New Music Friday | The Beatles’ AI Deep Cut, CARTOONS, Yaya Bey and More

It’s Friday, so it’s time for new music. Here are six brand-new songs the JME team has been enjoying lately. Stream ‘em on your preferred platform by clicking the STREAM button below each description. 

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Rock

The Beatles – “Now and Then” 

Recommended If You Like: The Beatles 

Whether you’re an ardent fan of the Beatles or simply enjoy a handful of tunes from their ubiquitous catalog, “Now and Then” is not likely to top your personal best-of list. Still, the Lennon-led piano ballad is a nice song. And the story of its creation as a product of low-quality demos, studio overdubs and artificial intelligence, makes it a memorable one.

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Neo-Soul/R&B

CARTOONS – “Grace”

Recommended If You Like: Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Butcher Brown

CARTOONS’ latest full length, Saturday Night, is one of the most-talked about underground releases of the year. The eclectic project of New York-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Carr, CARTOONS brings soundboard mastery to his melding of jazz, soul and hip-hop styles, with no shortage of topnotch featured artists – Rae Khalil, Joanna Teters, Reuben James, to name a few. 

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Singer-Songwriter

Jesse Kivel – “Age of Man”

Recommended If You Like: Neil Young, Cass McCombs, Girl Ray

Despite the modern trappings of electronic drums and synth sounds, Jesse Kivel’s latest is, foundationally, a folk album. On the first four downtempo singles from the new LP Life and Death at Party Rock, Kivel explores fatherhood, partnership and life in rural Maine making use of contemporary production techniques while always building from the roots of acoustic instruments – guitar, piano, harmonica, etc.   

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R&B/Experimental

Yaya Bey – “crying through my teeth”

Recommended If You Like: Sudan Archives, Jamila Woods, Erykah Badu

Queens-bred R&B singer Yaya Bey returns with the new single, the sweltering, stream of consciousness number “crying through my teeth.” Bey’s earned praise from the New York Times and just about every major music publication for her innovative take on R&B. And the downtempo, enthralling “crying through my teeth” foreshadows another major leap for the singer. 

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Dance 

Haiku Hands – “Cool for You”

Recommended If You Like: Chemical Brothers, Fever Ray, M.I.A.

Aussie alt-dance group Haiku Hands latest “Cool for You” is a bubbly throwback EDM jam sure to bring revelers to the dancefloor, glow sticks in hand. Bringing to mind a Chemical Brothers A-side, “Cool for You” is geared toward catharsis in both sonics and lyrics, a riotous celebration of self-love and the eradication of inhibitions. 

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Local/Future Soul 

Cosmic Link – “Let It Go” 

Recommended If You Like: Erykah Badu, Grover Washington, Free Nationals

Duval singer-songwriter Jay Myztroh and Bristol, UK-based producer Ben Dubuisson give it up for a higher power on their new 12-song eponymous release, Cosmic Link. A mix of R&B, soul, funk, jazz and more, the on the new record all point to a goal of self-improvement and a self-created spiritual consciousness. Read the full album review.

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More New Music

Al the tracks from our New Music Friday series are spinning on our music discovery station The Independent 89.9 HD4 and on our Fresh Squeeze playlist on Spotify.