Category: World Music

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: L’Imperatrice Share Intergalactic Visual for Soulful and Luxuriant “Any Way” feat. Maggie Rogers

Acclaimed Paris-based electro pop sextet and JOVM mainstays L’Impératrice  will be releasing their highly-anticipated, self-produced third full-length album Pulsar through microqlima records in just about 90 minutes. Pulsar is an album, where the band — founder Charles de Boisseguin (keys), Hagni Gown (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), Tom Daveau (drums) and Flore Benguigui (vocals) — made every decision while capturing the band’s spirit both onstage and off. 

Fittingly, the album reportedly radiates with the energy and wisdom of an outfit that has helmed countless dance parties around the world on the way to find itself and its sound. Throughout the album’s material, the Parisian JOVM mainstays move freely and authoritatively among the sounds they love, bridging hip-hop, kosmiche and modern pop with their most unabashed embraces of French Touch and international house of their growing catalog. Pulsar is also the first album of their catalog to feature guest vocalists, including acclaimed folk/pop artist Maggie Rogers and rapper/producer Erick the Architect among a list of others. 

The album sees the acclaimed pop outfit trying a new creative approach: They split into two teams of ever-interchanging members to explore new ideas, led by the band’s founder Charles de Boisseguin. It was a way of incorporating every voice into the songwriting process like never before, pulling from idiosyncratic upbringings and enthusiasm. They then passed tracks to lead vocalist Flore Benguigui, a longtime jazz singer, who would sometimes write two-dozen vocal melodies for a song, just to see which one fit best. It was an arduous and exciting process that saw the band go from writing through recording in about nine months. For L’Impératrice, this was the sort of self-determination they’d longed for and now found. 

Throughout the album’s material, the band’s Benguigui boldly sings of self-empowerment, shirking beauty standards, ageism and drag normalcy throughout the album’s material. These are apt messages for incandescent anthems of experience, of fully being yourself, instead of anyone else’s version of it. 

Pulsar’s fourth single, and the album’s second English language single “Any Way” is a gorgeous cinematic, Quiet Storm soul-meets-French touch bop featuring shimmering strings, a supple and sinuous bass line, some Nile Rodgers-like guitar, some glistening sapce age synths and twinkling Rhodes serving as a lush and dreamy bed for Maggie Rogers soulful and yearning delivery.

Rogers was a fan of L’Imperatrice before they contacted her, having seen the band’s incredible show Stateside several times. She arrived to the studio, listened to the track, took notes and nailed her version in a few hours and as many takes. At its core, the song is a luxurious and earnest love song about savoring the moment rather than fretting the future at least too much — again, and maybe for better and worse, the American way.

“The French way is that we are pretty slow people,” the band’s Charles de Boisseguin says smiling. “We really take time to make things good. But Maggie Rogers showed up and showed us her skills and the American way. it was a magical moment.” Rogers adds, “L’Impératrice has been one of my favorite bands for a few years now, so when we started talking about working together on some music, I jumped at the opportunity to travel to Paris and create with them. The song came together really naturally and effortlessly in one afternoon and I really think it represents this perfect hybrid of what we both do. I’m so happy it’s out in the world.” 

Directed by Zite and Léo, the accompanying video is an intergalactic-meets-terrestrial adventure seemingly inspired by Superman, E.T., Starman and the like, with the band playing aliens stranded after their spaceship crash lands on Earth. The aliens, who try to understand human life, get a local mechanic to assist them with repairing their spaceship. And while their spaceship is being repaired, the band calls home and watches a broadcast of Maggie Rogers singing, which fills them with longing for home — and fittingly inspires them to play alongside the broadcast.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays PLOHO Share Politically Charged “Гештальт (Gestalt)”

Since their formation back in 2013, the Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia-based post-punk trio and JOVM mainstays PLOHO — Victor Uzhakov (vocals, guitar), Andrei Smorgonsky (bass) and Igor Starshinov (synths) — have firmly established themselves as being at the forefront of a contemporary, new wave of Russian music. Inspired by Joy Division and late Soviet-era acts like Kino, the Siberian act’s cold and bleak sound evokes both the bitter cold of their homeland and that uncertain and uneasy period of the Soviet Union just before its inevitable collapse. 

The Russian post punk trio have released nine albums, several EPs and more than 10 standalone singles, which the band has supported with tour stops at over 40 European cities. They’ve also made stops across the major international festival circuit with stops at Боль in Russia, Kalabalik in Sweden, and Plartforma in Lithuania. And adding to a growing profile globally, the band’s music has been added to over 16,000 listener-made Spotify playlists, as well as seeing various adds on Apple Music to playlists like Inspired By and New Russian Alternative.

Ploho’s 10th album Почва is slated for an August 30, 2024 release through Artoffact Records. Почва will feature the previously released “Я буду жить для тебя,” and the album’s latest single “Гештальт.” “Гештальт,” is a brooding bit of post-punk anchored around eerily atmospheric synths, shimmering and reverb-soaked guitar, angular bass lines and industrial clatter serving as an icy bed for Uzakhov’s sonorous and dramatic baritone. While seemingly channeling 4AD Records heyday and Japanese Whispers-era The Cure, the new single continues a run of sociopolitically incisive material that comments on contemporary issues and concerns.

“‘Гештальт (Gestalt)’ is a song about the inevitable consequences of karma and the universe’s reaction to humanity’s actions,” the band explains. “We aimed to convey the simplicity of this phenomenon, illustrating how effortlessly things can disappear if the elements desire it. This is why the video was filmed in an anti-capitalist style, symbolizing the collapse of capitalism, the foundation of modern human society.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Natty Reeves Teams Up with Jackson Mathod on Breezily Upbeat “Bloom”

2024 has been a busy year for the wildly prolific Brighton-based producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Natty Reeves: With his instrumental hip-hop project Astairé, Reeves released the Greener Days EP, a tastefully seamless blend of hip-hop sensibilities with Bossa nova tinged passages that was anchored around dexterous improvisation. Reeves is also a highly sought-after collaborator in his own right, and he has collaborated with the likes of Matt Wilde, Simon Jefferis and Ahbi The Nomad along with a growing a list of others.

The Brighton-based producer and artist has also been working on his forthcoming EP Mist Over Water. The EP which is slated for a September 25, 2024 release through DeepMatter Records is the first bit of material Reeves has released under his own name in a few years. Informed by the songwriting discipline of Ben Watt and James Taylor, as well as the rhythmic language of Brazilian jazz pioneers João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá, Mist Over Water reportedly sees the Reeves crafting a sound that’s stripped back and raw, with Spanish guitar and Reeves’ vocals at the center. Thematically, the material sees the British artist reflecting on the fleeting nature of life, and the importance of looking inward to grow — without putting too much pressure on each moment.

“I wanted to make a project that felt honest to who I am, something that represented my thoughts at this stage of my life,” Reeves explains. “Recently I’ve been thinking about second chances, new growth and how fleeting life is – coming back to the sounds and rhythms I love, not trying too hard to make something that people would find impressive, this is a bit more introspective and forgiving of myself. I just hope that listeners enjoy the sounds and find some peace of their own in these songs!”

Mist Over Water‘s first single “Bloom” is a gently swaying, slightly jazzier take on Bossa nova anchored around Bossa nova/Brazilian percussion, serene and glistening acoustic guitar, Reeves’ dreamily meditative yet upbeat delivery and warm, soulful trumpet from longtime collaborator and friend Jackson Mathod. The song encourages listeners to be open to new opportunities and to boldly take leaps of faith because things will work out how they’re meant to work out — but also because you never want to live a life in which you’ll left wondering “what if?”

“This was the first song I made for this project, and I think it sets the tone for the rest of the EP,” Reeves says of the single. “I want to give a massive thanks to my good friend Jackson Mathod for playing horns on this – I’ve always admired his playing and he really gave this track a lift!”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Los Bitchos Share Blissed Out Beach Bop “Don’t Change”

Acclaimed London-based instrumental outfit and JOVM mainstays Los Bitchos — Australian-born, Serra Petale (guitar); Uruguayan-born Agustina Ruiz (keytar); Swedish-born, Josefine Jonsson (bass) and London-born Nic Crawshaw (drums) — can trace their origins to meeting at various late-night parties and through mutual friends. Inspired by their individual members’ different upbringings and backgrounds, the acclaimed British outfit have firmly established a genre-blurring, retro-futuristic sound that playfully blends elements of Peruvian chica, Argentine cumbia, Turkish psych, surf rock, and the music each individual member grew up with: 

  • The Uruguayan-born Ruiz had a Latin-American music collection that the members of the band fell in love with

  • The Swedish-born Jonsson “brings a touch of out of control pop,” her bandmates often joke

  • Aussie-born Petale is deeply inspired by her mother’s 70s Anatolian rock records

  • And the London-born Crawshaw played in a number of local punk bands before joining Los Bitchos

“Coming from all these different places,” Los Bitchos’ Serra Petale says, “it means we’re not stuck in one genre and we can rip up the rulebook a bit when it comes to our influences.”

The JOVM mainstays’ Alex Kapranos-produced, critically applauded, full-length debut, 2022’s Let The Festivities Begin! was recorded at Gallery Studios, and saw the band cementing their reputation for crafting playful, lysergic yet party friendly grooves. 

The quartet capped off a breakthrough year with two Serra Petale and Javier Weyler-co-produced singles “Tip Tapp” and “Los Chrismos,” their first Christmas-themed composition. Fittingly, “Los Chrismos” is a celebratory party-starting romp built around a psych rock-inspired, dexterous and looping guitar line, atmospheric synths, cumbia rhythms paired with holiday appropriate cheers and shouts. Simply put, the song is a much-needed hope and joy bomb in desperate, uneasy time. 

Building upon a growing profile internationally, the London-based JOVM mainstays released 2023’s PAH! EP, a two-track effort that featured a mischievously, rowdy and downright boozy cover of The Champs‘ oft-covered “Tequila,” a song that has become a fan favorite during the band’s live shows and a reworking of King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard‘s “Trapdoor.” 

Today, the London-based instrumental outfit announced that their highly anticipated sophomore album, the Oli Barton-Wood-produced Talkie Talkie is slated for an August 30, 2024 release through City Slang. Deriving its name from a fictional club of the same name, Talkie Talkie is a late-night paradise, brimming with freedom and possibility; a place where partygoers can escape reality by getting caught in the groove and dancing it all away or daydream along to the invigorating soundscape.

Recorded over a short but intense month-long series of sessions at London’s RAK Studios and Lightship 95, sonically, the album will transport the listener into a world where funk, disco, Latin and Turkish rhythms collide in a euphoric fusion fueled by adventurous experimentation and their endearingly puckish spirit. If 2022’s Let The Festivities Begin was the rowdy build up to the big night out with your homies, Talkie Talkie is the equivalent of rocking out to the groove on the dance floor.

The album’s material is anchored in a vivid cinematic universe that takes inspiration from the band’s favorite aesthetic era — the ’80s. Think less self-serious men, gated reverb and more campy, hi-fi pop songwriting that glistens with moxie and verve. The quartet especially wanted to tap into the sonic innovation of the period, where analog and digital techniques collided to create polished texture and depth.

The album will feature the previously released “La Bomba,” a hook-driven 80s Turkish psych pop-inspired bop anchored around a shuffling dance floor rhythm, a twangy and looping guitar line, a disco-influenced bass line, some video game-like beats paired with glistening synths and ecstatic shouts. “‘La Bomba’ is a burst of energy and power! It’s just such a fun song – we started playing it at festivals last summer and the energy felt so good!” The band says in press notes. 

“The beginning stabs are what came to me (Serra) first as I was cooking in my kitchen. There’s something quite heroic and powerful about the opening guitar tone and the stabs underneath them. The twangy guitar tone cuts through the chaotic landscape of claps, pumping disco bassline and dreamy swirling synth sounds. The disco era influence is quite evident in this song, and I think the bassline sets the tone perfectly for this. Structurally the song delivers straight into a chorus (as Nile Rodgers said, ‘why wait?’). We wanted to keep this as close to a classic pop structure as possible, everything straight to the point. 

“The cherries on top are the little ping pong drum sounds (think Ring My Bell, Anita Ward) – they just make the track go off and totally emulate the feelings of euphoria and pure energy running through it.”

Talkie Talkie’s second and latest single “Don’t Change” is a breezy and blissful jam anchored around a languid and reverb-drenched Spanish-tinged, psych rock-inspired guitar line, stomping percussion, glistening and atmospheric synths and an arpeggiated, funky synth bass line. It’s the perfect soundtrack for frolicking at the beach, of dreaming of heading to the beach with your best pals — or for riding a ferry and dreaming that you were on a super expensive yacht drinking mimosas.

Directed by Tom Mitchell, the accompanying video for “Don’t Change” is a deliriously fun joy bomb that captures the band — fittingly — frolicking in paradise while seemingly on vacation. Can I join y’all?

“‘Don’t Change’ is a pure bliss track; think holiday vibes with ice creams, beach balls, sunsets and margaritas,” the band says of the song and its accompanying video. “It’s feel-good, with sun soaked melodies, vibrant arpeggiator synth bass, and layers of percussion. We had such a fun time making the video, making up little dances and frolicking about in the sand and sea!”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Félix Mongeon is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, musician, producer and creative mastermind behind Radiant Baby. Mongeon’s Radiant Baby debut EP It’s My Party caught the attention of Lisbon Lux, who signed him and then released the Montréaler’s 2019 full-length debut, Restless. Restless saw Mongeon creating a sound that meshes crisp electronic sounds with organic instrumentation to convey a more mature and dynamic aesthetic. 

Since the release of Restless, the French-Canadian artist has very busy: He has made the rounds of the provincial and national festival circuit, with sets at Festival Pop Montréal, M pour Montréal, Festival Mode et Design, Picnik Électronik, Festival Fringe de Montréal, Santa Teresa Fest and Canadian Music Week. He also played at New Colossus Festival back in 2019.

2021 saw the release of Mongeon’s sophomore Radiant Baby album, Pantomime, which was followed up with a deluxe edition of Pantomime (Deluxe) last year. 

Earlier this month, Mongeon released his third Radiant Baby album Porcelaine through his longtime label home Lisbon Lux Records. The album features “Mort de Rire,” a slinky bit of synth-driven New Wave-like funk paired with the Montréal-based artist’s dreamy falsetto. “Mort de Rire,” sounds as though it could have been released sometime during the late 1970s and early 1980s. And as the rising Canadian artist explained, the song inspects the twists and turns of our darkest sides — without taking itself too seriously.

Porcelaine‘s latest single “Klondike” continues a remarkably run of slinky, synth-driven and downright dance floor friendly-like New Wave that seems to channel Jef Barbara‘s Soft To The Touch and Contamination, Talking Heads‘ Remain in Light and Le Couleur‘s Autobahn — all while reminding the listener of Mongeon’s unerring knack for crafting insanely catchy hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Montréal-based psych pop outfit Wizaard — currently, Marie Hèléne Coutu and Jean-Nicholas Doss — are a mainstay of their city’s psychedelic, Anglophone and bilingual music scenes with the release of their first two albums, 2016’s Starfish Buffet and 2019’s Supernatural Mystics, while going through a series of lineup changes. The Montréal-based outfit supported both of those albums sharing stages with Choses Sauvages, Men I Trust, Le Couleur, JOVM mainstays Elephant Stone and American outfit Twin Peaks. Adding to a growing profile, the Montréal act’s remix of Spaceface‘s “Timeshare” has amassed over one-million Spotify streams.

The duo’s forthcoming third album will be released by Lisbon Lux Records, and the album will be the first album of material written and sung primarily in French. The album reportedly be “a delicious cocktail of madness, eclecticism and groove,” the band explains.

The forthcoming album’s latest single “DVD vidéo” is anchored around a languid yet lysergic groove that recalls Tame Impala, L’imperatrice and Pavo Pavo paired with dreamily coquettish vocals and boom bap-like beats. To me “DVD vidéo” evokes a remarkably pleasant psilocybin-induced trip.

The duo’s forthcoming third album will be released by Lisbon Lux Records, and the album will be the first album of material written and sung primarily in French. The album reportedly be “a delicious cocktail of madness, eclecticism and groove,” the band explains.

The forthcoming album’s latest single “DVD vidéo” is anchored around a languid yet lysergic groove that recalls Tame Impala, L’imperatrice and Pavo Pavo paired with dreamily coquettish vocals and boom bap-like beats. To me “DVD vidéo” evokes a remarkably pleasant psilocybin-induced trip.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Miami’s Yari M Releases a Shimmering Bop

With the release of her debut EP, 2021’s six-song Yo Soy, emerging and rising Miami-based Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Yari M quickly established a sound that meshed Urban Latin R&B and pop rhythms. Yo Soy EP track “Freshy” garnered some traction with a remix that featured Randy and Brray, which amassed over 1 million YouTube and Spotify streams.

Building upon growing momentum, the emerging and rising Puerto Rican artist appeared on Randy’s 2021 album Romances de Una Nota, showcasing Yari M as the only female artist on the album, among a collection of notable Latin artists.

2023 saw the release of “Esta Lloviendo,” a bachata tune that debuted at #19 on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay Chart, amassing over 500,000 streams. “Esta Lloviendo” was released through her label Black Diamond Music, where she’s the Vice President and the owner of the first Dolby Atmos studio in Miami. which allows her the creative space to create and bring her artistic vision to life.

Yari M’s career has been frequently marked by her commitment to growth and her desire to bring a fresh sound to her audience. She’s currently working on her first album while working with various Latin artists to expand both her repertoire and her sound.

Her latest single “La Noche” is a slickly produced bop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering reggaeton-meet-trap like beats serving as a lush and woozy bed for Yari M’s coquettish and yearning delivery. The result is a summery track that’s lounge and club friendly.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: John Finbury and Bruna Black Share Breathtakingly Beautiful “Vã Revelação”

Andover, MA-based Grammy and Latin Grammy-nominated drummer and composer John Finbury spent his teenaged years playing in rock bands at New York’s legendary The Bitter End. He then went on to study classical piano, music theory and composition at the Longy School of Music at Bard College and at Boston University. 

Back in 2014, the Andover-based musician and composer released The Green Flash, a four song EP of original compositions of Brazilian jazz. All four songs received nominations for the 2015 American Songwriting Awards with “SambaDan” winning for Best Instrumental. Finbury followed The Green Flash EP with 2015’s 11-song Brazilian jazz effort Imaginário featuring vocalist Marcella Camargo and some of Boston’s best players, including Fernando Huergo, Mark Walker, Tim Ray, Claudio Ragazzi, Roberto Cassan and Ricardo Monzon. Finbury surprised the Latin music world when Imaginário track “A Chama Verde” received a Latin Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

2017’s Pitanga was released to critical acclaim. Adding to a rapidly growing profile in the Latin music scene, Finbury’s third album, the Emilio D. Miler-produced Sorte!, which saw him collaborating with vocalist Thalma de Freitas and an All-Star band featuring Vitor Gonçalves, Chico Pinheiro, Duduka de Fonseca, John Patitucci, Rogerio Boccato and Airto Moreira received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz album. 

2020 saw the release of two albums of originals: American Nocturnes: Final Days of July, an album of intimate chamber jazz compositions featuring arrangements for piano, cello, guitar, accordion and harmonica — and Quatro, a Latin jazz album featuring Lagos Herrera, Chano Domínguez, John Pattiucci and Antonio Sánchez. 

During the pandemic, the Andover-based musician and composer collaborated with French jazz vocalist Camille Bertault. They recorded and released “Look at What a Mess You Made of Me,” which featured Christian McBride (bass) and “Boulevard,” which featured Larry Gouldings (organ) and Billy Martin (drums). 

In 2021, following the death of the legendary Chick Correa, Finbury and de Freitas wrote and recorded “Ring The Bells” as a tribute to the man and his influential work. 

In 2022 Finbury wrote and released three original Brazilian jazz compositions recorded in São Paulo by Mestrinho (accordion), Michael Pipoquinho (bass), Cainã Cavalcante (guitar), Celso de Almeida (drums) and Leo Rodrigues (percussion). 

Last year was a very busy year for Finbury: He continued an ongoing collaboration with Magos Herrera and recorded and released three original compositions of Chamber Jazz. The Andover-based musician and composer also continued his successful collaboration with Miler, who introduced him to rising São Paulo-based singer/songwriter Bruna Black. 

Black wound up contributing vocals to Finbury’s latest album Vã Revelação, which was released earlier this year. In the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two previously released singles:

“Chão De Nuvem,” a soulful year breezy tune featuring an arrangement of fluttering accordion, a supple bass line, shuffling percussion. The song gorgeously — and effortlessly — meshes elements of samba, jazz fusion and pop while being a perfect vehicle for Bruna Black’s languorous yet soulful delivery.

“Será,” a song built around a gorgeous arrangement of shimmering acoustic guitar by Chico Pinheiro, a supple and sinuous bass line from John Pattiucci that’s roomy enough for Black’s expressive vocal. Fittingly released at the end of last year, the song is a meditation on the passing of time, the choices and plans we make that work out and the ones that fail — with the understanding that all of it influences who we are, and who we will become.

Album title track “Vã Revelação,” is a breathtakingly gorgeous yet bittersweet tune, anchored around the classic shuffle and sway of bossa nova featuring shimmering, strummed guitar, a supple bass line, twinkling and expressive bursts of piano serving as a lush bed for Black’s stunning vocal turn. Much like its predecessors, “Vã Revelação” is meditative yet breezy, a blast of summer — but full of the recognition of the passing of time, and of regrets, hopes dashed and hopes to be had again.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: N’Faly Kouyate Shares Slickly Produced “Kolabana”

Guinean-born, Belgian-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist N’Faly Kouyaté has had a long-held interest in bridging the distinct worlds he inhabited most of his life: the ancient and the modern, his native Africa and the West. Growing up, Kouyaté received a rigorous and traditional Guinean musical education. When he later relocated to Belgium, he received traditional Western conservatory training. 

Throughout his lengthy career, Kouyaté has collaborated with an eclectic and diverse array of internationally acclaimed artists across a wide range of styles and genres, including Peter Gabriel, William Kentridge, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, Ray Phiri and others. But by far, the Guinean-born, Belgian-based artist may be best known for his work with the Grammy Award-nominated, groundbreaking, genre-defying outfit Afro Celt Sound System. 

Kouyaté’s solo debut Re: Génération Part 1 EP sees the acclaimed Guinean-born, Belgian-based artist creating and developing a new genre which he dubbed Afrotonix, which seems him pairing polyphony, electronic production and traditional African instruments like the kora, the balafon and regional percussion instruments. 

Earlier this year, I wrote EP single “Premiers Pas,” a slickly produced, breezy and hook driven bit of pop featuring atmospheric synths, twinkling kora, a supple yet propulsive bass line and skittering tweets and woofer rattling beats serving as a lush bed for Kouyaté’s plaintive delivery singing lyrics in Malinké and French. While being club and lounge friendly, the song is rooted in several powerful and urgent messages with the song being a cry for African autonomy without colonial influence, but the song also seeks and demands a more equitable world for all, as Kouyaté also calls out abuse in both the workplace and domestic spheres.

Kouyaté’s latest single “Kolabana” is the latest off his recently released EP. “Kolabana” continues a remarkable run of material that sees the Guinean-born, Belgian artist crafting a breezy and seamless synthesis of the contemporary and the ancient: The track features twinkling and arpeggiated kora, glistening synths and skittering beats serving as a lush bed for Kouyate’s plaintive delivery and an emcee, who contributes a swaggering eight bars or so, making the song both club and lounge friendly.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Marseille’s Social Dance Shares High-Energy Bop “Meilleur”

Rising Marseille-based electro pop trio Social Dance — Faustine, Thomas and Ange — are best friends and former roommates, who started the project back in 2020. The trio craft uninhibited and absurd pop inspired by their common experiences and complementary music tastes.

“Parler” off the trio’s debut EP 2022’s Rumeurs was featured in the Netflix series Emily In Paris. And as a result of Emily in Paris‘ popularity, the trio wound up supporting the EP with touring across Europe and Canada last year, playing over 70 shows, including sets at Inouïs du Printemps de Bourges and Rock en Seine.

Building upon a growing profile across the Francophone world, the Marseille-based trio’s full-length debut Volte-Face. The album further establishes their take on infectious, feel good pop but while pairing funky grooves with French touch and others.

Volte-Face will feature “Sometimes,” a feel good slice of dance punk anchored in a euphoria-inducing, dance floor friendly groove paired with squiggling bursts of Nile Rodgers-like guitar, punchy, mathematically precise drum machine, glistening synths and dueling bilingual boy-girl vocals. The result is a song that seemingly channels LCD Soundsystem, JOVM mainstays Psymon Spine and others — while being remarkably mischievous. 

Anchored around angular and squiggling bursts of guitar, skittering beats punchily delivered vocals and incredibly catchy, razor sharp hooks, “Meilleur” the album’s second and latest single sounds as though it were subtly nodding to Freedom of Choice-era DEVO, Psymon Spine and Talking Heads while continuing a remarkable run of infectious, euphoria-inducing, high-energy bops.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 82nd Birthday, Taj Mahal!

JOVM’s WIlliam Ruben Helms celebrates Taj Mahal’s 82nd birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Reijy Shares a Catchy and Summery Bop

Jhon Edison Villamizer is a rising Cúcuta, Colombia-born, Medellín-based singer/songwriter, best known in Latin music world as Reijy. Villiamizer’s career started in earnest over a decade ago, with a string of hits that captivated audiences in his hometown while revealing an artist . He has collaborated with a who’s who list of acclaimed Latin music artists including Feid, Amaro, Kevin Florez and a lengthy list of others.

Solidifying himself as an up-and-coming artist in Colombia, Villamizer recently relocated to Medellín, where he signed with DINASTIA Inc, one of the country’s highly renowned labels.

The rising Colombian artist plans to release a new song every month over the course of the next year, to showcase his unwavering dedication and passion for his craft. His latest single “EFECTO w” is a lounge and club friendly bop anchored around skittering trap beats, fluttering atmospheric synths and remarkably catchy hooks. The production serves as a lush and sainty bed for Villamizer’s delivery, which sees him alternating between vulnerable croon and swaggering braggadocio. The song reveals an artist, who seems to write an effortless and summery hook-driven bop.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: KOKOKO! Shares Throbbing and Propulsive “Bazo Bango”

The acclaimed Congolese collective KOKOKO!’s highly-anticipated sophomore album BUTU is slated for a July 5, 2024 release through Transgressive Records. BUTU sees the collective continuing to pair a defiantly resistant punk-like energy, informed and inspired by the attitude and thought of a new generation of Congolese artists and young people with their neck-snapping, attention-grabbing block party alchemy — but pushed to new, global heights.

Kinshasa’s after-dark buzz was one of the major inspirations behind BUTU, which means “the night” in Lingala, and the album dives deep into the heart of the chaotic, throbbing city, celebrating and championing the joyful and creative spirit of its inhabits. Continuing their ongoing collaboration with Belgian producer Xavier Thomas, a.k.a. Débruit, the forthcoming album sees the collective led by Makara Bianko channeling a more electronic-driven, upbeat sound while replicating the frenetic feel of their hometown’s dynamic nightlife: equipment is pushed to its limits through saturated and distorted speakers and the sonic push-and-pull of nighttime sounds. 

The band employs field recordings, recorded from the city’s nighttime sounds and “ready-made percussion” like detergent bottles, which they fed through distortion to get closer to their city’s nighttime sounds. “Compared to Fongola, this album is intentionally way more intense, because it’s quite upbeat and quite full-on,” Xavier Thomas says. The album’s material also pulls from much wider influences and span across West Africa and South Africa, influenced by Bianko’s global travel, which introduced him to new types of alternative electronic music and punk. 

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written about the following singles:

“Mokili” a house music inspired banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, relentlessly skittering hi-hats and tweeter and woofer rattling thump serving as a slickly produced bed for Bianko’s crooning and impassioned shouts. Continuing a remarkable run of club friendly material with an in-your-face punk attitude and ethos, “Mokili” captures the frenetic and sweaty energy of their hometown and its nightlife scene with an uncanny, novelistic realism. But along with that, the song is a forceful and joyous reminder that Africa is the present and the future.

“’Mokili’ is about moving the world so much that it’s going to tip over sort of,” the acclaimed Congolese collective explains. “This track was a track we were used to trying live in a more improvised way, we never got the chance to record till recently where we added the right touch for the studio. It was the last addition to our album BUTU and became the first single, so it’s really fresh. It has obviously influences from Kinshasa but also Kwaito and 90’s dance music.”

“Salaka Bien,” a euphoric, trance-inducing banger anchored around percussion created on heavy ceramic pots and pans, glistening house music synth stabs and skittering beats that helps to emphasize Bianko’s punchy and swaggering delivery singing lyrics full of winking sexual innuendo. If this track doesn’t fire you up and get you moving, you’re probably dead — literally and figuratively. 

“It’s a bass line driven track, with a lot of influences, like punk funk meeting old house stabs with a trance feeling!” The acclaimed Congolese collective explain. “When we play it live there are moments of overwhelming feeling building till it explodes and people let go totally. Do it, do it good, do it till you break it”.

BUTU‘s third and latest single “Bazo Bango,” derives its title from a Lingala phrase that translates to English as “they are scared,” a chant sung by crowds as a way to vent frustration, the collective explains. Anchored around a looping and propulsive electric bass line, skittering electronic beats, twinkling and percussive polyrhythm and bursts of woozy synth arpeggios pared with chanted call and response vocals, “Bazo Bango” is a euphoric, riotous banger that captures Kinshasa’s chaotic, throbbing and irresistible energy with a mischievous aplomb.

The accompanying video is a woozy mix of digital and electronic glitch shot in and around Kinshasa that pulsates to the song’s relentless throb.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of years, the Antananarivo, Madagascar-based JOVM mainstays LohArano — Mahalia Ravoajanahary (vocals, guitar), Michael Raveloson (bass, vocals) and Natiana Randrianasoloson (drums, vocals) — have received attention both nationally and internationally for a unique, boundary pushing sound that features elements of popular and beloved Malagasy musical styles like Tsapiky  and Salegy with heavy metal. 

The Malagasy JOVM mainstays further cemented their reputation for being one of the hardest working and prolific acts in the global scene with the release of last year’s Bae Nosy EP earlier this year, which featured, the urgent, mosh pit friendly EP title track “Bae Nosy,” a track that received airplay FERAROCK, which broadcasts across France, Switzerland, Belgium and Canada, and 50 other stations globally. The EP’s previous single “Koitra” landed on Spotify’s All New Metal and New Blood playlists, Deezer’s Metal Detector and Women of Metal playlists, Tidal’s New Metal playlist and over 250 other playlists. 

They then closed out last year with “Velirano,” a mosh pit ripper fueled by the righteous outrage of people who have been fucked with, beaten down and cheated and have had enough. It’s the sound of young people frustrated with the same ol’ okie doke when the world is on fire, and the elders and authorities don’t have the same urgency. 

The Malagasy trio return with “Dinjá,” which back home is a metaphor for cheap — both in terms of monetary value and how much our society values human life. Sonically, the song sees the band meshing elements of thrash metal with thrash punk. Anchored around scorching riffage and thunderous drumming, the song’s arrangement is a seething vehicle for Mahalia Ravoajanahary’s righteous fury.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: L’Impératrice Shares Dreamy and Wistful “Love from the Other Side”

Acclaimed Paris-based electro pop sextet and JOVM mainstays L’Impératrice  will be releasing their highly-anticipated, self-produced third full-length album Pulsar through microqlima records on June 7, 2024.  Pulsar is an album, where the band — founder Charles de Boisseguin (keys), Hagni Gown (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), Tom Daveau (drums) and Flore Benguigui (vocals) — made every decision while capturing the band’s spirit both onstage and off. 

Fittingly, the album reportedly radiates with the energy and wisdom of an outfit that has helmed countless dance parties around the world on the way to find itself and its sound. Throughout the album’s material, the Parisian JOVM mainstays move freely and authoritatively among the sounds they love, bridging hip-hop, kosmiche and modern pop with their most unabashed embraces of French Touch and international house of their growing catalog. Pulsar is also the first album of their catalog to feature guest vocalists, including acclaimed folk/pop artist Maggie Rogers and rapper/producer Erick the Architect among a list of others. 

The album sees the acclaimed pop outfit trying a new creative approach: They split into two teams of ever-interchanging members to explore new ideas, led by the band’s founder Charles de Boisseguin. It was a way of incorporating every voice into the songwriting process like never before, pulling from idiosyncratic upbringings and enthusiasm. They then passed tracks to lead vocalist Flore Benguigui, a longtime jazz singer, who would sometimes write two-dozen vocal melodies for a song, just to see which one fit best. It was an arduous and exciting process that saw the band go from writing through recording in about nine months. For L’Impératrice, this was the sort of self-determination they’d longed for and now found. 

Throughout the album’s material, the band’s Benguigui boldly sings of self-empowerment, shirking beauty standards, ageism and drag normalcy throughout the album’s material. These are apt messages for incandescent anthems of experience, of fully being yourself, instead of anyone else’s version of it. 

Pulsar‘s third and latest single “Love from the Other Side” is the album’s first English-language single. Featuring fluttering and glistening synth arpeggios paired with a supple and propulsive bass line and bursts of strummed guitar, the song’s arrangement serves as a lush bed for Benguigui’s dreamily wistful delivery. Sonically, “Love from the Other Side” sounds as though it could have been on Gorillaz ‘ Plastic Beach or MGMT‘s Congratulations.

“The first time I heard the instrumental, I thought, ‘That’s the vibe,’ even though it’s really different than what we do,” L’Impératrice’s Charles de Boisseguin says of his encountering an arrangement that begin with tehe band’s Achille Trocellier and Tom Daveau, the most rock-orientated members of the acclaimed Parisian outfit. “There is a British side to it, like Gorillaz with a bit of MGMT.” The band’s frontperson Flore Benguigui and Nicky Green wrote the song’s melody and lyrics together, building off the idea of “the good ghosts that are around you,” inspired by the bass line’s slight spooky feel.