WIBLT: OUTSOURCED EDITION!
WIBLT: OUTSOURCED EDITION!
What I've Been Listening To, 11/17/21
‘What I’ve Been Listening To’ is a bi-weekly series that highlights 8 projects, 1 song, and 1 video that have been on repeat for me. Be sure to follow the ‘What I’ve Been Listening To’ playlist that is always up to date with the eight standout tracks from all of these posts in 2021.
Today I have a very special edition of ‘What I’ve Been Listening To,’ the first one that I’m not writing!
As the year draws to an end, trying to balance work with writing has finally caught up with me. So I turned to people who are just as knowledgeable about music and writing on it as I am (if not more). This post is a composite of write-ups I outsourced from some good friends. Anyone who reads this should know I get put on to so much music through friends that it would only be right to offer them a chance to share their favorites for themselves. Each section of this post starts with an introduction to who it was written by (listed in the order they sent them to me).
Matt Singer used to work shows with me at Songbyrd in DC, and currently works with the DC Jazz Festival, along with throwing his own shows via Deep Fried. Always down to talk music, Singer was putting me on to the rappers in Van Buren Records long before I heard anyone else talking about them.
Burning Platform - Wieuca
11 tracks, 43 minutes
Released: October 1st, 2021
From: Athens, GA
Genres: Psychedelic, Indie Rock, Alternative, Acid Rock
Recommended For Fans Of: TV On The Radio, Mac Demarco, Jimmy Eat World, Horse Jumper Of Love, Cracker
Athens, Georgia. Quintessential college town, home to your #1 Georgia Bulldogs (suck it haters) and ground zero for some of the most influential music of our time. REM, the B52s, Widespread mutherfuckin’ Panic and more got their start in The Classic City, and now there’s a new band blowing up out of Athens: the psychedelic phenomena that is Wieuca. Consisting of vocalist and guitarist Will Ingram, drummer Robert Smith, guitarist Jack O’Reilly and bassist Jack Webster, Wieuca (pronounced WHY-YUH-KUH) has been making catchy, crunchy and oftentimes out-there music since forming at The University of Georgia almost a decade ago. The band is fresh off the release of their highly-anticipated third album, October’s Burning Platform, a project that showcases their immense creativity and undeniable chemistry while paying homage to the town where it all began. “At least half of the album was written in Athens, and almost all of it was recorded there [at Chase Park Transduction], so it definitely has a particular quality stamped on it that seems inextricable from Athens,” said Smith in an interview with Flagpole Magazine, “leisure, hanging on the weird-smelling front porch of a falling-apart 1920s home, walking along the train tracks, biking around drunk late at night, hanging out at a random apartment complex pool, going to the gas station, the smell of vomit mixed with bleach, sleeping until 4 p.m. Things like that.” Burning Platform is the perfect introduction to both the wild world of Wieuca and the magic that is Athens, Georgia, give it a listen to get familiar with the far out new sounds of the South.
- Matt Singer
Standout Track: Llycra
Chanell "Tico" Noise is another Songbyrd alumni, who currently works as a Label Manager and A&R for the Virginia based label Citrus City Records. Chanell is frequently putting me on to new artists, and her recs have made it into the newsletter multiple times prior to this.
Waiting For Oblivion - Nylon Smile
10 tracks, 31 minutes
Released: November 5th, 2021
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genres: Experimental, Indie Pop, Rock
Recommended For Fans Of: Justus Proffit, Jay Som, Gaadge
Nikolas Soelter reintroduces Nylon Smile by way of Waiting For Oblivion. The album, released via Citrus City, encapsulates an era in Soelter's life marked by love and loss, lessons learned and youthful angst. Both "Teenage Phase" and "We Don't Need a Reason" highlight Nylon Smile's somber and melodic production. "Only You Know" and "Rumor" act as platforms for his genuine lyricism and candor. A lot of artists try to give the real and Nylon Smile achieves a secure authenticity usually seen in a trusted friend, older sibling or mentor. “I spent a long time focused on my own music, and when I got back to LA, I dove into supporting other people,” said Soelter. He is from The Bay area by way of Los Angeles, where he grew up. His return to L.A. is marked by his return to collaborative work- even Waiting For Oblivion has a couple of hands on it. Nylon Smile enlists Melina Duterte of Jay Som as well as other friends and creative peers; “Making an album by yourself can be isolating, you start to lose sight of whether it’s any good or just shit... hearing everyone’s additions come to life kept the magic alive," he said. The keys are emotional, the guitars are rich, the synth chords are warm and the percussion acts a glue to the dark glitter. Yes, this album is a bit shadowy in nature, yet still fluid and shiny. It is hard to ignore the brightness or robustness in this album, especially since it juxtaposes muted melancholy.
-Chanell Noise
Standout Track: Teenage Phase
On top of being the music marketing virtuoso, Daniel White is also manger to Wifigawd, and has contributed write-ups to other outlets like Bandcamp. Try to find an artist in the DMV scene he isn’t familiar with, I bet you can’t.
Absolutely - Dijon
12 tracks, 32 minutes
Released: November 5th, 2021
From: Los Angeles, California by way of Baltimore, Maryland
Genres: Alt-R&B, Pop
Recommended For Fans Of: Omar Apollo, Mk.gee, Spotify’s Pollen playlist
Absolutely is, if nothing else, a lot of fun. From the opener “Big Mike’s” to the closer “Credits!,” Dijon mixes rock, R&B, pop, country, into a frenetic mash of pure joy. The album can be a bit all over the place at times, but you can tell everyone involved had a good fucking time putting this project together. After a few years of meandering since Abhi//Dijon split up, releasing a couple EPs and a slew of singles in between, Dijon feels at home on his debut album.
“Many Times,” the lead single, is the epitome of that joy. I have to confess that I spent so much of the last month jamming to this track (and the amazing video) that my girlfriend politely asked me to choose something else to listen to. Fortunately, there’s a lot on Absolutely to enjoy. “The Dress” is a laid back night time scroll through an ex’s Instagram of a song that evokes Babyface’s “Whip Appeal” as much as it does a reference track for Majid Jordan that was just way too good to send to the Canadian duo.
The real standout here is “Talk Down.” Dijon manages to make a bedroom pop record out of a downtempo breakbeat, in what could be a slight nod to Baltimore Club. The live video for the song is an absolute mindfuck, as Dijon jams around a table with his band (Mk.gee plays guitar on the track and contributed all over the album) before the camera slowly reveals the whole thing is actually an elaborate ruse. The band has been sitting in a faux-dining room in a Hollywood soundstage the whole time. Could this be a metaphor for the whole album? Sure, Absolutely seems very “bedroom,” but don’t be fooled, Dijon and co produced the hell out of this album.
-Daniel White
Standout Track: Talk Down
Zoë Hannah is a well versed and well traveled freelance writer who recently returned to the states from New Zealand! Her writing has been published in outlets like Wired, Insider, and Stuff.
Any Shape You Take by Indigo De Souza
10 tracks, 39 minutes
Released: August 27th, 2021
From: North Carolina, USA
Genres: Indie rock, synth pop
Recommended For Fans Of: Samia, Phoebe Bridgers
*TW suicide
It’s been three years since Indigo De Souza’s high-school-dread-meets-college-recklessness album I Love My Mom, and the North Carolina singer/songwriter has lived a lot of life since then. Listening to Any Shape You Take feels less like a ballad of troubled teenagedom and more like a confident step into the realm of adulthood, relationships, memory, mental health. “Hold U” is the obvious standout, with a funky bass line that’s been stuck in my head since the album was released, but it’s tracks like “Kill Me,” “Pretty Pictures,” and “Darker Than Death” that showcase De Souza’s elevated songwriting and lyricism. Her lyrics have always incited energetic introspection, but Any Shape nods at the indie pop we’ve become accustomed to since her last release in 2018—the kind that allows the likes of Soccer Mommy and Phoebe Bridgers to sing about wanting to die while also inspiring a definitive will to live. The thread of murder/suicide/death stretches far into De Souza’s discography, and morbid depressives like me are happy to see that just because she seems to have fallen in love, she hasn’t shied away from the macabre. To me, a suicide survivor, “Kill Me” seems like a loving acceptance of the presence of suicidal ideation, as does “Way Out”—but in her signature form, De Souza’s poppy riffs and unimpeded love for her friends, lovers, and family bring the admittedly sad songs into a hopeful space. After all, if the song makes you dance, is it really a depression song?
-Zoë Hannah
Standout Track: Hold U
Angelie Benn was really my first foray into the blog world way back when I was more focused on video/photography, I did some shoots/concert photography with Angelie for her blog Capitol Sound. Since then, she’s worked on throwing her own DIY shows and is currently Booking Manager at The Pocket in DC.
End Of The Earth - Mavi
5 tracks, 14 minutes
Released: February 22nd, 2021
From: Charlotte, NC
Genres: Hip-Hop, Rap, Underground
Recommended For Fans Of: Earl Sweatshirt, Liv.e, Mike
Few months have passed since Charlotte emcee Mavi released his latest EP, and it feels safe to call this five-song collection one of the best drops of the year. The project chronicles Mavi’s reflection on how he got to this turning point in his life — the end of this reality. Its morose title coupled with a grayscale, Shel Silverstein-inspired cover could make End of the Earth EP appear as the shadow side to its critically acclaimed predecessor, Let The Sun Talk, but the lyrical and musical content on this project document Mavi’s mental, philosophical, and spiritual progression.
The EP opens with “Time Travel,” revealing the rapper’s signature, sample-heavy production that will persist throughout the 14 minute project. Mavi recalls exactly where this looped 80’s gospel track brings him back to, “This that cuddle with your kush nightly/This that I'm scared of my brother 'cause he just like me/This that cookout, all we bump Isleys.” Retracing his steps on “Thousand Miles,” Mavi details moments and memories he’s shared with loved ones in Los Angeles, New York, DC, and beyond. “Four deep, big ass explorer, rollin' dope up/New York-bound, stop in DC for funnel cause I'm nostalgic.”
On “Methods” and “Life We Live,” the rapper counters his reminiscing with boastful one-liners and references that seem just out of touch for the 22-year-old. He proves how long he has been ahead of the curve and maintains his title as mayor. The last four minutes of the project belongs to “Town Crier,” a wordy track with no chorus on which Mavi considers intimacy, self-doubt, and family. In the end, he finds comfort in his resolution: there is not really much he could do about the happenings around him but not think about it.
-Angelie Benn
Standout Track: Time Travel
I met Ankita Bhanot in college while she was working with Sony Music U. She’s gone on to work with Ted and Ted Fellows while continuing to have great music taste and contribute interviews/features to various music outlets.
XYZ - Halima
6 tracks, 16 minutes
Released: April 8th, 2021
From: Brooklyn, NY
Genres: R&B, Indie-Pop, Soul
Recommended For Fans Of: Arlo Parks, KIRBY
My best guess is that the title of Halima’s XYZ is referring to those moments in life that seem overwhelmingly intense at the moment, but eventually fade into a tiny piece of a longer list of things that feel insignificant about your past. It’s like you’d muse to your 30-something friends when you grow up a bit; “When I was in my 20s, I ran around New York, had a few boyfriends, and... X,Y,Z.” The ‘XYZ’ refers to a collection of hazy past memories that start to blend together, losing the intensity and importance they once held. In her debut EP, Halima is referring to a heartbreaking past relationship—one that devastated her in the moment—but she now looks back on with victory. “I’mma choose myself in love/ Baby I’m the best thing you ever lost.” The relationship is no longer a source of emptiness. Halima dances between her punk-pop background and dreamy soul production as each track progresses. The individual instruments never quite line up on the same beat; creating the kind of authentic sound that reminds you of a group of college friends making music in a dorm studio, focusing more on the feeling rather than the precision of sound. It’s kind of like a relationship out of sync; almost there, but not quite. Both XYZ and a failing relationship may look beautiful on the outside, but when you look closely, it’s apparent that there’s a delicate balance of opposing forces, holding it up. “We living in a fake situation/ And I don’t wanna leave but I’m breaking.” Those tiny imperfections can either be looked at as beautiful accidents, or grave mistakes. For the EP XYZ, it works. Unfortunately for the relationship that Halima is singing about in this album, it didn’t. The driftless amalgamation of soft acoustic instruments with her bold vocals shows Halima’s control of the music, which she sang and produced entirely herself. London and Lagos-bred, and currently New York-based, Halima just seriously began making music a few short years ago. I hope she continues to do so, because it seems like she has a lot more stories to tell.
-Ankita Bhanot
Standout Track: Wake Up!
Camden Ostrander should need no introduction. Seriously, we have a whole interview if you need to be reintroduced. Since that, he’s continued to work with Dissect on their currently airing season about Mac Miller’s Swimming.
some beats kUsh has been posting online - kUsh
Honestly I don’t know how many tracks, infinite minutes
Released: almost every day
From: the internet
Genres: YouTube Algorithm Heaven Beats
Recommended For Fans Of: Madlib, Alchemist, Knxwledge, lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to
kUsh puts out these beats online and pairs them with an animation and I can’t stop watching them on repeat. “Raia” sounds like getting hyped up, but like, by some small creatures submerged underwater, like a water bear, which is actually called a tardigrade, and they look like this and are basically the most indestructible creature on the planet and can live in lava I think, actually I just read the article I linked a few words ago and apparently there was an experiment where a sample group of tardigrades were exposed to the conditions of space and actually a lot of them survived and were successfully brought back to Earth and even had offspring afterwards, but so the hype they offer is more of a gently motivating echo that sticks in your head and probably makes you indestructible too. Then there’s the beat I call “Music By Design” but which kUsh has used multiple captions to describe, but the name doesn’t even matter, it sounds like some futuristic scholastic Adult Swim bumper, like what the delinquent geniuses in 2502 are going to be listening to from their mobile geodesic domes as they go to and from different planetary field trips. Then “Union Blues” uses a phenakistiscope for the animation and kUsh does that sometimes and it’s always tight, not only because the loop implies playing the beat forever, but like imagine if someone in the 1920’s heard one of these beats I bet technology would’ve advanced a lot quicker. We’d probably have actually safe self-driving cars already, at the very least, if Great Gatsby had just heard a kUsh beat. Damn.
To get those phenakistiscopian loops going for yourself, take the youtube link, and in between “youtube” and “.com” you put the word “repeater” so it looks like youtuberepeater.com/whatevertheyputhere - Then you get to listen to a perfect beat forever.
kUsh wants us to know that his upcoming album Collector’s Item is slated to release in January. Death by Algorithm asked me to write about a project that’s out that I’ve been listening to and I just don’t listen to instructions very well and I could try and say that listening to these things scattered across the internet redefines what a “project” even is so yeah enjoy thinking about that until January.
-Camden Ostrander
Standout Track: Ash Ra
Tayo Omisore is an artist out of Marlyand/DC who also finds time to contribute content to mixedmag and his Youtube Channel COLORMIND. Check out Tayo’s own music if you’ve ever been curious about what my mixing skills are like (or you just need some great new tracks for your playlists).
Tradition - Monsune
5 tracks, 19 minutes
Released: September 20th, 2019
From: Toronto, Canada
Genres: Neo-Soul, Alternative, Synthpop
Recommended For Fans Of: Childish Gambino, Steve Lacy, DEAN
My only issue with music these days is that there’s too much of the shit. As I begin my regularly scheduled quarter-life crisis, the thought that circles the drain of my anxiety is the fact that there isn’t enough time. Time to get lost in a new artist, a new sound, a new perspective I’ve yet to hear set to tempo. But in time, I learned this too was a habit I had to unlearn. Novelty is a function of experience, not of time. As the saying goes, if I haven’t heard it, it’s still a new track no matter the release date. Monsune, the stage name of Scott Zhang, a Canadian indie pop and synthpop musician from Toronto, Ontario is a quiet kid. And yet I still found his 2019 EP, Tradition, speaking for him 2 years later. Equal parts neo-soul production and 80’s synth pop songwriting with a splash of adept sampling for good measure, it’s easy to describe the 5 song project as a flash in the pan; but given Zhang’s recent production on Drake’s “Race My Mind,” this is clearly only a sampling of what he has to offer. I have a hard time pinning down a neat category to put Monsune’s music into but I can tell you what it feels like. Like cityscapes shot in super 8 film. A tepid text written to a 10th grade crush. Like five dollars in your jeans, the way it always seems to stay in the pocket.
-Tayo Omisore
Standout Track: OUTTA MY MIND
A Song
Jake Diamond has years of experience drumming in bands, booking bands, and marketing for bands between DC, Philly, and NYC. He also co-runs the page/playlist Cool Stuff Music which is prime for any fans of this blog. Jake gets props as well for putting this together last minute when I accidentally gave him the wrong deadline.
a hundred million things - Orson Wilds
One of my favorite acts to start releasing original material recently is Orson Wilds. They just signed to producer Will Yip’s label and all of the music they are putting out is simply phenomenal. Their new EP WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WON’T LET GO? hits every note that I look for in indie rock. There’s everything from quite introspective moments to chorus’s ready for a packed house. My favorite track here is definitely “a hundred million things”. It’s like if “Black Sheep” era Metric decided they wanted to swerve more in the rock lane than the synth pop lane. Simply put, I think this band is going somewhere, the songs are amazing, the production is incredible, the industry co-signs are there and the potential is limitless.
-Jake Diamond
A Video
Brenda Hua has worked in music across venues and agencies for years now. Always down to talk songs, artists, industry, and anything related, many of my favorite discoveries and music conversations have been with her. Currently she is working with a company assisting artists and musicians that want to branch into web3.
Kolo Kolo (Feat. Omega Sapien & wnjn) - Balming Tiger
Can you believe I had to check the date and make sure we are in fact in 2021, and that this video did in fact come out more than a year ago? Released at the top of 2020, “Kolo Kolo” (a Korean onomatopoeia that literally means “to cough up”) remains one of the best kept secrets in the music video realm, despite having accrued nearly 800k views. Cinematically chaotic and exceptionally pulled off, the video pairs perfectly with the unrelenting song, which itself sparks a scrunched nose and aggressive head nods along to each verse. Balming Tiger, a Korean collective which includes the featured rapper of the song, Omega Sapian, delivers nothing less than an artistic feat with this video. Juxtaposing school grounds and grown men, organized madness is the name of the game here. And while I could say much more, I think I’ll let the video speak for itself. A 10 out of 10 must watch on my list.
-Brenda Hua
Bonus Writeup!
Toye Adenekan gives an in-depth drill background and introduction to the music of Blanco. Toye is an artist himself and between that and law school still finds time to work on putting on his showcase series Friends & Family.
City Of God - Blanco
14 tracks, 38 minutes
Released: August 20th, 2021
From: London, UK
Genres: Drill, Hip-Hop, Rap, Brazilian Funk
Recommended For Fans Of: Headie One, Sango
I think it goes without saying at this point that Drill is taking over the planet. Chicago, UK, NY all have their own take on the sound. Even artists in Italy and Ghana have put their spin on it. The UK Drill scene was almost killed in its infancy by UK Authorities who took a NYPD-at-Rolling-Loud type approach to the genre: aggressively targeting the artists in the scene as they were building their buzz in a Britsh rap music scene that was beginning to gain global recognition in 2016 & 2017. During this time, police shut down shows and got dozens of Drill music videos taken down that they alleged were contributing to London’s knife crime problem. It obviously didn’t help that much of Drill music at the time alluded to knife crime fairly explicitly in the lyrics. I promise I’m almost done providing background info. One of the biggest groups in that early era of UK drill was Harlem Spartans, who were all in their teens at the time they started to gain recognition. Their biggest song, ‘Kennington Where It Started’, was a star-making moment for the group’s defacto leader, Blanco (the Genius annotation for the song states that it’s considered “One of the Best UK Drill Songs Ever Made”). Even that early in their career, Blanco’s cadences were much more advanced than the other members of the group. If you don’t believe me, I’d suggest you go and listen to the song. Blanco’s verse starts around 1:09 and ends around 1:51. I’ll wait…
Right. So fast-forward about 5 years and Blanco has created a much more mature form of Drill that frankly is one of the — na to be honest Drill rappers as a whole are making some of the most interesting production choices in rap right now, in my opinion. From Cash Cobain in NY to Headie One, Blanco, and M1llionz in the UK, the genre is in a beautiful place right now. Which brings us to Blanco: he chose to add Baile Funk to Drill music. If you’ve never heard of Baile Funk, well, first of all, you should go listen to some. It’s Brazilian funk. Combines all types of dance and drums and also apparently Miami Bass (says Wikipedia). Let me know if you need a playlist. So basically, Blanco said: yea, ok, Drill is cool and a thing I’m good at, but what if I, just, rapped over Brazilian Funk too? But let’s keep it drill though. And the results, at their best, are amazing. It’s still firmly rooted in Drill, with the fast-paced flows and lyrics rooted in street life, but the feeling is completely different. Like this is legitimately music you can dance to. And to make the homage to Brazilian street life even more plain, he named his most recent album after one of the best gangster movies of all time: Cidade De Deus aka City of God (all the clips of the little love story people post on Tumblr and Instagram make it seem like maybe not necessarily a gangster movie but it is DEFINITELY a gangster movie). The movie is based in the favelas in the Brazilian capital of Rio De Janeiro, and follows a group of kids (some are friends; some aren’t really what I would consider *friends* per se) as they grow up together and find their various paths. Probably the most interesting character is Lil Ze, who’s only aspiration in life is to become a powerful drug lord.
So Blanco goes from UK Drill legend to Brazilian Funk Drill legend in a span of 5 years. And when I say legend, I really do mean legend. His command of various cadences, pacing, and cultural references and sharp sense of humor (he has a line where he goes from comparing his girl to Joan of Arc to Rosa Parks without missing a beat) all make for an incredibly fun listen. The highlights (in my opinion) are “Asura and Indra” with Sango (I told y’all… his cultural references are Goated), and then Too Late & Safe Space (which is structured to mimic a therapy session). Another thing that’s great about Blanco is how he balances out the weight of his life experiences, like losing core members of Harlem Spartans to knife crime and long jail sentences, with a youthful voice, perspective, and wit. One of the pieces of City of God that makes it such a compelling movie is how it juxtaposes the ambitions of its main characters: much of the movie is told from the perspective of Rocket, an aspiring photographer who gets sucked into street life by a childhood friend who uses Rocket’s images to promote his reputation as a feared drug lord amongst his potential rivals in the favelas. I hate to over-interpret an artists’ intentions — I have no way of confirming whether that juxtaposition was at the center of Blanco’s choice of album name. Maybe he was just choosing a movie about street life that’s well known in the english-speaking world and also is based in Brazil, given the production choices he makes in his music. Maybe he just really likes the movie. I’ll never know, and you really don’t need to either to enjoy the music. It’s incredible, and stands on its own merit. From “Kennington Where It Started” to Rio, and everywhere in between, Blanco is intent on making his mark; and by all appearances, he’s still just getting started.
-Toye Adenekan
Standout Track: Asura and Indra
Endless thanks to everyone that contributed here. I had a blast reading your words and putting this together. Y’all really put your best foot forward, made me feel like I have to step up my writing going into next year!
Hope you all enjoyed hearing from some new voices this week. This is the last WIBLT post of 2021, as I shift to prepping end of year content & lists to send out in December. Make sure you don’t miss that!