#MFMF7: Kimbra x Dawn, Col3trane, Example, Jessie Reyez, Ariana Grande - Men's Folio
Arts & Culture, #MFMF

#MFMF7: Kimbra x Dawn, Col3trane, Example, Jessie Reyez, Ariana Grande

  • By Akashdeep Bal

Men’s Folio Music Fridays (#MFMF) brings you a range of weekly music updates, providing you with fresh new tracks or generally just great music to jam to. Whether you’re staring out the bus window pretending to be in a music video, or getting ready for a night out in the town, we have the perfect playlist featuring our favourite Singles, EPs and Albums from around the world.

 

5. Kimbra x Dawn / Version Of Me

Kimbra and Dawn (previously of Danity Kane) join forces to release a haunting version of a track featured on Kimbra’s Primal Heart, “Version of Me”. While the first thing we hear is their voices interlaced, with time the focus is drawn to the lyrics in which we witness the women exchange words of having a demon hanging over their shoulder, with lyrics like “Cause I’m damned if I do / And I’m damned if I don’t”. A soul-baring song, with a video just as captivating in which they display intimacy and tenderness. 

 

4. Col3trane / BOOT

Col3trane releases BOOT (Breathing Out Of Time), an R&B mixtape following the 19-year-old Londoner’s last release, “Tsarina”. The mixtape presents his pain through ambiguous lyrics, as his versatile vocals glide over warm yet airy synth pads. Standout tracks: “Fear & Loathing”, “Roses”, “Resume”, and “Movie Star”, where you will catch the line “Your face caked up like Andy Kauffman”. Speaking on that line, Col3trane describes: “Andy Kauffman used to play lots of different characters and wear loads of makeup when switching… sometimes it feels like people are playing different versions of themselves when they go out.” 

 

3. Example / Bangers & Ballads

The dance album kicks off with “SIT DOWN GARY !!!” and we cannot help but anticipate the fun we are going to have. The English MC’s sixth album contains the snappy “Show Me How To Love” featuring Hayla, which you must have heard playing on the radio. Our other favourite is “All U Need” featuring Karen Harding, a Reggae and House track that makes your waist whine without you noticing.

 

2. Jessie Reyez / Body Count

Shortly after dropping “Apple Juice”, Jessie Reyez releases another track leading up to her Being Human in Public EP. Kehlani and Normani (of Fifth Harmony) join her on the remix of “Body Count”, a song that speaks out against gender stigmatisation. Eyeball the video, then proceed to our playlist for the remix.

 

1. Ariana Grande / Sweetener

Ariana Grande might have just dropped the pop album of the year! Her fourth album bears the first coloured cover in her entire discography, listing 15 tracks that cover her newfound happiness, love, and pain over the devasting Manchester bombing.

Begining with a 30-second acapella track titled “raindrops (an angle cried)”, we hear Grande’s vocal chops in its entirety and are pretty much blown away. The next two tracks feature two of the biggest names in music, Pharrell Williams and Nicki Minaj respectively, before we are hit with the ethereal “R.E.M”, in which Grande talks about a dream she does not want to wake up from.

Moving ahead, we have the sultry R&B track “everytime”, as well as “breathin”, where she advises about anxiety. Shoutout to Missy Elliot for jumping on track 11, a 1990s track that gets our booties popping, but we abruptly stop all motion in the next track “better off”. The album ends with 40 seconds of silence on “get well soon”, a track that many have called a tribute to the Manchester victims, carrying a loving message of recovery in a “musical hug”.

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main image by Akashdeep Bal (@deeepbal)