Increasingly this site’s mission has been to cover and present music regardless of genre and from all over the world, so as you can imagine i was thrilled to receive an email from Kazan, Tatarstan-based electronic music duo, The Shopengauers. 

Their latest single “Start Again” is comprised of cascading layers of synths, skittering percussion and paired with plaintive vocals, begging a lover to stay around. Yes, it’s the almost universal pop theme but it says something about how slickly electronic dance music and pop themes that translate across all cultures; after all, the themes are so ridiculously common that they’re fairly universal. Who hasn’t begged a lover for a second chance – or know of someone who has been in that situation?

In any case, sonically, the Tartarstan-based duo’s sound owes a great deal to 90s house music – in particular, i can’t but think of C&C Music Factory, Greg Lamond and others. So you’ll probably find yourself getting out of your seat to dance as though you in a club.   

Every time I’ve played the song, I can’t help but think about how Tatarstan-based duo’s sound owes a great debt to 90s house music