Tag: indie electro pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Brijean Shares Breezy and Mischievous “Workin’ On It”

Brijean is an acclaimed indie pop project that features: 

  • Brijean Murphy, a Los Angeles-born percussionist, who can trace the origins of her music career to her childhood: Murphy’s father Patrick is a percussionist and engineer, who taught a young Brijean her first patterns on a pair of congas that she inherited from the late Trinidadian steel pan drum legend Vince Charles. As a percussionist, the younger Murphy initially made a name for herself as a highly-sought after touring musician with stints in the touring bands of Toro Y Moi, U.S. Girls Poolside, and several others.  

  • Doug Stuart, a jazz and pop session multi-instrumentalist and producer, who has worked with JOVM mainstays Bells Atlas, Meerna, Luke Temple, Jay Stone and others. 

2019’s debut EP WALKIE TALKIE was written and recorded in marathon sessions at their intimate home studio, during breaks in Murphy’s then-very busy touring schedule. The EP found the duo quickly establishing a unique sound that meshed Murphy’s Latin jazz and soul upbringing with Murphy’s 70s disco and 90s house-inspired production, along with psych pop.

2021’s full-length debut, Feelings celebrated self-reflection while making sense of the worlds around and within through rhythm and lyricism. However, the months surrounding the album’s release rang extremely bittersweet with the sudden death of Murphy’s father and both of Stuart’s parents. In a haze of heartache and loss, the duo left the Bay Area to be near family, resettling in four cities in under two years.

Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and the tracks they had started writing, along with Angelo, Murphy’s 1981 Toyota Celica became their few constants. 2022’s Angelo EP, which derived its title from Murphy’s beloved car, processed loss, informed by the duo’s own losses and the desire to move and start over.

The acclaimed and accomplished duo’s highly anticipated sophomore full-length album Macro is slated for a July 12, 2024 release through Ghostly International. Reportedly seeing the duo at their most playful, the album’s material features the duo engaging different sides of themselves, confronting the gloriously weird paradox of being alive. They’ve leveled up to meet the complexities and harmonies of the human experience with what may arguably be their most dynamic songwriting to date. Colorful, collaborative, sophisticated and yet deeply fun, the album creates a world of macrocosm with characters moods and points of view rooted in the notion that no feeling is final — and the only way out is through.

The album’s song sequencing elicits an exploratory vibe with high-tempo peaks and breezy valleys in the psyche. The duo sees the record’s vast sonic spectrum in contrast to the expectations for their output — “we’re supposed to know the box that our art fits, in and then fully commit to it existing within that box,” Brijean’s Stuart says. Overall, the album is deeply anchored in the intention to just not just move through the ups and downs life presents you but to feel it all, and to know it intimately.

Macro‘s first single, “Working On It” is a funky and breezy, Larry Levan house-like bop anchored around a layered and strutting baseline and a loop of different percussion paired with twinkling keys serving as a lush and ebullient bed for Murphy’s mischievous crooning. The result is a song that finds the duo at arguably their most playfully light, with the song seeing Murphy riffing on self-improvement, the insomniac’s desire to finally get some sleep and life in the seeming end times in a way that’s halfway serious.

The song started as al living room jam then as Murphy explains, “Doug played the two-layered basslines over a loop of bongos, congas an a dream machine and the rest felt like it happened in a dream.” Later Murphy asked fans to send voice memos in exchange for art, and some of those got peppered into the sound-bed. “That was a treat… Just getting to go through and hear all of these voices from around the world, an intimate and charming experience.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Close to Monday Shares Lush and Uneasy “Stranger”

Since their earliest releases back in 2019, rising electro pop duo Close to Monday — Ann (vocals) and Alexander (production) — quickly amassed a dedicated international following while establishing a sound that some have described as blending elements similar to that of acclaimed outfits like CHRVHCES and Boy Harsher, but while forging a musical identity uniquely their own. Thematically, the duo’s work is a guide for people, who are on a journey — either exploring themselves and/or the surrounding world.

2021’s Interference and 2022’s Secret Wishes landed on the Top 3 on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. Adding to a growing profile, the video for “Guns” won awards at international film festivals in London, Rome, and Paris.

The rising electro pop duo will have a very busy 2024: They’ve started a monthly series of releases that continues with their latest single “Stranger.” Built around brooding production featuring glistening synths, wobbling bass synths, skittering beats that serves as a lush and uneasy bed for Ann’s breathily yearning delivery.

Sonically channeling Soft Metals‘ 2013 effort Lenses and Depeche Mode, “Stranger” as the duo explain dives into the darker dimensions of love that can pull us into multiple conflicting directions simultaneously.

“The track delves into the shadows of [the characters’] love story, a complex dance where the desire to break free collides with an irresistible pull, creating a vortex of torment and vitality,” the band says. Elaborating on the magnetism of dysfunctional relationships, they add, “Despite their yearning to escape, each attempt only draws them back into the vicious cycle, a paradoxical realm that both torments and breathes life into their existence. The music mirrors this tumultuous relationship, offering a hauntingly beautiful reflection of the individuals’ struggle to break free from a toxic yet life-sustaining bond.”

The accompanying video for “Stranger” is shot in a gorgeously cinematic black and white that accurately captures the topsy-turvy feelings of unease, obsession, longing and desire that love often brings.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: OWLS Returns with a Furious Howl of Protest

Emy Collum is a Longford, Ireland-based producer, musician and creative mastermind behind the rising electronic music project OWLS. Starting his career in earnest playing drums for a number of local indie bands, Collum stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist and began crafting darkbrooding songs paring driving rhythms and grooves, dynamic vocals and abrasive textures.

Sonically, his material draws largely from post-punk, techno and synth pop — or as he describes them “songs for the night, for the moon and its shadows” and “dark tunes you can dance to.” Thematically, his work focuses on the uneasy balance between love and brutality. 

The Irish producer released his debut single 2021’s “They Kill.” 2022 saw the release of his acclaimed debut EP End Me. Last year was a busy year for the acclaimed and rising Longford, Ireland-based artist: He made the rounds of the national, summer festival circuit. He played headlining shows in Dublin — and he played at a slew of underground events throughout the country. He closed out a busy year with two more singles “Swallow My Love” and “Bury Me,” a brooding and uneasy mix of industrial and post punk built around relentless, twitter and woofer rattling, skittering beats and whirring and wobbling synths and bursts of angular guitar paired with the Irish producer’s furious howls. 

Lyrically and thematically, “Bury Me” saw its narrator on a tumultuous dance between life and death, hope and despair with an uneasy, unvarnished honesty. 

The acclaimed and rising Irish producer “Body Bags” is an aggressively furious, in-your-face goth meets techno howl of protest featuring skittering tweeter and woofer rattling thump and scorching synth arpeggios with eerily processed and distorted yet strangely beautiful howls attempting to burst out from the chaotic, messy and punishing soundscape.

According to Collum, the song and its accompanying video has been largely informed by the current and unfolding events in Gaza. “‘Body Bags’ looks at humanity turning it on itself,” Collum says. “For all the beauty and harmony in the world, we are chaotic by nature — violent and cruel to our own. It explores the human condition and our ability to inflict pain and suffering upon the most vulnerable.” Throughout the video, violence and cruelty are treated with the mundanity of daily errands.

The events in Gaza has forced the rising and acclaimed Irish artist to look outward instead of inward, as he has previously done. “All of my songwriting up until now has been dealing with internal conflicts and self assessment. It feels selfish looking inwards when being faced with bloodied images daily. I teach history. I had a Palestinian student join one of my classes recently. They presented a project on the ancient buildings of Gaza City only to highlight the fact that they’re no longer there. That hit hard.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: FOLLO Returns with Euphoric and Cinematic “Oxygen”

Lucas Dubiez is a 20-something French-born video director and self-taught, rising electronic musician and producer, best known as FOLLO. Dubiez can trace the origins of his music career to meeting French electronic music producer Jeremey Vieielle, a.k.a. Zerolex, who encouraged Dubiez to write and record what would become his debut EP, 2021’s Lumen. 

Dubiez’s sophomore EP, 2022’s the five-song Écume featured material influenced by French 79, Rone, The Blaze, and the films of Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Hayao Miyazaki,incuding “Divine,” a cinematic yet dance floor friendly track that nodded at post apocalyptic sci-fi soundtracks. 

The French producer’s third EP, Sense, which featured the sleek and meditative “Nôma” was released through Odeva Publishing. Building upon a growing profile, Dubiez will be released a three track effort that included “Crescendo,” a melodic techno track built with around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering beats and a hypnotic motorik groove that recalls Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and 45:33-era LCD Soundsystem. 

The final track of the trilogy, “Oxygen” continues a run of melodic house but anchored around euphoric, glistening and cascading synth arpeggios and a relentless motorik groove. While channeling M83, Kraftwerk and the like, “Oxygen,” according to Dubiez “invites us to discover majestic spaces, unexplored landscapes and distant lands. On great flights of arpeggios and numerous cinematographic chords, the traveler escapes. questions his relationship with others, as if to find himself better. What if the most beautiful journey was an inner journey?”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Julie Thuillier is a French singer/songwriter, who started her career as a member of Zebra Love, an act that released two EPs. Since then Thuillier has stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with her recording project AMA Waves, which sees her pairing slickly produced, neon tinted synth pop with lyrics sung in English.

The French singer/songwriter’s AMA Waves debut EP, the Daniel Burkhart-produced Delirium is slated for release later this year. The EP’s latest single “I drop my guard” is a blissful pop confection built around glistening synth arpeggios, thumping beats and rousingly anthemic hooks serving as a lush bed for Thuillier’s earnest yet defiant vocal. The result is a feminist anthem that seemingly channels Robyn, Pink and others.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Liv Eli Shares Brooding and Cinematic “17 Million Fucking Files”

Liv Eli is an emerging, Norwegian artist, who cites David Bowie, Radiohead, The Smile, Massive Attack, Ane Brun and a list of others. Although she has songwriting experience in previous musical efforts, as solo artist songwriting not only reflects a rich tapestry of inspirations but a much deeper exploration of songwriting. “After so many years, I have finally allowed myself to immerse myself in this side of my life.”

Eli’s upcoming album The Struggle For Peace Of Mind thematically sees the Norwegian artist delving into the profound impact of life’s coincidences and conflicting choices on one’s quest for inner harmony and peace. Last month, I wrote about “Goodbye Innocence,” a cinematic and dramatic bit of pop built around glistening synth arpeggios, gated reverb-soaked percussion and twinkling keys paired with Eli’s expressive and melodic delivery. Seemingly indebted to Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Massive Attack, “Goodbye Innocence” tells a story about the grave consequences of a life-altering decision that shatters preconceived notions of goodness and justice to reveal a life overshadowed by insecurity and constant vigilance. 

The Struggle For Peace Of Mind’s latest single “17 Million Fucking Files” is anchored around a shimmering and arpeggiated synth melody, skittering beats serving as a broodingly cinematic vehicle for the Norwegian artist’s expressive and earnest delivery, singing lyrics that paint a lived-in portrait of a heartbroken and desperate person yearning for peace and harmony in a tempestuous life. But there’s a tacit understanding that the peace and harmony the song’s narrator desperately longs for may be out of reach.

“Yes, the lyrics are about myself. It’s probably due to a mix of personality, lifestyle, and habits that are hard to break out of. But, I know that many people feel the same way, something I believe is a symptom of the times we live in,” Liv Eli says.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Baltimore’s Devin Nash Shares a Sultry Club Banger

Devin Nash is a Baltimore-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician, who quickly established a sound that blends contemporary R&B and 80s synth pop with the release of his full-length debut, 2016’s Her.

Her achieved commercial success with the album’s songs appearing on VH1’s Black Ink Crew Chicago and MTV’s Teen Mom — and he performed at the BET Awards.

Nash’s forthcoming EP Pretty.Sexy.Love reportedly features material that channels Frank Ocean, Miguel and others, while giving listeners “a genuine outside-the-box soul transformation” — with a soulful sophistication. The EP’s latest single “Swayze” is a sleek, club friendly banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering beats paired with the Charm City-based artist’s soulful delivery and uncanny knack for a catchy hook. While seemingly channeling Usher, Miguel, Frank Ocean and Steven A. Clark‘s Fornication Under Consent of the King, “Swayze,” tells a story about a guy who fell for the wrong girl and having a difficult time moving past it — to the point that he’s obsessed with both the girl and the heartbreak as a result. Lyrically, the song seems rooted in the specificity of lived-in experience.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: L’Impératice Shares Sleek, French Touch-Meets-Disco Bop “Me Da Igual”

Acclaimed Paris-based electro pop sextet and JOVM mainstays L’Impératice — founder Charles de Boisseguin (keys), Hagni Gown (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), Tom Daveau (drums) and Flore Benguigui (vocals) — formed back in 2012. In a relatively short period of time, they quickly established a reputation for being extremely prolific: In their first three years together, they released 2012’s self-titled debut EP, 2014’s Sonate Pacifique EP and 2015’s Odyssée EP. 

In 2016, the Parisian outfit released a re-edited, remixed and slowed down version of Odyssée, L’Empreruer, that was inspired by a fan, who mistakenly played a vinyl copy of Odyssée at the wrong speed. They followed that up with a version of Odysseé featuring arrangements centered around violin, cello and acoustic guitar. 

During the summer of 2017, the Parisian electro pop act signed to microqlima records, who released that year’s Séquences EP. 2018’s full-length debut Matahari featured the attention grabbing single “Erreur 404,” which they performed on the French TV show Quotidien. They followed with an English language version of Matahari. 

2021’s Renaud Letang co-produced sophomore album Taku Tsubo derived its name from the medical term for a broken heart, also known as takutsubo syndrome ((蛸 壺, from Japanese “octopus trap”). The condition usually manifests itself as deformation of the heart’s left ventricle caused by severe emotional or physical stress — i.e., the death of a loved one, an intense argument with someone you care about, a breakup, a sudden illness or the like. Yes, a broken heart can actually kill you.

The French JOVM mainstays are about to embark on their Double Trouble International Tour, a tour which sees the sextet playing two shows back-to-back in London, Berlin, Paris and here in NYC — with an April 9, 2024 show at Racket NYC and an April 10, 2024 show at Music Hall of WIlliamsburg. I’ve caught them once, and they’re a must-see act that will have the entire room dancing the night away. So I’m not surprised that all the shows on this run of tour dates are sold out. Along with that, they’re going to make a return to Coachella with sets April 12, 2024 and April 19, 2024, as well as stops at Austin City Limits and Outside Lands.

L’Impératice’s latest single “Me Da Igual,” is a sleek and elegant, hook-driven Giorgio Moroder-era-disco-meets-French touch tune anchored by a strutting bass line, a squiggling Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar line and glistening synths serving as a sinewy and silky bed for Flore Benguigui’s sultry and ethereal delivery. Further cementing the French outfit’s reputation for crafting infectious, sensual, dance floor friendly bops, “Me Da Igual” features lyrics sung in Spanish and French while being a call to free ourselves from the injunctions to please at all costs, to reclaim your body by abandoning yourself to the euphoria of strobe lights and the dance floor — and listening to the sensations that movement and sound provides you.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Bolis Pupul Shares Driving “Kowloon”

Acclaimed Ghent-based electronic duo Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul exploded into the national and international scenes with the release of 2019’s critically applauded David and Stephen Dewaele-produced Zandoli EP, which featured Paténipat” and “High Lights,” tracks that received airplay on UK Radio and were playlisted by  BBC Radio 6. 

Their official full-length debut as a credited duo, 2022’’s Topical Dancer was co-written and co-produced by Soulwax and the acclaimed Belgian duo, and was released through Soulwax’s label DEEWEE. The album’s material was deeply rooted in two things. The duo’s perspectives as Belgians with immigrant backgrounds: Adigéry proudly claiming Guadeloupean and French-Martinique ancestry and Pupul proudly claiming Chinese ancestry. And the wide-ranging conversations they’ve had between each other that touch upon cultural appropriation, misogyny, racism, social media vanity, post-colonialism, and more.

The album thematically is a snapshot of their thoughts and observations on pop culture in the early 2020s while sonically seeing the Belgian duo cementing their sound and approach. The material features thoughtful songs that slap — and slap hard — but are centered around their idiosyncratic, off-kilter and satirical take on familiar genres and styles. “We like to fuck things up a bit,” Pupul laughs. “We cringe when we feel like we’re making something that already exists, so we’re always looking for things to combine to make it sound not like a pop song, not like an R&B song, not a techno song. We’re always putting different worlds together. Charlotte and I get bored when things get too predictable.”  

The album’s songs are generally fueled by a restless desire to not be boxed in — and to escape narrow perceptions of who they are and what they can be. “One thing that always comes up,” Bolis Pupul says, “is that people perceive me as the producer, and Charlotte as just a singer. Or that being a Black artist means you should be making ‘urban’ music. Those kinds of boxes don’t feel good to us.” But they manage to do all of this with a satirical bent. For the Belgian duo, it’s emancipation through humor. “I don’t want to feel this heaviness on me,” Charlotte Adigéry says. “These aren’t my crosses to bear. Topical Dancer is my way of freeing myself of these issues. And of having fun.”

Pupul stepped out into the spotlight as a singer/songwriter and solo artist with his full-length debut, the Soulwax co-produced Letter To You. The album which was released earlier this month came on the heels of a whirlwind couple of years touring the globe to support Topical Dancer. Thematically, the album is love letter to his beloved mother, who was killed in a 2008 traffic accident. 

Born to a Belgian father and Chinese mother and growing up in Ghent, Pupul had not negated his Chinese roots exactly — his mother was born in Hong Kong — but he hadn’t exactly embraced them either. However, in the wake of his mother’s death, he began coming to terms with his heritage. “When I started to think about my roots, I started to embrace them. And it became more and more important for me to get in touch with them,” the acclaimed Chinese-Belgian singer/songwriter and producer says. ““I went to evening school and began learning Chinese. I did that for four years. That was the first step.”

His first visit to Hong Kong back in 2018 further cemented how he wanted to incorporate his Chinese roots into his own music. A primary intention on his first trip to Hong Kong was to find where his mother — Yu Wei Sun — was born. Not wanting to forget this overwhelming experience, Pupul began writing a letter to his mother, so he could properly grasp his thoughts. Some time later, when the album began to take shape, the acclaimed Ghent-born and-based producer remembered the letter. “It became the centerpiece of this album,” he says matter-of-factly.

Fittingly, the creation and recording of Letter To Yu has proven to be a pivotal and liberating experience for Pupul. “Even though this trip was very emotional and at times sad, I also had some great times that just made me really happy,” he concludes. “This resulted in a very uplifting melody where I felt like I could handle my life.”

In the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two of the album’s previously released singles:

  • “Completely Half,” a track which saw Pupul pairing a glittering Chinese-influenced melody, skittering beats and wobbling synths with his dreamily yearning delivery describing the sensation of searching for your looks — and the desire to understand someone, who can no longer speak for, let alone explain themselves. The track also features field recordings recorded on the Hong Kong subway, which adds a vital and forceful sense of place to the proceedings. 

  • “Spicy Crab,” a techno pop ode to the city’s signature dish, spicy crab, which Bolis ate during his first visit to Hong Kong. Built around a relentless motorik groove, skittering boom bap and glistening synth oscillations with a brief woozy breakbeat-like bridge, “Spicy Crab” subtly recalls late period Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder while being a slinky club banger.

Letter To Yu’s third and latest single “Kowloon” is a driving dance pop track built around hypnotically whirring and driving, machine-like synths and skittering and wobbling beats. “This dance track is inspired by this part of Hong Kong and it contains a recording of a mother with her child, who didn’t want to listen to her. They were having a situation on the street,” Pupul says.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Rhythm Scholar Shares Woozy and Club Friendly Remix of Tears for Fears’ “Change”

Throughout the course of this site’s close to 14 year history, I’ve managed to spill copious amounts of virtual ink covering the ridiculously prolific, New York-based producer, DJ, remixer and JOVM mainstay Rhythm Scholar. And during that same period, the New York-based JOVM mainstay has built a profile both nationally and internationally for crafting slickly produced, crowd-pleasing mashups and remixes.

Earlier this year, Rhythm Scholar released a woozy remix of one of my favorite Tears for Fears tunes “Change” that retains familiar and beloved elements of the song, including the vocal melody, the chiming and percussive synth line, the squiggling New Wave guitar figure and the acclaimed duo’s uncanny knack for anthemic hooks paired with a spacious and dreamy, club friendly production.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Suzie & The Rocket Shares Breezy Disco Bop “The Light”

French duo Suzie & The Rocket — vocalist Manon Zouiche and Mlle Caro and Franck Garcia‘s multi-instrumentalist Franck Garcia — specialize in cinematic sound that draws from the 70s AM Radio California pop sound with nods to several Italian film score composers. 

The duo’s full-length debut, The Karel Show is slated for a May 2024 release. While reportedly revealing their undying eagerness for musical innovation, the album’s material sees the duo pairing Zouiche’s dreamy melodies and thematic concerns with Garcia’s prowess for catchy hooks and science and tech background. The result according to the duo is music that will lead the listener to dancing through a breezy pop that’s dreamy, trippy and a bit melancholic. 

Late last year, I wrote about the duo’s debut single — and their full-length debut single “Scared Of The Wind” was a carefully crafted and breezy bit of psych pop featuring twinkling keys, a supple bass line and a steady rhythm paired with Zouiche’s dreamily yearning delivery and some remarkably catchy hooks. Rooted in bittersweet nostalgia “Scared Of The Wind” was written while the duo was in Southern France during ga hot summer with a strong wind called a sirocco. As the duo say “That Sirocco is a vivid wound, the one that appears after a series of failures.” The song questions “our ability to overcome anxiety and melancholy.”

The Karel Show‘s second and latest single “The Light” is a sleek and breezy bit of disco pop that channels Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky,” JOVM mainstays Say She She and Escort, as well as 79.5. With the weather being a bit warmer here in NYC, it’s a reminder that summer is just around the corner.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Beharie Shares Quirky Video for Buoyant and Catchy “Desire”

Acclaimed and rising Norwegian singer/songwriter and pop artist Beharie released his highly-anticipated, 12-song full-length debut, Are You There Boy? last year. The album met the artist where he was at that particular moment and invited listeners into a carefully curated sonic world that featured vibrant melodies and delicate, smooth.

Thematically, the album touched upon love. self-doubt, desire, longing and pain with his heart unironically and proudly worn on his sleeve — and with a remarkable sense of nuance. Throughout, the album follows a multifaceted, fully-fleshed out character, who seeks meaningful connections, follows his curiosity wherever it takes him and ultimately discovers himself. And as result, the album sees its main narrator — and in turn, its creator — exploring the ever-changing, versatile aspects of their own humanity and identity while showcasing his insecurities, complexities, passions and growth in a very real fashion.

“This album has given me the opportunity to delve into various aspects of my own identity, and in the process, I have explored the complexity inherent in my personality and expression,” Beharie explains. “We have nurtured different characters and played with their distinct expressions. These characters have been assigned unique names: Washed-out jeans boy, float in space boy, constant fear boy, make believe boy, and lost in thought boy.” Each of those characters represents fragments of Beharie’s soul, personality and essence — all in search of a sense of belonging.

The album also features collaborations with two rising singer/songwriters — Dublin‘s Uly and The Netherlands’ Judy Blank. 

Album single “Desire,” is built around a buoyant melodic groove, skittering boom bap serving as an ethereal and silky bed for Beharie’s tender and yearning delivery. The song’s narrator sweetly wants to prove to a prospective love interest, that he’s the right one for them — and for the rest of their lives. Beharie explains that “Desire” is a confident love song about “insisting on being the right one for someone you like and telling them without any doubt, and being willing to do anything to make it happen.” 

“Desire” reveals a songwriter, who seems to effortlessly craft a catchy, buoyant songs rooted in earnest, lived-in lyricism that playfully eschews cliches and formulas.

Directed by Martin Kopperud, the accompanying video features the acclaimed and rising Norwegian artist as part of a weird, sociological and psychological experiment in which he discovers — much to his own frustration — that he can’t fit a square peg into a round hole. At some point, Beharie gets up and escapes into the streets. The video offers two important lessons: learning self-acceptance and standing firm in being yourself and in your beliefs, even in the face of a world that often enforces conformity and the path of least resistance.

“We explore the idea of self desire, to do and be yourself, and how we often meet forces that don’t necessarily agree or comply with what you believe in, that’ll rather tell you how something works,” the video’s director Martin Kopperud says on the video. “We hope this can be a reminder to always stay true to yourself and to stand for your beliefs.” 

“It has been a really fun and interesting experience working with Martin Kopperud,” Beharie explains. “The track is a quite playful and energetic tune, but put together with this visual universe it becomes a bit more mysterious and quirky.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Naomi Shares Club Friendly “Phénoméne”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink covering rising Montréal-based multi-disciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and pop artist Naomi. After studying theater, the Canadian artist first made a name for herself acting in roles on both the small and big screen by the time she turned 14.

Naomi went on to study dance École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. As a dancer, she has appeared in and/or choreographed music videos for the likes of Rihanna, Marie-Mai, Cœur de Pirate and others, as well as for local dance performances.

While she was establishing herself as an actor and dancer, the Montréal-based artist quietly developed a passion for singing — without giving herself permission to explore it fully. However, Cœur de Pirate, a.k.a. Beátrice Martin saw potential and took Naomi under her wing. Encouraged by Martin’s mentorship, the rising Canadian artist began to realize that she was never far off from making her own music. All she needed was a bit of a push. 

Naomi signed with Martin’s Bravo Musique, the label home of JOVM mainstay Thaïs, Cœur de Pirate, Chocolat and lengthy list of acclaimed local Francophone acts, and began writing her own original material. Since then, the rising Montréal-based artist has taken a bold leap into a career as a singer/songwriter and pop artist. Her first two singles “Tout à nous” and “Zéro stress” received airplay on WKND, Rouge FM, Arsenal, POP, CVKM and several other regional radio stations across Quebec.

She went on to release a batch of sleek, slickly produced singles that I’ve written about on this site, including last year’s “Hot Ex,” a song that paired the JOVM mainstays’ sultry delivery with a soulful, Larry Levan-like house music-inspired production featuring twinkling keys, bursts of sexy Quiet Storm-like horn, skittering beats and a remarkably catchy hooks. Despite the sultry exterior, “Hot Ex” was part break-up song, part tell-off, part revenge fantasy, full of the bitterness disappointment over a relationship ending, tiger heartbreak over what could have been, the crazed desire for revenge, and the stupidly desperate and dim hope for reconciliation that can only come from randomly running into an ex-lover on the street — or at a party.

The French Canadian JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Phénomène” is a slickly produced bit of dance floor friendly bop built around a hook-driven house music-meets- Rihanna-like production featuring glistening synth arpeggios, a propulsive and infectious groove serving as a lush, silky bed for Naomi’s sultry delivery singing lyrics in both French and English.

Thematically, the song has a powerfully feminist message — that it’s time to take responsibility for your life and your life’s path, to be proud of yourself and accomplishments and perhaps more important, to just be your damn self.

Directed by Ariana Tara, the video is set at a nightclub and captures the ebullience and joy of the nightclub — everywhere.

women who kick ass by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Italian Outfit Cut Cut Shares a Genre-Defying Cover of Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole”

Formed back in 2020 Cut Cut is a genre-defying, experimental, Italian outfit. Since their formation, they’ve released a handful of singles.

Their latest single is a swaggering, club and mosh pit friendly take on Muse‘s “Supermassive Black Hole” that sees the Italian outfit meshing elements of industrial electronica, electro rock and techno house while retaining the bonkers arena rock bombast of the original.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: ALIAS Teams Up with Virginie B and Meggie Lennon on Woozy “TRUTH OR TRUST”

Emmanuel Alias is a French-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, dilettante and polymath who had had a varied career in music before he started his eponymous psych rock project ALIAS. After spending nine years studying jazz […]