New Music Friday is here again and here are out top ten picks that are out today.
1. Nathan Day releases new track ‘Fade Like You’
Alt-rock-pop artist Nathan Day (formerly Natan Day) releases the trippy, artistic video for “Fade Like You” which he describes as “a literal version of wearing your heart on your sleeve.” Uplifted by sweeping synths, warm distortion, and a skyscraping chorus, the song details “the moment you meet someone, and you’re both fucked, basically. But there’s beauty because you match each other.” Incorporating alternative and electronic influences, the singer-songwriter faces his mental health and morbid feelings head-on by turning them into characters and costumes in his self-directed, other-worldly visuals.
Day turns his imaginary friends into a reality by crafting an adventurous experimental magical world inhabited by the vibrant characters that live in his mind. Nathan introduces us to his cast of characters by adopting each character in personality and costume for the respective song. Day crash-landed with “She Came Down From The Stars” introducing The Alien representing feelings of alienation, isolation and abandonment and now we see The Skelton take over in the new visual, chronicling Day’s feelings of depression and fading away.
2. Aidan Bissett release self penned ‘Communication’
Aidan Bissett released his new self-penned single, “Communication,” which marks his first release on Capitol Records. The track exudes the homespun intimacy of the three self-produced singles that catapulted him to viral success – racking up more than five million streams since their release last summer – yet finds him pushing into more adventurous sonic terrain. Recorded with Zach Farache, an up-and-coming musician/producer also known as Verzache, “Communication” unfolds in atmospheric textures and woozy rhythms, a perfect counterpart to Bissett’s sprawling guitar tones and reflective lyrics. Listen HERE.
The wooziness fuels the official video. Shot with a fisheye lens, the clip follows the 18-year-old high school senior as he makes his way through the streets of a sunny Tampa, FL neighborhood, performing “Communication.” View HERE. “This song could very well be the soundtrack to summer 2021!” said Alternative Press, which premiered the video and spoke to Bissett about the process of creating “Communication.”
3. Coral release new track ahead of album release ‘Vacancy’
Following Ray Manzarek and Ray Davies into the woozy headrush of the House Of Mirrors and meeting Boris Karloff by the Coconut Shy, The Coral send their latest broadcast from the shores of their own Coral Island with the release of Vacancy. Ahead of the release of their TENTH studio album on Fri 30 April 2021, the thrilling otherworld of the incomparable Merseyside five-piece welcomes guests to sample it’s myriad, melodic delights.
A crackling soundtrack for breezy nights by the sea, as the girls circle the boys in the glow of the North Pier amusements, Vacancy drifts effortlessly on Coral Island’s warm, salty air. A feature of the double album’s A-side, where the excited screams of summer holidays in full swing are heard across the island, keyboard player, Nick Power’s incisive organ riff carves a determined course through the band’s undulating swell of carefree melody.
4. Michael Robert Murphy releases ‘Puzzles’
Michael Robert Murphy hits the distinct vein of mystical Mersey melody with his latest single, Puzzles, a woozy, sultry psych-sundowner. The prolific singer-songwriter, formerly lead singer with jet-setting, acid-folk-rock five-piece The Wicked Whispers, joins up with The Coral’s James Skelly, who guests on the track and takes the reins as producer.
Nothing is taken for granted or gifted growing up in Liverpool, a city of deep and meaningful record collections and dreams of both hitting the stage at Wembley and scoring an extra-time winner there. Murphy’s boots went and remain unlaced as his childhood dreams, coloured by a soundtrack of John Lennon, Love and The Rolling Stones, unfurled into recurring, musical adventures. Each note of Puzzles, like the four-tracks on his 2020 Metamorph EP that went before, ring out from the same place, a pure, eternally-youthful love of timeless riffs and life-affirming harmony.
5. Steve Aoki release summer anthem ‘Aire’
Two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist, DJ, producer and entrepreneur, Steve Aoki, teams up with one of the Latin genre’s biggest and most versatile artists, Farruko, to release their latest track “Aire”. The song is available to stream on all digital platforms today.
With “Aire,” Aoki once again demonstrates his innate ability to merge his musical influences and produce music that has led him to become known as a highly lauded and recognized DJ and artist across the globe. True to his maverick boundary-pushing style, he layers several different styles of music to create a song that flawlessly captures the essence of what a true summer anthem should sound like. For this new single he recruited Puerto Rican global superstar Farruko who with his unique flow and cadence impeccably ensnares the tonality Aoki was looking to bring to the song. “Aire” is a song that depicts the perfect night out with the person of your dreams and alludes to what possibilities lay ahead.
“Working with a legend like Steve on this song is special for me. I always admire when artists from other genres come in and see the vision and importance of embracing the culture. With Aire we really captured the best of both worlds perfectly. Looking forward to the fans enjoying it this summer”, comments Farruko on collaboration.
“I’m excited to finally be dropping something with my boy Farruko, who is one of the most versatile Latin Urban artists out there. We had been working on putting something together for a bit and everything has come together for a feel good, summer vibes track like “Aire”, which this world needs right now!”, expressed Aoki.
6. Jack Wins remixes Nile Rodgers & Cedric Gervais’
World-renowned DJ and producer Jack Wins puts his stamp on the feel-good anthem of 2021 ‘Everybody Dance’ from Nile Rodgers, Cedric Gervais and Franklin, out today on 16th April.
The original mix has quickly been embedded into British culture, with Nile Rodgers performing the new version of the track on BBC One‘s flagship NYE show with Becky Hill and RAYE to over 10m people. It was also featured on a host of the UK’s leading reality TV shows including The Voice, Strictly Come Dancing, Celebs Go Dating and TOWIE.
7. M. Byrd releases new track ‘Morning Sun’
M.Byrd’s story starts somewhere between Amsterdam and Paris. Whilst being the tour bassist for Ilgen-Nur, M.Byrd showed the rest of the band his own demos and their reaction was what gave him the final push to focus on his solo career. Fast-forward to the end of the tour and just one single-release later the 25-year-old artist now has more than 1.5 million Spotify streams under his belt. M.Byrd swiftly forged his own path in the industry with his infectious indie neo-psych-folk sound.
The upcoming single “Morning Sun” is indeed all about an acoustic soundscape, which, however, conveys no less depth than the powerful guitar sounds of “Mountain”. The warm entry symbolizes the rising of the morning sun and at the same time lets listeners wake up in the fog.
M. Byrd himself describes the process as follows:
“Morning Sun has become a kind of morning mantra for me. The idea came to me a few years ago in the morning right after I got up and it came back to me subsequently over and over again, like a kind of entry into meditation, until I finally recorded it and arranged it into form.”
Marcel Izequierdo Torres, who also directed the first music video of the artist, takes the night as a visual guideline and in an almost mystical atmosphere features the self-confident dancer Rose Marie Lindstrøm with her own choreography. Alternating between floating and rhythmic movements, the young dancer interprets the song as a ritual awakening after an aimless search in the fog, as the desire for the redeeming breath underwater.
8. Laura Mulva releases new track ‘Church Girl’
Laura Mvula has shared the stunning visuals for her latest single ‘Church Girl’ today, taken from her highly anticipated new album ‘Pink Noise’, due for release on July 2nd via Atlantic Records. Watch here (INSERT LINK) and pre-order the album here
The vibrant video for ‘Church Girl’ is steeped in a beautiful retro futuristic aesthetic that Laura is heralding for this new era. Devil-horn clad dancers sensually follow her every move – echoing the refrain ‘How can you dance with the devil on your back?’.
Speaking about ‘Church Girl’ Laura said “I am not my story. For so long I identified as the things that happen in my life, the things I do, good or bad. I’m letting go of this mind-made ‘me’. I’m coming home to myself beyond the realm of form. I am not the thoughts in my head, or the things I achieve, or the shape of my haircut. I no longer ‘dance with the devil’ on my back. I’m basking in the light of knowing my true self, the deeper ‘I’.”
‘Church Girl’ is taken from Laura’s forthcoming highly anticipated third album ‘Pink Noise’, which explores a side of Laura previously uncharted. With appearances already on Later With Jools Holland and The Graham Norton Show, alongside esteemed praise, the new album is showing that Laura is well and truly back and triumphant as ever.
‘Pink Noise’ is a battle cry and stark reminder of the sheer talent of the critically acclaimed artist – this is Laura in a new found light, still reflecting her distinctive signature sound whilst showing the progression of an artist who has come into her own.
9. Lord Huron releases ‘Long Lost’
Deepening the mystery of their current chapter, Lord Huron unveil a new song entitled “Long Lost” today. It stands out as the title track of their anxiously awaited fourth full-length album, LONG LOST, out May 21st via Whispering Pines Studios Inc./Republic Records.Pre-order Long Lost HERE.
The new tune hinges on cinematic strings, dusty tambourine, and soft acoustic guitar before transmitting a dreamy vocal. It nods to Spaghetti Western soundtracks and fifties pop in equal measure, as though Roy Orbison and Ennio Morricone finally got around to collaborating. Meanwhile, the accompanying music video further opens the window onto the expanding world of the album.
Lord Huron’s recently released album track “Mine Forever” was received with critical acclaim. The music video featured blurred faces of performers from Whispering Pines Studio and added more clues to the mystery behind Long Lost.
10. Moby releases
Moby has shared “The Lonely Night” featuring legendary artists Kris Kristofferson and Mark Lanegan. Stream/download it HERE, and watch Moby narrate a short “making-of” clip HERE. “The Lonely Night” is the second track to be revealed from Moby’s anticipated forthcoming new album, Reprise, out May 28th on Deutsche Grammophon.
“The Lonely Night,” originally appeared on Moby’s 2013 album Innocents. Although the song is more obscure than some of the other more well-known fare on Reprise, it remains one of Moby’s favorites. As Moby explains, it explores the human condition, and thematically for him, “the dark night of the soul,” with its “heartbreaking, honest and poetic” lyrics penned by Lanegan. The re-imagined track features Lanegan’s ethereal vocals, along with the new addition of Kristofferson’s haunting voice and a new orchestration written by Moby, all brought to life by the stirring backdrop of the Budapest Art Orchestra.
Reprise sees Moby revisiting musical highlights from his notable 30-year career. Together with the Budapest Art Orchestra, he has re-envisioned some of his most recognizable rave classics and anthems with new arrangements for orchestra and acoustic instruments. Along with Kristofferson and Lanegan, Reprise features an eclectic and impressive array of guests including Alice Skye, Amythyst Kiah, Apollo Jane, Darlingside, Deitrick Haddon, Gregory Porter, Jim James, Luna Li, Mindy Jones, Nataly Dawn, Novo Amor, Skylar Grey and Víkingur Ólafsson. The seeds for the project were sown when Moby was invited to take part in his first-ever classical collaboration – a live concert of his music at Walt Disney Concert Hall with his friend Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2018.
Upon the release of “Porcelain,” featuring Jim James (My Morning Jacket.), from Reprise, Consequence Of Sound raved, “this version introduces swooning strings, some more patient ambient sections, and genuinely gorgeous vocals from Jim James that give the song an entirely new feel while maintaining the sentimentality of its OG counterpart.” Stereogum called it “a lovely, sweeping rendition,” while Spin commented on its “ethereal vibe.”
