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At some point in your extended lifetime as a music blog, you think you have heard it all, you are Neo in the Matrix, you know what’s coming next. And then boom a group like YĪN YĪN came along, in 2019, by way of Maastricht in the Netherlands, and challenge your very point of view, showing you how little and small your perceived window into the world really is.

The quartet produces a wild and juicy mix of all sorts of influences across the globe, from Japanese folk to Indonesian psychedelic, East African percussion and Tuareg guitars. They pick up whatever they can use, and prism it together into a fresh, new chunk of original sounds. YĪN YĪN just released their brilliant third studio album Mount Matsu and are currently touring the most relevant parts of Europe.

This week they pass through Germany, playing Leipzig on Tuesday March 12, Berlin on Wednesday March 13, Hamburg on Thursday March 14 before closing it all in Cologne (15) and Mannheim (16). Attached below is the phenomenal single Tokyo Disko. The album Mount Matsu is out on Glitterbeat Records, now.

Title photo by Jonas Loelmann, and Jonas Loelmann only.

In the early days of this website, chillwave was the genre of the moment and a co-founder and master of this movement is Brothertiger right here. With more than a decade of musical production experience under his drum pads and a Team Poule supporter from day one, it is great to learn that he and the fine folks over at Bandwerk Music have strung together an impressive line of shows in the UK and EU, starting at the end of January.

Brothertiger released a fine self-titled album at the end of 2022 that sounds both 2009 and 2024 at the same time. A smooth, timeless piece of recording that connects both old and new. Find the marvellous track Arizona attached below.

The tour will kick off in Edinburgh as he starts to make his way through London, Paris, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Berlin and many many more. Find all dates, nicely listed in order of appearance, here.

The unstoppable growth of streaming services continues to put the beloved music release format of the album at risk of extinction. And maybe it’s time to re-think what a collection of songs can be or want to be or who actually wants to listen to a full album, from first to last song. But quoting the genius who is Rick Rubin: the audience comes last. And so we here at Poule headquarters keep staying true to ourselves in celebrating those artists with a desire to release a coherent collection of songs, with a particular track listing and arch – thereby finding their audience in Team Poule.

The popular year-end lists of 2023 included a lot of new favorites, from Lana del Rey, El Michels Affair & Black Thought, Youth Lagoon, Sufjan Stevens, Sofia Kourtesis, Animal Collective, PAINT, the road trip album by billy woods / Kenny Segal, Nourished by Time‘s great debut, and of course that Andre 3000 record we did not know we needed, same goes for Fontaines DC’s Grian Chatten‘s solo debut.

There were still a few more records that did not make the great best-of-lists elsewhere that still deserve a shout as they left a lasting impression and change of perspective on our 2023 and will surely continue to shine. In no particular order:

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Rising suns Willow Parlo play an enticing modern mix of indie pop with Mediterranean verve and grandesse. Contrary to what their press shot want to make believe, they are actually a quartet and now ready to share their debut EP, assertively titled See U Whenever, soundtracking the corniches of this part of the globe.

They will be celebrating the release in a one-off night at Hamburg’s Molotow Skybar, on Dec 15th. And reading this, you are again in luck because we got our little hands on 2×2 tickets for the almost sold out occasion – all you need to do to win a pair of those, is send an email stating your name to win-big@pouledor.com before Wednesday, Dec 13, 12 pm CET sharp. The winners will be drawn at random and be notified immediately.

Now, attached below, find their latest pounding single My Father’s Eyes.

Resavoir is the creative well of Chicago based producer, trained jazz trumpeter and member of Smith Western / Unknown Mortal Orchestra adjacent power band Whitney Will Miller, pictured above, cooling off in the shade. His music neatly combines the ease of a jazz record with the catchy melodies of a pop music production. On his second and somewhat confusingly yet again self-titled album, he creates a magnificent soundscape with the help of a whole range of guests, including but not limited to guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Matt Gold, Lane Beckstrom and Macie Stewart (famously of Chicago’s Kids These Days – these days being more than a decade ago at pixel time), Chicago’s hardest working drummer Eddie Burns as well as Brooklyn’s hardest working drummer Peter Manheim.

Deeply rooted in the ideas of collaboration and the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the ensemble aristotles their way across eleven songs, taking you on a sonic journey and dropping you off in a better place. Resavoir (the man) alongside his group of friends will be playing Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, on Friday, Dec 1st on a double bill with Makaya McCraven, before heading back to Chicago to play Constellation on Saturday, Dec 9.

Meanwhile, Resavoir (the album, #2) is out worldwide via International Anthem, now. Find the crips Inside Minds attached below at your convenience.

Title photo by Alexa Viscius and Alexa Viscius only.