4 Track Friday
Episode 101

Hello everyone,

It is with deep gratitude that I write to you the final episode of Four Track Friday. After two years and one hundred episodes I've decided to take a break. Will 4 Track return? Probably. What will it look like? I'm not sure yet.

I still have the audio recorded from Joe and I's attempt at turning the project into a podcast. And I have many more ideas about how to build a product that encourages more engagement. So stay tuned and hopefully the next incarnation will bring you what you've come to expect from 4 Track, but feel more engaging, more like a community.

I'd like to express special thanks to those of you that sent me music (please keep doing this!), hosted an episode, or gave your time for an interview. The project has allowed me to write, which is one of my most treasured hobbies, and brought me quite a lot of joy along the way. The small messages from those of you about how you liked a particular song or found a new favorite artist are what made this worth doing every week for one hundred and one weeks.

With that, let's dig into this dessert of a week! I hope you enjoy.

Afrobeat | Journey Through Time | The Shaolin Afronauts

After sending Tamas the very talented TSHA via her recent track "Demba," I received a very excited, "You like African-styled music?!" This was quickly followed a link to an album, Flight of the Ancients, the opener from which you hear here.

Even though The Shaolin Afronauts are based in Adelaide, their music is heavily influenced by West African Afrobeat artists like Fela Kuti. However, the additional influences of Cuban rhythm, avant-garde jazz, and soul cannot be discounted. In fact, the group self-describes their music as "interstellar futurist afro-soul."

The whole album is fantastic, but I think this track is the strongest introduction (as many openers are). It features dedicated time to each instrument while highlighting how well the musicians play off one another. I've enjoyed dozens of listens to this track in the past week.

Hip Hop | ONE IN A MILLION | Nerve (feat. JK-47)

One in a million, nah, one in a billion
They never wanted to let us in, guess who’s steppin’ in the buildin’
Stayed up till I came up, I ain’t have nothin’ but a vision

The Australian duo wastes no time getting in your face on this one. Stabbed keys kick it off at T-0, JK-47 follows, deep synth bass swells until drops into the chorus where Nerve takes over. For the next three minutes you're living in their world and they never give you a chance to forget it.

Nerve nails one of my favorite tricks in the rap game with his first verse, counting from one to ten in perfectly balanced and weighty bars.

One in a million, two young guns on the come up, triple that pay, get the funds up
All terrain in that 4x4, five out of five when they ask for the number
Got my team watching my six, only seven or eight that I call my brothers
Came from nine years old with a dream, now ten of us up on stage at the function

Then the third verse... oh my. Nerve and JK-47 toss bars back and forth in a way that seems entirely effortless. The attitude, wordplay, and rhythm are remarkable. Don't sleep on this heater.

Math Rock | falkor | Covete

Seven and a half minutes of bliss. A journey with no fewer than five acoustic biomes, the beauty here is in the ease of transition, repeated riffing, and melodic motifs. Throughout it all, though, is the uncompromisingly cerebral rhythm.

Yvette Young formed Covet after years of playing on her own and it seems she's found the perfect band mates. I, along with everyone else in the YouTube comments, certainly can't get enough of the happiest drummer of all time.

I highly encourage you to check out the video. It's one thing to year Young's mastery, but entirely another to watch.

Indie | Kill Your Local Indie Softboy | Izzy Camina

Izzy Camina is here to take on the softboy, which is described on Urban Dictionary as:

Similar to a fuckboy but without the cocky attitude. The Softboy will butter a girl up by appealing to her emotions and showing a "sensitive" side long enough for her to sleep with him, whether or not he actually cares about her or not. Then, like the fuckboy, he can't/won't commit. Differs from the fuckboy because he goes for the heart and emotions rather than just the body.

The first time I listened to this track after Lily sent it to me, I laughed several times. I think you might, too.

Of course, don’t forget to reply with what you liked, didn’t like, and what you’ve been listening to.

And, as always, this week’s tracks are added to the collectors for all weeks' tracks on Spotify and Apple Music.

Cheers,
Tanner