Oct 15 - Little Dragon / RY X

I got back to China on Saturday, and it's been a great weekend. I arrived Saturday morning and actually had to run and do a health check for my Australia visa, but then met up with a friend for coffee, then went home and got a few errands done and some planning for the family visit done, and then went out. I had made plans to go to this place Shake, which is a supper club with live music that has great food and great music and I haven't been to in a very long time. But before that, I went and drank a bit of wine. Not a bunch, but a bit. There was a Spanish wine festival that my sister and some friends were at, so I just met up for the tail end, which meant only a couple glasses of wine. Followed by many many cocktails and much dancing and eating. Great night. Great first day. Not so great second day. That was all hungover. So I did not leave the house. I barely even left bed before 11:00am. I had to cancel my yoga class and just lay in bed watching TV. Which was actually fantastic. And then when Hanna came home from the gym, we watched a movie and took a nap. And then had a private yoga lesson at the house, which means I did work out after all! And then did more trip planning, ordered dinner, and watched another movie. What a great day, despite the hangover.

Now I have two exciting songs to share today from two exciting bands. One of which is one of my favorites. That being Little Dragon. It seems like they haven't done anything in forever, but they actually put out an album in 2017. But I guess that was in April. And actually, this is the fourth stand alone single they've put out since that album came out. So I have no idea what I'm talking about. They've been busyish. And so they're putting out an EP next month (apparently their first) called Lover Chanting. Which is also the name of this song. And they've moved over to Ninja Tune, which is a fantastic label. Very exciting things.





Then out of nowhere and actually very delayed is Untold, the new single from RY X. So this guy popped up like 5 years ago and I love him. He's in a bunch of side projects, so he has been making music, but not as RY X. And he's Australian, so I will probably be seeing him very soon! But yeah, now he's got a lovely new single out, the first from his new album, Unfurl, which will be out next year. So now you get to listen to it and sit in anticipation just like me!

Oct 12 - Robyn / Ames / AURORA

I fly back to China tonight! Woohoo! And I spend nearly 3 weeks there, cause the family is coming next week. Still trying to plan all of that out. But I get a week with friends and then a bit over a week with family and friends. Good stuff!

In Australia, things are fine. Keeping busy. Starting to have more fun, I guess, but still meeting people. I have 2 friends now, I'd say. And I have one other high potential who is also Chinese which means I can practice Chinese with her. And then I went to a Moishe House event this week and met another guy who's a bit weird but nice and interesting. So there's progress on that front.

On the home front, I have all the furniture I need, I guess. It isn't all delivered yet, but it's purchased. Up next is a dining table and chairs, small couch/chair/loveseat, and - most importantly - patio furniture.

And the guests are starting to line up, too! I have my friend from Canberra maybe coming the weekend I get back, then the next weekend I'll probably be in Auckland, then a friend from Shanghai will be here, then I go back to Shanghai, then I go home, then around Christmas I have a good friend coming for like 10 days, and the day after he leaves another friend and his wife are coming for the weekend (as part of a longer trip). And then it's almost Chinese New Year when I should have China friends coming. So it's all good stuff! I just need to learn more about Sydney for them. Especially what to eat and drink. That's important.

Got some good pop music for you today. First up are the two new singles from Robyn's new album, Honey, which is due out at the end of the month. The first single was Missing U, which is great. Typical fun, dancey Robyn. I heard this one and immediately thought back to the good old days of Dancing On My Own. Which everyone loves, right?





And then the next single was the title track, Honey. Not as fun, but give it a couple listens and it's still pretty damn good. These two singles have me feeling like this is going to be a very, very solid album.





And then since we're in a poppy mood, here's a new song by a new artist that I liked. That artist is Ames, and that song is Hold On. She's been around as a songwriter for a while, but I am too embarrassed to tell you who she has written songs for. They are very big, very mainstream pop singers. So I should not like this. But I do.

Aaaaand, I'll put one more pop song here. Cause after all, it's Friday. This song is from Norwegian fairy AURORA, who has a new EP. I guess it's an EP. It's like 8 tracks. That's almost an album. Definitely a mini album. Longer than an EP. Anyway, it's out and it's called Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1), with Step 2 apparently coming next year. And, as expected, it's quite good. Best song is Queendom, so that's going in here.

Oct 11 - Maribou State / Jungle

So I just need to quickly share with you some music from what may be the best album of the year (definitely a strong contender), and from what may be one of the top 10 albums of the year (a surprising addition).

The first one is Kingdoms in Colour, the new album from Maribou State. Now Maribou State have made some amazing remixes in the past, which I have loved very, very much. But never have they made an album that I love very, very much. Until now. This new album is amazing. Right from the get go. I would be shocked if it's not Top 10 - or even Top 3 - for me this year. So, right from the get go, here's Beginner's Luck.





And then I'll skip to Turnmills, one of the singles. So good. When that beat comes in at about 35 seconds. Oy. And the strings! So so good. And we're only at track 3. This whole album is just so good.





And then the surprise is For Ever, the new album from British band Jungle. This is one of those massive groups of musicians, and this new album is super soulful and funky. I don't really remember their first album, but I was already hooked when I heard Heavy, California, one of the early singles off of this album. Obviously I'm interested if it has to do with California. But this is actually really good also. Even better.





And then the album really stays so good. So soulful and funky. And I do remember seeing them at a music festival a few years back and being impressed with the live show, which is good because they're coming to Australia in April. So I'll definitely be going to that. So the next track I'll share is Cosurmyne, from later in the album. Not a single, and maybe not as fun as some of the others, but it's got a great piano riff and some great strings. And they've got some great strings and instrumentation throughout the whole album. This album was really a very pleasant surprise to me.

Oct 5 - Hiatus Kaiyote / BADBADNOTGOOD feat. Little Dragon / Kelela feat. KAYTRANADA

Wow I am behind. Things have been crazy, as you may have imagined. What with the move and having like 1 1/2 jobs and all. At first, the job here in Australia was pretty crazy and I was working lots of hours. But as of this week, it feels like it's normalizing. So that's excellent. And the China job is also slowing down, but maybe that's just due to the holiday in China at the moment. Who knows.

But in general, things are good and life is normalizing. Since last speaking, I moved into my apartment, went back to China for a week and packed everything up, and bought a bunch of furniture. I still have more furniture to buy, but I've got the major things, I'd say. And after my next trip to China (which is next Friday and will end at the beginning of November) all of my stuff should arrive in Sydney and I should be able to actually put together my house how I want it. Finally.

In fact, I am writing this at work. Because I actually have time to. Crazy, right? Who would have thought. I don't want to go too much into it now, I just want to give a quick update and share some music (cause I'm way behind on that, too), but I still do need to tell you about my friends and my work and my life. I'll try to get that all in before I go to China next week. Cause once I'm back in China, then the family comes and there's going to be plenty going on and no time to write and then more to write about after. So for now I play catch-up.

Today's music will start with Hiatus Kaiyote. This is nothing new, but it is something amazing. Maybe my favorite Australian band. In fact, when I first moved here, I was trying to listen to a lot of Australian music. You know, to get in that Australian mood. But I refused to listen to Hiatus Kaiyote. I wanted to save Hiatus Kaiyote to be the first music I listened to in my new home. So I did that. And then when I was in China I brought back my small Sonos speakers and I started over with Hiatus Kaiyote. And when the rest of my stuff (and speakers) arrive, I will do it again. Picking which song to start with was difficult, I have to admit, so to make it easier I just started with The World It Softly Lulls, first of all because it's amazing, but more importantly because it is the first song I heard by Hiatus Kaiyote, and seemed fitting. So that's going to be the first song on the blog today.





And then there's a couple good tracks that fall into this soul/funk/R&B genre that I'll tack on today as well. The first one is a new song from BADBADNOTGOOD, who I'm not a huge fan of, but it features Little Dragon, who I am a huge fan of, and is the first song I've heard by them that I really do enjoy. It's called Tried. No idea what it's from. Neither band has new music in the works that I'm aware of. But anyway here it is.




And our last track for the day is another collaboration. Well, a remix, officially. But same difference. It's what I thought was a new Kelela track, but it turns out it is not new, but rather Kelela has a new remix album, called TAKE ME A_PART, which apparently comes out today. And her track Waitin has been remixed by none other than KAYTRANADA, who is wonderful. Kelela is pretty great herself, but add in some KAYTRANADA and you can't go wrong. Starts out super chill. Gets super awesome and super chill at about 2:30. Stays super awesome and super chill. Really great remix. Much better than the original.

As a side note, I just want to point out that I feel like there are a lot of caps in my post today. But it's not my fault. I had to. For artistic integrity. You get it.