NEW MUSIC: FT. Mike Daniel, Elizmi Haze, Voka Gentle, Phoebe Katis & Baby Dave
New tracks from the most musically productive county in the country right now, writes Rob Hakimian
We have added all tracks to the ‘cene #KeepitKent Spotify Playlist HERE
Mike Daniel - Tonkotsu
Instagram: @michaeljackdaniel
For Maidstone-based producer Mike Daniel, Asian food isn’t just a fun way to name a song – but a hobby, bordering on passion. As evidenced by his recent Instagram posts, he’s been attempting to make his own hot sauce, and while we aren’t sure how it turned out, we can undeniably say that his latest track is a delight.
Much like the Tonkotsu dish for which it's named, Daniel’s new production takes many simple elements and balances them perfectly into a tasty swirl. A meaty bass pulse and effervescent click form the base, but he has no fear throwing in ample spices in the form of a juicy sax line that weaves its way throughout, as well as many atmospheric effects that only add to the funkiness. The result is a mouth-watering meal, ready to be served up to dancefloors nationwide.
Elizmi Haze - Come Through
Instagram: @officialelizmi
Spanish artist Elizmi Haze may have moved to Kent when she was 13, but her Iberian passion has never left her – and she puts them on full display in her provocative and flirtatious new track Come Through.
With emphatic pillars of bass and rapid fire percussion propping up this pop banger, Come Through finds Haze in full pomp, flipping between English and Spanish, rapping and singing, asserting herself as a “sexy senorita”, and offering “you look like you got a problem / rub me like a genie I’ll solve them.” It’s all a honey trap to draw in a prospective partner, as she asks “is it too obvious that I like you?” – well, yes, but only a fool would turn down someone as confident, sassy and talented as Haze.
Voka Gentle - Slow Joe
Instagram: @voka_gentle
This week, Sevenoaks experimental trio Voka Gentle announced their new album WRITHING! for release in October, and provided the single Slow Joe – an impressive compendium of all they have to offer. Said to be about how “sometimes minds can be uncooperative and memories can be polluted”, Slow Joe begins as a shapeless, intimate song, with William Stokes’ mournful voice glitching over placid synth beds and evocative clatters of kitchenware in an adjacent room. We’re immediately placed in a corroding memory, one that’s falling apart even as Stokes pleads “please don’t ruin this for me.”
Just as it seems Voka Gentle will maintain in this lamenting fashion throughout, with additions of beautiful harmonies, an onrushing beat rises out of nowhere and lifts those same pleas to a place of acceptance and levity. Eventually they let the beat take hold entirely, throwing in some more electronic tones for good measure, and Slow Joe becomes a chrysalis-like electronic jam – perfect for soundtracking further deep dives into memory.
Phoebe Katis - Never Be A Cool Girl
Instagram: @phoebekatis
With her new album Sweet Reunion out in two weeks, Cranbrook songwriter Phoebe Katis is delivering one final teaser ahead of time. Never Be A Cool Girl finds her multi-tracking her voice to great effect, a polyphonic choir of Phoebes - all equally certain that she’ll “never be a cool girl”.
And yet, she sounds damn slick and – dare we say it – cool as she does it, providing a simple tropical backing; the kind that immediately evokes pool parties and endless margaritas. “If I’m being honest, I just love to love,” she admits, and later “I’m happy with who I am, and I don’t want to follow a plan.” She knows who she is, and she’s comfortable in her skin – what could be cooler than that?
Baby Dave - Too Shy For Tennis
Instagram: @babydave21
If we didn’t tell you, you might not immediately realise that Baby Dave is in fact Slaves’ frontman Isaac Holman. Yes, really! In Slaves, there’s no way you’d describe him as ‘shy’, but after a serious mental breakdown that saw him move back in with his parents, this whole new project began to pour out of him.
As this period stretched into lockdown, he started messing around with keyboards and home recording, exorcising his insecurities by directing them into chintzy tunes, and Too Shy For Tennis is the introduction.
A plodding oddball pop number that was co-produced with Damon Albarn, Holman’s voice is muted on Too Shy For Tennis as he describes an awkward date that begins with discussion of dental hygiene and then collapses when she asks him if he’d like to play tennis. What sounds like a frivolous song becomes deeper with atmospheric additions that reflect the chasm in his self esteem, while some rogue news clips ghost into the background, as if hours in front of the television have invaded his mind. A truly beguiling turn from Holman, we are nothing short of fascinated by what’s to come from his Baby Dave project.