Voices
Edition #57 is filled with the beautiful voices of Charlotte Brandi, Karin Park, Alice Boman & Perfume Genius, Lydmor, and Yule Post & Tom Gatza.
Charlotte Brandi – DER EKEL
How did we stumble into this sacred hall? Where's the source of these voices? And why do they pierce so effortlessly through skin and flesh?
Charlotte Brandi, a German artist, is about to release her sophomore record early next year after 2019's The Magician. While the songs on the debut album were sophistically arranged and the lyrics in English, Brandi transitioned to German texts and reduced compositions, which never fight for the spotlight against her voice in the 4-track EP AN DAS ANGSTLAND (2020).
Flow
With edition #56, Weekly5 returns and brings you exciting tracks by ÄTNA, Julien Bracht, Moonpools, Lizki and Sophia Blenda.
The summer break is over, and I'm eager to bring five new tracks every Sunday. I'm glad you're still here and willing to listen to my recommendations. Your loyalty is priceless and my biggest motivation.
Today's edition spans from ecstatic electronica to melancholic indie rock, from ravishing rave to sombre sway. Feel the flow across the ocean. Is it just a dream? No, it's the new serenity.
Without further ado, let's dive into the selection.
Best,
ÄTNA – Flow (orbit Remix)
The brass section rises to infinite greatness while the beat slowly moves like a dreamy tortoise. Inéz Schaefer's voice wanders around, simultaneously curious and amazed.
Orbit's remix of Dresden-based electronica duo ÄTNA's Flow is an otherworldly experience. The track was initially released as part of their 2022 record Push Life, ÄTNA's sophomore album. In its original version, Flow is a reduced song that breathes early 90s hip-hop vibes with sustained synth notes. However, in the hands of producer orbit, Flow shapeshifts into an overwhelming and epic downtempo cathedral.
The remix starts unsuspecting, almost charming. Schaefer's delicate performance perfectly adds to the rhythm. But as soon as the bass, and the brass section soon thereafter, kicks in, Flow becomes a massive bulwark. It overcomes you like a gigantic wave; you start to feel small and insignificant, faced with the sonic walls that orbit builds seemingly out of thin air. What an exciting sight!
Julien Bracht – Across the Ocean
The dark beat hammers relentlessly, and the synthesizers purr like a wild cat. And as the sky opens up, a sonic vastness expands beyond the horizon into space and time.
Across the Ocean isn't the first entry by Julien Bracht at Weekly5, nor is it his latest single release. In 2021, I featured the German producer with tracks like Dancer In The Dark or the incredible Streets. After releasing his record Now Forever One, he's about to drop the EP Rave Flower in September. The latest single, Don't Chase Your Enemies, might already indicate where the journey is headed: A dark yet thrilling path to techno's glorious days in the nineties.
However, since its appearance back in July, Across the Ocean has been floating around in my heavy rotation. There's an inexplicable atmosphere to the track. It feels like a warm yet distant memory of a happy moment. The sonic fields Bracht produces stretch out far, juxtaposing the jumpy playfulness of the melodic synth notes. Across the Ocean is a song that lets you drown in sound.
Moonpools – Feel
The stinging sensation of longing drips from every instrument. A sweet agony lives within the lyrics. How can doubts and pain sound so hauntingly beautiful?
reLISTEN #7: Electronic Excitement
The 7th edition of reLISTEN features tracks that create excitement with their electronic soundscape. Prepare to dance!
There are some people who despise electronic music. "It's just a laptop," they say, neglecting the craft of creating said sounds. Admittingly, it's not the spectacle that a full-blown orchestra or rock band provide. However, electronic music also requires creativity and inspiration to become truly great. More so, many electro-acts started to incorporate more live elements into their shows.
For quite some time, I was also dismissive (or not paying attention) to electronic music. Recently, I enjoy the sounds again regularly—from concrete-hard techno to dreamy electro-pop. These tunes have an unmatched potential on the dancefloor, cathartic qualities that lift your spirit, and generally evoke excitement.
Today, I'll share five tracks that time and time again create said electronic excitement. So turn up the volume, prepare to dance, and enjoy the sonic sunshine.
Best,
Roosevelt – Fever
Roosevelt is one of those artists that heavily rely on live performance and pop structures to create his synth-driven electro-pop. The sound of this 31-year-old German musician surely feels more like very soft indie rock than anything else.
Can you really classify Roosevelt as electronic music? I say yes, but it's the kind that anyone can enjoy thanks to his pop influences. And no other track exemplifies this powerful sonic seduction better than Fever. The song starts with a jumpy piano that already builds suspension, the beat kicks in, and then, the craving melody appears; pushing everything else out of the spotlight.
And dammit, Fever is just an incredible banger that brings together the very best of different genres—from rock's groove to electro-pop's addictive nature. It's the blueprint for electronic excitement.
Klain Karoo – Don't Talk
Unfortunately, Klain Karoo ended way too early. The Swiss band only released only two EPs: Lights Down Low with original songs and Remixes with… yeah, you know. Gladly, the angelic voice of Carla Fellinger is back in her solo project Nola Kin whose single Not What You Think a couple of weeks ago.
Back in 2017, I had the honour to host the video premiere of Klain Karoo's single Don't Talk. To this day, the song—together with Stefan Tschumi's psychedelic video—remains an impeccable caleidoscope of electro-pop. Don't Talk, this slightly melancholic love song stands as a monument to Klain Karoo's unfulfilled potential, but also as a staple of the quartet's talent.
But that's also the beauty of music: Despite the fact that Klain Karoo faded away years ago, we can still forever enjoy what they've created. Don't Talk is the perfect opportunity for all romantic hearts and minds out there.
5 Tracks That Inspired Sensu
Swiss electronica artist Sensu has released a new EP. In this special edition, she shares five tracks that inspired her creative process.
It's been a couple of weeks now since Swiss electronic music producer Sensu released her latest EP, Numéro LDN. Heavily influenced by the urban canyons of UK's capitol, the sound is as sleepless, urging, and ever-changing. Between the crumbling brick buildings and high-rising towers of steel and glass, Sensu's tracks are embodying the very essence of this city of 9 million people.
Sensu spent three months in London to record five new, fast-paced tracks. The influence of UK garage is obvious, however, her characteristic playfulness remains present throughout Numéro LDN.
Sensu's first appearence in Weekly5 dates back to February 2021 when she was featured with Drawn, a conventionalism-defying track that captured attention through its complex structure and intricate rhythm.
This year, Sensu was present with two contributions. First, with the utterly brilliant remix of Noti's hooked, later with the second single release from the EP, Both Sides, a collaboration with rapper Denyher.
Naturally, Sensu's single releases, Pink and Both Sides, caught much more attention than just by Weekly5. Influencial outlets like BBC Radio 1, Triple J, and DJ Mag praised the tracks.
Half Time
After 20 editions, it‘s time to reflect on the past months.
Usually, I spend my Friday nights listening to newly released tracks. However, the summer break is here, and I wandered hungry through London's urban canyons while my headphones rambled the same hotline music for about two hours. It turned out the bank had an IT problem and couldn't process payments.
But while waiting with hundreds of others whose credit cards also stopped working, I reflected on the past six months of Weekly5.
2022 started on a high note; I introduced the Weekly5 membership. So far, eleven people have decided that this platform is worth supporting not only with their time but also with a bit of money. I'm incredibly grateful for that. You guys rock!
The member-exclusive format of reLISTEN also kicked off in January, a regular curation of five older tracks. I've written six editions so far, with five discoveries I've made in Berlin being the latest post.
But of course, the regular Weekly5 editions are the backbone. Since January, you've received 20 of them, featuring 100 tracks I deemed worthy of your attention. How I create these curations I've described in this behind-the-scenes article.
Weekly5Janosch Troehler
Looking back on these 100 selected songs, I'm pretty satisfied with my choices. But, naturally, some tracks stuck a bit more than others with me.
Before Summer Breaks
The last edition before the summer break brings you new tracks by Tim Freitag, The Haunted Youth, Soft Captain, Juan Ithemba, and a collaboration between Gina Été and DJ Real Madrid.
One last time before the summer break, I will recommend five new tracks to you. The Weekly5 will return on the 28th of August with freshly curated music sent directly to your inbox.
Before the summer break actually starts, you can expect a look back on the past months where I underline some of my personal sonic highlights.
Thank you very much for sticking around during this first season in the second year of Weekly5. I appreciate your attention, feedback, and support for this newsletter.
As far as today's selection goes, you can expect some thoughtful tunes, summer vibes, dreamy soundscapes, and melancholic melodies. Basically, everything that the Weekly5 provides week for week. We revisit previously featured artists and dive into new discoveries.
Enjoy,
Tim Freitag – Brick by Brick
Fate has dealt the Swiss indie band Tim Freitag a difficult hand. After realizing a handful of astonishing singles, their debut record, Monsters Forever, came out on the 13th of March 2020. The pandemic hit them with full force.
They played some gigs in the past months, but fans couldn't enjoy any new material. That changed finally last week when Tim Freitag dropped Brick by Brick. It's a beautiful, thoughtful indie-pop track about the inevitable but complex process of letting your parents go and building your own life—brick by brick.
Retrowave
Synthwave is the peak of 80s nostalgia. We dive deeper into the genre's origins and its cultural impact in this special edition.
Nostalgia is essential to Western pop culture. Connected to a sentimental longing and yearning for the return of an idealized and "mythical past," as Svetlana Boym describes in The Future of Nostalgia, nostalgia trickles through every cultural media—from movies, tv-series, fashion, and music.
And the 1980s have been the principal source of reference in the past decades—primarily kicked off by the Miami Vice-inspired video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, published in 2002. A wave of 80s-driven media followed with reboots like Tron: Legacy or Blade Runner 2049 and new outputs such as the movie Drive or the popular Netflix series Stranger Things.
Alongside the cinematic resurrection of the era, a whole stylized universe began to form; a world in blue and pink. And naturally, the world needed a soundtrack. Introducing: Synthwave.
reLISTEN #6: Berlin Discoveries
I spent the Ascension weekend in Berlin and discovered many new artists and tracks. I share five of them in the 6th edition of reLISTEN.
On the Eastern edges of Berlin, nestled to the riverbank of the Spree, a Socialist monument slowly crumbles under the grind of time: The Funkhaus. The former centre of radio broadcasting in East Germany is a gigantic complex that now houses start-ups, bars, event locations, and studios for creatives. It was my home for the Ascension weekend.
The Funkhaus is also where Lea Porcelain have their base, and on May 28th, they played themselves and around 1000 visitors into a cathartic rush. It was an insane closure to their first tour since the pandemic started.
However, as I've featured Lea Porcelain before and written about them since 2017, they won't be part of today's edition of reLISTEN. Instead, their concert was the backdrop, an occasion that provided an opportunity to discover new music.
There are two sides to these Berlin discoveries: The supporting acts that played. And the Friday night before the show, I spent with Markus Nikolaus, singer of the band, and Felix, a photographer, in Lea Porcelain's studio listening to music.
