Features Tracks: London Grammar, Oceaan, Anna Meredith And More

Hello everybody!

As usual, our lovely writers have had a natter about all the music they’ve heard this week, and this selection right here is the best. The chefs taster menu, if you like. Maybe it’s something in the air - the beginning of this week felt like living inside a misty old kettle. Anyway, DIYs scribes have come up trumps with a whole bunch of steamy electronically minded music. With Jackson Fourgeaud jumping on the comeback bandwagon, and London Grammar and Anna Meredith quickly rising to new heights, this weeks Tracks is all atmospheric and brilliant.

London Grammar - Strong

With each cutting piece of melodrama, London Grammar dive further and further into the doldrums. But it’s the kind of forlorn misery you find yourself strangely attached to, with each of Hannah Reid’s grimly-detailed bellows - ‘I’ve never been so aloooone’ - sounding all-encompassing, representing every self-sympathetic old sod. The production’s still most definitely for the smooth-soul, Radio 2 crowd, and that’s probably where it’ll end up. But that’s no bad thing when all aspects are executed with such skill. (Jamie Milton)

Jackson and His Computerband - Vista

Jackson Fourgeaud is an electronic whizzkid who was kicking around long back when I still thought Greenday were the most awesome thing (2005, FYI) and since then he hasn’t really been up to much. Still, returning after 8 years seems to be the fashion – the Pixies did it last week – and ‘Vista’ is a vibrant, bouncing piece of crafted electronica, swelling with ethereal vocals and latin-inspired chimes. Percussion and synth have a Westside-story-off, yet it all concludes in perfect calmness. Think Beach House meets Classixx, and then throw a whole bunch of inspired madness into the mix too. (El Hunt)

Bondax – Giving It All

Lancashire duo Bondax excel in chilled, sultry dance. Once calling their music romance dub, it’s an accurate description. They’ve been working their way up since their debut song ‘Just Smile For Me’ in 2011 and still being relatively young, as they’ve grown up, their music has too. New track ‘Giving It All’ is unmistakeably meant for lengthy days in the summer sun, the tropical vibes accompanied by the faint sounds of waves crashing and birds chirping making you wish you were laid on the beach listening to it. The slick production is accompanied by mysterious female vocals that glide perfectly over the summery 90s house beat. “I keep giving it all just to love someone” she laments about a previous lover. With every song, Bondax continue to evolve and expand and it’s no doubt that they’ll be getting bigger and bigger if they continue to bring out tunes like ‘Giving It All’. (Aurora Mitchell)

From The Kites of San Quentin - Fable Dark

Approximately a million times smarter than most electronic music thrown up casually on the internet, From The Kites of San Quentin have long been one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets. Now, with new EP ‘7.83Hz: Earth Chorus’ set to drop on Monday they’ve released ‘Fable Dark’, a stunning live performance of one of the tracks in the cavernous warehouse they call home. The location and awesome light show counterpoint perfectly their sparse, dark take on future electronic; Portishead without the cruft or Massive Attack’s classic ‘Mezzanine’ with sharper, more melodic vocals. Huge basslines created by guitarist Luke, a guitar, and army of pedals flesh out beats man Phil’s erratic sketches and ground Alison’s soaring vocals. The effect is something rather more organic in feel than most electronic bands, and the extent to which parts are performed ‘live’ makes for a searing performance. Miss it at your peril. (Alex Lynham)

Oceaán - Need U

Manchester producer Oceaán offers a-plenty with ‘Need U’. The rinsed production, the R&B nods. But there are moments here which set him aside from novel fads, clever techniques. ‘Need U”s vocals are

stunning, like Justin Vernon immersing himself in velvet-coated luxury. The longing, party-comedown glow of this track might tie it to the post-Weeknd rhythm and oh-so-many-blues trend, but there’s a whole lot more here to suggest Oceaán’s tapped into something that’ll kickstart a movement of its own. (Jamie Milton)

src=’https://w.soundcloud.com/playe…‘>

Anna Meredith - Orlok

In the past Anna Meredith has scored music for MRI scanners and coordinated symphony orchestras across the world using satellites. It’s fair to say, then, that this London-based composer is not shy about experimentation. ‘Orlok’, the lead track from her forthcoming ‘Jet Black Raider EP’ turns classical sequences upside down, replacing flutes with nintendos, violins with grating sawtooth, and swelling brass with the human voice. Foals chose Meredith’s debut single as their walk on music, and no surprise, she conjures up images of holy fire, remote forests and moons. Meredith sounds a little like Philip Glass, a lot like Oneohtrix Point Never. Most importantly, though, she sounds like Anna Meredith, and the EP, due August 19th, promises to be truly spectacular. (El Hunt)