Category: alex’s analysis
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Summer of funk: five groovy albums to keep in your rotation this summer
Now that Summer has finally arrived, Alex Walden has been on a deep dive in an attempt to collate his summer playlist. While the process remains unfinished, Alex has found five albums that he deems to be essential listens this summer.
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Dark matter: why the Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ is much more than a song
Metallica’s divisive ‘Nothing Else Matters’ was an unlikely hit for the famed metal band back in 1992. With its lovelorn vocals and unusual slow tempo for a notoriously thrashy quartet, its power still resonates with fans today, writes Alex Walden.
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Nujabes: The growing legacy of the ‘Godfather of Lo-fi’
A favourite for hardworking students the world over, the relaxing tones of lo-fi hip hop make it a hidden giant of the music industry. Alex Walden traces the origins of the genre through its underappreciated founding father Nujabes and gets to the bottom of the unlikely link with anime.
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Hideki Naganuma’s Jet Set Radio: how a video game helped birth a musical generation
Jet Set Radio was once long forgotten, but following recent news that the game could possibly be making a return, Alex Walden is here to analyse the musical side of the game and the soundtrack’s cultural significance.
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Not just background music: the art of the soundtrack
How exactly does the art of music-making change when it becomes a small part of a much larger video game or feature film? And what makes the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse so remarkable? Alex Walden is on hand to reveal all.
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Undertone’s artists to watch for 2022
It’s been a great year here on Undertone. Now that 2021’s recaps are all complete, Alex Walden is here to guide us through the artists ready to take 2022 by storm.
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Is Doctor Destruction hip hop’s new MF DOOM?
Mystery artist Doctor Destruction shocked fans with his ambitious intergalactic concept album Planetory Destruction in January. But what’s the connection to late rap legend MF DOOM? And is it all just Logic in disguise? Alex Walden investigates.
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The importance of IGOR
This week Undertone invites special guest and music lover Alex Walden for a look into what makes Tyler, the Creator’s critically acclaimed 2019 album IGOR so special.
Undertone 