Spindle Selects: Tracks Of The Week

It’s finally Friday and we have the perfect playlist to help jumpstart your weekend! Featuring releases from Megan Thee Stallion, VanJess, Biig Piig, and more.

Chikaya – Maze

Bristol-based singer Chikaya is back with her new single ‘Maze’. The track is filled with lo-fi beats and calming lyrics that will have you floating through the clouds. If you’re in need of an atmospheric escape then Chikaya’s ‘Maze’ is for you!

Cole LC ft. Adz – Westbrook

Cole LC is back with his banging new single ‘Westbrook’! The new track follows up his debut single Rollin. With a smooth flow and a feature from Adz, Westbrook is setting the stage for his rising star.

LANNDS – not in a good way

LANNDS new track ‘not in a good way’ is a hypnotic new track that will have you floating through the clouds. The single is filled with a electronic production and hip-hop like beats. Speaking on the track the duo states: “We really wanted a few things out of this. This is technically our fourth body of work, we threw away our third one. We really wanted authenticity, we wanted to write something that was pure and had very little outside influence.

AP the Plan – Monday Afternoon

If you’re looking for a hip hop track full of warmth and substance then Monday Afternoon is the track for you. The single is filled with introspective lyrics that will leave you thinking about the good times.

SVEA – Pity Party

The video for the sultry upbeat ‘Pity Party’ replicates the deep bass production as we follow SVEA during a hazy, impulsive night in an empty underground club and forgetting any inhibitions. A nostalgic scene most of us are missing during the ongoing pandemic.

Hope Tala ft. Aminé – Cherries

Hope Tala and Aminé make sweet music on their new track ‘Cherries’. The new single is a blend of R&B and bossa nova. Since I started writing music I’ve used fruit imagery; I’ve always been inspired by the Garden of Eden and the story of Adam and Eve. I think of ‘Cherries’ as being a really corporeal song – there’s a lot of lyrical content about how the body portrays feeling and emotion, and when I was writing it I used the symbol of cherries as my focal point to help me understand where these two worlds – material and emotional – collide.

VanJess – Slow Down

VanJess has released their romantic new single ‘Slow Down’ and we can’t get enough! Partnering up with Snakehips & Jonah Christian, the sister duo create a harmony filled and brassy sound record.

Phabo – LNF

Phabo is cool, calm, and collected on the new single ‘LNF’. The record will leave listeners feeling nostalgic and thinking about that special someone. Speaking on the track Phabo states: “LNF is an ode to 2000s R&B which is the mood forever. This record illustrates the most intimate moments on my journey to find real love.” 

shiv – Letting You Know

shiv is a neo-soul talent that NEEDS to be on your radar! The Zimbabwe-born artist has dropped her single ‘Letting You Know’ and is filled with a lush production and beautiful lyrics.

Tierra Whack – feel good

Tierra Whack discusses the pursuit of happiness in the new single ‘feel good’. The track comes in at only 1:25 but touches on mental health and the confusion that comes with it. We absolutely stan.

Megan Thee Stallion – Body

Megan Thee Stallion is finally here with her debut album and addictive new single ‘Body’! Along with releasing her new record the MC also dropped her fire video for the new single. Watch the full visual below.

Biig Piig – Feels Right

If you’re in need of an chill track to get your weekend started check out Biig Piig’s latest single ‘Feels Right’. Speaking on the record she states: “Feels Right’ is a track about the energy of a night out. I miss going out so much. The feeling of letting go and being surrounded by sweaty people; meeting strangers and one-night romances; the tunes and ecstasy. Feel like pure shit just want her back :'(. So we made ‘Feels Right’ with that in mind. The closest we can get to that feeling again right now is writing about it.”

CHINCHILLA – The Lockdown Getdown

Fresh from releasing one of the standout EP’s of the year, newcomer CHINCHILLA returns with ‘The Lockdown Getdown‘, which is released via Sonu Columbia Germany. Written with close friend Boonif, this track is a social documentation of the current UK restrictions and is an ode to staying fabulous throughout the existing global pandemic. We’re nearing the end of 2020 and although this year has been one of the most testing for many, you’d be a fool to think that the power of funk and nostalgia has gone away. We salute you CHIN.

Lou Hayter – ‘Private Sunshine’

Electronic music gets a sophisticated, swooning makeover with ‘Private Sunshine’, a heady sigh of Gallic tinged pop wreathed with melancholia and wistfulness, and a beautiful new piece of music from Lou Hayter’s new LP to see you through the winter. Hayter mines an irrepressible vein of music all her own, creating a euphoric electronic soul track, written, produced and performed entirely by Lou herself. 

Liza Owen – ‘Starry Eyed’

Smashed glasses and self-destruction, smeared lipstick and late-night booty calls: welcome to the messy, imperfect, tear-stained, yet darkly glamorous world of bright young thing Liza Owen. Her latest single ‘Starry Eyed’ is a glittery, wildly infectious anthem in waiting in which Owen lists, in unflinching detail, her most self-destructive tendencies before musing on “suicides and strange addictions…shameless is the new religion” over soaring choruses and gloriously sparkly pop hooks. It also comes accompanied by a brilliant black and white video featuring Owen on the back of a motorbike, pushing boundaries while racing towards oblivion. 

Kara Marni – ‘Close’

Londoner Kara Marni drops a new song ‘Close’, a delicious slice of laid-back R&B which shows off her vocals. She teases a flurry of new music for 2021 and her lockdown efforts across 2020 have been exemplary – check out her Shed Sessionz for more music, chat, and special guests.

The Heavy Hours – ‘Desperate Days’

‘Desperate Days’ is the third song released by the Cincinnati quartet The Heavy Hours. The new song was produced by Simone Felice (The Lumineers, Jade Bird, Matt Maeson) and produced and mixed by David Baron in the Catskill Mountains and follows the release of past two singles ‘Don’t Walk Away’.

Martin Gore – ‘Mandrill’

Martin Gore, songwriter and founding member of Depeche Mode, releases an exhilarating new track ‘Mandrill’ this week. The new release is taken from the forthcoming 5-track instrumental EP The Third Chimpanzee out 29 January 2021. ‘Mandrill’ is a ferocious slice of electro, and, like the four other tracks, has Martin Gore’s hugely atmospheric musical trademark stamped all over them. The accompanying visual is a cosmic trip through the jungle.

Lady Donli – ‘Rockstar Parole’

Lady Donli releases her dual singles, ‘Rockstar Parole’. ‘Rockstar’ was produced by The Cavemen & ‘Parole’ by JMS.”‘Rockstar Parole’ pays homage to the story telling found in Nigerian music in the early 2000s.” she says, ‘Rockstar’ particularly can be compared to Tony Tetuila’s hit single ‘My Car’ in the way the lyrics paint a clear picture of a story.” ‘Rockstar Parole’ follows her previous single ‘Wonda Wonda’ featuring Ghanaian artist Darkovibes, released earlier this year. 

Deborah Child – ‘Red Light‘

Emerging LA-based artist Deborah’s Child releases her blistering new track, ‘Red Light’, which, as she says is ” revenge served on a cold night in a fast car on the pacific coast highway.” We say Fast & The Furious meets Kill Bill meets pop music. Into it.

Kyd the Band – Roots

Kyd the Band delivers a headbanging homage to his hometown in the new video for “Roots” lifted from his latest EP Season 3: The Realization. Giving the viewer an intimate glimpse into his childhood, the alt-pop singer-songwriter recounts his internal struggles of faith, identity, and self-acceptance – all while graciously acknowledging the places that have and continue to ground him. 

Sam DeRosa – The Medicine

LA pop artist Sam DeRosa continues to slay with the new title track visual from her debut EP The Medicine. The video – shot during quarantine and solely by-way-of a mirror – captures Sam’s stunning reflection as the track itself simultaneously echos on the status of a previous relationship and the one she’s begun to develop with herself. She asks, “Is it finally time that we leave it alone? Are you the wounds that won’t ever close? Or are you the medicine?” The medicine is you.

DASHA – Better Than She Did

DASHA returns with a single that speaks on the resentment felt after being replaced. We’ve all felt hurt when an ex leaves us behind and ‘Better Than She Did’ works through the pain. A single displaying the false hope felt after an ex moves on, DASHA crafts a song that is as heartbreaking as it is catchy.

Michael Lanza – Drive

Michael Lanza has given us a lot of great music this week. With both an album and single release the Bay area pop artist is keeping us on our toes while finishing out the year. ‘Drive’ is an electrifying track on chasing your dreams, despite whoever may hold you back. With cinematic strings and a robust production Michael Lanza is someone we are definitely keeping our eyes on.

Make sure to listen to Spindle Selects on below or on Spotify!