Releases In Arpeggio: .gif Drops New LP, BGourd Collabs With Fauxe, The Intimate Friends & More

The best way to really know a musician is through his or her craft. Songs become the vessels of storytelling for these creators, whether it’s through lyrical eloquence or instrumental expression – even a kick drum tells a story. Releases In Arpeggio is a series that unearths newfound, original sounds from the local music scene, while highlighting their authors and the stories they wish to convey.

This edition features the long-awaited album of an iconic electronic two-piece, an upcoming compilation that bolsters one of the scene’s most exciting event series, a star-studded collaboration and more. Scroll down and get cosy with these discoveries during this stay-home period.

.gif Drops Highly-Anticipated Hail Nothing LP

What I’d dub a national treasure, .gif is an electronic duo that needs no introduction. Like fine wine, their sound has attained a full-bodied maturity over the years, and it’s firmly culminated in their splendid, second full-length, Hail Nothing. While anchored in the notion of embracing the void, it is an album assuredly devoid of emptiness. The sound-sculpting is full of astonishment from the pitter-patter synths to the techno ride cymbals, crafting austere textures kept toasty by the incomparable, goosebump-inducing vocals of Weish. The Syndicate-released record also features collaborations with industry luminary, Bani Haykal, and poet-rapper, Usaama Minhas. Overall, it is an airtight masterpiece that’s made the wait worth it, with an eclectic ensemble of tracks perfect for the dancefloors and dungeons in your mind.

Hail Nothing by .gif is out now on Spotify.

The Intimate Friends Let It Rip With N.A.M.S.

In these trapped times, sometimes the best medicine is to crank up the volume and rock the heck out. The Intimate Friends are a balls-to-the-wall quartet that’ve got you covered in that department, with an unruly two-track release titled N.A.M.S. The title track erupts with overblown garage rock chutzpah before melting into a climax of psychedelia complete with guitar wails and hyper bongos. While its B-side, “Dancing!”, is a chugging locomotive played à la The Hives; a reminder of why guitar music will always have its time in the sun. Remember the name: The Intimate Friends are flinging the door open and welcoming you to their party (digitally, for the time being).

N.A.M.S. by The Intimate Friends is out now on Spotify.

BGourd Unveils Veggie Wraps, Vol. 2 With Fauxe

The scene’s favourite rapping vegetable is back with a new harvest, a sophomore EP that sees him collaborating with yet another production whiz. BGourd turned heads – check out our interview with the green-suited emcee – with his prior Veggie Wraps, Vol. 1 that showcased his zany flow and boom-bap proclivity courtesy of Halal Sol behind the scenes. For this second volume, BGourd ropes in the ever-experimental Fauxe for a streamlined collection of alt-hip-hop outbursts. The resultant team-up slings BGourd into a new frenzied dimension, speckled with silky instrumentation, mind-tripping crescendos and bolder vocal experimentation that brings out the rapper’s inner entertainer.

Veggie Wraps, Vol. 2 will be released on 6 May 2020. Its first single, “Fresh Air” is out now on Bandcamp.

Gentle Bones and Charlie Lim Team Up For “Two Sides”

A dream team of enormous proportions, Gentle Bones and Charlie Lim have joined forces for new single, “Two Sides”. While their individual style trajectories veer off in different directions, their confluence works like a charm with clean duets and a mellow instrumental backbone that fits the timbre of both personalities. Released on Gentle Bones’ new label, Yung Lee Records, the introspective number, confidently inspired by the nostalgia of late-’90s boybands, addresses the singers’ struggles of the duality they face in their personal relationships and professional careers. It is a mutual commonality that both can relate to given their top-tier status in the industry, and it comes off naturally in this confessional slow-burner.

“Two Sides” by Gentle Bones and Charlie Lim is out now on Spotify.

Intriguant Rolls Out Series Compilation, UPLOADING 01

The ongoing COVID clampdown on events means it’ll be a while till we get to attend another edition of UPLOADING, a series initially conceptualised by Intriguant (we’ve got an interview feature with him too) to buttress the beat community. Luckily for us, the producer and promoter has been cooking up something on the down-low – an exclusive compilation of unreleased tracks by all UPLOADING alumni from its first three events. The vision of UPLOADING 01 is to keep the conversation going and the community together, while exhibiting the evolution of the series’ diversity. Each track’s release will be accompanied by an animation from a handpicked visual artist on social media, making this compilation both an ocular and auditory treat.

UPLOADING 01 will be released on 1 May 2020. For more information on Intriguant and the UPLOADING series, follow his Facebook page.