Baba Stiltz Brings the Best of Swedish Disco on “Can’t Help It”

The 22-year old Swede Baba Stiltz has a peculiar background, befitting of the strange dance songs he composes. He studied for nearly six years at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, and he grew up in the same housing complex as the rapper Yung Lean’s go-to producer Yung Sherman, which put him in the orbit of the bizarre world of Swedish hip-hop. And he’s the rising star in Axel Boman’s Studio Barnhus label, which is known for its colorful roster of wonky and funky house producers. His off-kilter tracks float freely between eras and styles, swimming through hip-hop, R&B, techno, and disco all at once. His latest tune, “Can’t Help It,” is the proof in this unlikely pudding of a musical history.

The song is a study in contradicting textures and moods. From the onset, its primary parts of a shuffling drum machine rhythm and bright blips of synth melody, feel cool to the touch, metallic and mechanical. But the song never gets robotic, and Stiltz is able to make these frigid computerized touches feel soulful and groovy. The sound of an engine revving up at the track’s start or these little burps of MIDI horns and festive handclaps that populate the middle, all sound fun and cute. When Stiltz’s vocals enter, late into the song, he mimics Arthur Russell’s tinny, atonal singing—delivering sad, sweet lines about being selfish, but still feeling an aching love for someone. It they’re listening, this should be powerful enough to bring them back.

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