This Week in House Music: Bicep, Clara La San, Nate08 & Sweet Female Attitude
I'm writing this the day after my birthday—happy Libra season to all my fellow b-day "neighbors" out there! I hope your celebrations are going marvelously! I'm getting to attend quite a few concerts for mine, yay! This week was also full of great new releases across genres, which always makes Friday extra sweet.
This Week In House, we have Bicep's first new music since Isles, a groovy Future Disco Radio mix from Nate08, and a 2000 U.K. garage classic from Sweet Female Attitude. Enjoy!
Best New Track: Bicep & Clara La San - Water [Ninja Tune, Oct. 5]
If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of Belfast emotive dance duo Bicep. They just dropped their first new music since the 2021 standout Isles, another immersive, sparkling collab with vocalist Clara La San, who also offered her angelic voice to "Saku," "X" and "Siena." The new track, "Water," features a dream-like, jingling synth and hopefully points to a third album in the works from Bicep. They've been playing it this year in their stellar live show, confusing me because I recognized Clara's voice but didn't know which one it was. The release also features an earlier, instrumental version of the track, "Waterfall," as the B-side.
“There was no outright idea when we started, but the original 'Waterfall' was born out of experimentation with an instrument called the MEGAfm," the duo explains in a press release. "It’s a new synth but has chips inside which formed the sounds of the SEGA Megadrive/Genesis games consoles. Weirdly, it got more computer game sounding when we developed it into 'Water,' speeding up and slowing down the lead line and LFOs to give that classic low-bit sound effect.”
Also, Ninja Tune dropped another new, must-hear house release from TSHA, her stellar, emotive debut album Capricorn Sun, along with another stand-out single from it, "Anxious Mind" featuring Clementine Douglas.
Follow Bicep on SoundCloud | Twitter | Instagram
Follow Clara La San on SoundCloud | Twitter | Instagram
Best New Mix: Future Disco Radio - 156 - Nate08 Guest Mix
I was delighted when I discovered Future Disco Radio via SoundCloud a few weeks back. Every week, they serve up an hour of groovy, funk nu disco and house, often from an exciting mix of guest DJs. This week's set is deep and grooving, from Mumbai's Nate08. Track IDs include: Baltra's "Baby," Roland Tings' "Hiding in the Bushes," CUX's "Walk Through (Club Mix)" and "Vida Locu (Bruno Be & Breaking Beattz Remix)" from Mc Poze do Rodo featuring Neo Beats and Mainstreet.
Follow Nate08 on SoundCloud | Instagram
Best Classic Track: Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers (Sunship Edit) [2000, Milkk Records / Warner Music]
I'm not gonna lie, I'm jealous that British kids grew up with dance music on the radio. A big radio U.K. garage tracks was Sweet Female Attitude's uplifting party-starter "Flowers." It was the 2000 debut single from the Manchester group—then consisting of young singer/songwriters Leanne Brown and Catherine Cassidy and producer Mike Powell, who wrote the hit with Martin Green, a.k.a. Shine MC. It was originally a more straightforward aughts girl group R&B number, but when London DJ/producer Sunship gave it that groovy garage remix, it topped the U.K. charts, hitting no. 1 on the dance chart and No. 2 on the singles chart, sitting under another U.K. garage classic, Craig David's "Fill Me In."
The song has stayed in the British social conscious ever since, and has reached more ears around the globe in recent years. Like me, you may have discovered the track on Michaela Coel's searing 2020 HBO drama "I May Destroy You." 21-year-old artist PinkPantheress, who brings old school garage and drum 'n bass to modern pop, sampled the track in 2021's "Pain." "Flowers" just keeps bringing us flowers!
