Browsing Tag

Portishead

Ami Leigh’s Dark Soul was reinvented in the shadows of the G185TARR Death by TripHop Remix

Posted on 22 March 2024

G185TARR’s remix of Ami Leigh’s debut single, ‘Dark Soul‘, is a masterful reinvention that amplifies the original’s raw innovation and emotional depth. This collaboration, a long-awaited fusion of talents, brings a new dimension to the track, infusing it with a darker, more enigmatic edge.

Ami Leigh, a multifaceted musician from County Durham, UK, originally captivated audiences with ‘Dark Soul’ in March 2019. The track, known for its candid confessions and intimate revelations, showcased her ability to weave personal narratives into compelling musical tapestries. In this remix, G185TARR, a producer with a discerning ear for unique soundscapes, has skilfully reimagined the song, maintaining its core while introducing a beguiling Trip-Hop flair.

The ‘Death By TripHop Remix’ elevates the original’s beguile to the nth degree. It retains the affecting shimmers of the angular cutting guitar strings while allowing Ami Leigh’s direct vocal lines to pierce through the veil of the Trip-Hop-ed production. The remix adds swathes of style to the substance that Ami Leigh is quickly becoming renowned for.

With vocal lines that ache in the same vein as Mazzy Star and an artful approach to songwriting, Ami Leigh pushes the boundaries of alt-indie into dark new territories. This remix, rhythmically bolstered and erratically arcane, is a stunning ode to the panache of Trip Hop. It’s a track that resonates with those whose souls are married to the shadows, inviting them into the disquiet turbulence of a sound that is both haunting and profoundly contemplative.

Stream the official music video for the G185TARR Death by TripHop Remix of Dark Soul on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ami Leigh darkened Americana’s Door with the Luxe Beguile in Her Ground-breaking Single, Foretold ft Neil Gibson

Posted on 3 March 2024

Ami Leigh, hailing from County Durham, UK, has long been an aurally beguiling chameleon. Her latest single, Foretold, marks a striking foray into country rock, infused with the essence of Portishead and the chill of rock-licked post-punk.

Foretold is a poignant narrative of doomed love regaled through Leigh’s crystalline vocal lines. Her voice, imbued with soulful clarity, weaves through the hauntingly reimagined Americana soundscape, creating a contrast that is both striking and harmonious. The cold, instrumental chill she introduces strips the genre of its traditional warmth, yet the ensuing guitar solos ignite a familiar country rock fire. This juxtaposition is Leigh’s genius, offering a fresh, yet respectful nod to her influences, ranging from The Cure to Pink Floyd.

Neil Gibson’s contribution cannot be overlooked. His guitar work echoes the emotional turbulence of the song’s narrative while elevating the release and adding layers of complexity and familiarity, ensuring Americana aficionados won’t feel lost in the artfully arcane textures. Foretold doesn’t just belong to the country rock genre; it expands it.

If you have ever endured a relationship fated to meet an ugly demise and come out the other side imbittered by your own naivety, expect Foretold to hit hard as the guitars shimmer and the harmonies bring you to rapture.

Watch the official music video for Ami Leigh’s latest single on YouTube, add it to your Spotify playlists, or purchase the track on Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dissolved Girl syncopated 90s trip-hop into mechanised alt-rock mesmerism with ‘Silt’

Posted on 6 February 2024

After a ground-breaking debut that set the bar obscenely high, the London-based fourpiece, Dissolved Girl, obliterated it with the mechanised mesmerism within their sophomore release, Silt.

Sonic odes have been paid to the trip-hop pioneers countless times before, but few outfits have what it takes to take the alt-90s aural aesthetics and syncopate them into a soundscape that sits ahead of the contemporary curve. Dissolved Girl’s success in this arena is just one testament to their commercial appeal.

Mastered by Matt Colton (Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood), the production of Silt resounds with cavernous reverberations within the industrially-tinged indietronic alt-rock hit as the glassy lead vocals provide a vulnerable juxtaposition to the abrasively immersive instrumentals that will course through your rhythmic pulses and pull you into the centre of gravity, strong enough to send the airwaves out of kilter.

Seductive and ensnaring in equal measure, Dissolved Girl and their commitment to exhibiting raw emotion through sophisticated aural expositions are set to become one of the most promising up-and-coming outfits of 2024, especially with the imminence of their debut LP, which has been four years in the making.

Silt was officially released on February 2nd; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ride the ‘Waves’ in Stephanie Michelle’s Latest Spiritually Scintillating Synth Pop-Meets-Soul Release

Posted on 4 February 2024

With all the style of Portishead, the soul of Seal, and the sonic beguile of Erykah Badu, the latest single, Waves, by the RnB visionary Stephanie Michelle draws you into a transcendent connection with something far beyond the self.

The intimate approach to the production created an aural phenomenon that will leave you sinking deeper into the tranquilly euphonic experience as it explores epiphanies that lead you to overcome what no longer serves you. Despite the lyrics leaning into aching emotions, the Detroit-born singer, songwriter, and producer ensured that Waves is as cathartic as watching water rhythmically lap against the shore.

With her influences ranging from Tori Amos to Depeche Mode, and her time spent in a synth-pop band, Stephanie Michelle’s sonic signature is rendered in deeply distinctive calligraphy. If you always want to tune into artists who charter unique paths with their sound, get on board with this phenomenal artist.

Waves is now available to stream on here

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Freyja Elsy embodied the sentiment that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned in her single, Over It

Posted on 23 November 2023

Freyja Elsy’s latest single, Over It, from her upcoming EP, Modern Artifice, is a mesmerising blend of trip-hop, dark pop, and innovative electronica that resonates with the chillingly arcane Southern Gothic air of Chelsea Wolfe.

The single, which premiered on BBC Radio Wales on Adam Walton’s Introducing show, has been aptly compared to the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead, with a nod to the acid house genre in its production. The multi-layered auditory journey reflects the despondency of being cast into the harsh realities of adulthood and forced to contend with the seemingly arbitrary monotony which stretches for decades before those coming of age. Elsy’s voice, both haunting and commanding, unravels this narrative against a backdrop of spiky dream pop and leftfield electronica, creating a sound that is as visionary as it is haunting as it oozes the divinity of female power.

Elsy, who has had a remarkable year, opening for acts like Death & Vanilla and Welsh artists Eädyth, Ani Glass, and Small Miracles, never fails to showcase her ability to create a cohesive and clear vision in her music. Her previous singles, Lungs, Requiem, and Golden Hour, have already garnered international attention and BBC recognition, setting a high bar for her upcoming EP.

Over It hit the airwaves on November 17; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

heyiloveyou penned a monochromatically dark love letter to the trip-hop pioneers with ‘Never massivehead)’.

Posted on 30 September 2023

By imagining the atmosphere that trip-hop pioneers would create if they rose from the underground today, the Croatian solo artist, heyiloveyou, who has been demonstrating their imperviousness to genre and style constraints since 2020, unleashed their monochromatically dark single, Never (massivehead).

The quite genius titular portmanteau of Portishead and Massive Attack is far from where the ingenuity ends with this torridly electrifying release, which melds dark and caustic iconography with the stylistic catharsis to drench the airwaves in cinematically luxe gravitas.

In spite of the amalgam of the past and present day, the duality easily gave way to the synergy that floods the track through the guitars, drums, synths and beats. Get drenched by heading over to Spotify.

 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Relinquish control and uphold the unknown with Laura Brehm’s latest electronica single, Wonder, featuring Nikonn.

Posted on 27 April 2023

Portishead and PJ Harvey can scarcely hold a candle to the electronica songstress Laura Brehm after the release of her latest single Wonder, featuring Nikonn. Ethereal yet tangibly resounding in equal measure, the track is scintillated through the domineeringly demure vocal lines to sonically prove how sweet life is if you maintain an innocent sense of wonder. All too often, we’re caught up in the obsession of seeing the full picture and understanding every stroke that created it; Wonder, in all its artful ingenuity, gives you permission to relinquish all-encompassing knowledge and softly uphold the unknown.

In addition to creating her own music, Brehm has released almost 100 collaborations on labels including Universal, Electronic Bird Records and NCS; the innovatively sophisticated writer, singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist has turned her hand to swathes of different genres, but whatever she touches always turns to philosophical gold.

Check out the official music video for Wonder on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jeff Goldsmith – Tied to the Track: Melt Into the Darkly Ambient Melancholy

Posted on 15 November 2022

Following the resounding success of his former releases, the Minneapolis composer, musical sound designer and producer Jeff Goldsmith unleashed the lamentfully arrestive atmosphere of his latest score, Tied to the Track.

With the art rock nuances of Radiohead, the progressive feel of Fear of a Blank Planet era Porcupine Tree and deserty Josh Homme-Esque vocals bleeding into the darkly ambient neo-classic electronic arrangements, succumbing to the cinematic melancholy of Tied to the Track is non-optional.

Goldsmith started his venture into creativity aged four at the Suzuki Music Academy, where he learned to play the violin by ear. In 2020, he made his debut with the album, Vodu, subsequently followed by his poetically titled scintillating sophomore album, May You Find the Light Before the Devil Knows He’s Right, in May 2021. In addition to his solo work, Goldsmith scores for TV and film and works with a myriad of other artists, such as Austin Texas’s Sparta. 

After hearing Tied to the Track, I know I will never stop turning to Goldsmith’s visceral sonic proclivities which innovatively amalgamate ambience with exultant ingenuity. He isn’t just one in a million, his presence on the airwaves can’t be quantified. I can’t recommend him enough.

Tied to the Track is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Aiko Aiko became the definition of etherealism with their latest release, Al Lat.

Posted on 7 October 2021
Aiko Aiko

Prepare your dark ambient trip-hop playlists for the latest release, Al Lat, from the alt-electronica duo, Aiko Aiko; it proves just how readily we bound around the word ‘ethereal’. When you’re confronted with a soundscape as phantasmal as AI Lat there are few ways to aptly allude to just how ensnaring the delicately commanding textures are.

The artist has been infusing their alchemic mash of soft synths, organs, driving electronic beats and intricate piano melodies onto the airwaves since 2012. With a brand of emotionally intellectual catharsis similar to Warpaint, Portishead and Widowspeak, it comes as no surprise that they have captivated an international fanbase with their psychedelic reprising progressions.

Al Lat will officially release on October 7th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to the artist’s website or SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Gold Supply have made their ethereal debut with Completely Underwater

Posted on 5 September 2021

The recently formed avant-garde powerhouse, The Gold Supply, consists of ex-major label artists exploring outside capitalist confines; their debut EP, Completely Underwater, unravels as an ethereal art-rock-meets-trip-hop masterpiece.

The catharsis-laden standout single, Cold Water, sonically sits between sounds you will be accustomed to from Radiohead, Portishead, Interpol and Trent Reznor. What you may not be used to is the meditative effect of the tranquil electronic soundscape and the chilling vocals that give Cold Water even more cold dark atmosphere for the listener to swim through.

The Gold Supply formed during the pandemic, with the intent of reflecting the turmoil of the world at it through ambient sounds; depending on your current mentality, it will either comfort or disturb. David Lynch would be proud.

Delve into Cold Water yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast