[Audio] Selebrities’ ‘Temporary Touch’

 

Selebrities

Here’s a lush bit of Shoegaze SynthPop to help soften the edges of the mid-week. Brooklyn four piece Selebrities have unleashed the first new track from their forthcoming second LP Lovely Things. To be released by those fine folks at Cascine, our first flavour of what’s to come is delivered in the form of the swirling Temporary Touch.

It’s a track that makes me feel seventeen again, as it wraps up the best in British early 90s Shoegaze in a bouncy electronic blanket. Temporary Touch slips along with Indie sensibilities and a pulsating synth bassline accompanied by a swathe of post-Chillwave soundscaping. But the hook here is the song, and Maria Usbeck introspective vocal, which have the ability to draw you right into Selebrities world and makes you feel like it’s 1993 again.

♫ Selebrities – Temporary Touch

Selebrities’ Lovely Things is set for release 25th June on Cascine.

Buy Selebrities’ music from:

    

[Audio] Kisses‘ ‘Huddle’

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Huddle is the new single from LA SynthPop duo Kisses, the second to be released from their forthcoming sophomore album, Kids In LA ( to be released on Cascine in the US, Splendour in the EU). The album’s been produced by Pete Wiggs from Saint Etienne and Tim Larcombe, who’s worked with the likes of Sugababes, and is set for release mid-May.

There a nice contrast, on Huddle, between smooth Californian SynthPop and B-Boy Beats that at times feels apart, sometimes together. Leaning on the strength of Kisses songwriting, rather than flashy production or big room beats, Huddle weaves a hazy, Dreamwave, mood of nostalgia while presenting it on the kind of rhythm that should have you headspinning on Lino. We’ve been lucky enough to have already been listening to Kisses’ The Hardest Part, and believe us, you’re in for a treat.

♫ Kisses – Huddle

Kisses’ The Hardest Part is released 14th May.

Buy Kisses’ music from:

 

[Audio] Keep Shelly In Athens’ new single

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Acclaimed left-field ElectroPop outfit Keep Shelly In Athens have announced their signing to Cascine for the release of the début full-length record. To celebrate the occasion they have unleashed the first single from the album onto an unsuspecting world.

Madmen Love is four minutes of brutal beauty. Deep, ominous bass synths and fidgety, industrial percussion. It’s a track that has a lot in common with much Minimal Synth, dark synthetic pulsating, kling-klang beats and tormented vocals that are pretty relentless, giving way only briefly the the dreamiest of breakdowns, just to build toward a cacophonous climax. Taking in influenced as varied as  UK bass the more avant-garde Goth, Madmen Love is modern Post-Punk done right.

♫ Keep Shelly In Athens – Madmen Love

Keep Shelly In Athens’ Madmen Love is out now, the album is due July 2013.

Buy Keep Shelly In Athens’s music from:

       

Chad Valley’s ‘Young Hunger’

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Chad Valley‘s forthcoming début full length record is a departure, or more an evolution, from his previous offerings. The Oxford based producer’s music is at the same time genre-less, and strictly Pop. We usually hate the term ‘genre-less’, we sincerely believe in a good old fashioned pigeonholing and hate the pretension of artists believing they are above that. But it might actually be true in Chad Valley’s case and the new album, Young Hunger, shakes off many of the tropes of his Chillwave roots whilst managing to retain his music’s unique character.

So Young Hunger ends up being some kind of crazy posy-Chillwave, slick R&B Pop with a raw, garage style ElectroPop or Indie-Electro covering. Last years Equatorial Ultravox EP was a dreamlike, Balearically chilled affair, and Youth Hunger builds on that but brings the vocals to the forefront more, making them feel more like traditional Pop songs, albeit ones heard in a dream. The albums opener, the Twin Shadow featuring I Owe You This perfectly exemplifies this, hazy synths and toy town drums should be strange bedfellows with R&B Pop, but it works so well. Twin Shadow isn’t the only guest appearance on the album, TEED, Glasser and Active Child, amongst others, all put in a appearance on the eleven tracks. The previously heard, Tell All Your Friends is one of the albums standouts, a slick retro Pop tune with a catchy as hell chorus that shows just how much Chad Valley’s music has matured. Elsewhere on the album you can hear snatches of LA Funk in the likes of Fall 4 U, the pure 80s soul of Evening Surrender, and the places where the album picks up into proper vintage SynthPop, such as My Girl or the albums title track, both of which wouldn’t seem out of place on the soundtrack to a John Hughes movies. Young Hunger really does exist outside of pigeonholes, and whist that annoys us, it also makes it one of the best albums of the year, and one that can be recommended to fans of ElectroPop, R&B, Pop, Retro Music, Chillwave…y’know, whatever.

♫ Chad Valley (Feat. Twin Shadow) – I Owe You This

♫ Chad Valley – Tell All Your Friends

♫ Chad Valley (Feat. Glasser) – Fall 4 U

Chad Valley’s Young Hunger is released 18th November.

Buy Chad Valley’s music from:

Southern Shores’ new EP

Southern Shores

One again Cascine sends us the most beautiful music. Toronto’s Southern Shores are gearing up for the release of their new EP, New World. The first track from the EP to surface is New Love, a track that perfectly encompasses the breezy summer vibe of the EP.

From the EP opener Marazul, you are treated to some of the most blissful, engaging sounds this year. At times bordering on Ambient, but always enslaved to the undulating Balearic rhythms that run throughout. When it’s not being all chill-out atmospheric the EP shows off Southern Shores injection of early ‘90’s R&B into their music, tracks like Sankasa and Purple Sky let you easily slip into a Soul state of mind. New Love is actually one of the standouts of this sun-kissed collection, drawing in the influences of the rest of the EP into one neat package. Hazy tropical sounds and rolling Chill-Pop abound as reverb soaked samples and comfortable beats wash in and out of the track like waves.

Southern Shores – New Love

Southern Shores’ New World EP is released 2nd October on Cascine.

Buy Southern Shores’ music from:

   

Aeroplane reMixes Erika Spring

Erika Spring

We’ve been diggin’ Au Revoir Simone’s Erika Spring’s solo work for the last couple of months now, but this is just the icing on the cake. Here next single for Cascine, Happy At Your Gate, reMixed by Mr. Vito Aeroplane. How’s that for a team-up?

Vito bring a touch of smooth to his electronic Disco with this reMix. it’s a slick combination of bouncy House bassline, Disco groove and vintage SynthPop lead lines. The mid-tempo pace of the track, and the steady, pulsing, dancefloor sound works perfectly with Erika’s hushed vocal. The drama in Erika’s performance is heightened as Aeroplane builds and builds toward the end of the track, increasing the tension, until it breaks for the finale. Additional production from Martin Dubka.

Erika Spring – Happy At Your Gate (Aeroplane reMix)

Happy At Your Gate is taken from Erika Spring’s self titled EP, out now on Cascine.

Buy Erika Spring’s music from:

Erika Spring’s ‘Hidden’ video

We’ve already written about Au Revoir Simone’s Erika Spring’s new single Hidden, having read that, now have a gander at some images that are moving at the same time as the song.

The video is directed by Celia Rowlson-Hall, not really sure what’s going on, but it looks nice, and in the end, isn’t that all that counts?

Buy Erika Spring’s music from:

World Tour’s new EP

World Tour

April will see the release of Sweedish three peice eclectic outfit World Tour’s third EP, ‘Believe’, on the home of all things Chilly, Wavey, Interestingy and Left-Field Poppy, Cascine.

This new EP is comprised of four tracks worth of chilled beats and slow-mo Piano House riffs and impassioned wailing from the tundra. An intricately crafted mix of introspective Indie and synth happy electronica, the ‘Believe’ EP is geared toward those times when you need to just stop and take everything in, this isn’t music for those in a hurry. The title track of the EP mixes up wrong speed House and a slightly oriental slant for an end result that makes everything go a bit hazy.

World Tour – Believe

The ‘Believe’ EP is released 10th April on Cascine.

Buy World Tour’s music from:

   

Shine 2009’s début album

Ever since Cascine’s latest signing Shine 2009 dropped their Paula Abdul featuring single ‘So Free’ we have been dying to hear the album, ‘Realism’ and now we have and can report that it’s good. Very good.

If you have missed Pop music, particularly British Pop music circa 1989-1993 then buy this album as soon as it comes out. This is pure early-90’s Pop, the kind that just makes you smile. The early dance 909 beat or Hip Hop breaks, the M1 piano, the square wave bass sounds, the synth sax, it’s all there and perfectly executed with some catchy songs. The Soul II Soul beats and digital woodwind of ‘New Rules’ are a perfect example. Smooth and laidback, as much dance music was back then, the track both takes you back in time and makes you wanna’ dance. I cant stress enough, if you like early 90’s dace Pop, how much you will love this album!

♫ Shine 2009 – New Rules

‘Realism’ is out 3rd May on Cascine.

Shine 2009 @ 7Digital

Shine 2009 @ Amazon

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