Von Gerald Hollerer
Bicep – Water (ft. Clara La San)
Thanks to their club anthems “Glue” & “Apricots”, the Northern Irish producer duo Bicep have long since arrived in the premier league of the international electronic music scene and are still bubbling over with new musical ideas. A bubbling spring coming from above – isn’t that a waterfall? Right! Coincidence that the B-side and instrumental demo version of the new Bicep single is titled “Waterfall”? Pretty sure, but nice chain of associations that I’ve put together here. To thicken the waterfall a bit, Matt McBrian and Andy Ferguson decided to add vocals from the wonderful Manchester singer-songwriter Clara La San. This is how the new single “Water” came into being, which impresses with the dark-melancholic bicep sound mix of garage, house, techno, breakbeat and 2step and which will leave neither eyes nor shirts dry on the international dance floors.
FM4 Charts: Every Saturday from 5pm to 7pm on FM4 and online following the show.
Cousines like Shit – Over Night
The sound of cousins Hannah and Laura Breitfuss from Vienna is unruly and refuses to be pigeonholed, although at times a trace of Nico and Moldy Peaches can be heard. They themselves describe their music as “avant trash” – a mixture of profound social criticism and a fascination for the banal. This is exactly where the current single “Over Night” picks up. She questions social conventions without taking herself too seriously: What prevents the two from crossing boundaries in dealing with each other? A question that has already tormented the young Marco Wanda. “I might feed you / I might beat you / I might lick you / I might kick you. But we’ve been cousins all our lives.”
Paramore – This Is Why
Paramore are finally back following a 5 year hiatus. “This Is Why” was the very last song written for the album, due out in February 2023, and is also the album’s title track. According to singer Hayley Williams, it sums up the level of absurd emotion and the fact that we’ve learned little despite the impending doom of a dying planet. Paramore have once once more managed to mix a socially critical text with a catchy, driving and danceable indie pop instrumental. Also highly recommended is the video for the single, directed by Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates.
Priya Doubt – Adalam Va!
She has already played support shows for Jungle, has performed at major festivals such as c/o Pop, Melt!, SXSW, Primavera or here at the Scene Open Air, was nominated for the critics’ award “BBC Sound of 2022” and received it from BBC Radio 1 for two singles the coveted “Hottest Record” award. Tamil-Swiss musician Priya Ragu is definitely on her way to the top. And on the way there she quickly wrote another hit: “Adalam Va!” is the ultimate invitation to dance. It’s regarding hope in the darkest of days and the fresh energy that can come from such times. “The song should express exactly this feeling and send you straight to the dance floor!”, says the musician.
