This Week’s Best New Music: JPEGMAFIA, Hayden James, Charlie Pittman & More

It’s been a HUGE week for new indie, hip-hop and EDM releases – not only did we get fresh new tunes from some of Australia’s finest up-and-comers, like Hayden James (who just dropped Deep Diving with SHELLS), RÜFÜS DU SOL (who blessed us with Music Is Better) and Willaris. K (whose new cut Backbackback is destined to be a hit), but the international heavyweights were out in full force: JPEGMAFIA came in hot with his wicked new banger don’t rely on other men, for example, while Mura Masa delivered another instant classic in the yeule-assisted We Are Making Out, and Kali Uchis got her fans going absolutely mental with Never Be Yours.

With all of that in mind, now seems like as good a time as any to remind you – or clue you in, if you didn’t know already – that we have our very own playlist dedicated to bringing you the best new music from the underground and beyond, fittingly named Purple Sneakers’ Best New Music. We update it every Friday with more than a dozen of the brand new tracks we simply can’t get enough of, giving you the ultimate soundtrack to power your weekend.

You can listen to Purple Sneakers’ Best New Music on Spotify (here) and Apple Music (here) – and make sure to hit us up on Instagram or Facebook to let us know what songs you’ve been loving!

Here are just a few of our personal favourites from this week’s update to the playlist...

JPEGMAFIA – don’t rely on other men

WHAT HE SAYS: “Rest of the album soon!”

Hayden James & SHELLS – Deep Diving

WHAT HAYDEN SAYS: “I’ve always wanted to work with SHELLS, and coincidentally, the reference for this track was Just A Lover, which turned eight, two days before this release. Deep Diving sounds like a Hayden record and I think works really well off the back of Make It. It was hard for us to pick which direction we were going to go with, so we leaned into the DNA of Hayden.”

WHAT SHELLS SAYS: “Deep Diving is about surrendering to a feeling without resistance, it's about acceptance and healing. I love working with Hayden, we’ve wanted to release music together for years. I’m really excited to have this song together.”

Charlie Pittman – dog, black

WHAT HE SAYS: “When someone goes through cancer treatment their face changes and they start to become unrecognisable to the person they were, especially when someone passes away, he was a shell of the man he was before. The idea that there’s ‘a plate still at the table’ meaning even if he’s gone his place won’t be forgotten and he’ll always be with us. The ‘black dog’ is a phrase coined by the Roman poet Horace to describe depression (something that trails behind you) and so I used the metaphor of burying the dog to describe how I came to terms with my personal struggle and became more at one with the idea that everyone dies and nothing at all is forever.”

Also featured in this week’s update to Purple Sneakers’ Best New Music:

• Mura Masa & yeule – We Are Making Out

• Nemzzz – WYA

• What So Not, Benson & Lucy Lucy – Lights Go Out

• UPSAHL – Summer so hot

• RÜFÜS DU SOL – Music Is Better

• Juiceboxx – KMART/TARGET

• Burial – Phoneglow

• Kali Uchis – Never Be Yours

• Ice Spice – Phat Butt

• Jamie xx & Robyn – Life

• Headie One – Tipsy (ft. Aitch)

• ATRIP – Rainbow

• SXMPRA – STICK EM UP!

• salute, piri – luv stuck

• Montell2099 & Sam Bruno – GO!

• Otha – You’re The Best

• Rudimental & Karen Harding – Bring Me Joy

• 3amdisco – Ain’t Right

• Needs No Sleep - Escapism

• Willaris. K – Backbackback

Listen to the full playlist on Spotify below – or head here to save/follow on Spotify, and here to save/follow on Apple Music.