Essential Listening: New music releases in July 2023 (week 4)

The best new house, techno, drum and bass, jungle, indie, alternative, hip-hop, and jazz music.

Skiddle Staff

Last updated: 26th Jul 2023

July is nearly over. But it's been a pretty good month for music so far!

We've got new albums from Blur, JPEG & Danny Brown, Nas, Taylor Swift, PJ Harvey, Paris Texas (one of our Future Headliners), and Little Dragon, to name a few.

So there’s loads of good new tunes out there for you to discover! But to make it a little easier, as with every week, we’re back with Essential Listening to help you find your next favourite tune.

In the playlists this week, we’ve got new music from Ewan McVicar, Bob Vylan, Bladerunner, beabadoobee, Slowdive, and more. Check out the playlists below and give them a follow to hear the best new music released each week.

Essential Listening: House and Techno

Groove Thang - Ewan McVicar

Ewan McVicar has dropped a vocal house track we’re sure will be inescapable on the dancefloor.

Following the huge success of his first festival, Pavilion (check out our Pavilion mini-doc on YouTube), the Ayr DJ and producer released this banger that emulates that 90s rave scene.

Many house tracks have a tendency to remain at the same tempo, sometimes becoming repetitive, so we have to give him props for the tempo changes towards the end of the track, which just revitalises the whole thing.

He’s apparently got an album in the works, which we’re obviously buzzing for. Especially if this is on it!

Get tickets to see Ewan McVicar live here:

WHP23 - Welcome to The Warehouse (w/ Ewan McVicar) | Saturday 30th September 2023 | Depot (Mayfield) in Manchester

Buy tickets:

Essential Listening: Indie and Alternative

Dream Big - Bob Vylan

The righteously angry independent punk duo Bob Vylan are back with another killer track to encourage working-class people to keep dreaming big.

Dream Big is about how working-class people don't have the luxury of thinking about achieving their dreams, focusing instead on staying alive and making enough money to put food on the table. The lyrics and video detail their journey from being kids and struggling with money to their first gig to winning MOBO awards and performing at some of the biggest festivals in the world.

Inspiring but still incredibly Bob Vylan, the lads have dropped another banger. But we aren’t really surprised at this point. They never miss.

Get tickets to see Bob Vylan live here:

Bob Vylan + Special Guests | Wednesday 22nd November 2023 | Engine Rooms in Southampton

Buy tickets:

Essential Listening: Drum & Bass and Jungle

Keep Breathing - Bladerunner x Gemma Rose

Incredible drum and bass producer/DJ Bladerunner dropped this floaty track with Gemma Rose providing silky smooth vocals.

Visuals for this one match perfectly as the track sounds like you’ve been plunged underwater. Lowkey at first, the track swells into an arpeggiated, bass-heavy rave anthem.

Sure to be lethal on any dancefloor, the track arrives at the perfect time as Bladerunner has a fair few events coming up including ones in Sheffield, London, Reading, Bristol, Manchester, Cardiff, and Cambridgeshire.

Get tickets to see Bladerunner live here:

WHP23 - Worried About Henry x Metropolis | Saturday 23rd September 2023 | Depot (Mayfield) in Manchester

Buy tickets:

Essential Listening: Hip-Hop and Jazz

Office Hours - Nas ft. 50 Cent

Icon Nas dropped his new album Magic 2 on the 21st of July with Office Hours featuring 50 Cent. All we’re thinking is, “when’s the collab album dropping?”

“Hip-hop’s back!” Nas declares before launching into a smooth but furious verse. This one has a 90s/00s vibe to it, radiating mainly from the instrumental but also from the two New York rappers who were, of course, all the rage in that era. 50’s verse is incredible too, even if it is a little on the short side.

The track beautifully samples The Dells’ Love Is Blue (I Can Sing A Rainbow), a soul tune released in 1969. Just a little trivia for you there!

Love old school hip-hop? You might like...

An Outdoor Orchestral Rendition of Dr Dre: 2001 | Saturday 5th August 2023 | Social Beats Lye in Stourbridge

This event has been cancelled
Due to technical issues, we are unfortunately unable to go ahead with the orchestral rendition of Dr

An Outdoor Orchestral Rendition of Dr Dre: 2001 | Friday 18th August 2023 | Newark Showground in Newark

Buy tickets:

Follow our Essential Listening playlists featured above to discover the best new tracks released each week, as curated by the Skiddle team.

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.