Five songs you need to hear right now!
Here are five songs you should know about this week. Rosalía‘s new album has generated enough hype that people are even talking about it on LinkedIn. NYC’s Whatmore taps into a familiar Beastie Boys-type energy. Clairo sneaks onto the latest release by Smerz while Fred Again.. gets hype and Underscores shakes up the Hyperpop formula.
Whatmore – jackie chan
New York City’s Whatmore met while attending Laguardia High School (AKA Music & Art). Laguardia is a hotbed of creativity and can count Timothée Chalamet, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Aniston, and Awkwafina among its grads. You can see evidence of this creative community in Whatmore’s music videos, artwork, and music production. Whatmore is the musical equivalent of Washington Square Park on a warm Saturday afternoon. Everyone’s there and everyone’s having a good time. On “jackie chan,” Whatmore blurs Hip Hop and Postpunk for two minutes that sound like cycling through NYC rush hour traffic.
Rosalía – Reliquia
Rosalia is one of the most respected voices in the pop world. Her blend of eccentric Latin grooves and instruments, and modern mainstream tones, created a palatable sound with an experimental edge. Her 2022 album ‘Motomami‘ was an explosive reconceptualization of Reggaeton that was a cultural reset. Now, nearly 4 years on, the Catalonian singer returns with her newest album, ‘LUX ‘: a record exploring the classic sounds of flamenco and salsa balladry through large, orchestral movements and fierce dramatics, supported by experimental icons Bjork, Yves Tumor, Noah Goldstein, and shot by Electro-pop tastemaker Noah Dillon of The Hellp. The track, ‘Reliquia’, captures the feathery-yet-glitchy beauty of her latest album.
Fred Again.., CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso – Beto’s Horns
Electronic producer and DJ extraordinaire Fred Again.. teams up with gritty Latin pop sensation CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso to create a driving blend of classic English dance flair with Latin grooves and growling performances on their newest collaboration, ‘Beto’s Horns’. Here’s the Ezra Collective remix that’s just as rowdy.
Underscores – Do It
April Harper Grey is an avid fan of pop music, studying all its styles and scenes to create a maximalist idea that encapsulates what “Hyperpop” truly means. On her latest release, ‘Do It’, the 25-year-old abstract pop wiz brings a 2000s bounce and tight-knit choreo to her sleek, absurdist vision of what the future of music can be, doubling as a love letter to the art form in its entirety.
Smerz – You Got Time And I Got Money (feat. Clairo)
Perhaps one of Indie’s most exciting names helping form the Copenhagen sound, the Danish pop duo Smer recently released remixes of their latest album, ‘Big City Life‘. With remixes from well-established and up-and-coming artists from all corners of pop’s alternative sounds, the record is garnering praise for its diverse and near-angsty reimagining of Smerz’s soft-sounding vision. One remix we can’t get enough of is Clairo and producer VVTZJ’s eerie, tender interpretation of the subtle, R&B highlight ‘You Got Time And I Got Money‘.
You can find these songs and many more in our “Now Playing at Activaire HQ” playlist on Spotify. We update it weekly, so be sure to hit that heart button.
