- Words Darcy Culverhouse
Press play on the latest edition of NOTION NOW, the playlist featuring the freshest tracks you need to hear.
The thing about 24-year-old alt-pop star Lola Young is that her blatant honesty pulls everyone (and their mum) straight in. Take ‘D£aler’: Lola casually narrates breaking up with her dealer, and that same bratty, unfiltered attitude drives the chaos of her third album I’m Only F***ing Myself. Our favourite? ‘SAD SOB STORY! :)’, where jittery synths crash into tender piano, perfectly capturing her loud, in-your-face energy. It’s Lola’s world. We’re just living in it, and honestly, we’re not complaining.
Another big drop this week comes from UKG riser Sammy Virji, who’s delivered a stacked 16-track project. He’s brought in the gang – Giggs, Skepta, Chris Lake, salute, Unknown T – but it’s ‘Match My Mood’ that’s caught our attention. With Spice and Flowdan in the mix, it’s a bouncy, bassy dance anthem that has us itching to sprint to the next Boiler Room set.
Dance music keeps its grip this week too. Junglist Nia Archives teams up with Clipz on a breakbeat-heavy track bursting with samba chants and chest-rattling basslines.
London’s own RAYE goes full vintage glam in her latest pristine single, questioning where her husband’s gone while dripping in red in an Old Hollywood-style video. Meanwhile, folk-pop force Paris Paloma takes on the patriarchy, opening her new track with Emma Thompson quoting Rebecca Shaw’s piece on the rise of the “alpha male”, before diving deep into the dark corners of misogyny.
Across the pond, funk wizard Thundercat returns with his first single since 2020, teaming up with Remi Wolf for a frenetic, uptempo track named after a legendary LA jazz venue. Back in London, bar italia channel their off-kilter chaos into ‘rooster’, a twitchy countdown to their album drop next month, while neo-soul star Naïka gets sultry with Afrobeats-tinged ‘BLESSINGS’.
The week wraps with a strong rap showing. Wunderkind Kidwild links up with South London drill connoisseur Blanco on a haunting, heavy anthem (its title literally means “comeback”), while everyone’s favourite Milton Keynes mischief-maker Niko B lets us in on his rise with ‘Beginners Luck’, produced by evilgiane.
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