St Jerome’s Laneway festival has already kicked off (26 January – 8 February), bringing with it a host of hip, zeitgeisty acts around Australia (not to mention Auckland and Singapore, too). Here are five artists you should have circled on your schedule.
God’s Whisper – Raury
Plenty of artists like to claim their music is cross-genre, but few in reality are, and even fewer in the way that 18-year-old Raury’s work manages to be. Take a listen to his song God’s Whisper and you’d stick him alongside Arcade Fire or other jangly indie bands that take cues from tear-your-heart-out spirituals. Then, flick over to Amor to hear the Atlanta artist’s smooth hip-hop talent, and you’ll suddenly find yourself struggling to not only understand how two such diverse songs can come from one kid, but how one kid can manage to somehow expose the musical link that ties such genres together. At the heart is, perhaps, an artist that with total naturalness flouts convention and draws, in turn, on EDM, folk, rock and rap much like a painter with a full colour palette.
Zen – Eves the Behavior
There is plenty to like from 20-year-old Hannah Karydas, better known as Eves the Behavior. Her voice is undeniably pretty and the foamy, reverb heavy production on songs like Zen give off a dreamy, summery feel, like melting ice cream in the sun. New song TV takes a stab at something a bit darker and more cinematic, and was produced by the New York born, Sydney-based Eric J who brings that familiar and synthetic crash and boom of an electronica wash. Still, more risks will need to be taken before this Brisbane-based artist can distinguish herself from her Lana del Rey and Lorde forebears.
Never Catch Me (feat Kendrick Lamar) – Flying Lotus
Sitting alongside Richard D James in the high-brow electronic camp, Flying Lotus’s most recent opus has all the far out, quirky beats and basslines that he is loved for, but now with elevated fame courtesy of a number of high-profile guest appearances by musical innovators like Thundercat, Kimbra, Herbie Hancock, Deantoni Parks, Snoop-Dog (less envelope pushing, more rolling papers) and featured on this track, Kendrick Lamar. Never Catch Me is the longest track from his fifth album You’re Dead, and has an escalating verse from Kendrick that works its way up to a familiar Thundercat bassline and then morphs into something different entirely.
Wimme Nah – Vic Mensa
In an explosive collaboration between two up and comers, Chicago rapper Vic Mensa joined forces with Canadian musical mastermind and electronic producer Kaytranada to create Wimme Nah. The track title follows the dubious trend of phonetically spelling words (see: Jennifer Lopez’s track I Luh Ya Papi), and comes brimming with punchy rhythms and synthesised bass overlays. Track samples are a throwback to old school hip hop, and luckily there’s complexity in Kaytranada’s breakbeat because it helps offset Vic Mensa’s swagger, delivered with signature fire. Along with his Laneway appearance, Mensa is doing sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne.
Second Night – Mansionair
The release of EP Hold Me Down saw Mansionair’s electronic-ambient-synth-pop go global, and nabbed them a spot at this year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The Sydney trio’s downtempo ballad Hold Me Down comes filtered through a heavy concoction of funk-infused electronica, and seems proof artists like Chet Faker, Flume and other Future Classic labelmates continue to heavily influence the local scene. Meanwhile followup single Second Night features elegant vocals and a touch of R&B groove, with swelling layers of ambient sounds filling out the background.
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