May 21 2012

S.P.O.C.K.’s best of the SubSpace years

OK, you either know what I’m talking about with S.P.O.C.K., or you don’t. S.P.O.C.K. are Sweden’s greatest Sci-Fi SynthPop export, with an awesome live show they are probably the most fun band in the galaxy.

They haven’t released a new studio album since 2001, but next month sees the release of a compilation of their output during their time of their own co-owned SubSpace Communications label, which actually includes most of their best years and the best of their huge space-age anthems, such as ‘Where Rockets Fly’.

‘Another Piece Of The Action: The Best Of The Subspace Years’ is released 5th June on limited edition transparent vinyl, CD digipak and digital.

Buy S.P.O.C.K.’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 16 2012

Age Of Consent’s new video

London based retro ElectroPop outfit Age Of Consent’s new single ‘Heartbreak’ was released this week on their Bandcamp page for the cheap price of ‘whatever you want’.

It’s a stomping, powerful classic SynthPop track, check the video directed by Gareth Phillips for some retro video visual to go with that Depeche Mode/Nitzer Ebb pounding.

Buy Age Of Consent’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 11 2012

Rusty Egan’s Exclusive Mix For electronic rumors

Rusty Egan

Rusty Egan – Exclusive Mix For electronic rumors = We are so honoured to present to you this exclusive mixtape for electronic rumors by none other than the legend Rusty Egan. Rusty was, of course, the DJ for the notorious Blitz Club where he essentially introduced electronic music to the UK music scene. Playing the likes of Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra and the emerging British Futurist, pre-SynthPop, music amongst artists like Bowie, he helped create the New Romantic movement and subsequently SynthPop and ElectroPop in the UK and Europe. Which basically led to every single thing we write about on this site. Oh, and he was a founder member of Visage. Influential enough for you? Right here he’s put together a storming collection of tracks for us proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that three decades later he still has his finger on the pulse of electronic music.

♫ Rusty Egan – Exclusive Mix For electronic rumors

The tracklist:

01. College (Feat. Electric Youth) – A Real Hero (Bear reMix)
02. Social Ambitions – Paris
03. Ultravox – Visions In Blue (Paul Boddy reMix)
04. Rusty Egan Presents Shock – R.E.R.B. (2010 Rusty Egan reMix)
05. Kraftwerk – The Robots (2009 Remaster)
06. Rusty Egan, Bottin & Justus Köhncke – Atzaro (Bounce Boosted)
07. VCMG – Single Blip
08. Spandau Ballet – Gold (Oak reMix)
09. Dr Kucho! – Chase (Original Mix)
10. Filthy Dukes – Messages (Rust Egan Mix)
11. Moby – Mistake (Unmastered)
12. Tenek – What Do You Want?
13. Villa Nah – Envelope
14. Unclubbed (Feat. Kim Wayman) – We Are The People
15. Ultravox – The Change

Buy Rusty Egan’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 11 2012

Bright Light Bright Light’s début album (& competition results)

bright light x2

So, we here at electronic rumors have been on-board with Welsh ElectroPop maestro Rod Thomas, A.K.A. Bright Light Bright Light, for a few years now. I think we first wrote about him back in early 2012 and have consistently followed his career ever since, so we are so happy for him that his début album his the stores (as we used to say) next month. ‘Make Me Believe In Hope’ work on two levels, both as a fresh new album and as a collection of Rod’s hits for long term fans.

About half of the records is the best of the past two years of Bright Light X2’s output, and it;s really nice to have them all collected together here. ‘A New Word To Say’ & ‘Cry At Films’, the tracks that introduced us to Rod’s works are present, the immense (and still our favourite) single ‘Love Part II’ is here alongside newer releases such as ‘Disco Moment’ and ‘Waiting For The Feeling’, and bundled together like this these tracks really show Rod’s decent into all things ‘90’s. Unashamedly a ‘90’s lover, Bright Light X2 has been slowly working a big ‘90’s dance sound into in songs and the progression from the almost Indie-Electro ‘New Word’ to pure 1996 DancePop of ‘Waiting’ is a an enjoyable ride. Whit a body of work together like this, it really is evident just how good a songwriter Rod is, I honestly think there are few people working as independent artists that can match his ability to pen a clean, catchy and emotionally resonant Pop song, and with his crisp SynthPop production, ‘Make Me Believe In Hope’ is a masterclass in how to make an electronic Pop album. So, how is the other half of the album, the new tracks? Well, the more than live up to the expectations raised by the singles. Rod revels in his love of the ‘90’s and you can just tell he’s having fun with the music, a rarity these days. The album’s opener ‘Immature’ is upbeat, infectious and epic, and sucks you straight into the record while the likes of ‘Feel It’ and ‘Moves’ are classic ElectroPop. There are even moments where Rod breaks the mould, like the ballad ‘Debris’, or ‘Grace’ with it’s shuffling industrial rhythms. ‘Make Me Believe In Hope’ is the kind of début album that people will take note of. SynthPop tends to be a genre outside of time anyway, but I can definitely see this being an album that will be listened to , and enjoyed, in 10 years time, or 20.

♫ Bright Light Bright Light – A New Word To Say

♫ Bright Light Bright Light – Love Part II

♫ Bright Light Bright Light – Disco Moment

♫ Bright Light Bright Light – Waiting For The Feeling

While we’re here, lets announce the lucky winners of our Bright Light Bright Light competition. These lucky folks have won guest list spaces for them and a +1 to the Bright Light X” album launch party in London.

Twitterers @benfromparis and @TheAndyEff take the prize.

Unlucky, don’t worry, you can go anyway, here are all the details.

Bright Light Bright Light’s début album, ‘Make Me Believe In Hope’ is released 4th June via The Blue Team.

Buy Bright Light Bright Light’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 10 2012

Jupiter’s début album

Jupiter

OK, so we’ve had French ElectroPop duo Jupiter’s début album in our possession for a few weeks now, but have been held back from reviewing it due to, obviously, them wanting the ‘One O Six’ single pushed first. It’s been an agonising few weeks, as we’ve been dying to tell people how good the album really is. But hey, we’ve been waiting for it for three years, so what’s another couple of weeks.

And was the wait worth it? Hell yeah it was. Jupiter have been a staple on the lips of ElectroPop fans for a few years now, right from the early Anoraak reMix and their standout reMix of CHEW LiPS’ ‘Salt Air’, alongside their début ‘Starlighter’ single, they crashed onto the Electro scene and left us all eagerly awaiting a full length record. Last years ‘Saké’ teased us that things were starting to move faster toward the goal and now here we are, ‘Juicy Lucy’, Jupiter’s début album will be released next month, and it’s going to be the soundtrack to your summer.

The LP kicks off with the current single ‘One O Six’, Jupiter’s tribute the their favourite synth, which sets up the album perfectly with it’s jumping Funk bass, big retro synth stabs and quirky vocals, it’s a great choice for a single and a great primer to Jupiter’s sound. Amélie De Bosredon and Quarles Baseden are the only double act I know that can so seamlessly merge traditional SynthPop, Indie-Electro and ‘’70’s Funk and Disco. Sure, lots of artists draw from this pool of influenced but who other than Jupiter can have and Indie guitar lick, shiny Disco synths from space and a SynthPop lead line all working in harmony to this extent. The album flip from track to track, highlighting a different side to Jupiter’s sound with each new tune. From the Indie stylings of ‘Set The Course Of The Nile’ and ‘La Dynamo’ to the pure Disco sounds of ‘Elliot Uppercut’ and the title track ‘Juicy Lucy (Needs A Boogieman)’ and the deep Electro-House of ‘St. Petersborg’, Jupiter’s summer, good times, vibe is layered thickly over everything., and it’s that Jupirterness that makes the album so great. Amongst the retro Funk, the sweet synth riffs and the Vocoders is this energy, this life best exemplified by Amélie’s magical-pixie-dream-girl vocals and the album’s overarching bouncyness that is so unique to these two. ‘Juicy Lucy’ is a masterpiece of DiscoPop, complexly layered, intricate, electronic music that end up being simplistically catchy, and easily a contender for the album of the year. Buy this record and your summer will belong to Jupiter.

♫ Jupiter – One O Six

♫ Jupiter – Saké

♫ Jupiter – Starlighter

Jupiter’s début album ‘Juicy Lucy’ is released 5th June.

Buy Jupiter’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 4 2012

Parallels new EP

parallels

This week Toronto’s greatest SynthPop export Parallels, released their new EP, Time Will Crawl, as a pre-cursor to the release of their new album ‘XII’. We already checked out the new track ‘Moonlight Desires’, a cover of Canadian artist Gowen. Time for a peak at the rest of the EP.

‘Time Will Tell’, the lead track is am amazing slice of what ElectroPop that rest heavily on Italo roots. Like the best, epic, European ItaloPop in the mid ‘80’s, ‘Time Will Crawl’ flows along on bouncing digital bass and rich synth chords with Holly Dodson’s vocals proving to be both dramatic and uplifting, sweeping across the track taking it to new heights. A wash of stings over the Disco groove just makes it perfect. ‘Time Will Crawl’ really is a stunning track, probably the best thing I have heard from Parallels since ‘Ultralight’, and seeing as how I have loved everything they’ve done that’s really saying something. The final track on the EP is ‘Ritual Dancer’ is unmistakable Parallels and works the contrast between Holly’s sweet vocals and a hard beat and bassline to create a track that is both catchy and edgy. No-one does analog sounding ElectroPop like Parallels, they’ve been away far too long.

♫ Parallels – Time Will Crawl

♫ Parallels – Ritual Dancer

‘Time Will Crawl’ is out now, ‘XII’ is due out 26th June.

Buy Parallels’ music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 1 2012

Queen Of Hearts & Mark Reeder

When electronic music legend and all round nice guy Mark Reeder asked me to hook him up with the future ruler of all things ElectroPop, Queen Of Hearts, I was like ”hell yeah!, that can only end well”. A man who has been instrumental in shaping electronic and dance music spanning four decades from Manchester to Berlin and a woman with a passion for electronic Pop music and a voice that could melt stone. What more can you ask for, really?

‘Mark Reeder’s Electrically Excited reMix’ of Queen Of Hearts new single ‘Neon’ is a pulsating, synthetic, floorfiller that marries Reeder’s trademark Berlin TechPop with The Queen’s husky delivery. It’s actually quite interesting to hear Queen If Hearts set amongst the cold robotic arpeggios and moody pads of Berlin Techno and Reeder perfectly finds the balance between the two, creating something robotic, but with a soul. Which, considering forthcoming double A-side the single is rife with BladeRunner references (whether accidental or not) is a pretty fitting sound. There’s a dark machine beauty to the track, and an epic cinematic quality which makes the whopping seven minutes feel like a flowing musical narrative. This is the hopefulness on rain soaked, neon lit, dystopian city streets.

♫ Queen Of Hearts – Neon (Mark Reeder’s Electrically Excited reMix)

Queen Of Heart’s ‘Neon’/’Tears In The Rain’ single is out 14th May, out now is ‘electronic rumors Volume 1’ on which she features.

Buy Queen Of Hearts’ music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

May 1 2012

Saint Etienne’s new single

saint-etienne

UK ElectroPop legends Saint Etienne are gearing up for the release of their brand new album, ‘Words And Music By Saint Etienne’, next month. Ahead of which ‘I’ve Got Your Music’ follows ‘Tonight’ as the second single taken from the record.

‘I’ve Got Your Music’ seems to follow both musically and thematically from ‘Tonight’, and with a title like ‘Words And Music’ I would hazard a guess that the album will be about Pop music, and songs in general, and their power to capture a moment. As Bob Stanley says “the album is about believing in music, living your life by its rules”, The single is a lovely slice of classic SynthPop, but we would expect no less from Saint Etienne. Produced with Xenomania’s Tim Powell, it’s a effervescent, upbeat tune that bodes well for the album.

♫ Saint Etienne – I’ve Got Your Music (Single Version)

‘Words And Music By Saint Etienne’ is released 21st May.

Buy Saint Etienne’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Apr 27 2012

Karin Park & Ladytron

Karin Park

Following last years ‘Tiger Dreams’ EP Karin Park has announced the release of her new album ‘Highwire Poetry’ next month, kicking things off with this lead-in, crazy good single ‘Restless’.

Her PR likes to call Karin ‘Electro-Goth’, really, take it from me, she’s not, not in the slightest, she is so far above that if she looked down she could barely see the tiny Electro-Goths running around like ants. What Karin actually is, is an incredible talented, interesting, unique ElectroPop artist who makes songs that are equally quirky, emotionally resonant and catchy. ‘Restless’ is one of those songs, a rousing, majestic slice of Icy Scandinavian analog Pop with an infections synth line and impassioned vocals. the single has been reMixes by Ladytron’s Reuben Wu, who apparently heard the track live and ran with it. Ruben delivers something surprisingly funky considering Ladytron’s recent work. recalling Ladytron of old, it’s a raw synth-fest that revels in Rubens electronic genius with layers and layers of sonic elements. Prefer the original though….

♫ Karin Park – Restless (Ladytron reMix)

♫ Karin Park – Restless (Radio Edit)

The ‘Restless’ single is out via State Of The Eye Recordings on 21st May with her début album ‘Highwire Poetry’ coming 28th May.

Buy Karin Park’s music from:

Apr 25 2012

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.