2023 was a banner year for Ezra Collective, making them the first-ever jazz artist to land the coveted Mercury Music Prize, for their album Where I’m Meant To Be, AND they brought down the house when they made their debut on MBE. The prolific group isn’t wasting time and are set to release their third album Dance, No One’s Watching in late September. 

Written while on tour in 2023, the album is an ode to the dance floors they experienced and ties in with some of the members’ roots in church. Drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso notes, “Myself, Ife, and TJ all grew up in church, and it played a massive role in how we view the purpose of dancing. Dancing is bigger than just the club space. Dancing is a community thing, dancing is a spiritual thing, and ‘God Gave Me Feet For Dancing’ is like a window into that element of Ezra Collective for the five of us.”

Audio-visual duo Mermaid Chunky have exploded on the London music scene with their  wicked wit and sophisticated beats. Thanks to a stop at his local coffee shop in Brooklyn, DFA founder and LCD Soundsystem electro-deity James Murphy quickly Shazamed the track and rushed back to the office to start his investigation and sign them to the label. We are LOVING this summer’s banger, “Chaperone.” 

Rapper and producer Oddisee set high goals for his new EP, And Yet Still, tackling the world’s armed conflicts and our shared problems. "Not a day goes by without some grave injustice in the world,” states Oddisee “In between our guilt and gratefulness, we become desensitized or mobilized. As we fight for our beliefs, our day-to-day lives demand attention. We cry, cheer, mourn, and love — sometimes knowing it may be in vain and yet still, we carry on." You can hear a little hint of Marvin Gaye’s sound and approach to hardship on “World On Fire.” 

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, producer, and songwriter Jordan Rakei is well-loved by KCRW DJs, so you’ve probably heard some tracks from the new album, The Loop, on our airwaves. 

A standout is “Trust,” about which Rakei says, “With this one, I was focused more on the feeling I wanted to convey, rather than a specific lyric. I’ve often felt like there’s an element of performance to my personality — I believe we’re only our true selves when we’re alone. So ‘Trust’ is about trying to embrace your true self more and performing less, trusting that being the ‘real you’ is the right thing.”

Ojai-based yoga aficionado and producer Earthtones — aka Serge Bandura — has deep love for cumbia and rhythms emanating from the African diaspora. “Limones” is a gifted folkloric-futuristic track nourished by a crunchy mix of electronic and house-style beats.  

Multi-faceted LA-based artist Kate Bollinger recently announced her forthcoming album, Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind, written during a period of disquiet and transition. The album is meant to sound like a mixtape — carefully crafted for your ears only. 

The breathy “Any Day Now” was the one of the first songs written for the LP, recorded live, without headphones or a click track, and inspired by favorite songs from the ‘60s. 

This summer is filled with bouncy bangers, but if you’re looking for something a little mellower and sexier, pick up the latest from NxWorries, a project that melds Anderson.Paak’s bars and Kxwledge’s beats alongside A-List invitees H.E.R., Thundercat, and on “FromHere,” the inimitable Snoop Dogg and October London. 

Invincible UK out-rock trio Beak>, which includes Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, have released their fourth album,  >>>>, (that’s four beak symbols!), about which they say, "At its core, we always wanted it to be head music (music for the ‘heads’, not headphone music) – listened to as an album, not as individual songs. This is why we are releasing this album with no singles or promo tracks.” That said, we’ll introduce you to a track that gives heavy feels for its sinister-yet-cinematic hook, a touch of classic Nirvana and prog-rock, and durability as “Denim.” 

Take a hypnotic trip with Korean-Canadian, LA-based artist Luna Li, who after a split from her long-time partner, decided to leave her family and friends in Toronto for a fresh start in LA, where her creative juices turned to songwriting. A new album, When a Thought Grows Wings, is set for August release and features “Confusion Song.” 

You may have heard Lee Bob’s beautiful cover of Nina Simone’s 1968 classic “Peace of Mind,” but he’s also a singer who writes his own songs. You’ll find that cover on his new EP, Free, alongside an intimate collection of songs conceived on a rooftop in Bamako, Mali. We’re sharing the title track, on which you can hear a kaleidoscopic integration of different genres, from folk ballads to Malian polyrhythms.