Edition #100
The 100th edition of Weekly5 brings another year to closure with new songs by Stu Larsen, BLEU REINE, Adna, Isaac Roux, and a Martin Kohlstedt rework by Mollono.Bass.
A warm welcome to the final Weekly5 edition of 2023. It's time to celebrate—not only another year filled with exciting and captivating new music but also the 100th edition since Weekly5 returned in January 2021.
With today's edition, Weekly5 has been published 30 times this year, recommending 150 songs.
I want to thank all of you for your interest, loyalty, and support over the past few months. Curating music is more fun when you know other people appreciate it. And if you think I did a good job providing you with regular inspiration and I deserve it, consider supporting Weekly5 with a Premium subscription.
But now, let's move on to our current selection of new music: After last week's electro-heavy edition, we're hitting tender notes with the soft, emotional tracks by Stu Larsen, Adna, and Isaac Roux.
French multi-instrumentalist BLEU REINE leads us into a sinister yet atmospheric universe, and with a remix of Martin Kohlstedt's AMS, we say goodbye but in anticipation of the future.
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Stu Larsen – Running Out of Time
Running Out of Time by Australian indie-folk artist Stu Larsen is again heartfelt proof of his ability to evoke heartache and longing. The single, a third announcement for his upcoming EP, Songs I Wrote, «follows two lovers from beginning to end and asks the question: «Is time the open door or the cage?» The fleeing moments of life are captured with nuance and sensitivity, accompanied by the melancholic slide guitar and Larsen's warm voice.
BLEU REINE – Pâle Lumière (feat. Alcest)
Taken from her latest album, La Saison fantôme, BLEU REINE's collaboration with atmospheric blackgaze band Alcest is called Pâle Lumière. The French multi-instrumentalist opens the portal into a sinister universe that shines in gloomy beauty. Crystalline guitars dance over a foundation of densely layered synth darkness. And there's the conjuring voice, supported by the faint cries of Alcest, that round the mystical atmosphere.
Adna – Beautiful Hell (Acoustic Version)
Born in Northern Sweden, with Bosnian roots, and now living in Berlin, Adna has released a small EP with acoustic interpretations of previous songs. Beautiful Hell, originally from her 2015 album Run, Lucifer, is one of the chosen ones. The acoustic version strips away the stomping beats and lays the song's soft core bare without losing any of its goosebump-provoking ability.
Isaac Roux – Autumn Love
Educated in Paul McCartney's co-founded Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the Belgian indie-folk newcomer Isaac Roux displays vulnerability and sonic brilliance in his latest single, Autumn Love. In the best Bon Iver style, the song embraces tenderness and self-doubt humans tend to express in the colder seasons. The instruments, mainly a shiny acoustic guitar and a warm piano, perfectly underpin Roux's nostalgic vocal performance.
Martin Kohlstedt – AMS - Mollono.Bass Rework
Inspired by attending a concert by pianist Martin Kohlstedt in 2018, German electro artist Mollono.Bass couldn't get the piece AMS out of his head. Now, five years later, they released a remixed version together. It's not the first collaboration with an electronic artist, but certainly one of the best: AMS's urging and driven yet still playful sound integrates perfectly with Mollon.Bass's almost archaic drumming sounds. The result is simultaneously danceable and transforming.
