Listener’s Songs of the Week: New tracks by Rita Mae, Dan Kye, Darkside and more

Rita Mae and Dan Kye aka Jordan Rakei. (Photos / Supplied)

No God

by Rita Mae

Catchy indie goodness on Rita Mae’s final single before her new EP Kiss the Sky is released this November. There’s a certain 90s aesthetic to her acoustic guitar tones, a bit like Wheatus’ classic Teenage Dirtbag. That, alongside the occasional vinyl scratches in place of snares, it’s a real treat. – Sam Clark

Change

by Dan Kye

Cruisy house music from Jordan Rakei under his Dan Kye moniker, just in time for Labour Weekend. Rakei adds something lovely to Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section label, which is also home to fellow Kiwi house exports Chaos in the CBD. His production talents are on full display here, alongside some very smooth vocals – conjuring up an infectious groove, which will likely be heard in a few mixes this summer. – Sam Clark

Graucha Max

by Darkside

Great electronica-infused rock in the latest inception of Darkside – who’ve added LA drummer Tlacael Esparza to their permanent lineup. Bluesy Doors-like keys are overlayed with a dynamic drumbeat and experimental guitar work. Following this, a minute long dubstep outro – by now, we should expect nothing less. – Sam Clark

Midnight Lover

by Macey

Folky guitar work from Tāmaki Makaurau singer-songwriter Macey, as he shares a song of heartbreak from his forthcoming EP, How to Say Goodbye. Subtle slide-guitar under a synth bass is a pleasant surprise at the chorus. Comes with a black and white montage inspired by Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night. (see below). – Sam Clark

‘Vedrò con mio diletto’, from Il Giustino

by Jakub Józef Orliński, Il Pomo D’oro, Maxim Emelyanychev

For years and years Vivaldi had a problem: sure, he wrote lots of music, the critics sniped, but really it was just the same two pieces – The Four Seasons and the Gloria – hundreds of times each. And besides, most of it was composed for kids (girls, no less!) of the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage; how good could that stuff be? Modern scholarship has shown much of that stuff to be very good indeed, and Vivaldi is now safely nestled in the pantheon of great Baroque composers. His operas have benefitted most from this latter-day reassessment, among them Il Giustino, which was first performed exactly 300 years ago. We’ll overlook the fact that bits of Il Giustino were used in The Four Season if you will. – Richard Betts