Best Fern, Debby Friday, Libianca and More: Also Cool's Playlist Refresh
Rachel Chinouriri by Alice Backham
Happy Saturday, Also Cools! Another Playlist Refresh is coming in hot, and here to narrate your weekend.
There is truly a slice of everything in this weekend’s Refresh, which makes it all the more exciting to browse. From Gatineau to the English Channel, Afrobeats to indietronica, peruse some of the tracks that have topped our charts.
As always, you can listen along via our Spotify playlist.
Best Fern by Hugo Bernier
Gatineau and NYC excellence collides on Best Fern’s “On and On”. The single is the long-distance ambient pop duo’s second offering from their to-be-released debut Earth Then Air, arriving February 3rd via Youngbloods and Backward Music. “On and On” is one of twelve tracks realized by the pair while in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, surrounded by the awe-inspiring and all-consuming might of the Rocky Mountains.
In a delightful three-minute whimsy, Best Fern twirls through a chamber of playful stringed arrangements, between sprinklings of horns and cosmic flirtations. Picking up on its earthly inspirations, “On and On” awakens the sensation of drawing the curtains first thing in the morning, and feeling the warmth of the sun beaming in as the day begins.
Watch the accompanying music video for “On and On”, shot by Stephanie Kuse on 8mm film, below!
Best Fern
Debby Friday Good Luck album artwork via Bandcamp
Toronto-based musician, multimedia artist and astrologer Debby Friday breaks new ground on new track “So Hard To Tell”. Along with the lead single from her forthcoming debut album Good Luck, out March 24th, Friday shared her signing to seminal Seattle label Sub Pop Records.
On “So Hard To Tell”, Friday subdues her metallic, industrial-punk foundations to unveil raw, reflective and luminous R&B by allowing her unmodified singing voice to surface.
In a statement on “So Hard To Tell”, Friday explains that experimenting with her voice was a leap of faith in the right direction:
“I have a lower register and speak with vocal fry so I don’t know what came over me when I made this track. I have never in my life sung like this before, and I had no idea I could even make these kinds of sounds with my voice. There’s no pitch effects on ‘SO HARD TO TELL’, it’s all me.”
Upon first listen, the dynamism of “So Hard To Tell” made Friday’s Good Luck one of our most-anticipated albums of the year (yes, already!). While we wait for more, draw out the excitement and watch Friday’s gorgeous and futuristic video for “So Hard To Tell” below!
Debby Friday
Libianca via Spotify
Minnesota-based Cameroonian Afropop singer Libianca participated in NBC’s The Voice on season 21, quickly becoming a favourite with her thoughtful song choices and mesmerizing performances. Although she didn’t win the competition, she continued her passion and grew a fanbase through the release of tracks like “People” – we have been listening on repeat ever since.
When engaging with this song for the first time, it is easy to miss the depth of the message, which poignantly enough is exactly what Libianca describes is happening to her in real life. “I’ve been drinking more alcohol for the past five days / Did you check on me?” She conveys the sadness of when the ones closest to you are the least aware. However, through the international community that she has reached with her music it seems as though some of that sadness has departed. On her YouTube channel, Libianca writes: “I wrote this song when I felt unheard... UNSEEN. To everyone who has resonated with my overflow of emotion through this song, THANK YOU!”
Libianca
Rachel Chinourini by Martina Martian
With the release of “So My Darling (Acoustic)”, English indie singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri has written a tale of heartache, longing, and never-ending love. Chinouriri so poignantly describes the feeling when you realize that someone may not always be there, but your affections for them won’t ever change – a lover, or a friend. Max Pilley from DIY Magazine perfectly describes it as “a delicate, intimate and charmingly endearing paean to real love.” Rachel touches on the reason she released her acoustic version:
“I felt “So My Darling” was going to be special from the day I made it when I was 17. It’s always one which people go back to and say it always resonates with them at my shows. Despite making it 4 years ago, I’m so happy that it has connected with a new audience on TikTok and see the song being used for videos that reflect the meaning. It’s stripped back but that’s how the song began so it makes me happy that it’s perceived so much love and everyone’s spreading a lot of love with it too.”
Rachel Chinouriri
Nisa by Sara Laufer
Brooklyn singer-songwriter Nisa Lumaj has begun a dazzling new chapter with the release of Exaggerate. While each track on the EP—out now via Hit The North Records—strikes a particular nerve, the title track’s skittering motifs and elevated lyricism come out on top. The single was produced with Nate Amos, who has steered the sound of artists like Water From Your Eyes and AC favourite Lily Konigsberg.
Conceived in a period of travel and transience for Nisa, “Exaggerate” documents the intensity of emotion that came from her personal instability. Her vocoder warble blends with the muted indie production to paint a sonically-nostalgic picture. Imploring her detached lover to let her clean in solitude, Nisa rambles with an anxious confusion: “If I could delete the pain / It might take me / To your heartbeat faster / I'll miss yesterday / When you told me / You could love me harder”.
Nisa
Our Playlist Refresh series is available in full on Spotify, refreshed on a rolling basis.
Stream it all below!
