Tag: Capital Cities

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Eric Sharp is a Los Angeles, CA-based electronic music producer, artist, DJ and promoter, who has developed a reputation for being one of the most accomplished tastemakers on the West Coast. As a DJ/producer and electronic music artist, he has a reputation for crafting intelligent, sophisticated house music that could comfortably fit at an intimate private party, at the club and at massive festivals simultaneously. And with material that ranges from deep and nuanced to the driving and syncopated, the Los Angeles, CA-based producer and artist has had his music licensed by Major League Soccer, Sony, CSI: Miami, Hitachi, and others.

2010 saw the launch of Sharp’s label Rock It Science Laboratories, a label and platform for like-minded producers and artists, many of whom played at the warehouse parties he tirelessly promoted. Eventually, Sharp retooled his focus from underground warehouse parties to major club residencies and appearances on the festival circuit — including Coachella, Outside Lands, Amsterdam Dance Event, Decibel Festival, SXSW, Symbiosis Gathering, Miami Music Week and others. Interestingly, a growing profile in the electronic music scene coincided with a relocation from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and as a result he found himself collaborating with a number of his new hometown’s up-and-coming artists including Anna Lunoe, Daisy O’Dell, Siouxsie Black and George Cochrane on his 2013 EP Sharp Cuts.  Additionally he has remixed the material of Melanie Martinez, Jars of Clay and others, which have expanded his profile.

Last year, Sharp ramped up his output of original music significantly, releasing collaborations with Capital Cities’ Spencer Ludwig and up-and-coming artist Gavin Turek and others and it has continued well into 2017 with a number of Hype Machine chart topping songs.  Building upon the release of Hype Machine #1 track “Take This Time,” feat. Zhao, Sharp’s latest single “Night Turns To Day” is a shimmering and mid-tempo house track featuring arpeggiated synths, thumping and stuttering drum programming and a sinuous hook paired with Somme‘s sultry vocals — and much like Octo Octa‘s Between Two Selves Sharp’s latest single possesses an bracing iciness while managing to walk the tightrope between chill out session and club banger.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Scavenger Hunt’s “Stranger Things” and 80s Pop Inspired Sounds and Visuals for “Never Enough”

If you’ve been frequenting this site, you may recall that I wrote about “River Runs Dry,” a single off the duo’s soon to be released Shapes and Outlines EP — and that particular single found the band managing to mesh anthemic and swooning 80s-inspired synth pop with a slick, contemporary production with Lamoureaux’s sultry pop-star belter vocals. The EP’s latest single “Never Enough” is a mid-tempo bit of anthemic synth pop that sounds as though it were inspired by the likes of contemporary acts like St. Lucia and others, thanks in part to the use of chiming percussion that emphasizes the song’s hook, sinuous bass line, some Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar. Of course, I think the single will help to further cement the duo’s burgeoning reputation for crafting slick, anthemic and radio friendly electro pop with an heartfelt and swooning earnestness.

The recently released music video draws influence from both the hit Netflix show Stranger Things and from MTV-era pop videos but with an equally slick production and visual value.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms
With the release of their first singles “Lost” and “Dreamers,” which were featured in ad campaigns for Estee Lauder, Virgin Mobile and Hollister and made an appearance in the major motion picture Bad Moms, Los Angeles-based electro pop duo Scavenger Hunt, comprised of singer/songwriter Jill Lamoureux and producer, multi-instrumentalist Dan Mufson quickly rose to national attention for a sound that’s deeply influenced by Fleetwood Mac, 80s-era Stevie Nicks, Annie Lennox, Sade, Robyn, 80s and 90s pop and R&B — while to my ears sounding much like Yaz and New Order. And adding to a growing national profile, the duo have toured with the likes of Haerts, Dragonette, Shura and Capital Cities. (In fact, I caught them open for Haerts at Brooklyn Bowl several years ago.)
“River Runs Dry,” the first single off the duo’s forthcoming EP manages to mesh 80s pop sentiment with slick and contemporary production that features propulsive drum programming, subtle use of xylophone that pop out of the ether and undulating synths paired with Lamoureaux’s sultry, pop star/pop belter vocals and an infectious and anthemic hook to craft a breezy, radio-friendly, dance-floor track that packs in quite a bit of swooning, aching emotion.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of long-time friends and collaborators, the Sydney, Australia-born, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist production duo Intergalactix have a long-held reputation behind the scenes producing material for a number of renowned artists including Jason Mraz, Heart, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Kelis, Allen Stone, Ariana Grande, The Fugees‘ Pras Michel, Cool & Dre, fellow countrymen Jimmy Barnes and PNAU, as well as  Cash Money Records.

Last year, the production duo began to establish themselves as artists  with the release of their debut EP I.W.S.O.M, which featured the single “Tuesday.” Building upon an already growing national profile, the duo toured extensively to support the EP — and it included a set at Firefly Music Festival. (Interestingly, the festival may have had one of the biggest and most star-studded lineups of this past year’s festival season as Intergalactix played a bill that included Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, Snoop Dogg, The Killers, Morrissey, and several others.)

Thursday marks the release of the Australian-born, Los Angeles-based duo’s sophomore EP S.T.S. – R.N.D.  and the EP’s latest single “Right Next Door” featuring Capital Cities‘ Spencer Ludwig will further cement Intergalactix’s reputation for sleek, retro-futuristic synth pop that channels The Gap Band‘s “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” and “Outstanding,” Rick James and The Temptations “Standing On The Top” The Whispers “And The Beat Goes On” and “Rock Steady,” and Cameo‘s “Word Up,”as well as more contemporary fare including Dam-Funk, Rene Lopez‘s most recent return to all things funk, Boulevards, ISHI, and a growing list of others.

Growing up listening to a ton of synth funk back in the 80s, it isn’t surprising that a number of contemporary artists have revived that sound — both eras specialize in slick production based around sinuous bass lines, shimmering arpeggio synths, four-on-the-floor drumming (or drum programming), anthemic hooks paired with an incredible sense of memorable melody and sensual vocals. You can’t help but recognize how sexy the song is — but it’s also a certified club banger, that should make you get up out of your seat and to the dance floor.

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