Music of the Month: November 2019

Everyone has their own music taste, but there’s always room for growth. That’s the mantra at BabyStep. With that in mind, we’ve compiled our first “Music of the Month”. The goal here is simple and pure;

"Broaden some horizons”.

3 songs of varying genres.

1 cover song that we love for some reason or another.

1 essential album to hear before you die.

Song #1 – ‘Woman’ (Detroit Swindle)

Since forming in 2011, the Dutch double act Detroit Swindle have enjoyed a steady and successful growth. In recent years, their groovy house has echoed around the venues of the world, much to the delight of music fans everywhere from Africa to Europe to the Far East. They started their career well with the release of a few popular singles in the early years. However, ‘Woman’ released on their 2013 EP Unfinished Business seems to have flown somewhat below the radar. Get some headphones on and just enjoy this beat:

‘Woman’ – Detroit Swindle

Song #2 – ‘Vérité’ (Claire Laffut)

This one is a bit different. Paris-based Belgian model Claire Laffut has been one of the main faces of fashion icon Chanel since 2018. Aside from her talent in front of the camera, she’s turning heads with her recently launched music career. Her creativity and drive just have to be appreciated, especially considering her endeavour to create a piece of art that matches each of her individual songs. ‘Vérité’ was the first of these, a single on her 2018 EP Mojo. It’s pop-inspired, a bit funky, and just nice. Take a look:

‘Vérité’ - Claire Laffut

Song #3 – ‘I Remain’ (Verb T)

As a long-standing pillar of the alternative UK hip-hop scene, Verb T has been releasing melodic beats and catchy bars for well over a decade. Co-founder of hip-hop group The Four Owls, and signed to the same label as Ocean Wisdom (High Focus Records), Verb T is a core part of this underground community. In 2013, he gave us ‘I Remain’ through his album of the same name. This tune retains his alternative and cool sound, but the lyrics focus on the less exciting aspects of life, which sometimes feels a bit too real. Even so, give it a listen:

‘I Remain’ – Verb T

Cover of the Month – ‘Song to The Siren’ (Wolf Alice)

Fully formed in 2012, Wolf Alice have since used their explosive success to craft an original and raw sound. The London 4-piece have toured internationally, and Ellie Rowsell has undeniably grown to become one of the best and most recognisable female vocalists in the alternative rock scene. Her voice lends itself extremely well to our cover of the month ‘Song to The Siren’. Originally by This Mortal Coil, this track has been redone many times over the years, but Wolf Alice’s 2017 version is arguably the best. Beautiful and sad all at once, it really is worth your time:

‘Song to The Siren’ – Wolf Alice

Essential Album of the Month – Don’t Do What We Did (The Manor)

Don’t Do What We Did, the 2015 debut album from south London group The Manor was a very strong start to their quest for the resurrection of UK garage. This well-produced release is a lively blend between old-school garage and modern UK hip-hop, which is actually quite hard to define in a few sentences. Anyway, the resulting sound is original and refreshing. Each song flows in to the next and the experience is broken up with seemingly live performances accompanied by long instrumentals and freestyles. We highly recommend this if you have a spare hour. (‘Know What I Mean’ is a special track if you only have a spare 5 minutes).

‘Know What I Mean’ – The Manor