Sibling is a somewhat mysterious Los Angeles, CA-based electro pop duo who first came to the attention of the blogosphere with the release of their debut “Easy” earlier this year. Building on the buzz they’ve received so far, the mysterious Southern California duo’s latest single “Westside” has the duo pairing an atmospheric production consisting of industrial clang and clatter, sparse yet shimmering cascades of synth and pop star belter vocals with an rousingly earnest, anthemic hook — but just underneath the song’s breezy and radio-friendly air is a swooning and bittersweet longing as the song lyrically is based on lead vocalist’s Elodie’s estrangement from her sisters.
Category: Indie Synth Pop
25-year-old producer and classically trained multi-instrumentalist Paul Dixon, best known as Fyfe, first caught the attention of the blogosphere with the release of “Solace,” a single that topped the Hype Machine charts and gained a number of renowned fans including Childish Gambino and London Grammar — all without the support of a label, manager or publicist. Building on the buzz that he’s received, he released his full-length debut, Closer, an album that thematically was about having a stronger sense of who you are and what you want.
“Better Man,” Dixon’s latest single is a collaboration that features Peter Greyson and The Iskra String Quartet is a mournful single that pairs sparse, electronic production featuring skittering percussion, shimmering synths paired with a gorgeous string arrangement and achingly plaintive vocals to craft a sound that sounds as though it were inspired by Bonobo’s The North Borders.
If you’ve been frequenting this site over its six year history, you’ve likely made yourself familiar with New York-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and long-term JOVM mainstay artist Rene Lopez. And over the years, Lopez has uncompromisingly refused to be pigeonholed into one particular genre. Over the years, Lopez has managed to mesh salsa, boogaloo, old-school hip-hop, meringue and electronica into one cohesive whole on E.L.S.; salsa and 7os Brazilian music on his most deeply personal effort Paint the Moon Gold; and slinkily seductive synth-based R&B and funk, inspired by Prince, The Gap Band, Rick James, Chic and others on Love Has No Mercy and its subsequent releases.
Now, much like The Raveonettes and several others, Lopez has spent the past year on a single of the month series that he’s dubbed the Jam of the Month. The last and latest single of the series “Who Stole Your Heart” is a swaggering 80s freestyle and hip-hop inspired track that pairs Lopez’s silky smooth vocals with big wobbling, tweeter and woofer rocking 808s and layers of cascading synths to craft a dance floor ready party jam that sounds as though it drew from Herbie Hancock “Rockit” and others.
Over the past 18-24 months or so, New York-based electro pop duo Sofi Tukker have become blogosphere darlings while becoming JOVM mainstay artists. Comprised of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, the duo can trace their origins to when the duo were students at Brown University . Meeting and a local art galley, the duo began writing music around their shared desire of crafting accessible, pop-leaning world music that could reach a wide audience. And much like a number of artists across the country, the duo upon their graduation relocated to New York, where over the next year they began working on material — including the material that would wind up comprising their soon-to-be released EP Soft Animals, which is slated for a July 8 release.
Earlier this month, I wrote about “Deja Vu Affrair,” a single that drew from 80s s New Order and house music as angular guitar chords played through gentle washes of reverb and delay are paired with four-on-the-floor drum programming, cascading layers of wobbling synths and Hawley-Weld’s sensual cooing. The EP’s latest single “Awoo” is a mischievous collaboration with vocalist Betta Lemme that pairs propulsive and tribal drum samples with samba-styled keys. Lemme and Hawley-Weld’s contribute sultry vocals and gleeful, child-like shouting — as though they were losing their minds to the song in the club.
Sofi Tukker is embarking on a lengthy series of tour dates — some opening for M83 and a number of headlining shows, including a hometown set at Baby’s All Right at the end of July. Catch them at a music venue near you.
Tour Dates:
Supporting M83*
July 1 – London, UK @ British Summer Time @ Hyde Park (w/ Massive Attack) (TICKETS)
July 1 – London, UK @ White Heat at The Lexington (TICKETS)
July 2 – PITCH Festival Amsterdam (TICKETS)
July 6 – Cesme, Turkey @ Burn Electronica Festival (TICKETS)
July 7 – Milan, Italy @ Festival Moderno (w/ Grimes & Blood Orange) (TICKETS)
July 9 – Zamardi, Hungary @ Balaton Sound Festival (TICKETS)
July 15 – Salacgriva, Latvia @ Positivus Festival (TICKETS)
July 17 – One Love Festival Istanbul (TICKETS)
July 20 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre (w/ Chairlift) (TICKETS)*
July 21 – Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion (w/ Chairlift) (TICKETS)
July 25 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant (TICKETS)*
July 27 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove (TICKETS)*
July 28 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre* (SOLD OUT)
July 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right (TICKETS)
August 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Popscene at Rickshaw Stop (TICKETS)
August 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pershing Square (w/ Todd Rundgren) (FREE SHOW)
New Video: The Symbolistic Visuals for Mountain Bird’s “Hearts To Gold”
Öhman’s latest single “Hearts to Gold” is as he explains in press notes “a tale of celebration. Shining positive light on creators, the over-thinkers, anyone who has ever been a part of a sub-culture anyone who dealt with the anxiety of society’s expectations.” Sonically speaking Öhman pairs layers of shimmering synths, swirling electronics, boom bap beats and wobbling low end in an ethereal, dreamy yet anthemic song that possess an encouraging and hopeful message to struggling creatives everywhere, and it should push those folks forward when times seem particularly difficult.
The recently released music video is an extremely symbolistic video that begins by following a lone, black leather clad motorcyclist speeding along lonely country roads before stopping in the woods to have a fight for the death against what appears to behis/her doppleganger — or more loathsome and dangerous enemy, suggesting the intense struggles creative people often have with themselves and with outside forces as they attempt to create.
New Single: Check Out the Slinky, Seductive and Soulful Electro Pop Sounds of Michigan’s Daniel Wilson
Up-and-coming, 24 year-old, Michigan-based singer/songwriter and producer Daniel Wilson much like a number of pop artists grew up in a gospel music-loving home. Feeling inspired to create by using file-sharing programs, the Michigan-based Wilson […]
Perhaps best known as the keyboardist and guitarist of Twin Cabins, Los Angeles, CA-based multi-instrumentalist Drew Straus’s solo recording project Onsen recently released his full-length debut Earthquake Weather through Cosmic Dreamer Music. Straus’ solo project and debut effort was inspired by a major career change in which he went went from international police to music, a re-examination of sexuality and a relocation to another city — and as a result, the material captures an artist and a life in transition.
Straus’ latest single “My Own Advice” pairs shimmering and angular guitar chords, propulsive drumming and shimmering and ethereally atmospheric synths ad Straus’ plaintive falsetto in a song that Straus explains to the folks at Culture Collide is about “the end of first love. Written to myself from the perspective of the one I lost.” And as a result, the song possess a wistful “if I had known now what I had known then” vibe while the narrator also recognizes that the experience, despite the heartache, taught him something profound that he’ll take it on to his next relationship.
New Video: The Breezy Visuals and Sounds of Quebec City’s Men I Trust
With the release of their sophomore full-length effort Headroom, the newly constituted quartet began receiving international attention as their material landed on Hype Machine’s charts, as well as several Spotify and SoundCloud playlists. Building on the increasing buzz around the Quebec City-based quartet, their first single of 2016, “Humming man” was released to critical praise across the blogosphere; however, I suspect that the act’s latest single “Lauren” may arguably be their breakout single as the band pairs a sinuous and sleek bass line, shimmering guitar chords and skittering drum programming with hauntingly ethereal vocal melodies to craft a song that sounds as though it were equally influenced by 70s funk and R&B, 80s synth pop and contemporary electro pop. Interestingly enough, the song sounds as though it should have been released through Cascine Records, a label that specializes in releasing silky smooth and breezy 70s and 80s inspired pop while being the sort of song you’d do a little two step to in the club.
The recently released music video follows an extremely fair skinned woman bicycling down a country road while hinting at the follow-the -bouncing ball/karaoke-styled video which fits the song’s breezy yet sensual air.
Comprised of Kacee Hedit, Benny Tamblyn and Oli Kirk, Adelaide, Australia-based indie rock/indie electro pop trio Flamingo have developed a reputation both locally and nationally for a sleek, downtempo electronic sound with the release of their first two EPs, with their second EP Drip Drip being released to widespread critical praise. And as a result, the trio not only embarked on their first national tour with stops in their homeland’s largest cities — Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and their hometown — they’ve found their profile growing opening for Bonobo, Rüfüs, Giraffage and The Kite String Tangle, as well as appearances at Splendour on the Grass and Groovin’ the Moo.
Interestingly, the trio’s latest single is about a topic that has been in the international spotlight for some time — refugees, who arrive by boat to a new and perhaps unforgiving and unwelcoming land. And as the band’s vocalist Kacee Heidt explains “Leaving your home and everything you have ever known to travel to the other side of the world in search of a life free from tyranny and devastation with nothing but your family and the clothes on your back. This is one of the hardest things a person can possibly go through and something most Australians couldn’t possibly imagine.” And as a result, the song portrays refugees with a profound sense of empathy — an empathy the the members of the band feel has long been missing from their national conversation on the issue. Sonically speaking, the trio pairs shimmering guitar chords, skittering beats, gently undulating synths and Heidt’s plaintive vocals singing lyrics that point at asylum seekers’ plight with a bitterly sarcastic irony at its core, opening suggesting that those who were desperate enough to risk everything for the chance at asylum need not just the most empathy but the most assistance.
With his solo recording project Manatee Commune, multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and producer Grant Eadie has received attention both across his native Pacific Northwest and nationally for a carefully and organically molded electronic sound in which he pairs natural overtones extracted from field recordings and other sources and live instrumentation and arrangements with slick and incredibly nuanced, contemporary electronic production. Now, if you’ve been following this site since earlier this year, you may recall that Eadie’s most recent EP Thistle was released earlier this year through renowned Brooklyn-based label Bastard Jazz Recordings, the label home of Illa J, Lord Echo and several others.
Interestingly, Eadie’s latest effort is the result of the multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and producer deciding to radically change his songwriting, recording and production process by opening up his studio and gear to friends, collaborators and loved ones, gaining inspiration from the energy of each of those interactions. As Eadie explains in press notes “Learning how to share my creative process with my friends completely revolutionized the last of year of music for me. Inviting those I trusted and loved into my studio to spend even just an hour talking or jamming opened fountains of inventive energy for me, especially from the ones who lacked any musical knowledge. I soon found myself incredibly inspired by the originality of even the smallest interactions with people, and so I pointed my field mic at anyone who had a story, a melody, or a stumbling beat they had been absentmindedly drumming, all in the hopes of capturing their individuality and framing it with my ever expanding insight into audio production.”
“Clay,” Thistle‘s first single paired a stuttering yet breezy and coquettish production twinkling and chiming percussion, a looped flute sample, layers of shimmering synths and swirling electronics with Marina Price’s flirtatious and sultry vocals. Now to my years, the song reminded me a bit of Sylvan Esso — but bouncier and slightly more dance floor friendly. The EP’s latest single “What We’ve Got” is a collaboration featuring the sensual cooing of Flint Eastwood that will further cement Eadie’s growing reputation for slick, coquettish, summertime friendly productions — in this particular song pairs a distorted vocal sample with choppy synths cascades, twinkling and fluttering electronics, handclaps, enormous tweeter and woofer rocking beats. And while being as equally sensual as the previously released single, “What We Got” possess an infectiously upbeat swagger.
You can catch Eadie live this summer as he embarks on a tour that includes a NYC area stop at Alphaville in August. Check out tour dates, below.
Tour Dates
7/7 Victoria, BC – Phillips Backyard
8/10 San Diego – The Hideout*
8/11 Los Angeles – The Echoplex*
8/12 San Francisco – Thee Parkside*
8/14 Seattle – Nectar*
8/16 Madison – Majestic*
8/17 Chicago – Schubas*
8/18 Philadelphia – Milkboy*
8/19 NYC – Alphaville*
8/20 DC – Songbyrd*
* Sync or Swim Tour w/ Shallou
Comprised of Thad Cockrell (vocals) and Jeremey Lutito (drums, production and programming), the Nashville, TN-based electro pop duo Leagues captured the attention of both mainstream media outlets and the blogosphere with the 2012 release of their self-titled debut EP and its follow-up You Belong Here — thanks to the massive success of singles “Spotlight” and “Walking Backwards,” which saw significant radio airplay. Other songs from both the EP and You Belong Here also made appearances in several TV shows, films and commercials.
Although slated for a September 9, 2016 release through Dualtone Records, You Belong Here‘s highly anticipated follow-up Alone Together can actually trace its origins back to 2014 when the duo of Cockrell and Lutito wrote, revised and recorded it almost immediately after the release of their critically applauded debut; however, as soon as the duo finished the album, they had an unshakable, sinking feeling that the album wasn’t right. As Thad Cockrell explains in press notes “It’s hard to see when you’re in the middle of that process, but I think we both had this growing feeling that we weren’t saying everything we wanted to say and weren’t pushing each musically to do all we could do. So we had to wipe the slate clean and start over.” Wholly produced by Lutito, the duo set around reworking and re-imaginging some of the previously recorded material off the initial Alone Together sessions and completely new songs — and as you hear on the album’s latest single “Lipstick Coffee,” the duo have come up with material that’s accessible and anthemic while being sonically dense and challenging as the duo pack the song with buzzing and undulating synths, a sinuous bass line, complex syncopation, Cockrell’s seductive, come-hither crooning, distorted electronic bleeps, beeps and bloops, and an incredibly surprising trap house bridge consisting of enormous boom-bap beats and bass drops. Sonically, the latest single reminds me of the sense of awe I had when I first heard Garbage‘s first two albums — in which every single time I hear the song I notice some deeper nuance that I somehow hadn’t noticed; however, you wind up hearing a wild array of influences from hip-hop, funk, soul, electro pop, trap being seamlessly meshed into something strangely familiar and alien.
Brika is a Miami, FL-based pop artist, who initially received attention across the blogosphere and this site for an electro pop sound that possessed elements of trip-hop, jazz and several other genres, a slow-burning, neo-soul leaning reworking of Shaggy‘s “It Wasn’t Me” and her debut effort Voice Memos. And although it’s been about a year since I’ve last written about her, the Miami-based artist has been pretty busy; in fact, she went into the studio with producer Julio Reyes Copello to record new material, including her latest single “You,” a summer rooftop party evoking single that pairs Coppello’s sleek and modern production consisting of a stuttering synths, finger snap-led percussion, boom-bap beats and a funky bass line with Brika’s sultry and self-assured vocals — but while expressing desire, lust, longing and a surprising devotion with her signature old school, jazz-like phrasing. Based on this single, Brika’s forthcoming new material may reveal a decided expansion of the sound that first caught the attention of the blogosphere and this site.
New Video: The Psychedelic, 1980s Leaning Visuals for Promise Keeper’s “Porous Silk”
With the release of Side Decide” and other singles, London-based producer and electronic music artist Promise Keeper started to receive attention across the blogosphere for a sound that possesses elements of classic Chicago house, blue-eyed soul and 80s electro pop. And his latest single “Porous Silk” will further cement the British producer’s already burgeoning reputation for crafting slick, dance-floor friendly pop as androgynous yet sultry cooed vocals are paired with a production consisting of a sinuous bass line, Nile Rodgers-like guitar chords, propulsive and stuttering drum programming, twinkling keys and shimmering synths. Sonically, the new single evokes the sensation of silk running across naked skin, cool yet pliant –while being reminiscent of a slightly downtempo and house music-leaning version of Nu Shooz’s “I Can’t Wait.”
The recently released music video employs the use of a grainy, VHS-styled psychedelia as the video follows its brooding protagonist observing ancient Greek-inspired art, drinking wine. Visually, it looks as though it could have appeared on a version of Ralph McDaniel’s Video Music Box back in 1987 or so.
Although initially comprised of founding members Marcus Admund (vocals) and Albin Wesley (bass), along with Nikki Nyberg (guitar) and Erik Fritz (drums), Stockholm, Sweden-based quartet Honeymilk formed back in 2012, the band could actually trace their origins to the formation and eventually breakup of Urmas Plant, a band which featured several of the members of Honeymilk. With the release of “It Might Be,” a single produced by Linus Larsson, best known for his work with Peter, Bjorn and John, Mercury Rev and Anna Ternheim, the band quickly received praise across the blogosphere and received radio airplay on several radio stations including Amazing Radio and Oxford College Radio. Interestingly, after the release of “It Might Be,” the band decided to go to the DIY route, recording and producing their own work, including their critically applauded, full-length debut Lean on the Sun.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting over the past couple of years, you may recall that I wrote about Honeymilk and their single “A Scene in Between,” a single that sonically sounded as though it were indebted to Brit pop and British psych rock – in particular, The Stone Roses, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Verve, and Oasis. Over that time, the renowned Swedish act has gone through yet another lineup change with the band turning into a duo featuring the band’s co-founding member Edmund, along with Nyberg — and understandably with such a massive lineup change, the band has gone through a major change of sonic direction as you’ll hear on their latest single “Time Will Kill You.” With the latest single, the duo sounds as though they were subtly channeling Vampire Weekend and others as ambient synths are paired with a loose, looping guitar line played through reverb and delay pedal, a slinky bass line, an ethereal yet catchy melody and harmony and Admund’s plaintive vocals. And while being incredibly breezy, the song thematically speaking focuses on a profound metaphysical truth that we’re all aware — that time will relentlessly continue onward with or without us.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of months you might recall a post on Stockholm, Sweden-based pop quartet Red Sleeping Beauty. Comprised of of Kristina Borg (vocalist), Niklas Angergård (guitar, vocals) of Acid House Kings, Mikael Matsson (guitar), of The Shermans and Carl–Johan Näsström (bass), the quartet originally formed in 1989 and with the release of two full-length albums Bedroom and Soundtrack, a number of EPs and singles, the Swedish pop quartet received both national and international attention before the quartet quickly split up.
After several years of in other creative and professional pursuits, the Swedish indie pop quartet reunited to record a cover of Alpaca Sports song “Just For Fun” and “Merry Christmas, Marie,” a holiday-themed track, which caught the attention of fans and critics, who had desperately awaiting both a reunion and new material from the act. Continuing upon the buzz that they received, the Stockholm-based quartet followed that up with the release of the “Always” 7 inch, a set at Madrid Pop Fest and the release of “Mi Amor,” the first song the band recorded with a chorus completely sung in Spanish. Adding to the growing attention the band has received, their first full-length effort in over 19 years, Kristina is slated for release next week.
Kristina‘s first single “If You Want Affection” had the members of the band pairing a driving motorik groove with shimmering cascades of synths and an infectious hook with Angergård’s chilly yet plaintive vocals to craft a song that sounds as though it pulsates with an urgent need, while sonically the song sounds as though it channels 80s dance floor-friendly synth pop — in particular, I think of Depeche Mode‘s “People Are People” and “Just Can’t Get Enough” among others –but with a slick, modern polish. Interestingly, the album’s second and latest single “Cheryl, Cheryl, Bye” is a slow-burning , atmospheric and contemplative song in which the band pairs layers of bass synth and shimmering keys with plaintive and aching vocals; of course, that shouldn’t be surprising as the song is one part bitter farewell and one acceptance of a truth that the narrator doesn’t want to completely accept. After all, life pushes us forward no matter how much we want to deny it. In some way, sonically the song sounds as though it draws equally from Roxy Music — think of “Avalon” and “More Than This” in particular — as it does from Pet Shop Boys.