Tribes member Kathryn shares her favourite music moments from 2015…

 

About 6 months ago me and some of my pals took over the running of the Leeds Union Music Library (UML). It’s been really cool and as a result of this I’ve been exposed to loads of different kinds of music, am currently learning how to DJ and have helped run a radio show. UML has been a really big part of my 2015 and I would thoroughly recommend anyone in the Leeds area checks it out. This is the website if anyone wants a bit more info on thathttps://leedsuml.wordpress.com/about/ but I thought rather than me just gushing about how much I like it, I would tell you guys a bit about some of my fav releases of 2015!! So in no particular order:

Kelela – Hallucinogen

I am a super big fan of everything Kelela puts out she’s one of my favourite artists atm and I’m very excited for what 2016 brings. Kelela does a really good job of layering really soulful R’n’B vocals over modern, innovative beats. Almost all of Kelela’s work so far seems to be about romantic/sexual relationships and all the different facets of that, which sounds like it would get old but she somehow takes completely new angles on this often covered topic. On Christmas day she released a remix album of this EP which is also worth checking out!

FKA twigs – M3LL15X

Everyone must know FKA by now, she’s one of the biggest names in music at the moment & has had a huge year (also engaged to R Patz but let’s ignore that for a bit). This EP was put out in summer and I really like the development she’s gone through since her debut album. This EP has a lot more bite and is much more aggressive than her previous work, which is a welcome development. The vocals are pushed to the forefront and are much stronger than previously.

This EP has an accompanying video which is v cool but also somewhat disturbing (TW for the video tbh), showed my mum some of it and she was horrified.

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly

Maybe my favourite album in a long time. Kendrick primarily tackles the issues of racial injustice and police brutality and the growing tension in relation to this. We also see him struggle with an identity crisis throughout the narrative, perhaps due to his growing profile in this deeply flawed climate.

Described as “the music worlds conscience” and widely regarded as the best album of 2015.

Carly Rae Jepson – Emotion

This is just super fun. Anyone who hates on this album hates fun. Boy Problems is my fav track on this album I think. Also honourable mention to her cover of Last Christmas which is far superior to Wham’s.

Thanks for reading!