Rising French electronic producer Pierre Charmot, best known as Moonbird emerged into the scene back in 2021 and he quickly established his sound, which sees him pairing hard-hitting techno beats with ethereal vocals. That same […]
Category: Electro Pop
New Video: Thaïs Shares a Club Friendly Bop
Rising Paris-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay Thaïs specializes in an atmospheric and delicate pop sound, which compliments her ethereal delivery. Thematically, her work typically focuses on melancholy, loneliness and dysfunctional, confusing, heartbreaking love.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past handful of years, you may recall that 2022 was a breakthrough year for the JOVM mainstay: She signed with Bravo Musique, who released her highly anticipated full-length debut, Tout est parfait.
Since then the French Canadian artist has had busy couple of years: She has expanded upon her growing profile, opening for KYO, M, Arianne Moffatt, Dumas and Suzane while working on her Blaise Borboën and Thaïs co-produced sophomore album Personne. The album also features contributions from La Faune’s multi-instrumentalist Jay Essiambre and bassist Émile Farley.
Slated for an April 4, 2025 release, the rising JOVM mainstay’s sophomore album will reportedly be “extroverted music for introverts” — energetic tracks that lead towards self-affirmation while allowing listeners to delve deeper into her universe.
Personne’s fourth single “Taxi” is a slickly produced, dance floor friendly bop that sounds as though it were inspired by Robyn. And while arguably being the most club ready songs of her growing catalog, the song is anchored by her penchant for pairing introspective lyrics with remarkably catchy hooks. The song’s narrator is on her way back from a night out, sitting in the backseat of the titular taxi, when she’s caught the ghost of a past relationship — through a favorite song or a passing by a place that reminds of her this past lover or something along those lines.
Directed by Alexis Boudrias, the accompanying video introduces us to a bruised and battered Thaïs waking up from some sort of accident and then performing the song in a bare studio. We also see the rising French-Canadian heading to a party and when she arrives, quickly realizes that she doesn’t belong. She makes an attempt to leave and winds up in the studio, where she presumably feels more like herself.
New Video: Alain Void Shares 80s Synth Pop-Inspired “Roba de pecore”
Italian electronic musician and producer Alain Void emerged into the synthwave/electro pop scene back in 2022 with his solo recording project, Empty Essence, which meshed elements of post-punk, electro pop and darkwave with lyrics that tackle philosophical themes.
Over the past year, Void stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist, writing and recording under his own name. He was inspired by the need to spread awareness and awaken consciences through music.
His latest single “Roba de pecore” brings Violator-era Depeche Mode to mind with Void’s Dave Gahan-like vocal being paired with glistening synth arpeggios, thumping beats and some remarkably catchy hooks.
The accompanying video is a gorgeously cinematic shot, black and white fever dream.
New Video: Adrian Jean Shares Sultry Bop “Cachaça”
Adrian Jean is an American-born, Brazilian-based R&B and pop singer/songwriter and producer, who currently splits his time between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Influenced by Stevie Wonder, Frank Ocean and Teena Marie, he quickly established a sound that blends old school with contemporary sounds with the release of his debut single, 2019’s “See The Stars,” which lead to his being named as a Bandsintown Big Break Artist. Jean has become a TikTok sensation with his work amassing over 25 million streams on the platform.
Since relocating to Brazil, Jean has built a strong connection with the country, collaborating with renowned local artists like Carol Biazin, MC Du Black, Ebony and YOUN, as well as production teams like Los Brasileros and Htimaker. Here in the States, Jean has collaborated with Jimmy Burney and Janette Sewell, best known as the co-writer of the Grammy Award-winning, smash hit “Empire State of Mind.“
The American-born, Brazilian-based artist’s highly anticipated EP King Size, which is slated for a May 2025 release. The EP’s first single is The Hitmaker — the production team of Andre Vieira, Wallace Vianna, and Breder — produced, show-stopping “Cachaça,” a seamless synthesis of contemporary pop and R&B, trap and Brazilian funk paired with Jean’s soulful crooning describing a universal sentiment — the desire to drink and dance away your heartache.
“Cachaça” can trace its origins back to a wildly successful songwriting camp hosted by Jean in Petrópolis, Brazil in 2021. He gathered a team that included Jimmy Burney, Carol Biazin, DAY, Limns and Hitmaker
Cachaça” was born during a songwriting camp hosted by Adrian in Petrópolis in 2021, and it continues to deliver hits today. For this track, he gathered an impressive team: Jimmy Burney, Carol Biazin, DAY Limns, and Hitmaker. “I didn’t sit in the studio thinking ‘today we’re going to make funk,'” Adrian Jean says. “My approach was: ‘today we’re going to create good music.'”
“The result was a song that, to me, sounds like a major label release; something I could hear on the radio,” he adds. “That made me feel great, knowing I produced this record. After working in Brazil for four years and immersing myself in the culture, I feel this is an inevitable reflection of my musical journey here.”
Directed by Junior Scoz and choreographed by Flávio Verne and Nayane Fernandes, the accompanying video for “Cachaça” was filmed in a bar in São Paulo emphasizes the song’s sultry, buzzing energy — while capturing the narrator’s desire to obliterate his pain with booze and dancing.
“Cachaça” was also part of the soundtrack for the Raphael Montes-written soap opera Beleza Fatal, which premiered on HBO last month.
New Video: Maga Córdova Shares Sultry “Lluvia (LIKE YOU)”
María Gracia Córdova, best known as Maga Córdova is a Guayaquil, Ecuador-born singer/songwriter, who can trace the origins of her career to her childhood: Her parents taught her that music was arguably the most genuine form of human expression.
Back in 2016, Córdova was a participant on La Voz Ecuador, where she acquired a number of valuable tools both professionally and personally, which helped her to start a solo career, which led to signing with a local record company.
Córdova released a handful of singles, including 2018’s “No Me Dejes Sola,” “Te Lo Buscaste,” “Amor Camuflado,” her hit “Error Tras Error,” and the 2021 international collaboration with Martina La Peligrosa “Cuando Nos Encontremos,” have helped her win a dedicated fanbase in Ecuador. Adding to a growing profile, she has shared stages with Morat, Greeicy, Gian Marco, Noel Schajris, Piso 21, Sebastián Yatra, Mau y Ricky and Luis Miguel.
After a years’ long hiatus, the Ecuadorian artist released three singles last year “Mil Gracias (KARMA),” “Vuelvo a Volar (HIGHLIGHTER)” and “Soy Otra,” which reflected her own evolution as a person and artist, while highlighting female empowerment. Those three tracks topped the Ecuadorian charts, demonstrating both her talent and the connection she has with her fans.
This year, the Ecuadorian artist plans to release a batch of new material that includes her latest single “Lluvia (LIKE YOU),” a slick, dance floor friendly synthesis of Larry Levan-like house, Latin music and Afrobeats anchored around the Ecuadorian artist’s sultry delivery.
The single is accompanied by a gorgeous visual shot at lakefront party that features some incredibly sexy dancing.
New Audio: Amira Jazeera Shares Flirty “Luv U Down”
Amira Jazeera is a queer Palestinian-American artist and producer, who currently splits her time between Chicago and Los Angeles. Raised with a fervent love for pop music, Jazeera’s work sees her pairing powerhouse vocals, catchy melodies and contemporary R&B and pop production with 80s and 2000s influences, 00s Arabic music samples.
Her work is often characterized by an emotional depth uncommon in most contemporary pop, sultry undertones — but anchored in empowerment.
Jazeera’s latest single “Luv U Down” is a fun, flirty electro pop tune along the lines of Janet Jackson‘s “When I Think Of You,” Madonna‘s “Dress You Up” and contemporary Finnish pop act Beverly Girl that evokes the thrill of finally having an intimate moment with that person you’ve longed forever for, or that lover, who knows how to touch you in the right spots. It’s an expression of the playful yet knowing level of lust, obsession and anticipation that are the best — and most fun — part of romantic affairs.
New Audio: The Knocks and Dragonette Shares Slick, 80s Synth-Inspired “Revelation”
New York-based electronic music duo The Knocks — James Patterson and Ben Ruttner — are a prolific, Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling electronic dance music production and artist duo known for crafting a carefree and fun, deeply New York-inspired sound that draws from disco, house, hip-hop, soul. funk, indie and pop.
Their three full-length albums. five EPs and multiple smash hit singles have amassed over 2.5 billion streams globally. Adding to a global profile, the duo have played DJ sets and live sets at venues, clubs and festivals globally, while making a run of the domestic, late night TV circuit with performances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Adding to a rising global platform, the New York-based duo have collaborated with an eclectic array of artists across the musical spectrum including Foster The People, MGMT, MUNA, Cam’ron, Wyclef, Method Man, Purple Disco Machine, ODESZA, JOVM mainstays SOFI TUKKER and pop superstars Billie Eilish, Carly Rare Jepsen and Charli XCX.
Martina Sorbara, is a Juno Award-winning, Toronto-based singer/songwriter and pop artist, best known as Dragonette has managed to live multiple musical lifetimes over the past 15 years. A highly sought-after songwriter, Sorbara has scored numerous global hits, including “Pick Up the Phone,” “Let It Go,” and the chart-topping “Hello” with Martin Solveig.
Sorbara has collaborated with some of the world’s biggest DJs, including Basement Jaxx, Kaskade and Galantis while releasing four critically acclaimed albums, including 2009’s Juno Award-nominated Fixin to Thrill and 2012’s Bodyparts. Along the way, the Canadian artist has headlined shows across the globe. Adding to a global profile, she has opened for Duran Duran, New Order, Ke$sha and Miike Snow while playing at some of the biggest festivals across the global scene, including Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, Glastonbury and Lollapalooza.
A longtime priority songwriter with Sony/ATV Publishing, Sorbara has regularly worked with acts on UMG, Warner Music, Syco and Spinnin.‘ Her musically diverse credits include songs for Keith Urban, Cyndi Lauper, Pretty Sister, Mike Mago and Carly Rae Jepsen.
The Knocks and Dragonette first collaborated on 2019’s Grammy-nominated single “Slow Song.” They continue their successful collaboration with “Revelation,” a slick, hook-driven, 80s synth pop-inspired bop centered around glistening and arpeggio synths that brings Stevie Nicks‘ “Stand Back” to mind paired with Sorbara’s yearning, pop starlet delivery. The song is an effortless club and lounge friendly bop.
The accompanying visualizer s set in a 1980s corporate lineal space at the fictional company Revelation Technologies and features RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Aquaria, the muse behind the song.
New Video: Terciopelo Shares Brooding Yet Radio Friendly “Rise”
Terciopelo is the solo recording project of a mysterious and emerging Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist, who blends diverse instrumental elements, trap beats, jazz and soulful melodies into a unique and moody sound that has been described as thought provoking.
The mysterious Costa Rican-born and-based electronic music producer and artist’s forthcoming full-length debut, The Breakaways sees him collaborating with a talented and diverse group of female vocalists. Thematically, the album focuses on women and their journeys through life — with each vocalist singing lyrics that detail the trials, tribulations and joys of their life through their perspective. The album’s material delves into the depths of passion, love and all of the various aspects of human life.
“This album represents a significant chapter in my musical journey,” the Costa Rican producer and artist says. The Breakaways is not just a music album, it’s a celebration of life, love and the magnetic power of music. We poured our hearts into every note, and we hope it resonates with our audience on a profound level.”
Over the past handful of months, I’ve written about three of the album’s singles:
- “Your Love . . .,” a brooding and slickly produced synthesis of Portishead-like trip hop, trap beats and contemporary electro pop paired with yearning vocals and evocative lyrics. The song thematically is a deep dive into the lives of women trapped in abusive romantic relationships. The song’s narrator paints a poignant and haunting picture of the internal and external struggles that domestic abuse victims face with a seemingly lived-in specificity.
- “Nothing Can Stop Me,” a slickly produced track that pairs contemporary pop with trap beats, shimmering acoustic guitar, bursts of twinkling Rhodes with a soulful vocal, pop starlet delivery. Much like its predecessor, the song captures the interior world of its narrator with an uncanny attention to psychological detail.
- “Hey Boy,” a slick mix of strutting Brazilian and Latin jazz, featuring some fantastic solos paired with skittering trap beats and a coquettishly sultry vocal. The song — and in turn, the video — sees the woman boldly taking change, and shooting her shot.
The Breakaways‘ latest single “Rise” features a brooding Massive Attack-like trip hop inspired production and trap beats, bursts of Middle Eastern-styled instrumentation and electro pop to create a radio friendly bit of global-tinged pop anchored by a gorgeous, soulful vocal.
The song and the accompanying video tells the story of Anya Petrovna. Born into poverty in a small Eastern European village, Petrovna dreams of becoming a world-class ballerina. With no formal training and only an old pair of ballet slippers handed down from her grandmother, she teaches herself to dance by watching grainy videos on a borrowed phone. Every night, she practices in secret, her movements graceful yet raw, fueled by determination. Anya’s life changes when a traveling ballet instructor, Madame Kovalenko, visits her town and notices her extraordinary talent. Against all odds, Anya is given a scholarship to a prestigious ballet academy in the capital. There, she faces fierce competition, cultural barriers, and the ever-looming threat of failure. Struggling to keep up with wealthier, better-trained peers, she battles self-doubt and exhaustion. Yet Anya refuses to give up. With relentless perseverance, she wins over skeptics, perfecting her technique through sheer willpower and passion. When she is chosen to perform the lead at a world-renowned theater, she knows this is her moment to prove herself. On opening night, Anya dances as if the stage were the only world she’s ever known. Her performance captivates audiences and critics alike, placing her in an elite class of ballerinas of which only a handful exist. Yet her journey is not just about success—it is about resilience, sacrifice, and the unbreakable spirit of a girl who dared to dream beyond the limits of her world.
The accompanying visualizer features a dancer dancing in outer space with the celestial bodies behind her.
New Audio: JOVM Mainstays Psymon Spine Share Two Slick Remixes from “Heady Remix Collector”
Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays Psymon Spine released their third album, Head Body Connector last year. The album is a gritty, punchy, guitar-forward studio album from a band that’s long been obsessed with production. And perhaps more than its predecessors, their third album is explicitly informed and inspired by the band’s cathartic live show. “It’s more unhinged than anything we’ve made before,” Psymon Spine’s Noah Prebish says. “Throughout the writing process, we were always asking ourselves how we could make it really fun to play live.”
Ironically, the album, though ready-made to be performed, was mostly written in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The band split their time between various home studios and friends’ back porches in Montauk, The Catskills, Boston and Brooklyn. It was fall and the crisp autumn air, and political uncertainty and disquietude looming in the background lended itself to an undeniable longing for companionship. “It felt like we had collectively jumped from one timeline to another, more bizarre one,” Prebish says.
The central theme of time being fractured, chopped and screwed is integral to the album’s material and its album art, which was designed by New York-based artist Bucky Boudreau and appears in the form of alternative measurements of passing seconds, minutes, days, lifetimes, tally marks on a chalkboard and infinity signs made of camp bracelets on a cracked egg.“Head Body Connector is our response to a world even more chaotic than usual,” says Peter Spears, “and an exploration of the little joys, anxieties, and absurdities that world has to offer.” While being an ode to the dissonance of temporality in our current moment, it’s also an elastic tribute to friendship and harmony in the face of that dissonance.
In the lead up to the album’s release, I wrote about:
“Boys,” a track that begins with a glistening New Wave-meets-post punk introduction before quickly morphing into a funky, synth-driven both with slashing guitars. The two seemingly disparate sections are held together with Sabine Holler’s dreamy delivery. But just under the infectious, danceable surface, is an introspective song that reveals a subtle sense of unease.
The track was written after the band’s Sabine Holler relocated to Berlin, but she still lends her voice to the song. “By nature every Psymon Spine song must be a little cheeky to bypass our own self-criticism, but in reality ‘Boys’ is just a very earnest song about friendship,” the band notes. “Early on in the pandemic Sabine moved back to Germany and we weren’t sure what was going to happen, either to us as a unit or to the entire world. We went to Peter’s childhood home in Boston for a few days and fleshed out a demo that Michael had started a couple weeks earlier. We sent it to Sabine who almost immediately replied with the same vocal take you hear on the song today.”
“Wizard Acid,” a woozy bit of disco funk built around a punchy bass line, glistening synth arpeggios and thumping beats paired with lyrics about coming apart at the seams — both literally and metaphorically. Consumed with cabin fever, the song’s narrator is slowly losing their mind.
The band told the folks at Flood Magazine that the song is “part allegory, part nonsense, encapsulating elements of cabin fever, dread and humor. We melded one of Michael’s early demos with one of Peter’s, creating one unholy coupling which eventually took the form of a shapeshifting disco jam. It sat instrumental for a couple months until Peter sent over some lyrics detailing a narrator slowly consumed by their sentient house, or perhaps losing their mind (maybe both?).”
The JOVM mainstays will be releasing Heady Remix Collector, a bold reimagining of the material off last year’s Head Body Connector. Slated for an April 4, 2025 release through their longtime label home Northern Spy, the album features remixes by some of their favorite artists and collaborators with the album’s tracks transformed into fresh, electrifying soundscapes that are perfect for both the dance floor and deep listening.
“We’re thrilled to share our most eclectic remix album yet: Heady Remix Collector. The name says it all,” the JOVM mainstays say. We asked 8 of our favorite artists to reinterpret songs on Head Body Connector and what we got back was a glimpse into how truly weird and brilliant our friends are.
We generally take a very hands-off approach to the remixes that we commission (the exception being “Love Injection’s Antimatter Kid Remix”, which Noah played guitar on); anytime we ask someone to remix something it’s because we love their work and want them to do their thing. We send out the stems, tell them to freak it, and in a couple months we find a bunch of alien babies on our doorstep.
“For the DJs, we’ve got club bangers from Sam O.B. and GIFT, as well as balearic slow burners from Love Injection and lovetempo. MGMT and Matt FX’s mixes are psychedelic, joyous, delirious. And both This is Lorelei and Disq’s remixes are a stroll through a funhouse, complete with trick mirrors and trap doors at every turn.”
The band shared the first peak of Heady Remix Collector, a double A-side single featuring MGMT’s remix of “Boys” and GIFT’s remix of “Wizard Acid.”
The MGMT remix of “Boys” pairs a chugging motorik-like groove, buzzing and crunchy guitars and twinkling synth oscillations with Holler’s dreamy delivery to create a dreamy and euphoric house music-meets-New Wave take on the original.
The GIFT remix of “Wizard Acid” turns the song into slick and glistening Echoes-era The Rapture/DFA Records dance punk-meets-house music banger with euphoric hooks.
If I were doing a DJ set, I’d play these bangers to get people moving — and if these tracks don’t get you moving, there’s something wrong with you.
New Video: Total Fucking Darkness Shares a Banger
Besides being an awesome band name, Total Fucking Darkness features:
- Stars‘ Torquil Campbell
- Young Galaxy‘s Stephen Ramsey
- English studio genius and synth player Tom McFall, whose engineering credits include R.E.M., Bloc Party, Twin Shadow and Regina Spektor
The trio’s latest single “Desolation Boys” is a slick yet chaotic synthesis of Tweekend-era Crystal Method and Come With Us-era Chemical Brothers-like big beat, LCD Soundsystem and deep house with glistening synth arpeggios delivered with a nihilistic, tongue-in-cheek absurdity. And it slaps so fucking hard that it sounds like it could be played at clubs in Manchester and Berlin back in 1999-2006 or so.
Created in the final hours of a manic, 72-hour writing spree with McFall flying in London, “Desolation Boys” encapsulates the band’s volatile energy. The song is anchored around spontaneous, stream-of-consciousness-like lyrics and a raw vocal take where Campbell can be faintly heard yelling “go fuck yourself,” mid-chorus. Who is he yelling at? Himself, perhaps?
The song reflects the band’s ongoing exploration of themes like the futility of existence, the exciting pointlessness of class war and the rejection of everything that doesn’t BANG.
The accompanying video features edited footage of a concert somewhere in Berlin, pro Palestine protests and UCLA’s dance team, a country dance team, an old pun rock show and other pop detritus.
Live Concert Photography: Winter Jazzfest 2025: Lion Babe at Baby’s All Right 1/11/25
Live concert photography of Lion Babe performing at Baby’s All Right during Winter Jazzfest.
New Audio: Super Plage Shares Breezy, Dance Floor Friendly Bop
Jules Henry is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, electronic music producer and creative mastermind behind the acclaimed recording project Super Plage. And if you’ve been following this site over the past couple of years, you’d recall that I’ve written about the acclaimed Montréal-based artist a bit over the past couple of years.
Last year, he released two singles:
- “Ton chien,” a flirty bop anchored around a breezy and summery production featuring glistening synths and skittering beats as a lush bed for Henry and Parsian artist Sainte Nicole to trade ethereal and dreamily delivers verses. It’s the sort of song that’s perfect for hanging out in the park — or the beach — with the pretty someone, who’s got your heart skipping beats.
- A cover of Jimmy Hunt‘s 2013 hit “Nos corps,” with longtime collaborator Virginie B and Nectar Palace that turns the disco-tinged yet atmospheric original into a New Wave-like tune that reminded me a bit of Blondie-meets-Soft to the Touch-era Jef Barbara with a Robyn-like disco groove, some squiggling funk guitar.
Henry’s fourth Super Plage album, GROSSE MAISON is slated for a May 16, 2025 release through Montréal-based label Lisbon Lux. The album’s second and latest single “Tip Top” continues a run of breezy, 80s-inspired dance floor friendly bops anchored around squiggling funk, glistening synths and a relentlessly infectious groove serving as a lush and woozy bed for Henry’s dreamy falsetto. “Tip Top” is a track that invites you to get up on that dance floor and shake your ass — while dreaming of the summer.
Throwback: Happy 46th Birthday, Aaliyah!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 46th anniversary of Aaliyah’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Lisa Lisa!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Lisa Lisa’s 58th birthday.