Like the Microsoft paperclip, we're always here to help. This week we're delivering five new artists that cover nearly every genre you could imagine setting your eager ears on. We've got hip-hop, electronica, rock, dance, jazz and seemingly everything in between. We must warn that Jungle Pussy or the Naked Eye are not suitable to search in google images at work.
Ara Koufax
You may recognise the names Sam Gill and Luke Neher as those two guys who previously recorded under Naysayer and Gilsun. Ara Koufax is a new project for the duo, which explores new territory. The project is “two producers driving to a beach house in the middle of winter to distill a bleak climate into something warmer”, according to the press release and it does show. Their first track, Converge, is a distorted and frosty tune, made comfortable by the nestling vocal. It’s the only taster we have from them right now but given their previous output as Naysayer and Gilsun and this track, it’s a safe bet to say the future looks bright for Gill and Neher.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/ara-koufax/converge[/soundcloud]
Facebook . Twitter . Soundcloud
Junglepussy
It was the name that attracted me but the music that made me stay. As you can probably tell Brooklyn rapper Junglepussy, ain’t one to mess around with. Her new mixtape Satisfaction Guaranteed is a hefty collection that finds a perfect mix between throbbing bass and seductive tempos. It was produced mostly by Shy Guy who’s produced NYC rapper Le1f. She opens the tape with “What’s up good lookin’/You hot n’ I’m cookin’” and from there it’s a succession of quick-fire lyrics full of sass.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/vice/sets/junglepussys-satisfaction-guaranteed[/soundcloud]
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Elaphant
Not to be confused with Elephant or Elliphant, New York five-piece, Elaphant, may just be the one’s to convince the world that guitars still exist in recorded music. They centre around scungy riffs and formulate melody over willful grooves. Their debut self-titled EP is polished enough to appeal to more than just a hipster like The Black Keys but also individual enough to ensure they don’t take the Kings Of Leon highway to mediocrity.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/elaphant/sacking-cards[/soundcloud]
Facebook . Bandcamp . Soundcloud
The Naked Eye
French/English duo The Naked Eye are probably the biggest treat we received in our inbox this week. Self-described as “Jazz/Soul/broken beat influenced new comers”, the pair have released two exquisite tracks to date, that sound exactly as they have alluded to. As a debut, Embrace, carves an ambitious musical path, beginning with a minute-long instrumental before expanding into a hazy, nouveau-jazz sound. Second single, Sweet Boy, is more minimal but also more immediately melodic. It feels as if Nina Simone was remixed by Flying Lotus and we’re utterly enamoured by it.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/thenakedeyemusic/embraceme[/soundcloud]
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Joy.
When I was 17 I was spending copious amounts of hours choosing my MySpace song. It seems 17 year-old singer/songwriter and producer Olivia McCarthy (aka. JOY.) has been putting her time to much better use. At this point, she’s only got one song to her name but it’s a corker. Captured is a sleek track pumped along by a persistent throb below her breathy voice. It’s a downtempo affair, that adds some soul to a genre of electronic music that is becoming increasingly monotonous. For a debut, it’s beautifully polished and deservant of the hype that it will no doubt receive.
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/joy-aus/captured[/soundcloud]
