Swedish producer, DJ, and vocalist Oli XL brings a certain glitzy ambition to his glitchy creations, the kind that can translate the ambiguous atmospheres of left-field electronic music for relative newcomers. There's an earnest fervor around his work; in fan Q&As, he fields nerdy, in-the-weeds questions about the minutiae of his process and inspirations. Acolytes have clamored for Oli's debut project on Warp Records for years (single " Go Oli Go!" came out way back in 2021), circulating the tongue-in-cheek hashtag "#FreeOli" as he's navigated what he terms "contract hell" with the label. Following a surprise drop in August, the record is free: Lick the Lens - Pt. 1 (which anticipates an eventual Pt. 2 later this year) offers chic, indie-tronic glamor and the irrepressible fizz of a kid winning the science fair.
Coffee gets paired up with flavors of all kinds vanilla, hazelnut, chocolate and each one coaxes something new out of your morning brew. But there's a fresh pairing you might have seen bubbling up on TikTok: banana. Yeah. Banana in your coffee. It's not as strange as you might think. I spent most of the summer swimming in banana lattes, affogatos, and cold brews, and now I'm a believer.