By Tim Dams
01.04.2020 - 18:25 / thefader.com
London-born producer Juls has become one of the biggest names in Afrobeats over the past few years, working with Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, and Maleek Berry to help define a sound that's gone truly global. To get us started with the second day of Digital FORT, he sent us an hour-long, amapiano-influenced set to wake up with. It starts out blissful but picks up pretty quickly with contributions from South African house artists DJ Maphorisa, Semi Tee, and Kabza De Small.
Digital FORT is a two-day
Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt have helped the club set-up a South African talent scheme.
Without giving away too much information, British singer and producer SG Lewis gives us a step-by-step breakdown of a new, unreleased track. Thought he's based in L.A., the singer has taken to his parents' house to quarantine, where he has set up shop to record in their attic.
Royal fans have launched a global campaign in a bid to raise money for vulnerable children impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The timely campaign, which goes by the name #ArchieDay, comes as result of Harry, 35, and Meghan's son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s first birthday, which is on May 6.
Mariah The Scientist's 2019 single "Reminder" only took five minutes to write, according to Mariah herself, but behind its slinky melodies it's a difficult song that doesn't shy away from the nastiest details of a toxic relationship. For Digital FORT, she sent us a live performance of the song from an undisclosed location. Check it out at the top of the page.
Childish Major takes a break from behind the boards to bring us an edition of Quarantine Cooking on Day 2 of Digital FORT. On the menu for today, the Grammy-nominated producer serves up his own recipe for chicken "low mane." Throughout the session we learn that Major uses garlic, occasionally opts not to strain his noodles, and is a fan of the preeminent galaxy-brain show, WestWorld. You can even grab his recipe too.
Dallas native singer Tayla Parx has been in the business for much longer than her youth might suggest, appearing on the big screen for films like 2007's Hairspray and on shows like Everybody Hates Chris as a pre-teen. Last April, Parx released her debut album, with 15-track We Need To Talk.
Finneas dropped by The FADER offices about a week after sweeping the Grammys alongside his sister, Billie Eilish. He turned out to be one of the most down-to-Earth musicians who’d rolled through the office in the past year. He even spent some time hanging out with our resident French Bulldog, Wasabi. For Digital FORT, the songwriter and producer sent us an appropriately unassuming video — just Finneas playing a lilting “I Don’t Miss You At All” on a small Spanish guitar.
Just last week, Philadelphia native singer Orion Sun released an 11-track album titled Hold Space For Me. In sound and content, the album places Orion in a long time of crooners from her hometown who have been able to infuse the ethos of poetry into the spirit of R&B, with many songs feeling like they are confessionals about intimacy and the complications of love.
Angel and Dren have made a name for themselves providing the sounds and energy for NYC nightlife and beyond, over the years. Though we are now limited to partying from the confines of our homes, the twin duo is staying busy, by keeping their producer and DJing skills sharp.
Swedish R&B-pop singer Sebastian Mikael is coming off of a busy two years in which he's released back-to-back albums with I C U U C ME Part I and Part II. For Digital FORT, he's playing a standout track from each record: "Mission" from the former and "Rain" from the latter. Check it out above.
Australian singer Banofee's February-released album Look At Us Now Dad, sees her going deeply inward in order to move forward. Throughout its duration, the album digs through the intergenerational trauma that her family has suffered from due to constant migration and the after effects of war.
GothBoiClique's Wicca Phase Springs Eternal debuted a new song called "I Want To Go Out Tonight" an an acoustic livestream the other night, and for his Digital FORT submission he's put the song together for a full performance, live from his basement, glitching as the song trips forward.
Chicago pop artists KAINA and Sen Morimoto have been collaborating since 2017, when the former sang backup for the latter at a Lincoln Hall show. The only full, down-the-middle collaboration that the two have produced so far is "Could Be A Curse," a laid-back single sung through three languages that they released last summer. Now they're submitting a stripped-down live version of the track to Digital FORT.
New age band TENGGER make genuinely expansive music, records that grow beyond themselves with each new added layer and idea. A family band composed of itta and Marqido and their seven-year-old son RAAI, TENGGER are utterly unique and absolutely worth tracking down on tour when it's safe to do that sort of thing again. For proof, here's there Digital FORT submission, an ecstatic version of "High" from their European tour earlier this year.
Canadian electro-pop band Austra are preparing to release their fourth album HiRUDiN on May 1, but self-isolation has pushed them off the road and back to their homes. They still want to debut new music though, so for Digital FORT Katie Stelmanis sent us a previously unreleased song, "All I Wanted," from the confines of her parents' basement.
Digital FORT 2020 is in full flow. All day today we'll continue publishing videos from some of our favorite artists in an effort to raise money for those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s the end of Day 1 of FADER Fort. If we were all in Austin, that would mean it’s way past midnight and time to stumble out exhausted onto the heaving streets. At Digital FORT, that means it’s time to watch Grammy-winning Swedish electronic stars Little Dragon play “Hold On” and “Another Love” from an impressively neon-lit soundstage while you wind down for the day. We’ll be back tomorrow, bright and early, for Day 2 of Digital FORT.
Though he burst into mainstream consciousness last year when his debut album Ghetto Gospel peaked in the top of the Billboard 200, Rod Wave had been building a steady catalogue of pleasantly soulful street music for some years. And, just last year, before his debut dropped, he was still providing fans with loose music to hold onto.