There’s just too much damn music out there to keep on top of all the goodness, now matter how devoted a sound junkie you may be. To help pull the true gems from the sea of zirconium we’re inundated with every day, Crave has put out a Voltron call to our music contributors from around the world to bring you a killer weekly mixtape playlist.
Each week we’ll deliver a handful of must-listen tracks – most of them new, some of them classics, all of them awesome – to kick off your weekend with the best sounds and a sense of enlightenment, knowing you’re not missing the boat on the best tracks out there each week.
Open Mike Eagle – Split Pants in Detroit (or Hyrule)
Airling – Stallin’
Aussie singer-songwriter Airling has had a stunning debut year as an artist here in her home country, with a well-received EP and a handful of solid collabs including track “Forces” alongside producer Japanese Wallpaper that has been absolutely flogged on local radio. Her latest single ‘Stallin’’ has just received the video treatment and it sees the silky, down-tempo RnB number paired with inky, sparse urban landscapes and a lone figure futilely dancing the night, and a lost relationship, away.
Mitch Feltscheer –Editor, Crave Australia
Mark Ronson & Friends- I Sat By The Ocean (QOTSA Cover)
Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker made an appearance on Triple J alongside British songwriter/superproducer Mark Ronson, where the duo played a rendition of Ronson’s “Daffodils” and a badass cover for the radio station’s “Like a Version” series. The cover selected was Queens of the Stone Age’s “I Sat By the Ocean,” from their magnificent …Like Clockwork album (read our review). Kirin J. Callinan and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt also took part, and killed through a slightly slower, slightly funkier take on the hit single (while Parker and his scarf-in-summertime sat on an amp in the corner and feigned chords like a high-schooler). Those final thirty seconds… goddamn. So good.
Johnny Firecloud – Music Editor, Crave (North America)
Life Is Better Blonde – Follow Me
I’ve been keeping an eye on the Soundcloud page of Melbourne electronic project Life Is Better Blonde pretty intently ever since he unveiled his stunning debut “Mine’ earlier this year. The track’s intricately layered production and glitchy, unsettling electro-soul had me intrigued and clamouring for more.
This week my wish was granted with “Follow Me”, which is simply a heart-breaker of a tune. From the fragile James Blake-esque vocals to the haunting piano chords to the marching, atmospheric beats, the song hits you square in the chest, furrowing its way further in with each listen.
Where “Mine” was all about the head, “Follow Me” is all heart.
Nastassia Baroni – Editor, Crave Australia
Dr. Dre – Animals
The corrosively racial turmoil in today’s sociopolitical climate – especially through the eyes of law enforcement – is addressed in one of the highlight tracks from Dr. Dre’s swan-song album Compton (read our review). A Talib-meets-Digable-Planets chill-vibe verse and chorus highlight the stunning track, complete with fedora beat, before Dre lays out an incendiary narrative on the state of police aggression.
Johnny Firecloud – Music Editor, Crave (North America)
El VY – Return to the Moon
El VY is a new project featuring Matt Berninger, the vocalist of The National, as well as Brent Knopf from Menomena. Their collaborative LP under the alias EL VY will see a full release in October. The name is “pronounced like a plural of Elvis; rhymes with ‘hell pie,'” according to a press release. That’s weird, but the downtempo jam is strong, and we’re curious to hear what comes next from the new project.
Johnny Firecloud – Music Editor, Crave (North America)
James Brown – The Payback
If you’re not familiar with the song but it rings instant bells, there’s a good chance you’re recognizing the core sample of Kendrick Lamar’s smash track “King Kunta”. The spare, open arrangement and funk-driven sound defy the song’s vengeful lyricism, but the almighty cool conveyed here is impenetrably badass. It’s only fitting that the Godfather of Soul ends our first Playlist Cravings mixtape – perhaps we’ll anchor every mix moving forward with some soul-funk goodness to start your weekend off right.
Johnny Firecloud – Music Editor, Crave (North America)
Until next week!
