Live Concert Photography: Summer Heart with TEEEL and Brothertiger
The Knitting Factory
March 23, 2016
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may be somewhat familiar with Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Alexander and his solo dream pop/electro pop project, Summer Heart. And as Summer Heart, Alexander has received international attention for a wistfully nostalgic, 60s psych pop and lo-fi rock sound that has been compared to the likes of Caribou, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others; in fact, his 2011 release Please Stay received praise from The Guardian and The Star, and topped Hype Machine‘s charts. Alexander’s international profile has grown as a result of severael of his songs appearing in TV series such as the NBC series, Whitney, which brought him and his work to the attention of millions of American TV viewers. Along with that, Alexander is considered one of the pioneers of Malmo, Sweden’s growing indie pop and dream pop scene — a scene that includes several internationally recognized acts (some of whom, you’ve heard about here), including Moonbabies, The Land Below, Hey Elbow, Blind Lake and Emerald Park.
Last week Alexander, along with a backing band featuring some of his dearest friends rocked a packed room at The Knitting Factory with songs from his soon-to-be released The Forbidden EP, including EP title track “The Forbidden” and previously released material — and all of evoking the sensation of waking from a pleasant reverie, but just under the surface there’s a swooning and wistful melancholy over what was and over what could never actually happen. Opening the night was TEEEL, the solo recording project of Trenton, NJ-based electronic music producer, artist, singer/songwriter and founder of Synth Records and www.iheartsynths.com. With the release of his critically applauded debut effort, Amulet and his sophomore effort University Heights, Smith has gained both a national and international profile for a sound that draws equally from synth pop, dream wave, electronic rock and New Wave. Smith is joined by guitarist Stephen Chladniček, who
fleshes out the project’s live sound.
Following TEEEL was Brooklyn-based electronic musician and producer John Jagos and his solo recording project, Brothertiger. Now, if you were frequenting JOVM over the past year, you may recall that Brothertiger can trace its origins to when Jagos was a sophomore studying at Ohio State University. His debut effort, Vision Tunnels EP was released to critical praise from the likes of No Fear of Pop and Pitchfork.His third and latest effort, Out of Touch was released last December, and with album singles Out of Touch” and “Beyond The Infinite,” Jago’s sound draws from the likes of Tears for Fears, St. Lucia, Washed Out and In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy. In other words it’s slickly produced electro pop that sounds warmly familiar and yet reveals a singular vision based around a metaphorical jungle of emotional states — tribulation, despair, fatigue, serenity, joy, tranquility, etc.
Check out some photos from a great night of electro pop, below.
(Photo Caption: TEEEL performing at The Knitting Factory last week.)
(Photo Caption: Brothertiger performing at The Knitting Factory.)
(Photo Caption: Fans dancing during Brothertiger’s set.) 
For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsku5ax6P
