Featuring frontwoman Mindy Jones, who has collaborated with Moby and electronic music artist and producer Luke Top, the Los Angeles, CA-based electro pop duo ADLT VDEO has received attention for a shimmering and infectious pop sound that’s completely different than the sounds of each member’s individual recorded efforts with Jones and Top actively pushing themselves in new directions creatively — and subtly complex and challenging song structures and soaring, St. Lucia-like hooks. And with their latest, breezy and summery, 80s synth pop-inspired single “Start Over,” as the duo’s Mindy Jones describes in press notes “has a tropical bounce with an R&B swagger that works to prop up the lyrical theme of renewal. Especially in light of the tense era we find ourselves in, there’s some comfort in the idea that no matter how bad it gets, there’s always an opportunity to move towards a better horizon.”
Tag: Moby
Formed in the early 90s and featuring Dermot Lambert (vocals, guitar), Robbie Sexton (keys), Brian McLoughlin (bass) and Barry Campbell (drums), Blink is a Dublin, Ireland-based rock quartet who have released three albums to date, 1994’s A Map of the Universe, 1998’s The End is Nigh and 2004’s Deep Inside the Sound of Sadness. And as the story goes with their inclusion on a New York-based trade festival CD in the early 90s, the Irish quartet quickly received international attention as EMI Records had signed the band for their 1994 debut; but before that the band had achieved quite a bit of attention back home in Ireland — their first two singles “Going to Nepal” and “Happy Day” reached the Irish Top 20, and their third single “It’s Not My Fault” debuted at number 8.
With the Irish quartet’s sophomore effort, the band broke through Stateside as The End Is Night was named Billboard‘s five-star album of the month and was named Billboard‘s album of the week before going on to quickly sell 90,000 copies, which allowed them to open for a number of well-known acts of the era including Mercury Rev, Moby, Lloyd Cole, The Cardigans, Mark Geary and Blink-182 (who ironically enough, the members of Blink sued for copyright infringement when Blink-182 was originally known as Blink; so talk about an awkward tour, huh?). And the band’s most recent album was nominated for Best Irish Album during 2005’s Meteor Music Awards.
It’s been a while since the band has released anything although the band’s frontman Dermot Lambert released a critically applauded solo effort back in 2013; however, March 3, 2017 will mark the re-issue of the band’s debut effort A Map of the Universe and the beginning of the a series of re-issues of their back catalog. And to mark the release, the band recently released “Happy Christmas 22 (I Still Miss You)” as a standalone single for the first time ever — although the single was released on A Map of the Universe. While being fitting for the season, the song is a rousingly anthemic track, which also appropriately sound of its era; in other words, it manages to be reminiscent of Brit Pop superstars RIDE, Oasis and others.
New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Act Betty Black Returns with Psych Rock-Leaning Visuals for a Psych Rock-Leaning New Single
New York-based singer/songwriter, bassist and producer Sylvia Gordon, best known as Sylvia Black. Gordon is an internationally recognized artist for her work as the frontwoman of electro pop act K.U.D.U. and for her collaborations with The […]
Last month, I wrote about the NYC-based electro funk/neo-disco production and artist duo Holy Ghost!. And with the release of their 2011 self-titled debut, 2013’s Dynamics through renowned indie dance label DFA Records and their 2015 self-released remix album, Work For Hire, the duo comprised of Alex Frankel and Nicholas Millhiser have seen a growing national and international profile, which has resulted in the duo remixing the work of Katy Perry, LCD Soundsystem, Moby and a lengthy list of others; made national TV appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with David Letterman; toured with the legendary New Order; and played sets at some of this country’s and the world’s biggest festivals including Coachella, Outside Lands, Primavera Sound and Bonnaroo.
April 29, 2016 will mark the release of the Crime Cutz EP through DFA Records, and the EP’s first single and title track “Crime Cutz” further cements the duo’s reputation for crafting slickly produced retro-futuristic electronic funk as the duo pairs shimmying synths, early 80s hip-hop break beats, undulating and swirling 8 bit electronics and a sinuous bass line paired with ethereal yet sensually cooed vocals and anthemic hooks. Sonically, the song seems to draws so much influence from Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit,” that it sounds as though it could easily back in 1983.
Recently, Eli Escobar remixed “Crime Cutz” and while his remix retains the retro-futuristic feel of the original, as well as its anthemic hooks, Escobar’s remix is much more propulsive and forceful — layers of shimmying and shimmering synths are paired with stuttering and skittering drum programming, a driving motorik groove, 8 bit bloops and bleeps and ethereal yet sensually cooed vocals that pushes the song in the direction of The Man Machine and Radioactivity-era Kraftwerk and classic house music; in other words, it’s an infectious and slickly produced club banger with an expansive groove.
New Video: Check Out the Retro-Futurist Visuals and Sounds of Holy Ghost!’s “Crime Cutz”
With the release of their 2011 self-titled debut, 2013’s Dynamics through renowned indie dance label DFA Records and their 2015 self-released remix album, Work For Hire, the NYC-based electro funk/neo-disco production and artist duo Holy Ghost!, comprised of […]
New Video: The Psychedelic Visuals for Betty Black’s Siouxsie and the Banshees Channelling New Single
Throughout the course of this site’s history, there have been a number of insanely talented artists, who have released work that I’ve become obsessed with — and have spilled copious amounts of (virtual) ink. Now, […]
As a Queens native, The Ramones have a very special place in my heart — I’ve walked on the streets that young Joey, Tommy, Dee Dee and Johnny walked on as a teenagers and young men and in some way or another I’m intimately familiar with many of the places they’ve referenced in their songs. Hell, if you grew up in Queens, I’d bet that you probably spent some part of your summer on Rockaway Beach, and it gives “Rockaway Beach,” a deeply personal feel. In any case, more than enough ink has been spilled on how influential the band had been to both punk rock, rock and other genres throughout the band’s run and their lives — and more than enough ink has been spilled on what arguably may be one of their best known songs “I Wanna Be Sedated.”
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you may be familiar with New York-based singer/songwriter Sylvia Gordon, best known in the music world as Sylvia Black. (To avoid deeper confusion, I’ll refer to Gordon as her musical pseudonym, Sylvia Black from this point forward.) Black has received international attention for her time as the frontwoman of electro-pop outfit K.U.D.U., and for collaborations with The Black Eyed Peas, Moby, William Orbit, Kelis, Spank Rock, The Knocks and Telepopmusik, among others. Over the past year, Black has received attention both here and across the blogosphere performing and recording under the moniker and alter ego Betty Black. Interestingly with her alter ego, Sylvia Black’s sound is a decided departure from her previously recorded work as it generally draws from garage rock, Southern gothic blues, Spaghetti Western soundtracks and atmospheric electronics while thematically the material explores love, lust, longing and obsession — and in a fashion that’s darkly seductive.
As a special holiday treat, Black is gifting one of the most interesting and unique covers of The Ramones’ mega-hit “I Wanna Be Sedated” that I’ve ever heard. Featuring a gorgeous Burt Bacharach/pop standard-like arrangement of horns, strings, vibraphone and upright bass Black’s rendition is decadently opulent and sensual, while sounding as though it were recorded under the influence of Quaaludes and/or Xanax that makes it trippy — and evokes the dreamy sensation of being sedated. There are a couple things that make Black’s rendition so interesting to me: it manages to radically change the song’s tempo and tone without distorting or removing the song’s essence; but it also makes a long-forgotten connection between 50s and 60s pop that had been such a major influence on Joey Ramone and company.
Check out how Betty Black’s version radically differs from the original below.
Black has a series of upcoming live dates including a residency at Happy Ending every Wednesday in January as Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge, The project will continue what Happy Ending is best known for — putting a lounge lizard/exotica spin on rock and post-punk classics along with originals. Check out dates below.
Live Dates
12/21 NYC, NY @ Pinks (Betty Black & Cullers)
12/22 NYC, NY @ Leftfield ((Betty Black & Cullers)
12/28 NYC, NY @ Elvis Guesthouse (Betty Black DJ set)
1/6 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
1/13 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
1/20 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
1/27 NYC, NY @ Happy Ending (Betty Black’s Happy Blue Lounge)
2/7 Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint (Betty Black & Cullers)
2/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Resident (Betty Black & Cullers)
New Video: The Powerful and Affecting Video for Cold Specks’ “Season of Doubt”
With the release of her critically applauded full-length debut, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion!, Cold Specks, the solo recording project of Canadian-born, UK-based singer/songwriter Ladan Hussein, quickly became an international sensation. In fact, in the […]
New Audio: Betty Black “Valley Low”
New York-based singer/songwriter Sylvia Black has received international attention for her time as the front woman of the electro-pop outfit K.U.D.U. and for her collaborations with The Black Eyed Peas, Moby, William Orbit, Kelis, Spank […]
The Brighton, UK-based electronic dance music duo of Ben Prok and James Fitch, best known as Prok and Fitch, can trace their origins to when the duo met by chance in 2006 at a UK […]
A Q&A with Al Spyx, a.k.a. Cold Specks
With the release of her critically applauded full-length debut, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion!, the Canadian singer/songwriter Al Spyx, best known to the world under the moniker of Cold Specks, quickly became an international sensation. In […]
In his 20 year carer, Etienne de Crecy has become one of the major figures of the international EDM scene, as he’s recorded some of the genre’s most influential albums of that span Pansoul (under the […]
With the release of her critically applauded full-length effort, I Predict A Graceful Explosion, the Canadian born and London-based Al Spyx, who writes, records and performs under the moniker of Cold Specks put herself on the map as a vocalist […]
Sylvia Black gained attention as the vocalist of New York-based electro pop outfit KUDU, and for her collaborations with the Black-Eyed Peas, Moby, William Orbit, Kelis, Spank Rock, the Knocks, Telepopmusik, and others. Performing under the pseudonym Betty Black, Sylvia Black’s sound as a solo […]
With the release of her critically applauded full-length effort, I Predict A Graceful Explosion, the Canadian born and London-based Al Spyx, who writes, records and performs under the moniker of Cold Specks put herself on the map as a vocalist […]