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Live Review: #TrustedForTaste Best Songs of the Week — March 12th

12 March 2021 | 12:39 pm | Emma Jones

Ten new tunes from this week you need to listen to right now from Slim Set and Imbi, Jorja Smith, Hadiya George, Taka Perry and more!

Each week, we receive countless submissions of exciting new music, so we’ll be taking you through a weekly wrap up of all our favourite new tunes every Friday called #TrustedForTaste. Follow our Spotify playlist to never miss our updates!

Slim Set x Imbi - Heatsink

In what we are calling the Moment Of The Week, Slim Set have joined forces with imbi for a collaborative single out on the newly minted Pointer Recordings, a new Remote Control imprint founded by Sweetie Zamora with assistance by Darren Lesaguis. With so much goodness in one single release, you would expect the track to be up to standard and of course it is, with imbi and Slim Set infusing the former's grounding and soulful presence with the latter's unique vocal offerings from Kal and a drum'n'bass beat courtesy of Atro. It's the perfect fusion of both acts, and a formidable first foray for the Pointer Recordings family, setting up all respective parties to have very exciting paths ahead indeed. We are 100% here for it!

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Jorja Smith - Addicted

Any week there is new Jorja Smith out in the world is a good week in our books, which makes this week a bloody good week indeed. Releasing her new single, 'Addicted', Smith switches gears again with a stripped back, emotive, raw and real sound. All about wanting the full and undivided, and sometimes toxic, attention and devotion from another, Smith wrestles with the feelings of not being enough and not getting enough from the other person. It's so effortlessly good, and it comes so easy to Smith who is such a natural with anything she does. Let's hope there's even more where this came from!

Hadiya George - Hot Flavor

Atlanta singer-songwriter Hadiya George is a voice you might already be familiar with thanks to her work with the likes of Honey Dijon on 'Not About You' or Horse Meat Disco's 'Home', but now we get to hear her on her own sounding absolutely brilliant with her new single. Titled 'Hot Flavor', she moves with ease between sparse and unhurried moments into rapped verses delivered at break neck speed without ever missing. 'Hot Flavor' shows George as a self-assured and striking artist ready to step into her own spotlight, and given it's the first release on UK selector Melvo Baptiste’s new imprint The Remedy Project via Defected Records, there's surely even more big things to come!

Taka Perry - Twenty (Ft. Stevan)

Following a seriously impressive run in 2020 which saw him release a string of eclectic singles and deliver one of the year's best Like A VersionsTaka Perry continues to show off his versatility with his new release, 'Twenty'. Tapping fellow rising star Stevan, 'Twenty' is a coming-of-age single all about turning twenty, making it through 2020 and the growing pains that come with starting a new life chapter. It's one of Perry's best releases yet, with a Toro Y Moi-esque groovy influence, a feel-good hook and instantly relatable lyrics making for a winning combo indeed.

Purient - Fantasy

After the slick and dark 'Memories' introduced us to the Purient project just weeks ago, the producer-vocalist returns with 'Fantasy'. An exercise in spatial production, tension, and controlled refinement, 'Fantasy' is a full-bodied release which is unafraid to go deep below the surface. It's equally inviting as it is foreboding, and as Purient sings "Let me show you, you are my whole home," you get the feeling that there is more than meets the eye to this "everlasting ecstasy." Such is the high quality of her IDM, Purient's music is so much more than just another dance release: it's intelligent, provocative and fearless, just the way we like it.

Hallie - Sydney Hates Me

There is something about how Brisbane/Meanjin's Hallie tells stories in her music that I simply cannot get enough of. She immediately connects with you, and her ability to take something such as having a string of ill-fated gigs in Sydney and turns it into a sunny guitar-driven dose of indie pop with a fun singalong which is actually about not the cancelled gigs but the crush she had on someone in the city which she couldn't get to which just makes her so special. It's familiar, evoking that of Paul Kelly in the way she tells her tales, but still remains thoroughly Hallie in her boldness and self-actualisation in all she does, and her latest single 'Sydney Hates Me' is a perfect example of this. It's a shame she never got to Sydney in 2020 because her live show really is something special as well, but we have a feeling many people will be lining up to catch her in action with songs like this up her sleeve.

AROHA - L2K (Luke Alessi Remix)

Melbourne/Naarm rising house and techno force Luke Alessi has offered up his remixing skills for New Zealand/Aotearoa's AROHA in a cross-Tasman Sea collaboration. Taking over her track 'L2K', Alessi works his magic to turn it into a melodic house slow burner, completely reimagining it while maintaining that hypnotic, alluring, noctural essence of the original. It's another thrilling step up for Alessi who continues to shine bright, and with nods already from the likes of RUFUS DU SOLCassianDurante and more for this remix, it's safe to say he's set to continue his steady rise this year.

Leon Vynehall - 'Snakeskin ∞ Has-Been'

Fresh off the back of announcing his forthcoming new album, Rare, Forever, and sharing two new singles titled 'Mothra' and 'Ecce! Ego!'Leon Vynehall is back for more with the release of another new single this week titled 'Snakeskin ∞ Has-Been'. Discussing the track, Vynehall said, "Over and over in a snake's life it will molt and shed it's old, outgrown skin. It does not grow with the size of the snake itself, and soon hinders its advancement, leaving the skin behind like a memory. An artefact of where it once was. I believe good artists do this too. It's what I try to do with every record." Always one to push his craft into new territory, Vynehall does exactly this with his latest release, at once sounding perfectly engineered for the liberation of the dancefloor while maintaining the progressive innovation of his 2018 album, Nothing Is Still. He is the master of subverting expectations, but one thing remains certain: Rare, Forever is shaping up to be a seriously impressive body of work already.

Foley - So Personal

New Zealand/Aotearoa electro pop duo Foley today release their new EP, Vacation, and in doing so reaffirm their status as ones to watch. EP highlight 'So Personal' is emotive, feel good electro pop at its finest, with a driving beat and uplifting and dynamic vocals, and a hook which will have itself embedded in your mind for days to come. Foley is a name which keeps popping up on our radar, from their own releases to collaborations with the likes of Brisbane/Meanjin's Health Club, and with pop bops like this, we don't mind one bit!

Laces - Drop My Cell (Ft. Darcy Baylis)

One of our most anticipated releases of the year so far, Melbourne/Naarm producer Laces does not disappoint with his new EP, Field Fallacy XVI, out today on NLV Records. Featuring previous singles 'Sunvocus', 'The Ridge' and 'Prosperity' featuring NinajirachiLaces delves into glitchy, hyper-real, futuristic and innovative production to deliver an ambitious, far-reaching and versatile EP. New single 'Drop My Cell' featuring Darcy Baylis meets this standard and sees Laces marry Baylis' yearning vocals with some of his most unpredictable, dynamic and intricate production yet, and serves as just one of the many, many highlights on his six-track EP.

Words by EMMA JONES

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