Billion One here by way of Germany’s own Oldenburg might be lurking from the bushes but there is a good reason for this: he just released his new album Hi Cozy Paradise via Berlin’s Woodland Creatures! It forms part of their thematic cluster of records linked to one of Earth’s distinct bioregions and ecosystem types, with this album representing the Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests (TSMF) selection, in case you were wondering. In terms of biodiversity a great match to Poule d’Or.

The album is being billed as a concept album and coming in at more than 80 minutes runtime it actually is quite the heavy weight. However, over the course of 14 tracks he opens up a movie-like journey across sounds and styles, creating a coherent soundscape that is easily digestible and wonderful to enjoy. Get in the passenger seat of this single engine aircraft and buckle up.

Attached below is Some Place I Keep Dreaming About – and it might just be a tropical or subtropical moist broadleaf forest which can be found in large, discontinuous patches centered on the equatorial belt, notably including the Southwest Amazon, the Congolese rainforests as well as relevant parts of the Borneo peat swamps.

You can also find this song – and many more – on the current iteration of the official Poule d’Or playlist, on Spotify and Apple Music.

A fever dream king of haze and blues, Der Assistent has emerged with a new LP under his soft leaves: Ultramarin is going to be his third studio album and the first to be released under his own label, on 19 June. Der Assistent mastered the art of bending and gently shaping the harsh German language into a dreamy narrative of longing and lounging.

The new album again features some of the most exquisite lyrics and songwriting, all wrapped into hazy shades of yacht pop, balearic und downbeat. Across eight songs Ultramarin develops incredible narrative speed, like a vintage James Bond movie sending the double-00 agent to different cities and beaches across the Empire and beyond. And Ultramarin feels like an album that smells really nice too.

His latest single Wenn der Scirocco weht, tells the story coastal grooves and relaxing summer nights and is attached below – and Der Assistent is taking the new repertoire on a grand tour of his own this summer: Berlin June 19 (sold out), Hamburg June 30, Zürich, Düsseldorf, Darmstadt and many more, buy tickets here. Ultramarin is up for pre-orders and a limited run of vinyl records right here on Bandcamp. And while you are here, check out his photo-interview, too.

_{Photo credits by Mr. Maximilian König}

The other day I overheard the phrase “writing about music is like dancing about architecture” and naturally questioned several life editorial choices. However, at Poule headquarters, we have always kept a closer eye on the aesthetics and feelings music evokes, in the grand scheme of things. For 16 years and counting!

So.. London’s Louie Cameron released a wonderful EP last month! Do You Wanna Go Out? was written by the man himself, is heavily influenced by the fair energy of Hamburg, and masterfully produced by composer and video artist Pat Dam Smyth. Across its five tracks Louie manages to create a unique sound, melding together different styles to a coherent theme. Listening through the record almost creates a cinematic experience – so it was only logical to reach out, and inquire about a photo-interview, rather than write about it..

There is a limited edition run of vinyls out on his Bandcamp – and the EP is out now to stream across all platforms, straight into your ears. The powerhouse single Gigi’s Bar is attached below.

Where did it all begin?
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More great tunes coming in by Batov Records in London. Ayara, attached below, is a banging track by Taftir and was released just now, as they ready their debut EP for August 7th. The five-piece creates a great psychedelic kind of spacey sound that goes down smoothly, especially around this time of the year. Ayara means “town” and you can kind of hear them chasing down narrow streets and alley ways, getting lost but never losing track.

You can also find this song – and many more – on the current iteration of the official Poule d’Or playlist, on Spotify and Apple Music.

Coming in red hot this one! Bolbec is a steaming band from Rouen in the North of the French hexagon and they assembled a full orchestra to record their sophomore album that just came out via Batov Records. It is mysteriously titled Foutu Félin and covers a full range of 60s spy movie instrumentals as well as Disney-adjacent alley cat vibes: “The title track ‘Foutu Félin’ leans into humour. Built around a buoyant walking bass, it imagines a feline character strutting somewhere between slapstick animation and jazz club swagger.”

The whole album is great journey through the many sounds and vibes, reminiscent of the Normandy countryside, vintage Tour de France footage, and elegant cinema drapes. The feline title track is attached below – and you can also find it on the current iteration of the official Poule d’Or playlist, on Spotify and Apple Music.

^{All tracks written and produced by Axel Concato and Barthélémy Corbelet, recorded at The Fishmarket, London and at rue Pigeon and La Mama Studio in lovely Rouen.}

So, back in the 1960s, when Apollo 11 took off towards the Moon, every astronaut was given a cassette tape with songs to listen to on their incredible journey. Imagine putting that track list together – and not just from a stylistic point of view: back then it was no small feat to even get your hands on those recordings. NASA relied on one record executive to create these actual, physical mixtapes and there is a beautiful profile about Mr. Mickey Kapp and his thinking behind them in Vanity Fair, from 2018, as well as his charming obituary from July 2019 in the New York Times. What a guy! Six decades later during the Artemis II mission earlier this year, according to the NASA live blog the crew woke up every morning (whatever that means in space) by a song chosen by ground control – less pressure than on fair Mickey Kapp, I imagine.

Well anyway, it’s this type of grand emotional energy and planet encompassing sound that Montreal’s beautiful trio Bye Parula induce with their wonderful songs. It has not been reported whether their music was played to the astronauts on Artemis II but they are firmly positioning themselves for the next lunar mission with their exciting new album Something Out Of Nothing – to be released June 5th on the keen Secret City Records.

The record neatly showcases their unique and expansive talent to create warm pop melodies and catchy hooks, while clearly having a coherent story to tell. Attached below is their latest single Quand vient le soir. The album then comes as an LP of two sides: Songs to Listen to in a Standing Position and Songs to Listen to in a Sitting Position – which in terms of orbital listening pleasures does require a certain amount of gravity though I guess.

To celebrate the release, Bye Parula are set to play in London (2 June), Paris (3 June), Berlin (4 June), and Montreal (11 June). All info here.

In preparation for this, the three of them took some valuable time off their schedules to sit down for a photo-interview – so pull a chair, hit play and scroll through their visuals.

Where did it all begin? [continue reading…]