Hello June. It’s pretty great to see you. I’m really not much of a summer girl, but this year I’m kinda feeling it. Maybe it’s from being so indoors and limited for over a year with the pandemic/quarantine. Or perhaps I’m evolving. I mean, aren’t we always?
Are you ready for some first day of June tunes? I know I am.
Give Me Five – June 1, 2021
You can listen and follow along with June’s Give Me Five at Spotify and YouTube
Song 1: “Whole House” by LOLAWOLF
“Got the whole house,
but I only hang in my room.
Got the whole street,
but I only hang in my house.
Got the whole hood,
but I only hang on my block.
Got the whole closet,
but I only wear one top.”
First off, how did I not know that Zoë Kravitz had a band? She’s a favorite person of mine, and I am seriously digging this song, and album.
The lyrics to this grabbed me right away, reminding me of the quarantine we are slowly coming out of. It also brings up feelings of the mental illness issues I’ve been dealing with most of my life. How sometimes they paralyze me, making me not want to leave the house, or my room. How sometimes it makes me not want to get dressed, change clothes, do anything. I’m working on it though. I’m fighting it. There is a whole world out there, and I want to see it.
LOLAWOLF is Brooklyn electronic pop completely. I can see the city streets, the neighborhoods, the feeling of New York that I imagine (someday I’ll get there). Fronted by Zoë Kravitz and named after the singer’s sister and brother (source: Fader), their music is addictive, city-fied, and just what I needed for this almost start of summer.
Song 2: “Crossroads” by Nia Archives
“So tell me, which way do I go?
I been here before,
but this time,
I don’t know.”
I feel those lyrics all the way to my core. I’ve been at so many crossroads in my life, never knowing exactly which way to go, taking a chance, flipping a coin (so to speak), trying to lead with my gut, with my instincts, and somehow always winding up back at a crossroads. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be. Maybe that’s life. Maybe that’s my journey. But, I’d sure like a little guidance. A road map perhaps? Some internal GPS?
I’m digging city pop hip-hop sounds right now. They feel relevant and right as summer comes around, and the world starts to open up again. I want to dance. I want to drive. I want to run. I want to be out in the world again – even if I’m scared and a little less brave from being locked down for so long. I got this though. We all do.
Turn up the tunes. It helps. I promise you, it does.
Nia Archives is young. Twenty years young. She’s a producer and singer, and this song, along with the 5-song EP Headz Gone West, is infectious and soulful. It makes me want to move. I’m digging it.
Nia is originally from Leeds, but now is based in London via Manchester. She says her influences come from her Jamaican heritage and the jungle scene of the 90’s. (source: mixmag)
I definitely feel that rave-ey, 90’s jungle sound in this. It so makes me want to dance.
If you like what you hear, and want to hear more – and if you’d like to help support Nia Archives music, dance on over here.
Song 3: “Sugar Mama” by Dua Saleh
“I have a friendly neighbor.
She wanna be my savior.
Her daddy always warns her,
’bout my family’s behavior.
She wonders bout my flavor.
Those chocolate coated layers.
She looks me up and down,
her pussy melting like a glacier.”
Ever since I heard “Warm Pants” I’ve been obsessing over Dua Saleh. Her music is brilliant, poetic, sexy, strong, pop-infused, full of rhythm that makes you move, her rhymes so strong, the production so smooth and sharp and…don’t mind if I yes.
Another city-sounding song that I’m longing for as summer nears. Dua Saleh is on the top of my list of 2021 discoveries that I can’t get enough of.
Dua Saleh is a Sudanese-American recording artist, songwriter, poet, and actor from Minneapolis. Dua, and their family, immigrated to the US from Sudan when they were a child. (source: Wikipedia)
Want to hear more of Dua’s sound and style, and help support their music? Head on over here please.
Song 4: “Kitchen Tiles” by Maebh
“I want to move,
I want to smile,
I want to go dancing on the kitchen tiles.”
Sunny, dream-poppy vocals wrapping around a maybe ending of a relationship song that feels fresh and breezy, despite some of its melancholic undertones. I am loving Maebh’s voice, the woodpecker like knocks at the start of the song, the sway-ness of the song.
Also, I’m a big fan of dancing in the kitchen. Big fan.
“Kitchen Tiles” is Maebh’s newest single. She is a singer-songwriter and producer from Cockermouth, UK. She wrote “Kitchen Tiles” during lockdown, and says the song was inspired by her desire to dance again. I feel you, Maebh. I want to dance again, too.
If you want to hear more from Maebh, and if you’d like to help support her music, dance on over here.
Song 5: “Playground Love” by Marika Hackman
“I’m a high school lover,
and you’re my favorite flavor.
Love is all,
all my soul.
You’re my playground love.”
Okay. You knew there would be a cover in the mix, right?
“Playground Love” always reminds of of summertime. Long days, warm nights, walks when the sun is either just coming up, or on its decline. It also brings back the film The Virgin Suicides – which I really need to re-watch soon.
I like the way Marika’s tone works with this song, and the different electronic notes and adds. The bedroom pop vibe.
Though I am a big fan of AIR and love the original, this is a pretty cool version. Fits right in with my mood on this first day of June.
Marika Hackman is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Hampshire, England. (source: Wikipedia) Marika recorded this song, along with a collection of covers, for an album called Covers that she produced during lockdown/quarantine. You know that I’m all for an album of covers!
If you want to hear more of Marika, and if you’d like to help support her music, skip the playground and head right over here today.
So, how are you feeling on this start of June day? What music are you loving, dancing to, obsessing over?
