NEW PASSENGER!: passenger - somebody's love

passenger - somebody's love
with little hype, mike rosenberg aka passenger, released the 1st single taken off his upcoming new album 'young as the morning, old as the sea' to his massive fan base over the weekend. shot in iceland, the video reflects the organic earthiness of the new single which is a nice change to the acoustic guitar that we now associate his sound to (there's a steel guitar in this track!). looking forward to hearing more!

WONGIE ACOUSTIC SONG OF THE WEEK: billie marten - la lune

billie marten - la lune
for a 17 year old, the releases of singer / songwriter billie marten are all pretty incredible. with such confidence in her songwriting, her latest is a teaser track for her upcoming debut album which is already shaping up to be one of the more solid collections of the year. damn this girl is great!

WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: usher - crash

usher - crash
after some re-jigging with his delayed album 'flawed', usher released this subdued mid tempo soul number with little fanfare last week. because of the subtlety of the track, 'crash' does feel like 'climax' pt 2, which is a good thing since it was one of my fave songs of 2012 and this jam might just end up on this years list considering the amount of times i've played this song today! directed by christopher sims it's awesome to also see usher doing some beautiful dancing in the video. just great stuff all around!

WONGIE R&B SONG OF THE WEEK: ariana grande feat big sean - big mistake

ariana grande feat big sean - big mistake
offered as a free download if you pre-order ariana's upcoming album 'my everything', this chill r&b track is actually a nice reprieve from the high energy smash hits that the girl has been releasing lately. if this is a hint of the diverse sounds on her album, i am definitely excited. solid!

MELLOW FRIDAYS: the lake poets - honest hearts / april

the lake poets - honest hearts
though martin longstaff (aka the lake poets) is a solo act, he brings in alot of musical friends to fill in the lush sounds of his music. slowly gaining folk cred in the UK by constantly touring, there's some good buzz surrounding this singer songwriter these days. we definitely like!

want more? check out the HEARTBREAKING "april" below:

the lake poets - april

MELLOW FRIDAYS: luluc - small window

luluc - small window
hailing from brooklyn by way of australia, the duo of zoe randell and steve hassett have put together a wistful late summer gentle breeze of a song that also introduces us to their highly buzzed about new album 'passerby'. there's something wonderfully timeless about these guys and i can't wait to see them perform live soon!

MELLOW FRIDAYS: nick mulvey - fever to the form

nick mulvey - fever to the form
mmmm! what a lovely build up from simple guitar to a song of orchestral proportions! UK singer songwriter nick mulvey claims this was the song that convinced him that it was the right decision to break from his previous band and go on a solo journey. it's just all sorts of wonderful!

MELLOW FRIDAYS: agnes obel - words are dead (live @ berlin sessions)

agnes obel - words are dead (live @ berlin sessions)
i love how there is a moment of silence before and after this song, so you as a listener, can soak up all the beauty that is right before you. the danish vocalist strips her music down to the bare minimum and allows for that space to draw you in. taken off her exquisite album 'aventine', if you like what you hear, please make an effort to bask in the rest of her long player. you will thank me for it!

INDIE DANCE MIX: zhu - faded

zhu - faded
not much is known about the la based artist/producer zhu, except his ep 'the nightday' is filled with similar gems and this video is shot in paris. enjoy this hypnotic dance number!

NEW LONDON GRAMMAR!: london grammar - hey now

london grammar - hey now
we buzzed about the cool arty remix or their new single 'hey now' a few days back and now london grammar show us a beautiful stop motion video of the original to their fans. it's been an interesting year for the trio (from unsigned to one of 2013's buzziest bands) and i can't wait to see what's in store for 2014!

SONGS WE LIKE: beck - blue moon / waking light

beck is back! and he's put together a lush album of 'california' inspired mellow jams that is just perfect to lose yourself to. the album 'morning phase' only took 3 days to put together, but at least 2 years to perfect. listen to the perfection from the examples below!:

beck - blue moon
omg, how i love this song!

beck - waking light

WONGIE FOLK SONG OF THE WEEK: ry x - berlin

ry x - berlin
this gentle folk ballad has been buzzing around for a few months and i'm finally getting around to appreciate the loveliness by the aussie/la singer songwriter. it's powerful without going into theatrics and i kind of love it!

THIS WEEKS MIX: roosevelt - elliot

roosevelt - elliot
i know, i am listening to alot of synth disco these days, but you gotta admit that these are good tracks i'm posting under this milieu! throw in the fact that this gem is the product of the cologne based marius lauber who specializes in washed out disco and we have ourselves a new fan. good stuff.

MELLOW FRIDAYS: london grammar - wicked game (chris isaak cover) (live @ bbc maida vale)

london grammar - wicked game (chris isaak cover) (live @ bbc maida vale)
yeah... more reason why they're fast becoming one of my fave acts of 2013.

WEEKEND PICKS: the xx - fiction

the xx - fiction
my fave song from what turned out to be an underwhelming album by the xx, but months later, this track is still a beautiful reminder of how great this band can be when they get all the ingredients alined.

WONGIE CHILL SONG OF THE WEEK: chris malinchak - so good to me

chris malinchak - so good to me
the sunset anthem of the season comes in the form of nyc dj chris malinchak. discovered through pete tong's influential bbc radio show, the single is en route to being a massive crossover hit. throw in this adorable video and you've got my mellow tune of the week! just brilliant!