Dec 30, 2019

Music of the Month: December 2019

We’re constantly on the lookout for amazing music new and old, and each month we share our favourite discoveries with our readers.

The motto: “Broaden some horizons”.

3 songs of varying genres.

1 cover song that we love for some reason or another.

1 essential album to hear before you die.

Song #1 – ‘Sanpellegrino’ (Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn)

Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn are an alternative hip-hop duo from Brighton. With raw lyrics and emotive instrumentals, these guys offer a catchy glimpse in to their own everyday struggles. You could say that this kind of sound represents a flip side to UK rap that is often ignored by the mainstream. Although, with artists like Loyle Carner flourishing, the future seems bright. Frankie and Harvey’s 2016 tune ‘Sanpellegrino’ is our first song of the month, and it’s a banger.

‘Sanpellegrino’ - Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn

Song #2 – ‘Voyager’ (Daft Punk)

If you’ve never gone out of your way to explore Daft Punk, you’d be forgiven for hearing ‘Get Lucky’ and venturing no further. Whilst the Parisian duo have gravitated towards pop over the years, their roots go deep in the electronic scene. Their debut 1997 album Homework was very minimal, but the 2001 release Discovery hit that sweet spot between house and melodic groove which embodied their sound for years to come. ‘Voyager’ from the second half of this album encapsulated that blend perfectly, and so it’s our second song of the month.

‘Voyager’ - Daft Punk

Song #3 – ‘Relax Your Mind’ (Gonza)

Our third song this month comes from Swedish producer Gonza, who specialises in lo-fi hip-hop instrumentals. After putting out various popular singles, Gonza has racked up some respectable numbers on Spotify, presumably by forming a key ingredient to student revision playlists around the world. His biggest tune ‘Relax Your Mind’ (released in 2018) is a jazzy and elegant beat that will hopefully help to you do exactly as the title commands:

‘Relax Your Mind’ - Gonza

Cover of the Month – ‘Electric Feel’ (Tash Sultana)

Tash Sultana, the 24-year-old Australian multi-instrumentalist, is a bit of an enigma. Prior to 2016, she was recording bedroom videos that were soon to become viral. Hundreds of millions of streams later, she’s touring the world and attracting acclaim for her festival sets (like Coachella in 2018). In 2017, she graced Australia’s triple j radio network with a cover of MGMT’s ‘Electric Feel’. This is one of those rare covers that completely reinvents the original. Surrounded by an array of pedals, Tash used loops of echoing guitar tones to build her tribute to this classic song. It’s a passionate (bare-footed) performance. Check it out:

‘Electric Feel’ - Tash Sultana

Essential Album of the Month – A Little Bit of Somethin’ (Tommy Guerrero)

San Francisco-born Tommy Guerrero found fame as a professional skateboarder during California’s defining scene of the 1980s. As a man of many talents, he co-founded the world-famous skate brand Real in 1991, and started making music later that same decade. This month, we’d like to share his 2000 album A Little Bit of Somethin’. Fully instrumental and mostly acoustic, this release essentially feels like one long jam session (without the mistakes). Hint: if you have any boring stuff to do today, this album makes for a very soulful soundtrack.