At this point, we all know Daptone Records. But do you know about their Scandinavian counterpart, Timmion? For the past decade and a half this Helsinki-based label has put out some of the most invigorating soul and funk the music industry has to offer, and Daptone has kept a close watch.

Today the two release Bad Education Vol. 1: The Soul Hits of Timmion Records, a compilation that covers only the finest that’s been recorded in Finland over the past couple years. It wasn’t easy narrowing this list down to just ten singles, mainly due to how phenomenal Timmion’s track record is, and today we receive the full-bodied debut single from Brooklyn’s Wanda Felicia. Felicia’s been a singer-songwriter since the ’90s but with the help of Timmion’s house band, Cold Diamond and Mink, this previously unreleased track is certainly the start of something new. Check out “Until You’re Mine”!

–Jack Anderson

If you want to talk about trendsetters, look no further than disco-funk duo Tuxedo. Jake One (producer behind De La Soul, Drake, The Weeknd and more) first teamed up with accomplished solo singer Mayer Hawthorne for their eponymous 2015 debut, setting a major landmark in modern production for their now-oft-replicated ’70s and ’80s-inspired sound. On 2017’s Tuxedo II the duo explored a more ’90s G-Funk-influenced style, but strayed from the genre norm of gritty lyrics in favor of promoting positivity and inclusiveness.

Tomorrow the soul pop saga continues with Tuxedo III, a full-length that combines Hawthorne and One’s shared eight-Grammy-nominated knowledge and skills for some ideal head-bobbin’ and summer cruisin’ music. Tuxedo join us in Studio 1A Tuesday after next, the same night they play at Empire Control Room, and to ensure that you’re not faking the funk before the weekend, start grooving to this retro-future-funk anthem, “The Tuxedo Way”!

–Jack Anderson

Even if you know all three members individually, there’s still a good chance you’ve never heard of kellen. For starters, Mother Falcon co-founder Claire Puckett joins fellow Hikes bandmate (and Monté auteur) Nay Wilkins alongside solo performer Dwight Smith for a tranquil take on the math-folk genre. Puckett’s breezy vocals take the lead with existential insights and an immaculate sense of humility, while Wilkins and Smith provide a well-rounded rhythm section that’s all-too-comfortable with non-traditional time signatures and chord progressions.

kellen’s cathartic indie jangle has already been heard on their self-recorded 2018 debut record lowercase god, and tomorrow night they celebrate their official release show at Hole in the Wall. It’s an intimate live experience that you won’t want to miss, but in case you can’t squeeze it into your schedule, at least enjoy the final track off lowercase god, “that time”!

–Jack Anderson

For Daniel Ellsworth + The Great Lakes, three really is a magic number. They’re currently performing as a trio who splits time between Columbus, Los Angeles and Nashville, and their latest record was released in three separate parts. These triple junctions make a great frontier for The Great Lakes’ brand of synth-driven indie rock, electro-pop and funk topped off with a boyish charm that hasn’t let up since their formation in 2010.

Daniel Ellsworth + The Great Lakes are eager to submerse their listeners into the band’s newest chapter, which arrived last Friday as a brand new single featuring vocals from Jack White collaborator Ruby Amanfu. Dive into this latest offering from The Great Lakes and cool off with “Way You Are”!

–Jack Anderson

Although she’s only been putting out studio cuts for the past couple years, genre-bending singer-songwriter Daisy O’Connor has already made a sizable mark on the Live Music Capital. Aside from her reputation for sincere but lighthearted live shows, O’Connor’s EP Ether blew us away at the start of 2019 and this week she returns to analog roots with Mixtape II.

Inspired by auteurs like Daniel Johnston and Sufjan Stevens, the handful of covers and originals on Mixtape II were recorded straight to 8-track, giving O’Connor’s performances some extra organic weight. Daisy O’Connor joins us in Studio 1A 1:30pm this Wednesday and the Mixtape II release show is this Friday at the Cactus Cafe. So while we here at KUTX certainly don’t endorse any sort of illegal activity, we can’t help but appreciate the lackadaisical charm of this O’Connor original, “Cookies N Weed”!

–Jack Anderson