The Amplifetes

TheAmplifetes

The Amplifetes are a four piece from Sweden comprised of songwriters and producers who have worked with the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Peter Bjorn & John, Kelis and Madonna but only started jamming together in the past year.

Their sound seems to change from track to track but it’s generally got a raw garage Electro-Rock vibe. ‘It’s My Life’ is an full on Electro tune with quirky, ElectroPunky, overtones and would completely rock any Indie-Electro dancefloor. ‘Whizz Kid’ in comparison is more D.I.Y. Glam Electro-Rock with an absolutely killer reMix by Blende, who turns in a huge, retro synth laden, Nu-Disco epic.

The Amplifetes – It’s My Life (zShare) (MediaFire)

The Amplifetes – Whizz Kid (zShare) (MediaFire)

The Amplifetes – Whizz Kid (Blende reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

The Amplifetes début album has just been completed and is due to hit the stores this month.

The Amplifetes @ Beatport

The Amplifetes @ Juno

The Amplifetes @ 7Digital

The Amplifetes @ Amazon

New Alice In Videoland single! Spaceship

AliceInVideoland03

Long-time readers of electronic rumors should be no strangers to Swedish ElectroPunk outfit Alice In Videoland (they even made our top 20 tracks of 2009!), they are one band we can’t help but get enthusiastic about.

Some exiting news, then, coming out of AiV HQ, the guys are finalizing the recording of new material and are gearing up for the release of a brand new single!

‘Spaceship’ is one of the most commercial tracks to come out of the AiV camp (despite the lyrical content), but that’s no bad thing. Pushing their raw ElectroPunk sound into territories verging on Electro-House and Pop, the single is like Lady GaGa or Goldfrapp run through a distortion pedal. Catchy as hell (something a little bit lacking from their last album) with an infections riff ‘Spaceship’ reminds you of just how in-your-face electronic music, and even Pop, can be in the right hands.

Alice In Videoland have been kind enough to allow me to share the track with you lot:

Alice In Videoland – Spaceship (zShare) (MediaFire)

A definite welcome return for Alice’s Electro-Pop-Punk soundclash.

The ‘Spaceship’ single is released 21st April on Wonderland Records.

Alice In Videoland @ Beatport

Alice In Videoland @ Juno

Alice In Videoland @ 7Digital

Alice In Videoland @ Amazon

Crystal Castles’ new singles!

CrystalCastles02

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, Crystal Castles are gearing up to release two new single in the coming weeks and now you can listen to radio rips of both new tracks.

The first, released in a very limited edition quantity of 500 copies, for Record Store Day tomorrow, is ‘Doe Deer’ is chaotic Crystal Castles at their finest, with a maddeningly repetitive riff and Alice screaming like a nutter over distorted drums and synths it is the Crystal Castles we know and love turned up to 11.

The forthcoming single proper is a bit of a (pleasant) surprise though. It’s not like CC haven’t produced melodic tunes before, but ‘Celestica, is pretty slick, ElectroPop. It’s still intricate in it use of electronic sounds but, in general, it’s a really club friendly Pop track with a dreamlike quality. Proper vocals and everything!

Have a listen to this rip from Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show.

Crystal Castles – Celestica (Radio Rip) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Crystal Castles – Doe Deer (Radio Rip) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Crystal Castles second self titled album is due out on 8th July.

Crystal Castles @ Beatport

Crystal Castles @ Juno

Crystal Castles @ 7Digital

Crystal Castles @ Amazon

Crystal Castles new album news + new reMixes

CrystalCastles

This week Crystal Castles triumphantly announced their return with a new album and two new singles.

In an awesome move the new album, as with their début, will be self titled! Which is just a stroke of genius. The first proper single released will be a track called ‘Celestica’.

Before that, however, the duo are releasing a limited edition (500 copies) 12” of ‘Doe Deer’ to celebrate Record Store Day on 17th April.

To get you warmed up for all this good stuff here’s a couple of new reMixes. Midnight Conspiracy’s take on ‘Crimewave’ is a pretty amazing slice of 8-bit flavoured SynthPop and ‘Untrust Us’ as reMixed by Alex Zelenka, which is a deep bleepy vision of the original.

Crystal Castles – Crimewave (Midnight Conspiracy reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Crystal Castles – Untrust Us (Alex Zelenka reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Crystal Castles new album, er…’Crystal Castles’, is due to come out on 8th July.

Crystal Castles @ Beatport

Crystal Castles @ Juno

Crystal Castles @ 7Digital

Crystal Castles @ Amazon

THISISNOTANEXIT release their Manifesto

THISISNOTANEXITManifesto1

Forward thinking alternative electronic label THISISNOTANEXIT, home to act as diverse as the raw Electro-Punky Detachments and Canadian ElectroPop geniuses Parallels, have just dropped their premiere label compilation. As the title, ‘THISISNOTANEXIT – Manifesto #1’, suggests it’s more than a collection of artists, it’s a proclamation of what the label stands for.

The combination of sonic experiments and quality pop music (in the best possible way) seems to define the artists on THISISNOTANEXIT, on the album you get ambient acid soundscapes from Brain Machine alongside the instrumental Bedroom pop of Professor Genius, the Nu-Disco excursions of Hatchback alongside the Noise-Pop of They Came From The Stars I Saw Them, and more dancefloor friendly offerings from the likes of Pink Stallone and Night Plane. And, of course, the utterly brilliant ElectroPop jam ‘Ultralight’ by Parallels.

These two tracks may give you a taste of what to expect, first up we have Memory Tapes alter ego Weird Tapes with their DIY Acid/ElectroPop mash-up ‘The Walking Dead’ and Young Monday, whose raw disco ‘Zaire’ is one of the more dancefloor orientated tracks on offer.

Weird Tapes – The Walking Dead (zShare) (MediaFire)

Young Monday – Zaire (zShare) (MediaFire)

Most of the tracks on ‘THISISNOTANEXIT – Manifesto #1’ are previously unreleased. The album consists of two CDs (or ‘chapters’), the first being a label compilation, the second being a mix by label boss and man-with-a-great-ear Simon Carr.

This is some highly recommended shit right here!

THISISNOTANEXIT – Manifesto #1 @ Beatport

Weird Tapes @ Beatport

Young Monday @ Beatport

THISISNOTANEXIT – Manifesto #1 @ Juno

THISISNOTANEXIT – Manifesto #1 @ 7Digital

THISISNOTANEXIT – Manifesto #1 @ Amazon

The Phenomenal Handclap Band + Clock Opera

ThePhenomenalHandclapBand

12th March sees the release of ‘Baby’, the new single by space indie-funk outfit The Phenomenal Handclap Band, on Gomma.

The single includes reMixes by Blackstrobe, Daniel Haaksman, Rodion and this one by Clock Opera, which has a sweet, chilled, Indie-Disco vibe that makes you think everything is going to be alright!

The Phenomenal Handclap Band – Baby (Clock Opera reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Clock Opera have reMixes in the works for two electronic rumors favs, Marina & The Diamonds and Yes Giantess, were gonna’ be very interested to hear them!

The Phenomenal Handclap Band @ Beatport

The Phenomenal Handclap Band @ Juno

The Phenomenal Handclap Band @ 7Digital

The Phenomenal Handclap Band @ Amazon

electronic rumors’ top 20 songs of 2009!!!

RolandSH09

Insanity! Compiling a top twenty tracks of 2009 was infinitely harder than the album list, I have no idea how it got finished! Once again, there was so much good music released in 2009, it truly was a wicked year to be into electronic music, just look at that top ten! From established acts like Røyksopp to bands who made 2009 their own such as Filthy Dukes, La Roux and Little Boots to bands that are going to blow up in 2010 like CHEW LiPS and The Vanish, the music we’ve been given in 2009 has set the bar so high for the coming year.

I wish there were more slots, I could have easily made it a top 40 or 50, and like the album list I have probably forgotten some gem I was rockin’ to in January and I’ll probably want to reorder in a few hours. But right now, here’s the list. Many, many thanks to all the artists that provided our soundtrack to 2009 and all the artists featured on electronic rumors, without you this past year would have been a depressing, gray mess!

01:Røyksopp (Feat. Robyn) – The Girl And The Robot (zShare) (MediaFire)

02:Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (Mille reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

03:CHEW LiPS – Salt Air (Jupiter reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

04:The Golden Filter – Solid Gold (zShare) (MediaFire)

05:Filthy Dukes (Feat. Samuel Dust OF Late Of The Pier) – This Rhythm (zShare) (MediaFire)

06:La Roux – Bulletproof (zShare) (MediaFire)

07:The Vanish – Heartbeat (zShare) (MediaFire)

08:Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (Friends Electric reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

09:Little Boots (Feat. Philip Oakey) – Symmetry (zShare) (MediaFire)

10:Fan Death – Reunited (zShare) (MediaFire)

11:The Sound Of Arrows – Into The Clouds (Mille reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

12:Chromeo – Night By Night (Redial reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

13:Van She – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (A B-LIVE Original) (zShare) (MediaFire)

14:Miike Snow – Animal (Treasure Fingers reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

15:Miss Kittin & The Hacker – 1000 Dreams (Original Mix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

16:Keenhouse – Deep In The Forest (zShare) (MediaFire)

17:Dollskabeat – Zodiac Rising (zShare) (MediaFire)

18:Alice In Videoland – Psychobitch (zShare) (MediaFire)

19:Annie – Antonio (Designer Drugs reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

20:Designer Drugs – Drop Down (zShare) (MediaFire)

Honourable Mentions:
Anoraak – Long Distance Hearts, Cagedbaby – Forced (Radio Edit), Casiokids – Fot I Hose, College – The Light Of Your Dress, Curses! – The Deep End (Holy Ghost! Day School Dub), Delphic – Doubt, Depeche Mode – Wrong, Edwin Van Cleef – Overtaken (Radio Edit), Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream (Redial reMix), Heartbreak – We’re Back (Vitalic reMix), Heartsrevolution – 薔薇と彼女の王子 (The Rose And Her Prince), Lykke Li – Little Bit (Villains reMix), Miami Horror – Don’t Be On With Her (Treasure Fingers reMix), Minitel Rose – Zombie Lady, NightWaves – Fascination (Keenhouse reMix), Passion Pit – Little Secrets (Hey Champ! reMix), Russ Chimes – Daytona, Sneaky Sound System – I Love It (Fred Falke reMix), Stephen Falken – Cruising, Yuksek (Feat. Amanda Blank) – Extraball (Radio Edit).

If you’re missing any of these tunes from your collection you should defiantly pick them up in a good quality format, most can be purchased here:

BeatportJuno7DigitalAmazon

electronic rumors’ top 20 albums of 2009!!!

KorgMonoPoly

OK, well, here we go. This is the first of two ‘best of 2009’ posts we have for you and, damn, were they hard. Here we have our top 20 albums of 2009 and there were way more than 20 records that moved us this year. If you though narrowing it down to just 20 was hard, then trying to put them in order was nearly impossible! This year was a good year to be a lover of music generally, and a lover of Electro or ElectroPop specifically. As fans we were spoilt this year, every album here (particularly the top ten) is a stunning piece of work.

I’m sure there are records I have forgotten about, I’m sure in 24 hours time I will want to add something or rearrange the list, but for now, just for right now, these are the albums that rocked electronic rumors the most in 2009:

01: Filthy Dukes – Nonsense In The Dark (Fiction Records)
Filthy Dukes (Feat. Tommy Sparks) – Messages (zShare) (MediaFire)

02: Røyksopp – Junior (Wall Of Sound)
Røyksopp (Feat. Robyn) – The Girl And The Robot (zShare) (MediaFire)

03: La Roux – La Roux (Polydor)
La Roux – Colourless Colour (zShare) (MediaFire)

04: Cinnamon Chasers – A Million Miles From Home (Modus Records)
Cinnamon Chasers – Luv Deluxe (zShare) (MediaFire)

05: Little Boots – Hands (679 Recordings/Atlantic)
Little Boots (Feat. Philip Oakey) – Symmetry (zShare) (MediaFire)

06: autoKratz – Animal (Kitsuné Music)
autoKratz – Stay The Same (zShare) (MediaFire)

07: datA – Skywriter (Ekler’O’ShocK)
datA – One In A Million (zShare) (MediaFire)

08: Yuksek – Away From The Sea (UWe)
Yuksek – Tonight (zShare) (MediaFire)

09: Fever Ray – Fever Ray (Rabid Records)
Fever Ray – Seven (zShare) (MediaFire)

10: Fear Of Tigers – Cossus Snufsigalonica (Self Released)
Fear Of Tigers – The Adventures Of Pippi Longstrump (zShare) (MediaFire)

11: Passion Pit – Manners (Frenchkiss Records/Columbia/Sony Music)
Passion Pit – The Reeling (zShare) (MediaFire)

12: Miike Snow – Miike Snow (Columbia)
Miike Snow – Silvia (zShare) (MediaFire)

13: Kap Bambino – Blacklist (Because Music)
Kap Bambino – Acid Eyes (zShare) (MediaFire)

14: Heads We Dance – Love Technology (This Is Fake DIY Records)
Heads We Dance – Love In The Digital Age (zShare) (MediaFire)

15: Pony Pony Run Run – You Need Pony Pony Run Run (3ème Bureau/Wagram)
Pony Pony Run Run – Hey You (zShare) (MediaFire)

16: The Juan MacLean – The Future Will Come (DFA)
The Juan MacLean – One Day (zShare) (MediaFire)

17: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz! (Interscope Records)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (zShare) (MediaFire)

18: CFCF – Continent (Paper Bag Records)
CFCF – Half Dreaming (zShare) (MediaFire)

19: Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You (Parlophone)
Lily Allen – The Fear (zShare) (MediaFire)

20: Lady Sovereign – Jigsaw (Midget Records)
Lady Sovereign – So Human (zShare) (MediaFire)

Honourable Mentions:
Owl City – Ocean Eyes, She – Orion, Steed Lord – Truth Serum, Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light, Vitalic – Flashmob, The Bloody Beetroots – Romborama, Dada Life – Just Do The Dada, Lindstrøm And Christabelle – Real Life Is No Cool, Memory Tapes – Seek Magic, Simian Mobile Disco – Temporary Pleasure, WhoMadeWho – The Plot, Pet Shop Boys – Yes.

Compilations:
Electronically Yours, Valerie And Friends, Future Pop 2.0, Kitsuné Maison Compilation Vol. 07 ‘The Lucky One’.

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

BeatportJuno7DigitalAmazon

Popular Damage reMixed by Fukkk Offf

Popular Damage

Popular Damage is a Manchester/Berlin collaboration by Nadine Raihani and Stephan Hengst that produces some particularly fine Indie-Punk-Dance-Pop.

Having gigged extensively in 2009, December became the time to drop their first EP ,‘The Royal Fly’ which features reMixing appearances by the likes of Double Dragon, Beatshaker & Blender and this one by Fukkk Offf who bring a deep electro Vs. old school house feel to the EP’s title track ‘Everybody Got Young’

Popular Damage – Everybody Got Young (Fukkk Offf reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘The Royal Fly’ EP is out now.

Popular Damage @ Beatport

Nitzer Ebb return with new album

NitzerEbb

Electronic pioneers Nitzer Ebb have just dropped their first new, proper, studio album in 14 years! ‘Industrial Complex (Tour Edition)’ is a record that harks back to the earlier, harsher, Nitzer Ebb of the early to mid 80’s rather than the ElectroPop of ‘Showtime’ and ‘Ebbhead’ or the Electro-Rock of ‘Big Hit’. One thing’s for sure though, it put all the clones and wannabes ‘producing’ Ebb influenced EBM these days to so much shame they may as well just give up.

OK, so one or two tracks come across a little Nitzer-Ebb-by-numbers, but there are some gems in there to.

Once You Say (featuring Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore) is a heavy Electro Industrial stomper sweetened by Douglas’ trademark gritty vocals. ‘Hit You Back’ is more like something off ‘Showtime’ which is more of what I, personally, consider to be ‘classic Ebb’.

Nitzer Ebb (Feat. Martin L. Gore) – Once You Say (zShare) (MediaFire)

Nitzer Ebb – Hit You Back (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘Industrial Complex (Tour Edition)’ is out now,

Nitzer Ebb @ Beatport

Nitzer Ebb @ Juno

Nitzer Ebb @ 7Digital

Nitzer Ebb @ Amazon