Nov 5 2009

New Shy Child!

Exiting times! Shy Child, one of the finest live electronic bands around right now are hard at work on their third studio album, ‘Liquid Love’. Personally, I can’t wait!

To tide us over here we have track from the forthcoming album. ‘Criss Cross’ is classic Shy Child, bass heavy Indie-Electro that builds to a hypnotic noisy finale. It’s a great teaser for what promises to be an amazing record.

♫ Shy Child – Criss Cross (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘Liquid Love’ is slated for a March 1st 2010 release on Wall Of Sound, stay tuned to Shy Child’s MySpace for future information and you can pick up the previous two records below:

Shy Child @ Beatport

Shy Child @ 7Digital

Shy Child @ Amazon

Nov 4 2009

Versant (what Carah Faye did next…)

So, what’s the worst decision once great Indie-Electro act Shiny Toy Guns ever made? Quite simply it was ditching vocalist Carah Faye Charnow in favour of some reality TV wannabe, this has been proved by their disappointingly mediocre second album.

The decision, however, seems to have turned out for the best for Carah. Now based in Sweden she’s back with her new outfit Versant and dropping the kind of powerful Indie-Electro that the STG’s album wishes it was.

Just check these three demos here; from the huge Electro Rock of ‘Out Of Touch’ to the more intimate ‘Push Away’ these tracks would work just as easily on the dancefloor or in a gritty rock club and see a welcome return of Carah’s voice powering through cutting synths and dirge guitars.

♫ Versant – Out of Touch (Demo.) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Versant – Push Away (Demo.) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Versant – Quick Escapes (Demo.) (zShare) (MediaFire)

If I was a surviving member of Shiny Toy Guns I would be kicking myself!

Versant release their self-titled début album on February 17th 2010, until them go show them some big MySpace love!

Versant @ MySpace

Oct 30 2009

Fire For Effect

Firstly, let me just say amongst the list of words you should never use are Darkwave and Graver. Unless you are Das Ich, Project Pitchfork or an actual Darkwave band, using Darkwave ‘cos you think it’s cool as it has the words Dark and Wave in it just make you look ignorant and needy. Graver, on the other hand, is one of the most embarrassing terms ever conceived.

Both words were used in Fire For Effect’s press release…shudder.

So it’s a good job the music speaks for itself. Solo project of Albert J, who played keyboards for SSION and Josephine Collective, and DJed alongside the likes of FischerSpooner and CSS, Fire For Effect make some rockin’ noise-Pop. Heavily AutoTuned vocals blend hauntingly with bit-crunched beats and distorted synths. Each track manages to hit you with the unexpected at least once without veering off into the murky world of experimental. A spacey yet quite harsh sound makes for some intelligent dance-Pop tunes.

‘Paradise Drudge’ would have to be my favourite, I’m lovin’ the lead line:

♫ Fire For Effect – Paradise Drudge (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Fire For Effect – Cell (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Fire For Effect – The Beach (zShare) (MediaFire)

Fire For Effect’s album should be dropping some time in January, ‘til then I believe some MySpace love is in order!

Fire For Effect @ MySpace

Jun 1 2009

The Faint reMixed by La Dolce Vita

We’ve previously featured on of his reMixes here, now La Dolce Vita has dropped three official reMixes into the electronic rumors Inbox. Most interestingly (to me anyway) is a reMix of The Faint’s ‘Forever Growing Centipedes’ from their last album, ‘Fascination’.

Turning a punky garage Electro track into a dancefloor epic the reMix finds a way to perfectly match Fink’s Vocals with a bouncy, almost Italo, bassline and slick production.

♫ The Faint – Forever Growing Centipedes (La Dolce Vita reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

LDV has also performed reMix duties for US Electro rockers Innerpartysystem.

♫ Innerpartysystem – Die Tonight Live Forever (La Dolce Vita reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Go show La Dolce Vita some love over on his MySpace:

La Dolce Vita @ MySpace

And check out The Faint’s most recent album, ‘Fascination’:

Apr 14 2009

New Alice In Videoland track!!!

AliceIn Videoland2

This has really made my day!

The almighty Alice In Videoland have dropped a new track, the first new material since 2008’s ‘She’s a Machine’, and it’s classic AiV! ‘Psychobitch’ see a return to the electronic Pop-Punk of the ‘Outrageous!’ album over the more EBM influenced last album, and that is no bad thing!

With heavy bass, screaming synths and some really punky vocals from Toril, its good to have this riotous, Electro rockin’, badass AiV back!

I don’t want to repeat myself but Alice In Videoland really put other bands who call themselves ‘ElectroPunk’ to shame.

AiV have been kind enough to allow me to share the new track with you lot!

♫ Alice In Videoland – Psychobitch (zShare) (MediaFire)

Read about how much electronic rumors loves AiV here, then go buy some stuff!

Alice In Videoland @ Alice In Videoland Store

Alice In Videoland @ Amazon

Apr 13 2009

The Faint reMixed by Afghan Raiders

TheFaint

The Faint easily rank up there as one of my favourite bands ever so any hint of new material is exiting for me, even a new reMix.

Here, Las Vegas based duo, Afghan Raiders take an already aggressive song and create a noisy, angry, nightmare of sound that somehow manages to retain it’s groove.

It’s powerful stuff:

♫ The Faint – Mirror Error (Afghan Raiders reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Some of Afghan Raiders’ original tracks can be heard on their MySpace, and buying The Faint’s back catalogue should be on your agenda (if you already haven’t got them1)

Apr 6 2009

The Vanish

If summer 2009 is going to be the summer of ElectroPop, what will the cool kids, for whom the likes of Little Boots and La Roux are “just to poppy”, be listening to?

I’ll tell you what…The Vanish, that’s what!

Effortlessly hip, these two Australian New York residents carry on in the tradition of Midnight Juggernauts and Cut Copy but infuse it with more of a post-punk energy and wrap it up with a bow made from the French, 80’s retro Electro-House, sound.

Actually, it’s interesting that they’re Australians living in New York as they seem to have taken the best bits of Australia’s Modular Recordings’ Indie/ElectroPop scene and New York’s post-punk/Disco sound, à la DFA Records, to produce something truly exiting.

I’ll be expecting at least two pages in the NME soon!

Enough waffle, listen for yourself:

♫ The Vanish – Heartbeat (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ The Vanish – Hold On (zShare) (MediaFire)

Sure to be a riotous affair when the guys hit the road later this year across Australia and the US (and hopefully the UK!), pick up more from The Vanish below:

The Vanish @ 7Digital

Mar 31 2009

You Love Her Coz She’s Dead new limited edition single!

YouLoveHerCozShe'sDead

8-Bit ElectroPunk terrorists You Love Her Coz She’s Dead are back with a new, limited edition, single ‘Me Verses You’.

The white vinyl 7” will be limited to just 500 copies (with the first 100 being signed by the band) and will feature reMixes from from Unicorn Kid and I Am Program.

Check the low quality sample below, it’s a riotous, sweeping cacophony like only YLHCSD can deliver. electronic rumors is defiantly looking forward to this release.

♫ You Love Her Coz She’s Dead – Me Versus You (Sample) (zShare) (MediaFire)

The single is out April 27th but can be pre-ordered from YLHCSD’s MySpace now:

You Love Her Coz She’s Dead @ You Love Her Coz She’s Dead Store

You Love Her Coz She’s Dead @ Beatport

You Love Her Coz She’s Dead @ Juno

You Love Her Coz She’s Dead @ Amazon

Mar 25 2009

The Vault: Cabaret Voltaire

The Vault: The classics of Electronic Music. The influential and the groundbreaking. The pioneering and the music we grew up on…

CabaretVoltaire

I somehow always knew that electronic rumors’ first The Vault article was going to be about Cabaret Voltaire, it had to be really, not only are they highly influential to me, personally, but to every strain of electronic music.

From the early use of synthesizers and tape loops with punk ascetics to pioneering the early dance scene (via being emblazoned on Ferris Buelller’s bedroom wall!), Cabaret Voltaire have done it all…first!

Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder (initially along with Chris Watson) formed the Cabs in 1973 in Sheffield (ground zero for all things synth) as a way to experiment with sound creation and processing. Strongly influenced by the Dada art movement, they quickly became associated with the burgeoning Industrial scene.

The group’s first (proper) releases were on the legendary Rough Trade Records label and from the early, experimental noise-pop works to the 808 and 303 laden later records Kirk and Mallinder were always ahead of the pack, and, indeed, Kirk was instrumental in the early life of legendary experimental electronic stable Warp Records.

One of the first artists to really embrace using non-musical instruments or found sounds to create music, Cabaret Voltaire influenced all things Experimental & IDM, SynthPop & New Wave and later Bleep House & Dub heavy Techno.

Electronic music just wouldn’t be the same without Cabaret Voltaire.

Here we have a sampler of the Cab’s back catalogue, some obvious, some not. From 1979’s ‘Mix up’, ‘No Escape’ and from the seminal ‘Red Mecca’ (1981), ‘Spread The Virus’. Moving into a more ElectroPoppy area ‘Crackdown’ from ‘The Crackdown’ in 1983 and, probably Cabaret Voltaire’s biggest hit, 1984’s ‘Sensoria’ from the album ‘Micro-Phonies’. ‘I Want You’ comes from their last Rough Trade album ‘The Covenant, The Sword, And The Arm Of The Lord’ (1985) and showing it’s Bleep House influences ‘No Resistance’ is taken from 1991’s ‘Body And Soul’

♫ Cabaret Voltaire – No Escape (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Cabaret Voltaire – Spread The Virus (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Cabaret Voltaire – Crackdown (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Cabaret Voltaire – Sensoria (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Cabaret Voltaire – I Want You (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Cabaret Voltaire – No Resistance (zShare) (MediaFire)

Whether you’re into SynthPop or Experimental, Dub or Dance, Indie or Industrial, Cabaret Voltaire helped shape the music you love. Much of their back catalogue is still available including a few best of compilations:

Cabaret Voltaire @ Beatport

Cabaret Voltaire @ 7Digital

Cabaret Voltaire @ Amazon

Mar 18 2009

Alice In Videoland

AliceInVideoland

Sweden’s Alice In Videoland easily rank as one of my all time favourite bands, describing them isn’t easy as no-one is doing anything quite like them.

A lot of bands use the term Electro-Punk, but it seems to mean something different to each if them. If you ask me, the band that really deserves the title is AiV, Rather than just being some sort of shock-Electro or Minimal-Techno-with-funky-hairstyles act, they actually make Punk songs (well, Pop-Punk) with electronics. Take the best in female fronted Pop-Punk, from No Doubt all the way back to Blondie, give the band synths instead of guitars and you’re beginning to get the picture.

The music is as Danceable at it is pogo-able, noisy synths and frantic drums are cut through with poppy 80’s-esq lead lines and Toril’s sweet & sour vocals.

Their first album, 2003’s ‘Maiden Voyage’, was 10 tracks of absolutely perfectly crafted Electro-Pop-Punk. every time I hear it I always think that, if AiV were promoted more outside Scandinavia or their label had bigger distribution and marketing budget, this record would have been huge!

♫ Alice In Videoland – Got To Go (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Alice In Videoland – Lay Me Down (zShare) (MediaFIre)

Their 2005 follow up, ‘Outrageous!’, had a rawer, punkier sound whist retaining the Pop melodies and hooks. Again, this could have been a hugely popular record, with more exposure Alice In Videoland would have quickly been embraced by the Modular loving Indie-eEectro crowd.

♫ Alice In Videoland – Emily (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Alice In Videoland – Ladykiller (zShare) (MediaFire)

Their most recent album, ‘She’s A Machine!’ from last year, was quite a low key release. It saw a move toward a heavy electronics, almost EBM sound, displaying more club influences than previously.

♫ Alice In Videoland (Feat. Maja Ivarsson) – We Are Rebels (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Alice In Videoland – Weird Desire (zShare) (MediaFire)

Alice In Videoland have meshed Punk/Rock attitudes and songwriting with electronic music in a way that no one else has, and arguably more successfully. Unfortunately, the place AiV have had the most success is the EBM/Industrial scene, which is a musical ghetto and almost a death-mark when it comes to wider exposure. Alice In Videoland deserve better.

So…that’s the point of this post, hopefully some of you Electro kids will give these track a listen, believe me, you won’t regret it.

The band have some new material on the way, keep reading electronic rumors for news.

A fantastic live band, although the one time they visited the UK (back in 2004) seems like so long ago, all three of their albums come very, very highly recommended:

Alice In Videoland @ Alice In Videoland Store

Alice In Videoland @ Amazon