Tag: Instagram

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: French Producer Anoraak Remixes Patawawa’s Disco Banger “Just Not With You”

Formed back in 2014, the Matlock, Derbyshire, UK-based electro pop trio Patawawa — multi-instrumentalist and producer Rory Lovatt, vocalist Sam Wilmot and vocalist Beth Garrett — burst onto the international dance music scene with an effervescent blend of disco, funk and pop that draws influence from the likes of Pet Shop Boys and Prince. Since their formation the trio have built up a massive profile and following: they’ve received airplay and praise from BBC Introducing; they’ve collaborated with French producer Tez Cadey on a Spotify viral hit; they’ve played sold-out shows in Japan; they’ve participated in a band partnership with KRK Systems; and lastly, they’ve crafted a soundtrack for Millie Bobby Brown’s fashion brand.

Building upon a rising national and international profile, the British dance trio’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Power Up is slated for a March 26, 2021 — and reportedly, the album will further cement their winning sound, which manages to be simultaneously nostalgia-inducing yet contemporary. Album single “Just Not With You”is a late 70s/early 80s disco and New Wave-inspired strut centered around a sinuous bass line, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, and percussive polyrhythm, shimmering analog synths and soulful yet determined vocals. Sonically while recalling things like Fear of Music-era Talking Heads, Chic, Tom Tom Club, and 80s synth funk, the song is a self-empowerment anthem featuring a narrator, who has built up the confidence and self-assuredness to move on from a relationship.

Recently, French producer Anorraak remixed “Just Not With You.” While the original was a slick and nostalgia-inducing mix of disco and New Wave, Anoraak’s remix. While retaining Beth Garrett’s soulful and self-assured vocals and brief blasts of the original’s guitars Anorrak gives the song a throughout reworking: most of the original’s instrumentation is replaced by dense layers of shimmering synth arpeggios, a funkier and punchier bass line and some dub effects while retaining Beth Garrett’s soulful and self-assured vocals. The original’s message still hods but the new take, manages to remind me a bit of Yaz’s “Situation.”

“We got in contact with Anoraak through Instagram and absolutely loved his work,” the rising British trio say of their collaboration with the rising French producer. “It just seemed like a no brainer to work together and we are absolutely chuffed with the result.”

“I really loved working on this remix,” Anoraak adds. “The vocals on the track reminded me a little of CSS so I tried to give a bit of that feeling with some dirty synth sounds on top of a disco base.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Etienne Dorsay Releases a Trippy Visual for Chilled Out New Single

Jean Rochefort is a French singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who has had a lengthy and varied music career: as a teenager, Rochefort learned acoustic guitar, eclectic bass — and by the early 2000s he was one-half of a critically acclaimed electro pop duo that received little commercial success. Rochefort is also the creative mastermind behind the solo recording project Etienne Dorsay, a project that derives its name from a beloved character of 70s French cinema.

Rochefort’s Etienne Dorsay project further cements the French singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer’s long-held reputation for eclecticism while centered around a penchant for electronic production. Interestingly, Rochefort’s Etienne Dorsay debut single is the mellow, “Jack 23.” Centered around a sinuous bass line, wah wah pedaled-guitar, twinkling keys and spoken word vocal samples, “Jack 23” is a psych jazz-like take on trip hop that sounds and feels chill and reassuring — right when we need it most.

“It all started with a post on Instagram where I play drums on keyboards on a slow ass bass line I made with a Rickenbacker sound on logic,” Rochefort recalls. “I was not planning to make a track out of it but I posted it and added some funny caption on it like a fairy tale story about a girl that dances for a Maharahjah… Yeah, I was pretty high.

“Anyway, had a small success with this post and that short clip, and then some dude puts this comment : ‘Yo can you please make this into a song so I can listen to it on repeat. I kid you not this is stuck in my head. You’ve got the creativity, so focus for a bit, Buckle down and finish this shit and you’ll be golden.’ Well, I really wasn’t working on the song after the short post on Instagram but this comment made my day.

“I thought, if somebody tells you that you need to focus on one track to maybe finish it, then it has to be done. Yeah people, we artists are lazy as fuck when it comes to finishing something that could become something. So that gave me some motivation to get back to it and finish the track. And from another perspective, if it can make one person happy, it’s already a great thing isn’t it?

“Anyway… Then I made a very rudimentary clip to go with it. Didn’t spend too much time on the editing…and I kinda regret it but I know that this can be replaced later anyway…. Added some psychedelic lava lamp shots I found over the net years ago. ⁣⁣ Some are authentic from the 60’s made by the Joshua Light Show which was the top to work with back in the days when this was the thing to project those kinda forms and colors over a white sheet in the background…you know, the hippie vibes. ⁣⁣”⁣

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising French Artist Archibald Smith Releases a Gritty Club Banger

Archibald Smith is a rapidly rising Viry-Châtillon, France-baesed emcee, singer/songwriter, topliner and actor. Smith recently earned a diamond record — 10,000,000 or more streams — for cowriting Aya Nakamura’s viral hit “Pookie.” Initially known as a behind-the-scenes talent, Smith amassed over 200,000 Instagram views with a series of freestyles that he recorded during pandemic-related confinement.

Building upon a growing profile, the Viry-Châtillon-based emcee, singer/songwriter, topliner and actor released his first solo single and video “Renaissance” to positive reviews. Smith’s second single “Anelka” is a slickly produced synthesis of trap, hip-hop and house. Featuring stuttering beats, wobbling, tweeter and woofer rocking low-end, fluttering synths and the rising French artist’s self-assured delivery, the song is effortlessly crowd pleasing: it possesses a club-banging thump paired with a gritty street swagger.

Directed by Djo Calmant a.k.a. L’Oeil2Djo, the recently released video for “Anelka” follows the rising French artist through a glitchy and cinematically shot trip to Bangkok that shows some of the dizzying sights — while showing Smith balling.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

DAYS IN ORBIT · TSUKIAGERU BEAT

Days in Orbit is a Paris-based electronic music production and music unit that specializes in crafting transcultural dance floor bangers centered around organic instrumentation and electronic production.

Deprived of the opportunity to play live shows as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-based lockdowns, the members of the French electronic act decided to connect with their fans through a weekly digital meeting on Instagram that they dubbed #corcorobeatz.  Each session featured a member of the band spontaneously creating beats — while revealing their own inner world. The end result was eight new beats that the members of the act decided to develop into new, original music.

“TSUKIAGERU BEAT,” the French electronic music act’s latest single can trace its origins to a beat the act created in #corcorobeatz 2 — and it’ll further establish their globe spanning, dance floor friendly sound and approach. Centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, twitter and woofer rocking beats, industrial clang and clatter, an enormous, crowd pleasing hook and chopped up vocals sung in a coquettish Japanese, “TSUKIAGERU BEAT” is a swaggering and upbeat, club banger that recalls Daft Punk and Tour de France-era Kraftwerk.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Tennin · The What – The Notorious B.IG, Method Man [Tennin Remix]

With the release of a handful of singles that received attention from InRocksLab, Radio Nova, Earmilk and Afropunk, the rising Paris-based alternative pop artist Tennin quickly exploded into the international pop scene in 2015. The Paris-based artist ended a momentum building year by performing at La Cigale, as part of a showcase featuring rising female Parisian artists.

The following year, Tennin built upon her growing profile through tours across France, Germany and the UK. Adding to a relatively young career of big career highlights, the French pop artist’s single “Heal You,” catches the attention of acclaimed, trip hop pioneer Tricky, who signed her to !K7 Records. She then contributes a track to the Test of Time compilation, which featured tracks from Saul Williams, IDLES and others.

Additionally, last year saw her becoming a finalist of the Afropunk springboard but she also opened for the likes of Dope Saint Jude and Muthoni Drummer Queen at Les Cuizines — and she played the final show at Les Etoiles. She ended the year with a live interview and session for Radio Campus Brussels.

Earlier this year, the rising French pop artist signed to renowned Parisian electronic label Kitsune Music, who released her first single of this year “Guys in Tears.” Interestingly, Tennin posted a cover/remix of The Notorious B.I.G.‘s “The What,” feat. Method Man on Instagram that received such positive reactions that she decided to record and release a full-version. While retaining the original’s memorable beat, the addition of Tennin’s vocals adds sultry, Aaliyah-like air to the proceedings. Naturally, while being a shoutout to Golden Era, East Coast hip-hop, the song is also a vital reminder that hip-hop is the lingua franca of kids across the globe.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: No Joy Releases a Trippy Visual for Shimmering and House Music-Leaning “Birthmark”

Jasamine White-Gluz is a Montreal-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known as the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded recording project No Joy. Starting over a decade ago as a series of emailed riffs sent back and forth between White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd, the project has been centered around White-Gluz’s  restless experimentation, going through a number of different sonic permutations through the years with subsequent albums showcasing a penchant foe delay-saturated jangle, industrial distortion and sludgey drones over disco beats. 

In 2018, White-Gluz collaborated with Spacemen’s 3 Pete Kember, a.k.a. Sonic Boom on a collaborative EP that saw the Montreal-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist trading the guitars she was best known for, for modular synths on an effort that seemed indebted to Kid A and Amnesiac-era Radiohead. Interestingly, Motherhood, the first No Joy full-length effort in five years, is reportedly sort of return to form with the material echoing the project’s early shoegazer roots, while expanding the overall sonic palette with nods at trip hop, trance and with the reincorporation of guitars, nu-metal.

Slated for an August 21, 2020 release through Joyful Noise Recordings and Hand Drawn Dracula in Canada, the Jorge Elbrecht co-produced Motherhood is the culmination of several years writing outside of White-Gluz’s comfort zone and a return to DIY recording with a growing and deepening expertise in production. 

Touring with genre-divergent artists has helped the Montreal-based artist’s genre-defying sound and approach: while touring with Quicksand, No Joy picked up post-hardcore fans and ambient techno fans while touring with Baths. “As long as people are open minded about music, they can hear different things,” explains White-Gluz, “Maybe because there are a lot of layers.” “Birthmark,” Motherhood’s first single features atmospheric synths, propulsive boom-bap like beats further emphasized with muscular bongos and other percussion, shimmering blasts of guitars centered around a sng alternating loud and quiet sections and a soaring hook. Sonically, the song is a trippy yet seamless synthesis of Brit Pop, shoegaze, trip hop and house music.

Directed by Jordan “Dr. Cool” Minkoff, the recently released video was shot adhering to social distancing guidelines and features footage that White-Gluz shot at her home and stars Diavion Nichols, a dancer that the Montreal-based artists found on Instagram and a goat named Piquette.  “We made this video while in quarantine. I filmed myself at home and asked my very talented friend Jordan to help build a world around the footage,” White-Gluz says of the recently released video. “Diavion had been dancing to No Joy on his instagram and I was a huge fan so reached out and asked him to choreograph a routine for this song. While in the studio, I wanted to keep the energy fun and throw any ideas at the wall. We ended up watching the video for ‘Puff Puff Give’ by Hannah’s Field, pulled out some bongos, a broken clarinet, drank 12 bottles of sake and did group chants.”

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Toronto’s jackie Releases a Hilarious Send Up of Gangster and Action Movies for Anthemic “Lifetime in a Touch”

Currently comprised of Winnipeg-born founding members Jackie Mohr and Marc Girardin with Max Trefler, the Toronto-based electro pop/electro rock act jackie can trace their origins to the formation and breakup of Mohr’s and Girardin’s previous band — The Mohrs, an act that shared stages with the likes of Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction and The Glorious Sons.

In 2012, Mohr and Girardin relocated to Toronto, where they met Trefler and released a rock-based effort through Light Organ Records before a radical change in sonic direction necessitated a rename. “We changed our sound on this new EP, replacing bass with analog synth, and went back to having just us three as the core of the project,” the band’s Jackie Mohr explains in an email. “After a few year hiatus we’ve come back as ‘jackie’. More aware of where we want to take our place in music.”

Interestingly, the band’s transformation was partially fueled by Mohr’s experiences as a woman in a male-dominated landscape. “I’ve never had a problem holding my own in this industry, or with men, but it really does make you question why there’s so little female presence,” Mohr points out.

“When I was promoting my first single, my radio team told my management it was going to be very difficult getting ‘a female on rock radio.’ I don’t think I’ve ever hated a comment more. I didn’t get it then and I don’t get it now,” Mohr continues. “I think it’s time for a new narrative. This is especially important in the LGBTQ community. Heteronormative relationships are only a small part of what’s out there, and how people love one another. Other communities need to be represented as well. I remember on my debut album I worried about saying ‘her’ or ‘she‘ as a lyric because people would class me as a ‘gay artist’. This sort of thing is important for sure, and I am a gay woman, but it’s not all I am, and I never wanted that to be the focal point of my/our music, or my musical career. The band, our music, and myself are much more than that. Music is for everyone.”

“We write songs for the everyday radio listener, and the guitar nerd,” Mohr, who owns a 1962 Silverstone 1423 nicknamed Monicka Del Toro adds. “Maybe writing good music will be more important than Instagram followers again someday.”

Interestingly, the Canadian trio’s latest single, the Hawksley Workman-produced “Lifetime in a Touch” finds the band crafting pop-leaning track that’s simultaneously a club banger and an arena rock anthem, complete with a driving groove, synth arpeggios reminiscent of Stevie Nicks‘ “Stand Back,” a scorching guitar solo and Mohr’s earnest, pop belter vocals. It’s the sort of rousingly anthemic song that you can envision sweaty young people shouting along to in a dark club — but the real reason it works is that it’s rooted in real, lived-in, deeply universal experiences. As the trio explain, the song is “essentially a song about heartbreak, but it’s told through a positive outlook The lyrics in the verses represent the past lover that engulfed and controlled you, while the chorus reminds you that there’s more to life than lovers.”

Directed by Dominika Monicka and Ryan Faist, the recently released video for “Lifetime in a Touch” is a hilarious send up of Office Space, gangster movies and action movies as it features the bandmebers in an abandoned shipyard. Throughout the bulk of the video, the band are in an old Honda four door spinning in infinite donuts. But we also see the band rocking out to the song, and eventually busting shit up — because why not? Perhaps in some way, the video reminds the viewer that love can be a wild and tumultuous ride. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently comprised of Winnipeg-born founding members Jackie Mohr and Marc Girardin with Max Trefler, the Toronto-based electro pop/electro rock act jackie can trace their origins to the formation and breakup of Mohr’s and Girardin’s previous band — The Mohrs, an act that shared stages with the likes of Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction and The Glorious Sons.

In 2012, Mohr and Girardin relocated to Toronto, where they met Trefler and released a rock-based effort through Light Organ Records before a radical change in sonic direction necessitated a rename. “We changed our sound on this new EP, replacing bass with analog synth, and went back to having just us three as the core of the project,” the band’s Jackie Mohr explains in an email. “After a few year hiatus we’ve come back as ‘jackie’. More aware of where we want to take our place in music.”

Interestingly, the band’s transformation was partially fueled by Mohr’s experiences as a woman in a male-dominated landscape. “I’ve never had a problem holding my own in this industry, or with men, but it really does make you question why there’s so little female presence,” Mohr points out.

“When I was promoting my first single, my radio team told my management it was going to be very difficult getting ‘a female on rock radio.’ I don’t think I’ve ever hated a comment more. I didn’t get it then and I don’t get it now,” Mohr continues. “I think it’s time for a new narrative. This is especially important in the LGBTQ community. Heteronormative relationships are only a small part of what’s out there, and how people love one another. Other communities need to be represented as well. I remember on my debut album I worried about saying ‘her’ or ‘she‘ as a lyric because people would class me as a ‘gay artist’. This sort of thing is important for sure, and I am a gay woman, but it’s not all I am, and I never wanted that to be the focal point of my/our music, or my musical career. The band, our music, and myself are much more than that. Music is for everyone.”

“We write songs for the everyday radio listener, and the guitar nerd,” Mohr, who owns a 1962 Silverstone 1423 nicknamed Monicka Del Toro adds. “Maybe writing good music will be more important than Instagram followers again someday.”

Interestingly, the Canadian trio’s latest single, the Hawksley Workman-produced “Lifetime in a Touch” finds the band crafting pop-leaning track that’s simultaneously a club banger and an arena rock anthem, complete with a driving groove, synth arpeggios reminiscent of Stevie Nicks‘ “Stand Back,” a scorching guitar solo and Mohr’s earnest, pop belter vocals. It’s the sort of rousingly anthemic song that you can envision sweaty young people shouting along to in a dark club — but the real reason it works is that it’s rooted in real, lived-in, deeply universal experiences. As the trio explain, the song is “essentially a song about heartbreak, but it’s told through a positive outlook The lyrics in the verses represent the past lover that engulfed and controlled you, while the chorus reminds you that there’s more to life than lovers.”