[SONG OF THE DAY] Timi Temple x Doc Merlin - "No Where"

Sydney sweetie Timi Temple hasn’t slowed down since dropping his delightful gateway drug of an EP, Phuzz Boy, that I fell in love with late last year. Since then, he’s partnered up with his friend Doc Merlin, whom I’ve come to learn from prelim research is the moniker for his literal PhD wielding friend who is also a magician. Obviously I can’t get enough of that whole vibe because honestly it sounds like I invented his backstory. At any rate, the dynamic duo dropped a double single, “No Where” and “Get Away”.

Earlier in the week, the duo shared a super fun video for “No Where”, which will make retro video game enthusiasts get all up in their feels. I def am going to watch this a few more times to make sure I caught all the references in it.

[SONG OF THE DAY] The Kickdrums - "Bubblegum"

OG SKOA fam Alex Fitts known as The Kickdrums to the rest of the world has been so busy making other people sound good that it’s been close to 2 years since he’s released anything of his own. Fortunately for us, not only do we finally have something to follow up “Love Is Fine”, but Fitts has also announced that he’ll be dropping an EP, La Playa, later this spring. The new track, “Bubblegum”, fits well into the realm of The Kickdrums signature sound, but it’s a little bit more airy and easygoing than anything he’s released in recent memory. Something tells me that the location where the track was recorded has something to do with it given that it was made in a small beach town in southern Spain called Estepona.

Taking the time out from his Brooklyn home base has very clearly done him some good. “I was trying to explore new and different combinations of music for me as a producer/singer,” Fitts explained, “At times my music may sound like a band, but it's really just me with a drum machine and some instruments.”

Good to have to back, bb. Keep ‘em coming!

[SONG OF THE DAY] Mason - "Drowning In Your Love (feat. Jem Cooke)

Amsterdam producer Mason very casually launched a banger into the universe on Friday and I wish I had been more adequately prepared because “Drowning In Your Love” packs quite the glittery disco punch. The track features vocal stylings from London singer-songwriter Jem Cooke, who from the looks of her Spotify profile has been on her hustling A-game because she’s got hella features. Def going to be keeping tabs on her whereabouts ESPECIALLY when Mason has nothing but wonderful things to say about her on Facebook.

And with that, your Monday has briefly transformed into feeling like a Friday. You’re welcome.

Fri May 24 - Drop Hong Kong
Sat May 25 - Pepper Shenzhen China
Sun May 25 - Vinyl House Shenzhen China
Th May 30 - Octagon Tokyo Japan
Sat June 01 - Soap, Seoul S-Korea

[SONG OF THE DAY] Holy Ghost! - "Do This"

photo credit: Harry McNally

On Friday NYC duo Holy Ghost! dropped another taste from their forthcoming LP, Work, which is out June 21st via the legendary West End Records. Their new track, “Do This”, is as candid and incredibly thoughtful as it is the kind of glimmering low-key vibe that one would want to put on to savor the last few hours of the weekend.

In making this album NY natives Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser decided that for this record in particular that they were going to focus their efforts on the same creative process that resulted in their 2011 debut self-titled album. An album free of any sort of expectations and really returning to crafting a vibe for the sake of vibing out vs. chasing trends that we see in dance music today, especially as it’s related to likes, stream counts, etc. “Do It” is their way of making their intentions for the album as blatantly obvious as possible.

How blatantly obvious? Here are the lyrics to the first verse:

You must think I’m stupid / For chasing a sound / For running it down / For holding my ground.

You must think I’m ruthless / Impeccably mean / But I know what i want / It means something to me.

And I don't usually do this / But that data has shown, I should probably go home

Yep. That. Obvious.

"There's a data epidemic in the music industry. Everyone is obsessed with likes, stream counts, ‘the algorithm’ etc...,” frontman Alex Frankel explained while speaking on the track, “For a band like us, who like to take our time in the studio  and perform with a live band and make actual records from scratch, it starts to really bum you out when people around you are more focused on Instagram stats and ‘reactions’ than the music.”

Def not wrong there, my dude. While we know how much I love #thedata and The Algorithm™, my ass knows better than to believe that’s the only thing that’s gonna fix the mountain of still unsolved problems the music industry had prior to the Napster era, MySpace music, etc.

Either way, I sort of always had this inkling that Holy Ghost! were ✨my people✨, but this jam absolutely confirmed that. Definitely intend to go on record to discuss this at greater length as we get closer to the album’s release.

Speaking of June 21st, ICYMI NY fam the album release show at Bowery Ballroom has sold out and the fellas have just added a second show on the following night, so now you have no excuse to not come out and dance your ass off with me.

Upcoming Holy Ghost! Live Shows:

05-09: Guadalajara, México - Corona Capital at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez

06-21: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (Album Release Show / SOLD OUT)

06-22: New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (Just Added!)

06-29: Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall

10-31: San Francisco, CA - The Independent

11-1: San Francisco, CA - The Independent

11-2: Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom

11-3: Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom

[SONG OF THE DAY] Tom Aspaul - "Back 2 Earth"

Photo by Alice Rainis

After collaborating with Twitter fam Pat Lok on one hell of a bop, the baddest witch in all of London has returned with a new track of his very own, “Back 2 Earth”. I am so grateful that the world has Tom Aspaul because he is single handedly advancing The Slay Agenda™ on the daily all the while being the authentically beautiful and tender soul I’ve come to know him to be. Earlier today he shared on Instagram that over the past few months that he’s been in a rut of sorts and wasn’t sure if he was going to go on as a musician but that the process of releasing “Back 2 Earth” managed to shake that very unbecoming vibe off of him. As he detailed to Insta fam, “It’s very poetic that a song about self-care and self-belief would be the one to lift me out of this rut innit?”

Can you imagine a world without Tom Aspaul actively singing in it? Personally, I would very much prefer not to. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and I’ve decided that the reason why I love Tom’s voice so much is because something about the way he sings always makes me feel like I just got a really sweet text from someone or like the caffeine finally hit. You cannot feel bad listening to Tom Aspaul. It’s just not possible.

Also according to the same Instagram post, we’re “not gonna believe what comes next!”

dis me now: 👀👀👀

[SONG OF THE DAY] Bastille - "Joy"

IT IS VIBE THE FUCK O CLOCK THIS FRIDAY 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

THIS NEW MUSIC FRIDAY IS LIT 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

YER GIRL IS LIT 🔥✨⚡️💖

We’re all feeling the joy today, but them Bastille fellas are clearly feeling it the most because those sweeties just announced that they’re releasing a new album, Doom Days, which will drop on June 14th. In addition to the album announcement, of COURSE they shared a first taste and it is just oozing in the glitter and lightning ✨⚡️💖. I was singing along to this bop that won’t stop on the street earlier today and I swear for a second that despite it being overcast and nasty in Brooklyn that the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and was shinning on my face. I don’t think my feet were touching the ground either?

Yeah, it’s one of those jams. Also. Dan’s falsettos in this joint tho…. *chef’s kiss*

In addition to all of this joyous news, the band have also announced that they’ll be hitting the road in North America in September. Some fine print that you should know about snagging tix:

Every online ticket order purchased for the U.S. dates on the fall tour will include a CD of the new album. The pre-sale code will be revealed on the band’s Instagram Stories the morning of the pre-sale launch. The artist ticket pre-sale begins on Friday, May 3, at 10:00 AM local time. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, May 10, starting at 10:00 AM local time.

Tour dates, tracklisting for Doom Days, and the GORGEOUS visualizer for “Joy” are all below.

Off you go!

Track Listing – Doom Days

1.    Quarter Past Midnight

2.    Bad Decisions

3.    The Waves

4.    Divide

5.    Million Pieces

6.    Doom Days

7.    Nocturnal Creatures

8.    4AM

9.    Another Place

10. Those Nights

11. Joy

Bastille – North American Tour

9/16 | Philadelphia, PA | The Met

9/17 | Boston, MA | Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion

9/18 | Laval, QC | Place Bell ^

9/20 | Toronto, ON | Budweiser Stage ^

9/21 | Washington, DC | The Anthem

9/22 | Pittsburgh, PA | Stage AE

9/24 | New York, NY | Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden***

9/27 | Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Arena

9/28 | Richmond, VA | Virginia Credit Union LIVE!

9/29 | Columbus, OH | Express Live!

10/1 | Detroit, MI | Masonic Temple Theatre

10/2 | Chicago, IL | Chicago Theatre***

10/4 | Denver, CO | The Mission Ballroom

10/5 | Salt Lake City, UT | Saltair Pavilion

10/7 |Portland, OR | Theatre of The Clouds @ Moda Center

10/8 | Vancouver, BC | Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre

10/9 | Seattle, WA | WAMU Theater

10/11 | Berkeley, CA | Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley

10/12 | Los Angeles, CA | Greek Theatre

10/13 | San Diego, CA | CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre

10/15 | Phoenix, AZ | Comerica Theatre

10/17 | Dallas, TX | South Side Ballroom

10/18 | Houston, TX | White Oak Music Hall Lawn

10/19 | Austin, TX | Austin360 Amphitheater

10/21 | Birmingham, AL | BJCC Concert Hall

10/22 | Nashville, TN | Municipal Auditorium

10/23 | Atlanta, GA | Coca-Cola Roxy

10/25 | Raleigh, NC | Red Hat Amphitheater

10/26 | Jacksonville, FL | Daily’s Place*

10/27 | Miami, FL | Bayfront Park Amphitheater*

10/29 | Mexico City, MX | Pepsi Center ^**

^ Doom Days album not included with online ticket purchase

*Jacksonville and Miami will go on sale to the public on Friday, May 17 at 10am local time

**Mexico City will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, May 15 at 10am local time

***New York and Chicago will go on sale to the public on Friday, May 10 at 11am local time

****Philadelphia will go on sale to the public on Friday, May 10 at 12pm local time

[SONG OF THE DAY] Husky Loops - "Everyone Having Fun Fun Fun But Me"

photo credit: Henry Gill

Oh happy day! Husky Loops are back and they brought a MOOD along with news about their forthcoming debut full-length. The new track, “Everyone Having Fun Fun Fun But Me” is the anxiety laden anthem I didn’t realize was missing from my life until it hit my eardums. Throughout the song frontman Pier Danio Forni essentially walks through the ways that anxiety can take a toll on your life. The chorus is a bit of a snapshot of the frantic thoughts that swirl through an anxious mind. Ironically enough I find repetitiveness of the chorus to be really relaxing. Dis why I fux with Husky Loops. Clever clever lads.

“Everyone Having Fun Fun Fun But Me” is our second taste from their debut LP, I Can’t Even Speak English, which will be out on August 14th courtesy of Fighting Ourselves / 30th Century Records. The album title is obvi a nice little chuckle at their own expense, given that the now London based band grew up in Italy. Tracklisting and artwork for the album is below. Gonna be honest, REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT A SONG CALLED “FUCK ME NATURALLY” SOUNDS LIKE.

I Can’t Even Speak English tracklisting

1. A message from Lily to a friend – Intro

2. Good As Gold

3. Yes I Know What I’m Gonna Do

4. Temporary Volcano

5. Enemy Is Yourself

6. Let Go For Nothing

7. The Reasonable Thing

8. Slippin’

9. A Little Something

10. FredAgain_niceboy – Snippet

11. Fuck Me Naturally feat. Mother MaryGold

12. Everyone’s Having Fun Fun Fun But Me

13. Joy (Outro)

[SONG OF THE DAY] Souls - "We Will Walk (feat. Big Zuu)"

Big Zuu & SOULS

London electronic producer David Gledhill better known to SKOA fam as SOULS has returned with a new flex. For the first time in the history SOULS, David enlisted a modern artist, West London rapper Big Zuu, for a feature on this new track, “We Will Walk”.

As David told Wonderland Magazine, ​“I’ve been sitting on the music to ‘We Will Walk’ for six years. But it needed a feature and I wanted to wait for the right one. Zuu brought something indescribable to it that was well worth the wait. It encapsulates everything I set out to do with this project. If the song comes out and resonates with people, lovely, but I can die happy just knowing Zuu and I created something special.”

The fruits of their collaborative labor is indeed something truly special. David is always good for meticulously crafting a thoughtful transformative throwback vibe, but the Big Zuu element to “We Will Walk” really connects the past to present day in such a uniquely lovely way. I am absolutely enamored with this.

Still no word on anymore details for this new album that’s on its way, but given how patient David was to find the perfect feature for this track, I guess I will also begrudgingly be patient for updates.