Tag: Kate Bush

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal Visuals for Up-and-Coming Polish Pop Artist Brodka’s Latest Single “Holy Holes”

Monika Brodka is Polish singer/songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the third season of Polish Pop Idol back in 2004. And since winning Polish Pop Idol, Brodka has released three critically and commercially successful albums in her native Poland — her full-length debut 2004’s Album was certified gold within a few months of its release, her sophomore effort 2006’s Moje piosenki (My Songs) was also certified gold; however, her third full-length effort, 2010’s Granda revealed a radical change in sonic direction, as the material drew from electro pop, rock, roots music and pop and received international attention, while being certified double platinum. Additionally, she’s received several Fryderyk Award nominations (Poland’s equivalent to both the BRIT and the Grammy Awards) winning a Song of the Year Award in 2013 for “Varsovie” off her LAX EP while singles such as “Ten”, “Dziewczyna Mojego Chłopaka”, “Miałeś być” and “Znam Cię Na Pamięć” have all topped the Polish charts.

As for the aforementioned LAX EP, Brodka along with producer and engineer Bartosz Dziedzic wrote and recorded the material while at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles, and the material included two songs with lyrics written and sung in English, the aforementioned “Varsovie” and “Dancing Shoes” along with remixes. Of course with tremendous success across her homeland under her belt, Brodka hopes to expand her profile Stateside with the recent release of her fourth album, Clashes, which is also her English language debut, as well as arguably her most ambitious and diverse album she’s released to date — with the material possessing elements of brooding, orchestral pop as you’ll hear on “Holy Holes,” off Clashes. Essentially, her fourth album finds Brodka continually experimenting and pushing her sound forward.

Sonically speaking, in “Holy Holes” Brodka pairs looping accordion chords, stomping percussion and her gorgeous and lilting Kate Bush-like vocals, buzzing bursts of what sounds like guitar and stomping percussion to create a song that manages to be simultaneously intimate and cinematic while drawing from folk, orchestral pop, jazz and other genres. Additionally, as Brodka mentions in press notes, the material on the album thematically draws from her earliest experiences and memories of Catholic Church services. “For this album the big inspiration was liturgical outfits,” the Polish singer/songwriter explains. “I wanted to take the colors – silver, gold, white, purple, blue – and the shapes of some of these clothes and turn them into something more modern. I am always trying to take some of the meanings of the subjects that I am interested in, chew them up, digest them, and throw up something that is more my kind of thing.”

Directed by Jan Simon, the recently released video for “Holy Holes” pairs the song’s dramatic vocals features a series of geometric shapes being filmed as they move across the screen in a dramatic, slow-motion.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Atmospheric Sounds and Visuals of Dia’s “Gambling Girl”

Writing and recording under the moniker Dia, Birrittella has began to receive attention for “Gambling Girl,” the latest single off her debut EP Tiny Oceans and as you’ll hear from the new single, Birrittella’s specializes in a moody and lushly orchestral baroque pop-leaning sound in which Birrittella’s ethereal vocals are paired with a subtly droning melody consisting of electric guitar, ukulele, cello and swirling electronics. Thematically speaking the material is inspired by a 12th century Romantic poem written by Kafiristan, in which the poet confesses to his love “since you love me and I love you, the rest matters not.” According to Birrittella, the message of complete surrender and martyrdom for love was a powerful one and it gives “Gambling Girl” a swooning urgency just underneath the surface, while sounding as though it drew from Mazzy Star and Kate Bush.

Directed by Robert Condol, the video is shot in a sort of dreamy series of flashbacks of a desperately and passionately in love couple on a ranch in sunset, riding horses and being romantic in front of a cinematically shot desert vista.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

East Sussex, UK-born, London, UK-based singer/songwriter Natalie Bouloudis can trace the origins of her music career to her childhood. She learned jazz clarinet and guitar as a child, began (secretly) writing her own songs when she was 7, and played in number of jazz bands. Having lived in London for the better part of the past decade, Bouloudis decided to release some of her music publicly three years ago under the moniker Aurora Harbinger. And with her first publicly released material, the East Essex-born, London, UK-based singer/songwriter began playing in a number of local venues and it allowed her to build up a fanbase that enabled her to successful crowd fund her debut EP, which was produced by Robert Strauss.

Initially derived from a short story that Bouloudis wrote while shirking her duties as an arts and culture guide copywriter, her latest single “Burning Pier” set in a fictionalized amalgamation of the burnt-out piers of Brighton, Hastings and Eastbourne and is essentially a meditation on how disasters can evoke nostalgia and make us question our post-disaster future in a new light in a way that will remind some listeners of Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Melanie Di Biasio and others — but with a slightly jazzy, folk-leaning take on pop as the East Essex, UK-born, London, UK-based effortlessly soulful and gorgeous vocals with a sinuous bass line, a twisting and turning melody based around shimmering and twinkling guitar and piano. Recorded in a live take with minimal overdubs — the only overdubs being drummer Hannah Stacey’s Rhodes piano playing — the song manages to feel both thoughtfully composed and improvised, capturing the simpatico of a bunch of musicians playing and creating a moody and pensive song.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’re a child of the 80s like me, you’d likely remember Kate Bush collaborating with Peter Gabriel on “Don’t Give Up,” as well as her solo career — in particular her smash-hit “Running Up That Hill.” Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site since it’s inception 6 years ago, you’d likely know that I’m frequently multi-multi-multitasking while working on blog posts so it’s not uncommon for me to be watching a ballgame, listening to tracks and writing emails. And as a result, I’ve stumbled upon a number of singles that caught my attention — including Vancouver, BC-based electro pop duo Mu’s gorgeous and fair faithful cover of “Running Up That Hill.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Initially comprised of founding duo Jennifer Grady, a classical music teacher and Justin Hosford, a film and tv music composer, the Joshua Tree, CA-based duo Chelan (pronounced sh-lan) can trace their origins back to 2007. And since their formation, the duo released three full-length albums that the band’s founding members have described in press notes as a “mostly electronic, subdued, indie aesthetic;” however, last year, the duo recruited Chad Austinson (drums) to further flesh out their sound and as the newly formed trio began writing, performing, revision and recording the material that would wind up comprising their soon-to-released, fourth full-length album Vultures, the band’s sound went through a change of sonic direction as the trio’s sound began to employ the use of analog synths, guitar, drums, cello and piano to create a lush, wall of sound-like sound as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Beams.”

In the case of “Beams,” the trio layers of pairs jagged synth stabs, propulsive, motorik-like groove, Grady’s ethereal vocals, which bear a bit of a resemblance to Kate Bush, and shimmering guitar chords in a cinematic, lush and urgently swooning song that lyrically focuses on both the desire to connect with someone and the difficulties to connection once you consider the weight of one’s past and how it impacts their present.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

As I’ve said countless times on this site, more than enough ink has been spilled over the course of New Order‘s 35 year history, so delving into their background isn’t necessary; but what I will maintain is that throughout the band’s history they’ve managed to balance that rare and difficult tightrope of being both critically and commercially successful. And as a result they’ve also managed to be incredibly relevant, as a growing number of bands have cited them and their sound as a major influence.  Certainly, if you’re a child of the 80s as I am, Duran Duran, Guns ‘N Roses, Def Leppard, Run DMC, New Order and a lengthy list of others will likely hold a very dear place in your heart. So it wouldn’t be terribly surprising that a number of artists have covered New Order over the years — with an increasing frequency of late. . .

Now if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past three or four weeks, you might recall that I’ve written about the San Francisco-based indie pop artist Mike Deni’s solo recording project Geographer. The project has developed a reputation for crafting a thoughtful and deliberate sound that meshes blossoming synths with precise orchestral arrangements. And with the release of his critically praised, third, full-length effort, Ghost Modern through Roll Call Records earlier this year, Deni has expanded his profile towards greater national attention.

Interestingly, while taking some time off to write new material over the summer, Deni had worked on a cover/reworking of Arthur Rusell‘s “This Is How We Walk On The Moon,” and the cover was so inspiring to the San Francisco-based electronic music artist that he decided that he should work on an entire effort of covers — and the result was he recently released Endless Motion EP, which features reworking and covers of songs by New Order, Kate Bush, Paul Simon and Felix Da Housecat.

The EP’s latest single is a cover of New Order’s “Age of Consent” that seems fairly straightforward as Deni has retained all the familiar elements of the song with an exacting verisimilitude; however, Deni’s vocals have a swooning and plaintive quality that pulls the song’s heartache and despair front and center. And although it’s an incredibly subtle and nuanced interpretation, the Geographer cover should remind listeners that New Order wrote a number of songs that wound up becoming remarkably timeless. Check out how it stands up to New Order’s original below.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Geographer’s Dreamy Lullaby-like Cover of Felix Da Housecat’s “Ready 2 Wear”

Renowned Chicago-based DJ, producer, electronic music artist and label exec Felix Da Housecat has a long-held reputation for producing and working on an eclectic mix of sounds and sub-genres within the larger umbrella of electronic […]

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Cat Marino’s Stranger Cat Creepy Pop Sound Channels Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel

Cat Marino is a Brooklyn-based electro pop artist, who has collaborated with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, The Shins and Sharon Van Etten. Earlier this year, Marino released a solo full-length In The […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Empress Of’s Sensual, Skittering and Stuttering Cover of Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold”

If you’ve been following JOVM over the past few months you may recall reading something on the up-and-coming Brooklyn-based producer and electro pop artist Lorely Rodriguez, and her solo recording project Empress Of. Rodriguez first caught […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Idgy Dean’s Spirit Conjuring, New Single “Ominous Harminus”

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and musician Lindsay Sanwald’s solo recording project Idgy Dean features the artist composing every single part of the song by herself and then looping each instrumental and vocal part — and as a […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Brooklyn-based producer, vocalist and electro pop artist Lorely Rodriguez is an up-and-coming artist, who writes, performs and records under the moniker Empress Of. Rodriguez first caught the attention of the blogosphere with the release of […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM for the better part of the past year or so, you may have come across the electronic music act Du Tonc. Comprised of Matt Van Schie, best known for his […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Coincidentally, the Oslo, Norway-based singer/songwriter Susanne Sundfor’s backstory parallels that of fellow singer/songwriter Nanna Øland Fabricius, best known under the moniker of Oh Land, in the sense that they both got into music later than most […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Susanne Sundfor is a Oslo, Norway-based singer/songwriter who pursued music rather late. She first got singing lessons when she was 12 and joined acclaimed Norwegian act Hypertext 5 years ago; but it wasn’t until after […]