Hey! Did you know that there’s an entire aspect of KCRW music discovery that you might be missing out on? Fear not, because our 5 Songs to Hear This Week newsletter is now a weekly feature on our website. Watch this space for rundowns of the five songs that you need in your life immediately, curated by KCRW Music staff. Don’t want to wait for your latest taste of fresh tunes? Sign up for the Friday newsletter here, and always be the first to know.
Prepare to levitate — it’s another KCRW DJ takeover! This week's picks come correct from Tyler Boudreaux, who you can catch live on the airwaves every Thursday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Follow her on the path to enlightenment, paved with solid grooves.
From Dutch electro-psych courtesy of YĪN YĪN to the many sonic shades of Malaysian-Irish beatmaker yunè pinku, to shaggy hangout vibes from Portland’s Reptaliens, and so much more. These tracks may lead you on the enlightened path, but it’s surely the one less traveled.
Follow us on Spotify to keep up with our current obsessions, including 5 Songs to Hear This Week, Global Beat Australia, and our weekly sampler of KCRW’s Top 30 most played records.
YĪN YĪN - “Age of Aquarius”
Turn on, tune in, and drop out to this psychedelic jam from Dutch band YĪN YĪN. Long, heady synth notes meld with disco dynamics and a freakout dance beat. This one’s sure to get your “current of shakti” flowing. Dig!
yunè pinku - “Affection”
E-girls, circle up — your new leader has arrived, and she’s got your ticket off the planet. Eighteen-year-old Malaysian-Irish songwriter and beatmaker yunè pinku paints in many sonic shades, among them being ‘90s acid-house, UK trance, and sadgirl stanzas for the coffee house open-mic. This track’s got layers, but save your full affection for her EP “Bluff,” due out on April 1 (no foolin’).
Lewis OfMan - “Love Parade”
Here’s a track that evades description like a whack-a-mole. It’s video game pop… nah, it’s modern disco… no dude, it’s supermarket xylophone with a hype man. And clocking in at over seven minutes, with lyrics only kicking in halfway through, this singular sensation from Lewis OfMan is here to break all of your stodgy old rules.
Reptaliens - “Like A Dog”
Portland’s Reptaliens are one of those bands that reek of real friendship. This group, which includes married couple Cole and Bambi Browning, clearly HANG OUT. Their latest full length Multiverse is out now, and this track is a clear standout, giving you wobbly guitar twangs, twinkling cymbals, a playful video vibe, and guitar solos akin to a simmering mirage over the summer pavement. An ideal backdrop for the next jammy kickback with your own pals.
Ben Marc - “Way We Are”
There’s magic to be found, if you know where to look. Innovative Leisure’s Ben Marc is back with more boundary-busting music, this time adding elements of mountain town folk guitar to his experimentally percussive nu-jazz sound. Mysterious, playful, suggestive, and always guided by a sense of curiosity and wonder, this is one for your interior journey.