Category: Synth Pop

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’ve certainly been very familiar with Toronto, ON-born, New York-based singer/songwriter and electro pop artist Joanie Wolkoff, who has long been a JOVM mainstay, thanks to her work in a number of attention-winning projects including Her Habits, her solo work as Wolkoff, collaborations with The Hood Internet and others, as well as Gemology, a project Wolkoff began with the then-New York-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Natasha Chitayat, who has since relocated to Los Angeles. Now, it’s been a while since we’ve last heard from the duo as a writing and recording unit, as the aforementioned Wolkoff and Chitayat have been busy with a variety of other creative pursuits; however, the duo recently reconvened to write and record their latest single “Come Again.”

As for “Come Again,” Wolkoff’s ethereal vocals float over a dramatic and slow-burning production consisting of shimmering  and twinkling synths, tweeter and woofer rocking boom-bap like beats, stuttering and skittering drum programming, warm blasts of guitar and a sinuous bass line.  Underneath the shimmering surface is a slowly swooning and euphoric giddiness over stumbling on to someone (whether as a friend or a lover) with whom you speak the same language, and with whom you find an instant and profound connection — and it comes about easily, frequently without explanation; it just is and always will be. But there’s also an underlying uncertainty that comes from the fact that relationships can be endlessly frustrating and short-lived; that sometimes there are moments in which you feel that maybe you’re not quite ready to give yourself — and you find that you’re freely and happily giving yourself. But no matter what, considering how frustrating and confusing relationships of any sort can be, lucky and are are those who find such a profound connection.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeous and Surreal Visuals and Sounds of Pavo Pavo’s “Ran Ran Run”

If you have been frequenting this site, you may have come across a couple of posts about the band when they released their “Ran Ran Run”/”Annie Hall” 7 inch, an effort that was also praised by the folks at Stereogum as “weightless pop music that sounds like it was beamed down from a glimmering utopian future,” while nodding at the psych pop sounds of the mid 60s; but just underneath the gleaming surface, there’s a bit of unease, anxiety and rot. In my mind, the song strikes me as a feverish yet whimsical dream of simmering synths and ethereal harmonies that skip about the song’s instrumentation like a pebble being tossed across a placid lake.

The band’s long-awaited full-length debut Young Narrator in the Breakers is slated for a November 11, 2016 through Bella Union Records and to celebrate the album’s upcoming release, the band released a gorgeous and artful music video for the album’s first single “Ran Ran Run.” Directed by artist collective SWIMMERS, the video features the bandmembers in a series of surreally staged scenarios that emphasize the song’s ethereal and surreal nature. As the band’s Eliza Bagg explains of the song and the video, “‘Ran Ran Run’ is a song about the joys and sorrows of growing up, the awareness of impermanence and change — ‘time is a hole in my waterbed!’ In the video we pass through some kind of portal into a completely manufactured reality — a space that is intense but also playful, full of stark contrasts and extremes (of color, texture, mood). We’re somewhere between children and adults, literally dressing up, playing, play-acting, trying on the guises of who we might be. Actually a theme throughout this record is that the whole prospect of becoming an adult involves a little bit of fantasy — reaching for a possible world or possible self, and aiming for magic, for something over the top, fantastical.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Playfully Retro-Futuristic, Videogame Inspired Visuals for Kishi Bashi’s “Say Yeah”

Interestingly, Ishibashi’s recently released, third album Sonderlust was produced by Grizzly Bear‘s Chris Taylor and co-engineered by Pat Dillet, who has worked with Angelique Kidjo and David Byrne, and drummer Matt Chamberlain, who has been a member of Morrissey‘s and Fiona Apple’s backing band and a member of Montreal, and the album finds Ishibashi expanding and playing with the sound that won him acclaim across the blogosphere — thanks largely in part to the fact that the album’s material didn’t come about immediately or through his usual creative process. “As I sat down to write songs last summer, I went to all my usual conduits of creation: violin loops, guitar, piano and I came up with the musical equivalent of fumes,” Ishibashi explained in press notes. “I tried to create orchestral pop recordings that I assume were my forte, and in turn, I found myself standing in front of a creative wall of frightening heights.” This period of creative uncertainly, along with significant changes in his personal life, led him experiment with a new musical direction. “I questioned everything about what it means to love and desire…the difference between loving someone and being in love,” Ishibashi says.

The album’s first single “Say Yeah” has Ishibashi pairing twinkling and shimmering synths, lush string and wind arrangements, propulsive drum programming, an incredibly infectious hook and the renowned violinist, vocalist and producer’s tender and aching falsetto in a swooning yet dance-floor friendly song that interestingly enough sounds as though it were indebted to disco and both electro pop — all while still possessing a swooning Romanticism. Lyrically, the song can be seen as a plaintive and urgent plea to a lover to try to make their relationship work, as a charmingly flirtatious come-on to an object of affection in which the narrator is trying to get his lover to finally just be with him — and in another way, as an admission of the sort of perceived (and sometimes real) wrongdoing and misunderstandings that can break up a relationship, and the continued desire to makeup and get it right, even if just for a little while.

The retro-futuristic and charmingly playful take video-game inspired video manages to capture the spirit and tone of the song as it follows a couple, who meets cute, fall desperately and madly in love, and through chance or fate, they’re separated with the male character going through a variety of obstacles to reunite with his love. Twice within the video a timer appears to remind the video’s central character of how much time is left for the song, and during two other points, the protagonist has instruments miraculously appear that he plays — as part of the game.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Griffith Synder (vocals), Charles Kern (guitar, programming) and multi-instrumentalist Julia Mendiolea, the Denver, CO-bassed indie electro pop/dream pop trio Inner Oceans formed back in 2013 over a mutual desire by each of the band’s three members to create music that’s personal while embodying a spiritual mystery and elegance that’s just out of touch. And with the release of their early singles “8 Cousins” and “Everything’s Alright,” the Denver-based trio received both national and international attention as both singles landed on several high-profile Spotify playlists, and have opened for the likes Tennis, Wild Nothing, Hundred Waters, Big Data, Moses Sumney, On an On, Holy Fuck and Shigeto among others. And of course, since the release of those singles, the trio have received quite a bit of attention from major media outlets and the blogosphere alike including Westword, who named the trio 2014’s “Best New Band,” Idolator and No Fear Of Pop and others.

Earlier this summer, the duo released two singles “Wild” and “Apparition,” which revealed that the trio has increasingly moved towards an aesthetic that’s difficult to pigeonhole or tie down. Interestingly, the trio’s latest single “Call Through The Wire” is a slow-burning bit of synth pop in which Snyder’s plaintive and tender falsetto floats over atmospheric and shimmering synths and a simple yet propulsive rhythm — and in some way, the song nods at Quiet Storm-era R&B and Tame Impala‘s psych-leaning pop.

The recently released music video employs a fairly simple concept –the trio’s frontman Synder singing the song in front of a psychedelic background and in some way, it nods at Michael Jackson‘s “Rock With You.”

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this year, I wrote about San Diego, CA-based indie electro pop/dream pop project Inspired and the Sleep. Comprised of signer/songwriter Max Greenhalgh, multi-instrumentalist Bryce Outcault and a revolving cast of musicians and collaborators, the Southern California-based duo received attention both locally and regionally with the 2014 release of Eyelid Kid, an album comprised dream pop-leaning material. Now, as you may know, with the release of “Sweet Company,” the duo turned towards a breezier and lighter sound with the duo returning to self-production, while combining electronic production techniques with live instrumentation; in fact, the duo revealed that they specialized in crafting buoyant hooks with  a wistful yet deeply appreciative feel.

 

The band’s latest single “Getting Through” is arguably their most upbeat and dance floor friendly song, and it sounds as though Greenhalgh, Outcault and company had been drawing from St. Lucia as they pay a buoyant and rousingly anthemic hook with layers of staccato synths, propulsive drum programming, bursts of live instrumentation featuring shimmering guitar, swirling electronics and a sinuous bass line paired with Greenhalgh’s sultriest vocal turn yet. And while seeming upbeat, the song manages to have a much deeper message as the duo informed me by email. As the band explains: “‘Getting Through’ is a tune that takes a third party view of the walls we put up against the people we hold the closest. It seems so obtuse to shut out the ones we, at one point, held so dearly. You can’t help, but ask yourself why.” As a result, the song possesses an underlying irony at its core.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Slick and Decadent Visuals for Sofi Tukker’s “Awoo”

Soft Animals’ second single “Awoo” is a mischievous song that features guest vocals from Betta Lemme and the single pairs a tribal house/classic house music-inspired production in which tribal drum programming and stuttering samba-like keys are paired with Lemme’s and Hawley-Weld’s alternating sultry vocals and child-like shouting in what may arguably be the duo’s most buoyant, dance floor friendly and mischievous song they’ve released to date.

The recently released video for the song is a slick and vividly colored bit of decadence and ostentatious wealth that seems to draw from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Cruel Intentions and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leech.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Brooding Visuals for Ten Fe’s R&B-Leaning “Turn”

Over the past year or so, I’ve written a bit about London-based indie duo Ten Fe. Comprised of comprised of Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan, the indie pop duo took the blogosphere by storm with the release of their critically praised single “Make Me Better,” before closing out last year with the equally anthemic and atmospheric “In The Air.” Interestingly, the duo’s latest single is a subtle but discernible expansion of the duo’s sound, as the slow-burning single gently nods at R&B and soul, as swirling, ambient electronics are paired with shimmering guitar chords and plaintive vocals that express vulnerability within a turn of a phrase, and stuttering drum programming in what may arguably be one of the duo’s most restrained single they’ve released to date. And while being a taste of what the duo’s forthcoming and highly-anticipated full-length debut, the song lyrically speaks about a relationship fraught with bitterness, uncertainties, miscommunications and deceit — both real and perceived. As a result, the relationship is filled with suspicion, with the song’s narrator openly questioning everything his lover is telling him, while wondering if there’s someone else.

The recently released music video features the duo of Moorhouse and Duncan, along with their backing band playing the song in several different locales and appropriately brooding about London.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Following Young People Hanging Out and Partying in JOVM Mainstay Lust For Youth’s “Tokyo”

Now over the past few years, the Danish electro pop trio have become JOVM mainstays — and you may recall that I wrote about that I wrote about “Better Looking Brother,” and “Sudden Ambition” the first two singles off the their sophomore effort Compassion, which was releaesd earlier this year. And both singles further cemented their reputation for crafting melancholic and aching synth pop that was simultaneously dance floor-friendly. The album’s third single “Tokyo” continues on the same vein of the album’s preceding singles but lyrically the song evokes the sense of confusion, loneliness and disconnectedness and wonder of being on the road, as the song’s narrator describes a life of hotel rooms, hotel room food, a brief chance to wander around a town and get a sense of it, the late night crowds and neon lights, the longing for someone who you either can’t have — or is thousands of miles away, removed from your unusual life on the road.

The recently released video for the song was shot by Tokyo residents, who filmed themselves and their daily lives in their hometown — late nights with Lust For Youth fans, who catch their idols playing at a local club, and then speeding off to the next thing, the next adventure or just goofing off with your crew. And in many ways, the video seems to capture young people almost anywhere.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Coquettish, Night Club Inspired Visuals for Body Language’s “Addicted”

With the release of “Addicted,” the first single off the Brooklyn synth pop act’s forthcoming effort Mythos, the act reveals that the quartet has gone through a subtle change in sonic direction, as the single draws from New Jack Swing and classic house as shimmering and cascading layers of synths, handclap-lead percussion and stuttering beats paired with Angelica Bess’ sultry, come-hither vocals. Is it love? Is it lust? Maybe it’s both? And we’ve all been there — and as confusing as it could be, the possibilities both contain are endless and fun, and the song manages to capture that all with aplomb.

The recently released video accurately captures the spirit and feel of dance videos shot in the 90s — full of neon bright colors, extreme close-ups, tons of confetti, and it emphasizes the sultry coquettishness of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays denitia and sene Return with Slick Visuals for Their Genre Mashing Single “open wide”

denitia and sene’s latest single “open wide” pairs enormous, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, wobbling synths and industrial clang and clatter with Odigie’s ethereal cooing — and while being somewhat chilly and industrial, the song possesses a sultry sensuality as its narrator is spends her time swooning over her object of attention and love. The duo’s latest single will cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting earnest, hook driven pop that’s equally coquettish.

The recently released music video was directed by Brian Mac and was edited by Nolan Theis and features the duo shot in almost heavenly white backgrounds brooding and being flirtatious and employs the use of slick split screens, pulsating lights and other effects.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Gold Coast Australia-born, Manchester, UK-based siblings Adam Lyons (vocals) and Nathan Lyons (keys), along with Patrick Huerto (guitar), Tommy Davis (bass), the now British-based band have developed a growing international profile for a hook-laden, 80s synth pop/New Wave-inspired sound, as you would hear on “Breathless,” a single that’s reminiscent of  The Fixx’s “Saved by Zero.” The sextet’s latest single “Relevance” will further cement the band’s reputation for pairing an incredibly anthemic hook with shimmering synths, a sinuous bass line, and Adam Lyons’ plaintive and earnest vocals — and much like “Breathless,” the single reveals a band that’s been writing some of the most self-assured and sexiest material of their careers to date — all while focusing thematically on a relationship that’s on uneasy footing and the uncertainty that it brings into one’s life while suggesting that sometimes one has to slow down and let things just happen at their own pace. And they do in a dance-floor friendly fashion.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of lead single “Atlantis,” off her forthcoming and highly-anticipated EP Nemesis, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and actress Bridgit Mendler first caught the attention of the blogosphere for a sound that possesses elements of hip hop, glitchy and contemporary electro pop, R&B and dancehall — and as a result, the track hit #2 on Spotify‘s Viral Chart, #1 on Hype Machine , garnered over 3 million streams across all digital streaming services and received praise from the likes of MTV, Nylon, Stereogum and Pigeons and Planes. And when you hear the song you’ll see why it burned up the internet charts as the slow-burning song pairs Mendler’s breathy coos with a slick, hyper modern production featuring stuttering drum programming, vocoder fed vocals, glitchy electronics, various bleeps, bloops and blips and twinkling synths and a flirtatious verse from Kaiydo. Sonically, the song is reminiscent of Abby Diamond‘s “Love to Watch You Leave” while nodding at Timbaland‘s revolutionary production — in other words, stuttering and bizarre angles while being airy and coquettish but underneath there’s an aching vulnerability.

Recently, young and renowned, Philadelphia, PA-based producer Tunji Ige remixed Mendler’s blogosphere burning single, pairing Mendler’s breathy coos with swaggering, tweeter and woofer rattling beats, glitchy electronics turning the song into a stomping, trap music-leaning club banger while retaining the original’s vulnerability. Check out how it differs from the original below.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “Cold” and “Thread,” Melbourne, Australia-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Matt Connelly’s solo recording project Retro Culture went viral for a hazy, 80s synth pop that sound as though it could have been part of the soundtracks for the major motion picture Drive and Netflix‘s hit series Stranger Things — and as a result both singles received more than 1.2 million streams on Spotify , appeared on Spotify‘s New Music Friday playlist and others and have been championed tastemakers like Majestic Casual.

Connelly’s latest single “Fading” will further cement the Australian multi-instrumentalist and producer’s growing reputation for a retro-futuristic, synth pop sound as the single, which was co-produced by Jack Arentz, who has worked with Kult Klyss and I know Leopard and mastered by Huntley Miller, who has worked with Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso, pairs Connelly’s plaintive vocals with swirling electronics, shimmering synths, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, a sinuous bass line and an anthemic hook. Interestingly, the song sonically speaking will remind some listeners of St. Lucia and the Cascine Records roster, as the song manages to be danceable but just under the surface is a thoughtful, contemplative nature.

 

 

‘Fading’ builds on Connelly’s previous thoughtfully curious and hazy pop debut releases ‘Cold’ & ‘Thread’, which were released earlier in 2016 to early and unexpected international success. Full of fuzzy beats & shoe gaze sounds, both ‘Cold’ & ‘Thread’ went viral and achieved an impressive 1.2 million streams on Spotify, appearing on several Spotify playlists including New Music Friday and championed by tastemakers including Majestic Casual.

Brought to life by a kaleidoscope of inspirations and experiments with live-recorded drums, guitar, bass and synths, his new single ‘Fading’ finally took form as an ode to the nostalgic and 80-gazing soundtrack to Netflix TV hit ‘Stranger Things’.  The single was co-produced with Jack Arentz (Kult Klyss, I Know Leopard) and mastered by Huntley Miller (Bon Iver’s, Slyvan Esso).

Influenced by the likes of Daft Punk and The 1975, Connelly describes the inspiration for ‘Fading’ as being inspired by, ‘The film Drive has played a big part in my musical inspiration recently so I guess that’s where that comes from. Also I was watching Stranger Things at the time of writing Fading and it has this really amazing synth sound track. It reminded me of Drive. That 80s sound is my current obsession. Lyrically, I tend to draw from what’s going on around me or from my own life’

Retro Culture will be coming over to the UK to debut live early next year. More info to follow.