News Tracks: Washed Out, Dornik, And More

Greetings and happy Friday to you all.

We’re a generous lot at DIY, and as usual we’ve all huddled together to decide which tracks deserve a place on our coveted weekly feature. After much deliberation, this is our line-up. Washed Out’s return is here, as well as super-hyped newcomer Dornik’s debut track. But we didn’t just stop there, oh no! Have a looky-see below, there’s plenty of brand spanking new music to feast your ears on.

Washed Out - It All Feels Right

The words “Washed Out” and “chillwave” have been synonymous for quite some time - Ernest Greene is probably sick of hearing them. A few electronic artists this year have been veering away from upbeat dance – take Baths with his decidedly more sombre second album ‘Obsidian’. Greene has also changed his tack, leaving behind the sultry atmosphere that occupied ‘Within And Without’. New single ‘It All Feels Right’ suggests that Greene has been listening to a lot of psychedelia, which makes sense watching the lyric video as flowers blossom and disappear in a kaleidoscopic fashion. His laid-back, echoed vocals float aimlessly throughout the song, accompanied by a relaxing guitar riff and sitar undertones. “Sun is coming out now, it all feels right” Greene muses, his words arriving just in time to listen to lying around in the summer sun. (Aurora Mitchell)

Dornik - Something About You

Smooth-as-hell newcomer Dornik has spent the past year being a clog in the Jessie Ware machine, shadowing as part of her backing band. ‘Something About You’ opens with a half-croaked, supremely confident cry, suggesting he’s spent a good chunk of time prepping this project. Disclosure have labelled it the ‘Future/Michael Jackson…’, while Soundcloud commenters include SBTRKT and Ta-Ku. If we’re pushing hyperbole, we’d label this the UK’s veritable answer to Frank Ocean. (Jamie Milton)

A Grave With No Name - Dig Me Out

A Grave With No Name is essentially London’s Alex Shields. In the past he’s largely worked on his own. For his forthcoming third album (‘Whirlpool’, out through Stare Records on 1st July) he’s enlisted himself some friends. Not just any old friends - the likes of Akiko Matsuura (Comanechi), Alanna McArdle (Ides and Joanna Gruesome), and Charlie Alex March (Veronica Falls). Alex explains that putting himself in the less usual position of collaborating with others on his music is a kind of creative experiment. It’s one that pays off. ‘Dig Me Out’ follows the previously unveiled ‘Aurora’ in previewing the album. Bass rumbles and guitars reverberate below Alanna’s soft, beautiful vocal line to really lovely effect, before kick ass guitar kicks in and steps things up a gear. Is it pop music? Is it rock music? Who cares, it’s good. If your appetite isn’t sufficiently whetted yet - well, what’s wrong with you? (Jake May)

Schoolboy Q (ft Kendrick Lamar) - Collard Greens

Schoolboy Q and fellow west coast rapper Kendrick Lamar were responsible for two of last years hottest and most critically acclaimed hip-hop LP’s, and the Black Hippy members have once again joined together for ‘Collard Greens’ the latest single for Schoolboy Q’s highly anticipated forthcoming major label debut ‘Oxymoron’. The single is a jumped up ode to smoking weed that Q describes as the ‘King Shit’. The drugged out, spooked beat and bleeps provided by Black Hippy producer THC provide the dark and spacey backing for these two wonderful expressive rappers to indulge in equally frenzied rhymes. Schoolboy Q provides the hook while Lamar’s astonishing verse is compelling in the way he flits from fevered aggression referencing his earlier ‘K-Dot’ persona to a smoothed out languid drawl with a couple of lines rapped in Spanish in between. The lyric may deal with eternal rap tropes of two rappers having better weed than anybody else does but the joy is in both artist’s delivery and the force of their character. This is a collaboration from two rappers at the very top of their game. (Martyn Young)

Mutya Keisha Siobhan - Flatline

Lets be honest, Mutya Keisha Siobhan isn’t a particularly inspired band name, is it? If Girls Aloud did the same, nobody would bother to listen to them, and the girls would be too busy squabbling over whose name should go first to care (I reckon Nadine, for the record). Here the original Sugababes line-up have added further to their roll call, though, with Fred from Spector on ‘woahhhh’ vocal duties, and Dev Hynes producing. Mutya Buena recently called ‘Flatlines’ “grown-up” and “soulful”, and while it’s no ‘Ugly’ the 1 minute preview is definitely aiming for motivational and epic power-pop ballad territory. It even has an acapella section. Plus, it’s a new Sugaba- ahem, Mutya Keisha Siobhan track, and that’s got to make it worth listening to, right? (El Hunt)

Bayou - Varsity Jacket

Like Jai Paul minus the dodgy leaked recordings, Londoner Bayou has a knack for crafting smooth-as-hell, ultra-inventive works. ‘Varsity Jacket’s likely the most crucial indication to date of his ability to take conventional genres - soul, R&B, what have you - and send them through eerie pop vortexes to the point where they’ll look like skewed reflection of their former selves. He’s a clever sod, basically. (Jamie Milton)

Todd Terje - Strandbar (disko)

Norwegian Todd Terje used the ARP 2600 synthesiser on the entirety of his previous EP, ‘It’s The Arps’. That analogue synth sound is still present on his new track, ‘Strandbar (disko)’ but it takes more of a back seat as Chicago house piano and a rapid bassline provide the backbone of the song. You can imagine this being played in the midst of a late-night party on a sticky summer’s eve as the night starts to get into full swing – the piano line compelling everyone to dance. One of the most exciting things about Terje’s music is its danceability, expertly shown in the video for ‘Inspector Norse’ which shows a guy dancing around town to his music. ‘Strandbar (disko)’ has the same effect. Whilst there are four versions of ‘Strandbar’ - including a samba take on it – this is the version that shows where Terje’s strengths lie. (Aurora Mitchell)