electronic rumors

♫ Gráinne Holland – Báta An tSíl (Figure Of 8 reMix)

Figure Of 8 reMixes Gráinne Holland

Grainne Holland

I’m not actually sure if Dermot McGowan sleeps. the man you know better as Figure Of 8 is like a song-writing machine. Since the release of the Belfast based producer’s acclaimed ‘No One Cries For Me’ EP he given us new material practically weekly. What’s even more unbelievable, though, is that it has all been awesome.

And he;s not breaking that run just yet. his latest reMix is a beautiful peice of work. Gráinne Holland is a fellow Belfast resident and Gaelic singer-songwriter. Gaelic has always been a language that lends itself well to music and the combination of her ethereal vocals in ‘Báta An tSíl’ and Figure Of 8’s smooth electronica is a winner. The end result has something quite ‘90’s about it, a bit of an Orbital flavour, but with Figure Of 8’s modern DancePop twist. The majestic quality of the vocals is enhanced when Dermot bring in some huge cinematic chords whist gritting things up with some distorted Acid lines. Another rad mix from Figure Of 8, who seems to have a knack of thinking outside the box, oh and not sleeping.

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♫ The Magician – Magic Tape Twenty-Two

The Magician’s ‘Magic Tape Twenty-Two’

the-magician

The Magician – Magic Tape Twenty-Two = ‘Magic Tape’ time of the month comes around so fast! What have we got in here then. Some nice Tropical Disco, some nice ‘90’s vibe. Is that the new Yuksek reMix I hear? Chris Malinchak? Some TEED? Let the guessing games begin.

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The Polymuse

This is kind of a weird one. The Polymuse is an Arab-American soprano and internationally renowned Opera singer (I’ll have to take their word for that) Anymuse who has taken on this moniker to drop an EP of five ElectroPop tracks that celebrate her love of dance music.

It sounds like an awesome proposition, and Anymuse is definitely and passionate and talented singer, there’s just one time thing that irks us about the ‘Rebelution’ EP. The Production, courtesy of Dave Wrangler, is terribly dated. To highlight what is great on this EP (and there is a lot to love) Anymuse’s vocals are pretty flawless. She sings with emotion and strength. Her songs are really good too, catchy, meaningful and resonant in a way only highlighted by her soulful performance. The music isn’t bad per-se, not bad enough for us to not really like the EP, but it’s just a little flat and uninspired. Last year’s (last decade’s?) hands-in-the-air riffs, under-produced drums that dominate the mix in a way that makes your toes curl a little and sounds reminiscant of 1998’s Access Virus presets (the ones everyone used back then). Like we said, it’s not really so bad that it stops our enjoyment of the EP, which is really enjoyable, we just can’t help but wonder how much more awesome the EP would have been in the hands of a more talented, or more relevant, producer. Maybe next time. The Polymuse is an extremely talented singer and songwriter, and thankfully that dominates the EP, we’d definitely be interested in hearing more from her.

♫ The Polymuse – Rebelution

♫ The Polymuse – Road 2 Nowhere

The Polymuse’s ‘Rebelution’ EP is out now.

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Pégase’s ‘The Bad Side Of Love’ video

We haven’t written about Pégase since way back in 2009! Pégase is, of course, the side project of Raphaël, the lead singer of the utterly amazing Minitel Rose. Both of which we have heard far to little from in recent years. Better later than never though, as Pégase releases his début (really?) EP.

Here’s the video for ‘The Bad Side Of Love’ the lead track on the ‘Without Reasons’ EP, directed by Nicolas Davenel. The EP contains reMixes from Giraffage, Les Et Les Garcons, Ruckazoid & Equateur and is a welcome return from one of the founding fathers of Dreamwave.

The ‘Without Reasons’ EP is out now.

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Claude Violante’s début EP

ClaudeViolante

I don’t use the word ‘Numnaoid’ much, but be warned, somewhere in this post the word ‘Numandoid’ will come into play. That’s because we’re going to be talking about Claude Violante (one half of analog avant-garde DiscoPop duo Haussmann) and her début solo EP. The record retains the vintage Disco of her other output but adds a raw, and sometimes ethereal, quality to her music.

The lead track on her self-titled EP, ‘For You’, sets the tone perfectly. With an Numandoid backbeat reminiscant of Tubeway Army coupled with a late ‘80’s pre-Shoegaze-y vocal style. Icy synths are lent an air of humanity through the live feel of the track, back up with real drumming and Claude’s 4AD voice. Of course, throughout all of this, and through the whole EP, there is that subtle Frenchness you associate with Parisian Indie-Electro bands. A slight eclecticness is present even when presenting a more dance oriented from, both ‘You Way and ‘Generation’ borrow a lot from classic Italo, Claude’s experimental side shines though. Funky grooves, melodic vintage synths, beautiful songs and a musical playfulness. You don’t need any more than that really. Definitely an EP worth checking out.

♫ Claude Violante – For You

The ‘Claude Violante’ EP is out this week on French indie label Tsunami-Addiction.

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L’Equipe Du Son’s ‘Supersonic’

L’Equipe Du Son

This week sees the release of Dutch Nu-Disco & SynthWave producer L’Equipe Du Son’s début album. ‘Supersonic’ is, in part, a compilation of all the awesome stuff he’s been releasing over the past couple of years, but with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Prepare for ten track of some of the slickest retro Disco around.

The album kicks off with the smooth Disco primer and possible L’Equipe Du Son’s best known track, ‘Lesson 1’. It had to really, and it makes a rad into peice as well as being cool laid back Disco in it;s own right. It sets up the album nicely for a collection that swings between early 80’s Funk numbers like ‘What You Do To Me’, the sweet electronic Soul of ‘Do You Want Me’ and ‘Love Will Find a Way’ and flat out SynthWave gems in the form of ‘Gina’ and of course, one of our favourite tracks of the month, the breakin’ ‘Playground Rebels’. Taken as a whole, and a document of L’Equipe Du Son’s recent output it’s hard not to wonder why he isn’t a bigger name, there’s a lot of bigger producers who couldn’t fill an album so consistently, to such a high quality. And whilst the album is quite varied in it’s approach to Nu-Disco, from smooth Funk to full on abrasive Electro, there’s an across the board sound too. L’Equipe Du Son likes to drop some 8-bit sounds into the mix and favours big retro chord stabs in combination with Italo basslines. All amazing elements that in, L’Equipe Du Son’s hands become SynthWave gold. If you’re into Nu-Disco or SynthWave you might well already have many of these tracks, but they are definitely worth revisiting as a complete body of work.

♫ L’Equipe Du Son – Flashdance

♫ L’Equipe Du Son – Playground Rebels

♫ L’Equipe Du Son – Gina

♫ L’Equipe Du Son – Do You Want Me?

L’Equipe Du Son’s ‘Supersonic’ is out now on Silhouette Music.

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Punks Jump Up’s ‘Mr. Overtime’ video

Punks Jump Up’s ‘Mr. Overtime’ has already provided us with one of the best tracks of the year so far, and some of the best reMixes of the year too. Now, completing the hat-trick, it provides us with one of the best videos of the year.

Maxime Bruneel directs this neon soaked, retro styled, animated exploration of utter cool. We wish life looked like this!

‘Mr. Overtime’ is released 30th April on Moda.

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♫ Panda People – Two Sinners (Demo.)

Panda People’s new tune

panda people

Panda People are a German Indie-DiscoPop trio that we featured on Pop-Fu 08, way back in 2010, they’ve been pretty quiet of late but are about to finish up their forthcoming new single ‘Two Sinners’ and release it to the world.

Apparently there are a few mixing tweaks that still need to be made ‘Two Sinners’ before the formal release, but the guys have let us share with you the song in it’s pretty-much-finished form. ‘Two Sinners’ just reminds us of everything we loved about ‘Sophisticated Girl’, it’s breezy vocals, lush synths and catchy chorus that just compels you to join in. There a hint of new York IndiePop about the track, a bit of Passion Pit, and a bit of Miike Snow but with a electronic Disco groove. Slick Indie licks rubs shoulder with shimmering synths and a carefree singing style. Sumer hit? With enough exposure it would a just the thing for a summer of fun.

‘Two Sinners’ will be out soon.

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