Moss Kena / Found You In 06 EP
With so much new music getting churned out every day, it can sometimes be exhausting to sift through piles of new releases for hidden gems. Although this may seem like an inevitable curse that comes with the prevalence of today's music streaming sites, once in a while you do come across artists worthy of your time and attention. Which brings us to Moss Kena, the 20-year-old newcomer who blew music bloggers' collective minds with his smooth and sultry rendition of Kendrick Lamar's These Walls.
A year later Kena followed up with his first piece of original music titled 48 (ft Jay Prince). The song brilliantly captured the neo-soul spirit in the same vein as Prince, Maxwell, D'Angelo, and Etta James. At the same time, he embraces the experimental side of soul and R&B, paying homage to the more contemporaries artists such as Amy Winehouse, Autre Ne Veut, How to Dress Well, and Active Child. All of these influences finally reach a high point on Found You In '06, his debut five-track EP recently dropped via RCA Records/Cult Records/Ministry of Sound imprint.
Working in tandem with sought-after producers from Pluss (Beyonce, Drake) to T- Minus (Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky), Kena has delivered a sophisticated collection of neo-soul and noir R&B filtered through the supple vocals that many have mistaken for a woman's. Lead single Square One sets the tone with the minimalist, funk-infused production that underscores his divine falsetto. "Sweet like cinnamon/I keep sinking in," he moans softly atop slow-burning groove. "One step forward then it's two steps back/It's so heaven sent, here in hell again."
You Don't Know and Spend Some Time give us a bit of The Weeknd vibes. Featuring New York mysterious, ski mask-donning rapper Leikeli47, the latter highlights Kena's ability to lay down his deep physical longing through simple songwriting: "Man, I wanna make you mine/If you have a minute we could spend some time … I wanna lose my inhibitions some more."
Themes of longing continue on Games, a laidback jam in which he laments the hot-and-cold reactions from his significant other ("Mondays, you're cold/ Not even the thought of me … But Friday nights reminded you of me"). Similarly, closer Problems find Kena fusing pop sensibility with flowing R&B rhythms. "Problems/Seems everybody got 'em … Only thing we got in common/Problems," he sings, channelling the nostalgia of '90s R&B.
Inspired by Amy Winehouse, whom Kena's credited for giving him a "musical awakening", Found You In '06 is a strong debut from one of the most exciting new voices. Though clocking in at measly 15 minutes, the EP tells a concise story of who he is as a budding artist and why he's standing out from the crowded music scene. Remember his name, this guy's going places.
THE PLAYLIST
Pongsit Kampee / Yu Nai Jai
The veteran Thai peu cheewit singer-songwriter is celebrating 30 years in the business with the release of his 19th studio album, Kae Gab Chan. Here, we're treated to second cut Yu Nai Jai, a mellow soft rock ballad in which Pongsit is thankful for all that his past lover(s) has done for him. "No matter how long it's been/In my heart, I never stop missing you/I hope that one day, you'll return to me," he sings, the message doubling as a love letter to all his fans who have stuck with him for three long decades.
Years & Years / Sanctify
"In the night, you come to me/'Cause I'm the one who knows who you are," Olly Alexander sings on Sanctify, the lead cut signaling Years & Years' forthcoming sophomore output. The track marks the UK trio's first new material since their 2015 debut album, Communion, and sees Olly channeling the sleek pop-R&B of Justin Timberlake circa FutureSexLoveSound. "You don't have to be straight with me/I see what's underneath your mask/I'm a man like you…" he assures with all his sensual might alongside throbbing bassline and tribal percussion.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra / Not in Love We're Just High
New Zealand's psych rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra have just dropped Not In Love We're Just High, a follow-up to the fuzzed-out American Guilt. Set to vintage synths and finger snaps, the song sounds as if Prince and Michael Jackson had a love child who was adopted by Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. "Said we're not in love/We just hang out high as kites/Said we're not in love/We're just halfway out of our mind," frontman Ruban Nielson confesses in his trippy vocals punctuated by trippy hi-hat rhythms.
Kylie Minogue / Stop Me From Falling
It's confirmed, y'all, Ms Minogue has officially gone country. First we thought it was just a phase, but turned out Stop Me From Falling simply follows the country-pop styling of her previous single Dancing, plus a low-key EDM drop. "Should have seen the warning signs/Now we're running out of time," the long-serving Australian diva coos. "Kinda want to cross the line, stop me from falling -- for you."
Parquet Courts / Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience
Lifted from their forthcoming full-length Wide Awake!, Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience is a two-for-one kind of single that finds the Brooklyn punk group delivering their signature lo-fi rock'n'roll sound with the usual aplomb. In its drum-laden first half, existential crisis takes on the central narrative ("Adapt, adapt, adapt, adapt to the void then if you must … I'm in the chaos dimension/ Trapped in a brutal invention). In the second, the production becomes more loose, thanks to the melodic guitar loop, while the lyrics are the winning blend of humor and wit ("And all I got left is/This shit attitude/At least music is playing in my head").
