It’s that glorious time of the week again where you get to watch our top 5 favourite finds on the World Wide Web! Lyves merges reality and fantasy, Talking Violet take in the sights and sounds of Kensington Market, Oscar Worldpeace masterfully depicts working-class life, Dreamweapon create mind-blowing cosmic visuals, and Gaika once again pushes boundaries.
Lyves – ‘Rest Your Head’
Revealing the second part of her “8 Rooms” project today, London-based Lyves makes a stunning return with the gorgeous, haunting “Rest Your Head”. Written by Lyves and produced by Lyves & Will Night the song is accompanied by a cinematic video by director Francesca Castelbuono. The track serves as yet another wonderful offering from Lyves. Having gained acclaim from the likes of Complex, Pigeons & Planes and racked up millions of streams online, Lyves stokes anticipation for “8 Rooms” with ” Rest Your Head”. Set to be released over the next 8 months, the project is a capsule for Lyves (Francesca Bergami) to share her emotions and experiences. “Rest Your Head” is a slow-burning, soulful left pop song complemented beautifully by the visuals of Francesca Castelbuono. Speaking on the video, the director states: “After listening to “Rest Your Head” I set out to capture the song’s sense of loss and melancholic longing for an absent something or loved one, mixed with the awareness that they might never return. In the film, reality, memory, and fantasy merge in portraying the grief of a mother coming to terms with the loss of her son, as she revisits their loving and conflictual relationship. This representation of loss can be interpreted as tangible or metaphorical. Regardless, I hope this intimate portrait of a mother and son’s relationship will move you.”
Talking Violet – ‘Sparjammer 67’
Canadian four-piece Talking Violet is excited to share their sparkling dreamy sound with a worldwide audience as they prepare to release the video for single Sparjammer 67, available to stream and download now. Taken from their debut EP Round Dreams, Sparjammer 67 sees Talking Violet produce a scintillating slice of dream-pop. Jangling, reverb-ridden guitars engulf your ears from the first note and are enhanced further by the warm embrace of Jill Goyeau’s swooning, hazy vocals. Taking on themes of unity and the delicate moments we share with one another, Sparjammer 67 came together while the band was wandering around Kensington Market one Toronto night. Inspired by their surroundings, the song is meant to serve as an illustration for something that glows in darkness as the city did that evening. Sparjammer 67 is taken from the Round Dreams EP and is available to stream and download now.
@TalkingViolet
Oscar Worldpeace – ‘Twix’ (Official Video) ft. Ace Tee
Hot on the heels of buzz around his ‘IC3’ EP, rising North London MC Oscar #Worldpeace presents new single ‘Twix’ via his own #Worldpeace imprint, due for release on July 6th. In contrast to the powerful and at times controversial political content on ‘IC3’, ‘Twix’ provides a more mellow, reflective atmosphere, both in Oscar’s cool delivery and producer -E-Whizz’s blunted beats. But despite its nostalgic reminiscences on young love, it’s also a masterful depiction of working-class life, with both the track and video conveying a modern take on kitchen sink realism. Oscar’s honesty and introspective rhymes, which convey vulnerability in one breath and shameless flexing in the next are a winning formula that has seen him build a rapidly growing fan-base and gain recognition for his unique craft.
Dreamweapon – ‘Qram’
Earlier this year we released SOL, the sophomore album from Dreamweapon that saw the Porto outfit make a departure from their song-based earlier material and enter the world of improvised krautrock/drone to simply mind-blowing effect. Having recently toured the album around Europe the band are now sharing a brand new video for ‘Qram’, a fifteen-minute jam taken off the LP. ‘Qram’ is undeniably one of the stand-out tracks from the album, capturing all of the record’s dimensions in one darkly atmospheric and cerebral listen. It opens with a wash of feedback, eerie bell chimes and creaking strings before a never-ending motorik bassline breaks through and leads the song from its ambient beginnings into a totally hypnotic piece of space-rock that sure-as-hell proves that Dreamweapon exists in a league of their own when it comes to the minimal-is-maximal mantra. Now with fittingly cosmic visuals, it makes for a seriously mesmerising audio-visual experience.
GAIKA – Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)
GAIKA has shared the cinematic new video for new track ‘Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)’, taken from his forthcoming debut album BASIC VOLUME, out digitally on July 27 via Warp Records. Watch now on YouTube. Produced by Aart GAIKA and SOPHIE, ‘Immigrant Sons (Pesos & Gas)’ is a rallying cry that pushes the Brixton artist’s sound into new melodic territories, whilst maintaining the progressive edge on which he’s made his name. Directed by ‘Crown & Key’ video director Paco Raterta, the ‘Immigrant Sons’ urgent and startling visuals reflect the fresh sonic palette of the track. GAIKA’s boundary-pushing debut album BASIC VOLUME takes its name from the company that belonged to his late father. GAIKA says “BASIC VOLUME takes its name of from my father’s maroon technology. It is the science he taught me before he left this world. It is the poetry we grew under and were made strong by its force. With this knowledge, I fought until my hands bled, propelled into combat by the god of metals. It’s all true, I nearly lost my heart to angry memories, waking dreams of burnt out laboratories and dead friends. I am this chemistry and it is I and so I wrote it here. BASIC VOLUME is a collection of alchemical parables for all the Immigrants who wander the earth in search of themselves”. BASIC VOLUME is available digitally on 27th July. GAIKA can now announce that the album will be released on vinyl and CD on the 28th September and available to pre-order now.
