Tag: Caribou

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Summer Heart Returns with a Gorgeous and Symbolic Meditation on Time and Wisdom

JOVM mainstay David Alexander is an internationally renowned, Swedish singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, whose solo, electro pop/dream pop recording project Summer Heart has received attention for a wistful and nostalgic sound that draws from  60s psych pop, 80s synth pop and lo-fi rock and has been compared favorably to the likes of  Caribou, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others, and for being considered among the first wave of Sweden’s equally renowned electro pop and dream pop movement, which also includes Moonbabies, The Land Below, Hey Elbow, Blind Lake and Emerald Park.  

Alexander’s latest Summer Heart album, 101 was released last month, and as you may recall I’ve previously written about album single  “Hotel Beds,” a swooning yet buoyant production featuring shimmering synths, stuttering house music-like drum programming, boozy blasts of guitar, Alexander’s dreamy falsetto and a rousing hook within a dance floor friendly song. However, underneath the buoyant and summery vibes of the song is a bittersweet and weary rumination on the life of a touring musician. 

101’s latest single “Follow” continues on a similar path as its predecessor as the song features a house music-inspired production consisting of arpeggiated and shimmering synths, chiming, Afro-pop-like percussion, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and Alexander’s dreamy falsetto with a soaring hook. And much like its immediate predecessor, underneath the buoyant and summery vibe there’s more than meets the eye — in this case, the song’s narrator expresses a plaintive, desperately unresolved frustration. As Alexander explains in press notes. “To follow your dreams, you must figure out what they are. ‘Follow’ is about that  moment when you think you have it all figured to, only to realise you’re not one bit wiser. Those things you do, which you imagine will change everything . . . when all is said and done, afterwards you feel exactly the same.”

Directed by Kyle Macfadzean, the recently released video features expressive, contemporary choreography by Amy Kent and Laura Ava-Scott, and stars Grace Macfadzean and Angela Downs. Shot in an lushly cinematic fashion, the video makes a connection between the young woman and her older, seemingly wiser doppleganger, emphasizing the song’s central theme with a powerfully emotional yet surreal wallop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

David Alexander is a Swedish singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, whose solo electro pop/dream pop recording project Summer Heart has received attention internationally for a wistful, nostalgic sound that draws from 60s psych pop, 80s synth pop and lo-fi rock and has been compared favorably to the likes of  Caribou, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you may recall that that Alexander’s profile has grown as a result of several songs being featured 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 largely considered to be among the first wave of Sweden’s internationally renowned and growing indie pop and dream pop scene — a scene the includes a number of internationally recognized acts that I’ve written about at some point or another, including Moonbabies, The Land Below, Hey Elbow, Blind Lake and Emerald Park.

Up until last month, some time had passed since i had written about Alexander and Summer Heart, but as it turns out, the Malmo, Sweden-based dream pop artist had been busy writing and recording the material that would comprise his forthcoming full-length effort 101. “Hotel Beds,” the single I wrote about last month further cemented the Swedish dream pop pioneer’s reputation for crafting swooning yet buoyant and summery productions — in this case featuring shimmering synths, muttering house music-like drum programming, boozy blasts of guitar and Alexander’s laconic falsetto and a rousing hook with a dance floor-friendly vibe; however, underneath the buoyant and breezy pop stylings is a bittersweet rumination on the life of a touring musician. And in a extremely subtle fashion, the song evokes the sensation of rushing off from place to place, without ever really getting to know a town beyond the fact that you have to be there by a specific day or time. “‘Hotel Beds’ is about touring, going from city to city, hotel bed to hotel bed. About meeting new people every night. It’s about a feeling of being detached from reality,” Alexander explained in press notes. “Don’t get me wrong. I love to tour but after a while, it becomes a big blur . . . the lyrics were written in the back of a tour bus. It was recorded in Stockholm, mixed in Brooklyn and mastered in Jersey City.”

101‘s latest single “Follow” continues in a similar vein as its predecessor as it features a percussive yet swooning production consisting of syrupy cascades of shimmering synth, Afropop-like percussion, finger snaps, tweeter and woofer rocking beats paired with Alexander’s breathy falsetto and layered vocal samples, and while being equally as buoyant and summery, the song manages to possesses an underlying, unresolved frustration. As Alexander explains in press notes. “To follow your dreams, you must figure out what they are. ‘Follow’ is about that  moment when you think you have it all figured to, only to realise you’re not one bit wiser. Those things you do, which you imagine will change everything . . . when all is said and done, afterwards you feel exactly the same.”

Alexander will be embarking on a handful of live dates to support the new album and it includes a October 18, 2017 stop at Sunnyvale. Check out the tour dates below.

 

Live Dates: 

9/7/17  Birthdays, London

10/18/17 Sunnyvale, NYC

10/23/17 Bootleg Theatre, LA

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

So, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d be familiar with Swedish singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and JOVM mainstay David Alexander and his solo electro pop/dream pop recording project Summer Heart. And with Summer Heart, Alexander has received international attention for a wistfully nostalgic sound that draws from 60s psych pop, 80s electro pop and lo-fi rock, and has been compared favorably to the likes of  Caribou, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others. Interestingly, Alexander’s international profile has grown as a result of several songs being placed in TV series such as the NBC series, Whitney, which brought him and his work to the attention of millions of American TV viewers; but perhaps more important, the Swedish singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer is considering among the first wave 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.

It’s been over a year since I’ve personally written about him but within that period the Malmo Sweden-based artist and producer has been very busy touring and writing and recording his latest effort, 101, which is slated for release next month — and while 101‘s latest single “Hotel Beds” will further Alexander’s reputation for crafting swooning pop as the single consists of a buoyant and summery production featuring shimmering synths, stuttering House music-leaning drum programming, boozy blasts of guitar and Alexander’s laconic falsetto paired with a anthemic and dance floor. But underneath the buoyant and breezy pop stylings is a bittersweet rumination on the life of a touring musician — and in a way the song feels much like a rushing blur from place to place, without really knowing how long you’ll be around. In fact, as the Swedish pop artist explains in press notes “‘Hotel Beds’ is about touring, going from city to city, hotel bed to hotel bed. About meeting new people every night. It’s about a feeling of being detached from reality. Don’t get me wrong. I love to tour but after a while, it becomes a big blur . . . the lyrics were written in the back of a tour bus. It was recorded in Stockholm, mixed in Brooklyn and mastered in Jersey City.”

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few years, you have most likely come across a handful of posts on Simon Green, a Brighton, UK-born, Los Angeles, CA-based DJ, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic music artist, who has written, recorded and performed under the moniker of Bonobo. Interestingly, Green had long been considered part of a movement of producers, multi-instrumentalists and electronic music artists, who specialized in a sleek, hyper-modern and downtempo-leaning electronic music that included  Four Tet, Jon Hopkins, Caribou and others; however, with the release of his critically applauded 2013 release The North Borders Green revealed a decided change in his compositional approach in which he frequently paired electronic production with lush and stunning arrangements featuring organic instrumentation — wth the end result being a sound that possessed a cinematic quality.

The North Borders was also part of a larger, growing trend among many electronic music artists and producers to not only create a much more evocative and nuanced sound but an attempt to remind listeners, fans and critics that there was actual musicality within their productions besides a person haphazardly tapping away at a laptop or turning buttons and dials on a sampler or a processor.

Since the release of The North Borders, Green has been both extremely busy and rather prolific — he released the Flashlight EP at the end of 2014 while during what would turn out to be a two year period of intense touring across the globe. Green somehow managed to find the time to write and recored the material off his sixth full-length album Migration, which was released earlier this year. Naturally, with an album titled Migration, the material thematically focused on migration. As Green remarked in press notes “It’’s interesting how one person will take an influence from one part of the world and move with that influence and effect another part of the world. Over time, the identities of places evolve.” And as a result, the material seemed to possesses a transitory nature — some of the material, including album single “Kerala,” was initially composed while on the road and then was road-tested and revised during Stateside DJ sets. Adding to the album’s transitory nature, it featured guest spots from a number of artists, who have emigrated at some point themselves, including Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based vocalist Michael Milosh of Los Angeles-based indie pop act Rhye, who recorded his vocal tracks while in Berlin, Germany; Australian-born, Brooklyn-based global, indie pop sensation Nick Murphy, formerly known as Chet Faker, who bonded with the British producer over a shared love of disco; Florida-born, Los Angeles-based Nicole Miglis of Los Angeles-based act Hundred Waters; and the New York-based Moroccan collective Innov Gnawa among others. Adding to the album’s transitory nature, Green also employs the use of found sounds that include a Hong Kong elevator, rainfall in Seattle, an Atlanta-based tumble dryer and a New Orleans fan boat engine.

After completing successful tours across both the European Union and North America to support Migration, Green announced the release of a 3 song EP/single package that features album single “Bambro Koyo Ganda,” an analog version of “Bambro Koyo Ganda” that finds Green stripping the song’s production and sound to the bone — retaining a propulsive, undulating pulse and Moroccan-born, New York-based band Innov Gnawa’s vocals and handclap-led percussion, highlighting the hypnotic groove and vocals. EP closing track “Samurai” was written and recorded during the Migration sessions, and consists of a stuttering vocal sample floating over a sinuous production featuring shuffling drum programming and shimmering, subtly arpeggio synth and wobbling low end. And much like the material from the recording sessions it came from, the song should remind listeners of how much Green’s work draws from classic house and soul, while being paradoxically sensual, intimate and yet cinematic.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Goldfrapp’s Latest Single Reveals Both a Return to Form and an Improvisational Feel

Now, with the release of 2013’s Tales of Us, Goldfrapp — comprised of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory —released what was arguably one of their most cinematic, hauntingly and lushly gorgeous efforts, as the album’s material paired Goldfrapp’s arresting vocals with classical-leaning arrangements featuring piano, a soaring string section, acoustic guitar with some electronic flourishes here and there. Interestingly, with the release of “Anymore,” the first single off the band’s soon-to-be released and much-anticipated follow up to Tales of Us, Silver Eye revealed a bit of a return to form for the duo as the single features a slick production consisting of enormous, thumping 808-like beats, layers of buzzing and undulating synths paired with Goldfrapp’s sultry vocals, expressing a tense impatience and longing with a tougher, more abrasive sound while buzzing with a restless, creative energy and sense of experimentation, which stems from the recording sessions with Grammy-wining producer John Congleton, who has worked with St. Vincent, John Grant and Wild Beasts; as well as collaborations with electronic composer Bobby Krlic, best known as The Haxan Cloak and Leo Abrahams, a guitarist, who has collaborated with Brian Eno contributed abstract guitar textures. And lastly, the album was mixed by David Wrench, who has worked with The xx, FKA Twigs and Caribou.

Much like the previously released singles, “Ocean” reveals an abrasive sound featuring layers of arpeggio synths, tribal like drumming, enormous, thundering beats, and ominously swirling electronics within a fairly minimalist-inspired production that allows Goldfrapp’s expressive vocals room to express anger, disgust and frustration. As the duo explained to the folks at Billboard the song was created during a morning writing and recording session and was originally built from what Goldfrapp called a “a very small improvisation.” “I remember coming into the studio one morning and I think we just had a few drums going and it was really basic,” Goldfrapp recalled. “Will said ‘Do you fancy doing some vocals this morning?’ So I was like, ‘Alright then’ and slightly reluctantly, i went into the vocal both and the words just came out.” And as a result, the song manages to bristle with a wild, unpredictability unlike any of their previously released material.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays Goldfrapp Return with a Buzzing, Dance-Floor Friendly, New Single

With 2013’s Tales of Us, Goldfrapp — comprised of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory — released what may have arguably been one of their hauntingly gorgeous and lushly atmospheric efforts they had ever released as the album’s material leaned more towards compositions featuring piano, stunning string arrangements, classically strummed guitar paired with Alison Goldfrapp’s equally gorgeous and arresting vocals. The duo’s much anticipated follow up to Tales of Us, Silver Eye is slated for a March 31, 2017 release though Mute Records, and the forthcoming album’s first single “Anymore” reveals a radical change in sonic direction with the duo’s sound as the single features enormous, thumping 808-like beats, layers of buzzing and undulating synths paired with Goldfrapp’s sultry vocals — and while bearing a resemblance to Version 2.0-era Garbage, the song possesses a tense impatience and longing at its core.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Trippy and Hypnotic Sounds and Visuals of Bonobo’s “Kerala”

January 13, 2017 will mark the release of Green’s sixth Bonobo effort Migration, and his first full-length release in four years. Fittingly as Green mentions in press notes, the material thematically speaking focuses on migration. “It’’s interesting how one person will take an influence from one part of the world and move with that influence and effect another part of the world. Over time, the identities of places evolve,” the renowned British producer and electronic music artist remarks in press notes. With that in mind, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that the material possesses a transitory nature — some of the material, including the album’s first single “Kerala” was initially composed while on the road and then was road-tested and revised during Stateside DJ sets. And the album’s guest spots feature a number of artists, who have emigrated themselves, including Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based vocalist Michael Milosh of Los Angeles-based indie pop act Rhye, who recorded his vocal tracks while in Berlin, Germany; Australian-born, Brooklyn-based global, indie pop sensation Nick Murphy, formerly known as Chet Faker, who bonded with the British producer over a shared love of disco; Florida-born, Los Angeles-based Nicole Miglis of Los Angeles-based act Hundred Waters; and the New York-based Moroccan collective Innov Gnawa among others. Adding to the album’s transitory nature, Green also employs the use of found sounds that include a Hong Kong elevator, rainfall in Seattle, an Atlanta-based tumble dryer and a New Orleans fan boat engine.

As for “Kerala,” the single manages to further cement elements of Green’s signature sound while expanding upon it as shuffling and skittering 808s are paired with gorgeous yet arpeggiated and knotted strings. And the song builds up until Green drops a cut and layered vocal sample from Brandy that gives the composition a bit of soulfulness and swooning euphoria while possessing a shimmering and cinematic quality.

Directed by video collective Bison, who has produced videos for Jon Hopkins, London Grammar and Rosie Lowe and starring Gemma Arterton, the video compliments the shuffling and trippy nature of the song by creating slowly staggered looped effects in which Arterton is haunted by both terrors unseen by everyone else around her — until the camera pulls out to see an unidentified flying object hovering at the horizon.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Urgent and Swooning Video for TOURIST’s “Run”

TOURIST // RUN fSwrom Ozzie Pullin on Vimeo. William Phillips is a London, UK-based electronic music artist/producer and songwriter, best known in electronic music circles best known for his solo recording project Tourist — and […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Alexander and his solo dream pop/electro-pop Summer Heart has received international attention for a wistfully nostalgic, 60s psych pop-leaning, lo-fi sound that compares favorably to Caribou‘s earliest material, Washed Out, In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy, Painted Palms and others; in fact, his 2011 Please Stay EP received praise from The Guardian and The Star topped Hype Machine‘s charts. In his native Sweden, Alexander has a reputation for being a pioneer of Sweden’s burgeoning dream pop movement, a movement that includes Moonbabies, The Land Below, Hey Elbow, Blind Lake and Emerald Park.

Interestingly, Alexander’s international profile has grown as several of his songs have appeared in TV series — including the NBC series, Whitney, which brought him the attention of millions of American TV viewers. Now, if you were frequenting this site last year, you might recall that I wrote about “Nothing Can Stop Us Now,” a song that consisted of jangling guitars, washboard-led percussion, layers of ethereal vocals and cascading synths with a warm buzzing summer afternoon warmth. His latest single “The Forbidden” off his forthcoming EP also named The Forbidden is a slow-burning and shoegaze-leaning single that pairs Alexander’s ethereal cooing with shimmering guitars and synths played through gentle amounts of reverb  and jazz-like drumming. And although the song evokes the sensation of waking up from a pleasant dream, just underneath its placid surface is a wistful melancholy that will remind the listener that all things will eventually dissipate.

Alexander along with a backing band featuring some of his dearest friends will be making Stateside appearances at SXSW and Williamsburg Brooklyn’s The Knitting Factory later this month. Check out tour dates below.

 

SXSW:

Wednesday 16th March

The Townsend – 1:05am

 

Saturday 19th March

Icenhauer’s – 1am

 

NYC:

Wednesday 23rd March

Live In Brooklyn – The Knitting Factory –

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=6437785

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Wistful and Heartbreaking Video for Caribou’s “Can’t Do Without You”

Dan Snaith can trace the origins of his solo recording project Caribou to the theft of an unused sampler from his high school’s music department program. Snaith originally began writing and recording under the moniker Manitoba — that […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Summer Heart’s 60s Psych Pop Inspired Sound

Summer Heart is the solo dream pop recording project of the Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Alexander. Summer Heart has received attention for a nostalgic, 60s psych pop-leaning, lo-fi sound that bears a subtle resemblance […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Dan Snaith’s critically acclaimed recording project Caribou has followed a rather unconventional trajectory since its humble beginnings with the theft of an unused sampler from his high school’s music department. Snaith originally began writing and […]