Electric Feels: Your Weekly Electronic Music Re-Cap

The best of electronic music in the past week, from albums and EPs, to remixes and songs, to tours and festival announcements.

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Header Photo: Lido, live in Los Angeles. Taken by Donslens.

ALBUM / EP OF THE WEEK

Lido & Santell - The Passion Project II

Anyone familiar with the work of Lido would be aware of his influences in soulful R&B and hip-hop, which often subtly sit underneath his charging, electronic productions. The Passion Project, Lido’s collaborative project with Santell which debuted in 2015, provides further insight into this side of the producer and now, two years later, the second instalment of The Passion Project has arrived. Returning to the project for its surprise sequel is Santell, an American vocalist whose delicate, The Weeknd-esque vocal work hovers above uncomplicated, piano-laden instrumentals (Mariah / Say You Scared) or more traditional, 808-teasing productions (Recruit). Having also collaborated with fellow electronic producers Branchez and Alizzz, Santell shines on The Passion Project II – even more so than on the original – with Lido masterful, yet simplistic song-writing pedestalling Santell’s vocals and allowing them shine without competition. Following up from the release of Everything – Lido’s debut album which arrived in October last year – The Passion Project II does what many sequels, in music or otherwise, fails to do. It not only matches the strength of the original but on top of this, builds on what’s occurred since to let it sparkle even more.

Best Tracks: Mariah / Say You Scared

SINGLES / REMIXES OF THE WEEK

NoMBe - Wait

Whilst you may not know him yet – Los Angeles-based producer and songwriter NoMBe is a name you’ll learn in 2017. Teasing the release of his forthcoming debut album They Might Have Even Loved Me, Wait will be the first track many people listen to from NoMBe, me included, but it sets the tone perfectly even considering his past, pre-album work. It’s carefree and light, with an instrumental built around a simplistic, at-ease acoustic guitar line that hums behind funky synth riffs and enthusiastic claps of percussion – perfect for the warmth of Australia’s summer. At the same time, NoMBe’s vocals swirl above, adding a soulful, R&B touch to the song’s largely electronic base. There’s a reason why NoMBe can call Pharrell Williams a personal fan, and it’s not because they live in the same city and make similar strains of music.

Willaris. K - Alchemy

The best of Australian electronic often arises from the most unexpected places. Proving this is Willaris. K., an exciting producer out of New South Wales’ northern coast that has stunned with the release of his debut single Alchemy. Put simply, Alchemy is an absolute stunner. Its deep rifts of Seekae-esque synth creates an aural texture like nothing I’ve ever heard, building and building as it travels its five-minute journey, twisting and turning along the way. At parts, it’s fierce and powerful, punching through aural limitations and escaping boundaries, but other parts it’s restrained and held-back, slowly washing you over with waves of synthesizer and a Bonobo-esque drum pattern that oozes underneath. Despite only been released in the past two weeks, Alchemy has already been picked up and shared about by national tastemakers including triple j, and perhaps best of all, has got us excited as hell to see how he progresses in 2017 – something that is hard as hell to do with a five-minute, instrumental debut.

V Kim & Kimchi Princi - Pussy Not Polite

V Kim (formerly known as Victoria Kim) and Kimchi Princi are two Sydney-residing artists who have both been bubbling in their own fields, waiting for the perfect time to boil over and spill into the ‘mainstream’. The former delivered one of 2016’s most irresistible club jams – Gold Chains – and the latter has gone on to become one of the most exciting women of colour in Australia’s music scene. So, when they unite, which has finally occurred on Pussy Not Polite, we’re enormous fans. V Kim brings a heavy, percussion-led production to the table which blends hip-hop with club music, perfectly matching Kimchi Princi’s unapologetically bad-ass hip-hop verses which quickly heat up as the song progresses. It's incredible, empowering and, as expected in a collaboration between these two parties, a bundle of fun.

WRLD X Savoi - Hideaway

“I’ve got a lot of exciting stuff coming up early 2017” said Dutch producer WRLD when we talked to him ahead of his debut Australian tour last year and, not even a full month into the year, he’s already delivered. Teaming up with Brisbane’s Savoi (whose voice you may recognize on tracks by Two Can, L D R U, Shockone and more), the Dutch producer has returned to his Heroic Recordings home with Hideaway, a nostalgic, synth-heavy banger that blends future-bass with electro-pop masterfully. As per usual, WRLD delivers with a retro, synth-loaded instrumental, which swirls underneath the Savoi’s irresistibly up-beat and joyful vocal work – producing an effortlessly-cool electronic jam that is full of flavour and emotion.

FKJ - Go Back Home

I don’t believe that being a multi-instrumentalist, or even an instrumentalist at all, makes you a better music producer because frankly, that’s not true in the slightest. However, from time to time, there are those rare multi-instrumentalist producers that hit it out the park every damn time, and one of those is FKJ – or French Kiwi Juice. The French native has been the source of a whole mountains worth of A-grade remixes, productions and collaborations, but in 2017 he is truly levelling up with the release of his debut album, to arrive later in the year. Go Back Home is the first taste of the said album and it does its job perfectly, getting up hyped up for its release with a jazzy, electronic jam that blends addicting lyric work with a driving percussion line and a twist-and-screwed approached to vocals, which forms the base of the song’s melody with soft piano and synth. So good.