Jesus Christ. With such crisp breaks and a vocal delivery like this, what the fuck else do you really need? A delightful piano riff, some warbly keys, and a low-passed reese don’t hurt, but the track might survive without them when those two core elements are so on-point. Maybe I’m being a little hyperbolic–the piano riff might be essential too. Regardless, this is ace stuff. I’ve covered Londoners Crate Classics at least once before (and some solo work by Aaron Horn, who’s one half of the duo), but had never heard of vocalist Bella Monae before this. Psyched to hear more from her. This is out now for streaming, or on bandcamp.
Crate Classics & Bella-Monae – “Do What I Can” (mp3)
Another cracking one by a production duo, this time New Yorkers Outerboros. I posted the original version of this a few months ago; this version is from Outerboros recent Bizarro EP, on which they remix four of their own songs. The original centers the vocal from Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, which is never a terrible idea–but I’m partial to this take. Instead of the uptempo afternoon sage burning of the full vocal version, this uses the vocal sparingly and reframes the track as something more suitable for nightcaps and cigarettes. Both versions are certainly worth your time. Grab the Bizarro EP on bandcamp, or find it for streaming.
Outerboros – “The Frequency” (Bizarro Version) (mp3)
Last up are a set of really odd ones from Sinaloa-based Mataliebre, an artist I can’t find any information about online. These both strike somewhere at the intersections of dub, cumbia rebajada, and 90s UK semi-ambient stuff (maybe also some wisps of musique concrète in there too). There’s something almost inhuman about both tracks, sort of like they were conjured out of the ether. But whatever they are, there’s a sort of pleasant nightmarish quality about it all, which isn’t something you come across often, so give it a try. No bandcamp for these, so either grab them below, or find them for streaming wherever you do that sort of thing.