Jan 4 2011

AXXE team up with FlashWorx to cover the theme from Grease…and it’s awesome!

Canadian DiscoPop duo AXXE have teamed up with FlashWorx to help us kick start 2011 with their latest offering, a cover of the Frankie Valli penned theme song from 1978’s Grease.

Now, when I first heard from AXXE’s Doug that they had covered ‘Grease (Is the Word)’ I was slightly hesitant, I mean, that could go really badly. It could be cheesetastic. Thankfully all my fears disappeared on hearing the track! The team have actually done wonders, taking such a recognisable, and kitsch, track and making a seriously powerful electronic groove. They effortlessly make it so cool that you start to wonder why no-one has done it before.

Once you get into the track it’s amazing how well the song lends itself to electronic dance music, or at least how well AXXE and FlashWork have shaped it into a dancefloor epic. The vocal melody in the verse just begs to be belted out over a kickin’ Electro bassline, and that’s just what you get, surrounded by shimmering 80’s synth work. This track works awesomely as both a party tune and as some slick late night listening.

Enjoy…loud! And Happy New Year!

♫ AXXE (Feat. FlashWorx) – Grease (Is The Word) 2011

AXXE’s ‘Mainstream’ EP is out now.

Dec 31 2010

Happy New Year!!!

S’up Peeps? NYE is upon us and I hope each and every one of you have an awesome night full of drinking and dancing, laughing and loving.

I wanna’ take this quick opportunity to thank all of you readers, from the bottom of my heart, seriously. To know that I have helped, even just a little, to introduce people to new music, to promote new bands, to connect artists and listeners, is not something I take for granted and consider it a great honour.

So, thank you. Thank you for reading my drivel and sticking with electronic rumors this year.

And thank you to all the artists and labels who put their faith in us to promote their music, I hope we did our bit to help.

And thank you to all the artists and producers who enriched all our lives in 2010 with great tune after great tune.

electronic rumors can only go from strength to strength in 2011, we’d love it if you can along for the ride!

Right, now it’s time to party!

♫ Starsmith – ‘One Hour To Midnight’ Mixtape

♫ Jungle Fiction – Jungle Fiction’s New Years Eve Mixtape

♫ Tesla Boy – Tesla Boy New Year Mixtape By Antonionni

♫ Fiero – Fiero’s X-Mas Dessert Mix

See you in THE FUTURE!!!

Dec 31 2010

Those lucky Mighty Mouse competition winners!

Well, the competition has drawn to a close and the winners have been informed.

Congratulations to Twitter users @JWarrenJackson @Gemsie0404 @ratties2 @claner and @steviey who will each receive a signed copy of the new Mighty Mouse album, ‘Song With No Words’.

Commiserations to those who entered and didn’t win, but you can pick up a copy of this epic album right now on History/Disco Circus Records!

Mighty Mouse @ Beatport

Mighty Mouse @ Juno

Mighty Mouse @ 7Digital

Mighty Mouse @ Amazon

Dec 28 2010

The electronic rumors awards: electronic rumors’ best video of 2010!!!

Although there were a few videos shortlisted for this accolade, so many stunning, clever clips made this year, there was only ever going to be one winner. Or three.

So, it might be a cop out to have a trilogy of videos win a best video award, but these three clips really need to be viewed together. As much as the three work as well cut, pacey promo videos on their own, it’s together where the non-linier storytelling shines through and you get a real since of the plot, as well as the supernaturally tight editing and beautiful eye.

The winner of electronic rumors best video of 2010 is…

Russ Chimes – Midnight Club trilogy (Never Look Back, Tertre Rouge & Targa)

Directed by Saman Keshavarz and produced by Francis Pollara, the team that had previously brought us the award winning video for Cinnimon Chasers’ ‘Luv Deluxe’ who have this way of capturing the tension in the beautiful.

Accompanying the visuals are the three tracks from Russ Chimes’ ‘Midnight Club’ EP, one of the best releases of the year. It’s three tracks of forward thinking, innovative Nu-Disco that leaves his competitors in the dust.

Russ Chimes @ Beatport

Russ Chimes @ Amazon

Dec 28 2010

The electronic rumors awards: electronic rumors’ Hall Of Fame 2010!!!

As soon as we had the notion to do a yearly Hall Of fame award it was a pretty forgone conclusion as to who would be the first recipient (actually, the first four years were pretty obvious!). There was never any doubt.

If you read electronic rumors, if you’re into electronic music, whether it’s some brand of Pop, whether you’re a Dubstep fiend, whether your preferred method of musical enjoyment is stroking your beard to the latest experimental release, whether you’re all glowsticks and euphoria or a Funk loving lover, the music you love probably wouldn’t exist without Kraftwerk.

To call them electronic music pioneers seems like an understatement. Were they the first to make music from synthesizers? Of course not, but pre-Kraftwerk the synth was either the tool of pompous Prog Rock banks or noise mongers who cared little for songs. While Kraftwerk resided heavily into the world of the latter the difference they made is the unison of experimental electronics and repetitive rhythms and melody. Which is essentially electronic Pop. They were a direct influence on the first generation if SynthPop artists and synthesizer Disco and Hip Hop producers who, in turn, went on to influence everything we know and love.

Four German technicians, who had no interest in becoming music stars, are signally the most important band I can think of.

♫ Kraftwerk – Showroom Dummies

♫ Kraftwerk – Metropolis

♫ Kraftwerk – Radioactivity

Kraftwerk’s back catalogue has an album for everyone, from the early, more abstract material, to the mid-period ElectroPop, to the Techno-Pop of recent years, all of it is essential.

Dec 28 2010

The electronic rumors awards: electronic rumors’ top 20 reMixes of 2010!!!

Now it’s time for, probably, my favourite list. The meeting of two talents, when it works, is an amazing thing.

This was also, probably, the easiest of the lists to compile. Most of our favourite tunes this year have been reMixes. Our top slot was always a no-brainier, that track has a breakdown and build that still gives me goosebumps after the 300th listen.

It’s our favourite song of the year, the award goes to…

electronic rumors’ best reMix: 2011

01: Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (Russ Chimes reMix)

♫ Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (Russ Chimes reMix)

…and the rest of the list:

02: Chromeo (Feat. Elly Jackson From La Roux) – Hot Mess (12inch Mix)

♫ Chromeo (Feat. Elly Jackson From La Roux) – Hot Mess (12inch Mix)

03: Gemini Club – Ghost (Hey Champ! reMix)

♫ Gemini Club – Ghost (Hey Champ! reMix)

04: Yes Giantess – The Ruins (Fear Of Tigers reMix)

♫ Yes Giantess – The Ruins (Fear Of Tigers reMix)

05: Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (Feat. MNDR & Q-Tip) – Bang Bang Bang (Russ Chimes reMix)

♫ Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (Feat. MNDR & Q-Tip) – Bang Bang Bang (Russ Chimes reMix)

06: Robyn – Indestructible (A-Trak reMix)

♫ Robyn – Indestructible (A-Trak reMix)

07: Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls (Grum reMix)

♫ Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls (Grum reMix)

08: LexiconDon – Student Body (Build & Clancy reMix)

♫ LexiconDon – Student Body (Build & Clancy reMix)

09: Panda People – Sophisticated Girl (Ride The Universe reMix)

♫ Panda People – Sophisticated Girl (Ride The Universe reMix)

10: Vandroid – Master & Slave (Yuksek reMix)

♫ Vandroid – Master & Slave (Yuksek reMix)

11: Cassette Club – 4 Me (Beaumont reMix)

♫ Cassette Club – 4 Me (Beaumont reMix)

12: NightWaves – Sweet Carrie (Walter Sobcek reMix)

♫ NightWaves – Sweet Carrie (Walter Sobcek reMix)

13: Breakbot (Feat. Irfane) – Baby I’m Yours (Aeroplane reMix)

♫ Breakbot (Feat. Irfane) – Baby I’m Yours (Aeroplane reMix)

14: Oh Shit! & Night Drugs – Everybody Needs (Diamond Cut reMix)

♫ Oh Shit! & Night Drugs – Everybody Needs (Diamond Cut reMix)

15: Aeroplane – Superstar (The Krays reMix)

♫ Aeroplane – Superstar (The Krays reMix)

16: Super Mal – Rock The Night (Diamond Cut reMix)

♫ Super Mal – Rock The Night (Diamond Cut reMix)

17: Walter Sobcek – Je Me Souviens (Paul reMix)

♫ Walter Sobcek – Je Me Souviens (Paul reMix)

18: Visitor – Los Feeling (Alan Braxe reMix)

♫ Visitor – Los Feeling (Alan Braxe reMix)

19: Kelis – Acapella (Monarchy Urania Club Mix)

♫ Kelis – Acapella (Monarchy Urania Club Mix)

20: LIGHTS – Second Go (Echoes reMix)

♫ LIGHTS – Second Go (Echoes reMix)

As always, you should defiantly pick up some of these reMixes, they are all highly recommended and most can be purchased here:

Beatport – Juno – 7Digital – Amazon

Dec 28 2010

The electronic rumors awards: electronic rumors’ top 20 songs of 2010!!!

And so we move onto our song list, this was even harder than the album list! So we eventually ended up separating our ‘top tracks’ list into ‘top songs’ and top reMixes’ , which gave us the breathing room we needed.

Here’s the songs, the best song award might be surprising to some, but it’s an amazing song that got played to death here and with our original top track of 2011 moved over to the reMixes list this song took the top spot.

Without further ado, the winner is…

electronic rumors’ best song: 2011

01: Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (Feat. MNDR & Q-Tip) – Bang Bang Bang

♫ Mark Ronson & The Business INTL (Feat. MNDR & Q-Tip) – Bang Bang Bang

…and the rest of the list:

02: Robyn – Dancing On My Own

♫ Robyn – Dancing On My Own

03: Bag Raiders – Way Back Home

♫ Bag Raiders – Way Back Home

04: Substatic – Closer

♫ Substatic – Closer

05: Monarchy – The Phoenix Alive

♫ Monarchy – The Phoenix Alive

06: Fenech-Soler – Stop And Stare

♫ Fenech-Soler – Stop And Stare

07: Bright Light Bright Light – Love Part II

♫ Bright Light Bright Light – Love Part II

08: Russ Chimes – Never Look Back

♫ Russ Chimes – Never Look Back

09: HURTS – Wonderful Life

♫ HURTS – Wonderful Life

10: LexiconDon – Student Body

♫ LexiconDon – Student Body

11: Fan Death – Reunited

♫ Fan Death – Reunited

12: LIGHTS – My Boots

♫ LIGHTS – My Boots

13: Anoraak – Try Me

♫ Anoraak – Try Me

14: Kavinsky – Pacific Coast Highway

♫ Kavinsky – Pacific Coast Highway

15: StardonE – CT

♫ StardonE – CT

16: Echoes – Ice Cold

♫ Echoes – Ice Cold

17: Parallels – Ultralight

♫ Parallels – Ultralight

18: MNDR – Fade To Black

♫ MNDR – Fade To Black

19: Tesla Boy – Thinking Of You

♫ Tesla Boy – Thinking Of You

20: Kid Kasio – Not For Turning

♫ Kid Kasio – Not For Turning

As always, you should defiantly pick up some of these songs, they are all highly recommended and most can be purchased here:

Beatport – Juno – 7Digital – Amazon

Dec 28 2010

The electronic rumors awards: electronic rumors’ top 20 albums of 2010!!!

See, we told you we were going to tart up our end of year lists! Welcome to the electronic rumors awards!

I really have a love/hate relationship with these lists. On the one hand I love looking back at the very best music that was released in the past 12 months but I hate sifting them down to just 20. So I make a list, give it a couple of days to settle, see if there’s anything I missed or if I want to change my mind, to make sure I have ranked things ‘cos I loved them, not ‘cos it would be cool to say so, a couple of days to be happy with my listing. But I know the moment I post this I will remember some awesome music from January that I have forgot.

So I’ve just got to close my eyes, bite the bullet and commit. Here goes..

Starting with electronic rumors top 20 albums of the year, including our ‘best album’ award. Pretty happy with this list even though there is a lot left out. There are a couple of bodges in there (Futurecop!’s album is only available on import right now, it’s released domestically in 2011, but it’s SO awesome and I desperately wanted Parallels’, Minitel Rose’s and Anoraak’s albums to be included) but on the whole it is a fitting list of the records that rocked out worlds this year.

So, the winner is…

electronic rumors’ best album: 2011

01: CHEW LiPS – Unicorn (Family)

♫ CHEW LiPS – Play Together

…and the rest of the list:

02: LexiconDon – Pink + Blue (dubFrequency/Binary)

♫ LexiconDon – Boy Vs. Girl Pt. 1

03: Ellie Goulding – Lights (Polydor)

♫ Ellie Goulding – This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)

04: Chromeo – Business Casual (Atlantic Records)

♫ Chromeo – Night By Night

05: Fenech-Soler – Fenech-Soler (B-Unique Records)

♫ Fenech-Soler – Golden Sun

06: Futurecop! – It’s Forever, Kids (Cluster Sounds (Import))

♫ Futurecop! – TransFormers (Into The Future)

07: HURTS – Happiness (Major Label/RCA/Sony Music)

♫ HURTS – Sunday

08: Robyn – Body Talk (Body Talk Pt. 3) (Konichiwa Records/Island Records Group)

♫ Robyn – Hang With Me

09: Bag Raiders – Bag Raiders (Modular Recordings)

♫ Bag Raiders – Sunlight

10: Où Est Le Swimming Pool – The Golden Year (Fire And Manoeuvre)

♫ Où Est Le Swimming Pool – Answers

11: The Golden Filter – Völuspà (Brille Records/Dummy Records)

♫ The Golden Filter – Stardust

12: Goldfrapp – Head First (Mute Records Ltd.)

♫ Goldfrapp – I Wanna’ Life

13: Grum – Heartbeats (Heartbeats)

♫ Grum – Fashion

14: Michael Cassette – Temporarity (Anjunabeats)

♫ Michael Cassette – Shadows Movement

15: Freezepop – Imaginary Friends (The Archenemy Record Company)

♫ Freezepop – Doppelganger

16: Marina And The Diamonds – The Family Jewels (679 Recordings)

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Shampain

17: Tesla Boy – Modern Thrills (Mullet)

♫ Tesla Boy – Electric Lady

18: Ali Love – Love Harder (Back Yard Recordings)

♫ Ali Love – Smoke & Mirrors

19: Shy Child – Liquid Love (Wall Of Sound)

♫ Shy Child – Open Up The Sky

20: Alice In Videoland – A Million Thoughts And They’re All About You (Artoffact Records)

♫ Alice In Videoland – Take Me With You

Honourable Mentions:
ceo – White Magic, Daft Punk – Tron: Legacy Soundtrack, Parallels – Visionaries, Minitel Rose – Atlantique, Miami Horror – Illumination, Anoraak – Wherever The Sun Sets, Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (II), Magnetic Man – Magnetic Man, Groove Armada – Black Light, Mighty Mouse – Song With No Words, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark) – History Of Modern, Broken Bells – Broken Bells

As always, you should defiantly pick up some of these albums, they are all highly recommended and most can be purchased here:

Beatport – Juno – 7Digital – Amazon

Dec 27 2010

digitalfoxglove’s ‘Beasts And Flowers’ video

S’up peeps? I hope you’re all having a suitably mental holiday. NYE’s incoming, make sure you all ‘ave it larger than life!

Just a quick post today, we’re still working hard on our end of year lists (which is so tough!) but I had to hype this video On The Fruit have just dropped for digitalfoxglove’s awesome single ‘Beasts And Flowers’ featuring Freak You.

So, what can make an epic slice of sweeping Nu-Disco even better? A load of C64s, Amstrads, Acorns and Ataris that’s what!

It’s the future, baby!

Keep your ears on digitalfoxglove in 2011, not just for majestic cuts like ‘Beasts And Flowers’ but also jamming with the Fiero crew as Ride The Universe.

digitalfoxglove @ Beatport

digitalfoxglove @ Amazon

Dec 24 2010

Saint Etienne at X-Mas, ‘A Glimpse Of Stocking’

I have been saving this post for X-Mas eve!

Recently SynthPop legends Saint Etienne released a full-on X-Mas album, ‘A Glimpse Of Stocking’ containing 15 tracks of ElectroPop and Indie-Electro with varying degrees of X-Mas cheer and X-Mas depression. The album is already becoming a rarity, which is a pity as it should be everyone’s compulsory X-Mas day listening, Sarah’s vocals lend themselves perfectly to seasonal songs.

So, this X-Mas eve, check out these two tracks from the album. ‘Through The Winter’, a mid-tempo synth ditty reminiscent of mid-90’s Etienne and the deep dance groove of ‘No Cure For The Common Christmas’ and make sure you have a good one!