Sunshine gleams down from above – finally. It’s been nothing short of appalling this weather lark recently hasn’t it? I did my annual Primark blitz shopping about a month ago, filling the black mesh shopping basket with all sorts of summery things, caps, sunglasses, shorts, t-shirts and even a vest type thing (optimistic). ‘Ah, it’s May 1st, sure it’s warm out from now until September‘, I murmured to myself as I flung yet another basic white cotton £2 T into the mix. I rocked up to the till with swagger and full confidence in my selections. ‘You are going all out sunshine here son‘, the chap behind the till laughed – who would have thought I wouldn’t have been able to wear a single morsel of that haul until yesterday? The jacket hasn’t been able to jet off on it’s holiday to the back of the wardrobe yet. Woefully cold and yes, this is a whole paragraph about the weather – bet you’re glad to have clicked into this article eh?
Circling back to the point though (I hate the term ‘circling back’, such office corporate jarg), here are five songs I’ve been listening to in the SUNSHINE today!! Roll out the Eskie and get the beers chilled everyone, summer is here, dip into your favourite primark threads.
Kipunji / Fortress
Holy moly – this is a beast of a debut single right here. Irish producer, Paul Jarvis, hasn’t quite come out of nowhere to unleash his opening track Fortress upon the public. He has been working in the background of the music scene for over a decade and has finally decided to showcase his production talents under his interestingly named Kipunji moniker (no idea the meaning of that one off the cuff). What I do know though, is that Jarvis has a fantastic ear for sound. Taking inspiration from the likes of Maribou State (Hertfordshire’s finest) and Bonobo, Fortress gives off the impression that Kipunji has some impressive cards up his sleeve. What’s in store? A debut EP titled, These Places will surface in August and I’ll be first in the queue for that one.
I’ve re-listened to this track loads this week: It gives me sunshine feels – god, enough about sunshine – the website will be rebranded The Weather Sniffer at this rate if I’m not careful.
On further investigation, a kipunji is a type of monkey.
Amy Blake / Circles in the Sand
Staying on the Emerald Isle, we have some lovely folk-y fusion from Amy Blake. Circles in the Sand is her new single and it ticks pretty much all of the boxes for me. Good voice – tick, accomplished instrumentation – tick, pleasant sounds- tick, Non-Intrusive – tick, Catchy – tick. You catch my drift there. It’s a fabulous little song from the Vancouver-based Irish songwriter and one that will remain on my personal playlist for quite a while. Blake has quite an uplifting sound so, naturally, I’m all over it. Assured.
JW Francis / John Take Me With You
This man’s music keeps returning to the blog. New Yorker JW Francis has the best LoFi/Bedroom Indie sound in the world in my opinion. I’ve said it – big praise. No idea who John is but JW wants to go with you somewhere. I’m coming too btw, obviously.
Out-Fecking-Standing as always JW.
Temple In Man / Stranger
I was captivated within the first ten seconds. The bass line just did something to me. If the vocals consisted of the loud screeching’s of a cat, I would still listen to this track based on the instrumentation. Thankfully though, the vocals are equally as sedate as the background arrangement. This is a pure groove of a song – perfect for background lounge listening in a swanky spot in the city. Temple in Man, a Stockholm based creative, supplies a tasty fusion between old-school soul and more modern, contemporary styles in this all-encompassing single. Reminds me of Monophonics. So slick.
J-Silk / Dreaming Awake
At first I thought that J-Silk must be a rapper from Goldhawk Road in London – it’s a good drill/grime name. I was pleasantly surprised to find some melancholic gold when I did eventually press play. A creative threesome based between Bordeaux and London – ‘Silk are tuned in when it comes to producing music for reflective moments. I look forward to sitting on the train into central London next week with this playing out in my ears – I’ll sit alone, watching the landscape pass by outside, watching a woman eating a granola bar on the seat opposite and observing the tired expressions of the office heads, all heading to work. They’ll be fully active and buzzing around – I’ll be ‘Dreaming Awake‘ – this song will help.
Love the French tinge on the vocals.
About ‘The Sound Sniffer’
The Sound Sniffer is a music blog that’s still only a baby – Founded in early 2019 by Kevin Coakley, a music writer and ghostwriter. ‘The Sound Sniffer’ also runs gigs and showcases in London since Oct 2019. The showcases are picked from artists found in the blog’s submission inbox.
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