Music Scene: Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa breathe new life into old works

SINGAPORE - Pop singers Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa have breathed new life into their previous releases.

Swift went back to the studio to re-record her old hits while Dua Lipa has released an extended version of her bestselling 2020 album Future Nostalgia, adding new songs.

Critically acclaimed British acts Arlo Parks and Slowthai have fresh albums, while Grammy-winning American hip-hop act Arrested Development forges a Singapore connection.

Check them out on music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

In a move to regain the rights to her music, American pop star Taylor Swift has re-recorded her old hits. The first among these to be released is a new version of Love Story, the popular single originally found in her second album Fearless, released in 2008.

Retitled Love Story (Taylor's Version), the updated tune sounds pretty much similar to the old recording in terms of arrangement and lyrics. Still, fans will be able to pick up slight differences, notably in Swift's deeper and more mature-sounding voice. The production also sounds more crisp and certain instruments, such as the violin, are given greater prominence.

Swift recently tweeted that she will release a re-recorded version of the whole Fearless album, which will include six unreleased songs.

British singer Dua Lipa ditches her usual club-friendly aesthetics for 1920s-inspired glamour in the new music video for the mid-tempo tune We're Good. She plays a singer serenading upper-class guests on board what could be the ill-fated Titanic.

In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, she said: "It's having that amicable breakup that I think everybody kind of wants. It's like that clean break isn't lacking, move on. We're good. You can't be upset if I move on, I can't be upset if you move on."

The new rendition of her second album Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) includes three other new songs, If It Ain't Me, That Kind Of Woman and Not My Problem

Skin is by American singer and actress Sabrina Carpenter, known for Disney series Girl Meets World (2014 to 2017).

Fans and observers are convinced that the song is a response to recent pop hit Drivers License by singer/actress Olivia Rodrigo from another Disney show, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019 to present).

Carpenter, Rodrigo and singer/actor Joshua Bassett, also from High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, are said to be involved in a real-life love triangle.

Carpenter has denied that the lyrics target anyone in particular and asked fans to refrain from making online attacks. "I don't want this to become an endless cycle so please don't take this as an opportunity to send more hate anyone's way," she pleaded on Instagram.

Malaysian rap supremo Joe Flizzow's first single of 2021, Ciao, features Korean-American hip-hop artiste Jay Park and MK from Malaysian group K-Clique as guest rappers.

"As with a haiku, I wanted to say the most by saying as little as possible," Joe Flizzow said of his minimalist approach to the lyrics for the song, which he described as "an anthem for the streets".

The beats for the song, taken from his upcoming album Johan, were produced by Singaporean producer/rapper Alyph.

Medicine At Midnight is the 10th album from American rock stalwarts Foo Fighters.

It includes previously released singles such as No Son Of Mine, which frontman Dave Grohl has said is "meant to poke at the hypocrisy of self-righteous leaders, people that are guilty of committing the crimes they're supposedly against".

Another song, Waiting On A War, was inspired by Grohl's 11-year-old daughter, Harper.

He said: "Last fall, as I was driving my daughter to school, she turned to me and asked, 'Daddy, is there going to be a war?' My heart sank as I realised that she was now living under the same dark cloud that I had felt 40 years ago."

British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks was the winner of the AIM Independent Music Award for One to Watch in 2020 prize.

Collapsed In Sunbeams is her debut album, which follows her two EPs released in 2019, Super Sad Generation and Sophie.

The album includes previously released singles such as Hurt.

"Hurt surrounds the possibility of healing from pain and the temporary nature of suffering," she said. "It is supposed to uplift and comfort those going through hard times."

The new album by iconic horror movie soundtrack composer John Carpenter is the third instalment of his Lost Themes series. The first was released in 2015 and second in 2016.

Like the previous two, Lost Themes III: Alive After Death is a collaboration with son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies.

John Carpenter said: "We understand each other's strengths and weaknesses, how to communicate without words, and the process is easier now than it was in the beginning. We've matured."

He is known for his work on cult horror classics such as Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982) and Christine (1983).

Tyron is the sophomore album from British rapper Slowthai.

The songs, which include collaborations with fellow British rapper Skepta and American rapper A$AP Rocky, were created during a difficult time in his life.

"I am far from perfect but I've learnt a lot about myself whilst creating this album and I will continue to grow into a better person for myself and aim to be a reflection of what I want to see in this world," he posted on Instagram.

"I hope this album can be the light if you're in the dark, and to know you're not alone. It's okay to be yourself."

The Weather Station is the musical project of Canadian singer, songwriter and actress Tamara Lindeman. Ignorance, their fifth album, is the follow-up to the band's 2017 eponymous release.

"It's the strangest record I've made, and also the most pop record I've made," Lindeman wrote on her social media pages. "It's a bit of a monster."

She wears a suit made of mirrors that she made by hand on the album's cover and in the music videos.

The new album by Grammy-winning American hip-hop stalwarts Arrested Development has a Singapore connection. The vinyl version of the album is released worldwide by home-grown music label Mosta Records, which has a store in Kampong Glam.

Arrested Development, formed in 1988, first put out the album as a digital release on their Bandcamp page in September 2020.

Fronted by rapper and producer Speech, the group made its name with its 1992 debut album 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of.... At the 1993 Grammy Awards, Arrested Development won Best New Artist, becoming the first hip-hop act to do so, as well as Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.