Mirrors’ new EP
This week Brighton SynthPop outfit Mirrors released a brand new EP on their Bandcamp page.
The ‘This Year, Next Year, Sometime . . . ?’ EP contains two new tracks, ‘Dust’ and ‘Shooting Stars’, and five new demos. it was put together by the band to help fund their return to the studio for a new full length album and it’s well worth the price. ‘Dust’ is classic SynthPop, powerful and brooding and capturing that ‘just right’ SynthPop atmosphere of melancholy shot through with hit of hope. Along with ‘Dust’, if ‘Shooting Stars’ is anything to go by, we Mirrors get back in the studio soon. It’s a gorgeous peice of synthesizer based Indie-Electro with all the darkness and majesty you’d expect from these guys. Buying the EP seems like a worthy cause, and seven awesome tracks to boot.
♫ Mirrors – Dust
♫ Mirrors – Shooting Stars
The ‘This Year, Next Year, Sometime . . . ?’ EP is available now.
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Giorgio Moroder’s ‘E=mc²’, a whole bunch of reMixes!
‘E=mc²’ is my favourite Giorgio Moroder track, so it was with great interest that I approached Sweedish Disco label MB Disco’s new collection of reMixes of the track. They released a ton of reMixes in the package and invited some legendary figures in Italo and Cosmic Disco to take part.
To run down some of the stand out versions let’s start with L.I.S., who turn in a deep analog Disco track, all rounded bouncy bass and sparse arpeggios. using similar instrumentation to Moroder let’s L.I.S capture a similar mood but with a much updated sound. Gomma’s Rodion drops a RoboDisco version of the track next which is almost exactly what I had in my head that this release would contain before I listened to it. Frantic, slightly retro, synthetic Disco that layers upon the original, making it more complex and full with an Italo twang. Speaking of Italo, legends of the genre Klein & MBO deliver an unsurprisingly ‘80’s mix, raw 909 beats and Italo basslines are in order here that stays true enough to the original but adds an eighties euro dancefloor feel that could have easily seen it as a 12” release from the early ‘80’s. The release is also graced by Electro pioneer Alexander Robotnick who’s dark vocoding and Kraftwerk-on-steroids electronics create a completely different track, more of a homage to Moroder. Alongside theses tracks, you’ll find on the record work from Dionigi, I-Robots and Daniele Baldelli.
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (L.I.S. Rework)
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (Rodion Gran Manigheo reMix)
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (No More Klein & MBO reMix)
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (Alexander Robotnick reMix)
‘E=mc² – The Italian Connection’ reMix collection is out now.
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The Opiates’ reMix album
The double team of Miss Billie Ray Martin and Robert Solheim, The Opiates’ ‘Hollywood Under The Knife’ album was a pretty regular fixture on electronic rumors last year. Well, that momentum doesn’t need to stop. Next month The Opiates release ‘Hollywood Cuts (The reMixes)’, an album chock full of some big names reMixing some big tracks from ‘Hollywood Under The Knife’.
the list of reMixers is pretty impressive, Kim Ann Foxman, Doorly, Chris & Cosey, Drop Out Orchestra, Dan Beaumont and this track from Dalston’s Disco Bloodbath. Taking the lead track from the album, ‘Candy Coated Crime’, Disco Bloodbath lay down some deep electronic sounds. Their pulsating synthesizer Disco conjures a mood of late nights on dingy dancefloors, dark clubs and strange places. A perfect match for Billie’s sultry vocal. With a slight dark Italo feel this reMix is one for a dark future.
♫ The Opiates – Candy Coated Crime (Disco Bloodbath reMix)
The Opiates’ ‘Hollywood Cuts (The reMixes)’ is released 26th February on Disco Activisto.
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Desire’s ‘Don’t Call’ video
Here is the new video from Johnny Jewel’s Desire project. It’s for ‘Don’t Call’, a reasonable old, from their 2009 album’ ‘II’, tune given a new lease of life with some dreamy hipster visuals.
Directed by Alberto Rossini in Miami in October during a hurricane watch, the wind and the vintage footage somehow seem to work themselves in to the track amazingly.
‘II’ is out now on Italians Do It Better.
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ComboStar’s new EP
Nine years ago Parisian outfit ComboStar released ‘In My Soul’ a big, filtered French House track that made some waves. Now in 2012 they are back with a new EP on La Valigetta.
The ‘Combostella’ EP is a bit hit an miss, a couple of the tracks on there are a bit Nu-Disco by numbers, a bit uninspired. But these two tracks ‘Straight In The Eye’ and, especially, ‘Discoball Room’ make the EP worth it. ‘Straight In The Eye’ makes great use of some pretty original samples to create a peak time Disco tune that is novelty enough to chart. ‘Discoball Room’, though, is the track that makes the EP. Layers of synthesizer Funk and squelchy little melodies play all over a Disco-House beat. A whole EP of this kind of stuff would have been killer, rather than the commercial, compilation focused Disco, maybe next time.
♫ ComboStar – Discoball Room
♫ ComboStar – Straight In The Eye
ComboStar’s ‘Combostella’ EP is out 6th February.
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Pelifics & Human Life
Toronto’s Brilliantine records have given us the first taste of what to expect from the highly anticipated new release from Norway’s Pelifics.
The collection of collaborations is split over two EPs due out in February and March. March’s release will contain tracks featuring JD Samson (Le Tigre/MEN), AXXE and Miss Plug Inn, while next months EP holds one track featuring Electric Youth and this flip side, ‘Can’t Promise Anything’ featuring Human Life. ‘Can’t Promise Anything’ is driven by a Funked our digital bassline that makes for a sparse ElectroPop backing for Human Life’s impassioned vocal duet. It’s a tantalising hint of what promises to be an exciting collection of tracks.
♫ Pelifics (Feat. Human Life) – Can’t Promise Anything
The first EP is released 13th February.
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Kid Kasio’s début album, ‘Kasiotone’
The end of this month sees the long awaited release of Kid Kasio’s début album, ‘Kasiotone’.
In the years before electronic rumors started, and the ElectroPop resurgence of 2007 onward, a band called The Modern (later Matineé Club) was one of the UK big hopes for rocketing intelligent SynthPop back into the spotlight. Unfortunately due to mis-management and major label problems The Modern’s fame was never realised, but ever cloud has a silver lining. Had The Modern never split up then Nathan Cooper may have never adopted his Kid Kasio alter-ego and brought to the world the most authentic ‘80’s Pop committed to recording since 1989.
Everything about the Kid Kasio experience is meticulously overseen by Nathan, from the recordings, to the artwork, to his now legendary videos, all slotting into their place in his perfect vision of the ‘80’s. ‘Kasiotone’ is the epitome of that vision. Kid Kasio isn’t influenced by the ‘80’s, he is the ‘80’s. What we mean by that is ‘Kasiotone’ doesn’t sound like an album that is a pastiche, or a parody, or a homage, or a reverence, or a bandwagon rider, this actually sounds like an album from around 1985 (albeit with modern recording techniques, like a 1985 album remastered). Sure, there is the occasional touch of modern electronic music in the production, but everything about these songs whether it’s the vintage synth and drum sounds or Nathan’s Duran Duran crossed with Nik Kershaw style of songwriting, sounds just like the real thing. That’s not to say you have to be a big fan of ‘80’s music to enjoy this album, ‘cos you don’t. Nathan is both a talented songwriter and instrumentalist. His ability to capture certain emotions in his lyrical narrative, as well as making them catchy is matched by his mastery of melodies and complex programming and results in a collection of songs that has something for everyone. From dancefloor like anthemic ElectroPop of ‘Not For Turning’ or the TOTP sing-a-long of ‘Telephone Line’ to more introspective tracks like the Pop Funk of ‘Paranoia’ or the ‘80’s album track ‘I Miss You’ there is something most people will find to love on this record. Whether you’re a fan of ‘80’s music, or just a fan of ElectroPop in all it’s forms, or just like a good song, this album is definitely worth your investigation.
♫ Kid Kasio – Over And Over
♫ Kid Kasio – The Reason
♫ Kid Kasio – Not For Turning
‘Kasiotone’ is released 30th January.
Check out more from Kid Kasio on SoundCloud.
Miami Nights 1984’s ‘The Getaway’
He promised it, and here it is. A brand new track from Miami Nights 1984, and he really captures the Miami Vice feel this time.
‘The Getaway’ kicks off with a very Jan Hammer-esque ringing arpeggio before treating us to some of the most soaring of soaring synths I’ve heard in a while. The main refrain in the track is actually pretty dark, giving ‘The Getaway’ a sense of drama, but there is always hopefulness in those cosmic synth solos. If you were in a Ferrari, sporting a mullet, and eluding the cops, then this would have to be your soundtrack.
♫ Miami Nights 1984 – The Getaway
Check out more from Miami Nights 1984 on SoundCloud.
Aaron Alexis’ ‘In The Air’
Aaron Alexis, who I’m not going to call “video director turned ElectroPop artist” anymore, just “ElectroPop artist”, has dropped his new tune, ‘In The Air’.
‘In The Air’ is a nice meeting of soulful vocals, Ed Banger-esque Electro and ‘90’s Pop House. Like Seal singing over a Justice reMix of a Black Box tune. In contract to his introspective BedroomPop of recent releases ‘In the Air’ sees Aaron in majestic mode, whiles there is still an intimate tone to his vocals the track itself is pretty huge. The piano of ‘90’s House meeting head on on with plucked strings and a big bridging horn section, leads to some dirty synth with a touch of the baroque. It’s a nice mix, and nicely produced too, more like this please,
Check out more from Aaron Alexis on SoundCloud.
Nite Jewel’s ‘One Second Of Love’ album
Track ten on Nite Jewel’s forthcoming second new album ‘One Second Of Love’ freaked me out! It’s titled ‘Clive’, but that’s my name! For a good few seconds I genuinely thought they we’re somehow doing personalized promos now, I had to check and double check other sites tracklistings. But there is it, track ten on ‘One Second Of Love’ is named after me. It must be, right? Why would you call it that otherwise?
Ramona Gonzalez’s second record is a thing of beauty. From her Nu-Funk influenced basslines to the washes of Chillwavey reverb drenched synths to her quirky, left-field delivery this seems to be a more focused record than her début ‘Good Evening’, more coherent. It’s a dark and moody vision of ‘80’s Synth Funk and R&B fed through a modern LA Funk machine and dunked in the Chillwave river. There a particular production here that makes the lush synths and Ramona’s intimate vocals sound quite sparse and separated, but that’s the Nite Jewel sound, it’s something that is at once far away and right next to you. ‘One Second Of Love’ is a melting pot of ideas that is made one by Nite jewels vision. If you want something chilled, but a bit funky, check it out.
♫ Nite Jewel – One Second Of Love
♫ Nite Jewel – She’s Always Watching You
Nite Jewel’s ‘One Second Of Love’ album is released 6th March.
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