The song crush team this week have brought some uplifting anthems to the show, with touches of jazz, soul, cumbia, and reggaeton in there.
Celeste - Stop This Flame
2019 was a big year for British singer-song writer Celeste (aka Celeste Waite) who won a Brit Award, BBC Music Award and, most notably, won the BBC ‘Sound of 2020’ poll - previous winners include Adele, Florence + The Machine, Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith. Her latest single, 'Stop This Flame', comes on the back of that hype and momentum. It is a piano-driven banger that explores not letting go of love or a dream and overcoming adversity. Celeste is a phenomenal talent with a voice that does not come around often. Put this on and turn it up loud. We’ve got this! Sticky
Melodownz - Fine
A reggae-tinged ode to positivity bolstered with big trap beats from producer Mercy, this feels like a track made especially for summer (complete with poolside video). The fact that it’s coming out in time for Autumn is appropriate though, because as cheerful as it is, it was created when Melodownz was going through a rough patch. He used the refrain “I’ve been feeling fine” as a self-affirmation, and the song is hitting right when many of us could use, as Melo says, “a lil love and light”. TS
Lido Pimienta - Nada
Lido Pimienta is a Colombian Canadian who won the Polaris Prize a couple of years ago, the first Spanish language album to do so. She’s set to release a new album called Miss Colombia and the singles are instantly mesmerizing, with her agile and emotional voice, gentle cumbia beats, and rich production. Lido has said this song is about motherhood - the power, and the pain of it all - and it all comes through loud and clear, no matter what language you speak. KJ
Rubi Du - Guiding Star (Mokotron remix)
Auckland vocalist and New Zealand dancehall queen, Rubi Du aka Silva MC, has blessed our ears with a lock-down EP release, ‘Most High’. This four track burner which showcases Rubi’s lyrical versatility is full of heavy baselines and dubbed out snares. Of note, is the track ‘Guiding Light’ (remix) produced by Mokotron. It is the perfect marriage between one drop reggae and jungle with a big bottom end. Rubi's vocal styling provides a strong message of hope – something we can all do with now! Sticky
Waxahatchee - Oxbow
Uncharacteristically big drums and atmospherics kick off this one from alt-country musician Katie Crutchfield, before her voice enters and guides us into more familiar, countrified territory. There’s a beautiful piano melody keeping things anchored as Crutchfield gets existential, before she lingers on the line “I want it all”, a defiant lyric in a slightly mournful context.
Jordan Klassen - Indentivacation
Frenetic bleepy synths and a falsetto croon about the futility of trying to be someone you're not - that's all it took for me to come back to this song by Canadian Jordan Klassen many times this week. KJ
