Tag: Hype Machine

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the up-and-coming Norwegian/New Zealand-Australian indie electro pop duo Anna of the North, and if you may recall, the duo comprised of Gjøvik, Norway-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician Anna Lotterud and New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based producer Brady Daniell-Smith can trace its unlikely origins back to 2012. As the story goes, Lotterud was working in a shop in her small town, just outside of  Oslo, and was settling down with her first love, anticipating a life of routine, normality and banality when a customer came in and changed her life. Polite, well-groomed and worldly, this stranger began making daily visits, browsing the shop’s wares but never buying anything. One afternoon, this customer suddenly approached and implored Lotterud to abandon the traditional life she had planned to set out and expand her her horizons. This woman’s plea jolted something very deep in Lotterud, and in an act of rather uncharacteristic spontaneity she booked a flight to Australia, leaving her life and her partner behind.

The time Lotterud spent in Australia was both personally fulfilling and incredibly turbulent. She fell in love again, only to have her heart broken as suddenly and inexplicably as her decision to leave Norway and relocate to Australia was, but around act time, she met her future producer and collaborator Brady Daniell-Smith. At the time, Smith, who was also struggling with his own complicated relationships was performing as an acoustic singer/songwriter in Melbourne and in a serendipitous moment, Lotterud had managed to catch Smith performing at a local cafe, while she was with a group of friends.  Smith and Lotterud quickly became friends — with Smith encouraging his newfound friend and soon-to-be collaborator to find solace from her heartbreak in songwriting with the idea that by making music, they could both exorcise the ghosts of their past love lives. Interestingly enough, the project’s name actually derives itself from an in-joke between the two — Smith would frequently refer to Lotterud as “Anna of the North” and the name stuck.

Three years ago, the release of their debut single “Sway” began an incredible run of attention grabbing, blogosphere buzzing singles that have accumulated more than 60 million streams across all the streaming services, multiple number 1 spots of Hype Machine‘s charts and rotation on BBC Radio 1, Triple J and  Beats 1. And that shouldn’t be surprising as the duo manages to pair a brooding, Nordic-influenced, icy minimalism with a bright, buoyant, New Zealand and Southern Hemisphere-inspired synth pop — and they do so while being incredibly dance floor friendly.

Now as you may recall, Lotterud and Smith’s highly-anticipated full-length effort Lovers is slated for release on September 8, 2017 release, and the album reportedly focuses on heartbreak — in particular, the various emotional stages people typically feel after a relationship ends, including turmoil, grief, confusion, and the tentative joy in letting yourself start moving forward. Of course, along with that there’s the recognition that knowing love, including its inevitable heartbreak is necessary and wonderful because it opens up the possibility to know love once more. In fact, album single “Lovers” found the duo pairing a production featuring layers of shimmering synths, buoyant almost rubbery beats and a soaring hook with Lotterud’s tender and aching vocals, expressing a desperate an urgent longing that’s frustrated and can’t be fulfilled.

“Money,” the third and latest single from the duo’s soon-to-be released debut is a breezy, radio friendly pop track featuring shimmering synths and a soaring hook paired with Lotterud singing an impassioned take-down of people who are driven by material goods — and while being among the most decidedly warmest songs they’ve released to date, there’s a subtle, underlying snarl and venom to the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you had come across this site last month, you may have come across a post featuring the Southern California-based indie septet Private Island. Comprised of Christian Lum, Michelle Guerrero, Tommy Nickerson, Tim Barbour, Roger Mawer and Cameron Anderson the members of the Southern California-based initially developed a reputation for crafting shimmering and anthemic indie rock. In fact, the early single “Drugs” charted rather highly on Hype Machine, as it received more than 3 million Spotify streams; however, with “Turbulence,” the first single off the septet’s forthcoming full-length effort Night Drive found the band retaining the shimmering quality of their sound but while leaning heavily towards R&B and synth pop — and in a fashion reminiscent of  St. Lucia, Washed Out and others but with a Quiet Storm-like vibe.

Night Drive‘s latest single “Juvenile” continues in a similar vein as its predecessor, as its slow-burning Quiet Storm meets 80s synth pop and synth funk but interestingly enough upon repeated listens reveals slick hyper modern and swaggering production as you’ll hear autotuned vocals paired with Lum’s sultry vocals, boom bap drums, shimmering synths paired with organic instrumentation and a soaring hook. And while being a two-step friendly bit of dance floor pop, the song also manages to be some of the band’s most ambitious songwriting to date, as the song possesses an arena rock sound.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Britney Spears, Boy George, and Nicki Minaj in Auditioning for a Gig in New Visuals for Hook Laden, New Track by Up-and-Coming Leeds-based Electro Pop Duo Krrum

Earlier this year, I wrote about the up-an-coming Leeds, UK-based, indie electro pop production and artist duo KRRUM. Comprised of Derbyshire, UK-born Leeds, UK-based producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex, who grew up on punk rock and ska and Leeds-born and-based singer/songwriter Harrison, who’s largely influenced by Bon Iver, Radiohead and Thom Yorke. And as you may recall, the duo can trace they their origins to when they met while studying at Leeds School of Music. Within a relatively short period of time, the duo has seen both commercial and critical success — the duo has  had singles land at number 1 on Spotify’s Viral Chart, Hype Machine and Shazam, received regular airplay on BBC Radio 1 and Beats 1, collaborated with with salute and Lao Ra, and have performed at last year’s Pitchfork Paris Festival.

“Moon,” the Leeds-based duo’s first single of the year, found the duo pairing a club banging production featuring enormous, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, stuttering and glitchy electronics, a soaring hook, chopped up and distorted vocal samples with Harrison’s plaintive and soulful vocals giving the song a thoughtful, fatalistic sort of introspection; that shouldn’t be surprising as the song “deals with the ritual of wanting to pursue a relationship withs someone, but not wanting to jump the gun and ruin it. It’s an uncomfortable place to be because you have no control and you’re probably gonna mess it all up, like you always do.” 

Interestingly enough, the duo’s first single “Evil Twin” was their first single and although it caught on virally, the duo reworked and fleshed out the song in a way that makes them feel as though the song is finally completed; in fact, the song features a production consisting of a cinematic, looped horn arrangement, a chopped up, soulful, house music-like vocal sample, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and Harrison’s vocal taking on a gravelly ache. And while the song is rooted upon a  swaggering hook, it possesses an underlying aching uncertainty — the sort of uncertainty of someone who’s swaying between a good life, and a life of sin and vice. Sonically, the track manages to further cement their reputation for crafting hook-laden pop but while gently pushing their sound in an avant-garde leaning direction while remaining playfully accessible. 
As the band’s Alex explains of the song, the song toys “with the duality of wanting to be healthy, productive and find some long-term stability, but wanting to throw all of that away and indulge your vices. Individually, they are comforting but they are always competing with each other to come out.”

Directed by Camille Summers-Valli, the video as the duo’s Alex notes is a strange realization of the competition between one’s good, healthy side and one’s vice-loving, trouble-seeking side, as it stars Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Boy George and Michael Jackson lookalikes auditioning for a gig for Krrum’s lead producer and co-vocalist Alex, who appears both unimpressed and confused. Interestingly, the visuals give these world famous superstars a desperate and ridiculous humanity, as they’re auditioning for a role they don’t fit for. 
 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Sultry and Sensual Sounds and Visuals of Anna of the North’s Latest Single “Lovers”

Comprised of the Gjøvik, Norway-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician Anna Lotterud and New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based producer Brady Daniell-Smith, the Norwegian/New Zealand-Australian indie electro pop duo Anna of the North can trace its origin back to 2012. As the story goes, Lotterud was working in a shop in her small town near Oslo, and was settling down with her first love, anticipating a life of routine, normality and banality when a customer came in and changed her life. Polite and well groomed, this stranger began making daily visits, browsing for hours but never buy-in anything. One afternoon, the woman suddenly approached Lotterud and implored her to abandoned the traditional life she had planned out, and go and expand her horizons. The plea jolted something in Lotterud and in an act of rather uncharacteristic spontaneity, she booked a flight to Australia, leaving her life and her partner behind. 

The time Lotterud spent in Australia was personally fulfilling but also incredibly turbulent. She fell in love again, only to have her heart broken as suddenly and inexplicably as her decision to leave Norway in the first place. Around that time, she met her future producer and collaborator Brady Daniell-Smith. At the time, Smith who was also struggling with his own complicated relationships, was performing as an acoustic singer/songwriter in Melbourne, and in a serendipitous moment, Lotterud had caught Smith performing while she was friends. Interestingly, Lotterud and Smith then quickly became friends, with Smith encouraging his new friend to find solace in songwriting — and that by making music they could exorcise the ghosts of their past love lives. The project’s name actually came from a joke — Smith jokingly referred to Lotterud as “Anna of the North” and the name stuck. 

The release of their debut single “Sway” three years ago began an incredible run of attention grabbing singles that have received over 60 million streams across every streaming service, multiple number 1 spots on Hype Machine’s charts and rotation on BBC Radio 1, Triple J and  Beats 1 — and in many ways that shouldn’t be surprising as the duo’s sound pairs brooding, icy minimalism with bright, buoyant and radio friendly/dance floor friendly production. 

The duo’s highly-anticipated full length effort Lovers is slated for release on September 8, 2017 and reportedly the album’s material focuses on a subject familiar to the duo and to countless others — heartbreak. And through the album’s ten tracks, the album goes through the various emotional stages people typically feel after a relationship ends, including turmoil, grief, confusion, and the tentative joy in letting yourself start moving forward. Of course, along with that there’s the recognition that knowing love, including its inevitable heartbreak is necessary and wonderful because it opens up the possibility to know love once more. 

Interestingly,  the album’s latest single, album title track “Lovers” pairs a production featuring layers of shimmering synths, buoyant almost rubbery beats and a soaring hook with Lotterud’s tender and aching vocals, expressing a desperate an urgent longing that’s frustrated and can’t be fulfilled. 

The recently released visuals for “Lovers” features Lotterud at a party by herself surrounded by couples — and in some way she’s haunted by the fact her relationship has fallen apart. As the duo explains “On a literal level, the video is about being lost at a house party and surrounded by couples when your own relationship has fallen apart. Digging deeper, it’s set in the same place as the song, that point when you feel so alone and you’re reaching out but they’re not reaching back. It’s desperate”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past 12-18 months or so, you might recall that the Spanish-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and pop artist Sofi de la Torre quickly became a JOVM mainstay artist. de la Torre can trace the origins of her musical career to when she first began writing songs when she was 14 — and after stints in  Los Angeles and  London, where she signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV and then wrote and recorded her full-length debut. As the story goes, after the release of her debut, de la Torre went through an extensive period of reflection, self-discovery and re-invention, which began with the JOVM mainstay artist experimenting with her sound and songwriting approach. Interestingly, her early experimentation eventually lead her to collaborate with Finnish songwriting and production team Jonas Karlsson and Axel Ehnström and the critically applauded “Vermilion,” which was featured on The Guardian’s playlist and on Grimes’ blog.  The track was then remixed by deep house producers Crom and Thanh and played by Tiesto on his BBC Radio 1 program –- adding to an already growing international profile across the European Union.

Along with a growing international profile, de la Torre has developed a reputation for being rather prolific, releasing two critically applauded EPs That Isn’t You and Mess; in fact, at one point Mess steadily climbed the the Hype Machine charts and was featured in Spotify’s Weekend Buzz playlist. Now, although it’s been a little bit of time since I’ve personally written about her, de la Torre has been rather busy, writing and recording her latest EP Another. Not Me. I’m Done, and the EP’s latest single “D.G.I.T. (Don’t Get It Twisted)” is a collaboration featuring Blackbear and Taylor Bennett that further cements de la Torre’s reputation for deeply personalized songwriting — in this case, writing a song in which its narrator recognizes that because of her selfishness and immaturity, that she almost took a great thing for granted. And as a result, the song possesses a sense of vulnerability, regret and hopefulness — the hope that she hasn’t screwed it all up and hasn’t permanently lost a good thing. But along with that, the song pairs slick yet minimalist production consisting of tribal-like percussion, swirling electronics with de la Torre’s ability to craft a razor sharp, radio-friendly hook.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their first three singles, “Souvenirs,” “Set The Fire” and “Cameos,” the London, UK-based indie rock quintet — Robbie Reid (guitar, vocals), Louis Price (guitar, vocals), Jason Hawthorne (guitar), Paddy Conn (bass) and Andrew Evans (drums) — Swimming Tapes quickly received attention across the blogosphere and a growing national profile, as “Set The Fire” and “Cameos” both reached the top of the Hype Machine charts, which was promptly followed by airplay on BBC Radio 1. Building upon the buzz the band received from their first three singles, they released the Souvenirs EP late last year through up-and-coming London-based indie label Hand In Hive, and the EP featured the band’s previously released singles and some newer material.

2017 will see the release of a new EP from the London-based indie rock quintet, as well as UK tour that includes sets at The Great Escape Festival, the Dot to Dot Festival and a headlining set at The Lexington but before that, the EP’s first single “Queens Parade,” consists of layers of shimmering guitars, propulsive and steady drumming, a forceful bass line, and ethereal harmonies paired with a soaring and anthemic hook. And while clearly nodding at 120 Minutes era Brit Pop, shogaze, and alt rock, the song also find the band subtly nodding at 70s AM rock and early New Wave but complete with a wistful nostalgia at its core.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Will Joseph Cook is an up-and-coming London, UK-based indie pop/indie electro pop artist and producer who can trace the origins of his career to when he began crafting earnest and off-kilter pop tunes inspired by Talking Heads, MGMT, LCD Soundsystem and Vampire Weekend among others.  And at a relatively young age, the British producer and electronic music artist quickly received national and international attention with the release of his debut EP,  You Jump I Run through Duly Noted Records; in fact with EP single “Message,” which landed at number 1 on Hype Machine‘s charts and number 2 on Global Spotify Viral Chart. 

Proof Enough, Cook’s much anticipated follow-up Proof Enough further cemented Cook’s growing reputation for crafting material with enormous, rousing and crowd pleasing hooks, while going through a decided electronic approach, an approach that continues on his Jack Steadman, Hugh Worskett and self-produced full-length debut, Sweet Dreamer which is slated for an April 14, 2017 release through Atlantic UK.

“Plastic,” the album’s latest, infectious single features a boldly confident and brash production consisting of twinkling arpeggio keys, enormous, stomping, tweeter and woofer rocking beats paired with Cook’s achingly soulful and easygoing vocals and a rousing, anthemic hook; but underneath, the song possesses an anxious uncertainty — the sort that comes about when a potential love may be unrequited or when a current love may be unceremoniously ending. And from the release of his latest single, Cook reveals himself to be one of the more interesting and unique electronic artists in an incredibly crowded field.

 

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of two childhood friends, who discovered that they had independently embark on electronic music careers while in college, the mysterious, Chicago-based electronic production and artist duo The White Panda have dominated the electronic music blogosphere with the release of five, critically applauded full-length albums — all of which have resulted in 35 #1 singles on Hype Machine, over 60 million SoundCloud streams and 25 million YouTube plays while being dubbed “the mash-up kings” by Vibe Magazine, and “a veritable party-mashup machine” by Entertainment Weekly. (At one point, The White Panda was one of SoundCloud’s top five most played artists — ever.)

Adding to an already immense and growing national profile, the duo has headlined several US tours, have played some of the country’s largest festivals including Lollapalooza, Firefly, Electric Zoo, and Bamboozle, and have opened for the likes of Flo Rida, Wale, Nelly, Twenty One Pilots, Dispatch, Steve Aoki, Tiesto, Mac Miller, Mike Posner, Benny Benassi, MGMT and others. And while working on their own original production work, the duo had also spent their time working on and releasing a number of remixes including a gigantic, festival rocking rework of Powers‘ “Beat of My Drum,” that I wrote about a couple of years ago. Now, it’s been some time since I’ve personally written about them; however, the Chicago-based duo have been rather prolific since then, including their latest single, a sultry, club-rocking and anthemic cover/re-work of The 1975‘s “Somebody Else,” that features a guest spot from Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Verite — and while being a bold, tweeter and woofer rocking rework, the cover manages to retain the atmospheric original’s ache and longing.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of critically applauded singles “Women’s Business” and “Here We Go,” Melbourne, Australia-based quintet Canary have won both national and international attention as the former charted on Hype Machine and the latter received airplay through triple J — and as a result, the band has opened for the likes of Saskwatch, Ainslie Willis, Hein Cooper and LANKS.

Building upon the buzz that they’ve already received, the Australian quintet’s sophomore effort I Am Lion is slated for a July 8, 2016 release and the album’s first single “Fickle Heart” was largely inspired by frontman Matthew Kennealy’s  breakup — and as a result, the song focuses on the bitterly self-righteous feelings of self-destruction and hatred in the aftermath of a relationship’s violent explosion.  Sonically,the band employs sludgy power chords in a song structurally sounds as though it owes a debt to 90s alt rock — as the song alternates between anthemic hooks and quieter, more contemplative sections. And throughout the song’s narrator spends his time reflecting on the nature of a relationship that’s left him heartbroken, bitter and wishing that he never met this person in the first place. Certainly, it’s a sentiment that should feel universally familiar to anyone who’s been through a nasty breakup.

 

 

 

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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

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Reuben Keeney is a 22 year old Letterkenny, Ireland-born Donegal, Ireland producer and electronic music artist, who emerged onto the international electronic music scene with the release of  a cover/rework of “Sweet Child Of Mine,” featuring one of London‘s most sought after young vocalists, Jasmine Thompson; in fact, the single landed at number 1 on Hype Machine‘s dance charts.

Building on the buzz of “Sweet Child of Mine,” Keeney’s latest single “Better Run” is an infectiously upbeat, old-school house music single that pairs layers of pitched down soulful vocals and twinkling synths, chugging bass lines and bits of glockenspiel with an anthemic hook in the sort of club-banger that you can picture your cohorts shouting along to in the club.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Buoyant and Anthemic Sound of London’s Ten Fe

With the release of their critically praised single “Make Me Better,” the London-based duo Ten Fe, comprised of Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan took the blogosphere by storm for a sound that critics internationally have […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms
Young, up-and-coming pop artist Rozes first caught the attention of the blogosphere with the release of her debut single “Everything” and her collaboration with Just A Gent on “Limelight” which landed at #1 on Hype Machine‘s Charts and received over 2 million  Soundcloud plays. And in a 12-18 month period that saw releases by the likes of Chelsea Lankes, Phoebe Ryan, CAPPA and several other young female pop artists dominate the attention of the blogosphere. Certainly, with the forthcoming release of her R U Mine EP early next year, the young Philadelphia-based pop artist will be building up on the early buzz she’s received over the course of the past 18 months.
Interestingly, as the year is coming to a close Rozes teamed up with The Chainsmokers to co-write and sing their Top 40 single “Fragile” which consists of swirling electronics, shimmering synth and gently skittering drum programming to craft a song that’s sparse enough to give room for Rozes’ vocals to float through a song that sounds so fragile (pun completely unintended here) that it seems as though it’d dissipate into the ether.
New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Sofi de la Torre’s Late Night, Noir-ish, Electro Pop

Over the past few months, Spanish-born Berlin-based singer/songwriter Sofi de la Torre has become something of a mainstay artist on this site. Now, if you’re new to the site — or just need a refresher let’s get into […]