Music That Has Shaken the World Lately in September

Picture by lauraell

Songs of the Month

Mulay 

If you read my previous editions of Music That Has Shaken the World Lately you probably already saw the name Mulay (and hopefully heard her music)  as she is one of my favourite up and coming artists and songwriters and I am always super excited to talk about her, even more now that she has a new single out and a new album soon.

For the new song White Room, the Berlin based alternative R&B artist collaborated with Eddington May. Written by her and in a co-production with Elie Zylberman & Jules Minck the song captures the turmoil of being caught in the push and pull of toxic love - the heavy burden of letting go while still longing for what you know you need to leave behind. It’s an honest portrayal of the conflicting emotions that come with the journey of breaking free from someone who once had a hold over you, in her own words.

White Room also accompanies an astonishing music video shot by director Felix Aaron, Mulay’s long time collaborator and with visual concepts that they developed together.

Father John Misty

Another of my favourite songs of September is Screamland by Father John Misty, which almost feels like he is revisiting his album Pure Comedy: orchestral strings and vocals that grow intensely with existential lyrics that are both profound and satirical.

The chorus comes totally as a surprise, playing with the listeners expectations by adding a striking contrast to the rest of the instrumentation and vocals, with distorted guitars, synthesisers and vocal clipping as an intentional smart choice as soon as we enter the refrain 

‘’Stay young

Get numb

Keep dreaming

Screamland’’.

Collaboration of the Year

One of the most commented topics of the week so far has been the partnership between Levi’s and Beyoncé for a new jeans collection. It might come as a surprise, but the collaboration makes total sense, especially considering Beyoncé's latest album Cowboy Carter, that not only had a song about Levi’s jeans with Post Malone in which lyrics say ‘’Oh, you wish you were my Levi’s jeans”, but also has been linked to have increased the sales of the brand’s jeans by 20%.

The campaign called ‘’Launderette” reimagined with Beyoncé released on Monday it recreates the brand's iconic 1985 "Launderette" commercial, referencing the original model Nick Kamen in his underwear and it is giving the brand again another momentum, showing the power of music icons such as Beyoncé.

Album of the Month

At only 23 years old, Dylan Sinclair is a rising artist with a lot of talent and has just released his much anticipated debut R&B album For The Boy In Me, taking the listeners to an introspective journey with beautiful melodies and butterly smooth vocals, inspired by his gospel, R&B, and pop influences including Daniel Caesar blended with his Guyanese and Filipino roots and Toronto upbringing.

Talking about the album in press releases Dylan has said that  “In a world where men are not encouraged to be vulnerable, this record disregards that, choosing to tell it like it is”. 

Spotlight: Artist to Watch

Judeline

With rapid global acclamation despite being only 21 years old Judeline is a Spanish pop artist with Venezuelan roots and several influences, such as flamenco, R&B, reggaeton, arabic music and even Brazilian funk. The artist is and is one of the most promising names in the industry and, although many say she is the next Rosália, she has been creating her own unique style through music that keeps evolving. Her new single ‘’zardecillos de plata’’ is an intimate and minimalistic ballad with acoustic guitar and airy vocals and is another single of her long-awaited debut album.