Abstract Crimewave x Lykke Li – The Gambler
Style will get you plenty of places. There are folks everywhere crying out for a bit of it, standing in line to take pictures, getting their pens ready for an autograph for a star who can convince that the world is actually a clean and charming place.
But even the most stylish designs have their limitations. These people find themselves stopped when not enough is found underneath the surface. Fortunately for Abstract Crimewave, there are enough good ideas behind the gloss to make the autograph-taking and picture-snapping worthwhile.
Abstract Crimewave’s Björn Yttling and Joakim Åhlund have long represented an ideal for modern producers. Why can’t you be a pop without having to show your face or dance on stage? Why can’t you be a punk, jazz or hard-rock band, all while working on your own in a studio, on a computer?
The producers that make up Abstract Crimewave have helped eliminate genre boundaries a long time ago. But tight songwriting, nice hooks and sweet vocals are still needed. This is what they provide together with Swedish alt-pop star Lykke Li. “The Gambler” benefited from a cinematic sound to begin with. And mixing it with jazzy elements for the remix feels like the natural progression. Who says you need the right friends to join your band, or the appropriate haircut anymore?
Josh Phillips – Holdin’ On
The United States of America is the home and birthplace of rock n’ roll. That much is true and under little debate. And if you still wish to look for glimpses into the country’s superiority over rivals, you can find it in the way that the music industry operates or production standards.
But where in America do you go when you want that music to really move? Where do you go when the music needs a bit of flavour, along with some soul and some swanky dance moves? Josh Phillips certainly knows, as he travels back with some of that spiciness.
Of course, you have to travel South for the aforementioned ingredients. No, not Florida, although that’s not a bad place to start. You have to go all the way down to Latin America for that wealth of musical understanding and for, well, some effortless fun.
Josh Phillips builds hooks out of Latin grooves for “Holdin’ On.” And that Southern influence is what gives the song its charm and distinctiveness. The fact that the minimalist but highly effective music video was shot in Medellín, Colombia, only makes this all more believable. It’s not a coincidence that Latin pop stars are bigger than they’ve ever been. They have the secret ingredients, and Phillips has taken some of those for himself.
