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London's own multidisciplinary artist Rarelyalways kicks off 2023 with the announcement of his forthcoming debut album WORK due March 10th. Along with the album announcement, Rarelyalways shares the first taste of the project with the single "LET'S." Hypnotic, cavernous rhythms float beneath distinct vocals on the track, underscoring Rarleyalways as the self described "shapeshifter." The lead single arrives with visuals directed by MadeInEden portraying Rarelyalways lounging in a bed with Precious Joie on a rooftop in London as they peek out at each other beneath eye masks and playfully start a pillow fight. Additionally, Rarelyalways shares visuals to the b-side, "Voice note 0142," also directed by MadeInEden, which sonically showcases the more jazzy side of Rarelyalways' roots as a jazz bassist.
WORK's announcement follows Rarelyalways' collaborative Manic EP with Hanni El Khatib, featuring the stand out single "Lamenting" as well as his 2020 EP Baby Buffalo. His debut EP was described by The FADER as, “a concise exhibition of his minimalist swagger," with Pitchfork adding, "though Rarelyalways comes out of the London jazz scene, his music has its own distinct flavor."
Rarelyalways learned from a young age that music had functions beyond entertainment. Born in London to a West African family, he was raised by his single father, a drummer who played mainly gospel tunes during hours-long services and would bring Rarely along for afternoons in practice spaces where the young musician learned the power of playing for playing's sake. Rarelyalways went on to attend The BRIT School and eventually entered the South London gig circuit where he would play trip hop and heavy rock in the orbit of artists like King Krule, Henry Wu and the Tomorrow's Warriors jazz collective. With his music often taking on a dark, mysterious tone, Rarely is able to roam freely outside the prescribed structures of hip hop, jazz or anything else, by creating a conversational abstract style that can mold according to a song's message.
“I think she’s gonna blow your mind” BBC’s Maryanne Hobbs
"A hypnotic beat and swelling synth pads." FADER
“No sound or style is off limits for Maria Chiara Argirò” UNCUT
"drifts between club culture's left-field aspects and jazz improvisation" - CLASH
“The Italian composer conjures mysterious, aquatic undulations” The Guardian
"There’s no escaping the gorgeous spell Argirò casts." Pitchfork
Following the release of her critically acclaimed album Forest City, Maria Chiara Argirò recently announced a remix package of some of the album's highlights. For the second installment, Terracassette deconstruct the ethereal album standout ‘Greenarp,’ building it back up into a club-ready IDM burner. This follows ‘Clouds’ which was recently remixed by Atlanta's electronic funk wizard Byron the Aquarius. The remix gained spins on BBC 6 Music and KCRW.
After quietly weaving her way around the UK jazz, classical and electronic worlds Maria has cemented herself as a key player in the capital’s multi-national jazz scene. Maria has released a few solo and collaborative records (Flow was The Guardian’s jazz album of the month and nominated as album of the year in the Jazz Revelations Awards), but on her latest album Forest City it feels like the turning of a page as she liberates herself from the structures of jazz.
On Forest City, Maria found a glistening thread between these movements: where jazz meets Kelly Lee Owens, Jon Hopkins and Radiohead. It’s a concept record, about the “duality of nature and city”, where organic sounds and textures seem to flow above the urban sprawl.
Following the release of her critically acclaimed new album Forest City, Maria Chiara Argirò (pronounced ma-REE-ah key-AH-rah r-gee-ROW)
announces a remix package of some of the album's highlights. First up is the reworking of "Clouds" by Atlanta's electronic funk wizard Byron the Aquarius who has given the ethereal vocal track a dancefloor treatment showcasing their love of classic Chicago & Detroit House.
Byron the Aquarius has worked with the likes of Jeff Mills, Kyle Hall & Theo Parrish's Sound Signature label.
After quietly weaving her way around the UK jazz, classical and electronic worlds Maria has cemented herself as a key player in the capital’s multi-national jazz scene. Maria has released a few solo and collaborative records (Flow was The Guardian’s jazz album of the month and nominated as album of the year in the Jazz Revelations Awards), but on her latest album Forest City it feels like the turning of a page as she liberates herself from the structures of jazz.
On Forest City, Maria found a glistening thread between these movements: where jazz meets Kelly Lee Owens, Jon Hopkins and Radiohead. It’s a concept record, about the “duality of nature and city”, where organic sounds and textures seem to flow above the urban sprawl.
Stay tuned for more Forest City remixes and brand new material from Maria Chiara Argirò.
The musical force known as BAMBII returns to share a brand new single in "RIDE WITH ME." Fully written and produced by BAMBII, the track marks her debut singing on one of her own productions with additional vocals from Tempest featured on the hook. Fusing her Jamaican roots with a worldly sound influenced by Toronto's multiculturalism, "RIDE WITH ME" is a rave love story and an emotional club banger that is a collision of hyper-pop, drill, and breakbeats featuring BAMBII on production and vocal duties.
The new track arrives following BAMBII's recent co-production on Kelela's latest single "Happy Ending" and her pair of 2021 EPs TWITCH and TRUCK RIDDIM. The EPs featured original instrumental versions of their title-tracks as well as additional remixes. Following an extended stay in Jamaica during the Covid-19 lockdown, TRUCK RIDDIM was BAMBII's first release since 2019's "NITEVISION" feat. Pamputtae.
Whether online or on dancefloors, BAMBII's political and musical vernacular give credence to dance music's ever expanding reach, the relationships it helps forge between individuals, cultures and spaces.
Click here for a link to the new single.
Fresh off the release of his debut full length Glass Effect, London-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Marc has just shared the third clip from a series of live performance clips recorded live at London’s Corsica Studios. “Way We Are” is an easy highlight from the album, and Marc’s crack six-piece band demonstrate an elastic ability to stretch the simmering grooves of the original to the outer limits of free jazz improvisation and bring it back intothe pocket at will. Served as a trio the performance clips underscore the diverse scope of Marc’s singular vision that chart his own musical journey from studying classical music, to becoming a key collaborator in the burgeoning London jazz scene, to immersing himself dance and hip hop production techniques, and on.