Tag: M83

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Anthemic, M83-Channeling Sound of Finnish-born, Spanish-based Producer Future Ark

Tero Heikkinen is Helsinki, Finland-born, Seville, Spain-based composer, who has a lengthy career composing music for short films, documentaries and modern dance pieces; however, his solo recording project Future Ark is a sonic departure from his previous work, the project finds Heikkinen employing the use of experimental and contemporary sound design and electronic production techniques, with bits of organic instrumentation while drawing from a diverse array of styles including downtempo, ambient and synthwave.

Heikkinen’s Future Ark debut Joy was deeply inspired by the birth of his second son, which was a roller coaster ride of positive emotions. And as a result, the EP’s first single and EP opening track “Pacific Highway” features an effortlessly slick production consisting of undulating and shimmering synths, skittering percussion, propulsive drum beats, a soaring, anthemic, M83-like hook and an otherworldly, cosmic sheen — while evoking the buzzing enthusiasm and sense of discovery on a trip to someplace completely new.

Because the composition has a summery feel, the recently released music video consists of videos of fan shot footage of beaches from Spain and elsewhere across the world, and in some way the video manages to evoke the hope and excitement that people all over the world feel about summer.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dave Woody (guitar, vocals), Dave Bowman (bass) and Andrew Platts (drums), Wilding is a Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock trio and although the trio cite influences including Hum, Fugazi, Mew, M83, Autolux and Interpol among others — although interestingly enough, as you’ll hear on “Hot Prowl,” the latest single off the trio’s forthcoming EP Secular Music, the band specializes in an anthemic and moody shoegaze that’s sonically reminiscent to the likes of Jersey City, NJ’s Overlake, Chicago’s Lightfoils and others, complete with some explosive guitar pyrotechnics paired with thundering and insistent drumming.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Playful Visuals and Soulful Sounds of French Electronic Music Producer and Artist FKJ

Vincent Fenton is a self-taught, Paris, France-based producer, multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and sound engineer, best known in electronic music circles as French Kiwi Juice — or FKJ. For Fenton, music has always been a part of his life somehow; but he can trace the origins of his musical career to when he started to write and compose songs at 13 and recorded his first track at 14 in his uncle’s studio. And with the release of his debut EP, 2013’s Time For A Change and its follow up EP, 2014’s Take Off, found the French producer, electronic music artist, multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer establishing himself in a contemporary electronic music scene that includes M83, Uppermost and others while developing an international profile with tours in Asia, North America, the rest of the EU and Australia; however, unlike his contemporaries Fenton has described his sound as being influenced by jazz and soul, while equally drawing from hip-hop and funk in a rather sophisticated and smooth fashion.

Interestingly, Fenton’s highly-anticipated self-titled FKJ full-length debut was released yesterday and the album’s latest single “Skyline” is a swaggering dance floor friendly yet soulful track that nods at Jamiroquai, The Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method as Fenton pairs a slick and silky smooth production consisting of cosmic bursts of twinkling arpeggio keyboard, whirring and wheezing electronics, shuffling drum programming and a sinuous bass line paired with Fenton’s ethereal and dreamy falsetto and an equally slick yet understated hook.

The recently released accompanying video features a relatively simple concept — Fenton leading a small group of bicyclists, riding the sort of bikes Pee Wee Herman rode in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure through an extremely European and gothic-looking forest at sunrise and dusk with Fenton singing the song as he’s riding with his crew.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays The Penelopes Return with an 80s New Wave and Synth Pop Inspired New Single

Comprised of Paris-born, London-based duo Axel Basquiat (composer, vocals, bass) and Vincent T. (production, sound engineering and keys), The Penelopes are an indie electro pop act, production and DJ duo who have developed a reputation for propulsive, Giorgio Moroder-like remixes of Lana Del Ray, Pet Shop Boys, We Have Band, Night Drive, The Ting Tings, Alt J and others, and for their own original material, which critics have compared favorably to the likes of Daft Punk, M83 and Air. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 3 years or so, you may have come across posts on their remixes of The Ting Tings “Do It Again,” Alt J’s “Hunger of the Pine” and an anthemic, club-banging cover of Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” that managed to retain the song’s sense of longing.

The duo released a new single package featuring their cover of Bowie’s “This Is Not America,” which received airplay on KCRW, along with several remixes, including Miguel Campbell’s remix, which received airplay on Nemone’s BBC 6 show, and a new, original song “Tina.” The duo’s latest single “Tina” manages to be a decided refinement of the sound that captured both the site’s attention and the rest of the blogosphere; in fact, while retaining a dance floor friendly feel, the song manages to decidedly leans in the direction of 80s New Wave and synth pop — in particular, I’m reminded a bit of Simple Mind’s “Don’t You Forget About Me,” as “Tina” possesses an rousingly anthemic nature that belies a swooning Romantic nature.

The recently released video cuts between footage from Asia Argento’s directorial feature film Misunderstood, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and footage of the band performing the song in a studio, shot in a striking, film noir-like black and white.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “Golden,” the London, UK-based indie pop trio Mt. Wolf, currently comprised of Sebastian “Bassi” Fox, Stevie “Red” McMinn, and Al Mitchell, received both national and international attention across both major media outlets and the blogosphere. With the growing attention the band has received, they’ve played sold-out shows across Europe and the US; but adding to a rather eventful year, the band has gone through a brief hiatus and a lineup change, before recovering to write and record new material, with producer Ken Thomas, who has worked with M83, Sigur Ros and Daughter.

“The Electric” is the oceanic first single off the band’s still untitled, forthcoming EP finds the trio pairing moody atmospherics with a towering and soaring, arena rock-friendly anthemic nature as the slow-burning song that ebbs and swells as it builds up in intensity; but interestingly within that slow ebb and flow there’s an unresolved tension that never quite gets released. And as a result, it gives the song a certain ambivalence and uncertainty that is familiar — it evokes the ambivalence, uncertainty and confusion of our own lives and relationships and the hope that somehow we find a way to figure it out to the best of our abilities.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Watch the Paris Symphonic Orchestra’s Instrumental Rendition of Uppermost’s “Constellation”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past three or four months, you’ve come across a handful of posts featuring the Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist Behad Netjabakshe, best known as Uppermost. And as you may recall, Netjabakshe has an internationally recognized profile for material he’s released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records — with singles like “Equivocal” landing at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts in 2009, and his Biscuit Factory EP landing at number 1 on the JunoDownload electro-house charts. Additionally, Netjabakshe has received attention for his remixes of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and others — and he’s had his work playlist by a nubmer of superstar producers and artists including Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello.

Last week saw the release of the Paris-based producer and electronic music artist’s latest full-length effort, Origins 2011-2016, a massive 23 song LP, which features some of the French producer and electronic music artist’s most popular songs, including Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” “Mistakes” as well as a new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling singles “Thousand Colors,” and “Emotion,” the Pink Floyd-channeling, cinematic “Reminder,” and the 45:33 and Sound of Silver-era LCD Soundsystem-leaning “Alive.” To celebrate the release of the album, Netjabakshe shared a swooningly gorgeous and cinematic rendition of “Constellation” performed by members of the Paris Symphonic Orchestra that retains the lush, cinematic quality of the original.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the last few months of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, you’ve most likely come across a couple of posts featuring the , Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist Behad Netjabakshe, best known as Uppermost. And as Uppermost, Netjabakshe has received attention internationally for material released through a series of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records — with singles like “Equivocal”landing at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts in 2009, his Biscuit Factory EP ranked first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts.And adding to a rapidly growing international profile, Netjabakshe has had his work playlisted by superstar producers and artists such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello. Netjabakshe has also received attention for his remixes of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and others.

Uppermost‘s soon-to-be released full-length effort Origins 2011 – 2016 is a 23 song LP that features some of the French producer and electronic music artist’s most popular songs, including Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” “Mistakes” as well as a new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling singles “Thousand Colors,” and “Emotion” and the Pink Floyd-channeling, funky and cinematic “Reminder.”Origins 2011 – 2016‘s latest single “Alive” will further cement Netjabakshe’s reputation for slickly produced synth pop as the Paris-based electronic music artist and producer pairs layers of shimmering, arpeggio synths with a sinuous bass line, Nile Rodgers-like guitar and and a rousingly, anthemic hook; however, where two of the album’s singles were reminiscent of M83, the album’s latest single leans a bit more towards 45:33 and Sound of Silver-era LCD Soundsystem, thanks to a club-friendly and accessible style.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their earliest singles and their debut EP Anonymous, the Brisbane, Australia-based sibling duo Niterunner — comprised of Daniel and Andrea Suesskow — received quite a bit of attention nationally for the sort of soulful yet dreamy electro pop production and anthemic hooks that’s been compared favorably to the likes of M83, Phoenix, Moonbabies, Cut Copy, and others. Interestingly, the Suesskows’ latest single “Out of Your Hands” is reportedly a reworking of a single the duo released earlier that received some 16,000 streams upon its release and was recorded and reworked in their family’s home studio — and was produced by Daniel Suesskow.  And sonically speaking, the single will further cement their burgeoning reputation across Australia and elsewhere, for crafting summery and dreamy pop that’s both wistfully nostalgic and achingly earnest paired with a soaring hook and shimmering synths.

As the Suesskows explained in press notes the song’s lyrics reflect on moments of symmetry, a singular way of thought and reaction, a cycle of repetition and a struggle to cope but offering a moment of self-realization and reprieve, in which one learns how to counterbalance their internal process of self-doubt and self-flagellation with the realization that there’s only so much you can control. And as a result, all anyone can do is let go of the things that are completely out of their hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months you may have come across a couple of posts on Behdad Netjabakshe, Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist, best known in electronic music circles as Uppermost. Netjabakshe has received international material for material released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records. And adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Netjabakshe’s “Equivocal” landed at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts back in 2009, his Biscuit Factory EP ranked first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts — and he has had his work playlisted by superstar artists and producers such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello, as well as received attention for his remixes of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and countless others.

You may remember that the Paris-based producer and electronic music artist’s forthcoming full-length album Origins 2011-2016 is a massive 23 song LP that features some of the Frenchman’s most popular tunes — including “Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” “Mistakes” as well as a ton of new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling single “Thousand Colors,”and the Pink Floyd-channeling, funky and cinematic “Reminder.” “Emotion,”Origins’ latest single much like “Thousand Colors” will likely remind some listeners of the aforementioned M83 as the song features layers of cascading and shimmering synth chords paired with a soaring and anthemic hook and a sinuous bass line — with a swooning and Romantic heart at its core.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Uppermost Performs Reminder in Paris

Now, if you’ve bee frequenting this site over the course of the past month or so, you may recall that I previously wrote about Behdad Netjabakshe, Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist, best known as Uppermost. Netjabakshe has received international material for material released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records. Adding to a growing internationally recognized profile, Netjabakshe’s “Equivocal” landed at number 3 on Beatport’s electro house charts back in 2009, his Biscuit Factory EP ranked first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts — and he’s had singles playlist by renowned artists and producers such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello. Additionally, he’s received attention for remixing the work of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and countless others.

Netjabakshe’s forthcoming full-length effort Origins 2011-2016 is a massive 23 song LP that features some of the French electronic music artist and producer’s most popular songs such as “Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” and “Mistakes” as well as a ton of new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling single “Thousand Colors,” that possessed a bit of muscle and forcefulness. The French electronic music artist and producer recently released live concert footage performing the cinematic, shimmering and funky “Reminder” in Paris. Interestingly, while the retro-futuristic gently nods at both M83 and Pink Floyd, the song manages to sound as though it should be part of the soundtrack of a sci-fi thriller.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeous and Wistful Visuals for Ten Fe’s “Overflow”

Hit The Light was recorded at Kompakt Records Studios in Berlin with Ewan Pearson, who has worked with Jagwar Ma, M83 and The Rapture and the album reportedly finds the duo meshing contemporary electro pop, Americana and the renowned Manchester sound — while thematically focusing on renewal, hope and possibility. And the duo’s latest single “Overflow” is a shimmering 80s-inspired synth pop/New Wave ballad with a motorik-like groove that focuses on the end of a romantic relationship and a lost love. And while being naturally wistful over what once was, the song possesses a hopeful message, that heartbreak no matter how profound is a reminder that you once knew and had love in your life, and that you will have heartbreak and love many times over.

Directed and edited by Modu Sesay, the recently released music video is shot in a gorgeous, cinematic black and white and features the band playing the song in their rehearsal space; but it’s cut in between with flashbacks of the band playing a live show in front of an ecstatic live audience, friends and couples having fun, hanging out and catching their friends play live shows — and it suggests that many of these small seemingly mundane things can influence art and the artists who create it.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Behdad Netjabakshe is a Paris, France-based electronic music producer and electronic music artist, best known as Uppermost who has received international attention for material released through a number of renowned labels including Sony BMG, Ministry of Sound, BugEyed Records, Starlight Records and his own Uppwind Records with his “Equivocal” landing at #3 on the Beatport electro-house charts back in 2009 and his Biscuit Factory EP ranking first on the JunoDownload electro-house charts, as well as having his work playlisted by renowned artists and producers such as Tiesto, Armin van Buren and Steve Angello. Adding to a growing international profile, Netjabakshe has remixed the work of Daft Punk, deadmau5, Burial, Crystal Castles, Jonathan Coulton, Syl Johnson, Congorock and countless others.

Netjabakshe’s forthcoming full-length effort Origins 2011-2016 is a massive 23 song LP that features some of the French electronic music artist and producer’s most popular songs such as “Flashback,” “Beautiful Light,” “Reminder” and “Mistakes” as well as a ton of new material including the shimmering and anthemic M83-channeling single “Thousand Colors,” a single that possess enough muscle to rock clubs all over the world.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Corbu on Baeble’s NEXT Sessions

With the release of two critically applauded EPs, We Are Sound and Everything You Imagine is Real, the New York-based trio Corbu, comprised of Johnathan Graves (guitar, synths and vocals), Amanda Scott (vocals, synths) and Todd Hoellerman (drums), have received praise from the likes of several major media outlets including NYLON, Stereogum, The Guardian, NME and others for a sound that’s not only heavily influenced by the Warp Records roster, sci-fi imagery, psychedelia and their own dreams but also draws from the likes of Moonbabies, M83, Washed Out, Yes, and others as their swooning and shimmering take on dream pop and synth pop possesses a cinematic quality. 2016 has been breakthrough year for the band as they released their gorgeous, attention-grabbing full-length debut Crayon Soul earlier this year — and from album singles “Battles,” and “Better Better Off,”and a national tour that included the trio’s first festival set at this year’s Austin City Limits, the band is looking forward to an even bigger 2017.

The folks at Baeble recently invited the members of Corbu to participate in the website’s Baeble NEXT Session series, which features a band of interest performing several songs at the Baeble offices down at the Industrial City complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn along with an interview. The live footage features the band performing “Neon Hallway,” “Prism,” and “Battles” off Crayon Soul and from the footage, you should get a sense of how their live sound hews very closely to their immersive and lush recorded sound. And in the band’s full-ranging interview, the band talks about their unexpectedly big year, which featured their first national tour and their first festival set, how their music videos and other visuals tie into their aesthetic, how they wanted to make a full album in the veins of Radiohead’s In Rainbows and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Mood, how the album’s mixer helped create a lush, nuanced sound, the album’s overarching themes and more. (This is another one where the embed works a little funny, so click on the link and it’ll drive you to a full-page embed window — and enjoy!)

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps more popularly known as a co-founder of renowned indie electro pop act M83, Nicholas Fromageau, who left the project after the release of the act’s seminal album Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts, Fromageau (vocals, guitar) founded his own project, Team Ghost recruited fellow French musicians Christophe Guérin (vocals, guitar),  Benoit de Villeneuve (vocals, guitar, keys), Félix Delacroix (drums), and Pierre Blanc (bass) to flesh out the project’s overall sound. Following the release of several EPs, 2013’s full-length debut Rituals, tours with Crystal Castles and a set the inaugural Pitchfork Paris Festival, the members of the band found themselves in a bit of a creative rut before they ultimately found inspiration in an old analog synthesizer, along with the Blade Runner soundtrack and Kanye West‘s Yeezy among other things while blending it a bit with elements of feedback-filled guitar chords played through effects pedals, inspired by Sonic Youth and Slowdive. And the end result is the retro-futuristic and cinematic “The Riser,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming self-titled sophomore effort, slated for a December 2, 2016.

While possessing an icy and abrasive feel, and vocals fed through layers of vocoder, the song not not manages to be larger-than-life and anthemic, it simultaneously manages to nod at Chateau Marmont, Milemarker, Kraftwerk, and John Carpenter soundtracks while evoking an Orwellian, post-apocalyptic world of cyborgs, clones, nuclear waste, pollution, deprivation and unending strife. However, just underneath the icy and uneasy surface, there’s an aching and human yearning for much more — for another world in which the song’s narrator could truly be free.