New Music Friday: Tanika Charles, Gigi Perez and More
Each week, Babylon Radio brings you a handpicked selection of five songs, spotlighting standout tracks from new and upcoming albums, overlooked gems, and fresh singles. Expect a wide range of sounds from around the world and across genres, with a special focus on unique artistry and multicultural collaborations. This week’s roundup includes Toronto Soul sensation Tanika Charles, Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gigi Perez, and more.
Angel Bat Dawid & Naima Nefertari, Journey to Nabta Playa (Spiritmuse)
Release date: May 2
Journey to Nabta Playa is a new collaborative album by composer and multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid and multidisciplinary artist Naima Nefertari. Rooted in themes of memory, mythology, and ancestral science, the album draws inspiration from the ancient astrological stone circle of Nabta Playa in the Nubian desert, and was recorded between Dawid’s home base in Chicago and Nefertari’s family home in Tågarp Schoolhouse, Sweden. Blending free jazz, celestial electronics, ancestral instruments, and storytelling, Journey to Nabta Playa follows a cosmic narrative arts, with highlights including a rare Don Cherry composition titled “Bishmillah” and a previously unreleased string quartet by David Ornette Cherry, arranged and recorded with an ensemble of BIPOC string players in Chicago.
BADBADNOTGOOD feat. V.C.R., “Found a Light (Beale Street)” (XL)
Release date: April 29
Acclaimed Canadian instrumental trio BADBADNOTGOOD team up with singer, songwriter, and composer V.C.R. on a new funky and energetic jazz single, “Found A Light (Beale Street),” accompanied by a studio video that you can watch via the player below. Reflecting on the single, V.C.R. says via an official statement that the song is “a love letter to the sounds of the South and the sacred art of collective resilience. It calls back to a time when Black communities turned Beale Street into a sanctuary, a place to find freedom, purpose, and light amidst the harshest of shadows.” “Found a Light (Beale Street)” is the latest in a series of vocal-led collaborations by BADBADNOTGOOD, and also follows the trio’s recent Mid Spiral suite.
Car Seat Headrest, The Scholars (Matador)
Release date: May 2
Car Seat Headrest return with The Scholars, which marks their first studio album in five years and a new chapter for the once-solo project turned cohesive four-piece. The LP reflects a more collaborative dynamic within the band, with lyrical structure and literary ambition, as well as emotionally resonant songwriting. Frontman Will Toledo describes The Scholars as a rock opera influenced by everything from Shakespeare and Mozart to The Who’s Tommy and David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. “Each song can be a character,” he says via an official statement, “coming out on centre stage with their song and dance.”
Gigi Perez, At the Beach, In Every Life (Island)
Release date: April 25
Cuban-American singer, songwriter, and producer Gigi Perez has released At the Beach, In Every Life. Recorded and executive produced by Perez with collaborators Noah Weinman and Aidan Hobbs, the LP is a heartfelt exploration of grief, love, faith, and healing. Central to the album is the memory of Perez’s late sister Celene, whose voice memos are woven throughout as a unifying thread. “This is the album I needed to hear when I was 20 years old following the passing of my older sister, Celene,” states Perez in an official press release. “It’s taken years to process, and seeing how it’s colored everything in my life, it feels like a flag down in the sane at a checkpoint rather than a destination.”
Tanika Charles, Reasons to Stay (Record Kicks)
Release date: May 16
Toronto soul sensation Tanika Charles has unveiled her new single, “Talk to Me Nice,” from her forthcoming album, Reasons to Stay. Charles defines the song, produced by Scott McCannell and mixed by Kelly Finnigan of Monophonics, as “an intimate, solely verbal, conversation” via an official statement. The track is accompanied by a video directed by Taha Muharama, which you can watch via the player below. Reasons To Stay is due out May 16 on independent label Record Kicks and is described via an official press release as a collection of intimate letters to members of Tanika’s family, to herself, and to the listener.
