WILT_2024-34

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 18 Aug 2024 to 24 Aug 2024.

1. Arcadia – Art Block
2. Burning (Alt Version) – Art Block
3. Tiger – Art Block
4. Autumn Antique – Teebs
5. Earth Creature – Salami Rose Joe Louis
6. Closed Place, Open World – Slauson Malone 1
7. Horizon – weish, Claude Glass
8. Rain Candy – Fake Creators, LITE, DE DE MOUSE, Misi Ke
9. Utopia Reimagined: house – weish
10. PRINCESS – Shye
11. NEVER – Shye
12. NEED – Shye
13. Half-Life – Slauson Malone 1
14. Ocotillo – Floating Points
15. Caballeros Del Albedrio – Austin TV
16. NANA フリーク版 – AKRIILA
17. http://www.hotxulito.com – AKRIILA, Young Cister
18. POPPER – AKRIILA, TAICHU
19. mucho, poquito, nada – AKRIILA

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2024-34

Notes

It started with a mention on Threads to check out some of Art Block’s music, so I did. A blend of several rock and folk elements and a dose of Americana, it did evoke shades of nostalgia for singers like Ryan Adams, Sister Hazel, Tonic, or The Wallflowers. I did pick out a few tracks that I enjoyed specifically for the emotive guitar playing and vocal performances.

I then revisited weish’s music because her performance of Horizon on national television was so good. Listening to the recorded version also showcases the amazing collaborative production prowess of both Claude Glass and weish who are both able to create such a raw and visceral melancholic joy through vocals and electronic arrangement. This path also led me to revisit Utopia Reimagined: house that I first listened to in WILT_2023-19. Whatever path weish is headed down, it is one of the most creatively powerful forces that we have the pleasure of following behind. 

With a head in the space for Singaporean-made music, I listened to Shye’s 2023 album, 9LIVES, which hits with a good dose of alterna-pop. The delivery is catchy, saccharine, and wistful but also backed by a healthy dose of distortion and rock beats that puts it somewhere between a fancy cocktail and a shitty beer.

This week I was slightly curious with Slauson Malone 1 because of Closed Space, Open World’s reggae vibe, but sadly I could not find any other instances of this vibe. Half-Life was an interesting evocation of emotion and catharsis and if anything demonstrates the versatility or eclectic-ness of the artist’s influences and expression.

Floating Points has a new single, Ocotillo, which is a precursor to his new album, Cascade releasing on 13 September. If you’re a fan, you’re going to stay a fan.

I came across Austin TV while browsing YouTube, and there’s a performance by them recorded by KEXP that is a great introduction to their music. Typically, I am wary of any masked artists if their aesthetic is used more as a gimmick to distract from the music, but I’m glad to report that Austin TV is not one of those bands. The music is frenetic, intense, and complex, all of which remind me of bands like Battles, who are able to make swimming in the deep end look like a casual splash in the pond.

Finally, one of the artists that fascinated me in 2024, AKRIILA, has recently released a new album, epistolares. I first came across AKRIILA through the song, POPPER, back in WILT_2024-25, and have just been mesmerised by the creative energy, attitude and snippets of culture perpetuated by the Chilean rapper. If you have not checked out the video to POPPER, you should. It’s a rush and displays incredible visual art talent as well.

So, epistolares is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Maybe the language barrier is one thing, but while I love some of the most explosive beats, or the latin rhythms that I’ve been missing out in my music diet, you can also hear some of the inexperience in other less fleshed-out tracks. Despite that, you do want AKRIILA and their creative team to maintain the pursuit and find a sound to take and dominate in. I’ve highlighted a bit in the middle of the album that is a series of highs for me that perks my mood just listening to them. You can also check out the whole album as a video playlist here.