Essential Listening: New music releases in January 2023 (Updated)

January has spoiled us with some fire new records, the best of which are available to listen back to now in our weekly-updated Essential Listening playlist. And this week's top picks feature much more of the same. 

Rounding out the final full week of January 2023, this week's selections see no let up in quality with extolled releases coming from innovating names the likes of techno brothers Tessela and Truss AKA Overmono, indie-psych duo Jadu Heart, and left-field pop creator, Yaeji.

Mercury-prize award winner Arlo Parks also makes the cut, making her long-anticipated return with her latest single 'Weightless', whilst Colombian-born songbird Kali Uchis gives us a glimpse of things to come this year with new single 'I Wish You Roses', her first release since 2020 album, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios).

Keep reading below to discover more about the tracks recently added to our Essential Listening playlist and head to the bottom of the page to listen in full to the best releases of January 2023 thus far. 

Overmono - Is U

Electronic music duo, Tom and Ed Russell of Overmono cemented themselves as a prominent act in dance in 2022 with some outstanding techno-inspired club tracks, and it seems that trend is set to continue long into 2023. 

Issuing their first single of the year, taken from their debut album, Good Lies, 'Is U' is yet another crowd-commanding banger. Underlined by a seismic bassline and with breakbeat rhythms and more modulated vocal samples, the likes of which can be heard on huge previous releases such as 'Gunk' and 'So U Kno', the record displays the prowess of the pair in the studio and further adds to their inimitable sound. 

Expect to hear this track in clubs and at festivals right across the UK and beyond this year.

Find tickets to see Overmono live this year in Dundee, Aberdeen, Portsmouth and Cardiff by clicking or tapping here

Yaeji - For Granted

Brooklyn-based Korean-born crossover talent, Yaeji had heads spinning the world over when she arrived on the scene back in 2017. Fusing elements of deep house and hip-hop, her first-ever EP release, EP2, saw tribes from different spectrums of the genre-sphere coming together on the dancefloor, vibing to the lofi euphoric club sound and transitional rap linguistics heard on tracks such as 'Raingurl'.

Returning with a brand new concept this month, her latest effort 'For Granted' leans more into the hip-hop side of her previous releases with an unexpected evolution into something which resembles more closely drum n bass. Lyrically, the track incorporates more of Yaeji's customary nonchalant vocal style and retrospectively looks back on her meteoric rise to fame in the years since EP2.

Check out the trippy video for the track above which sees Yaeji smashing up what looks to be a reimagining of her bedroom with a fairly sizeable sledgehammer. 

Arlo Parks - Weightless

For an artist, following on from the success of winning a Mercury-prize award has to be a daunting task. But if there's one name of recent times who we believe has the gift to achieve much more, it's Arlo Parks.

Scooping the coveted award for Collapsed in Sunbeams back in 2021, she then disappeared into the ether as if a spirit from the heavens whose sole purpose was to share with us just how exquisite music could be. But now, very thankfully, she has returned to earth, and with a brand new single to bestow on us all. 

Just as you'd expect, 'Weightless' is as beautifully complex as her previous works. Detailing relationship woes, it's an emotive account of a failing love affair that exhibits Park's lyrical maturity beyond her years with a stunning lofi musical backing to boot. Easy listening at its finest, 'Weightless', we expect, will be on many music lovers' playlists for months to come.

Kali Uchis - I Wish You Roses

Another new track expressing feelings of love, Kali Uchis' latest single 'I Wish You Roses' is centred around letting go of the animosity felt towards others following a breakdown in a relationship. 

As explained by Uchis herself, the song is about "being able to release people with love. It could be a friend, a lover, or someone else, but the point is to celebrate releasing people from your life without being resentful or bitter.”

The American singer-songwriter, who's recently been announced to perform at Coachella this April, has been teasing new material as of late, including 'No Hay Ley', released last year, which shows a new side to the artist never previously seen or heard before. Looking to reinvent both her image and sound in 2023, we should all expect the unexpected from one of the most intriguing names in R&B this year.

Check out the visually stunning video for 'I Wish You Roses' above.

Listen to the best new releases of January 2023 in our Essential Listening playlist, below. Be sure to follow the playlist for your regular fix of new music each and every week.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

Image credits: Overmono / Facebook.com