Proudly premiering on Our Culture, we have Turn by Kendl. This song marks the latest release by Kendl, and one of his songs from his upcoming EP Dreamlike.
Turn is a genre-bending track that experiments with different elements throughout its progression. Leading the track, we hear a tense-like synth, reminding us of melancholy and turbulence. While, on the other end, from the beginning, the dusty sounding textures from Kendl’s own field recordings bring us back to more of a warmer time, making us feel nostalgic in a way. As a piece, the song has beautiful dynamics between the elements it explores, bringing us a genuinely euphonious journey throughout.
“The idea behind Turn is to take you back and forth from light and dark moods and resolve in peaceful stillness.”
Kendl is the solo musical project of multidisciplinary artist and composer, Jesse Kendal. He debuted in 2017 with his song For Her, which now has over 1 million streams on Spotify alone. Kendl has also released numerous other tracks and EPs including a superb five-track EP Colours which includes songs such as Holding On and Tide. As an artist, Kendl doesn’t stick with one sound; he blends and constantly shifts to create an eclectic sound for the listener.
If there is anything to look forward in the near future then it must be Kendl’s forthcoming EP Dreamlike. Turn has risen our excitement for it, and we hope it will deliver.
Turn is now streamable via Spotify and other digital platforms.
Ty Dolla $ign has shared a new song called ‘Ego Death’ featuring Kanye West, FKA twigs, and serpentwithfeet. Produced by Skrillex, the new track also includes additional production from BoogzDaBeast for BoardMemberz. Check it out below.
Ty$ said in a press release: “‘Ego Death’ is a very special record. It’s always an honor working with my brother ’Ye. He’s a genius and we make incredible records every single time we link up. Skrillex and twigs came in and blessed us with the magic that only they can put on the record. I played it once at a house party and everyone went crazy. A clip leaked online and shit but that’s all good. I just had to find the right time to put it out, so I’m excited that it’s finally THAT TIME!”
The rapper also discussed his new album, which he said is “done” and “coming very soon.” He added: “Shout to my fans for being patient while I made sure it was perfect, it’s worth the wait…. It’s my best work yet. I can’t wait for y’all to hear it!”
She might be writing music under the moniker Japan, Man, but Laeticia Acra is, in fact, a 15-year-old girl hailing from Beirut. If the name leaves an impression, though, wait till you hear her music — anchoring in a sophisticated but playful blend of funk, soul, and bedroom pop, Acra’s songwriting evokes a kind of poignancy that’s way beyond her years. On ‘I Like To Wait’, from her debut EP The Bad Days,she starts by pondering the impermanence of life (“Are you afraid to die, that there’s no afterlife?”) before showcasing her dark yet quirky sense of humour with a markedly adolescent one-liner: “I’ve got some breaking news, I am so confused.” The opening title track is laced with woozy synths and a spare beat that sounds almost soothing, which is ironic for a track in which she declares that “the bad days are here”, as if in an effort to escape to that “eternal fantasy” that she sings about. With a unique sound that combines the mellow intimacy of a Clairo song with the infectious, laid-back qualities of Men I Trust, The Bad Days is a promising debut EP from a young artist who sure has a lot more to offer.
We caught up with Laeticia Acra of Japan, Man for this edition of our Artist Spotlight series, where we showcase up-and-coming artists and give them a chance to talk a bit about their music.
How did you come up with the name Japan, Man?
To be honest, choosing a name was really difficult since a bunch of the ones I liked were taken. “Tiger Lily” was my first choice but, unfortunately that was already adopted by a band. I decided on going with “Japan, Man” since I wanted a name that really stuck with you. When you find out “Japan, Man” is actually an adolescent girl from Beirut, you remember it! I was also really eager to include a comma in there as a little nod to “Tyler, The Creator.”
What inspired you to start making music?
When I was twelve years old, I got into writing poetry. I eventually branched out in to songwriting, and made a lot of progress, very fast. I’ve always had a love for music, and the idea of making music appealed to me greatly. My family is very musically inclined, so the support was definitely present. My uncle, who is the brain behind the production of my songs, also helped me greatly with the launch of the whole project.
What are some of your influences?
I will always look up to Radiohead’s music, and Thom Yorke’s eyeopening lyrics. I am also deeply inspired by the Flaming Lips and, Wayne Coyne’s way of viewing the world with a child-like wonder. Beabadoobee, and Kings of Convenience also influence the energy i’d like to radiate through the aura of my music.
What’s your songwriting process like?
So the songwriting process is quite simple. Most of the time it will start with my having an idea frolicking around my head, building lyrics off of that idea, and subsequently matching the mood i’m going for with simple guitar chords.
What are some of the ideas that went into the making of ‘I Like To Wait’?
‘I Like To Wait’ has lyrics anchored in the idea that good things take so much time to truly blossom. Nothing good comes easily, and you have to learn to trust the process of waiting. It’s critical to stay hopeful. It also touches on how tons of us tend to forget to live in the moment. We are always waiting for the next best thing, when in reality we need to enjoy our moments as they take place, if not we can only enjoy them as memories.
How has the response to the EP been?
Considering the fact that this is my first EP, I am very overwhelmed and excited with the response I’ve received. I’m truly proud of how much my uncle and I have accomplished in such a short amount of time.
What’s next?
It’s hard to tell what’s coming next. I’m definitely going to keep writing since it’s a great passion of mine. I’m going to keep putting out mellow tunes for people to melt into, and lyrics for people to relate to! That is the plan at least!
Brian and Roger Eno have shared a new track called ‘Manganese’. It’s part of the augmented edition of their latest album Mixing Colours, which will feature seven new pieces of music. Check out the new song below.
Mixing Colours Expanded is set for release on July 17. The vinyl edition, titled Luminous, willarrive on August 14, with a 2-CD version following in October. A special edition featuring a sun yellow vinyl will be available exclusively at selected music retailers in an effort to support independent stores during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mixing Colours, released backed in March, marked the first album the brothers released together under their own names, though they previously collaborated on 1983’s Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks and More Music for Films.
Sad13, aka Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis, has announced a new album called Haunted Painting. It’s set for release on September 25th via her own label Wax Nine, a Carpark Records imprint. Following early single ‘WTD’, the songwriter also shared a new track from the album titled ‘Ghost (of a Good Time)’, alongside an Elle Schneider-directed visual. Check it out below, along with the album’s tracklist and artwork, designed by Sadie’s mother Diane Dupuis.
“I worked on Haunted Painting throughout 2019, writing, arranging and recording from home, then finishing the songs in studios around the country in between Speedy’s fly-in dates,” Dupuis wrote in a statement. “It’s maximalist, and more true to me and my tastes than any record I’ve done.
Inspired by a recent basement show in Brooklyn that began after midnight, Dupuis described the upbeat new single as a “party song about not going out.”
Haunted Painting marks Dupuis’ second record under the Sad13 moniker, following 2016’s Slugger. In 2018, Speedy Ortiz put out their latest LP, Twerp Verse.
Haunted Painting Artwork:
Haunted Painting Tracklist:
1. Into the Catacombs
2. WTD?
3. Hysterical
4. Ghost (of a Good Time)
5. Oops…!
6. Good Grief
7. Ruby Wand
8. With Baby
9. The Crow
10. Take Care
11. Market Hotel
Toronto singer, songwriter, and poet Mustafa has shared new single called ‘Come Along’, featuring production from James Blake. The artist debuted the single with a Nabil-directed video of a live performance featuring Blake on piano and vocals, which you can check out below.
“Perpetually grateful for James who helped free me of my own emotional burdens when I was young, to now helping me free these stories of those who’ve passed too young,” Mustafa said in a statement about the track, which reflects on issues of gun violence. “Today marks two years without Smoke Dawg. I pray the people you lost come back to you in the form that heals you best, if not a memory, a dream, if not a dream, in their siblings eyes, if not that, then in the way you carry yourself.”
“If she runs her fingers through my past / She may lose the softness in her hands / Maybe I can still make it come back,” Mustafa sings on the track.
Blake and Mustafa previously collaborated on the singer’s debut single, ‘Stay Alive’, which was released back in March.
Disclosure have shared a new single from their upcoming LP ENERGY, their first new album in five years. Titled ‘My High’, the track features slowthai and Aminé and comes with a visual directed by French filmmaker and Danny Brown collaborator Simon Cahn. Check it out below.
“We always wanted to work with rappers, we just didn’t know any and we had no means of contacting them… There aren’t a lot of rappers in Reigate,” the Lawrence brothers said in a press release. “Writing ‘My High’ with Aminé was a lot a fun, he’s hilarious and may as well be a comedian. He writes so quickly and it’s amazing to watch. He brought so much energy to this already very energetic tune that when we got home to London in January, there was only one guy capable of matching it… slowthai.”
The follow-up to Disclosure’s 2015 sophomore album Caracal is set for release on August 28 via Capitol Records and will feature contributions from Common, Kelis, Mick Jenkins, and Syd of The Internet. Earlier this year, the electronic group put out an EP called Ecstasy and released the title track for the new album.
Kill Rock Stars has shared a previously unreleased recording of Elliott Smith’s ‘Some Song’, taken from a new archival live album called Live at Umbra Penumbra. Listen to it below.
Produced and engineered by Larry Crane, the official archivist for the Smith family, the live album will be a part of Kill Rock Stars’ 25th anniversary reissue of the songwriter’s classic 1995 self-titled sophomore album, due out on August 28. ‘Some Song’ was originally released as the B-side to ‘Needle in the Hay’ in 1995, so this version, recorded in Portland on September 17th, 1994, predates the original release. A 1997 live version was later unveiled on 2017’s Either/Or: Expanded Edition. Last year, an ‘alternative version’ of the track appeared on the deluxe edition of XO.
The new version comes with a lyric video featuring a previously unseen photograph of Smith, shot by close friend JJ Gonson. “In this shot, the hot cup from Coffee People and the wet streets tell a story; I love the way the diffuse light hits his shoulders, the top of his hands, and his hair, emphasizing the bright colors,” Gonson said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “This is a photo that satisfies me artistically, still there is no way I’m not going to notice that I am fully focused on a subject to whom I am emotionally tied. So, at the end of the day, I am happy to see him. I miss him, and I hope that I am going to help people to see the goofy, puppy-like Elliott that I remember.”
Jordan Groggs, aka Stepa J. Groggs of the hip-hop trio Injury Reserve, has passed away at the age of 32. No cause of death has been revealed at this time.
The group confirmed the news on social media, writing: “REST IN POWER Jordan Alexander Groggs a loving father, life partner and friend.” They also posted a link to a GoFundMe for Groggs’ family, which continues: “Groggs’s heart has touched everyone he has came across. He will live on through his family, supporters, and the communities he was apart of. Jordan Alexander Groggs is survived by Anna and their four children Joey, Jayden, Toph, and Ari. Please keep them in your thoughts. All funds will go towards family support and services.”
Groggs and Injury Reserve’s Nathaniel Ritchie (Ritchie With a T) started collaborating shortly after they met at a Vans store, where Groggs was working, and which was owned by Ritchie’s mother. They were eventually joined by a young producer named Parker Corey, who helped push their sound forward. Their first mixtape was 2015’s Live from the Dentist Office, which was followed a year later with Floss, earning them the title of “the most unpretentious hip-hop you ever heard.” They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2019, via Loma Vista, further showcasing the trio’s inventive approach to hip-hop. Earlier this year, they released the tracks ‘Hoodwinked’ and ‘Waste Management’.
You can contribute to the GoFundMe page for Groggs’ family here.
REST IN POWER Jordan Alexander Groggs a loving father, life partner and friend. (6/1/1988-6/29/2020) pic.twitter.com/tYUa4nnebV
Nikolaus Gruenwald, a brilliant photographer out of Stuttgart, Germany, joined us for an interview to discuss photography, his early career and his current projects.
Hi, how are you?
For someone who loves to travel, 2020 has been a bit weird so far. But besides the new realities that we all face nowadays due to the COVID-19 related restrictions I’m doing fine, thanks.
Great to hear. So, you started with a legal career and made a switch to become a photographer, how did it all come about, and what made you do the switch?
If I had been more honest to myself as a law student, I could have figured out back then already that reading complicated texts and spending plenty of time with arguing people was not really my thing. I have loved taking landscape photos already back then, but I lacked the necessary spirit to cancel my law studies and pursue a different career, so I finished my bar exam before dealing with reality. At this point, I really understood for the first time what kind of consequences the selection of the wrong job would have for my future, so I decided to give my passion photography a try and see where it would take me. I will forever be grateful for all the support of friends and family in this time, and somehow I managed to make it through the critical first two years. Back in these days, I, of course, had to learn plenty of things and was fortunate enough to pick up at least some of them. So Ive got myself into a position to consequently improve my work, and have tried to do so since then.
Your most iconic pieces would arguably be your landscape and architectural ones, what inspired you to focus on these at the start of the career and then shift to a broader range of photography?
As I used to be a pretty shy personality back in my Twenties, I found landscape and architecture very appealing as they would not require any kind of communication. Also, I love hiking, both in nature and cityscapes, as you will get to see the most of your surrounding when moving slowly through the scenery. Photographing people was a weird notion for me at the beginning. I certainly didn’t want to annoy anybody by forcing them to pose in front of my camera. This changed when all my friends started to get married and asked if I was willing to shoot their wedding. So I would get my free head start into people photography, and they would get their wedding pics as a gift. From that point on, I have started to teach myself how to use flashlights and create images in the studio or on location, and this kind of photography is a big part of my job today.
the emptiness within by Nikolaus Gruenwald
What advice would you give to a person that wants to become a photographer but is worried that they might fail or simply does not know where to start?
It has probably never been as easy or and as hard at the same time to become a pro-level photographer. There are thousands of free tutorials on YouTube alone on every subject that will be important for photography. You will get pro-level camera gear for a low-level four-digit number on eBay. Photoshop will run on many computers, and it is 120 € per year. Available light photography with a natural look is highly demanded. So if you want to dive right into things, you are able to do so, even though I believe that a good photography school will still be able to support the development as a photographer for most people. Also, there is an ever-growing demand for imagery as the number of media outlets continues to grow, and the half-value-period of an image gets shorter and shorter.
On the other hand, with the success story of Instagram, photography is as popular as probably never before. Every day people shoot tons of pictures as they travel to all sorts of destinations and sell these on microstock sites with ridiculous licensing fees. Spots have to be closed down because everybody wants to have his shot of the location as well. Fashion magazines no longer pay money for the editorials, and some even charge photographers to feature their work, whereas the rest of the print media also cut their budgets with regard to the digital world. So if you have not been able to get overly popular on Instagram (I currently have 180 followers), or get a YouTube channel going, you really have to find a niche for yourself that works for your photography as well for your personality.
What is your latest project and where we can find more work by you?
My latest project is still work in progress, so I am not able to talk details. It is a landscape project, and I guess I will be out for some shots in the Alps this summer and fall. The largest collection of my projects can be found on the Behance network. If you are sincerely interested in all sorts of visual artistry, the Behance network is a great place to be! My website can be found here. And if you feel sorry for me and want to skyrocket my failing Instagram-account to the number of 200 followers and more, feel free to go to my Instagram here.
