Essential Listening: The best new music releases in September 2023 (week 3)
The best new music of September 2023 with playlists for DnB and jungle, house and techno, indie and alt, and jazzy hip-hop.
Date published: 18th Sep 2023
Hello, hi, can we have your attention, please? Some of the best new music releases in September 2023 just dropped!
This week on Essential Listening, we’ve got new tracks from Mitski (with that stunning new album, it’s her month), GHSTGHSTGHST, Sufjan Stevens, Earl Sweatshirt, Cleo Sol, Doja Cat, Kings of the Rollers, Dombresky, Nas, Snail Mail, Teddy Killerz, Lime Garden, and more.
Have a listen to the best new music of September 2023 below, follow the playlists that suit your vibe, and secure tickets to see these artists below.
Essential Listening: House and Techno
What You Need - Floorplan
Doused in funk, disco, gospel, and pure positivity, Floorplan’s new belter is what you need to brighten a bad day.
In a sea of DJs and producers, Floorplan is the duo that effortlessly stands out from the rest with their gospel-influenced, feel-good house sound. Using samples from Aretha Franklin’s vocally powerful track Respect, the track weaves in funky, slapped basslines, lively horns, and heavenly strings lifted from funk and disco, while maintaining a modern sound.
Wonderfully produced and blissful, this one will be unreal under the strobes, lasers, and lights of any party.
Get tickets to see Floorplan live here:
Essential Listening: Indie and Alternative
Love Song - Lime Garden
Warning for pretty gross visuals in the music video - proceed with caution.
Brighton’s four-piece indie rockers Lime Garden are back with another, as they put it, “wonk pop” track taken from their upcoming debut album One More Thing which arrives on the 16th of February.
Between the earworm melodies, snakey electric lead guitars, and stand-out lyrics, Love Song is a cracking effort from the band that continues to release brilliant indie tunes.
Named one of NME's top 100 artists in 2022 and having performed with IDLES and Yard Act, secure tickets for their upcoming gigs below to see what they’re all about.
Get tickets to see Lime Garden live here:
Lime Garden | Friday 13th October 2023 | Bootleg Social in Blackpool
Lime Garden | Monday 4th March 2024 | Hare And Hounds Kings Heath in Birmingham
Lime Garden | Tuesday 27th February 2024 | YES Pink Room in Manchester
Essential Listening: Drum & Bass and Jungle
Liquor & Cigarettes - Chase & Status, Hedex, ArrDee
Following up on the belter that is Baddadan, Chase & Status have linked up with yet another huge name in DnB, Hedex, and rapper ArrDee for a darker, heavier track.
With some serious pace, wobbly basslines, and huge filthy stabs before the drop, they’ve done it again. Can these lads make a bad tune? It doesn’t seem like it. And with ArrDee’s simple but catchy lyrics, we doubt there’ll be a single person at their sets that doesn’t compulsively join in for the “yeah”s.
A hard, pure party anthem, this one’s going to be insane live and we can’t wait.
Get tickets to see Chase & Status live here:
Worried About Henry presents Chase & Status | Friday 29th September 2023 | O2 Academy in Leeds
Essential Listening: Hip-Hop and Jazz
Balut - Doja Cat
With a really chill instrumental that nods to those old-school hip-hop synth sounds, Doja Cat’s smooth, lazy delivery on this track makes it, in our opinion, the best track she’s released from this upcoming album so far.
A vibe we weren’t quite expecting, this style suits her slightly raspy voice so well. Demonstrating she can do pop bangers as well as low-key jazzy hip-hop, as much as we love her pop classics, she fits this sound like a glove.
If there’s more of this type of track on the album, we need it now.
Love hip-hop? You might like…
Verbz | Friday 10th November 2023 | The Jago in London
Verb T | Friday 17th November 2023 | The Blues Kitchen in Manchester
Rakim | Wednesday 15th May 2024 | O2 Ritz in Manchester
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.
Header image credit: Mitski / Facebook.com