Billionhappy’s single 阴暗B contains the explosive energy of China’s underground

There’s loads of music out there, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up.

Rather than letting the algorithm dictate your music taste, you can listen to Rated by THE FACE – a playlist that’s lovingly curated and updated by our (human) editorial team every week.

Billionhappy – 阴暗B

BillIionhappy is a figurehead of the Nu China movement, which we recently featured in THE FACE, and this single from his new EP diǎo (translates to ​“sick” and ​“dick”) is prime example of the wild energy of the scene. Produced by DJ Gurl, aka Shoddy, aka – erm, DJ Gonorrhea – 阴暗B is an intensely melodic, genre-busting track which comes with a hyperactive video promoting his DIY brand Shabby Club. For some reason, the video ends with unsettling footage of a laughing, blood-smeared clown. It wouldn’t be Nu China if there wasn’t a weird twist. DR

Len – Eurostep

​“I don’t feel like coming back to the UK,” Len admits, before bragging about his lustful and luxurious adventures across the continent on Eurostep’s club-ready, alté style beat. Looking out the window as I write this, the ominous grey clouds in London are threatening more rainfall, and it feels like summer here is almost done. He should probably consider a later flight. DR

Nettspend – her friends

Nettspend is often at the centre of debates about the new generation of underground rap, with the majority of old heads being baffled by his borderline incomprehensible delivery and the broken, distortion-smothered jerk sound. But Nettspend occasionally offers millennials an olive branch with samples. There was a 2012 Deftones riff on fan fave That One Song (which was pulled from streaming services) and the unmistakable ghostly vocals from Grimes’ Oblivion in the beat for Skipping Class. On her friends, 30-somethings might get misty-eyed with memories of their mid-2010s club adventures thanks to the bouncy bass and handclaps sampled from Dej Loaf and Big Sean’s hit Back Up. And although Nettspend’s vocals are mostly garbled, he clearly delivers an emo-rap gem: ​“If I die tomorrow, can you still kiss me?” DR

Sofie Royer – AUTO

Sofie Royer has many strings to her bow. She’s a multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter who also speaks three languages: English, French and German. She’s chosen the German language for AUTO, a euphoric dream-pop banger about wanting to ​“drive away and leave it all behind for just one second”. Hasn’t that thought popped into all our heads at least once? Deeper Into Movies even made a list of car-themed films for Sofie to celebrate. JW

Elias Rønnenfelt — USA Baby

Elias Rønnenfelt is on a run right now. In recent weeks, the Iceage singer has dropped collaborative material with Yung Lean (under his jonathan leandoer96 alias), Fousheé and Dean Blunt. Having also worked with Blunt for their excellent EP Lucre, it seems the shadowy East Londoner’s lo-fi, jangling guitar sound has rubbed off on Elias Rønnenfelt. USA Baby is a gnarled and bluesy track with mysterious lyrics that feel like the opening to a western horror: ​“dumb rider of nowhere/​la lune regarde/​devil may care”. With a second solo album out in October (Speak Daggers) featuring the likes of the Congos, Erika de Casier and Fine, Elias has left us with much to look forward to. TL