FBi Monthly Mixtape #007

July 1st 2022

June is weird. The financial year draws to a close, the days become shorter, and we somehow find ourselves on the tail end of 2022 already. One thing remains constant however: the calibre of music airing on FBi Radio’s specialist programs.
As always, our presenters well and truly turned it out last month – bringing you tracks from across the musical fringes they’re plugged into. Uncover some of the the farther corners of our programs grid and stop to meet some of our hosts while you’re there. These are the songs they’ve loved lately.

Luke de Zilva & Mara Schwerdtfeger, cohosts of Surfacing

Honey 2 Honey – Hold On

From four musicians best-known for their experimental works (Del Lumanta, Rory Stenning, Luke Keanan-Brown and Daryl Prondoso), Hold On by Honey 2 Honey is a hugely catchy track with more than enough unusualness in the music to make it a great listen for fans of both experimental and classic songwriting (think HTRK meets Roy Montgomery). The album, ‘To Water A Road‘ came out in April via Moontown Records. – Luke

Alexandra Spence – Blue Waves

Blue Waves is a deluge into field recording that connects bodies and water. Through lulls of distant waves, synthesised sounds that verge on the edge of environments, and Spence’s voice close to your ear, this track is a transportative treat to a large body of water that immerses you completely. Blue Waves is from the album ‘Blue waves, Green waves‘, released last week via Room 40. – Mara

Jaimee Taylor-Nielsen, host of The Bridge (Thursday)

East Denistone – Headspin

East Denistone is an artist I got around this month with a very singular sound. Headspin is this layered, off-kilter, gorgeous tune and I feel like I hear something new every time I listen. It’s off his EP ‘I Don’t Know I Still Care’. Listen with headphones and sink into the lush, layered production. Headspin takes a left turn about halfway through and gives us a peek into the mind of this very special artist.

Elizabeth M. Drummond – Crisis

Elizabeth M. Drummond, of Little May fame has stepped out on her own and delivered a debut thudding with a post-lockdown urgency to re-emerge. For a song about an existential crisis it sure is uplifting. Fans of Wet Leg and Jade Imagine will love this one.

Hotel – I’ve Seen Terrible Days

Hotel have returned to us after a hiatus with the spooky, swaggering sound we’ve been missing. The creeping bassline-and-keys combo brings Lynchian John Waters visions to mind, and Sonia Zadro’s commanding vocals have me wondering if I could pull off winged eyeliner and a beehive. Check out the fab video for this one featuring local burlesque icon Rosie Rivette.

Rydeen and Johnny Lieu, cohosts of Spin The Bottle

Black Rave Culture – Sub Poppin

US East Coast club music is really having a moment RN. Predominantly Black artists and DJs centered around clubs like Bossa, Nowadays, and collective/crew Juke Bounce Werk are taking the lessons from a rich history of Black American dance music and synthesising it into completely new forms. BRC make club tracks that are touched by all of this – Baltimore/Jersey club, footwork, house, techno and sounds from off continent, but doesn’t feel quite like any of them. Music both super grounded in where they’re from and looking to the future, but it’s also just fun AF. 😛 – Rydeen

King Doudou – Dale Dou

I’ve been listening to lots of new Latin club music lately, but one track on repeat is Dale Dou by French artist King Doudou. The track comes off the ‘LSDLNG 1’ EP, a series which blends modern club sounds with classic reggaeton rhythms. I loved songs like Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” growing up and “Dale Dou” harks back to those early 2000s rhythms – just stripped back, pure club dynamite. – Johnny

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