With the early 2015 release of a trippy, post-modern mashup/cover of of R. Kelly’s “Ignition” and Miguel’s “Do You Like,” followed the release of by her highly-anticipated full-length debut effort, Mine, Texas-born, New Jersey-reared and Los Angeles-based pop artist Phoebe Ryan exploded both across the blogosphere and nationally — and throughout the past year, Ryan has developed a reputation for a breathily coquettish vocal style, emotionally and sexually frank lyrics paired around infectiously catchy hooks and slickly contemporary electronic productions. Her latest single “Dollar Bill,” is a collaboration with Kid Ink and it will likely further cement her attention for infectiously catchy and coquettish pop while the song thematically focuses on the big dreams and the life of constant hustle that many artists have but just underneath the surface is a feminist anthem similar to Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin’s “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves,” says — that a woman can clearly have dreams of taking over the world and picturing her own face on a dollar bill, just like the dudes.
Tag: indie synth pop
Although little is known about up-and-coming Los Angeles, CA-based electronic music production unit and electronic music act The Dedbtz; they recently collaborated with up-and-coming electro pop artist BRĒZY, who the Southern California-based production unit discovered on Spotify’s Weekend Buzz playlist and quickly reached out to collaborate with for their latest single “How Much I Need You.” Consisting of a buoyant and club-rocking production consisting of handclap-led percussion, layers of wobbling and shuffling synths, glitchy background electronics, tweeter and woofer rocking low end along with BRĒZY’s expressive vocals. Lyrically, the song focuses on a relationship between complete opposites that the song’s narrator recognizes is confusing and unusual and yet is something she feels inexplicably pulled towards — and in a way that’s both frightening and thrilling. Combined with the production, the song evokes the swooning confusion and self-doubt filled days of a newfound love in a way that feels and sounds familiar.
Sibling is a somewhat mysterious Los Angeles, CA-based electro pop duo who first came to the attention of the blogosphere with the release of their debut “Easy” earlier this year. Building on the buzz they’ve received so far, the mysterious Southern California duo’s latest single “Westside” has the duo pairing an atmospheric production consisting of industrial clang and clatter, sparse yet shimmering cascades of synth and pop star belter vocals with an rousingly earnest, anthemic hook — but just underneath the song’s breezy and radio-friendly air is a swooning and bittersweet longing as the song lyrically is based on lead vocalist’s Elodie’s estrangement from her sisters.
If you’ve been frequenting this site over its six year history, you’ve likely made yourself familiar with New York-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and long-term JOVM mainstay artist Rene Lopez. And over the years, Lopez has uncompromisingly refused to be pigeonholed into one particular genre. Over the years, Lopez has managed to mesh salsa, boogaloo, old-school hip-hop, meringue and electronica into one cohesive whole on E.L.S.; salsa and 7os Brazilian music on his most deeply personal effort Paint the Moon Gold; and slinkily seductive synth-based R&B and funk, inspired by Prince, The Gap Band, Rick James, Chic and others on Love Has No Mercy and its subsequent releases.
Now, much like The Raveonettes and several others, Lopez has spent the past year on a single of the month series that he’s dubbed the Jam of the Month. The last and latest single of the series “Who Stole Your Heart” is a swaggering 80s freestyle and hip-hop inspired track that pairs Lopez’s silky smooth vocals with big wobbling, tweeter and woofer rocking 808s and layers of cascading synths to craft a dance floor ready party jam that sounds as though it drew from Herbie Hancock “Rockit” and others.
Over the past 18-24 months or so, New York-based electro pop duo Sofi Tukker have become blogosphere darlings while becoming JOVM mainstay artists. Comprised of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, the duo can trace their origins to when the duo were students at Brown University . Meeting and a local art galley, the duo began writing music around their shared desire of crafting accessible, pop-leaning world music that could reach a wide audience. And much like a number of artists across the country, the duo upon their graduation relocated to New York, where over the next year they began working on material — including the material that would wind up comprising their soon-to-be released EP Soft Animals, which is slated for a July 8 release.
Earlier this month, I wrote about “Deja Vu Affrair,” a single that drew from 80s s New Order and house music as angular guitar chords played through gentle washes of reverb and delay are paired with four-on-the-floor drum programming, cascading layers of wobbling synths and Hawley-Weld’s sensual cooing. The EP’s latest single “Awoo” is a mischievous collaboration with vocalist Betta Lemme that pairs propulsive and tribal drum samples with samba-styled keys. Lemme and Hawley-Weld’s contribute sultry vocals and gleeful, child-like shouting — as though they were losing their minds to the song in the club.
Sofi Tukker is embarking on a lengthy series of tour dates — some opening for M83 and a number of headlining shows, including a hometown set at Baby’s All Right at the end of July. Catch them at a music venue near you.
Tour Dates:
Supporting M83*
July 1 – London, UK @ British Summer Time @ Hyde Park (w/ Massive Attack) (TICKETS)
July 1 – London, UK @ White Heat at The Lexington (TICKETS)
July 2 – PITCH Festival Amsterdam (TICKETS)
July 6 – Cesme, Turkey @ Burn Electronica Festival (TICKETS)
July 7 – Milan, Italy @ Festival Moderno (w/ Grimes & Blood Orange) (TICKETS)
July 9 – Zamardi, Hungary @ Balaton Sound Festival (TICKETS)
July 15 – Salacgriva, Latvia @ Positivus Festival (TICKETS)
July 17 – One Love Festival Istanbul (TICKETS)
July 20 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre (w/ Chairlift) (TICKETS)*
July 21 – Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion (w/ Chairlift) (TICKETS)
July 25 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant (TICKETS)*
July 27 – Council Bluffs, IA @ Stir Cove (TICKETS)*
July 28 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre* (SOLD OUT)
July 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right (TICKETS)
August 19 – San Francisco, CA @ Popscene at Rickshaw Stop (TICKETS)
August 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pershing Square (w/ Todd Rundgren) (FREE SHOW)
New Video: The Symbolistic Visuals for Mountain Bird’s “Hearts To Gold”
Öhman’s latest single “Hearts to Gold” is as he explains in press notes “a tale of celebration. Shining positive light on creators, the over-thinkers, anyone who has ever been a part of a sub-culture anyone who dealt with the anxiety of society’s expectations.” Sonically speaking Öhman pairs layers of shimmering synths, swirling electronics, boom bap beats and wobbling low end in an ethereal, dreamy yet anthemic song that possess an encouraging and hopeful message to struggling creatives everywhere, and it should push those folks forward when times seem particularly difficult.
The recently released music video is an extremely symbolistic video that begins by following a lone, black leather clad motorcyclist speeding along lonely country roads before stopping in the woods to have a fight for the death against what appears to behis/her doppleganger — or more loathsome and dangerous enemy, suggesting the intense struggles creative people often have with themselves and with outside forces as they attempt to create.
New Single: Check Out the Slinky, Seductive and Soulful Electro Pop Sounds of Michigan’s Daniel Wilson
Up-and-coming, 24 year-old, Michigan-based singer/songwriter and producer Daniel Wilson much like a number of pop artists grew up in a gospel music-loving home. Feeling inspired to create by using file-sharing programs, the Michigan-based Wilson […]
Perhaps best known as the keyboardist and guitarist of Twin Cabins, Los Angeles, CA-based multi-instrumentalist Drew Straus’s solo recording project Onsen recently released his full-length debut Earthquake Weather through Cosmic Dreamer Music. Straus’ solo project and debut effort was inspired by a major career change in which he went went from international police to music, a re-examination of sexuality and a relocation to another city — and as a result, the material captures an artist and a life in transition.
Straus’ latest single “My Own Advice” pairs shimmering and angular guitar chords, propulsive drumming and shimmering and ethereally atmospheric synths ad Straus’ plaintive falsetto in a song that Straus explains to the folks at Culture Collide is about “the end of first love. Written to myself from the perspective of the one I lost.” And as a result, the song possess a wistful “if I had known now what I had known then” vibe while the narrator also recognizes that the experience, despite the heartache, taught him something profound that he’ll take it on to his next relationship.
Perhaps best known as being one-half of electro pop act Radar Cult, KC Maloney’s solo side recording project Adult Karate expands upon the sound that first captured the attention of the blogosphere as his solo project — and although arguably much more minimalist, the project’s sound and aesthetic draws from several styles of electronic music, including house, acid house, techno and ambient. Maloney’s solo debut “So Low” off his forthcoming LXII EP is a collaboration with Toronto, ON-based vocalist Adaline that pairs the up-and-coming Canadian singer/songwriter’s sultry and smoky vocals with a sleek, hyper-modern and minimalist production consisting of gentle cascades of shimmering synths, stuttering drum programming, a Nile Rodgers funky guitar line, wobbling bass line, swirling electronics and an anthemic hook in a breezily club-friendly and radio-friendly track.
New Video: The Breezy Visuals and Sounds of Quebec City’s Men I Trust
With the release of their sophomore full-length effort Headroom, the newly constituted quartet began receiving international attention as their material landed on Hype Machine’s charts, as well as several Spotify and SoundCloud playlists. Building on the increasing buzz around the Quebec City-based quartet, their first single of 2016, “Humming man” was released to critical praise across the blogosphere; however, I suspect that the act’s latest single “Lauren” may arguably be their breakout single as the band pairs a sinuous and sleek bass line, shimmering guitar chords and skittering drum programming with hauntingly ethereal vocal melodies to craft a song that sounds as though it were equally influenced by 70s funk and R&B, 80s synth pop and contemporary electro pop. Interestingly enough, the song sounds as though it should have been released through Cascine Records, a label that specializes in releasing silky smooth and breezy 70s and 80s inspired pop while being the sort of song you’d do a little two step to in the club.
The recently released music video follows an extremely fair skinned woman bicycling down a country road while hinting at the follow-the -bouncing ball/karaoke-styled video which fits the song’s breezy yet sensual air.
