Janosch Troehler
Editor
reLISTEN #8: Origins
reLISTEN #8 takes you back to the origins of Weekly5. I revisit five tracks that I recommended back in 2015 and 2016.
I started the format «reLISTEN» to recommend older songs, a clear distinction from the classic Weekly5 curation that focuses strictly on new releases. There's so much music out there that you can still discover impressive, decades-old tracks. Sometimes, I feel like a sonic archaeologist digging through the dirt of mediocre music.
However, it occurred to me that I've missed an obvious opportunity so far. So, for today's reLISTEN edition, I've gone back to the origins of Weekly5. It all started sometime in 2015 when the «songs of the week» were born as a format in my online magazine Negative White.
How does my curation back then hold up to my current standards? Are there even songs that I still would recommend today?
Short answer: Yes, and now, I'll present five of them to you. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Hinds – Easy
Wow, it's a long time ago: Although I can't remember how I discovered the Spanish female-only band Hinds in May 2016. Their track Easy was part of the 24th edition of the songs of the week, and my review lacks any depth. Later, while spending a weekend in London, I bought a vinyl of their sophomore record, Leave Me Alone, at Rough Trade East.
Relistening Easy, and Hinds in general, I realized there was a short-lived period of quite dirty, punkish-sounding female bands. And the Madrid-based Hinds caused quite some fuzz back in the day. Deap Vally and Dream Wife, who're also part of today's edition, are also part of this riot grrrl band wave.
Potpourri
Edition #59 recommends new tracks by Catherine Graindorge & Iggy Pop, Markus Nikolaus, Sam Himself, Florian Horwath, and Lola Marsh.
Markus Nikolaus – Bicycle Day
A catchy groove, nonchalant guitar escapades, a distorted voice—it all adds to the lovely weirdness and slightly psychedelic atmosphere.
Markus Nikolaus: Some might remember his name in the context of the German duo Lea Porcelain, where he partners up with Julien Bracht. After his colleague released the album Now Forever One last year and doubled down with the EP Rave Flower on Friday, Nikolaus also started publishing solo material. But while Bracht roams in techno, his home turf, Nikolaus wanders on his singer-songwriter paths.
Sonic Eurotrip
Edition #58 features new tracks by Suz, benzii, Berglind, Tristesse Contemporaine, and Don't Kill The Beast.
Suz – Winds Of Summer Fields
There's a lucid rumbling, a beat roaming through the nocturnal city street canyons. The voice harrowingly echoing for companionship—lost amidst the lonely urban jungle.
Suz, born as Susanna La Polla De Giovanni, is an Italian singer and composer from Bologna. Despite having already released three albums, the new EP Hiatus marks a new chapter for the artist as it's the first record entirely written and produced by herself. Moreover, Suz steers from a pure trip-hop sound to a wider variety of electronic music.
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?
