Showing 1 - 10 of 28
The Pleasure's All Hers
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 19/07/2020
» It might be nearly a decade ago, but the year 2012 would still go down in history as one of the most vital years for pop music.
In Plain Language
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 07/06/2020
» "And that's fine/ I'm wasting away," vocalist Ian Devaney announces over nervy guitars on Tournament, the opening track to Nation of Language's debut album, Introduction, Presence. "I took the long road home/ And it never paid off for me."
Y2K Redux
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 03/05/2020
» Born in Japan and raised in London, Rina Sawayama is an artist caught between two cultures and identities.
Top 25 singles of 2019 (Part I)
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 22/12/2019
» As promised last week, we've gone back through the 200 or so singles we reviewed over the past 12 months, narrowing them down to our favourite 25. But before we get on with the first part of the list, here's what we learned in 2019.
The age of angst
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 01/12/2019
» Maybe it's a sign of the times, but taking a look at the young, emerging artists of today, you might notice that a great many of them tend to speak openly about their anxieties and insecurities. Much like her contemporaries Mitski, Hana Vu and Beabadoobee, 18-year-old singer Griff channels all of these feelings through unfiltered lyrics that read like a page out of her diary.
This woman's work
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 24/11/2019
» "A woman's work/ A woman's prerogative/ A woman's time to embrace/ She must put herself first," the opening verse of Mary Magdalene from FKA twigs' latest full-length album is sung from the perspective of a fallen woman whose fate runs parallel to that of the titular figure. Following her much publicised break-up with actor Robert Pattinson as well as some serious health issues, the English artist finds common ground with the Biblical character.
From his home base
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 22/09/2019
» It's not often that the success of an artist can be attributed to his/her talent alone. Without the full backing of a major label, most artists would struggle to get the sort of exposure required to bring them international recognition. Thai singer-songwriter Phum Viphurit, however, is an extraordinary exception. Signed to Bangkok's bona fide indie label Rats Records, the young singer-songwriter showed immense potential from the get-go with his 2014 English-language debut single Adore. Since then, he has delivered gem after gem, dealing in breezy folky rock perfect for a road trip to the seaside or a session around the campfire.
The S.L.P. Experience
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 15/09/2019
» When Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno came out with his first solo single, Favourites, back in June, we were pleasantly surprised. The song, an unlikely collaboration with UK rapper Little Simz, gave us an early glimpse into what could be expected from Pizzorno's solo project -- a whole lot of wacky swagger coated with a good amount of sonic experimentation. Listening to it closely, you can easily detect that indie impishness of his band Kasabian as well as the genre-hopping tendencies of Gorillaz. It's an impressive balancing act of breakbeat backdrop and funky basslines that sounds entirely new and familiar all at once.
Pegged For Greatness
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 11/08/2019
» Not too long ago, a conversation we had surrounding rising South Korean DJ Peggy Gou led to the general consensus that she was "a fashion DJ". While necessarily not an overt affront, "fashion DJ" seems to connote inferiority -- a lesser kind of DJ who banks on his/her looks rather than musical skills. Given Gou's meteoric rise and her inevitable involvement in the fashion world (she went to fashion school, after all), it's easy to dismiss her musicianship altogether and forget that she's accomplished so much more than just landing luxury ad campaigns.
On her own terms
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 28/07/2019
» Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Yunalis Zara'ai, aka Yuna, has come a long way since her MySpace days and her 2012 Pharrell Williams-produced self-titled debut. While her early materials exist mostly in the dreamy realm of folk-infused indie-pop, her subsequent output has crossed over into the R&B/hip-hop territory in a way that not many pop upstarts could pull off (her third international studio album, Chapters, welcomes guest appearances from some of the biggest names in R&B like Usher and Jhené Aiko).