After several months, DC-based television producer Fritz, the man behind the bedroom pop project Long Walks On The Beach, has resurfaced from his day job with yet another jangle pop gem. A while ago he looked set to drop an EP, but the release was put on hold as he worked to maintain the steadfast authenticity and simplicity of the project. Fritz writes, “I care about what I put out, and these songs are home-made, like laptop recorded/headphone mixed/unmastered homemade, and I just wasn’t happy with how the other cuts for the EP were sounding. I straight up shelved them, just put them away for another time when I knew a little bit more about wave propagation or sidechain compression or whatever was gonna allow me to achieve the sounds in my head… I decided to just keep moving, make demos like normal, take my time with recording, and put things out when they’re really ready, which because of my television work has been a long long time.” ‘We’re Growing Up’ is Fritz’s latest installment under the Long Walks moniker. This tune, like the others before it, arrives alone. It is here to be enjoyed in the moment. It’s about growing up. It’s about watching the years pass, individually and collectively. As always, I’m excited to see where Fritz takes this little pop project next.
Long Walks On The Beach - We’re Growing Up
Read Fritz’s full write-up here. Download all of his tunes at ze LWOTB bandcamp.
Last week I was in Regla, Cuba, an industrial suburb situated on a small peninsula to the east of Havana. Two members of the cuban hip-hop group Obsesión, Alexey and Magia, whom I’d met the week before at their show in downtown Havana, welcomed me into their home, a small but confortable apartment lined with posters of Bob Marley, Tupac and Marvin Gaye and Afrocuban artwork. They were two of the most sincere and genuinely wonderful people I met during my time in Havana. From their rooftop we watched a grey haze billow out of the nearby oil refineries and drift over the soft pastels of Habana Vieja across the bay. After the sun slipped behind el capitolio in the distance, and after a hour of back in forth that never strayed far from the topics of the connection between Cuban hip-hop and social activism, the government-orchestrated Cuban Rap Agency, we moved into the duo’s modest studio. Surrounded by little more than a duct-taped microphone, an computer running outdated recording software, a synth purchased while touring abroad and a graffitied cuban flag, Alexey and Magia never wiped the smiles from their faces. Their smiles were infectious. As dusk’s faint patina of day quickly drifted into night, their voices illuminated the room.
~jordi
Mexico City’s Oscar Rodríguez has delivered a new tune under his tropical pop moniker Matilda Manzana. A dreamy wander, ‘Pez Espada’ (swordfish) is the first single off Oscar’s upcoming album Conjuntos Cartográficos. The release, pegged to drop sometime before the end of year, will hold ten tracks, each paired with a different map (hence the albums title). Matilda Manzana is not a name, it is a place— imaginary, distant, familiar.
On trade winds— I’m headed for those southern shores. The sun shines. The moon climbs. Havana, Cuba. Escucharemos will return in three weeks. There’s so much on the horizon. Just a dream away. A veces sueño. Adiós, Jordan
Stockholm’s Einar Andersson & Hampus Klint have emerged together as Ditt Inre under the veil of their sultry six-track EP, En Värld I Brand. The release will see the light of day May 29 on the ever-indulging bearer of good news, Cascine. The duo crafts a dreamy dance pop which at first gleams with sun-soaked ambivalence, but, at its depths, thoroughly realizes a steeping sensitivity.
The boats rocks as wind simmers the sails. The stars bob endlessly above. A haze rises like cool mist after a nighttime rain— the dark pavement warm still; the soft brume brims with the transient reverie of day.
-Jorden
If Bebel Gilberto were from Finland…
I’ve recently come across a brilliant trio from Helsinki by the name of Regina. Their latest effort Soita Mulle (Call Me) emerged in September. Their song ‘Ui Mun Luo’ (google translated to My Swims Create) possesses a sort of laid-back bossa nova-inspired sensuality. Before I knew anything about Regina, I heard this song I expected to understand a few Portuguese words— they never came. Iisa Pykäri sings in a language of which I cannot utter a single word; however, the pure joy and enthusiasm that Regina brings to their songs is unmistakable. Their emotions are simple and in no way dialectal. Take Ui Mun Luo and Haluan Sinut for a spin below.
Maryland-based producer munno just dropped his debut EP early idle. The five-track release brims with pitch-shifted samples and intricately sliced beats. I’ve already spent the whole morning blissing out to this album. Pick it up for free over at munno’s bandcamp.
‘No soy una artista, puedo ser un cuadro’
From Maracaibo, Venezuela, Linda Sjöquist delivers revealingly beautiful songs under the name …Al Cruzar la Calle. Her debut album is out and it’s stunningly tangible. Her emotions arrive relentlessly, her songs fragile. A certain delicacy permeates each songs— a delicacy in tone and theme, but Linda is full of conviction. In ‘Girasol Rojo’ she warns of the risks of love. “No te enamores, sé inteligente. Sigue tu mente.” The song, or perhaps the album as a whole, is a thoughtful introspection. Linda’s advice echoes as words she mutters to herself. “No te enamores” (Don’t fall in love) is soon followed by “No me abandones” (Don’t abandon me). Linda sings about idyllic exceptions: ”Mírame por dentro…Soy basura. Escritura.”
…Al Cruzar la Calle - Girasol Rojo
jj returns.
It has been too long.
Longing for life.
Doers never die.
Where the sunshine hits our eyes.
It’s a beautiful night.
To live our
Beautiful Life.
Out May 8th on Sincerely Yours, jj nº 4 will finally come in from a distant shore.
Philadelphia’s favorite smooth-fiers Work Drugs are back with yet another summer cruisin’ tune. ‘Lisbon Teeth,’ a single off their forthcoming album, is about “one crazy summer in Europe… Drunken nights in Paris back alleys, afternoons on the beautiful beaches of Portugal, early evening ciders on the banks of the Thames. The girls names we couldn’t pronounce… and the faces we couldn’t forget.” Summer escapades feel that much closer. Take it for a spin below.
Brighton, England’s Bearcubs crafts pulsating dreamscapes laced with trickling sunshine and rekindles memories of a full moon’s reflection in a placid sea. The Cadence Collective’s debut release features a pair of songs from each of the collective’s five artists: Bearcubs, Cube Face, Kruisemode, m∞n and Theo Bass. Download it here. Bearcubs’ contributions to the album, ‘Home’ and ‘Cascade,’ remind me of a mélange of Southern Shores and Star Slinger. ‘Home’ satisfies yet leaves me begging for more from this british college student. Last month he began recording his debut EP which will be out sometime in the next month.
homeward bound