Now Hear This: Cardi B, Victoria Monet and Glass Animals, plus spotlight artists Falle Nioke and Alex Tierney

In her weekly column, our music correspondent goes through the best new releases

L: Falle Nioke

It seems appropriate that, on what looks likely to become one of the hottest weekends in recent memory, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have dropped their sizzling new track, “WAP”. The video is extraordinary, although I could have done without the Kylie Jenner cameo. Everything else, though, top marks.

Speaking of sizzling, Victoria Monet just released her new solo project, JAGUAR. Writer Brittny Pierre did a great review, which you can read here. This week, I reviewed the fantastic new Glass Animals album, Dreamland, and Another Sky’s intense debut I Slept on The Floor. You can also read my interview with Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley here.

The Weeknd released his collaboration with the late Juice WRLD, “Smile”, which plays on both artists’ mournful vocal styles over muted violin motifs and stuttery beats. Duckwrth teamed up with KIAN for the slick R&B track “Quick”, while pop artist Troye Sivan released a surprise new song, “Rager teenager!”, from a forthcoming EP.

I’m very into Nayana Iz’s EP Smoke & Fly, which is loaded with woozy, piano-lounge instrumentation and her rich, husky bars. James Blake has done a great collaboration with Flatbush Zombies on “Afterlife”, while Olafur Arnalds is offering up his immersive song “Back to the Sky”, featuring the arresting voice of JFDR.

In terms of live events, obviously social distancing is keeping us from music venues, still. That said, the AIM Awards are taking place next week on Wednesday 12 August as a virtual ceremony, with special honours going to independent stars Little Simz and AJ Tracy.

It’s a double bill for the spotlight artist this week, with introductions for Falle Nioke and newcomer Alex Tierney.

Falle Nioke is a singer and percussionist from Guinea Conakry, West Africa, who collaborated with Ghost Culture for the Youkounkoun EP that came out last month via PRAH Recordings.

Check out my Q&A with Falle and Ghost Culture, below:

Hey guys, how’s your year so far?

Falle Nioke: My year is going good, I have been learning a lot and recording at my home studio during lockdown. It’s been great having the time to be creative and I’m also enjoying spending time with my family.

Ghost Culture: Good! I’m very lucky that lockdown has meant more studio time for myself, and more time with family.

What have you observed about society and culture in this difficult time?

Falle Nioke: I have been observing that nothing is going on and the town is quiet. Little socialising and sadness about people who have died from Covid. Wondering what the future holds for our live music industry. I have done a few online gigs but its sad not to have an audience to share the energy in the room.

Ghost Culture: I’ve seen a lot of concern about what’s going to happen to live music, with rumours that it isn’t going to be safe to go to a gig until April 2021. For artists who rely on performance to be able to keep doing what they’re doing, this is a huge blow. However, I have seen a positive, forward thinking reaction online where people are discovering ways to keep making art and evolve into a post-Covid world.

Tell me a bit about your new music and what inspired it

Falle Nioke: I was inspired when i met James to do something I hadn’t done before, to mix my African style with the European dance style. When we link up I just started to sing with my Gongoma and we built the tracks on that.

Ghost Culture: For this project with Falle, the inspiration really comes from him. I wanted to build around what he was doing, so we would start with his vocal and I would build from there. Generally I wanted to hear a mix of two styles that I haven’t heard much of.

What else do you have lined up for the rest of 2020?

Falle Nioke: In 2020 I have another ep coming hopefully and lots more recording.

Ghost Culture: I’m currently finishing a ghost culture album which I’m nearly there with.

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Next up is Alex Tierney, brother of the brilliant photographer Christian Tierney, who’s shot artists including Niall Horan, Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Lizzo.

Alex is a 20-year-old singer from Dublin who draws heavily on R&B and hip-hop influences to create sprawling, dreamy musical landscapes. Before he’d even released a solo track, he was invited to open for Lewis Capaldi at The Olympia in 2019, and has now dropped his debut single, “Over the Maybes”.

The song was written, recorded and produced in the Tierney household before being sent to LA for mixing by Jonas Jalhay (Post Malone, James Blake). Hopefully you’ll agree it turned out pretty great.

Check out my Q&A with Alex, below:

Hey Alex, tell me a bit about yourself

I’m a 20 year old singer-songwriter from Dublin, Ireland and I recently released my debut single “Over The Maybes”.

What’s the inspiration behind your debut?

The inspiration behind the track is basically the feeling in a relationship where you know exactly how you feel about someone but they aren’t being clear about how they feel and you’re tired of the uncertainty and ambiguity.

Have you managed to stay creative during the lockdown period?

Lockdown has actually been a really exciting time for me creatively. I luckily have some recording gear at home and didn’t really have anything else to do but make music and that’s how “Over The Maybes” came about. It was written, recorded and released entirely from home during lockdown so it was a little daunting but I’ve been blown away by the response.

What do you have lined up for the rest of the year?

I’m really excited for the rest of the year despite it still being a weird time. I’m currently preparing the release of my next single which will be announced very soon and I’m working on tons of other really exciting new music that I also can’t wait to share!