Monthly Archives: June 2010
Tesla Boy’s new single
This week saw the release of Russia’s ElectroPop/Dreamwave heroes Tesla Boy’s new single ‘Thinking Of You’, the second from their début album ‘Modern Thrills’.
We’ve been following Tesla Boy’s career for a while as, frankly, they are making some of the best SynthPop on the planet right now, and it’s good to see them with proper releases and proper videos (thanks to Mullett Records) ‘cos they really are a band that suits videos.
The prime example of that is the video for ‘Thinking Of You’ which was directed by Yoram Benz.
The single also features reMixes from Baxter, MAM and Casio Social Club but it’s the original version that is the real standout for me it’s a super slick melting pot of SynthPop, Nu-Disco, ElectroPop and Dreamwave that contains just the right amount of each.
♫ Tesla Boy – Thinking Of You (Radio Edit)
The ‘Thinking Of You’ single and the Tesla Boy’s début album ‘Modern Thrills’ are both available now.
HURTS Vs. Mantronix – Round 2
Well, not really round 2, it’s the same track. We premiered Kurtis Mantronik of Mantronix’s awesome reMix of HURTS’ ‘Wonderful Life’ yesterday, and now we’ve had the go ahead to offer it to you lot as a download!
Read what we said about it here, and download it right here.
♫ HURTS – Wonderful Life (Mantronix reMix)
‘Wonderful Life’ is being re-released as a single backed with this remix and the kickass Arthur Baker mix. I wonder if we’ll see a new video?
PEACE gets new Sally Shapiro track
The clock is ticking, there’s not much time left to pick up a copy of the Buffetlibre DJs and Amnesty International’s PEACE album, contributing to a good cause at the same time.
If you’ve been living under a musical and social awareness rock for the last six months, the PEACE project is an album containing over 150 brand new songs by artists from over 50 different countries. Check some of our previous posts (above) for the track listing. Suffice to say it’s a fantastic album which you can choose pay between €5 and €25 for with the collected money helping Amnesty International’s investigation and action campaigns aimed at preventing cases of Human Rights abuses around the world.
You have until 12th July to get your copy!
Five new tracks have been added to the album, specially recorded new songs by five well knows artists, including this cover of The Beatles ‘Hello, Goodbye’ by Swedish SynthPop songstress Sally Shapiro who makes the track fun, fun, fun!
♫ Sally Shapiro – Hello, Goodbye (The Beatles Cover)
Enjoy the music, donate to the cause, do it! Go here!
La Roux’s ‘Sidetracked’
Elly and Ben from La Roux are going to be at the helm of the next instalment of Renaissance’s ‘Sidetracked’ series.
Picking 17 track that have influenced or inspired them, the track list contains some real gems. Fever Ray puts in an appearance alongside Tears For Fears, Heaven 17, Blancmange and Japan. Even Kavinsky gets a look in.
Also included on the album will be La Roux’s live favourite cover of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Under My Thumb’, this will be the only time the track is committed to record.
Take a look at the track list:
01. Japan – I Second That Emotion
02. Heaven 17 – Come Live With Me
03. Joyce Sims – (You Are My) All And All
04. Hally & Kongo Band – Afrikan Man
05. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up (D. Lissvik Version)
06. Doris Troy – Just One Look
07. Freur – Doot Doot
08. Jam Crew – Exotic Nations
09. Ellis, Beggs & Howard – Big Bubbles, No Troubles
10. Fox The Fox – Precious Little Diamond
11. Tears For Fears – Suffer The Children
12. Blancmange – What’s Your Problem
13. I Blame Coco – Self Machine (Coconut Candy ‘No Need For Plastic Palm Trees’ Elly Jackson reMix)
14. Paul Haig – Big Blue World
15. Kavinsky – Testarossa Autodrive (SebastiAn reMix)
16. La Roux – Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones Cover)
17. Gerry Rafferty – Right Down The Line
And while you’re waiting, give your ears a treat with datA’s epic reMix of La Roux’s ‘I’m Not Your Toy’.
♫ La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy (datA reMix)
La Roux’s ‘Sidetracked’ drops 26th July.
Au Revoir Simone’s ‘Night Light’
We dropped the news of Au Revoir Simone’s forthcoming reMix album last month and now, with the release drawing closer, we can preview some more tracks for you.
With am amazing line up of reMix talent going to town on everyone’s favourite Indie-Electro girls it hard not to get a little exited about the release. Aeroplane’s chilled ElectroPop jam is almost perfect female fronted electronic music for the summer, sounding a little like Freezepop but with more kick. Chillwave (that’s the first time I have used that word on this blog!) pioneers Neon Indian’s reMix is actually very cool. Deep, raw, analog synths flying all over the place is defiantly the way forward for Chillwave (I said it again!). Clock Opera don’t fail to live up to (high) expectation with an intricate and intelligent toy piano led track.
Check them out:
♫ Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Aeroplane reMix)
♫ Au Revoir Simone – Another Likely Story (Neon Indian reMix)
♫ Au Revoir Simone – Tell Me (Clock Opera reMix)
‘Night Light’ is released 5th July through Moshi Moshi.
Étienne De Crécy reMixes Adam Freeland
Apparently Adam Freeland gave Étienne De Crécy the stems to his new track ‘How To Fake Your Own Life’ before he had even finished mixing it down himself. And De Crécy beat him to it!
The first we’ve heard from the man since his band, Freeland’s, COPE™ album last year, Étienne drops his typical French Electro goodness over the track and brings some noise and chaos to the proceedings before dropping a huge, huge riff.
♫ Adam Freeland – How To Fake Your Own life (Étienne De Crécy reMix)
The EP that the track is taken from will be out later this year on Plastician’s Terrorhythm label.
HURTS Vs. Mantronix
Surely this is too good to be true? HURTS’ ‘Wonderful Life’ reMixed by producer extraordinaire, Mantronix’s Kurtis Mantronik!
Following in the footsteps of Arthur Baker, Kurtis Mantronik is the second New York Electro Hip-Hop pioneer to tackle the song (all we need now are reMixes from Afrika Bambaata, Manny Parrish and Grandmaster Flash!) and brings a real old school Electro feel to the track, complete with Planet Rock kicks. I can’t put my finger on why ‘Wonderful Life’ lends itself so well to this kind of reMix…it just does!
♫ HURTS – Wonderful Life (Kurtis Mantronik reMix)
That’s made my evening!
The ‘Wonderful Life’ EP is still available:
LexiconDon preview new material
Yesterday saw LexiconDon wrap up recording of their début long player. To celebrate the occasion they, and the good folks at Binary, are giving you a sneak peek at a new track.
‘December Sunset’ is a smoother and slicker song than we’ve heard from LexiconDon in the past and shows a maturing of their songwriting prowess. The guys have always seemed to write about everyday lives and loves rather than grand concepts and this track feels like the most genuine thing they’ve done to date. The music too, feels, somehow, more intimate and honest. Less distorted synths, more melody. SynthPop at it’s finest.
I’m sure the album will probably feature more of the raw, almost punky, Electro LexiconDon we are used to but if this is the way the band are evolving, the album could really be something special.
♫ LexiconDon – December Sunset
The album, ‘Pink + Blue’ is due to drop 24th August on dubFrequency/Binary.
Hey Champ! reMix Andy Bell’s ‘Call On Me’
Erasure frontman Andy Bell is still concentrating on his, now renamed, solo work and his latest single, ‘Call On Me’ has been given the Nu-Disco funk by Hey Champ!.
It’s a nice meeting of two worlds, SynthPop new and old. Hey Champ! bring their customary, epic sounding, space Disco to Bell’s instantly recognisable voice, the end result being a subtly infectious groove with some slick vocals.
♫ Andy Bell – Call On Me (Hey Champ! reMix)
‘Call On Me’ is out now.
Ali Love & Villa
Ali Love’s ‘Love Harder’ album seems to have been on the horizon for an eternity.
Now things look like they are getting ready to happen with the news of the lead-in single ‘Smoke & Mirrors’. Awesome Pop goodness with a reMix package featuring Bottin, Funtcase and Villa, who turn in this pretty epic, analog synths and piano, jam.
♫ Ali Love – Smoke & Mirrors (Villa reMix)
‘Love Harder’ should be dropping soon…we think…
