Capacitor Update: New Electronic Sounds
Discover the latest updates to our exclusive all-electronica playlist, «Capacitor». Enjoy 15 new tracks.
Welcome to «Capacitor», our all-electronica playlist exclusively curated for our paying members. If you're craving exciting rhythms or dreamy synthesizers, we have you covered. Start your paid membership here with a 30-day trial.
We have added and removed some tracks and reshuffled the playlist. You can listen to it in order or at random—whatever fits your needs. Here's our latest update:
Wrecked: A Playlist for the Hard and Heavy
With «Wrecked», we finally launch a playlist for hard and heavy sounds. Enjoy an electrifying mix of hardcore, rock, and metal.
Our small range of exclusive playlists gets its latest addition: «Wrecked» is a long overdue home for more extreme and noisy sounds. From various metal styles to hardcore punk and razor-sharp rock songs, «Wrecked» provides an electrifying and neck-breaking mix.
Here's a small taste of what you can expect:
Frequent Updates & Exclusivity
«Wrecked» starts with 25 tracks and will gradually be expanded to a total of 50 songs.
The playlist will also receive monthly updates, accompanied by a short post showing which tracks left or entered the playlist. So, if you ever wonder which tracks have already been featured or missed to save a specific song, these update posts can help you.
«Wrecked» will also be an exclusive offer for our paying members. Join here with a 30-day free trial and enjoy this headbanger playlist and much more.
Can A Review Kill An Artist?
There is a heated discussion about reviews in the tech gadget bubble and whether they can kill companies. Our editor looks reflects on his role as a music reviewer.
If you dip your toes into the tech and gadget bubble here and there, you probably notice a heated discussion around reviews. More specifically, the debate revolves around the question: Can a review kill a company?
At the centre of the discussion is Marques Brownlee, aka MKBHD, a YouTuber and one of the most prominent tech reviewers. Two of his reviews—one of an electric car and one of the Humane AI pin—are the main points of criticism towards the influencer. Brownlee later gave more perspective in a video but did not walk back his reviews.
I am always intrigued by these sorts of meta-discussions. For one, they are essential to build media literacy. On the other hand, they offer insight into how some of the most influential people perceive their roles as reviewers.
Highly Subjective
But first and foremost, it prompts me to reflect on my own role as music critic, reviewer, and curator.
The role of music critics has always been controversial, but it has undoubtedly lost relevance with the shifts in the industry. While previously often regarded as buying advice, a bad review could significantly impact sales.
Edition #113
Today, we recommend to you the new songs by Zeal & Ardor, Deadletter, Past Life Romeo, Kaya Hoax, and Meimuna.
From defied expectations to refined punk, an exploration of futuristic pop sound, and a dangerous tenderness. It is a collection of five songs daring to go further than the safe space and find something exciting beyond.
Deadletter – Mere Mortal
An undeniable punk energy clashes paradoxically with a sophisticated composition—decorated by the signature saxophone. UK sextett Deadletter sounds unusual, even weird at times, but listening to Mere Mortal reveals their extraordinary sound in the most addictive way.
Zeal & Ardor – to my ilk
Announcing their fourth studio album, GREIF, innovative Swiss band Zeal & Ardor also released to my ilk, their first single. Defying expectations, it is not a thundering black metal sound but a haunting, poignant ballad. However, at its core, the song still incorporates the band's style.
Past Life Romeo – Sometimes, Most Nights (Palmistry Remix)
Speeding it up and dressing Past Life Romeo's single Sometimes, Most Times in a flickering hyperpop outfit, this Palmistry remix evocates disco lights and screen glitches. Between anticipation, excitement, and regretful hindsight, the Palmistry adds a lot of intrigue to the track.
Kaya Hoax – Hot Girls with ADD (feat. Magi Merlin)
With the help of Magi Merlin, Montreal-based Kaya Hoax draws from UK grime to create an experimental pop track. Hot Girls with ADD is like a conversation between the two artists, accompanied by an equally explosive and flamboyant sound. Exquisite.
Meimuna – sous la nef
Cyrielle Formaz, aka Meimuna, creates achingly beautiful compositions. Sous la nef, the second single of her upcoming sophomore album, demonstrates perfectly the Swiss artist's skills. All her tenderness, the soothing nature, the soft touches still have the power to pierce the heart.
🎧 The Weekly5 Playlists
You can listen to today's curation on selected streaming services:
Shadowdancer Update: New Dark Sounds
Discover the latest updates to our exclusive playlist, «Shadowdancer». Dance to 20 newly added songs.
Welcome to «Shadowdancer», our sombre playlist full of post-punk, wave, and sinister electronica, exclusively curated for our paying members.
Dawns Mystery – Tease Me
Switzerland's Dawns Mystery conjure the rough and gritty roots of indie rock in their new single «Tease Me».
Rock music is an anachronism—handcrafted in the digital age, gritty and raw in nature. As an underdog genre, one might even say: It went back to its rebel roots.
One band that celebrates these origins is Dawns Mystery, frenetically resounding in the streets of Zurich. Their new album, Hot Showers, is coming on May 10, but the quartet already teases us—quite literally—with their new single Tease Me.
The track celebrates its exclusive premiere today with Negative White:
Love me, tease me
I want you to strive with me
Let’s have a look and see
All we gotta do, is to keep it on and bad things will be gone
With Tease Me, Dawns Mystery tip their hats to hedonism, incarnated in the song's euphoric sound. The fuzz-heavy indie rock roams through smoke-filled bars, hot and sticky dancefloors; it blazes through nightlife's haze.
Despite the dense sound, the band grants the composition room to breathe and fills it with focus on the instruments—and a refreshing guitar solo, something that is almost a lost art nowadays. Tease Me sits right in the middle of the addictive melodies of indie rock and a rough, boiling vintage sound.
Mind Wanderer Update: New Sounds For Deep Work
Discover the latest updates to our exclusive deep work playlist, «Mind Wanderer». Enjoy 10 new tracks.
Welcome to «Mind Wanderer», our playlist with a blend of ambient, instrumental, and lo-fi tracks for introspection, relaxation or deep work exclusively curated for our paying members.
Start your paid membership here with a 30-day trial.
We have added ten new tracks and reshuffled the playlist. You can listen to it in order or at random—whatever fits your needs. Here's our latest update:
The Fake Kind of Vinyl
AI-generated music takes away attention and revenue from real musicians. It's a problem.
Vinyl—celebrating a small but persistent comeback in recent years—is a soothing alternative to the hyperactivity of streaming services. Not only is it arguably a more conscious consumption of music, but also a welcome deterrent to AI-generated trash.
The vibrant culture around the big black discs is alive and well, as I once again experienced when visiting the local record store on «Record Store Day» past Saturday.
However, on the opposite spectrum, there is the all-availability of streaming, battling yet another big enemy besides the non-functioning business model: AI-generated music.
Last week, I stumbled over this "artist" called Obscurest Vinyl, pumping out song after song since the beginning of April.