Track Of The Day: Art School Girlfriend – ‘Come Back To Me’

A delicate blur of dreamy sounds designed to pine over; ‘Come Back To Me’ is the latest single from Margate-based producer Art School Girlfriend​. It’s her first release of 2019, and draws a full circle to her debut ‘Bending Back’, which she describes as its “lyrical inverse”.

Art School Girlfriend is the moniker of Polly Mackey; a producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist from Wrexham, North Wales. Since moving to the British seaside town of Margate and opening her bookshop “Spine Books”, Mackey has spent most of her time creating new recordings that reflect the space and clarity she has found since her move away from the crowded city to the coast. Speaking about ‘Come Back To Me’, she explains: “The song is quite transparently about lust and being out of control of your own desire. It’s about wanting someone to come to you and how that yearning can be simultaneously enjoyable and torturous.”

Mackey performed at this year’s SXSW festival and will be joining The Japanese House on her April & May US tour dates too. She’ll be playing some UK shows before she sets off (see dates below) so make sure you catch her when she’s in town. Listen to ‘Come Back To Me’ below and follow Art School Girlfriend on Facebook for more updates.

Art School Girlfriend 2019 UK Tour Dates
02/04 – Bristol, Louisiana
03/04 – Leicester, Cookie
04/04 – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club
05/04 – Newcastle, Cluny 2
06/04 – Glasgow, Hug & Pint
07/04 – Manchester, Soup Kitchen
09/04 – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
10/04 – London, Omeara

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: HunBjørn – ‘Who Are We To Love’

Danish electro-pop artist HunBjørn – which roughly translates as “small bear” – has shared a new element of her musical universe in the form of single ‘Who Are We To Love’. It’s a dreamy combination of synths, distorted guitars and sweet melancholic vocals.

HunBjørn (aka Ulla Pihl) was the former lead singer and songwriter in the experimental pop band Lima Lima, but now she’s recording as a solo artist. She released her debut EP In Vacuo in September of 2018, and began growing her fan base on social media by using a messenger-bot called the “She Bear Bot”. It’s an interactive behind the scenes experience for her EP that fans could join, and includes personal vlogs about every song and the story behind it.

Now, HunBjørn is ready with a new set of stories on her second EP Next Summer. She produced the record herself and it was mixed by previous collaborator Brian Batz (aka Sleep Party People). ‘Who Are We To Love’ is the first single, and it’s a love song to the environment, written to remind us that taking care of it is the responsibility of all of us.

Combining both organic and digital synth textures, HunBjørn has created a twinkling track full of her soothing vocals. Speaking about the single, she explains: “For a long time, I had been wanting to write a song about the environment expressing my concerns about where we’re heading. But I didn’t want the song to be sanctimonious or a lifted finger. So instead I tried to express the double standards that I myself apply. I was planning to fly to the other side of the world, well knowing how big my CO2 footprint would be. At the same time I see myself as environmentally conscious person. So I’ve tried to express those opposing feelings in the song. How much is just words and how much do we really act? How much do we leave for our decision makers or even worse – for our kids?

The official music video for the song is directed by Daniel Charluck Garrelts from Karma Film. HunBjørn’s pregnant body is painted in gold as a picture of the earth, which is marred by black oil as a symbol of how we treat the earth and what our children are born into. Take a look at the footage below and follow HunBjørn on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Top 5 Playlist: ANNAVR

Berlin based avant-pop artist ANNAVR has just released her latest EP II: Vibration the second chapter of a three part trilogy series, which began back in the summer with I: Hallucination. This EP has been on repeat ever since it landed in our inboxes – an all encompassing, experimental, sonic soundscape that melts into your ears.

Hot off the back of this release we asked ANNAVR to put together her Top 5 Playlist for you all and what a Top 5 it is… Get listening, learning and loving.

Kelly Lee Owens – ‘More Than a Woman’ (Aaliyah cover)
It’s a shame, but I have to admit that I discovered Kelly Lee Owens’ work actually only through Spotify algorithms. Her name popped up in the ‘fans also like’ section on my artist page. I guess this is one of my favourite tracks from her, featuring the beyond beautiful voice of Aaliyah.

Lauren Auder – ‘these broken limbs again’
I can’t say that Lauren’s music influenced me (yet), as I just very recently discovered it – it reflects a certain musical wavelength that sounds and feels very familiar somehow.

Tirzah – ‘Gladly’
I don’t think it’s possible not to love this song. Also that Pitchfork quote: “‘Gladly’ is a warm embrace of a song that clocks in at a leisurely 65 bpm—incidentally, the resting heartbeat rate that indicates tip-top physical condition.”

Eartheater – ‘Peripheral’
The day I discovered Alexandra Drewchin’s music, I felt heavily relieved. At least for a moment. Which also happened with Dean Blunt for me. It’s like that rare moment when you experience someone making audible what partly goes on in your head, but you can’t even describe with words.

Dorian Concept – ‘Promises’
Oliver’s work always connected pretty much everything I look for in music. I was lucky to cross paths, with him in the role of a lecturer, at the Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp in Berlin 2017. His latest album was probably my favorite of 2018.

Listen to ‘Vitamins’ by ANNAVR below, and find out more via Instagram & Facebook.

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