024! Mini Digest: Egyptian Shaabi, David Lynch's CDJs, Addison Rae
Link central
I’ve just got back from spending a few weeks in the UK, where I was co-curating a part of The Barbican’s “Feel The Sound” exhibition. The first installation to happen in the gallery’s car park, “Joyride” is a “club built from the wreckage of subcultures”. It’s open now, til the end of August.
Work aside, it was my first visit back to the UK in over nine months, and my first since the new US administration has taken office. I unexpectedly found myself taking solace in the banality of the UK’s local news, the distinctly British obsessions, and just the sheer smallness of everything. I felt calmly cloaked in the quietness and the quaint of it all.
I met up with Tom of No Tags and Eleanor of Clasico Records, who - it turned out - were off to the Cheese Rolling festival in Gloucestershire the next day. Over sausages and cider, we talked about some of the most absurdist British pastimes, and how some have translated to influencer culture: there’s the pub-reviewer and international bridge expert (the card game), PrimeMutton2000, the car salesman turned dressing gown DJ, FishOctagon56, or the now extremely successful trainspotter, Francis Bourgeois. And let’s not forget, 72-year old “King of Veg” Gerald Stratford who grows ridiculously big vegetables for fun.
The smallness of these rituals (apart from the massive veg) and the absurdist pointlessness of it all felt like a balm to me, albeit a weird one. Speaking of weird rituals, my tween niece introduced me to the Swedish entry to the Eurovision song contest, an ode to the beloved scandi sauna with a chorus that chimes “just sauna, just sauna, just sauna”.
It’s been years since I watched Eurovision, which I had forgotten is truly a bizarre spectacle. Where some of the British rituals are both deadpan and ridiculous, Eurovision is pure camp theatre. It’s essentially to pop music what drag is to gender: a hyper-performative pastiche that’s both satire and celebration, exposing its form in a very catchy way. It felt like a comfort to reach for a different kind of absurd in this moment, and even some soft(er) nationalism, perhaps. Sadly the sauna anthem only made it to fourth place.
I’m not sure the Eurovision songs really ever make it out of the Eurovision universe and into the real world anymore, those days are gone. I wouldn’t have minded hearing the sauna song out and about. But while travelling, most of the music I accidentally heard seemed to be what I think of as “music for boarding planes”, like the current global number one by Alex Warren (I won’t link to it, sorry), or Benson Boone. But often I found myself saved by the cab driver who was blasting Gregory Isaacs on full, or the bakery playing UKG classics, or this banger that I had to Shazam. The lyrics were hitting!
Anyway, time for some links:
Sound
Burna Boy has teamed up with Travis Scott again, and this time the beat is on a Brazilian funk bent.
This South African song is swiftly rising up the charts across the continent.
Shaabi music meets contemporary club sounds in this album by Cairo’s Elkotsh. “A vital new wave of Egyptian electronic music”.
Miami’s Nick Leon made a favourite club track of 2024, “Bikini”, which is included on his forthcoming album.
There are always about eight thousand talents to watch in Jamaica, and right now Armanii is a compelling watch.
Close your eyes and give London-based pianist-composer Duval Timothy a listen.
Jai Paul’s brother, AK Paul, has dropped a long-awaited demo. Quite lovely.
Vision
Stuff lords unite, David Lynch’s belongings are up for auction. It’s an interesting look at his taste and just a survey of his life as a collector. Get your hands on his fog machine, or CDJs, or a nice bit of pottery.
The editor of this new Arca video deserves some kind of award, or mental health check-up.
The editor of this new Tyla video deserves some kind of award for the pan from her crying to her whining her waist (1:02).
Some beautiful cinematography in this short about Dakar on Nowness.
Speaking of absurdism, The Rehearsal on HBO might be the weirdest (complimentary) thing on TV right now. Batshit / amazing.
Thought
I really enjoyed this NYT Popcast interview with TikTok-er turned popstar Addison Rae. Frankly, she’s making some of the best pop music out there right now. It was refreshing to hear her talk about using her fame as a way to make art she’s interested in, as well as the young co-producers she’s working with (who are women).
The majors are in licensing talks with AI generators Suno & Udio, who were previously being sued for training technology on millions of songs without permission.
Meanwhile, mega-producer and “strategic advisor” to Suno, Timbaland has launched his own AI music company, and introduced the first AI artist on the “roster”. It’s sparking a lot of criticism, but I’m withholding my judgement til I hear the music.
I’ve mentioned this topic before in the ‘sletter, but here is The Guardian reporting on bot farms and fakery on streaming platforms.
It’s fascinating when a certain place (especially a non metropolis) becomes a hotbed for a certain type of music or skill. Like how Czechia churns out female tennis stars, or Bristol churned out Trip hop, and now: one Copenhagen school is producing a series of alt-pop stars.
Willo Perron gets a feature in the New York Times on “what makes his taste so good”. One of the best to do it!