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Maria Chiara Argirò x Light


Maria Chiara Argirò’s forthcoming album Closer is a testament to her journey of self-exploration, and a manifestation of her profound connection with music. Rooted in an indescribable feeling that compelled her to create, the album transcends boundaries and tranverses the spectrum of electronic music with unparalleled depth and clarity.

Today she’s shared Closer’s opener “Light” - an alluring and infectious synth-pop hit. Argiró says, "It’s about establishing a lighter and balanced relationship with your inner self and consequently with others. Connect genuinely with yourself and others by exploring life in a 'soft' and 'lighter' way, without the need to force things to happen.” The single comes with another immersive video from director Raoul Paulet who describes it, “A mesmerising and kaleidoscopic journey made of colourful and flashy street lights at night in London.” 

Argirò has been a central figure in the UK electronic, jazz and classical worlds since she moved to London from Rome over a decade ago. A skilled pianist since childhood, she’s collaborated with everyone from These New Puritans to Jono McCleery to Jamie Leeming alongside output with Moonfish. Her previous solo album, the stunning electronic jazz-fusion record Forest City, received widespread critical acclaim from the likes of The Guardian, The Fader, Vogue, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork who described Maria's sound: "Hazy, downtrodden vocal harmonies blend with aquatic synth arpeggios that mirror the tide, like Azure Ray singing over Thom Yorke compositions." Her music has featured in the Netflix series, Elite, and she can count the likes of Four Tet and Gilles Peterson as fans, with the latter describing her music as “absolutely crazy good”. 

The result of this journey, both sonic and personal, can be keenly felt on Closer. While it is definitely not a concept album, the record does mirror the path of inner self-exploration that Argirò has been on. Albeit moving in unpredictable ways, as it traverses the spectrum of electronic music spanning ambient to dance music, while also retaining light touches of jazz with a leaning towards experimental pop via Argirò’s more central and up-front vocals. 

On the album, Maria says: “It is about a feeling, a dreamlike feeling in motion, a feeling that we cannot describe, a dream I’m sort of walking through. Emotions/dreams/feelings that sometimes you can just imagine, a dreamlike world where we walk through to get to the core of ourselves a bit more, even if things are completely undefined and blurry. While working on the music there was this strong feeling - at times blurry and at times more defined - of getting, with every single note, closer and closer to the person I want to be. Free. Curious and consequently Aware, Connected and Closer to the people I love. There is so much noise in this world, I think being direct, gentle, light, open and connected is the key.”

See Clash for more details about the single and forthcoming project.

Jonah Yano x concentrate

"an architect of recollection" - Exclaim!

"warm, wistful, and quaint all at once" - HYPEBEAST

"'60s soulful voice that has hints of Smokey Robinson" - NPR

"His voice lilts with every syllable, making the imagery feel crushing and poignant" - Pitchfork

Montreal’s Jonah Yano shares a new single today titled “concentrate." The new song bookends a year that he kicked off with the release of his critically-acclaimed sophomore album portrait of a dog, which was co-produced alongside frequent collaborators BADBADNOTGOOD.

Jonah recorded “concentrate” with his live band (Christopher Edmondson, Benjamin Maclean, Leighton Harrell, Felix Fox-Pappas, and Raiden Louie), the first time they have all recorded a song together in-studio after first coming together to support Clairo on tour in the UK in 2022. The song also includes guest contributions from Clairo herself on clarinet and backup vocals. Fittingly placed to cap off the year, “concentrate” is a song about beginnings, and it also marks the beginning of a confident step into a new musical direction for Jonah Yano, having worked alongside the likes of Mustafa and BADBADNOTGOOD.

In addition to the single, Jonah will embark on his European tour dates later this week. The tour includes a stop at the Pitchfork Music Festival Paris, where Jonah will share the stage with acts like Youth Lagoon, Weyes Blood, Crumb, and more. Tickets can be found here. 

This is Jonah’s first solo release since his sophomore album portrait of a dog, which was released earlier this year and received critical acclaim from outlets like RANGEPitchfork, and Exclaim!. Jonah also performed several of the album’s standout songs live for CBC’s The Intro in April.

Read more about the release on Sterogum.

See his upcoming European live dates below and stay tuned for more from Jonah Yano in 2024.

Tour Dates

11/9 - Bruges, Belgium @ Cactus Club

11/10 - Paris, France @ Pitchfork Festival Paris

11/12 - London, England @ Jazz Cafe

11/15 - Istanbul, Turkey @ Zorlu PSM

 

BAMBII x INFINITY CLUB

"urgent, propulsive, and deliciously deviant" - The FADER

"the life and soul of Toronto’s club scene" - i-D

"Bambii brings a unique fusion to everything she creates while also actively speaking out..." Office Magazine

"Bambii turns a melting pot of influences into a throbbing, futuristic heater, where grime bass stabs intertwine with bashment rhythms" Pitchfork

BAMBII releases her debut EP INFINITY CLUB.  Following a streak of successes in this year alone, the Toronto-based DJ, producer and artist organically builds on her already-impressive sonic repertoire. She uses warped dancehall samples, as well as drum'n'bass, jungle, and pop sounds, to encapsulate her idea of an exploratory body of work that connects sounds of the Caribbean diaspora with electronic music, an effort she spoke about at length on The FADER Interview podcast earlier this week.

BAMBII formally welcomes listeners into her imagined club space with layered translations of the opening track's title, "You Are Now Entering the Infinity Club." This trance-inducing intro affirms the EP's intention to connect listeners from around the world, providing a physical and musical place of belonging, while shining a light on her own roots. On "Hooked," the DJ and producer enlists the U.K.'s dreamy electronic vocalist, Aluna, to curate a pop/R&B sound reminiscent of late 90s hits. BAMBII continues to build on the EP's underlying themes of storytelling, revelation, and identity, as she slips into the role of femme fatale on "WICKED GYAL" featuring North London's Lady Lykez later returning to Toronto with "Sydanie's Interlude" featuring fellow Canadian, Sydanie.

Similar to her work on Kelela's Raven, her feature heavy project demonstrates BAMBII's clear knack for showcasing her collaborators' unique talents. Speaking to this she shares, "When I first started, I was very focused on narrowly defining genre and thinking about music in terms of binaries. This project is the very beginning of me trying to tell more complex stories.” Though the uniting similarity between her features continues to be a shared Caribbean ancestry, BAMBII rejects attempts to tokenize and limit her artistic scope. Rather, Infinity Club, is BAMBII's way of asserting that genre is ultimately a social construct. On every track, she takes a left turn and makes an unlikely connection to show that nothing can be essentialized.

Listen to INFINITY CLUB.

Read the review on Pitchfork.

Buy an exclusive + limited 12" vinyl of the EP on our store.

 

BAMBII x Slip Slide

Toronto-based DJ and producer BAMBII shares a new single from her highly-anticipated EP Infinity Club, out August 4th. Hailed as one of the central voices elevating jungle in Toronto by Rolling Stone, BAMBII continues to bridge the gap between diaspora Caribbean communities with new single "Slip Slide," calling on North London producer and artist Ragz Originale (Skepta's "Shutdown," FKA Twigs, SOPHIE) and Amsterdam-based producer Lamsi, along with a self-directed video.

"Slip Slide" invokes the essence of the classic femme fatale archetype layered over reinterpreted dancehall, garage and jungle sounds. The new track follows her previous releases, "Wicked Gyal" featuring Lady Lykez, and "One Touch," which was deemed Best New Track by Pitchfork and featured in Apple's new MacBook Air commercial, all of which contribute to the atmosphere of Infinity Club.

Infinity Club finds BAMBII building on her already-impressive sonic repertoire, encapsulating the sound of a generation of Caribbean youth living between two worlds. On the heels of bringing her kinetic production style to Kelela's recent album Raven, this new EP establishes BAMBII as a trailblazing voice in the intersecting worlds of electronic and Caribbean music. The project opens the door to a limitless space that blurs the lines between memories and dreams, anchored by ecstatic production by BAMBII that centers on the solace one can find in the middle of a crowded dance floor. In BAMBII's telling, Infinity Club soundtracks an anonymous space holding a community of bodies all flowing to the same rhythm: "Infinity Club knows no age, or social construct. It's for everyone, everywhere. In all ways, always."

See CLASH for more info.

BAMBII x Wicked Gyal

Toronto-based DJ and producer BAMBII announces her highly-anticipated EP Infinity Club, out August 4th. Alongside the announcement, BAMBII shares her electrifying new single "Wicked Gyal," featuring North London rapper Lady Lykez, which features an infectious beat that fuses jungle, dancehall and garage sounds, and radiates unapologetic confidence from two powerhouse artists. The new single follows BAMBII's previous single "One Touch," which was deemed Best New Track by Pitchfork and was featured in Apple's new MacBook Air commercial last week.

Infinity Club finds BAMBII building on her already-impressive sonic repertoire, encapsulating the sound of a generation of Caribbean diaspora youth living between two worlds. On the heels of bringing her kinetic production style to Kelela's recent album Raven, this new EP establishes BAMBII as a trailblazing voice in the intersecting worlds of electronic and Caribbean music. The project opens the door to a limitless space that blurs the lines between memories and dreams, anchored by ecstatic production by BAMBII that centers on the solace one can find in the middle of a crowded dance floor. In BAMBII's telling, Infinity Club soundtracks an anonymous space holding a community of bodies all flowing to the same rhythm: "Infinity Club knows no age, or social construct. It's for everyone, everywhere. In all ways, always."

Continuing a run of captivating live shows across the US, Europe and Australia, BAMBII will return to Toronto for a hometown show alongside Jamie xx at CODA, followed by a set at Hood Rave NYC and a series of festival dates in Paris.

Check out "Wicked Gyal" featuring Lady Lykez

Read more on Pitchfork

Upcoming Live Dates:

6/14 - Toronto, ON @ CODA (w/ Jamie xx and REDLINERS)

6/18 - New York, NY @ Hood Rave at Paragon

7/2 - Paris, FR @ Macki Festival

7/7 - Paris, FR @ Wireless Festival

7/14 - Paris, FR @ Gurten Festival