Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This edition features R&B from Vonsíwel, a Whitney Houston cover from French Ship, piano ambiance by Optigan Conservatory, hip-hop from M.I.C. Book & HUES, and modern dance/hyperpop by GVMMY.

Vonsíwel, Prélude
In August 2024, I concluded my write-up of Vonsíwel's "Run 2" and "Blue Flame" singles by saying, "An album would be most welcome." Well, you all are welcome because the Ypsi R&B crooner released a fab album, Prélude, which includes those aforementioned singles, along with 2022's "Nirvana" and eight other songs. "When I Met You," "Rush Hour," and "Love Me Loud" bump the tempo, but for the most part, Prélude is a grinding R&B slow-jam, filled with randy tunes sung by a person with a beautiful, crystal clear voice that's reminiscent of Ne-Yo, The Weeknd, and Michael Jackson.

French Ship, "How Will I Know"
We had to wait four years for French Ship's "all day rooftop party" but the Ypsi group followed that up immediately with "How Will I Know"—which, yes, is a cover of the Whitney Houston smash. But it's done in the most glorious Teutonic style, with the singer deadpanning the lyrics as bubbling percussion and melancholy drones slither throughout. I compared the last single to Cluster, the German ambient duo that formed in the 1970s and has influenced generations of electronic musicians, and this take on "How Will I Know" evokes the same sense of duality: pastoralism and robots. So damn good.

Optigan Conservatory, The Whispering Wheel
Optigan Conservatory is a decade-long collaboration between Ypsi's Fred Thomas and fellow Michigander Frank Rotondo. The duo's latest album, The Whispering Wheel, works like a six-track love letter to Harold Budd, the minimalist pianist whose classic solo albums and collaborations with Brian Eno and Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) helped spark the ambient revival of the late '80s and early '90s. This music was recorded between 2022 and 2023, featuring sparse piano playing that's occasionally treated electronically (though much less so than on past releases). The Whispering Wheel is a balm for the stench of these trying times.

M.I.C. Book & HUES, L.O.T.A. (Language of the Angels)
HUES is an Ann Arbor-based producer who has released several albums that feature a different rapper on almost every track. For L.O.T.A. (Language of the Angels), he teamed with one MC: Grand Rapids' M.I.C. Book, whose low-key delivery contrasts with HUES's cinematic hip-hop, which incorporates samples (strings, horns, movie drops, etc.) like the old days. I assume RZA and J Dilla are big influences on HUES' production because, like them, he creates a full landscape of sound for his rappers to work over. While M.I.C. Books' mellow flow and creative wordplay are worth deep focus, the Bandcamp version of L.O.T.A. also includes instrumental versions if you want to hone in on HUES' richly detailed music.

GVMMY, GRL PHROM PLUTO CH. 1
Ypsi's GVMMY makes ultramodern music, which continues with the five-track GRL PHROM PLUTO CH. 1. I say "ultramodern" because I'm pretty sure the artist is drawing from influences and trends from the past 10 years that have mostly escaped my old-man notice, but it's also obvious GVMMY has absorbed all these ideas and turned them into something new. "Bury Me in the Midwest" and "Silent Hill 2" are the weird, leftfield-ambient tracks on the record, but the other four songs are a wild mixture of techno, hyperpop, and what feels like a million subgenres of post-Soundcloud music production. This kid is really brilliant.

Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.