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Edition #99 features the new tracks by Am Tae, Midweek, Vanita, oaielup, and Boris Brejcha.
Coincidentally, the 99th edition of Weekly5 became dominated by more electronic sounds. However, you can expect more than shattering techno beats.
There is Am Tae's enigmatic composition, Midweek's 80s reminiscence, and oaielup's cathedral-worthy synth hook. Even the more classic electro tracks from Vanita and Boris Brejcha both have some surprising tricks up their sleeves.
So, even if you usually avoid electronic music, it might be worth giving this edition an open-minded spin.
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You can listen to today's curation on selected streaming services:
Am Tae – SWIM (feat. MAROO)
Swiss singer-songwriter Am Tae collaborated with producer MAROO to create the eclectic single SWIM. Flickering synthesizers collide with Am Tae's mystical vocals, hovering over a garage-like beat. SWIM is surrounded by an almost gothic atmosphere, a dreamy ambience—pushing the song into the realms of avant-garde electro-pop.
Midweek – The Way
What if you take Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy vibe and transport it into the 21st century? The answer probably sounds something like The Way by Midweek, a quintet based in Mexico City. The song sparks captivating 80s energy, interlaced with contemporary, even epochal, synth-pop that morphs into something utterly danceable.
Vanita – Let Me In
Switzerland's Vanessa Spolidoro, aka Vanita, has released Let Me In, a single that misleads you into thinking it's just another sombre techno track. However, Let Me In surprises the listener with a prominent piano and its almost detached dance over the stomping beat. Vanita creates something that features a distinct club vibe as well as conjures new spheres.
oaielup & TALYA – so drunk
Tiemo Hauer's latest endeavour, oaielup, sounds promising: Together with singer TALYA, the single so drunk becomes an opus, a larger-than-life pop composition heavily leaning towards electronica. The song quickly swells to overwhelming size and collapses into intimacy, over and over again. And the synth-hook is a sound to behold.
Boris Brejcha – Dimension
The masked master of minimal techno is back: Boris Brejcha's Dimension actually transports you into other dimensions. Despite the straightforward beat, Brejcha's talent lies within his playful style. There's not a single moment where nothing happens; he constantly adds and removes elements, building towards a constant discovery.
reLISTEN #18: Cover Songs
Cover songs can easily be flawed. But we're recommending five examples that add something new to the originals.
Cover songs may have a worse reputation than they deserve: Sometimes, they're considered lazy grifts by musicians less talented than the original artist. Or they fail to come anywhere close to the original's quality.
And we've certainly heard our fair share of great songs getting abysmally butchered in cover versions. Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah is a prime candidate for bad takes. It's probably human to distinctly remember the negatives.
However, cover versions used to be much more popular and less frowned upon in the past. It was even more likely that a cover song surpassed the original, and today, many people wouldn't even recognize that it's a cover. Jimi Hendrix's cover of Dylan's All Along the Watchtower is one of the most famous examples, but also Aretha Franklin's Respect, originally by Otis Redding, or Ike & Tina Turner's take on CCR's Proud Mary.
Sean Combs Accused of Rape and Severe Physical Abuse—Lawsuit Settled
A lawsuit filed by Sean Combs' ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, also known as singer Cassie, alleges he abused her for more than a decade. The lawsuit has been settled on day after it was filed.
Update: The lawsuit has been settled one day after it was filed. They did not disclose terms of the settlement.
Sean Combs, better known under his various pseudonyms like Diddy, P. Diddy, or Puff Daddy, has been accused of rape and abuse in a significant lawsuit filed by the singer and ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, aka Cassie. The lawsuit alleged Combs used his powerful network to keep her trapped in a violent relationship with him.
Cassie dated Sean Combs for more than ten years. She alleges that during this period, Combs assaulted her multiple times—from beatings to rape—and controlled her entire life, as the New York Times first reported on Thursday.
In a statement to the Times, she said that she was «finally ready to tell my story and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships.»
The lawsuit seeked damages for lost wages as well as mental pain and severe emotional distress.
A Sinister Picture Is Painted
The lawsuit offered detailed descriptions of how Sean Combs seems to have created a controlling environment—from buying designer clothes, homes, and cars to drugs. He lured her into an «ostentatious, fast-paced, and drug-fueled lifestyle,» according to the lawsuit, and also subjected her to beatings, forced sexual encounters, and threats of violence.
Sean Combs, also founder of Bad Boy Records, began pursuing Cassie aggressively after she signed to the label at the age of 19, even inviting himself to her 21st birthday and forcibly kissing her, the lawsuit stated.
Threats of violence and his network were used by Combs to keep Ventura in the relationship, the lawsuit alleged, offering an example of what that meant: In 2012, after Ventura began a brief relationship with rapper Kid Cudi, Combs allegedly blew up the rapper's car. The New York Times contacted Kid Cudi, who confirmed the incident: «This is all true.»
A representative for Combs denied the lawsuit's claims, writing that the allegations were «offensive and outrageous.» According to the statement, Ventura filed the lawsuit after demanding $30m: «Ms Ventura has now resorted to filing a lawsuit riddled with baseless and outrageous lies, aiming to tarnish Mr Combs' reputation and seeking a pay day.»
Conversely, a lawyer for Ventura told the Times that she was offered «eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit», which she rejected.
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Community Essentials #3: Reflective Mood
For our third Community Essentials playlist, we asked our members to recommend songs that invite reflection, mindfulness, and thoughtfulness.
In the third edition of our member-driven format, Community Essentials, we have asked you to recommend songs that prompt a reflective, thoughtful, or mindful mood.
With your submissions, we could put together a neat playlist with songs that vary in style—from neo-classical sound to electronic compositions—and provide an opportunity not only to reflect but also discover new tunes.
Exclusive Premiere: Laddermen – Programmed for Pleasure
The Swiss band Laddermen return with their new single «Programmed for Pleasure», celebrating its premiere today alongside a stunning video.
With Programmed for Pleasure, the Lucerne-based trio Laddermen ends its silence and makes a dramatic return with their evocative sound. At the same time, the single is already a promise of the intrigue we can expect in the near future.
The new song is a hauntingly atmospheric composition driven by a playful guitar, significant for classic indie rock. However, the monotonous delivery of the verses by Texan-native singer and guitarist Leopold Oakes contrasts the melodic sound and adds to the darker ambience felt throughout Programmed for Pleasure.
Today, Negative White exclusively presents Laddermen's Programmed for Pleasure alongside a stunning and spooky music video directed by Zabalik:
Despite what the gruesome video might suggest, Programmed for Pleasure isn't about murder—it's simply a narrative device. Laddermen explore the hopeless attempts to save a crumbling relationship—perfectly described by the song's first line:
Solving the murder with the killer in the room.
These few words are enough for the sobering realisation that there's no solution when the people, their programmed mechanism killing love, are around. The band doesn't sugarcoat it: Programmed for Pleasure is a despairing song, fooling you with a beautifully melodic sound, an indie rock siren that drags you overboard in the dark depths. And you drown.
A Refined, Melodic Sound
In 2021, Laddermen released their debut album, Special Kind of Violence, featuring eleven songs with a raw energy reminiscent of acts like Fontaines D.C.
Alice Teeple wrote about the single The Huntress Obeyed for post-punk.com: «The nostalgic swoon of Laddermen's sound, bolstered by unconventional singing, deviant progressions, and articulate urgency, has a dark post-punk indie vibe, comparable to Editors, with the passion of Frank Black fronting Interpol.»
With Programmed for Pleasure, Laddemen depart for these rough soundscapes, travelling to more melodic and intricate songs that will be steadily released next year.
Google Implements Podcasts Into YouTube Music
In an assumed attempt to boost their streaming service, Google implemented podcasts into YouTube Music.
After announcing that Google Podcasts would be folded, the Silicon Valley giant has added a podcast feature to its music streaming service, YouTube Music.
So far, however, the podcast functionality has left much to be desired. Now, the company has introduced a new function that allows users to subscribe to podcasts.
New Import Feature
The new feature lets users import podcasts via RRS. This means they can add the RSS feed of your favourite podcast to the app. New podcast episodes will then be retrieved and automatically imported. It's far from groundbreaking, as all podcast apps work similarly.
Additionally, YouTube Music also suggests popular podcasts on the platform.
An Attempt To Boost YouTube Music
Integrating podcasts into YouTube Music is certainly an attempt to add further value to the streaming service. Ending Google Podcasts, however, was an admission of failure.
Nevertheless, whether the integration is doing much for YouTube Music remains questionable. A significant investment into podcasts by Spotify proved to be a miscalculation—with revenue far below expectations.
According to Business of Apps, YouTube still reigns king in music streaming, with 2 billion active users. However, this number includes YouTube—not simply its premium service, YouTube Music, which has gathered 80 million paid subscribers. In comparison, YouTube Music's competition, Apple Music and Spotify have around 88 and 188 premium subscribers, respectively.
On the other hand, YouTube Music is still growing and, as its service is more widely available, might soon overtake Apple Music in paid subscriptions.
Then again, the streaming market is already highly saturated, with most people having a premium subscription if they want or can afford one. Despite that, streaming services are still unprofitable.
Swiss Musician Nemo: «I don’t identify as a man or a woman»
With his breakthrough single «Du», Nemo was hard to escape in 2017. Now, the artist is changing more than their pronouns.
For years, Swiss pop/rap musician Nemo sang in dialect and celebrated with the single Du a remarkable breakthrough. The single stayed in the Swiss charts for 33 weeks and reached number 4 and platin status in 2017.
Negative WhiteJanosch Troehler
In recent times, it has become relatively quiet about the rising star. However, on Instagram, Nemo broke their silence during the weekend.
New City, New Language, New Identity
Nemo moved to Berlin and started focussing on English lyrics. The song own sh¡t, released in May 2022, already signified a path towards quirky pop music, away from Nemo's origin in dialect rap sound.
The song's lyrics also hinted at Nemo's personal change and process:
And you want
Something I can’t give
Cause I’ve been lost in the middle of it
I got shit to figure out, figuratively speaking
I just need a minute for me
On Instagram, announcing the new single This Body (Release: November 17), Nemo writes: «I haven’t opened up about it publicly, but some of you already know: I don’t identify as a man or a woman. I’m just Nemo. I love thinking of gender as a galaxy, picturing myself as a little star floating somewhere within. That’s where I feel most like myself.»
Further, Nemo asks the fans for acceptance: «I hope you can accept me as I perceive myself.»
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From Rapping in Swiss German to Evocative Singer-Songwriter
The artist, born in 1999, showed early talent in music—playing the violin, the piano, and drums. With a celebrated participation at the SRF Bounce Cypher in 2016, only 16 years old, Nemo jumped into public consciousness.
In 2017, there was no way around Nemo in Switzerland. Photos: Matthias Hoffmann & Michelle Brügger
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