay as hell.
KUNZITE - āSUPREME BEAMā
Iām such a doofus. I went way too long not putting it together that KUNZITE was Ratatat adjacent. Never not embarrassing when something that later seems painfully obvious just flies over my head. I mean how long have I been at this shit, 12 years now? Anyway for the record KUNZITE is comprised of RATATAT's Mike Stroud and Agustin White from White Flight which is why itās vibey af. I really love their latest album, VISUALS and I cannot recommend it enough.
Willow Kayne - āOpinionā
When last we met this little sweetie was just stepping out with her debut single, āTwo Seaterā. Since then sheās released tracks āI Donāt Wanna Knowā and more recently, āOpinionā. Have a peep at the brand spankinā new music video for IDWK which Willow shot during her recent stay in Los Angeles. If you need any concrete evidence that the 90s are absolutely back in style, just sit back and let Willowās āfits wash over you in all of their Delias-era glory. For some reason I really want Willow and BENEE to be besties. I feel like they would get into the best kind of trouble together, you know?
Noah Davis- āHow Much Cashā
I havenāt watched American Idol since season one so I hadnāt made the connection that Noah Davis has already had a little heat going for awhile. To me he was just some unassuming sweet thing that landed on my FYP and left me fucking SHOOK when āHow Much Cashā hit my earholes. It not only makes me want to go to a gay bar full of hot lil go-go boys, but given that Iām in a space to call in the blessings Iāve been blocking, I always feel richer and mad sexy after playing this.
Magdalena Bay- āSecrets (Your Fire)ā
Only been trying to make this band happen since *checks notes AKA the DW archive* 2019. Glad everyone has joined the party! Like sincerely. I really am. Gotta say tho, they really fucking nailed it with this record. Mercurial World is justā¦ *chefās kiss*. Also this 90s nostalgia aesthetic just makes me feel like Iām on Geocities talking about this. If you donāt know what Geocities is please donāt tell me and just Google it. I can already feel the ākids these days donāt know how good they have it for making websitesā spiel and Iām not in the mood to embarrass myself. Just let me casually obsess over their music video for this song and their website in peace.
Griff - āOne Nightā
Fun true story: while working from my Airbnb in Paris I would leave MTV France on because I figured of all the TV shows that would teach me useful French vocabulary that Catfish would be perfect for someone as Very Online as yours truly. In France they were going HARD with plugging this song in the commercial breaks. Admittedly I havenāt given Griff a lot of attention in the past, but the clip from, āOne Nightā left me curious about the story behind the song. Apparently itās about, āfeeling like youāre always carrying this darkness or burden.ā As Griff told NME, āI think in the daytime we can feel distracted because weāre around people and weāre busy, but that moment between going to bed and falling asleep, thereās just enough silence for those burdens to get louder. Essentially this song is trying to understand why I canāt shake it, and the chorus comes to this breaking point of desperately wanting at least āOne Nightā alone.ā Yeah girl, feel that. š
Carter Vail - āTrash Friendsā
Carter Vail makes it very easy to love him, which is why Iām not surprised at his ever growing following on TikTok. Heās a solid songwriter, has a great sense of humor (see also: āTrash Friendsā), and also happens to have a face that you donāt mind looking at for long periods of time. It did not surprise me one bit to learn that heās based in Nashville now and played at Rockwood Music Hall at the end of November. Hell I might DM his ass and ask him if heās going to Belmont, because thatās the vibe heās throwing. Heās throwing āhomey I couldāve gone to college with whoās having a fun time getting better at writing songsā. That said, it seems his sound has already evolved quite a bit since he started releasing tracks in 2018 and I definitely like the direction heās chosen for his 2021 cuts.
Nasty Party- āPeople On The Streetā
Are you ready to hit BINGO on your SKOA Bingo cards? This one is courtesy of the TikTok algorithm AND is an Australian baby band, bitches. LMAO. These guys have managed to capture the essence of 1980ās punk but made just enough tweaks to the sound that it could contend with todayās standards. In my āØKibbe Flies Aussie Bands To America And Makes Them All Famous FantasyāØ, these guys would be on a bill with Johnny Hunter and These New South Whales.
Jakuzi - āAƧık Bir Yaraā
My little Turkish darklings Jakuzi have reappeared to seduce us with a quickie two-song EP for 2021, of which the title track,āAƧık Bir Yaraā is my favorite. Singer Kutay Soyocak has also started dabbling in a new black metal project called Vox In Rama which is a genre Iām not often in the mood for but is very cool to see this side of Kutayās vocal abilities.