YUNG BAE

No one jumps into things the way Yung Bae does. Whether on a massive festival stage, in the lab with one of his many collaborators, or in the booth for his highly acclaimed and wide-ranging Apple Music radio show, the musical polymath born Dallas Cotton vaults skyward without ever looking back, consistently discovering new heavenly territory.

On his latest leap, Groove Continental: Side B (due August 18 via Bae’s own Groove Continental label and Downtown Distro), the musical wizard lands squarely amongst candy-colored ’70s clouds and disco dazzle jet streams. “When I start to work on a record, I just know if I’m feeling it or not,” he explains. “So I immediately chucked all my analog synths, bought a bunch of old ’60s and ’70s gear, and got to work. I originally rooted my music in sampling so it seemed like a no-brainer to make the switch and start creating my own samples to work from and chop.”

A pioneering sampler, producer, and songwriter, each new Bae record carves out its own unique world, touching on everything from vaporwave to funk, Japanese city pop to electropop. After making a mark via a major label, he jumped back to the independent world where he could chase down his wildest creative ideas — including a slinky nautical journey for 2022’s Groove Continental: Side A, and a turn into a retrofuturist disco aerospace for the followup.

Album highlight “Awesome Ways” nails that fusion immediately, thanks in part to a feature from the legendary Nile Rodgers. The song’s swanky electronic burbles, hyperfluorescent guitar, and pitch-perfect funk bass sound like the chic day party counterpart to Daft Punk’s nightclu