May Tunes

How are we at our May Tunes already??

I’m not gonna lie – this post has been sitting in my drafts, because it completely missed my mind that we’re now in June, so when the thought hit me, half-way through making myself a cup of tea, I was shocked, and ran upstairs to get this out. My monthly tunes have been my most consistent series on this blog, and if you think I’m about to miss the first monthly update after almost three years, you are greatly mistaken.

This is a chunky post because once again, due to constantly being at home, and an overwhelming amount of new music being released, as well as discovering a BUNCH of old favourites, I listened to a lot of music on repeat. That’s not me apologising, that’s just me warning you to strap yourselves in.

Here’s what I was listening to in May.

Mai Elle – Planet Vegeta: Planet Vegeta released another banger this month, and while their first single Jorja, which I spoke about in my March Tunes is still my favourite, this is still a very good song, that I highly recommend you listen to if you’re looking for a boogie.

Godspeed – Frank Ocean: May was a month for some Frank Ocean. I rarely listen to him regularly, but I’ll find myself having my moments of not wanting to listen to much else. This month was the month for Godspeed to have it’s moment, and my God, did it have it’s moment. Story time; I have never listened to this song with headphones on, don’t ask me how that’s not occurred, it just hasn’t. AND, I also didn’t know that the iPhone has speakers on both the top and bottom of the phone. That’s the context for this story. I was lying down in bed, listening to my music, and doing some reading and for some reason, I think I wanted to put my hair up, I rested my phone on my forehead, and just as I did, this song came on. The panning in the introduction of this song, SENT ME. It was like my spacial awareness was assaulted and I was in a completely different world. I know, I know. I’m an idiot, but don’t knock it till you try it.

Golf On TV – Lennon Stella: If you missed my blog post all about Lennon and her debut album, you should definitely check it out, which you can do HERE. This is slowly making it’s way to the top of my favourite songs from that album, purely because of how beautiful it is. I love the lyrics and the sentiment behind it, and everything about this song is just perfect. 

Chocolate – Kiana Lede, Ari Lennox: Two queens. Absolute queens of the game. I was shook when I saw Ari featuring on this song, and it instantly became a favourite after one listen through. Both of these ladies have killer voices and they’re two of my favourite RnB artists at the moment.

East Point – Rambutan Jam Band: This song was discovered through the deep dive of music I found myself in after watching Outer Banks. If you haven’t sussed out my post dedicated to the show and it’s soundtrack already, you can find it HERE. I was super surprised to find our that RJB are an Australian band, from my city of Melbourne, and also super bummed to find that they haven’t been active for quite a while now, so I’ll have to be content with this song and the other few they have on Spotify. It’s such a groovy song, super bluesy and I love the guitar tones in this track.

Get Money – Junior M.A.F.I.A: This song has been the soundtrack to my life, honest to God. I don’t know why I was vibing with it so hard during May, but I found myself constantly blasting it in my room all through the month.

Zero – Chris Brown: The bass intro into this song, is everything I ever need. It’s super funky and energetic and this song’s just a good time. That’s it.

FAVORITE MISTAKE – Giveon: There’s something about a super smooth baritone that just does it for me, and Giveon is no exception. His album and this song are both beautiful, and I’m in love with his voice. Definitely recommend checking out Giveon, or at least this song.

All Of The Lights – Kanye West: I don’t know why, but May was a month of just hyping myself up whenever I got the chance. I think close to three months in lock-down finally got to me and I just needed some invigorating and re-energising.

Treat Me Like Somebody – Tink: What. A. Throwback. This song was the highlight of my teen years, and for some reason, sixteen-year old Priya was super in her feels, because I was obsessed with this song. Tink’s voice, the guitar, the lyrics, the flow, everything about this song makes me feel nostalgic.

Electric Love – BORNS: I won’t lie, I don’t listen to electronic-indie music all that much, but there are a few songs that just do it for me. This being a perfect example of that. This song is so atmospheric, and I can just so vividly imagine being a fan in the middle of a mosh pit at one of his concerts and the emotions you would feel listening to this song. This is main character type of stuff. 

Hate The Club – Kehlani, Masego: Kehlani’s album did that. Like, every song on the album is a sonic treat, and the features are out of this world. While there’s quite a few amazing artists featured on the record, this has to be one of my favourite songs, hands down. The saxophone, is everything. The chorus, is everything. Kehlani, is and has always been, everything.

Just Friends – Audrey Mika: Angel gal, Audrey Mika. She can do no wrong in my eyes, but out of all of her releases, this one gets me going the most. So energetic, so bouncy and fun, I feel like it’s the perfect culmination of her years of hard work, building her huge fan-base, crafting her sound, and this song is just so her. 

Distance – YEBBA: Yebba came out with some more soulful heat this month, and I’m eternally grateful. This song is Beautiful with a capital ‘B’. PLUS, it’s also really easy to play on the guitar when you chuck on a capo, which is more than I can say for the rest of her songs which have funky chords, but painfully hard to play funky chords nonetheless. Being able to actually play one of Yebba’s songs and sing along was my daily dose of serotonin during the month of May.

Slum Anthem – K CAMP: This song, has me going off, the second it’s turned on and I can’t explain why. It’s not completely appropriate but…it slaps? That’s all I can say.

Rain – Aitch, AJ Tracey, Tay Keith: I first heard this song on TikTok, fight me, but I didn’t really care about it too much until this month, where I honestly know it word for word. To be honest, it’s the only song by any of these artists that I care about, and I’m totally fine with that.

Relax – Drax Project: I love Drax Project. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, New Zealand has some of the best music in the world and I think we all need to appreciate it a lot more. These guys are a great example of this, especially this song, which has been on repeat for the entire month. I showed it to my friend Daniel, and the highlights of May were getting on Spotify and then seeing his little icon on my friends list, listening to this song for hours on end. Job well done I’d say.

Too Nice – Mahalia: Another one of my favourite RnB artists. I was super excited when I saw Mahalia was gonna be releasing a handful of music during isolation, and the gal came through and delivered some killer tracks. This one is definitely my favourite, highly recommend you give it a listen!

All I Need – Jacob Collier, Mahalia, Ty Dolla $ign: The collaboration that no-one saw coming. This is what happens when artists from completely different genres and subcultures collide. I don’t know how to put into words the greatness of this song, all I can do is recommend you listen to it.

Cyanide – Daniel Caesar: I’m never one to turn down some Daniel Caesar, and when this came up on my Release Radar, I was all for it. It was just an added bonus that this song is so smooth. The guitar, the harmonies and backing vocals, the subtle rhythms, everything about this song screams lazy summer to me, and I love it.

I Wish – Skee-Lo: Very glad I came upon this song again towards the middle of the month. I feel like if I had to pick a handful of songs that just violently throw me back to my childhood, this song would be amongst them. It’s impossible to not be slapped with the nostalgia.

Baby Girl – Bryce Vine, Jeremih: I stumbled on this song accidentally while trying to find a completely different song, but I kept it on while I was searching for the correct song, and about twenty seconds in I had to add it to my playlists as one of my favourite new accidental discoveries. I don’t listen to a lot of Bryce Vine at all, but this song is such a tune.

Ultimate Painting – Ultimate Painting: By now, hopefully you guys have heard of one of my best friends, Tessa, who is a bit of a music curator of herself, with some of the best music recommendations I ever receive coming from the gal. She featured on the blog a little while back which you can check out HERE. The lock down laws in my state lifted a bit recently, and we’re now allowed to visit friends and family. Of course, the girls and I immediately organised a little girls night, where we cooked up some Mexican food, drank some wine and caught up on everything we missed. Tessa showed us this song while we were cooking and it was perfect for the moment. Super chilled and laid-back, very reminiscent of summer and just hanging out. 

Take Flight – Planet Vegeta: Another song by these guys, but they released this towards the end of the month, and the reception was deservedly positive. Such a funky tune, and makes for a good trifecta of releases on their Spotify page if you go give them a suss, which I definitely recommend you do. The chorus in this song is so smooth, and the rest of it is super energetic and rhythmic, I love everything about it. 

Casual – Johnny Stimson, Jeff Bernat, Jesse Barrera: Another song recommendation that I got from a friend. This one my friend Daniel showed me one morning at work, and I fell in love with it immediately. I’m a huge Jeff Bernat fan anyway, so I knew I’d like it, but I underestimated just how much. So smooth and slanky. 

Every Hour – KIAN: Haven’t had a song from KIAN in a little while, so I was stoked when I heard this was being released. It’s definitely something a bit different from him, but I love the direction he’s going. It’s a lot more of a grown-up sound, the instrumentation and the vibe of it are so smooth, and I think he’s sits really well in this new pocket. 

 

I told y’all it was a chunky one. Hopefully I didn’t drone on for too long, let me know if you had a listen to any of the songs I mentioned in this post! I’d love to hear your thoughts x

x

Priya

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