To call C23 the future of music is a stretch
"Bose x NME: C23"
The UK's oldest surviving music magazine proclaims that their first mixtape in 40 years, in collaboration with Bose, will introduce the next generation of emerging artists. It's disappointing then that C23 chooses to play it safe with those selections.
"The Bend" turns melancholic indie pop into a low-key bop, but let's get real; anyone who grabbed one of these cassettes at South By Southwest has been worshiping King Princess since "1950." I could say something similar about too many of these artists. Genesis Owusu is already primed to break out on any number of Billboard charts. Dot Major drums up beats for London Grammar. Heck, 070 Shake has 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Giving them this platform defeats the whole point of these mixtapes. The C-series started in 1981 as a way to promote independent record labels. The tapes were released through a partnership with Rough Trade before switching to Cherry Red Records during the '90s. But C23 is brought to you by Bose, the luxury headphones giant. No wonder half of these artists are already signed to a major.
That said, C23 does somewhat push this series forward. The C-series tape that people remember is the one that came out back in 1986. It introduced Primal Scream and cult favourites The Pastels – but by catering to young white dudes with shambling guitars, it also stood against hip-hop and rave culture. This tape is more inclusive. If there's a benefit to cozying up with a corporate sponsor, it's bringing artists together across different labels, even if they're a buzz band from five years ago. Shuffling between Flo Milli's dirty south pop-raps and the chilly IDM of Norwegian duo Weval is nothing new, but the genre-fluid tracklist does reflect the current course of popular music.
Everybody belongs on C23, though the only thing that separates FelixThe1st from other Soundcloud rappers is that he mumbles in a British accent. It's also generous to claim that all 15 songs were recorded exclusively for this mixtape when two are remixes. Still, the highlights showcase why these artists are on everyone's radar in the first place. "Lipstick" smacks thanks to another bubblegum bassline from Blu DeTiger and renforshort's bite-sized power-pop is bound to blow up on TikTok.
The real star turn comes from the mixtape's one true unknown. It wasn't long ago that Danielle Ponder was still working as a public defender, but she's got god-given vocal chops that will make you question why her first album came out the same year she turned 40. Ponder's wheelhouse is dusky neo-soul, but "Spiraling" pushes her to explore cavernous trip-hop. "How I love to taste the wind," she sings, scraping the husk off her baritone, before wringing out a gospel moan that could tear a hole through time.
C23 isn't the future. The future is already here.
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