Today’s newsletter dives into sounds that stretch across continents and decades. We start in 1970s Zambia with the psychedelic grit of Ngozi Family, a band whose Zamrock flavor still inspires artists like Tyler the Creator and Tame Impala today. Then, we jump to the UK with Fliss, a rising artist channeling Fleetwood Mac energy on her debut release, before landing back home with my own new track, “tracy.” To round it out, we’ve got a wild street performance video and a photographer reimagining iconic album covers in their original spots.
Nizakupanga Ngozi — Ngozi Family
I’m back with a little Zamrock flavor for your weekend. If you’re not familiar with Zamrock it’s essentially African psychedelic rock that came out of Zambia during the early 1970’s. Today, many rappers have sampled music from this period. To my knowledge the latest artist to do so is Tyler the Creator on his track ‘NOID’ from Chromakopia.
When this song came on, I immediately paused because I knew I had heard the guitar tones elsewhere. I’m pretty sure Tame Impala was also inspired by this band for his 2015 album Currents. Anyways, there’s something about the way their instrument and vocal tones come together to create this really chunky, vibey and layered sonic landscape.
If you enjoy any type of rock there’s almost no way that you don’t appreciate this tune. I would also suggest giving the entire project and discography a spin while you’re at it.
coming around - fliss
Given that this is the first release, I’m pretty stoked to see what she’s got in store. Fliss is an artist out of the UK and has this Fleetwood Mac flare to her sound.. It’s got that big pop sound and primed for a worldwide smash status. It will be interesting to see how she develops and builds off this introduction to the world. Let me know what you think.
tracy - Shwiggly
Not to toot my own horn here but…..my third song released this week. It’s titled ‘tracy’ and it explores the idea of wondering if I’d ever find love. When I hear this song back I get slightly sad because it makes me realize how much I was struggling at the time. This one is more of smooth rock type vibe with a nice guitar lead a
Quote of the Day
"I love New York - you're never alone but you're always on your own."
Video of the Day
What I love about this series is how it shows how much talent there is in NYC. This dude simply walks around the streets with this crazy walking studio rig, comes up with beats on the spot and has random people freestyle and sing. It shows New York at it’s finest.
Photo of the Day
Today, I’m featuring an Instagram account called @thebandwashere. He’s a photographer who goes around New York and recreates iconic music photographs and album covers in the places they were shot. It’s a really cool POV that hooks you in. When I first found the page, I spent a good 30 minutes looking through every single post.
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