Extreme blog hiatus. Struggling to fit everything in these days.

Channeling the dreamy RnB vibes of The Weeknd and Sepalcure come Holy Other. Their With U EP has four killer tracks, the best of which is ‘Feel Something’. I’m feeling we’ve reached a bit of a saturation cap with obsessive vocal-warping producers right now; Jamie XX’s excellent new Far Nearer / Beat For release is a case in point demonstrating that the best producers rely on much more than just pitching a sampled vocal up or down over a beat, instead making that element a part of a much richer and more original composition.

While ‘Feel Something’ yields a kind of musical warmth, Holy Other’s EP is, broadly, cold and sad; a new wave of producers are gradually affecting RnB in much the same way that the likes of El-B, Jay Da Flex and co were influencing old school UK Garage at the turn of the millenium: infusing a genre that’s had it’s heyday with a kind of nostalgic, dark gravitas.

Watching the 1998 film Buffalo ‘66 over the weekend, I was amazed by the breadth of talent on show from lead actor Vincet Gallo. Because he wasn’t just the male protagonist of this brilliant film - he was also director, writer and composer of the vast majority of a superb Original Soundtrack, which I went and bought as soon as I got home. Other contributions to the Soundtrack come from Yes, King Crimson, and even Gallo’s father. But here’s a big atmospheric look in ‘Lonely Boy’: