Page 175 - BITE WINTER

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Rachel Jones gives an update on new single releases coming your way.
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ELEASES
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his four-piece band from Toronto has created a track with a
very retro feel and a keyboard melody that sounds like club
tunes from the mid nineties. Paul Epworth has produced the
remixes, as well as Riva Starr, Julio Bashmore, and Tiga, for the single
release of this track on the 15th January 2012. Only a week later is
the release of their self-titled album, which has already been hailed
by NME as “The best house music album of the year”. At nearly
six minutes long, “Reckless (With Your Love)” is saved from being
repetitive by smooth, soulful, crystal-clear vocals that really bring
the track to life. The group graced the stages of Sonar, Lovebox,
and Glastonbury this summer, and toured the UK in October, so it
might be worth checking them out when they are back in town, if
you’re a fan of electronica and simple, tightly-crafted house music,
especially as such fans seen at recent gigs have includedTinieTempah,
The XX, and even Johnny Depp.With such followers as those,Azari
& III could well become the club and rave darlings of the new year
to come.
Azari & III – “Reckless (With Your Love)”
Lana Del Rey – Video Games/Blue Jeans
G
rowing up in Lake Placid and now living in NewYork City, newcomer Lana
Del Rey releases her debut single, a double-A side that sounds like it could
never have been made by anyone other than an American. Having given the
moniker “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” to herself, and the label “Hollywood Sadcore” to
her music, it only leaves a listen to these songs to prove such a suggestion correct.
“Video Games” is a bittersweet, sweepingly romantic ballad that conjures the im-
ages ofWesterns, wide open spaces of American desert, and a lone couple speeding
down a dusty road in a 50s Cadillac. Meanwhile,“Blue Jeans” is made of no-nonsense
guitar twangs and crawling drumbeats that evoke the nal confrontation between
two rough-shaven cowboys, a contrast to the lyrics of yearning love that runs the
risk of being unrequited and abused.
Many will fall for these two songs, just as many others already have, judging by
the number of viewings her self-made music videos have been receiving onYouTube.
It’s hard to tell right now if her music will truly be to everyone’s taste, but one thing
is for certain - the attention she’s been getting right now, will only have the option
of increasing as we move into 2012.
B
ritish DJ and singer-songwriter Yasmin brings to our early but
imminently vicious winter, a smooth and sunny dub-reggae
number for the rst week of November, featuring UK garage
star Ms. Dynamite. Produced by drum ‘n’ bass and jungle master Shy
FX, the track certainly has a summery festival feel, no doubt inu-
enced byYasmin’s appearances at this year’s Underage,Wireless,The
Wickerman, andWe the People festivals.And yet, at the same time,
when played against today’s falling temperatures, the sunshine feel
transforms into a different kind of warmth – the kind you get when
drinking a tasty cup of soup, and the air you breathe out dances in
the air before you.
Yasmin’s echoing vocals are laid back, relaxed, pretty, and happy,
with the melodies repetitive and memorable and the upbeat mood
irresistibly infectious. Released on the 6th November through Levels
Entertainment and Ministry Of Sound Records,Yasmin’s days as DJ
to N*E*R*D and Taio Cruz will surely soon be taking second place
to her days as a working musician in her own right.
Yasmin – Light Up (The World) Featuring Ms Dynamite
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