Nilüfer Yanya - “Crash”

London singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya has released the single “Crash” as an introduction to her new three-track EP available in December. Here she utilizes a dazzling mixture of soaring vocals, heavy bass and grimy guitar that melts into one cohesive sonic joyride. The accompanying music video features Yanya calmly performing the song in what appears to be an airplane bouncy house amidst a disorienting array of flashing lights and constant camera motion. “I didn’t write ‘Crash’ about being on an aeroplane but I really like it visually as an embodiment of the song,” Yanya said in a statement.

Skullcrusher - “Lift”

Helen Ballentine, who performs under the name Skullcrusher, is a young artist to watch. The New York-born musician, currently based in LA, has boldly taken the nomadic Radiohead b-side “Lift” (which finally found a home on that band’s 20th anniversary reissue of “OK Computer”) and run it through a folky filter. Ballentine’s reimagination introduces a banjo accompaniment, delicate synths and a snare drum roll that provides a subtle tempo to this heavenly ballad.

Mdou Moctar - “Chismiten”

Mahamadou Souleymane is a Tuareg singer and guitarist hailing from the Sahara Desert city of Agadez, Niger, who goes by the name Mdou Moctar. He ushers in his new single, “Chismiten,” with a howling bluesy guitar riff before the rest of the rhythm section rolls in and Moctar’s vocals take hold. “The song is about how people in a relationship lose their sense of self, they become jealous and envious of others,” Mdou Moctar said recently. “It is not about one specific person, but about all people in the world.”