Earlier this week, we alerted you to the forthcoming Fresh Touch track set to include contributions from Blur/Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn, Franz Ferdinand’s charismatic singer Alex Kapranos, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitar-slayer Nick Zinner, and the bass god Flea. That song, called “Latest Style” is now streaming below and it is immensely disappointing. None of those able men do any of the things that they’re famous for, instead turning in what sounds like a pretty cool field recording from an African village. There’s a whole lot of percussion, some stringed tinkering, a little bit of electronic buzz, some melodic lines, and the charming warbles of the Shiromeda Polyphonic Singers. To be clear, it’s a lovely little tune, but it hardly lives up to the promise of its contributors.
The good news: If you’re not that into the thing, there are 10 songs total in the Vinyl for Syria compilation, whose 12-inch singles are being sold at the London Independent Label Market this weekend (and on eBay) in order to benefit Oxfam’s efforts in that titular war-torn nation. In addition to “Latest Style” (which is credited to XL Recordings-affiliated production duo Fresh Touch), there are exclusive entries from Beth Gibbons, Tim Burgess, Loefah, Planningtorock, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Editors, and J£ZUS MILLION featuring Charli XCX, among others. Dig into the stream below, courtesy of The Guardian. The Independent Label Market takes place on Saturday (July 13) at Old Spitalfields Market.
