Bringing some Mediterranean flavours to a springy House groove comes Turkish producer Pineapple Pop. First things first; we know, we know, Pineapple Pop is a strange old name; but thankfully that is saved by some seriously awesome music. The fruity chart-ster is actually Hemi Behmoaras,, one half of Paradisko (with Hakan Özkan A.K.A. Thousand Fingers) and, like Paradisko, the track is being released by the always amazing On The Fruit Music (actually, we guess name Pineapple Pop is a good fit for the label!).
Hemi’s début release is a single that goes by the vowel deprived moniker of RVLTN. We’re going to stick our neck out and presume that it is Revolution, or maybe Revoltin’, or even Rovolotono. You can just drop those vowels wherever and however you please, just as Pineapple Pop drops in some pretty eclectic influences into his classic House sound, serving up something to stand out from the pack in RVLTN.
A totally spot-on summertime jam, RVLTN warms up your ears and your feet with some relaxing summertime keys before flitting between lavish poolside sounds and deeper festival fodder. Maintaining a classic House sound at it’s core Pineapple Pop threads reverb washed vocal snatches and the kind of hook that makes you have to physically stop yourself putting your hands in the air (unless you are hands-in-the-air inclined, in which case go for it) through the track. The switching between head down full-on neo Deep House intensity and near Balearic sunrise greeting euphoria keeps the track energy levels high and varied until it’s Done.
Brooklyn based Nu-Disco producer (and electronic rumors Records go-to mastering engineer) Bit Funk turns in a whopping reMix. Riding a groove that harkens back to UK Garage and a buoyant bassline to pair with his luscious and nostalgic synth work. Gradually layering the track over it’s length, Bit Funk takes you on a dancefloor journey from skippy Chicago warehouse sounds to breezy LA Tropical vibes, all the time enriching the tune with an emotional connection and a rush of the good feels.
Oxford’s Hugo Manuel A.K.A. Chad Valley is not a go-to artist for us. Which is an odd way to start talking about him, we know. We absolutely love pretty much everything he’s released, we happily fork out the cash for lovely Chad Valley vinyl (we’ve even pre-ordered the new album) and spent hours and hours chilling with his début full album, still a killer after a couple of years. But whenever we’re sat around thinking ‘what to listen to?’ we never go straight got Chad Valley. Which is a shame as whenever Chad Valley pops into our head (and subsequently our speakers) we’re always like “oh shit! fuck yeah! Chad Valley!” Too much music, too little time we guess.
Chad Valley is the shining light of the label that other labels wish they were, Cascine. Since releasing his first EP back in 2010, at the height of the birth of Chillwave, he has steadily offered up a plethora of sunkissed and deeply emotional synth music that draws on everything from Shoegazing Indie to Funk fuelled R&B to weave his densely layered musical tapestry. Haunting and enigmatic at the same times as irresistibly groovy, all the time Hugo’s soft, heartfelt vocals never letting us forget that he wears his heart on his sleeve. His first full length record, 2012’s Young Hunger was a well rounded slice of intricately crafted left-field Pop that really showed off how much Chad Valley’s sound had matured.
This emotionality and sonic maturity is set to continue on his recently announce sophomore record. To be titled Entirely New Blue, the new album is due out in October and sees Joel Ford, of Ford & Lopatin, alongside Yung Ejecta on co-production duties. Largely produced during the break-up of a long-term relationship, we’re likely to see Hugo’s passionate lament taken to the next level. In-fact, Hugo himself calls the album’s second single, Seventeen, “the most deeply personal song I have even written”.
Seventeen takes it’s time to get started, spending over a minute purely on a gentle piano and Hugo’s sincere and regretful croon. Just when you think the tension will never break, Seventeen splits to reveal a shuffling beat and warm, swelling keys. The track build a musical and vocal mantra, undulating sounds tumbling around each other as Hugo’s effect laden voice swings from an narratively emotional centrepiece to another instrument in the tracks swirling finale. We were quite excited about Entirely New Blue when it was announced last month, Seventeen has assured us that our excitement is justified. Hugo truly is a master at his craft, we can’t think of anyone who serves up this kind of hazy, sentimental synth music as well as he does. Just sink into this one, put it in your headphones and lie back. Stay in that warm place until Entirely New Blue drops next month.
Hopefully we can remember lo listen to Chad Valley from now on.
♫ Chad Valley – Seventeen
Chad Valley’s Entirely New Blue is released 2nd October.
We’re not known for writing about films or documentaries, or for writing about Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns; but sometimes something comes along and we feel we just have to let you know so you can go and support it, mainly because we really want it to get funded and finished.
If you are a regular reader of electronic rumors you’ll know that we have a big place in our hearts for Acid House. Having grown up when it exploded in the late 80s, in those exciting times when the music was truly mind-blowing and fresh and when dance music and drugs brought people together in a way that had never been seen before which changed the landscape of culture forever, we’re itching to see They Call It Acid. Documentary maker Gordon Mason has a massive archive of his own footage from the time along with interviews from the movers and shakers who made the scene what it was. Disco may have come from New York, Italo may have come from Europe, House may have come from Chicago and Techno may have come from Detroit; but the UK in the late 80s is where dance music culture was born. When the Acid House invasion started it kinda’ felt like our Punk.
Gordon’s documentary is finished, but he needs money for music clearance, production, distribution etc.. So check out his Indiegogo page and support what should be both an amazing trip down memory lane and a fascinating educational record.
Check out the They Call It Acid Indiegogo page here.
For today’s mixtape offering we’re presenting something a little different. Mixmag’s In The Lab videos on YouTube have been smashing it recently. You don’t have to sit there for an hour watching someone mixing (unless you really want to). Just stick them on your big TV and listen to them like you would any other mixtape, only now you get to occasionally glance across at the little DJ playing live in the corner of your room.
We’ve got three for your here, all three we really enjoyed and can highly recommend, especially for pre-going out this weekend revelries. Check out recent live sets from Tensnake, in Mixmag’s London Lab, along with Little Boots and Goldroom & Le Youth B2B from Their Lab in LA.
We may be a little obsessed with this album right now.
We came across Tove Styrke a few weeks ago while browsing the Local paper. Checking, as we tend to do, local gig listings we see Tove Styrke is playing at Start The Bus (a once amazing music venue that has gone somewhat downhill after a failed attempt to go ‘gastro’). The listings include the words ‘Swedish’ and ‘ElectroPop’. We immediately buy tickets. Then we figure we should check out some of Tove’s music. Her just released sophomore album was out first port of call. But before that, some backstory…
Ms. Styrke was runner up on Swedish Pop Idol in 2010 and hastily afterward released her self-titled début, a perfectly enjoyable but slightly bland (although even when bland the Swedish do Pop better than another else) album that Tove herself has since admitted was rushed and that she wasn’t happy with the results (despite going platinum). Fast-forward to 2014, after taking some time out of the limelight Tove returns with the Borderline EP, a preview of the follow-up album to come. It’s was a brash, left-field take on Pop loaded with personality. This wasn’t the work of a post-TV show puppet, this was a self-assured artist grabbing Pop music with both hands and shaking it down.
A year later and this summer Tove released Kiddo, a twelve track musical manifesto that swings between the empowerment of an ex-teen star and outright vitriol against anyone who won’t let her be herself. Tove’s playful and soft vocals comes across as all sweetness and light but with a knife behind her back; and it’s this underlying antagonism amid a sea of perfectly crafted Pop music that gives Kiddo it’s edge. Tove seems to lay out her grievances with the music industry, grievances with anyone who doesn’t like her new music and grievances with anyone who doesn’t understand her new direction and, basically, tells them to fuck off. All to some particularly Scandinavian and eclectic Pop sounds .
Kiddo hits the ground running with opening salvo that kicks off with Ain’t Got No…, a left-field opener that sways to woozy basslines and a juddering beat while Tove croons her policy statement. It’s on Ain’t Got No… that we are introduced to one of the surprising musical themes running throughout the record. Big, dirty, 303 Acid hooks; the album is packed with them. You’ll be settling into a smooth Pop tune and suddenly, from nowhere, this gritty, distorted TB-303 line with inject itself into the track, cutoff and resonance tweaked to the max. It’s one of the many unexpected teats Kiddo has to offer.
Snaren shows off Kiddo’s other musical motif. On more than one occasion Tove weaves a Dancehall flavour into her songs, bringing Dub spaciousness and rolling snares to the mix. Snaren delivers a ballsy party tune with a comfortable Tropical House vibe to the chorus. A vibe that continues into the single Ego, one of the albums more traditional chart friendly moments with it’s big R&B-lite sing-a-long chorus (and , oh look, a burbling Acid line). A mood that is mirrored on the tongue-in-cheek album closer, Brag.
The likes of Samurai Boy and Walk The Line provide typical ScandiPop fare. All crisp synths and thick production while the Dub-Pop of Burn and the majestic anthem of Decay delve deeper into the album’s physiological dark side (and Acid lines. Seriously, they just appear from nowhere!). The height of the Island influence comes on the single Boarderline, a headstrong hymn that mixes aggression and a Dancehall patter with a oddly Folk like elements which contrast nicely with the Pop ballad turned ominous dark SynthPop of Who’s Got News.
Of the album’s other two singles, Number One feels like the earliest track on Kiddo, maybe Tove shedding her former self? while Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You, the records biggest hit, is a crazy, chanted, literal “fuck off” to anyone pretentious to think themselves above Pop music. Possible the most infectious song of the decade.
Sometimes political, sometimes social, always feminist, Kiddo is not just a coming-of-age for Tove Styrke, but the freeing of someone tired of industry manipulation and has zero fuck to give if you like it or not. Which makes for a supremely confident record which is not-at-all hurt by the fact that it is loaded with infectious, expertly crafted, diverse, perfect Pop.
Brooklyn’s finest is back with another slice of thoughtful, robotic House music. AIMES has been a firm fixture on electronic rumors since he made his début. Sometimes an artist comes along with something about them that makes them stand out from the crowd to us; with AIMES there was both a musicality beyond his contemporaries and a crisp, synthetic, analog sound to his tunes, whether turning his attention to Disco, House or SynthWave his tunes were just that bit more electronic (which obviously appeals to us!).
AIMES has dipped his music toe into a number of genres in his career; but whether Chillwave, Nu-Disco or Indie-Electro his tunes are generally pretty recognisable as he gives the styles his own unique spin. Right about now he’s teamed up with Mexican label Trafico and gone a bit left-field for his latest single. It’s out now, called Dirtbox, and comes loaded with it’s B-side, Prophet Jam, and reMixes from Mexico’s Juan Soto and NYC’s Tunnel Signs.
AIMES keeps things on just the right side of weird on Dirtbox. Hypnotic and undulating, Dirtbox introduces you to the hook early on, amid a sea of hammerfall piano. The hook persists throughout the track, weaving in and out of a symphony of pads, strings and vocal snatches in a tapestry of mysteries dancefloor sounds. Jumping in with some good squelchy Acid riffs is just the icing on the cake. Dirtbox is a track that will draw you in and command you to dance, and even when it’s over it will be ringing round your head and leaving it’s shadow on your feet.
AIMEs is one of a small group of artists who manage to make records that are both full-on funky Disco and House, and yet are quite experimental and intricate in their use of sounds and arrangement. It’s a hard feat to pull off, but AIMEs does it with style.
We do love it when two acts that we dig work together. Especially when we had no idea they were connected, in this pairing’s case, at all. Montréal based SynthWavers Le Matos have been cropping up on these pages off and on since way back in 2009. They’re one of a rare breed of SynthWave producers who have managed to keep their tracks consistently top quality and avoid getting repetitive. They’ve also not let himself become to insular on the SynthWave scene, having worked with and reMixed some diverse electronic artists such as We Have Band and Johan Agebjörn & Ercola. Le Matos don’t release new material with the crazy high frequency the SynthWave scene fosters, so when they so it’s something special to pay attention too.
And who have they teamed up with for this new track? Well, it’s none other than Pawws. This North Londoner has also been known to grace these pages on more than one occasion. Lucy Taylor made her way into all our hearts with one of last summer’s best vinyl released, her Sugar EP and we’ve been eagerly awaiting the follow up ever since.
That’s two fine artists right there, opposite sides of the Atlantic, who have both been teasing this collaboration for a while now and have had us itching to hear the results. They’ve brought together to release No Tomorrow, a track taken from form the soundtrack to forthcoming post-apocalyptic BMX flick Turbo Kid. From what we can gather about Turbo Kid it was set to be a retro fuelled thrill ride even before the soundtrack was full of awesomeness. No Tomorrow is out now accompanied by a blue heavyweight vinyl 7” release by Death Waltz, who will be releasing the full Turbo Kid soundtrack later this year.
You know we’re massive fans of Electric Youth here. Bear that in mind when we say No Tomorrow sounds a bit like Electric Youth…but better. Le Matos keep the production light and airy on this one; it’s lead line a raindrop pitter-patter of bright keys flowing gently over a spiky arpeggiated bassline and a wonderfully thick and robust vintage beat. Adding to the tracks breathiness is Lucy’s hushed and lilting vocals with a slightly more typical 80s arrangement than you’d hear on her own Pawws records. The combination of Le Matos’ dreamy, nostalgic sounds and Lucy’s optimistic tone makes for a classic sounding slice of synthesizer euphoria. Effortlessly uplifting and hopeful, No Tomorrow is a ray of musical sunshine with just the right amount of cinematic rhapsody to perfectly soundtrack some kind of beaten-the-odds scene in a movie, which we are presuming it does.
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