I Feel This Energy Around Us

Piri and Tommy Villiers “On & On”

Piri and Tommy specialize in relaxed songs with tempos so fast the beats start to feel more soothing and meditative than jumpy and anxious. A lot of this comes down to the arrangements being quite minimal and the keyboard tones filling out the grooves having a chilled tonality, but the centered and friendly quality of Piri’s voice also goes a long way in making this all sound like casual low-key fun. “On and On” sounds like you’re just listening in on some friend’s interior monologue as they dance – they’re feeling the music, they’re feeling the room, they’re feeling some drugs kick in. There’s simply no dark energy to be found here.

Buy it via Piri and Tommy.

Daphi “Cloudy”

Dan Snaith’s style is distinct enough that most anyone would notice his authorship whether they’re listening to Caribou or Daphni, but articulating what makes something obviously his work feels roughly similar to describing the particular curvature of handwriting. “Cloudy” isn’t too far off from what his friend Four Tet would do, but there’s more calm to the beat and that central piano hook has a graceful melodic swoop to it that feels specific to Snaith. It’s the sort of clean and elegant motif he always places ahead of funkiness, though thankfully not too far ahead of funkiness.

Buy it from Bandcamp.