Today's Top Tune

Vienna-born electronic composer and producer John Tejada has had his hand in many projects — most notably with Reggie Watts as Wajatta — and has queued up a newer one with vocalist-songwriter March Adstrum as the duo Optometry . To honor their late art director, Simone Ling, they named their new EP (dropping March 22) in her memory, Parallel Distortion. Kicking off the EP is “Wrong Thing,” capturing their guitar prowess.

Christine and the Queens has the distinction of being the first-ever duet on an MGMT album.

“Dancing In Babylon” is a power ballad of epic scope and signals an unexpected sound for MGMT as well. Chris shares a peek into how it came together, saying, “When they reached out for this power ballad, I was honored and also excited to dive into their dream, because I have the same all-encompassing approach with my work. I loved the backstory of the lyrics as well, and I work my lower register here more than usual. I felt invited into their cool movie, and I’m glad to be now a part of the galaxy. Let's work on more love in the love galaxy.”

Somewhere between Beth Gibbons, Billie Holiday, and Hope Sandoval lies the voice of NYC-based School Night alum Odetta Hartman — well, at least she does on “Dr. No,” a transformative re-working of “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child,” originally made famous by her iconic namesake Odetta. But check out the rest of her album, Swansongs, which will feature a range of sound when it drops on March 22.

Belgium-Japanese electro-pop duo Aili recently dropped their debut LP Nandakke? to the delight of KCRW DJ Travis Holcombe, who has been sprinkling different tracks on FREAKS ONLY . One that really caught the ears of food lovers (like us) is the playful and bouncy “ Takoyaki ,” about a delectable Japanese dish.

Exactly one week ago, MBE was awarded the distinction of world premiering of The Undercover Dream Lovers ’ latest track, “Run Away.” The psychedelic indie rock project from Matt Koenig and his four-piece band take us on a romantic uplifting journey.

We are counting down the days to the new album Hyperdrama from Justice , dropping April 26. Their brand of dark techno has flashes of disco/funk and electronica with sweeping cinematic arrangement, exemplified to the max on “Generator.” We’ll see how it plays in real life when they take it to Coachella!

Taking their name from the Asian ointment Tiger Balm, Balming Tiger are an alternative K-pop collective made up of rappers, singers, writers, producers, and directors formed in Seoul in 2018 and who just released their debut album late last year. Their aim is to reflect and represent the younger generation, and that’s exactly what they do when you experience “Buriburi!”

Here’s an anthem that is so personal, it pulls the curtain on a desire or a premonition of making it big. Born and bred in the Los Angeles basin, Loren Kramar writes and sings about what it would be like to receive a star for his work on the iconic “ Hollywood Blvd .”

Leyla McCalla is a woman of many talents, especially when it comes to mastering the cello, tenor banjo, and guitar as a multilingual singer and songwriter. McCalla is also a founding member of Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Allison Russell ), as well as an alum of the Grammy Award-winning group The Carolina Chocolate Drops.

In honor of leap year today, let’s turn to a new project from old friends who believe that the best collaborations take time. The Icelandic duo Paddan are lifelong friends since childhood and survivors of the post-punk scene in Reykjavik in the early ‘80s. Paddan’s debut EP, Fluid Time, is inspired by the perception of time and space, with compositions that fill the ether with inspiration from free-form jazz and the punk aesthetics of their youth. Let’s check out the percussive krautrock piece “Bug,” which happens to be English for what Paddan is named after.