Tag: Little Dragon

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

A.K. Paul is a London-born and-based singer/songwriter, producer, engineer and recording artist, who first came to prominence with a contribution to his brother Jai Paul’s debut single “BTSU.” The following year, Paul was very busy: he worked on his brother Jai’s “Jasmine (demo)” and Big Boi‘s “Higher Res,” feat. Jai Paul and Little Dragon, as well as co-writing material for Sam Smith and Emeli Sandé, which resulted in the London-born and based artist winning a Ivor Novello Award back in 2013.

In 2016, A.K. Paul, Jai Paul and Muz Azar started their own label Paul Institute, and the label released A.K’s full-length debut Landcruisin’. Unfortunately, Paul Institute and its co-founders had gone through a protracted legal fight that nearly shut the label down — but over the past few months, the label, along with its co-founders and artists have released new material.  “I’m really happy we’re releasing new music with Paul Institute this summer,” A.K. Paul says in press notes. “It’s been a while coming and the last couple of years have been perilous at times for PI, particularly because of a legal fight that set us back. So besides it being sick music, to return with such a strong set of releases feels like a vindication of our rights as artists too.”

Paul’s latest single “Be Honest” is a New Jack Swing-like take on house and electro pop, centered around stuttering beats, shimmering synth arpeggios, an infectious hook and the British artist’s soulful crooning. Sonically, the song is an escapist (and necessary summer) banger — even if it’s one of the strangest summers in recent memory. In press notes, Paul describes the song as being “about giving up control for a moment, allowing yourself to feel something beyond what you’ve known. It’s a song about liking something you didn’t think you would like, feeling something you didn’t think you’d feel — and as soon as you come to your senses being faced with the prospect you’ve only half lived . . .”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jacque Ryal is an an emerging singer/songwriter, keyboardist and pop artist, who first emerged into the local scene as a vocalist and keyboardist in pop act Strip Darling before boldly going forward as a solo artist. Ryal began her solo career crafting Portishead-inspired trip-hop. Interestingly, her latest project RYAL which finds her collaborating with producer and songwriter Aaron Nevezie has received attention from The Best Line of Best Fit, Time Out New York, LadyGunn, Popdust and elsewhere for work that has been compared favorably to Little Dragon and Portishead.

Anna Azarov Photography

 

RYAL’s latest single is the atmospheric and slow-burning “Where Did All The Love Go.” Centered around Jacque Ryal’s heavily vocoder’ed and auto-tuned vocals, stuttered beats,  shimmering synth arpeggios and an infectious hook, the song is an achingly bittersweet lament that focuses on a relationship with hot and heavy beginnings that has slowly and inexplicably cooled off. Throughout the song, its heartbroken narrator is fighting to find answers and keep the relationship intact — but on a certain level, there’s tacit understanding that this valued relationship is bound to end. Certainly, we’ve all been there and it’s an embittering and wrenching experience.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Although they’ve proudly boasted of their long-held reputation for crafting left of center pop and adhering to doing things in their own way, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based pop act Little Dragon, comprised of Yukimi Nagano (vocals), Hakan Wirenstarnd (keys), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Erik Bodin (drums), have managed to achieve an enviable level of mainstream success and recognition: 2014’s full-length effort Nabuma Rubberband received a Grammy nomination and they’ve developed a reputation for being a highly sought-after collaborative unit, as they’ve worked with an impressive array of genre-defying, difficult to pigeon-hole artists and acts including BADBADNOTGOOD, Gorillaz, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, Kaytranada, Big Boi, De La Soul, DJ Shadow, Tinashe, Mac Miller, Future, Raphael Saadiq, Faith Evans and many more.

The acclaimed Swedish pop act can trace their origins back to when they would meet up after school to jam and play A Tribe Called Quest and Alice Coltrane records and reportedly the band’s forthcoming album New Me, Same Us finds the band going back to the basics and falling back in love with their instruments while crafting some of what may arguably be the most focused material of their growing catalog. Interestingly, the material thematically touches upon transitions, longing and saying goodbye. And as a result, it may also be among the most reflective and thoughtful of their careers. “We are all on our own personal journeys, full of chance, yet still we stand united with stories we believe in, that make us who are we are.”

The album which was entirely self-produced and recorded at the acclaimed Swedish pop act’s home-built Gothenburg-based studio “has been the most collaborative for us yet, which might sound weird considering we’ve been making music together for all these years, but we worked hard at being honest, finding the courage to let go of our egos and be pieces of something bigger,” the members of Little Dragon explain in press notes. Centered around shimming synth arpeggios, a sinuous bass line, propulsive polyrhythm  an infectious two-step inducing hook and Nagano’s soulful crooning, “Hold On,” Same Me, New Us‘ sultry first single manages to recall Fragile-era Cherrelle, with subtle house music flourishes.

The song as the band explains is a centered around a message about breaking away and moving on. It started out as a slick house track but transformed once Fred played the base through it and we all worked it together,” the band explains. “It became something raw and soulful. It’s a simple groove that makes us dance. We can’t wait to play it live because once we play it live it most certainly will change again.”

The acclaimed Swedish pop act will be embarking on a headlining international tour throughout the bulk of the Spring. The tour includes a two-night stand at Brooklyn Steel — April 17, 2020 and April 18, 2020. The April 18 show is already sold out. Check out the tour dates below.

2020 TOUR DATES
Mar 09 Stockholm, Sweden – Berns
Mar 10 Copenhagen, Denmark – VEGA *SOLD OUT
Mar 12 Berlin, Germany – Festsaal Kreuzberg
Mar 13 Warsaw, Poland – Niebo
Mar 15 Prague, Czech Republic – Roxy
Mar 16 Vienna, Austria – Flex
Mar 18 Zurich, Switzerland – Mascotte
Mar 19 Milan, Italy – Santeria Toscana 31
Mar 21 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
Mar 23 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
Mar 25 Paris, France – Gaîté Lyrique
Mar 26 London, UK – 02 Brixton Academy
Apr 15 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Apr 17 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
Apr 18 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel *SOLD OUT
Apr 20 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
Apr 21 New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
Apr 22 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
Apr 24 Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
Apr 25 Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Apr 27 Detroit, MI – Majestic Theater
Apr 28 Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
Apr 29 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
May 01 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
May 02 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
May 04 Seattle, WA – Showbox *SOLD OUT
May 05 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
May 06 Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
May 08 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
May 09 Los Angeles, CA – Palladium
May 11 Santa Ana, CA – Observatory OC
May 12 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
May 16 Guadalajara, MX – Corona Capital Guadalajara
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Centered around the collaboration between singer/songwriter Gina Leonard and producer and guitarist Tom Freyer, the acclaimed Bristol, UK-based electro pop/trip hop act The Desert can trace their origins to when Freyer had produced some of Leonard’s solo work. And as the story goes, the duo quickly hit upon a formula of Freyer taking the songs that Leonard had initially written with an acoustic guitar and adding layers of electronics and lush, detailed production.

With the release of “Just Get High,” the first single off last year’s debut EP Playing Dead, the act received airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6 and Radio X. And with the release of further tracks off the EP, the British electro pop/trip hop, the act received attention across the blogosphere and elsewhere for a sound that some have described as being a mix between Little Dragon and Portishead. Building upon a growing profile, the act’s sophomore EP was released last week, and from the EP’s first single “Gone,” the act has revealed a decided evolution of their sound and approach while retaining the cinematic quality that first won them attention; however, the song possessed a desperate, urgent air with a hint of uneasy hope.  The EP’s latest single “Distract Me” is a much more intimate, sensual track centered around a hauntingly sparse arrangement of strummed guitar, plinking, jazz-like piano, Leonard’s achingly plaintive vocals — with synths and electronics added towards the last third. In some way, the EP’s latest track manages to remind me of the film noir-ish tone of Goldfrapp’s Tales of Us.

Lately, the act has been busy working on new material and playing their first batch of live shows across the UK — and for their live shows, Leonard and Freyer have recruited Ryan Rogers (bass) and Jonny Parry (drums, electronics).

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of last year’s debut EP Playing Dead, the somewhat mysterious Bristol, UK-based quartet The Desert quickly received attention for a sound that some have described as being a mix between Little Dragon and Portishead. Building upon a growing profile, the act’s highly-anticipated sophomore EP is slated for release sometime early next year, and from the EP’s first single “Gone,” the act has revealed a decided evolution of their sound and approach — while possessing a cinematic quality, the track is centered around a urgent and desperate air, with a hint of uneasy hope at the end ; in fact, as the band explains, “’Gone’ is about losing something or someone abruptly and how that can make you go a bit crazy. Gina’s voice is quite hoarse in the recording, which helps convey the desperation& frustration. There’s also a kind of excitement in that ‘fuck it’ feeling. The track is overall more positive than negative with each chorus ending ‘but I’ll find somewhere to put it.'”

 

 

 

 

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Dave Sitek, a guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known for being a member of TV on the Radio and for collaborating with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady Eye, Kelis, Santigold, and others; and Daniel Ledinsky, who’s best known for releasing the viral hit “DonaldTrumpMakesMeWannaSmokeCrack,” and for collaborating with Tove Lo, Kent, CeeLo Green, Shakira and Rihanna, the Los Angeles, CA-based duo The Neverly Boys are inspired by their adopted hometown, and the duo’s debut single together “Burn, Hollywood, Burn” is actually about the broken dreams on which Hollywood is built. Though the single was written and recorded before the relatively recent reports of rampant and unchecked abuse, the single comes from the same poisoned well. As Ledinsky says in press notes “I’m guessing most people who live here in Los Angeles can relate to that feeling of total hopelessness. This place sure creates some amazingly beautiful art, but it also has a tendency to use and corrupt you. Hollywood has attracted artists to come here to pursue their dreams since the 20’s, and a lot of people end up in a very dark place chasing that dream. I love this city for all its beauty, but it has always been a very hard and violent place as well.“ And as a result, “Burn, Hollywood, Burn” while consisting of a bluesy and twangy shuffle paired with an anthemic chorus manages to feel haunted, as though imbued by bitter and lingering ghosts.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Hazy and Dream-like Visuals for Up-and-Coming Sibling Pop Duo Chaos Chaos’ “Dripping With Fire”

Comprised of Seattle, WA-born, New York-based sibling duo Asy and Chloe Saavedra, the electro pop duo Chaos Chaos is a decided sonic left turn for those who may be familiar with the Saavedras earlier work as members of Seattle-born band Smoosh, an act that opened for the likes of Bloc Party, Sleater Kinney and Cat Power, as the sibling duo’s latest project finds the duo pairing analog synth soundscapes, programmed and live drums with gorgeous harmonies. And while some have compared the duo’s sound to the likes of PJ Harvey, Stereolab and Little Dragon, the duo’s latest single “Dripping With Fire” sounds — to my ears, at least — much more like JOVM mainstays Pavo Pavo but with a modern production sheen. 

Directed by Stephanie Dimiskovski with photography direction by Steven Rico possesses a surreal, dream-like logic. and as the sibling duo explained in a written statement to the folks at Noisey, “We wanted to shed light on a more true sisterhood by recalling the memorabilia of damaging [and healing] as the somewhat conflicted foundation of sisterhood.’ Each posed scene, like dioramas of the Saavedras’ personal life and emotions, takes viewers into another world.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Wallace Gollan is a Wellington, New Zealand-born, Sydney, Australia-based singer/songwriter, who performs under the mononymic stage name Wallace, and she has received attention across New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere for her jazz-influenced, soulful vocals — and for an overall sound that effortlessly meshes jazz, soul, neo-soul, the blues and hip-hop. And unsurprisingly, she’s been compared by some to the likes of Erykah Badu, Little Dragon and Carmen McRae. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may recall that I wrote about Gollan’s collaboration with Sydney-based emcee and poet  Sampa The Great “Beauty,” which paired Gollan’s expressive vocals singing a positive message of how we all have the power to transform our lives for the better with a skittering, off-kilter production featuring jazz and hip-hop-inspired beats, twinkling keys and a shuffling bass line.

“Diaspora,” the Wellington-born, Sydney-based singer/songwriter’s first single of 2017 is a collaboration with the Sydney-based, Nigerian-Australian producer and vocalist Crooked Letter and interestingly the single is inspired by Gollan’s own experience of being part of a Diaspora as her Dundee, Scotland-born father had moved to Wellington as a child — and the single features Gollan’s brash and almost coquettish jazz phrasing paired with a production based around a looping Nigerian funk sample, stuttering polyrhythm and chopped up yet ethereal samples of Gollan’s own father appearing briefly within the track.  As Gollan explains in press notes about her latest single and her collaboration with Crooked Letter, “I wanted to highlight the connection that we both feel towards places where we didn’t grow up. We bonded over the idea that looking back at our roots gave us a sense of affirmation and appreciation for what makes us who we are.” And as a result, the song possesses a profound sense of gratitude and connection to something far older than where you may currently call home.