Listen: Dirty Water - Yoshi Flower

Yoshi Flower is back with another new single in the form of Dirty Water. Following on from the likes on Just On Drugs and Brown Paper Bag, this is by far his most pop moment to date. Yet Dirty Water still shows Yoshi Flower’s desire to treat his music like a melting pot, throwing together a wide variety of ideas and themes with abandon.

Opening with a gentle funk-infused guitar line Dirty Water has a California style easiness to it right up until a big, grimey drop comes in at the chorus. It creates an entirely different feel for the song - cloying and urgent in contrast to the laid-back feel of the verse.

As with much of his other work, we have a druggy feeling of existential angst running through this song. Describing his feelings about the record, Yoshi says:

“Dirty Water, love and liquor, dependency, hope. I don't remember writing the song, but I do know these methods of filling some void informed the creation. We're all like fish swimming along in schools or all alone, as the water gets murkier and the screens get clearer.”

Stream: Brown Paper Bag - Yoshi Flower

Having first appeared on these pages back in March, Yoshi Flower is back with a new single and a record deal with Interscope Records.

In comparison to the woozy psychedelic high of Just On Drugs, Brown Paper Bag feels like the inevitable come down. The sound here is similar, but the atmosphere here is generally darker. A thick fuzzy guitar line carves up the bridge before creating the space for each of Yoshi’s verses. And there is an undeniable magic here to the rapid flow of grimy lo-fi hip hop Yoshi is peddling. It’s all just a little bit anarchic.

Describing Brown Paper Bag, Yoshi says:

“This one is for freedom, sonically and all else. The beginning of the new alternative. We think the things that matter to us are the superficial things...our phones, our cars, our clothes. Things that we believe give us serenity, they are fleeting and damaging to our psyche and environment. But when you think about what really gets you through this life it is the little things. For me, it is a brown paper bag. It held my lunch when I was bullied, it holds my 40oz and more when I want to get high, it helps me breathe and calms me down when life gets too lifey.”

Check it out below:

Stream: Just On Drugs - Yoshi Flower

The second track to hit the blog with an Elohim connection this week, Yoshi Flower is friend, collaborator and touring mate of Elohim (Michl was the other artist this week). Having legally changed his name to Yoshi, Flower is dealing in psychedelic pop music that calls to mind Darwin Deez, in a good way.

This track reeks of nerdy-love-denial as a route to self-defence. I don’t actually love you, I’m just high. Just like 10CC huh? Big boys don’t cry?

Yep, I kind of find this heartbreaking. Because maybe the person he is singing to really is just on drugs, but I have a feeling Mr Flower is a little bit more than smitten here. Besides, we all know love is a drug anyway.