Welcome to the seventh edition of All Gus No Fuss. This month I take a listen to two artists I discovered whilst living in Southampton; Buddy Love and Harry Oscillate, as well as the debut full length from Manik MC.
Seven months or so on from the first lockdown, we have entered, and by the time you read this, finished our second. Despite a few momentary lapses in pure doom and gloom the world doesn’t appear much healthier or happier since the writing of the first of these monthly spews. As the temperature has dropped and dismay continued I have found myself finding more and more solace in music and urge anyone reading and potentially struggling to shove some headphones into their ears and forget about the world through the median of music.
Buddy Love – Pleasure ( Now & Forever) – Costal Haze
One of my last memories of a dirty and dingy nightclub was seeing Buddy Love play with Tom VR at Corsica studios in October 2019. They had closing duties and stepped into the booth at around 4am. That was my first experience of Costal Haze ‘poster boy’ Adam Lynch, aka Buddy Love. Despite never crossing paths whilst both living in Southampton, I had always heard positive things from friends and fans of his alike.
Pleasure is an extended playlist but feels like an album, a weighty emotional experience filled with masterful intricacies and sensitive samples.
Opener and title track’s bass guitar shudders next to melodic drums, accompanied by the first of many emotional and subtle vocals.
I am not sure if I can recall a time a track has been so apt and reflective of my mood than ‘Boy Blue’. It was the single of the release and came out a few months prior to the rest of the project. I only got around to listening to it the week before the final release and boy, It is a beautiful song. Subtle and with immense depth, Its simplicity a joy to ones ears and mind. It is a composition unlike no other, an electronic and hazy synth accompanies a raw and bubbling drum pattern. The star of the show however is the vocal, a common feature throughout this release. Most impactful during the mid point breakdown, “you feel different today, I can’t help you this way”. I could rant and rave about this song forever, it is a beauty and worth putting on repeat for a couple of hours and letting your mind wander.
‘Santa Sofia’ has a much more electronic focus than the first two tracks, but is equally as simplistic and emotive.
‘A Sound That Cares’ is almost the definition of ambient electro, once more a simplistic and effective melody combined with a quiet but essential vocal.
‘Heatwave Glamour’ sounds like it could have been played during that closing Corsica set. It rumbles into life with a catchy and computerised melody. Followed by the records conclusion; ‘Eventually, Clarity’. Chugging to its finale with an up and down trumpet signifying the records end.
Buddy Love; with his second E.P on Coastal Haze, has kept things simple and accessible and I feel has flourished for it. The record really helps him establish, explain and explore his own emotional sound to new listeners, but still touches some of the more dance focused elements fans may be after.
https://coastalhaze.bandcamp.com/album/pleasure-now-forever-lp
Manik MC – Concrete Clouds
Amidst the sun filled gloom of the first national lockdown, Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn began the ‘dream factory challenge’ where they encouraged fans, friends and potential lyricists to freestyle over the instrumental for their track with Loyle Carner; Dream Factory.
The challenge was welcomingly received with plenty of young poets taking to Instagram to present their take on lockdown in lyrical form. A couple of my favourites featured here:
Malik Marland’s contribution to this wonderful lockdown series matched his previous releases in honesty, flow and freedom. ‘Dream Factory Freestyle’ is the first track of his latest and first E.P; Concrete Clouds. As a new and ‘upcoming artist’ Manik speaks on his frustrations of the industry and how his fellow lyricists Barney, Loyle, Harvs and Frankie have helped him try and get his foot through the door.
On a recent instagram Q&A he was asked what his favourite lyric he had written was and I was warmly welcomed by seeing my favourite lyric of his being his answer. “Went and put my life all inside my music, now I’m eating off the pudding that you’ll find the proof in”
‘Shade (Breath Deep)’ begins with a glistening melody accompanied by a warming and wavering drum. This song a raw reminder of taking your time, and remembering to breath deep in life’s trickiest moments.
‘All I Need’ is the records most interesting instrumental. A subtle female vocal sample overlaying a throbbing synth.
Manik’s tone changes drastically in the track; ‘Snowman/Scarecrow’. The thump of a kick-drum matches a mean and harsh lyrical tone.
Two fascinating features follow this, firstly a collaboration with vocalist Natty Wylah who provides a welcome and warming second verse. From new kid on the block to the veteran, Maverick Sabre features on the track; “Alchemy”.
The final track of the record; “Run With the Wolves” has a jagged and jumpy ambience, and is where Malik Marland may have mastered his overall tone. Harsh but calm and with a strong and strengthening message, Manik MC is a lyricist and artist with a bright future.
Harry Oscillate – Aqua Forms EP – Self-Released
Harry Oscillate is another exciting producer to emerge from Southampton, his Empty Plate radio show alongside a mix for the London based party series Tesselate have highlighted his abilities as a DJ.
Aqua Forms is his first official self release and it’s aquatic influence is charmingly unavoidable.
‘Biosphere’ is deep house dive into an adventurous underwater rave. With a subtle but strong acidic atmosphere, this track is a beauty, and hopefully a sign of what’s to come from Harry.
Second track; ‘Aqua Forms’ has a similar opening to ‘Biosphere’ but feels slightly slower and is brilliantly interrupted with a set of rave-y and jungle inspired claps.
This is a brilliant two track opener to Harry Oscillate’s production career. I have been forgetting, regrettably, to include a note on the artwork of records I write about when they catch my eye. I hear also the work of Harry, a fantastic visual representation of an exciting and enviable first self-release.