Electric Feels: Your Weekly Electronic Music Recap

EP / ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Benji Lewis - Home For Now EP

There's been a couple of great electronic EPs and albums released this week, but in my opinion, none really have the homeliness or comfort of Benji Lewis' Home For Now EP. The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter's second EP follows a similar sound and tone to his first, showcasing this down-tempo, almost R&B-leaning take on electronica which can be compared to good friend and collaborator Golden Vessel. Across the EP's seven tracks (which includes two short tone-setters), Lewis' sultry vocals shine, smoothly gliding above stripped-back productions that are soft and easy-going. Drift and For You - the two singles of the EP and the tracks before the EP's You For interlude - are the best of the record, combining subdued productions that are full of flavour and promise with Lewis' fragile vocals, which give the singles that aforementioned shade of R&B below the prominent indie/electronica feel. I feel like the EP could do with a touch of invention just to shake things up a little, but Home For Now is definitely a promising step in the right direction for one of Australia's most underrated producers.

SINGLES / REMIXES OF THE WEEK

Love Deluxe - Spice Of Life

Just the other week we were introduced to Love Deluxe, a new name to the already-incredible Soothsayer crew who was packing some super tight, retro vibes in his debut single Cool Breeze Over The Mountains. Last week saw the return of the emerging name, taking on a more club-ready sound for his new single Spice Of Life. Spice Of Life continues this retro, disco-infused groove that features so heavily on Cool Breeze but in a more housey manner, with layers on layers of shimmering synth work swirling above a relentless, percussion-driven backbone. Taken from his forthcoming EP, Spice Of Life hints at something a little different from Love Deluxe, and between Spice Of Life and Cool Breeze Over The Mountains, we're excited.

DAWN - Gravity

New Orleans' Dawn Richard - also known as DAWN - has consistently been pushing boundaries in R&B and electronica, bringing these two realms together in a more clubby tone than anyone else on the market. After last year's impressive Redemption, which saw DAWN confidently soar above productions from Machinedrum and a realm of others, she's continued to grow and evolve, most recently taking on more care-free and comfortable sound for Gravity. Gravity sees DAWN put her soulful vocal charm on the pedestal, with a refined, almost retro house beat simmering away underneath DAWN's soulful vocal groove, which is sounding as convincing as ever as she brings in a new direction in the months post-Redemption.

King Henry & RY X - Destiny

It's honestly quite bizarre (and infuriating) how slept on King Henry is. He's produced tracks for Bieber, Beyoncé, Major Lazer and a whole hoard of others, yet his personal Soundcloud account is littered with gems that have shockingly little play counts. Destiny is an example of this, and perhaps his most accessible track as a solo songwriter yet, enlisting ODESZA collaborator RY X for a moody slice of electronica which is really, really easy to hammer on repeat. On Destiny, King Henry pairs RY X's powering vocals with a stripped-back, percussion-driven production which does its job perfectly, with the injection of warm, summery vibes making Destiny that perfect track for looking past the Australian winter into the nicer months set to come.

Set Mo - I Belong Here feat. Woodes

Sydney DJ/production pairing Set Mo are one of Australia's finest, and for a good reason too. I Belong Here is a really slick track that balances the radio/club worlds perfectly, enlisting Pilerats favourite Woodes for the single's delicate vocal line, which at parts, is aided by KLP, Elizabeth Rose and Asta - three of Australia's finest when it comes to vocals - in the form of a mini, Australian dance music choir. Between this tag-team trio, Woodes and with Tom Tilley on the bass too, I Belong Here is an all-star house banger deserving of all the attention it deserves, a banger which is no-doubt set to feature as the Set Mo team hit up Splendour later this month, as well as a series of lengthy stamina DJ sets they're touring across the capitals in August.

josh pan - Give It To Ya feat. ABRA

As much as it pains me to admit and as much as I wish it were untrue, I've never really been able to get into LA production powerhouse josh pan. That said, however, Give It To Ya might have finally done it for me. Give It To Ya sees the OWSLA-signed josh pan team up with the sensational ABRA in what is quite an odd pairing on paper, but aurally, it completely makes sense. ABRA's dark, haunting vocal line perfectly matches josh plan's clattering, menacing production, which combines to give Give It To Ya a gloomy and oppressive mood to it. josh pan's production power really shines through on Give It To Ya, creating the perfect, hammering cinematic backdrop for ABRA's vocals to push through uniquely and intriguingly way .