Wow, there is a lot of incredible new music coming out this Spring!  Let’s start with an instant favorite.  I fell in love with Kaytranada after I heard his absolutely revolutionary remix of Janet Jackson’s “If” on Soundcloud a few years ago.  This kid from Montreal took a song that, to me, was absolutely un-remixable (evidenced by the terrible club mixes that came out at the time of its release), and turned it into something brand new that is all his own.  That was 2014.  Now, Kaytranada’s first album, 99.9%, has finally dropped, and he is poised to take over the world.  And get ready to crush hard, man-cubs, because he just revealed in an interview with The Fader last month that Kaytranda is GAY-tranada!  I’m sorry, but it was just sitting there, I mean come on!  But seriously, after you watch his video for “Lite Spots,” go check out the very touching interview where he discusses battling depression and finally coming out here:

Lite Spots: 

Justin Timberlake also just released a new track.  Now, I loved the acting that JT’s sublime posterior did in Friends with Benefits, but, honestly, don’t we all still prefer to hear Mr. Timberlake croon?  “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” is taken from the soundtrack for the upcoming animated film, Trolls—which, unless it’s a sequel of the campy ’80s horror films, I’m probably going to skip.  BUT I may have to buy the damned soundtrack.  Timberlake is pulling a Pharrell and producing the whole thing.  According to DreamWorks, it will feature several other songs by JT, as well as co-stars Zooey Dechanel and Anna Kendrick.  And, hey, if you enjoy nothing else about this little piece of aural candy floss, you can at least enjoy watching handsome, bear-ish co-stars, James Corden and Ron Funches shaking their stuff in the video: 

On a significantly more subversive note than JT’s bubble gum number, Anohni (formerly Antony of Antony and the Johnsons) released her first album under her new moniker, Hopelessness.  Some of my favorite songs featuring Anohni were her forays into electronic music, like her collaborations with Hercules & Love Affair and Björk.  So I was very pleased to hear that electronic artists, including Hudson Mohawke, co-produced on Hopelessness.  While the soundscape is bouncier than an Antony and the Johnsons album, the production and lyrical content are still complex and dark.  The songs range from the personal to the political, and as usual, Anohni pulls no punches.  The gorgeous video for the second single, “Drone Bomb Me,” features Naomi Campbell as Anohni’s erstwhile mouthpiece.  Check it out: 

Drone Bomb Me - by ANOHNI from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Australian EDM producer Flume has a new album being released on May 27th, entitled Skin.  A few advanced tracks are already floating about, including a catchy new single, “Say It,” featuring Tove Lo of “Habits (Stay High)” and “Talking Body” fame.  There’s no official video for that song yet, but here is the video for another advance track that I actually prefer, “Never Be Like You (feat. Kai).”  There’s also a great remix of the song by Disclosure out there if you’re a fan. 

British duo AlunaGeorge (that’s right, they are a duo, Aluna Francis and George Reid) have been cranking out single after single lately.  Their popularity has grown immensely due to the success of a string of collaborations released last year, like “Automatic,” with ZHU, “To Ü” from the Skrillex/Diplo project Jack Ü, and the most unlikely hit, the 2015 DJ Snake remix of “You Know you Like It,” a song from their 2012 debut album, which somehow became a bigger hit than any single from the album—three years after its original release!  Here is the video for one of their latest singles, “I Remember,” which happens to be co-produced by Flume.  In my opinion, it also features Aluna’s strongest vocal performance yet: 

And finally, I want to leave you with the video for Janet Jackson’s latest single, “Dammn Baby.”  Recently, Madonna said that her hideous Met Gala outfit was a statement about ageism.  Here is a better statement:  Janet is 50, pregnant, and still dancing her ass off in videos and (albeit presently postponed) on tour.  Daaaaammmn, Baby!

Written by 

Shannon Troy Jones

 Actor, writer, painter. Drinks too much whiskey. Eats too much cheese.