MAXELL D — SERIOUS 2020 FT. CAPO LEE, NOVELIST, SO LARGE, BRUZA & TEMPA T

---

In 2004, Lethal Bizzle released the hypesome track 'Pow!' — it pops with energy and vocal fire from a who's-who roster of early '00s grime artists. Fast-forward 16 years and we have a modern counterpart in the form of 'Serious 2020'. A fuzzed synth summons the mood of triumphal brass, while a frenzy of restrained beats allow plenty of space for vocal acrobatics.

Assigned to Maxwell D, who first released 'Serious' back in 2001, and whose vocal provides the classic UKG stylings for the hook, this remixed edition features fearsome vocal performances from a roster of fresh feature-spots. Novelist riffs on the "serious" theme — "Dark blue is a serious colour / I got raised by a serious mother / That's why I'm a serious brother" — while Tempa T's finale recalls the unbridled aggression of 'Pow!' with his imagery and vocal tone.

---

• 🔔 This all-star remix of Maxwell D's 'Serious' features on the soundtrack for Against All Odds, a film about the '00s grime scene. Both the OST and film are scheduled for release on 13th November. It's actually the first project for newly launched Motown Records UK.

---

📠
☟ Maxwell D Internet Presence ☟
twitter ⚘ instagram ⚘ spotify

---

SATOSHI KANNO — MONOC

---

'Monoc' by Japanese digital artist and producer Satoshi Kanno appears like a electronic spectre on a nocturnal city street. Sparse chopped vocal samples merge with flickering percussion, skittering on a bed of bumping kicks and the soft bursts of distortion. Its angular structure feels mechanical, industrial almost, as the track moves into a moody footwork-infused midsection.

The splicing sounds and fusion of elements in 'Monoc' was a result of Kanno's approach to the track.

"I was inspired to compose this piece to reflect on the ways and meanings of communication between all things in our time," he says to yes/no via email. "The noise in the song refers to nature, animals, plants, machines, and humans, and even though each form remains the same, when they overlap each other, they transform into another form."

The track ends up as a "collective form", each element adding to a whole that brings together its fragmented parts to a sonic sum: a reflection of how an individual is ever-transforming, reacting to their situation, the times in which they exist.

---

• 🔔 This is the title track from Satoshi Kanno's Monoc EP, scheduled for release on 10th December via ADRS Collective. You can pre-order the EP on Bandcamp.

---

📠
☟ Satoshi Kanno Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ official site ⚘ twitter ⚘ spotify ⚘ instagram

---

SCOOBERT DOOBERT — TAKE A BREATH

⌾ LISTEN TO SCOOBERT DOOBERT, TAKE A BREATH ⌾

---

---

Called an “anti-anxiety” song by its creator, ‘Take A Breath’ by San Diego-based musicmaker Scoobert Doobert positively glistens with calm. Chorused guitars splash in wobbly arpeggios above an easy lope of groovesome bass, all underpinned by drums that crunch without being harsh. A sunny, psychedelic ambience exudes from the soft but lightly crisped sounds at work here.

The track was inspired by “this one time that I had sleep paralysis,” Scoobert Doobert says, and features lyrics that document the fear, and the outlandish imagery (Goku from Dragonball flying around the room, anyone?), that can arise in the strangest moments between sleep and waking. And so 'Take A Breath' feels as down-to-earth in its storytelling as it does existential in aesthetic.

---

• 🔔 Listen to more Scoobert Doobert over on SoundCloud.

---

📠
☟ Scoobert Doobert Internet Presence ☟
soundcloud ⚘ twitter ⚘ youtube ⚘ instagram ⚘ spotify

---

VISCO CITY — SIXTH WEEK

⌾ LISTEN TO VISCO CITY, SIXTH WEEK ⌾

---

There's more meaning behind the title 'Sixth Week' than an arbitrary measurement of time. It actually refers to when UK producer Visco City actually created it: during the sixth week of the country's nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus.

As such, the track bristles with anxiety — tracts of clattering metallic sounds, gnawing and insectoid, appear crushed and crinkled like the sound of a car crumpling sped up a hundredfold. But there are hints of hope here, optimism (or nostalgia for "old times") spelled out by a melody dancing over it all, thick warm plumes of bass enacting a sonic embrace.

The focus, Visco City tells yes/no via email was "to try and highlight the contrast between something anxious and something beautiful." And though shattered lines of chaos spark through 'Sixth Week', in essence it is a lush soundscape of better days, a slice of blue sky beyond the giant clouds.

---

• 🔔 'Sixth Week' is from Visco City's Solstice EP, released via Birmingham (UK) based Brox Records. Download and/or stream it from your favourite among on this list of various streaming services.

---

📠
☟ Visco City Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ bandcamp ⚘ twitter ⚘ instagram ⚘ spotify

---

SHADI G — GODDESS PT. 1

⌾ LISTEN TO SHADI G, GODDESS PT. 1 ⌾

---

---

The minimal production of 'Goddess pt. 1' by Swedish artist Shadi G doesn't just serve to create a luxurious atmosphere — it allows the vocals of the musicmaker herself to soar and glimmer unimpeded. A patter of kicks and the abrasive pop of a snare propels the track forward on a blanket backdrop of soft synth chords, a glitter of zithers ornamenting it all; at the forefront, Shadi G's voice itself lilts and meanders with slow, acrobatic ease, vocal reverb like mist casting a dreamlike softness over proceedings.

"I felt I was in a place where the fun and playfulness could take a bigger part," says Shadi G in an email to yes/no.

'Goddess pt. 1' may be at its core a silky R&B number, but it's also a soulful exploration of the singer's Iranian heritage: lines of Farsi curl and spiral into earshot in the finale. "I love the melody of the language, the nature of the language itself is so poetic," she says, explaining that she chose include Farsi into her track because of the importance the language has played in her life.

"I really want Farsi to get a platform to be heard and seen," she adds. "Music isn't just made in English, even though it's the language that's given the most exposure and space by the industry."

---

• 🔔 You can stream and/or download 'Goddess pt. 1' by Shadi G via whatever music service on this list is your preferred choice.

---

📠
☟ Shadi G Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ official site ⚘ instagram ⚘ spotify ⚘

---