This week’s New Music Friday UK playlist on Spotify has a good turnout from emerging artists. Avelino, MoStack, Nines, Jacob Banks, Zak Abel and Anderson .Paak all feature alongside more established acts such as Stormzy, Skepta, Migos, Akala, Wretch 32 and Travis Scott. With a focus on more avant-garde and upbeat tracks, this week’s playlist has its fair share of bangers.
Avelino – “Energy” (feat. Stormzy & Skepta)
Avelino returns with a high-profile track featuring BRITs nominees Skepta and Stormzy. Young Fire starts the track off, spitting with a classic Avelino flow over a tense beat that suddenly breaks and booms at the hook. Stormzy’s verse is confident and classy, whilst Skeppy’s verse sees him passing the North London torch to Av. This whole track is anarchic; avant-garde in composition but still a banger.
Ed Sheeran – “Shape of You” (Acoustic)
Ed continues on his road to 2017 domination by releasing the acoustic version of his Spotify record-breaking single “Shape Of You”. The bouncy song gets reimagined in this rendition of the track which just features Ed and his acoustic guitar.
MoStack – “Let It Ring”
This vibey track from MoStack features some heavily-processed vocals and melodic verses. With some really interesting production, “Let It Ring” is a party-banger. After supporting Wretch 32 on his album tour last year, MoStack is kicking off 2017 as he means to go on.
Nines – “I Wonder” (ft. Akala)
From Nines’ One Foot Out album which released today, “I Wonder” starts off with a haunting synth line that leads into Nines’ lamenting first verse that sees him question his past experiences and where he’s heading. The verse introduces a skit voiced by Akala which adds to the thought-provoking nature of the track. During the second round of Akala’s spoken piece, the beat switches up and some filtered vocal cuts sit nicely beneath Akala’s own lament.
Migos – “T-Shirt” (Spotify Mix)
“Bad & Boujee” trio Migos link up with Spotify to release a new mix of their song “T-Shirt” which features some trademark Migos flows and autotuned melodies. When the flows start to switch up on this track, it becomes more interesting. Braggadocio and cocky, “T-Shirt” is a trappy track with some cool reversed instrumentals leading the beat.
Jacob Banks – “Unholy War”
An awesome piano line and drum beat sit amazingly between Jacob Banks’ soulful vocals. Complete with tamborines and an incredible guitar riff on the hook, “Unholy War” chills the spine. By the time the brilliantly played guitar riff comes in on the second hook, the listener is already obsessed with the unique production style and Jacob’s one-of-a-kind vocal performance.
Zak Abel – “Rock Bottom” (ft. Wretch 32)
Opened by a short spoken piece by Wretch 32, “Rock Bottom” features a cool chord progression played on the piano which introduces a string arrangement and a simple drum beat that compliments the just-as-simple hook that Zak Abel sings. The track slowly gets bigger in production, with great effect. Wretch comes in on the third verse and instantly changes the vibe of the song, with a melodic entry that evolves into a typical Wretch verse that poetically sums up the song. “Rock Bottom” is an awesome take on a familiar concept.
Moonbase – “It Don’t Matter” (feat. Anderson .Paak)
Hopeful Grammy nominee and underdog-turned-superstar Anderson .Paak owns the vocal performance on this Moonbase track. Cocky and aggressive, the track is dirty from the beat to .Paak’s nonchalant delivery. The lowkey turn-up hook is reminiscent of an old Shady Records track from the mid-2000s.
Travis Scott – “Yeah Yeah” (ft. Young Thug)
Travis Scott’s unique “Yeah Yeah” is a new take on Travis’ style. The beat speeds up and down with booming 808s kicking in and stabilising the tempo by the time the first verse comes around. Trappy and melodic, “Yeah Yeah” is simple and catchy.