ArPlayggio: From Y2K Pop To Avant-Garde Electronica, Here Are Our Tracks Of The Month
There’s always new tunage cooking from the oven of the local scene (Credit: Various sources)
Perk up your playlist with some sun-kissed house from a local EDM wunderkind. Feel the wind-swept rush of an ’80s-influenced rock escapade. And witness the airtight collaboration between two charismatic wordsmiths from Singapore’s hip-hop milieu. Load ’em up with this edition of ArPlayggio, firing out your tracks of the month.
Anise’s SIFA excursion gets an official release (Credit: Natalie Soh)
Anise – Animism
Released under the experimental ambit of Syndicate, “Animism” drips off Anise’s Non-Breaking Space EP like a stalactite frozen in splendour. An extension from the singer-producer’s endeavour for SIFA 2022, the song’s haunting yet comforting nature cradles you in its bosom of avant-garde alt-tronica. Austere beats trot mechanically while horn-hued synths glide regally, lifting up the ever-mellifluous timbre of Anise as she paints eloquently with her voice. An experience that’s sobering and intoxicating all at once.
The Yen Disco Soundsystem honcho has been busy (Credit: Richard Sta Ana)
MZA – 四季ステッパー
Translating to “four-season stepper”, this breezy instrumental is a leading gust from the debut compilation of Yen Disco Soundsystem, run by its chieftain – and the producer of this track – MZA. Inspired by ’90s racing games, the piece features laser-textured breakbeats that puncture with an erratically fidgety motion, sombre guitar trails that loop, and splashes of synth chords that sway in a heady trance. This is a joyride of organic electronica that reels you in like a hypnotic spiral, but the inherent magic it holds is no illusion.
motifs is one of Baybeats’ budding bands this year (Credit: Courtesy of spikyfruits)
motifs – fluorescent
In their debut single, the shoegaze quintet seek stability in the oft-miasmic ordeal of moving on. “Drive away, the clouds still look the same,” sings Elspeth Ong, pouring hope into a narrative that never gets easier to navigate. Her tender delivery complements the lissom melodies, both weaving through the hazy plume of guitars that coat the song in armour.
Don Aaron delivers a bigger sound with a full band (Credit: Sameh Wahba)
Don Aaron – NOTHING TO LOSE
The sprawling saga of Don Aaron gets a hulkier new chapter. His first single to sport a full-band arrangement – worlds apart from his former vaporwave-inclined habits – “NOTHING TO LOSE” crescendos from a piano ballad intro to a swell of galactic synths and rolling live drums that add flesh and bone to his pre-dominantly digitalised architecture. With its dramatically flashy nature, it could very well be the closing theme song of an ’80s Hollywood blockbuster.
Jaime won’t be sidelined by a fast-moving world (Credit: Joel Chua)
Jaime Wong – I Say Too Much
How would you react when it feels like the world is swiftly passing you by? Rather than wallowing in despondence, the veteran singer-songwriter cranks up the knobs in this gutsy and liberating pop-rock venture. With punchy electric guitars and bellowing drums, Jaime Wong turns insecurity into iridescence, tapping into teen-like angst to embrace her pride as a self-professed misfit. You forge your own story, and Jaime’s growth is proof of that.
Hip-hop fans, be stoked (Credit: Mary Sue’s Instagram page)
Mary Sue & ABANGSAPAU – Track A
Two hip-hop powerhouses high-five and ride high. Sliced from their collaborative EP, HERE I AM, the succinctly-titled “Track A” sees Mary Sue and ABANGSAPAU waxing lyrical about self-introspection, passing the mic and shifting in rhythm and colour, from fiery wordflows to insouciant rhyme combos. Their tight monologues bounce amidst a track mixed by sample wizard, Fauxe, crafting lo-fi languor with crackling, fizzing beats and muted piano murmurs.
RENE takes it down a notch with captivating poise (Credit: Kelly Pang)
Rene – Dry In The Sun
At some point, we all become lost in the labyrinth of life. This poignant piece presents a softer side of RENE that loudly exhibits her prowess as a songwriter. “You’re my ivory tower, but I know the other side is green,” she admits with a tint of shame, aware of the self-destructive conundrum she’s found herself trapped in. Her words cut deep amongst heavy string textures and guitars that tread cautiously, not wanting to burst the bubble of fragility that encapsulates the song.
Foxela explores with his own vocals for the first time (Credit: Courtesy of Foxela)
Foxela – Fallen
Singapore’s electronic wunderkind lands his debut release on Monstercat. The beat here pumps like a heartbeat in love; a lub-dub of passion that you can palpably sense from the house prodigy. While relatively restrained compared to his past releases, the song remains hyperactively melodic with its jagged synths and cherubic chimes. It’s also the first time Foxela goes beyond the role of a producer, but a vocalist as well, adding an extra dose of raw, gung-ho sincerity.
Ysa Yaneza embraces her identity loud and proud and we’re all here for it (Credit: Courtesy of Ysa Yaneza)
Ysa Yaneza – 1Nightwitu
Ysa Yaneza sounds like she’s having the time of her life, and that right there is a powerful proclamation that can’t be shot down. The pop rebel unleashes an empowering composition about embracing one’s sexuality in a ruthless, ego-crushing world. It’s shameless about its Y2K nostalgia, from Ysa’s vocal style reminiscent of r&b heroines like Ashanti and Brandy, to its tropical, amorous arrangement complete with processed percussions and even an unapologetically mawkish spoken intro (complete with airplane SFX).
