Obscure Agency’s October selection features musical projects that bring together distinct sounds, unexpected references, and a willingness to leave something a little untidy. The lineup ranges from Magnet Brain’s contemporary R&B and Mongolian cosmology to guitar-driven tracks.
Some of these artists have spent years on the road, while others are only a few singles into figuring out what they want to say. The selection was chosen for the decisions that make their projects interesting, including strange titles and unconventional perspectives.
Magnet Brain and Recent Releases
Last year, Obscure Agency’s inaugural Best Emerging Artist special award went to Magnet Brain at the Berlin Music Video Awards, where her “Soul Mantra” also won the festival’s Best Song category. Her recent work moves between the Y2K-inspired R&B of “Mature Man” and the more meditative conception of “Seven Dipper.” Released in March, “Mature Man” deals with love, trust, and the intimacy between two people, whereas “Seven Dipper,” released last October, takes a much wider view by bringing together harp and traditional Mongolian musical elements, drawing on the cultural symbolism of Doloon Burkhan, the Seven Dipper constellation.
KYNG and Art-Pop Presentations
KYNG works in art-pop, combining expressive vocals and bright synthesizers with a queer-feminist perspective on attraction and self-possession. Following her May single “SCARGAZING” and July track “SIREN,” October 16 brought “COME BB,” an invitation with considerably less ceremony. For “COME BB,” KYNG also recorded a session with Songs with Strings, adding a full string performance and expanding the world behind the song. Since her 2023 debut single, “PYTHON,” she has been building a character whose femininity can be confrontational, funny, or deliberately artificial.
Kate Voegele’s Upcoming Album
Kate Voegele calls her single “Bad Taste” petty, unapologetic, and probably one of the most fun songs on the album.
Released October 23, the single is about the satisfaction of realizing that someone who once had power over you no longer does. There are a lot of things in this song that you’re probably not supposed to say out loud,
she explains. The track leads into the forthcoming
