Girl Talk announces North American tour and releases a free acapella version of his latest record.

Photo by Teddy DeMask

Today, Girl Talk – aka Pittsburgh-based producer Gregg Gillis – announces a fall/winter 2022 North American tour. Tickets are on sale now. This announcement follows the release of Full Court Press, Girl Talk’s “timeless” (HYPEBEAST) collaborative album with Wiz KhalifaBig K.R.I.T and Smoke DZA, released this past spring on Asylum/Taylor Gang. Gillis rose to prominence off his meticulous construction of genre-smashing sample-based music, and these breakneck-paced party jams are championed in his euphoric live shows. Girl Talk’s forthcoming tour will see him performing in Las VegasHouston, Sacramento and more, all cities he did not play on the spring 2022 tour. Full dates are listed below. 

In conjunction with the tour announcement, Girl Talk releases a remix of Full Court Press’ “Ain’t No Fun,” which blends the vocals with elements of Harry Styles’ hit “As It Was.” Additionally, he’s released an acapella version of Full Court Press as a free download. This is an opportunity for other producers or music enthusiasts to be able to use the vocals from the album in their own remixes or DJ sets.

 
Listen to Girl Talk’s “Ain’t No Fun” Remix
 

With each Girl Talk album, from his breakout Night Ripper (2006) to Feed The Animals (2008) and All Day (2010), Gillis’ work has become increasingly detailed and complex. The last several years have seen Gillis focusing on production work for some of his favorite rap artists, including Wiz KhalifaT-PainTory LanezYoung NudyBasCozzErick The Architect (from Flatbush Zombies), Smoke DZADon Q, and Freeway. This year’s Full Court Press was a culmination of friendships going back ten-plus years and a “unique intersection of all of our work,” says Gillis.

 
Stream/Purchase Full Court Press
Watch the “Ready For Love” Video
Watch the “Put You On” Video
Watch “How The Story Goes” Visualizer
 
Purchase Tickets to Girl Talk’s 2022 North American Tour
 
Girl Talk Tour Dates
Fri. Sep. 16 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. Sep. 23 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Sun. Sep. 25 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
Thu. Nov. 3 – Columbus, OH @ KEMBA Live!
Fri. Nov. 4 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
Sat. Nov. 5 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
Thu. Nov. 10 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
Fri. Nov. 11- Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
Thu. Nov. 17 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
Fri. Nov. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Sat. Nov. 19 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Fri. Dec. 9 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
Sat. Dec. 10 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
Thu. Dec. 15 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
Fri. Dec. 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Sat. Dec. 17 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Nils Frahm releases “Lemon Day” from his upcoming three-hour-long album, “Music for Animals.”

Photo by LEITER

Renowned composer, producer and performer Nils Frahm releases a new single, “Lemon Day,” from his forthcoming album, Music For Animals, out September 23rd on LEITER. The track unfolds at an unhurried, meditative pace in a celebration of tone, timbre and texture, before building up itself in a complex atmospheric way of playing. While the beginning reveals a dark and thoughtful mood, the dynamic evolves into a warm and light tone.

 
Listen to Nils Frahm’s “Lemon Day”
 

Containing ten tracks and clocking in at over three hours long, Music For Animals is an ambitious and compelling set different to anything Frahm’s released to date. In fact, it finds the Piano Day founder declining to use a piano, but at the same time retains many of the qualities that have set the influential musician’s work apart over much of the last two decades. “My constant inspiration,” Frahm explains, “was something as mesmerizing as watching a great waterfall or the leaves on a tree in a storm. It’s good we have symphonies and music where there’s a development, but a waterfall doesn’t need an Act 1, 2, 3, then an outcome, and nor do the leaves on a tree in a storm. Some people like watching the leaves rustle and the branches move. This record is for them.”

As a title, Music For Animals is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the conceptual albums of the 1950s – like Raymond Scott’s Music For Babies – as well as to contemporary playlist habits. “I feel a certain frustration with the functional use of music these days, all these playlists with names like Music for Sleeping, Music for Focus, Music for Masturbation,” Frahm laughs. “Music always seems to need to do something useful. That’s a very client-driven logic: the client needs something, the music should deliver that, otherwise ‘You’re Fired!’ With this album, there was no specific audience in mind, and nor was it adapted to any particular purpose. But in fact, it seemed to please the animals I’ve spent a lot of time with these last months, so, you know: if you can’t beat them, join them…!

At three hours long, Music For Animals might seem initially intimidating, but the truth is that this substantial collection encourages listeners to bask in its tranquility at their chosen depth, demanding only as much attention as they wish to contribute. As Frahm himself happily points out, “It all comes back to that waterfall. If you want to watch it, watch it. If you don’t, then you don’t have to. It will always be the same, yet never quite the same.” Indeed, that’s Music For Animals’ greatest strength. Instantly recognizable, it’s still like nothing else.

Following a European leg, Frahm will tour across North America in support of Music For Animals. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets for all shows are on sale now.

 
Listen to “Right Right Right”
 
Pre-order Music For Animals
 
Nils Frahm Tour Dates
Buy Tickets
Thu. Sept. 22 – Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
Fri. Sept. 23 – Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
Sat. Sept. 24 – Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
Sat. Oct. 1 – Wien, AT @ Konzerthaus
Sun. Oct. 2 – München, DE @ Isarphilharmonie
Mon. Oct. 10 – Katowice, PL @ NOSPR
Oct. 11 – Wroclaw, PL @ NFM
Fri. Oct. 14 – Brussels, BE @ Nuits Sonores at Bozar
Sat. Oct. 15 – Heerlen, NL @ Parkstad Limburg Theaters
Sun. Oct. 16 – Leipzig, DE @ Gewandhaus
Wed. Oct. 19 – Antwerp, BE @ Queen Elizabeth Hall – SOLD OUT
Thu. Oct. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Concertgebouw – SOLD OUT
Fri. Oct. 21 – Aarhus, EK @ Musikhuset
Sun. Oct. 23 – Copenhagen, DK @ Royal Danish Opera House
Wed. Oct. 26 – Frankfurt, DE @ Alte Oper
Thu. Nov. 24 – Prague, CZ @ Prague Sounds at Forum Karlin
Sat. Nov. 26 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel – SOLD OUT
Sun. Nov. 27 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel
Wed. Apr. 19, 2023 – Montreal, QC @ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
Thu. Apr. 20, 2023 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
Fri. Apr. 21, 2023 – Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center
Sat. Apr. 22, 2023 – Toronto, On @ Massey Hall
Sun. Apr. 23, 2023 – Chicago, IL @ TBA
Wed. Apr. 26, 2023 – Vancouver, BC @ Chan Centre
Thu. Apr. 27, 2023 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount
Fri. Apr. 28, 2023 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Sat. Apr. 29, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
Sun. Apr. 30, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
Thu. July 11, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican
Fri. July 12, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican
Sat. July 13, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican
Sun. July 14, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Yuri at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rochelle Jordan announces remix album of “Play with the Changes” out September 16, 2022.

Photo by Jessica Gillette

Los Angeles-based artist Rochelle Jordan announces Play With The Changes Remixed, a reimagination of her acclaimed 2021 album Play With The Changes, out September 16th on Young Art Records. In conjunction, Jordan unveils its lead single, “Love You Good (Remix)” ft. LSDXOXO and announces a fall North American tour supporting Channel Tres. A year after Play With The Changes and her recent sold-out headline tour, which also included select dates opening for Kaytranada, Jordan taps him along with Sango, Byron The Aquarius, Soul Clap, and more to expand on the album’s futuristic sonic landscape. “Love You Good (Remix)” finds Jordan and LSDXOXO’s vocals intertwining atop an irresistible beat, reiterating Jordan’s original thesis for Play With The Changes: without experimentation, innovation is impossible.

 
Listen to “Love You Good (Remix)” ft. LSDXOXO
 

Defying categorization to create a project full of slinky, dancefloor-packing burners that channel her U.K. roots, Play With the Changes is reminiscent of Jordan’s childhood nights spent listening to her brother’s 2-step hymns from the other side of the wall. Garnering year end praise from Billboard, Bandcamp, and more, Play With The Changes presents Jordan as a modern heir in a lineage of powerhouse vocalists with style and imagination.

 
Pre-order Play With The Changes Remixed
 
Play With The Changes Remixed Tracklist:
1. Situation (&Me Remix)
2. Dancing Elephants (DJ Minx Remix)
3. Got Em (Sango Remix)
4. Count It (KLSH Remix)
5. All Along (Kaytranada Remix)
6. Nothing Left (Kingdom Remix)
7. Lay (Machinedrum Remix)
8. Love You Good (Remix) ft. LSDXOXO
9. Next 2 You (Sinistarr Remix)
10. Already (Things You Say Remix)
11. Broken Steel (Soul Clap Remix)
12. Something (Byron The Aquarius Remix)
 
Rochelle Jordan Tour Dates:
(all dates supporting Channel Tres)
Tue. Sep. 27 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Wed. Sep. 28 – Albuquerque @ Electric Playhouse
Fri. Sep. 30 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Sat. Oct. 1- Dallas, TX @ The Echo
Sun. Oct. 2 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live – Studio
Tue. Oct. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Thu. Oct. 6 – Detroit, MI @ Leland City Park
Fri. Oct. 7 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Hall
Sat. Oct. 8 – Montreal, QC @ S.A.T
Tue. Oct. 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Thu. Oct. 13 – Washington, DC @ Culture
Fri. Oct. 14 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Tue. Dec. 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theater
Wed. Dec. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theater
Sat. Dec. 10 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ The Fremont Theater
Wed. Dec. 14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Thu. Dec. 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Fri. Dec. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Celebrities Nightclub 

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

WSND DJ set list – Deep Dive of Kraftwerk

Thanks to all who tuned in for my deep dive of Kraftwerk. It was a fun show. Here’s the set list from July 17, 2022.

  1. Kraftwerk – The Robots
  2. Organisation – Silver Forest
  3. NEU! – Isi
  4. Kraftwerk – First Techno (live)
  5. Kraftwerk – Köln II (live)
  6. Kraftwerk – Elektrischesroulette
  7. MC5 – Kick Out the Jams (live)
  8. Kraftwerk – Autobahn (single version)
  9. Kraftwerk – Radioactivity
  10. Kraftwerk – Trans Europa Express (original German language version)
  11. Kraftwerk – Les Mannequins (original French language version)
  12. Joy Division – Dead Souls
  13. Kraftwerk – The Model
  14. Kraftwerk – Computer Love
  15. Kraftwerk – Pocket Calculator (live)
  16. LCD Soundsystem – Disco Infiltrator (single version)
  17. Kraftwerk – Electric Café
  18. Kraftwerk – The Telephone Call
  19. Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hall of Mirrors
  20. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – Neon Lights
  21. Kraftwerk – Elektro Kardiogramm

The next deep dive will be either July 24th or July 30th (depending on some travel plans I have for the weekend of the 24th) and will cover the music of Tom Jones.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Review: Regressive Left – On the Wrong Side of History

Blending post-punk, post-funk, and disco, Regressive Left‘s debut EP, On the Wrong Side of History, is four tracks of witty lyrics, bumping beats, and a bit of happy chaos that was recorded in five marathon days (11am to 1am recording sessions) during pandemic shutdown.

“I’m on the wrong side of history,” sings vocalist and electronics whiz Simon Tyrie as dance-punk beats build up behind him. He sings about being “desensitized to the taste of real life.” We all know that’s an easy trap to fall into, but Georgia Hardy‘s beats encourage us to climb out of it and dance with joy at our success in doing so. Tyrie asks those in power to take an honest look in the mirror and to carefully choose a side (“You’ve been ignoring the voices of others for far too long.”). “I don’t want to become a meme!” he and Hardy cry. “I only talk about free speech when it concerns my freedom to be a dick,” Tyrie continues, mocking the shouts of so many who mock those who just want to be heard. The whole song, and the whole EP, is full of scathing, sharp lyrics like this.

Will Crosby‘s guitars skitter and slide all over the place on “World on Fire,” and Tyrie’s vocals take on a bit of a David Byrne tinge as he takes shots at the failures of Reaganomics, rich elitists (“The world for a trust fund!”), and the economic system in general. “Bad Faith” teams them up with Mandy, Indiana to tackle the trend of people to automatically assume the worst in people, or that their statements are automatically wrong – mostly thanks to the internet. The EP closes with “No More Fun,” a song originally about how school kids in the UK were underfed at lunch but has since grown into a finger in the eye of British politicians grinding some people into the ground with policies that help no one but themselves.

It’s a wicked EP, and one that promises a lot of good things in the future. Let’s hope Regressive Left don’t wait long to bring us a whole album.

Keep your mind open.

[You can be on the right side of your inbox if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to James at Prescription PR.]

Brijean shows us “Caldwell’s Way” from their upcoming “Angelo” EP.

Photo by Maya Fuhr

Brijean – the duo of percussionist/singer Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart – shares the new single, “Caldwell’s Way,” from their Angelo EP, out August 5th on Ghostly International. “Caldwell’s Way” is a fond farewell to their Bay Area community — “a part of my life that I knew couldn’t come back,” says Murphy. Above shimmering organ sounds, lush strings, and the birdcall of their former neighborhood, she wistfully articulates the uncertainty of moving on by remembering the characters dear to the band. There’s the wisdom of their neighbor, Santos, who refused payment when helping them move out: “I’d rather have 100 friends than 100 dollars.” And the song’s namesake, Benjamin Caldwell Brown, a friend and club night cohort for many years.
 
“Dougie and I wrote this song in the midst of deep life changes,” explains Murphy. “We found ourselves uprooted in the Southwest, processing both personal and geographic loss. I had never felt physical withdrawals from a place and community, until then. I missed The Bay and our friends in it – even thinking about certain buildings and streets brought me comfort and longing. This song is a loving farewell to the people and places I may never embrace again.”
 

Stream “Caldwell’s Way”

On Angelo, Brijean explores new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal — a resourceful, collective answer to “what happens now?
 
Following the sudden passing of Murphy’s father and both of Stuart’s parents, Brijean left the Bay Area in a haze of heartache to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Named after Murphy’s 1981 Toyota Celica, the Angelo EP features nine songs they crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks – along with Angelo – became their few constants. Whereas FeelingsBrijean’s acclaimed 2021 full-length Ghostly International debut, was formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo’s sessions presented the duo a chance to record at their most intimate, “to get us out of our grief and into our bodies,” says Murphy. Angelo finds Murphy and Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement.
 
In support of Angelo, Brijean will play their first headline shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Brooklyn, as well as an international appearance with Poolside in Mexico City. A full list of tour dates can be found below.
 

Stream:
“Caldwell’s Way”
“Ooo La La”
“Shy Guy”
 
Pre-order/pre-save Angelo EP

Brijean Tour Dates
Thu. Aug. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Sat. Aug. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
Wed. Aug. 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Rooftop
Fri. Aug. 19 – Sun. Aug. 22 – Long Pond, PA @ Elements Festival
Sat. Aug. 27 – Mexico City, MX @ Auditorio BlackBerry (with Poolside)

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Adam BFD – Innervisions

The liner notes of Adam BFD‘s new EP, Innervisions, describe his sound as being a combination of electro, house, “…and cinematic euphoria.” I don’t think I can describe it better than that. He makes beautiful soundscapes and futuristic beats that wouldn’t be out of place in a night club, a dark alley, a Zen garden, or a chilly Alaskan mountain range.

“I’ve Been Waiting” drifts back and forth with snappy beats and eagle-like soaring synths. The deep bass of “Sonar” sounds like it was created underwater, and then it breaks on a warm beach somewhere and you’re dancing around with someone lovely while you’re both considering heading back to the bungalow for more fun. “What’s Next” ends the first side of the EP with synths that bring to mind sunlight streaming through shallow water, or bouncing off it.

The title track starts off the second side with killer house beats and more shimmering synths. “M1 & I” is tailor-made to get people onto the dance floor and enter into a trance-groove that will tempt you to stay in it for hours. The EP ends with “In My Feels,” another lovely track with subtle synths and aquarium beats prime for meditation, clearing your headspace, or watching the rain fall outside your window…while dancing.

Innervisions is solid all the way through, but not so solid that it becomes rigid and unyielding. It changes shape with each listen and encourages you to explore it.

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll be in my feels if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Peter at Harbour Music Society.]

Arp releases title track from his upcoming “New Pleasures” album due July 15, 2022.

Photo by Kelly Jeffrey

Today, composer/producer Alexis Georgopoulos (Arp) has announced New Pleasures, a new album slated for release on July 15th. With the record,Arp sculpts angularities into fresh, alluring shapes, expanding and contracting song form into brain-teasing sound design. The sensation the music offers is almost rubbery; it makes you feel as if you could flex, bend and squeeze your body inside out – a vivid, deconstructed take on high-definition pop, avant-garde, and dance music forms. Drawing on the promise of futurism, New Pleasures reflects the slipperiness of time, the multidirectional, non-linearity of memory; how our minds shift millisecond to millisecond from past to present to future and back again.

Lead single “New Pleasures” comes alongside a striking video directed by acclaimed filmmaker Adinah Dancyger.

“That space between idea and reality, fact and fiction—which drives ‘New Pleasures’—is so often inhabited by commerce, which conjures our fantasies for us,” Georgopoulos explains. “And there we find desire. For connection, luxury, distinction. We think we’re immune to its psychology because we’re conscious of it, but in some ways, it drives everything.”

New Pleasures is the second chapter in Arp’s ZEBRA trilogy and advances the narrative begun with 2018’s acclaimed ZEBRA; pastoral in mood, expansive in style, the record acted as a dawn on a nascent, Edenic landscape, reminiscent of a beautiful, long-lost Fourth World album. In this world, the music approximated the patient cadence of geological time – the way time suspends when you watch a river in motion. There was, nonetheless, the presence of something alien on the horizon.

Now, Arp drops us deep into the grid of the city. New Pleasures fast-forwards a few centuries, locating listeners in a post-industrial Sprawl (to borrow an expression from William Gibson’s Neuromancer) of concrete and glass, imbuing the album with the flinty glow of commerce, the sleek rhythms of industrialization, and the cool finesse of brutalism. The result is a collection of futuristic pop interiors with glinted exteriors; a prismatic inquiry into machine sentience, the economy of desire, and myriad forms of possession.

“Sometimes the most alien thing is simply seeing what we take for granted from a slightly different angle.” – Arp

Keep your mind open.

[It would bring me new pleasures if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Mexican Summer.]

Brijean announces new EP out August 05, 2022 and premieres new single – “Shy Guy.”

Photo by Maya Fuhr

Brijean announces their new Angelo EP (out August 5th on Ghostly International) with lead single “Shy Guy” and new tour dates. Angelo, named after Brijean Murphy‘s 1981 Toyota Celica, features nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds percussionist/singer Murphy and multi-instrumentalist / producer Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. 
 
The months surrounding the acclaimed release of Feelings, their full-length Ghostly International debut in 2021 which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the sudden passing of Murphy’s father and both of Stuart’s parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo’s sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, “to get us out of our grief and into our bodies,” says Murphy.
 
Like much of Angelo, lead single “Shy Guy” offers levity and movement in spite of the sorrow, and is a motivational anthem for the wallflowers among us. Murphy sets up the daydream: “We are in junior high, we’re on the dance floor, what’s going down, who is dancing, who is not, how are we gonna make them dance?” The narrator, the MC, hypes up the room as conga-driven rhythms bounce between languid synth and guitar lines. “Show me how to move…I feel something…I know you feel it too,” Murphy sings sweetly, calling back to the opening lines of Feelings, and this time the audience chants it back. 

Stream “Shy Guy”

On Angelo, Brijean explores new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal — a resourceful, collective answer to “what happens now?
 
In support of Angelo, Brijean will play their first headline shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Brooklyn, and make international appearances with Poolside in London, Berlin, and Mexico City.

Pre-order/pre-save Angelo EP
 
Brijean Tour Dates
Sat. June 25 – Denver, CO @ Color Field
Thu. Aug. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Sat. Aug. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
Wed. Aug. 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Rooftop
Fri. Aug. 19 – Sun. Aug. 22 – Long Pond, PA @ Elements Festival
Sat. Aug. 27 – Mexico City, MX @ Auditorio BlackBerry

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t be shy. Subscribe.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Lu.Re – Ruminate EP

Recorded entirely in her Bethnall Green flat, Lu.Re‘s Ruminate EP is a five-song exploration into obsessive compulsive disorder mixing house beats with viola and heartbreak.

“Hold On” has Lu.Re singing encouragement to a lover she doesn’t want to lose (“I know you want to make it better, baby. Hold on to me.”), possibly while they’re on the dance floor (or anywhere else, really) judging from the wicked beats she lays on the track. “These Days” continues the theme of looming heartbreak (“All you need to know is that we can bring it back to these days.”) as Lu.Re uses her break-beats to reflect the popping and locking thoughts in her head.

There are two versions of the title track, and the first is “Ruminate 2 Step.” Its beats are so peppy that you can barely keep up with them as Lu.Re sings, “I need someone to settle my mind.” The song ruminates on rumination, making an interesting Mobius strip (the mentioned “figure eight” in her lyrics) as it propels you to dance. The original version is a bit slower, but not by much, and has more of a soulful feel to the vocals and rhythm (and the inclusion of simple piano chords is a great touch).

“Nostalgia” wraps up the EP with tick-tock beats and melancholic viola as Lu.Re admits she has trouble living in the present when her past weighs so heavily on her (“I don’t want to be haunted.”).

It’s an impressive debut that lets everyone know two things: 1. You are not alone in your struggles with stress and mental health. 2. Lu.Re is poised to be one of the slickest producers and house musicians on the scene.

Keep your mind open.

[I often ruminate about you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Harbour Music Society.]