Cool, swimmy one from 1996 – “Around You” is a part of a dreampop songwriting project from Mike Lee (also of Letting Up Despite Great Faults & Family Mart) where each of his singles features a new singer from a different city. We’re particularly drawn to “Around” – frantic canned drums, swirly guitar vibes, and smartly-edited bedroom-pop vocals really make this one pop. Check it out below and stay tuned for more jams – here’s the Spotify link. 1996 · 1996 – Around You
1996 of Buffalo’s Valor Club released “Activist,” the second installment in a weekly series called “Immaculate Monday.” Last week saw the rapper drop the soulful, electric “Regal Adonis”, and this week the beat mellows out but 1996 stays charismatic. Built around a muted horn instrumental courtesy of producer Sigma, the beat is a great base for 1996 to mix his flow up. 6’s delivery is intentionally erratic, filled with fluctuations that play off the beat. When the bass pounds, his voice goes up and the hype builds and builds. 1996 does a great job on this song sticking with flow themes, like in the first verse when he rolls through “a” and “b” sounds with some nice controlled assonance. Lyrically, 6 talks of drugs and his reasons for them on lines like “Everything I do, just reflections of the ‘endo, where I’m hoping for the end-o cause the darkness is surrounding[...]