Hello music lovers! πΆ
It's Friday, time for some new music to listen to over the weekend and beyond! 2026 has already started, there's a lot going on, the world is changing, and so are we. But no one can take our music away, right?
I invite you to explore a selection of fresh tunes, second this year. Discover cool new music vibes and styles, and be enchanted by soundscapes from all over the globe.
Is there even a future global hit among them? π€π€
You won't know until you listen :)
Eight songs of different genres and styles for curious music lovers! And if you like something, you can dig deeper into musical treasures to find more detailed info.
If you don't like, skip it.
Music4life!
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BIG SPECIAL - SLUGLIFE
Big Special, an English duo from Birmingham, has been performing since 2022. Their raw mix of protest, punk energy, electronica, and blues has not gone unnoticed. Quickly, after just a few singles and two albums, they are at the top of the music charts and streaming services.
Now, apparently, for the third time in #newtunes.
Last week's excellent new single Sluglife is a short, punchy song about slow living, self-hate, and the need to slow down in difficult times.
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Stara Rzeka - Bezdomne ognie
Stara Rzeka is a project by Polish musician Jakub ZioΕek from Bydgoszcz, a guitarist and composer who revived it after a decade. He also plays with other bands, including Alameda, Innercity Ensemble, T'ien Lai, and Kapital.
His music combines a wide range of influences, from Polish folk, drone, psychedelia, electronica, and post-industrial. At the end of December last year, he released his third album, WynoΕ siΔ z mojego domu (or Get Out of My House in English), in which he turns to a cleaner sound of avant-folk and art rock.
The song Brezdomne ognie (Homeless Fires) is melancholic and balladic, speaking of loss, decay, and external and internal alienation.
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Dry Cleaning - Blood
Dry Cleaning is an English post-punk band from London, present on the music scene since 2017. During this time, they have released several EPs and three albums, the latest of which, Secret Love, came out last week.
They are known for their distinctive sound, mainly due to their spoken-word vocals with strange, surrealistic lyrics, and at first glance, it all sounds very monotonous. However, as is typical of top-notch bands, each of their songs is lyrically, rhythmically, and melodically thoughtful and deepened by top-notch production.
The song Blood is a contemplation on our emotional numbness, where images of brutality and violence are just another part of the media landscape that we consume, deadly and coldly.
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Nusantara Beat - Tamat
Nusantara Beat is a new name for me. A very fresh and interesting band from Amsterdam. All the musicians have Indonesian roots, and they started in 2021 during lockdown because of their shared Indonesian heritage and curiosity about their roots. So far, they have released one studio album, Nusantara Beat, at the end of November last year. Their music is a unique fusion of traditional Indonesian rhythms, psychedelic 70s groove, and surf rock.
They are currently performing mainly in Europe, and music critics predict that this year will be their year. I would love to go and see them live somewhere.
The song Tamat is from their first album.
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Stice - Tell Me Why
Stice is an American duo from Brooklyn that has been around since 2018. So far, they have released several singles, EPs, and three albums. They remain underground, with a humorous and chaotic approach to music, mixing no-wave, bedroom pop, noise, and absurd lyrics.
A new name for me, the song 'Tell Me Why' is from their latest album, Thirteen Tales of Depravity, released in early January. Digital hardcore.
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Zu - Kether
Zu is an Italian trio from Ostia, near Rome. They have been performing since 1997 and have released 15 studio albums and a couple of live albums. The trio (saxophone, drums, and bass) is distinctly experimental, and musically ranges from avant-garde jazz to noise rock and industrial metal.
They are often described as "jazz for metalheads" or "metal for jazz fans," meaning their music is neither one nor the other, but both. Their latest album, Ferrum Sidereum, released seven days ago, is already being hailed by music critics as the album of the year, even though we are only in mid-January. I like it too, but I would wait before calling it the album of the year...
The song Kether is distinctly Kabbalistic, with the name symbolizing the purest spiritual energy. I hear Tool and John Zorn in it, and I recommend the whole album.
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Kim Gordon - Not Today
Kim Gordon, icon, bassist, and singer of the legendary Sonic Youth, is still musically active at 72 and has announced her sixth studio album, Play Me, which will be released in March this year, with the first single Not Today. The previous album, The Collective, released in 2024, was exceptional, and we will see what this one brings.
This introductory song is a little softer than previous releases, a kind of sonic dream pop.
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Grateful Dead - Me and My Uncle
Another exceptional musician has passed away!
A few days ago, I read the sad news that Bob Weir, founding member, singer, and rhythm guitarist of the Grateful Dead, had passed away. For me, they are one of the best bands ever. Much has been said and written about him and the band, and they have created a vast amount of music. In addition to their official albums, you can find over 18,000 high-quality audio recordings of their live performances at Archive.org, which are freely available to everyone.
The song Me and My Uncle is not his (John Phillips - Mamas And Papas from 1964), but Bob Weir made it immortal by singing it at more than 600 concerts.
This recording is from 1986 at the Hampton Coliseum.
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πΆ That should be all for today, thanks for your attention, and enjoy your weekend with new songs!
If you're interested in #newtunes suggestions from the past six years, you can listen to them at these links - there are Spotify playlists for each year:
@seckorama/new-tunes-2019
@seckorama/new-tunes-2020
@seckorama/new-tunes-2021
@seckorama/new-tunes-2022
@seckorama/new-tunes-2023
@seckorama/new-tunes-2024
@seckorama/new-tunes-2025
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Curious about rare and alternative live performances?
Check out my recordings on the 3speak video channel,
or take a look at my #threetunetuesday posts.
@seckorama/three-tune-tuesday-forever
If you like jazz, I recommend Jazz-Matinee, a blog by 
@w74/jazz-matinee-music-should-be
The main image was created by me (from screenshots of video frames) and edited in Photoshop.
Support and vote for those exceptional witnesses:
@good-karma, @liotes, @fbslo, @detlev.witness, and @stresskiller. They appreciate any help you can provide.
Listen loud!
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