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NME‘s Radar Roundup is your weekly reminder of the rule-breaking rising artists you cannot afford to ignore right now. From interviews to reviews and track recommendations, this is where you’ll met your favourite new artist.
Interviews
Each week, we meet the most exciting new names in the game. This week, Emma-Jean Thackray on her sprawling new project, Biig Piig talks her sonic revolution and this week’s cover star Dominic Fike gets a grilling on his debut.
Emma-Jean Thackray
Thackray’s new project draws from the various elements that have made her work so celebrated – Miles Davis, Alice Coltrane with a little Pharaoh Sanders sprinkled on top. But listen closer and see that she has woven in elements of LA’s lo-fi scene, Madlib-influenced beats and the vibe of Detroit’s ‘90s house scene. Read the full interview Dhruva Balram
Biig Piig
Biig Piig is reborn: three years since the Irish artist made her name with a hazy fusion of after-party soul, R&B and hip-hop, she’s back with a newfound confidence and creative freedom. She’s traded in the vulnerable heartbreak-inspired introspection of her early trilogy of EPs for a politically-angered and empowered, dancier “new era”. Read the full interview Ben Jolley
Dominic Fike
In this week’s Big Read feature, the 24-year-old Florida native talks befriending Brockhampton, being banned from the UK, following in the footsteps of an Arctic Monkey and the release of his highly-anticipated debut album, ‘What Could Possibly Wrong’. Read the full interview Sam Moore
Reviews
Never let a killer release fly under the radar: get our verdict on Jordana’s brilliant new EP and indulge in a little mystery with Serpiko’s ‘Sleep State’.
Jordana – ‘Something To Say’ EP
This EP hops restlessly – and increasingly – between genres. The swaggering ‘Big’ is Jordana’s hefty garage-rock moment, hinging around the sort of filthy juddering guitar line that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Black Keys record or Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM’. It doesn’t make for an especially cohesive listen, but you sense this isn’t Jordana’s goal here. Key track: ‘Big’ Read the full review El Hunt
Serpiko – ‘Sleep State’
It’s hard to discern whether this is a deliberate ploy for mystery, or just a new artist finding their feet. It doesn’t really matter. In fact, the obfuscation plays into the music perfectly. ‘Sleep State’ is a 7-track collection full of meditative, reflective singular jazz-flecked electronica – an eclectic mixture of various influences, odes to the greats, old and new. Read the full review Dhruva Balram
New Bangers
NME’s New Bangers is our weekly updated playlist full of the essential new tunes you need in your life.
Ela Minus – ‘megapunk’
We want Ela Minus with us on Judgement Day. The Bogota-born, Brooklyn-based musician vehemently believes in the power of rebellion and creating “bright music for dark times”, so that fighting talk will come in handy when Jeff Bezos-controlled drones delivering your weekly shop inevitably turn on its masters. The pumping ‘megapunk’ would be an ample soundtrack, too.
Jay1 ft Loski – ‘TEE’
With ‘TEE’ being just the Coventry artist’s second single of the year, you get the sense that perhaps he’s spent much of lockdown quietly plotting. His team-up with Kennington’s Loski sees the pair trade verses with the familiarity and poise of a duo experienced far beyond their years, and thankfully, there’s many more to come from both.
mxmtoon – ‘bon iver’
Fair play to mxmtoon for shooting her shot. By naming her spindly new single after the Wisconsin musician, she’s taking to speaking a potential collaboration into existence with this delightful homage.
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The post Radar Roundup – July 31, 2020: The killer new music you need to hear this week appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
