Raphaelle Standell-Preston certainly keeps busy. A couple months ago, she released an excellent new full-length with her band Braids, Shadow Offering, which was our Album Of The Week when it came out. At the beginning of the year, she put out two new songs as Blue Hawaii, her duo with Alex “Agor” Kerby, and those came not long after Blue Hawaii released their own album, Open Reduction Internal Fixation, last October.
Today, Blue Hawaii is announcing another new project, a mixtape called Under 1 House, which they wrote during last year’s Blue Hawaii tours and recorded at a rural cabin in Québec, but had to finish from their respective home bases in Montreal and Berlin because of the pandemic travel restrictions. The first song they’re sharing from it is “I Felt Love,” which is some good twitching, dancey fun.
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We caught up with Bklava, the Brighton based, Irish-Lebanese DJ and producer, to discuss her excellent new tune ‘Back to Then’, her Irish heritage, plus the amazing DJs and mixes that have influenced her along the way.
The Brighton based, Irish-Lebanese artist Bklava steps into the limelight to unveil an incredible, summer jam and video, ‘Back To Then’. The follow up to the recent 2-step weapon, ‘Thinkin’ of You’, ‘Back to Then’ sees Bklava spin sugar-sweet vocals over infectious pop melodies; a clear nod to her electronic influences and fresh approach to club music. A track that’s positive and upbeat, Bklava’s candid lyrics reflect on the highs and lows of mental health with hopefulness.
Speaking on the single, Bklava says:
“Back to Then tells the story of both my negative and positive experience with my mental health. I wrote it when I was at my lowest. In parts it’s me giving up – “I don’t know if the fight is worth the win”, juxtaposes the chorus where I remind myself that I “can’t go back to then” – reminding myself of what happiness feels like.”
Carving out a unique space for herself in the burgeoning new wave of UK artists; Bklava’s infectious productions and intricate live PA/DJ set incorporating her own powerful vocals fuse an addictive and unique blend of fizzy pop melodies, wobbling basslines and bouncy four to the floor beats. Her sound and style is proudly informed by her Lebanese-Irish heritage, yet remains strongly rooted in the lively UK garage scene. Raised in South London, she now lives in Brighton and runs Spin Suga collective – a network promoting women in the electronic music industry and close the gender gap.
Recently appointed as a new monthly Rinse FM resident with her killer show, Bklava has also received support from BBC Radio 1 and BBC Introducing tastemakers including Annie Mac, Toddla T and Mistajam. With her finger firmly on the electronic pulse, ‘Back To Then’ is just a hint of what’s come from this rising star. Having garnered attention with her Take Time / Slow Down EP and latest single ‘Thinkin’ of You’, and with plenty more tracks, self-described as ‘non-stop bops and flava’ to come, Bklava’s shimmering ascent to the upper echelons of UK dance music is well under-way.
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Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu are releasing a new album called Renegade Breakdown, via Ninja Tune this September.
The album sees Davidson teaming up with long-time collaborators Pierre Guerineau and Asaël R. Robitaille under the moniker Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu.
Across Renegade Breakdown’s 10-tracks, the trio move through electro, disco and French touch, with lyrics critiquing preconceptions of feminism and femininity.
Adorned with cover artwork that presents three divergent versions of Davidson, Renegade Breakdown was created as a reaction to Davidson’s experiences of being on tour, navigating clubs and festivals.
Renegade Breakdown follows on from her last album, Working Class Woman, also on Ninja Tune.
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If the lady’s feelin’ just like the moon she loves, then Miley Cyrus is lighting her path beneath the “Midnight Sky” with the brightest, fullest moon possible. The 27-year-old Disney darling-turned-pop provocateur has returned with yet another bold reinvention, looking to the raw arena rock vocals and the pristinely glossy production of the era for her new single. Channeling Stevie Nicks at her solo Eighties peak, “Midnight Sky” is “Stand Back” 2.0: a Prince-esque come hither full of biting, bewitching heartbreak confidence that Nicks invented.
“Midnight Sky” follows “Slide Away,” Cyrus’ grunge-y and urgent post-mortem on a rocky long-term relationship. Her latest arrives after some time left to simmer in her newfound freedom: “See my lips on her mouth/Everybody’s talkin’ now baby,” she sings, tongue firmly in cheek as she references her much-covered romantic life of the last year. The song itself notably steers clear of any empower-power corniness: she’s not trying to reassure herself that she doesn’t belong to anyone, she is simply stating a fact for all to hear.
The Stevie Nicks influence runs deepest in Cyrus’ vocal delivery. Having covered Poison and fronted Temple of the Dog, she has always toyed with the natural rock ‘n’ roll essence of her raspy, bellowing range. Free of her often over-zealous desire to hop around cultures, genres and trends, she lets that very voice finally take the lead and shape the persona. And with a voice like that, the crystal visions are limitless.
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Remember the days when rappers were creative with their names? The likes of Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah and Ice Cube were big brands that we bought into, and it was always fun trying to determine what their real names were by deciphering album liner notes. The influx of influential real name rappers arrived in the early 2000s (namely Talib Kweli and Kanye West) and rappers became more comfortable using their “government name”. If LL Cool J burst onto the scene in 2019 he’d probably go by JT Smith or Jim Smitty. A noteworthy evolution of this trend was Nitty Scott, MC (now just Nitty Scott) who didn’t just use her name but displayed her occupation. Bobby J From Rockaway goes a step further, putting his name AND location on “Summer Classics”, his debut album.
Bobby J From Rockaway is clearly confident in his abilities, naming his debut album “Summer Classics”. He’s got a right to be cocky, as there are features from Lil Fame (M.O.P.), Statik Selektah and Killah Priest. Securing names that fans will know is always a surefire way to turn heads and while those artists evoke more wintery moods, “Summer Classics” does deliver for the most part, on its namesake. The best tracks utilize mean boom-bap and Bobby J From Rockaway’s lighthearted approach helps steer the record away from generic “real hip hop” dross. There’s a personal touch to singles like “Hometown” that give an insight into who Bobby J is, and the beach locales add an element of unique identity to his videos that’s refreshing, given most rappers hail from urban environments.
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