Though the world is currently ablaze at the moment, this week we’ve been taking time out to chill to ambient, free-flowing tracks. Steady indie-folk, electro-ballads and more, What’s Good This Week is taking a second to unwind amidst all the chaos going on around us.
Palmaria – Lluvia
Starting this week is Italian duo Palmaria with their latest track ‘Lluvia’. Now residing in London, the duo has been releasing music since 2017, creating calm/ambient indie music that dips in between folk and pop from track to track. On their latest offering, Palmaria focus on recentering their energy, delivering light and breezy indie-pop that feels invigorating and good for the soul. Speaking about their new single, Palmaria shared: “‘Lluvia’ is a story about rebirth. More than ever, we need to rely on ourselves to use our vulnerability to create something valuable, pick up the pieces and start over. When we stop putting pressure on ourselves and we focus on what’s really important, we can reverse the rain and find renewed energy to move forward.”
Ben Everything – Cold Window
On his second single, Manchester-based artist Ben Everything delivers an electro-ballad in the form of ‘Cold Window’. Akin to James Blake’s early work, Ben Everything takes his influences from a series of different influences. Listing Fourtet and Joji as key inspirations for his latest track, ‘Cold Window’, happily lives up to the style and standard of its emotionally rich electro-R’n’B influences. It’s only towards the very end, however, that Ben’s love of Dave Grohl shows, with a disruptive drum breakdown sounding as though the track is about to suddenly dive into some heavy-electro-rock mix. Swiftly ending after this, ‘Cold Window’ delivers a solid electro-ballad that teases possibilities of heavier, more ‘electric’ production in the future.
MUNYA – Pour Toi
Next up is French-Canadian artist MUNYA, the project of Josie Boivin, sharing her glistening new track ‘Pour Toi’. With electronic beats cutting into The xx styled guitar hooks, ‘Pour Toi’ begins as an unassuming dream-pop track before a sudden shift in sharp synths lifts MUNYA’s work into becoming a moving piece of ambient electro. Sounding as though James Blake, Washed Out and fellow French-Canadian’s Le Couleur had come together and collaborated, MUNYA succeeds in crafting a sublime piece of shifting electronica on ‘Pour Toi’.
Von Marlon – Save It
Berlin-based producer Von Marlon shared his latest track today titled ‘Save It’. With his name inspired by Mike Skinner of The Streets, Marlon’s sound is heavily influenced by the UK electro and hip-hop/rap scene. While more ambient in tone than his influences, there’s a smoothness to ‘Save It’, that brings in a charming breathe of fresh air to his take on electro-hop. There’s an undeniable sense of optimism throughout the track, that makes vibing away to Marlon’s steadily rising production a pure joy. Explaining a bit about the track, Marlon shared: “The song is about the anticipation and patient longing for social interaction with loved ones, once post-pandemic things return to normal. Whatever normality shall mean then.”
MOLTENO – Our house is on fire
Lastly, comes a brand new track from London artist MOLTENO titled ‘Our house is on fire’. Produced during the UK’s first lockdown, MOLTENO’s latest is an ethereal piece of brooding pop music, captivating in its steady motion of crashing percussion and dispersing ambient synth keys. Sharing the story of the track, MOLTENO explained: “I was lucky enough to stay in the middle of nowhere near where I grew up in Stroud and there was a quietness and a sense of eeriness and social isolation that seeped into the studio at the time. I wanted to explore the way homes can feel inescapable in periods of change like relationship breakdowns or family dysfunction, like the house is slowly burning. When home doesn’t feel like home anymore.”
velvetindependent.com 