I don’t listen to enough good albums. It’s hard making a great song, let alone more than a few in a row.
I found Tommy Guerrero out of the 150+ musicians performing at Noise Pop Festival this year. He reminded me of the psychedelic surf rock reminiscent of Khruangbin and a bit like Toro y Moi too, but after going through his ten albums, he’s incomparable. His rifts are the catchiest thing I’ve heard all year.
I chose a little over 30 tracks to feature here, but I have a feeling all his music will set in with time. Full albums and all. There’s just too much to love here and I don’t say that enough.
COLORS out of Berlin produces some of the cleanest music performances on YouTube with some of the biggest prospects in music right now. Going through the 271 videos they’ve uploaded so far, and picking 36 (13%), two themes in my selection process stuck out.
The videos didn’t help every performer sound better. In the end, it was about their vocal chops. It did, however, bring out the best in the voices that stood out. Imagine a COLORS festival in Berlin. Live is the ultimate goal for any content company and most others.
I also realized, or more so confirmed, my dislike for listening to rap from outside of the US. It’s not about what they say, it’s about how they say it. Not being exposed enough to the phonetics in other languages when it comes to music has trained my brain to prefer the American accent. Even Canadian rappers I can’t take seriously sometimes. “Aboot” makes me chuckle, let alone when it’s in a rap song.
That’s why I appreciate COLORS. I trust their selection and they expose me to rap from around the world. I know if I listen long enough, they’ll find something I love. And if not COLORS, there are plenty of other international curation houses that’ll turn something up. Although not with a simple, vibrant, one-color backdrop that COLORS displays so beautifully behind each upload.
Would love to see Durand Jones & The Indications in front of COLORS someday.