50% Hipster: Yumi Zouma

Monday, July 4, 2016

New Music Friday - May 27, 2016

Be sure to view a list of upcoming releases here!

Essential Full-Length Releases

Kristin Kontrol - X-Communicate

Kristin Welchez (née Gundred, aka Dee Dee) is primarily known for the Dum Dum Girls, a band for whom she has been the frontwoman since 2008. This year, she's breaking out on her own under the name Kristin Kontrol. Taking inspiration from a number of female musicians from the 80s and 90s, it's meant to be a non-genre-specific record, and serves as a way for her to reclaim her artistic identity.

Listen: "X-Communicate"
Listen: "Show Me"

Leyla McCalla - A Day for the Hunter, a Day for the Prey

Leyla McCalla is an American-born singer and cellist of Haitian descent. She was a member of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, but left to start her solo career. Her first album, Vari-Colored Songs, was a tribute to Langston Hughes, consisting of interpretations of his poems. The follow-up album continues on the same themes from her debut, though without the Hughes poems as the starting point.

Watch: "A Day for the Hunter, a Day for the Prey"
Listen: "Little Sparrow"

Maria Usbeck - Amparo

Usbeck is also stepping away from a band to begin a solo project. She was formerly the lead singer of Selebrities. Though she's of Ecuadorian descent, she's never sung in her native Spanish. Her solo debut is also her first Spanish-language album. The album was co-produced by Chairlift's Caroline Polachek.

Watch: "Uno De Tus Ojos"
Watch: "Moai Y Yo"

Olga Bell - Tempo

Olga Bell is a Russian-born American composer and musician who has performed with Chairlift and Dirty Projectors. For her third album she is turning her talents towards electronic music. The album follows her 2014 Russian-language album, Krai, and last year's Incitation EP.

Watch: "Randomness"
Watch: "ATA"

Yumi Zouma - Yoncalla

Yumi Zouma is a band out of New Zealand, fronted by Christie Simpson, and this is their debut album. The album incorporates a variety of pop styles, from 70s-style disco pop to the goth pop of fellow Kiwi Lorde.

Listen: "Keep It Close to Me"
Listen: "Barricade (Matter of Fact)"

Other Full-Length Releases