Each month, Spinback will highlight songs and mixes by electronic artists that we think are exceptional but might’ve missed on the first pass. Unlike any other genre, electronic is an incredibly singles-based style of music, meaning whole hosts of artists can fall through the cracks if we follow the ebbs and flows of album cycles alone.
AFRODEUTSCHE – “I Know Not What I Do”
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Taken from the second of a three-volume compilation from African and African diasporic label/collective NON being released over the span of weeks (volume two is out today), “I Know Not What I Do” is one highlight contribution of Russian/British/Ghanaian composer and producer AFRODEUTSCHE. Built around a steady beat and climbing bassline, the song develops into a snaking electro labyrinth.
C.A.R. – “Cholera” (Anna Lann Runway Edition)
UK-based post-punk artist C.A.R. released her sophomore LP PINNED back in February, and is now following it up with a collection of remixes of the album material. “Cholera” gets the remix treatment from Latvian-born, Tel-Aviv based musician, producer and DJ Anna Lann. While the original is like an aloof no wave rap, Lann’s version has the song moving at a faster clip, and features her stitching together lyrics from acts like The Smashing Pumpkins, Lana Del Rey, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, The Weeknd, and a host of others, turning the song into a pop slogan collage that implies pop culture might share certain qualities with the titular disease.
Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program – “The Arrival”
LA beat scientist Ras G returns with the circular “The Arrival,” a loose meditative vibe built on handclaps and vocalizations that’s from his upcoming album Stargate Music. The record is apparently an ode to the power women have to give life, so in that sense “The Arrival” in all of its wordless utterances, is a beat that’s meant to evoke those first moments of life from the perspective of someone who’s just arrived and starting to make sense of the world around them.
Delroy Edwards – “When I Think”
Elusive LA-based producer Delroy Edwards emerged earlier this month with a slice of sun-baked retro synths. It’s the first we’ve heard from Edwards since his 2016 LP, Hangin’ At The Beach, and is from the 22 track Rio Grande, his latest album due out today. “When I Think” summons similar beachy vibes, repeating the same melodic phrase over and over like a perfect moment on the Pacific coast frozen in time.
Mount Kimbie – “Blue Train Lines” (Nina Kraviz Main Mix)
Back in September of last year, Mount Kimbie released their latest album Love What Survives. “Blue Train Lines” was an album highlight, featuring the deep idiosyncratic vocal stylings of King Krule. Russian DJ and producer Nina Kraviz pretty much scraps Krule’s contributions wholesale in favor of a much more upbeat, driving, danceable track. Kraviz focuses in on the original’s urgent snare drum beat, which gave the song a sense of locomotion. Krule’s voice gets clipped in such a way that they sound almost unrecognizable, as if the remaining vowel sounds had been sourced from soul samples. Just as a landscape blows past your field of view as you peer out a train’s window, Kraviz’ interpretation of “Blue Train Lines” offers glimpses of the original as she careens past them with a destination all her own.
