Chanpan “Luigi’s Mansione”
You probably wouldn’t need the hint in the title to get that this breakbeat lounge song is a tribute to Luigi Mangione. The lyrics don’t mention him by name but it’s obviously about him, and presents him as a persecuted folk hero: “Maybe the hero has fallen / but strength arises in us / one feat of valor and courage / igniting the rage in our heart.” The music is fairly chill and jazzy despite the twitchy beats, but Grace Dumdaw sings her lyrics like someone who’s been broken by cynicism and low expectations but is starting to feel some slight bit of hope.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Casabalanca Drivers “No Mercy”
The first 48 seconds of “No Mercy” are very smooth, with minimal chiming guitar and a low-key seductive vocal gliding over an elegantly rumbling bass line. The song could’ve stayed in that mode the entire time and it’d be a good time. But no, Casablanca Drivers had to take it further. They had to drop that INSTRUMENTAL BREAK. A keyboard riff that sounds sorta like a heavily treated marimba. A beat and a boom so ruthlessly effective it’d make Justice jealous. It’s an incredible chunk of music that practically demands to be remixed or sampled into something more specifically built for a dance floor, but it also slips so comfortably between these more sexy and atmospheric verse sections. I’m not sure if this song should work, but they make it all so sleek and seamless.
Buy it from Bandcamp.