Slum Sociable

Today, genre hybrids are of the norm purely because they have to be. Artists are progressing and coming up with creative and innovative ways to blend sounds, and how we describe their music has to reflect their careful evolution. I mean, to call what Grimes does just “pop” or just “electronic” feels rather lacking, no?

Slum Sociable are a self-described “jazz-hop” duo whose music is, well, just that: a shimmering mix of jazz and sample heavy electronica. After racking up some buzz with their first single, “Anyway,” the Melbourne twosome are back with a new and equally enjoyable offering, “All Night.”

The track is included in their upcoming EP, TQ, which will be released on October 9th via Liberation - Pigeons & Planes

Melbourne duo Slum Sociable make their debut with “Anyway”, premiering today on Best Fit.

From those first glitchy harp notes, “Anyway” seems to exist in some slinky, amorphous otherworld. The sound seems to get bigger, dreamier with every bar, adding understated yet overwhelming flourishes along the way—see, for example, the choir of vocals that take each chorus to its deserving apex. Underneath it all, fans of Thievery Corporation may find themselves falling in love with the dub-influenced bass line that keeps everything “trucking along” while reaching near-trunk-rattling status.

The duo says: "'Anyway' just kind of trucks along at its own pace, which is similar to the writing process, and even more so with the way we were living at the time we made it. Maybe that's why our friend Molerat likes it. Or maybe he just likes a harp hangin' loose over a groove? Who knows with Molerat." - The Line Of Best Fit

If you’ve ever needed new music in your life that just hits the spot and defies any potential description you feel like you have to give it, you’ll be pleased to find Melbourne duo Slum Sociable’s absolutely superb debut track, “Anyway”, here.

As we alluded to above, there’s really no way to go about accurately articulating the track, and indeed, what Edward Quinn and Miller Upchurch (Slum Sociable) have concocted is like no cohesive unit of sound any of us have heard before. “Anyway” is part hip-hop with its drums, part lo-fi with its vocals, and part psychedelic with its reverb and delay, and what other electronic accents appear throughout (namely, its gorgeous strings) really put it over the top in a greatly positive way.

We really think “Anyway” is a gem of a track (couldn’t you tell?), and quite frankly, we’re very excited about this band now and obviously in the future, too. Check out their debut track immediately below, and be sure to share it with all music folks you think will love it. - Hilly Dilly

It’s the magnetism that brings us here. That endless search for the next song/album/artist to suddenly hold us in a moment, spinning the day in directions that didn’t previously exist. Many get close, most close enough to at least remind us of the thrill of the chase, satisfaction to last until the next. But then there are moments when we strike gold; lifted out of repetitive mundanity by the simple power of the unique.

Slum Sociable are a new duo from Melbourne and ‘Anyway‘ is their first official single. Those right there are the facts; but it’s the flip-side where the magic happens; the immeasurable, limitless depth of enchantment that shimmers somewhere inside of their three-minute introduction.

Imbuing the moment with a sense of eerie displacement, the production is notably smooth, stark piano drifting along amid an elegant shuffle of percussion – but it’s the way that vocal suddenly bursts through that most captivates. Seemingly hovering in from somewhere completely indistinct, it brings a radiant glow to the track that feels both beautifully instinctive and instantly enigmatic, creating the kind of foundation that appears unshakable. It’s what brings us here. - Gold Flake Paint

Slum Sociable is a name you should commit to memory: they tell us this is their first official show and then they go ahead and kill it. The theatre they occupy is a throwback to the space the upstairs of The Forum provided two years ago; it’s a respite from the sun and a rare spot to rest your feet and immerse yourself in an audio-visual experience. With 150 people maxing out the room and the queue to get inside growing, Slum Sociable use atmospheric synths and off-key pianos to create some arresting, left-of-centre pop music most akin to Spoon. And I love a band that knows the strength of a tambourine. - Mess & Noise