Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this best new music segment.
On this week’s list, we have Taylor Swift’s ‘Castles Crumbling’, a mournful yet fantastical ballad from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) featuring Paramore’s Hayley Williams; Tkay Maidza and Flume’s bouncy, hard-hitting collaboration ‘Silent Assasin’; ANOHNI and the Johnsons’ achingly beautiful ‘Why Am I Alive Now?’, which appears on her first album in seven years; Glasser’s hypnotically danceable ‘Drift’, taken from her new album crux; Teenage Fanclub’s latest single, the wistful and catchy ‘Tired of Being Alone’; and ‘Portrait of a Clear Day’, a delicately striking highlight off Julie Byrne’s The Greater Wings that sneaks in a powerful piece of wisdom: “Love affirms the pain of life.”
Grand Seiko’s relentless pursuit of precise timekeeping and superior craftsmanship is embodied in our latest addition to the Watch Spotlight, the Grand Seiko Mechanical (SBGR261). This timepiece, part of the Elegance Collection, offers a spotless, classic aesthetic that whispers elegance. In this article, we’ll uncover why we adore this piece and why it deserves a spot on Watch Spotlight.
Design
The design of the Grand Seiko SBGR261 is a watch that exemplifies the profile of traditional dress watches. The watch features a box-shaped sapphire crystal glass, ensuring outstanding durability and is coated with an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface for ease of use.
When it comes to the dial, we are treated with a warm cream dial, typically associated with more vintage timepieces, though still commonly used by brands like Seiko, Patek Philippe, Orient, and Longines. It’s the type of dial that brings character to the piece without overshadowing its elegance with elaborateness and glitz. As an element of contrast, the watch comes with a blue steel second hand, making the piece enliven nicely.
The case is made from stainless steel, a common but trusted material in the watch world, especially in dress watches. In addition, the Grand Seiko watch comes with a beautiful premium Crocodile leather strap that adds depth to the spotless look of the case. At 39.5mm, the watch is well-balanced for wearers of bigger and smaller timepieces.
Movement
At the heart of the Grand Seiko SBGR261 is an automatic movement Caliber 9S65 that is a testament to Grand Seiko’s commitment to precision and reliability. It offers a nice upgrade on its predecessor 9S55, which, unlike the 9S65, offers Grand Seiko’s Magic Lever mechanism.
The movement has 35 jewels for a smooth operation with a power reserve of 72 hours, which is in the ideal range for automatic watches. According to Grand Seiko, the mean daily rate of the movement is around +5 to -3 seconds per day.
Conclusion
Classic dress watches live on with brands like Grand Seiko, and the SBGR261 certainly contributes to that. With a price tag of £4,350, the SBGR261 is unquestionably a satisfying timepiece that can last long if serviced and treated with respect. While investment-wise, I wouldn’t recommend this watch as Grand Seiko’s typically don’t hold great value after they leave a watch boutique. Based on its aesthetics and movement, I would certainly keep this piece on a list of classic-looking dress watches to own.
Chinese-born video artist Yuge Zhou is renowned for exploring urban spaces and contemporary life through art. Now associated with the New Museum’s tech incubator NEW INC, Zhou’s work has earned global recognition, including ArtPrize 2021’s Juried Award and Honorary Mention at the 2020 Prix Ars Electronica.
Initially debuting at Art on the Mart, Zhou’s series Love Letters fascinated audiences with a nightly public art projection onto the facade of the Merchandise Mart. As a result, two new episodes, Summer and Winter, will be exhibited in the LOVE: Still Not The Lesser exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Throughout the series, Zhou explores national and personal identity, place, connection, and longing through observational vantage points, collage, and choreography.
The exhibition will run from the 17th of August until the 22nd of December, 2023.
Inspired by The Sims, Animal Crossing, and Minecraft, kick-started by Australian couple Michael and Martina alongside a team of 5 developers (2022) – known as Qloud Games. Loftia is described as an “MMO, solar punk video game” encouraging players (or so-called ‘Loftians’) to create and customise a cosy sustainable world. “A home away from home”.
Now in 2023, with a small team of just over 20 people, the transition for the game to be built on Unreal Engine 5 was a turning point for Loftia as stated by the team, shying from being just a hobby.
Having uploaded extensive behind-the-scenes footage on TikTok from “A Day in the Life of a Video Game Developer”, to frequent viewer-directed content. For example, upon introducing new NPC Amani into Loftia, viewers were asked to suggest “fun character traits” that could be included. As a result of such engagement, Loftia has seen much attraction.
More recently, a TikTok released on the 29th of May titled “Housing Customisation” received almost 6 million views and over 1 million likes. The video later questioned the audience as to “which housing styles Loftia should include?”. It was clear to see that the majority of the 15,000 comments responded with fruitful ideas, with user younasteh commenting “THIS IS MY TYPE OF GAME. tbh im a maximalist so I want it all”. Another user, Gem Zape commented saying “I love this! Will be following your journey! Excited for this”.
Source: loftia.gg TikTok
This engagement quickly translated to growth and development for Lofita, with the official TikTok account @loftia.gg surpassing 150,000 followers, gaining more than 160,000 on Instagram, and almost 20,000 on Discord this past year.
Such content already teased in recent TikTok videos includes an Eco-friendly Bakery, Flying Fish Wind Turbines, and a virtual Study Café designed for the Loftian as described by Michael and Martina to “achieve their goals and connect with long distant friends and family” by customising to-do lists and listening to music.
Qloud encourages Loftia to be more than just a game, but a chance to educate and advocate for sustainability. Its developers believe Loftia has the power to promote positive environmental change which is so heavily reflected in the game’s design.
Nevertheless, Qloud recently planned a kick-starter campaign from August 1st, 2023, with the aim to provide a crowdfunding source to ensure the release and reality of Loftia. An actual release date for Loftia has yet to be announced, but we hope this educational, relaxing, and cosy game makes its way to all platforms soon.
Taylor Swift has shared a new video for her “From the Vault” track ‘I Can See You (Taylor’s Version)’, which appears on the just-released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Swift stars alongside Taylor Lautner, Joey King, and Presley Cash in the self-directed clip, which she debuted at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri as part of her ongoing Eras Tour. Check it out below.
Swift also brought out Lautner and King on stage for the video’s premiere last night. “He was a very positive force in my life when I was making the Speak Now album, and I want to say he did every single stunt that you saw in that music video,” she said.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is Swift’s third re-recorded album, following Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version). It features appearances from Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams on two other “From the Vault” tracks.
Mick Jenkins has announced a new album, The Patience, which will arrive on August 18 via RBC Records/BMG. The follow-up to 2021’s Elephant in the Room is led by the single ‘Smoke Break-Dance’, which is produced by Stoic and features JID. Check out its Andre Muir–directed video below.
“As best I can be, I am a person who does everything within his power to change his situation,” Jenkins said of the new LP. “I think with some level of consistency, that behavior inevitably leads you to a point where you have to wait. I see this as a period of time in one’s journey, no matter the length, where the unseen things must take place; the muscles must tear and repair, the understanding of a concept coming to you in a moment completely devoid of artistic intention. It’s through these moments where I’ve found myself being the most frustrated with patience. And this body of work sounds like that frustration.”
Depeche Mode have shared a remix of their Memento Mori track ‘Wagging Tongue’. It’s part of a set of reworkings the band has unveiled today from artists including Daniel Avery, Kid Moxie, and more. Take a listen below.
Memento Mori, the follow-up to 2017’s Spirit, came out in March.
French artist/producer SebastiAn and London Grammar have teamed up for the new song ‘Dancing By Night’. The track arrives with a music video directed by Jeanne Lula Chauveau. Watch and listen below.
“It was a total joy writing and creating this track with Sebastian,” London Grammar said in a statement. “We are so excited for you to hear it. He is a total genius and it really has been an honour.”
‘Dancing By Night’ is part of a new remix collection, London Grammar – The Remixes, which will be released on July 21 via Ministry of Sound. It features reworkings from artists such as Dot Major, Jamie Jones, and Joris Voorn, as well as another original track, a collaboration with CamelPhat.
London Grammar’s last album, Californian Soil, came out in 2021.
Protection, the duo of CHVRCHES’ Iain Cook and Glasgow musician Scott Paterson, have announced their second EP, SEEDS II. The follow-up to April’s SEEDS I is due out in September via Saint Lucky Records. Check out the new single ‘Thirst Shrine’ below.
“‘Thirst Shrine’ started off as a little seed idea that I sent to Iain, the vocal chop and the drum break stuff,” Paterson said in a statement. “We bounced it back and forth until it sounded right.”
Cook added: “I heard the demo while touring with CHVRCHES after lockdown. It felt so fresh since we hadn’t really dabbled with Drum and Bass so directly yet. The vocal chop inspired me to push further. Between Austin and Chicago I got Covid, so I just lay in bed feverishly chopping up for hours working on it. Getting the bass right took about five layers of sounds, we wanted it enormous, enveloping like early UK dubstep or DnB.”
Metric have announced Formentera II, a companion album to last year’s Formentera. It’s slated for release on October 13 via Metric Music International/Thirty Tigers. First single ‘Just the Once’ features strings composed and arranged by Drew Jureka and mixed by Stuart White. Listen to it below.
“The only way I can describe ‘Just The Once’ is to call it regret disco,” lead singer Emily Haines said i na press release. “It’s a song for when you need to dance yourself clean. Beneath the sparkling surface, there’s a lyrical exploration of a simple word with many meanings. Once is a word that plays a game of opposites. Once can mean once-upon-a-time and refer to a moment in the past, or it can mean someday, once something happens. And as for doing something only once versus doing something once in a while, well, I think we all know how vast the difference is between the two.”
Formentera II Cover Artwork:
Formentera II Tracklist:
1. Detour Up
2. Just The Once
3. Stone Window
4. Days Of Oblivion
5. Who Would You Be For Me
6. Suckers
7. Nothing Is Perfect
8. Descendants
9. Go Ahead And Cry
