Julietta has a wistful vibe that is reminiscent of alterna-pop acts like BANKS, with nostalgic sensibilities like Lana Del Rey. “Beach Break” was written while she was spending time in Nicaragua. In fact, the opening sounds in this song are actual field recordings of the jungle surroundings. You don’t wanna skip over this tune — check it out below:
While you’re at it, check out Norway beauty Emma Jensen, too. Signed with Majestic Casual, she produces her own music (high fives)! Emma says, “‘Closer’ is about the feeling when you know you’re about to drift away from or lose someone, but you really want to hold on and let the person know that you’ll give it all to make things work.”
Following the release of a string of stunning songs last year, New Portals were championed in a number of high profile end of year lists and tips for 2017, including The Guardian who listed their single “Stay Here Tonight” in their ‘Top Tracks Of 2016’ critic’s choice selection. They’ve made a host of playlists at Spotify, receive regular in-store rotation at a number of leading UK high street brands and recently featured in the soundtrack for feature film She Has A Name. New Portals have developed into one of the most promising and highly acclaimed new acts to come from Ireland today. With the forthcoming release of their debut EP Stereo, the band are set to cement themselves as one of the Emerald Island’s most cherished exports.
“Stereo” is the title track and lead single from New Portals’ debut EP, due out on March 10th — check out the video below.
“Overflow” marks the first official release of Rondo Mo, the pseudonym of South-Londoner Robbie Redway. With his distinctive blend of dark, soulful electronica, this is unmistakably the sound of a promising new artist. The vocalist, producer and instrumentalist excels in creating a mood that can appeal to both dance lovers and a more indie audience, with even a nod to a darker R&B form. Reminiscent of acts such as Caribou, LCD Soundsystem and Bob Moses, this style of connecting electronic and acoustic sensibilities is having somewhat of a renaissance period and Rondo Mo reveals himself to be a very welcome addition to the fold. He manages to channel the sound, rather than imitate, and completely envelopes the listener in his world of shadowy synths and melodies.
The track begins with a deep bass pulse heard far in the distance, before Redway’s voice creates a light for the listener to use to navigate. The sultry vocals and growing instrumentals build on a track that begins in darkness, while maintaining a sense of danger with lyrics of going in “way above my head”. The spacious washes and lone piano keys add a level of anticipation before the listener is hit with the beat. “Overflow” offers an eclectic mixture of sounds throughout, juxtaposing a darker subject matter with a groovy bassline and snaps. There are also moments where Redway’s driven production is punctuated with more emotive breakdowns, the airy textures giving space for the vocals to take control, and the track ultimately ending with the appropriate emotional climax.
The story of Rondo Mo begins in Cornwall rather than his native London. After a wide range of collaborative work, from releasing an album with house don Midland to touring as a session member of alt-folk band To Kill A King, Redway found himself in a ‘stylistic bewilderment’ and took to the reclusive Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. Setting up in a remote barn, with no human contact and only the bleak moorland landscape for company for six weeks, he began working to reign in on a sound influenced by the limited vinyl collection he brought with him. Redway integrated the best elements of seventies’ soul and contemporary house music with a more cyncial vibe of eighties electronica, culminating in a sound delicately positioned between a confident dance sound and a moody underlay of indie music. “Overflow” is a striking introduction to Rondo Mo, and a piece of music that affirms the intrigue surrounding this artist.
The face and voice of The Gold Setting is Liza Colby. Channeling sensual 1960s soul, 1990s R&B, and Tina Turner-esque swagger, The Gold Setting boasts a fluid cast of all-stars including multi-instrumentalist/composer/arranger Todd Simon (Ghostface Killah, Sharon Jones, Lily Allen), Grammy-nominated Adam Berg (Decoders), and songwriter/producer/musician Richard Rudolph (Stevie Wonder, Minnie Riperton, A Tribe Called Quest, 2Pac, Chaka Kahn, En Vogue).
The Gold Setting has announced their debut Volume and Tone EP set for release on April 7th and have revealed the infectious first single “Being Without You”.
In 2015, Liza was presented with a “golden moment” – a perfect pocket of time where she had a chance to head to Los Angeles and collaborate with Todd Simon who then enlisted Adam Berg. Despite having no songs and never having worked together, Liza impulsively popped the question to do a show, and Todd and Adam signed on for the adventure. The trio had 12 days to spin yarns into gold. Immediately, sessions began at Manifest Music (Adam Berg’s studio) in Santa Monica. Liza soon found herself creating with a full house of iconic collaborators and musicians spanning genres and generations.
The result manifested in the form of the Volume and Tone EP – a four track collection that melds vintage instrumentation, bold electro-pop textures, and rugged beats with timeless Motown-tinged songcraft. Organic yet electrified, the tracks were recorded using a blend of old school 50s/60s techniques and modern technology, bringing out the authentic tones of the instruments yet delivering an explosive sound.
French electronic artist and producer Uppermost has been busy preparing for the release of his new album Origins (2011-2016) coming February 2017. In anticipation, he has already released two brand new tracks – “Thousand Colors” and “Constellation”. Today, he releases a never-before-seen live video of his cult single “Reminder” and announces his career-defining track “Beautiful Light” will be available as an immediate download with album pre-order.
In-line with the important conversation that’s taking place currently in the electronic music scene about live performance, the video gives viewers some insight into the various instruments and technologies that are part of making some of our favorite jams come to life.
Uppermost says of the video:
“The live video was shot in the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, located in Paris-Le Bourget airport – a beautiful and inspiring place for space lovers like myself. The guitar player is Mathias Di Gusto. I really love his instinctive creativity when it comes to efficient funky riffs. He’s also the player of famous french rapper Maitre Gims, playing on France’s biggest stages such as Paris Bercy. The bass player is Klem Aubert, a very talented slap bass monster and member of the awesome band Minuit.
The idea of a live performance grew in my mind after I started to feel constrained by the limitations I’d meet in my DJ sets. I wanted to be able to change the structure of my tracks on the fly, to create a beautiful interaction between every part in my mix.
So I’ve decided to build the live performance in a way that I can rearrange my tracks live but most importantly sample, loop and apply effects on what the guitar and bass players are doing at any moment. It took a lot of time to build the right workflow, and a lot of repetitions with the players in order to set up specific effects racks on each instruments according to which section of the track I trigger on the midi controller. For example, the guitar player instantly knows that whenever I trigger an atmospheric section of the track, his guitar will be going through a huge reverb and delay. The creative possibilities are really endless and that’s what makes the performance so exciting!”
The sick track is played using various instruments and controllers, including electronic music tools such as a Behringer BCR-2000 and iRig Keys 37Pro, as well as some more traditional instruments including a Fender Precision bass and a Gibson SG guitar.
“Reminder” will be featured on the new LP along with “Beautiful Light”, available as an instant download with pre-order today, and “Mistakes”. Combined, these songs have over 30 million streams. Also featured will be Uppermost’s recently released singles “Thousand Colors” and “Constellation”.
Check out the video below for “Set Us Free” from Bloom Twins. The exciting plot, which takes the viewer through a series of breathtaking extreme sports scenarios, features Go-Pro headcam footage from skiing, bungee jumping, scuba-diving and zip-wiring to name a few, and was shot in several countries around the world including the USA, UK, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, the Maldives and of course, Ukraine.
20-year-old identical twins, Sonia and Anna Kuprienkoco-wrote this track with talented Fiona Bevan and Max McElligott, then handed it over to Greg Fitzgerald for some production magic. It was the first track they wrote after returning from Ukraine where they got stuck for half a year during the uprise. The track is not political at all, rather a call for freedom, but it was certainly influenced by everything that was happening in Ukraine and the fact that they couldn’t return to their new home – London.
On the making and narrative behind the video, Bloom Twins say;
We tend to forget about the simple pleasures in life that make us happy. The world is our oyster. It’s only needed to be prized open to be enjoyed, with the pearl as the prize. Life should be about love, peace, happiness and freedom, and a home for it all is our beautiful planet.
Their debut album, which has been recorded and produced by Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes, will be out in 2017.
“The twins have serious promise” – MTV
“Divinely dynamic yet dark sisterly harmonies” – The Guardian
Gibbz first single + lyric video “Bright Lights” is from his upcoming EP Oh My God out 12/16. When talking about the track Gibbz said, “Bright Lights was the first track written for the record. It’s about a night out with friends on whatever drugs you can find. The bright light is referring to how some substances can cause lights and colors to be more vibrant. The pacing of the track and its build of instrumentation are to show how there’s a delicate balance between taking just the right amount, and going too far.” You can catch Gibbz on tour this fall with Dragonette and also, check out his podcast “Drinking With Gibbz”.
In 2014, New York native Mike Gibney wanted to get away from his past, working for touring artists as a sound engineer and tour manager, to focus on writing and recording his own music. His debut EP Who Gibbz a F#@$ showed that he was no longer content with being behind the scenes, but rather yearned for the spotlight. Following up with the Chardonnay EP, he aligned himself with other artists that began to see him more as a peer, than a hired hand. He toured extensively through the US and Europe with Gramatik, Cherub, Exmag, Ghost Beach, and the Floozies before independently releasing his first full-length album, Above Water in 2016. Gibbzwill finish off 2016 with another EP titled Oh My God, before tackling his first headlining tour beginning in 2017.
TOUR DATES
11/26 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
11/27 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
11/29 – The Independent – San Fransisco, CA
11/30 – The Roxy – Hollywood, CA
12/02 – Metro Bar – Salt Lake City, UT
12/03 – Bluebird Theatre – Denver, CO
12/05 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
12/06 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
12/08 – A&R Music Bar – Columbus, OH
12/09 – U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC
12/10 – Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY
12/11 – Royale – Boston, MA
12/31 – Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN
01/12 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
01/19 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
01/26 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
Recently Australian producer POOLCLVB gave us the first peek at his forthcoming debut EP with a summery new track called “Always”, and this week he is excited to share two incredible remixes of that track from Brisbane duo Odd Mob and US producer Ocular.
“We went a little bit more experimental with this remix whilst still retaining the summery-road trip vibes of the original” – Odd Mob
“The first time I heard the track and the vocals I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Most of my tracks lately have been more graves and MYRNE-esque but I went back to my roots with this one.” – Ocular
“Always”is a homage to Australian house, with summery, playful rhythms and samples. Carl Fox (of Porsches) lends his languid and sultry vocals, telling the classic story of ‘boy meets girl’.
“Written and recorded in a single day, we bounced lyrics back and forth and it just came together so organically. Sometimes guys don’t express their feelings as much as girls, we wanted this track to do just that. If you find it hard to say I love you, let this track speak for you.” -POOLCLVB
With candied, sprightly melodies over dance-flecked synths and drum machines, POOLCLVBbrings to mind the infectious feelings of a new relationship; brimming joy and seemingly endless possibilities.
Check out the original of the track below:
“Always” is available now through etcetc music, ahead of POOLCLVB’s forthcoming debut You + Me EP which is seeing its release in January 2017.
On 11/11, Bergen, Norway-based band The Megaphonic Thrift will release their album Få meg til verden i tide via Old Flame Records. The band has premiered their track “Pilene,” which you can check out now:
Last monthSPIN Magazine premiered the album’s first track “Hendene,” calling it “pulverizing noise rock.” Earlier this year, the band won a Spellemann Award (equivelant of a Norwegian GRAMMY Award) for best indie album. Få meg til verden i tide is The Megaphonic Thrift’s fourth album, and it’s the band’s first to feature lyrics in Norwegian. Much less guitar orientated than previous albums, Få meg til verden i tide is filled with synthesizers, and it’s their first with new collaborators Njål Paulsberg (neo Tokyo/Young Dreams) and Emil Nikolaisen (Serena-Maneesh).
“The four members in Megaphonic have become more unison for each record we’ve made together,” says guitarist and vocalist Richard Myklebust. “After the third record, making new music felt like giving each other a hug. We wanted to bring in someone who had a more radical approach to making music. We needed disagreement, and boy did we get it.”
A lot has happened since the summer of 2015 when The Megaphonic Thrift filled a car with synths and boxed wine, isolating themselves in a cabin far up in the Norwegian desolate mountains to write what would become Få meg til verden i tide.
“We thought we were just heading into the studio to make the final adjustments and thought it was going to be easy. All the songs were ready. It didn’t turn out easy at all,” says bassist and vocalist Linn Frøkedal.
The band describes the studio process as a long road trip, where a new driver can take the wheel at any moment. “Nikolaisen is based in Oslo (on the other side of the mountains), and guitarist Clementsen was on a Japanese tour with his other band Electric Eye, so sketches and new ideas were thrown back and forth on seemingly endless mail threads,” says guitarist Njål Clementsen. “This record is proof that it is possible to make a really cool record in a really hard way. It doesn’t have to be easy!”
Byron Nash, a Pittsburgh based musician, has been doing this music thing for a long time. While playing lead guitar of the band Formula412, he worked on writing and recording some ideas and keeping them on the “back-burner” you could say. This “back-burner” was called ‘Plan B’.
After collecting over 10 years of songs and ideas, Nash took some music production courses and eventually started his own music company, BNDEEPendent Music. He and his friend Evan Thorsen had been jamming and hanging out together for years; when they finally decided to play some of their songs live in 2014. After great reception, they were asked the following year to play at Kayafest, a restaurant that was having it’s 20th Year Anniversary block party. They put together a makeshift band of talented musicians and again were met with great praise…enough that they finally decided to go forth full throttle as a band.
All they had to do was come up with their name. It was suggested that their name simply be ‘Nash’, but Byron felt weird about it being just his name. So — ta-da!!! Byron Nash & Plan B it is!
And they’ve got a little bit of something for everyone, too! The band is “a well-balanced fusion of rocking dual-guitars, funk-and-soul, straight-forward and emotional vocals, simple songwriting, and a little bit of jam-band and fusion mixed in there.”
The band is having a very special release party for their very first EP, The Late Bloomer, this Friday at The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls.
Musically Amusing 