Astralwerks and Blue Note Records have partnered with Spotify to release Bluewerks: Spotify Singles, the seventh installment of the iconic labels’ collaborative Lo-Fi series where downtempo electronica meets jazz-infused sounds. Bluewerks has amassed more than 25 million streams on Spotify since its launch last year, and this new EP saw four different artists—Arbour, Oatmello, Shrimpnose, and Somni—step into Spotify Studios in Los Angeles to create a brand new original as well as a Lo-Fi cover of songs from the Astralwerks and Blue Note catalogs.
The calming collection is released in connection with Spotify’s Mental Health Awareness initiative and the tracks are currently featured on their LoFi Beats playlist. Driving more than five billion streams since the program began in 2017, Spotify Singles was created to give artists an opportunity to record new versions of their own songs, the songs of the artists they love, or an original song. To date, there have been over 600 recordings from more than 300 artists across all genres. The complete list of Spotify Singles can be found here.
The tracklisting for Bluewerks: Spotify Singles is as follows:
1. Arbour – it rains all day
2. Arbour – Starless II (Craig Armstrong cover)
3. Oatmello – I am Loving
4. Oatmello – Cantaloupe Island (Herbie Hancock cover)
5. Shrimpnose – Sightseeing
6. Shrimpnose – By This River (Brian Eno cover)
7. Somni – Envy
8. Somni – Hybrid Moments (Misfits cover)
OATMELLO
“During this month, perhaps we can remember that all of us have struggled with our own personal challenges during our lives and to have compassion and care for those around us who are currently in the process of overcoming. It would be wonderful if we could approach mental health in the same way we do other health related issues and pay the same attention to our inner world as we do to our outer world without judgement. For me writing music is a release and contemplative state that centers me and brings me joy and fulfillment. It's been a wonderful place for me to go whenever I've been caught up in life's troubles and need to let go.”
SOMNI
“I think for me, making music can be really therapeutic and cathartic, and when I put my emotions into my music it helps me let go of them a little bit in my mind, it’s a release. Almost like you’re dealing with them in some tangible way, putting them out on the table, and as a result you’re able to let go of some of that energy that you had inside you. The process can also be super meditative, and some of the only times I’ve forgotten about my anxieties and the pressures of life are when I’m in that tunnelvision state. I think a lot of musicians and artists feel the same way about the process, that’s why art and creativity in any form is such an important thing.”
SHRIMPNOSE
“Creating music has always been the best way for me to convey how I’m feeling. I have a stutter that makes verbal communication difficult, so music has felt like a language in which I’m much more comfortable speaking. I hope that my music can help people communicate and recognize their feelings effectively. There’s a certain intangible gap in life that only art can fulfill to help us understand how we’re feeling. Helping even one person get more in touch with themselves is an immense privilege that I’m grateful for.”
ARBOUR
"Writing music has always been something of a journal for me. I write music to record my thoughts, feelings, and memories. It’s how I connect the world inside me to the rest of the world and how I’ve met friends and that’s always been the main reason I continue to make music. ‘It rains all day’ captures this hopeful melancholy that’s pervasive in the songs I make. When I write my goal is to stay out of my own way as much as possible when it comes to expressing myself. I just try to have compassion for whatever comes out when I write. I went into the studio that day without any plans about what I was going to make and this song is what came out.”