Favourites: Music That Has Shaken the World Lately

Back with our monthly series let’s dive in at what happened in March 2024 and the best releases.

Last year I wrote an end of the year report about music trends and the exponential growth of Afrobeats in the global music space, as well as Reggaeton, Amapiano and Brazilian Funk.

These genres continue to be on the rise by their own, but an interest trend to be observed is how they also are blending into each other with artists such as Anitta, Ludmilla and Karol G, just to mention a few, exploring Reggaeton and even Afrobeats with Brazilian Funk elements, K-pop artists such as Kohway exploring Amapiano productions and in this case even allegedly faking an African accent, which has been perceived as a cultural appropriation and gaining criticism all over TikTok, where the song has had a lot of attention.

Speaking of genre blending explorations, this year's most anticipated album is finally out: Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé.

While I am still processing the incomparable listening experience that is listening to a new Beyoncé record, one thing I can already say: this is not a country album, this is a Beyoncé album as she said it herself.

Written five years ago and initially planned to be released before Renaissance as act i, Beyoncé said she changed her plans when the world was hit by a global pandemic. With so much heaviness in the world she wanted a post pandemic album that would make everyone dance and we all thank her for it. Renaissance was the dose of healing we needed and she brought us all to the dance floor, even if just in our imagination.

With 27 tracks Cowboy Carter is not a consistent and coherent album like Renaissance, but is consistently great, if not exceptional, a landmark record. It is a complex and intentional album that with its two singles created a false expectation of being a genre specific country release, while it is much more than that. She is experimenting with country music, but also doing whatever she wants, going way beyond what the genre purists would lead us to believe and simply having fun. A slap on the face that becomes evident the more you listen to it, especially with the interlude by Linda Martell:

 “Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they?

‘yes, they are’

In theory, they have a simple definition that’s easy to understand, but in practice, well, some may feel confined’’ 

The interlude is followed by Spaghetti, a song that could perfectly be on the Renaissance album, a rap song that samples a Brazilian Funk song and features Shaboozey, an eclectic American singer, rapper and producer with Nigerian roots that blends hip-hop and country music. The album is a unique listening experience as another interlude says and it is exactly this artistic curiosity and versatility that turned me into a Beyoncé fan in the first place.

Talking about another interesting album release this month, Tyla's debut record is one that I would like to mention.

After becoming a global sensation with her hit single Water and winning a Grammy for Best African Music Performance, the 22 years old Tyla showed the world she is a pop star that is here to stay and pushing the boundaries of South African music, releasing three singles, including Truth or Dare, which also reached enormous success, with viral TikTok dances.

Now, with the excellent self-titled debut album Tyla continues to shake the world with her distinctive signature sound: exciting amapiano beats, skilled pop and R&B writing skills and melodies with catchy phrases, in a 'popiano' energy – a term she likes to use to describe her hybrid sound. 

I already see songs like Jump taking over TikTok and I am curious to see her career evolving more and more as this is just the beginning of her journey.

Since we are talking about debut albums, it will be also interesting to see the swimming paul album release that hopefully will come at some point this year.

The up and coming electronic French producer that lives in the vibrant city of London has 11 songs and is currently working on his first album that he claims is almost finished and coming out in June, but in the meantime he is growing his fanbase on a daily basis with his masterly production style being compared to the likes of Biceps and Fred Again…

Moving on with other news, this month I had the immense pleasure of attending SXSW for the first time to catch inspiring talks and exciting new artists and performances.

The German Music Export did an incredible job selecting exciting new artists such as LIE NING, one of the biggest voices in contemporary R&B in Germany that is a global rising star, the electronic duo ÄTNA and dream pop artist orbit, just to name a few that put on great shows that captivated an international audience.

Having previously watched LIE NING in a sold out concert at Columbia Theatre in Berlin it was a special experience to watch a more intimate show in Austin.

Ho99o9 and Fat Dogs are also two names to keep in mind if they ever go to your town.

Blending punk rap with hardcore and hip-hop, Ho99o9 put on an incredibly fun performance, engaging the audience until the last second.

Fat Dog is an experimental band formed during covid lockdown that combines post-punk with club beats, including techno, just to mention a few of their influences. It is actually hard to describe, but a much recommended experience to watch them live. It was probably the show that most made people feel and be part of their performance and this is coming from someone that goes to concerts every week.

You can find the best releases in this March playlist and catch the best of SXSW in this one.