The mighty Howard jones is, despite being an absolute legend, shamefully underappreciated, to the extent that he gets a bad rap, even from so-called ElectroPop lovers. Don’t worry Howie, i got your back!
Here is 1985’s ‘Things Can Only Get Better’
Howard was mocked a lot for having a guy who did noting but dance and look like a bit if a tit with him. doesn’t that apply to 3/4 of The Prodigy too?
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Here’s Bronski Beat’s 1986 top ten hit ‘Hit That Perfect Beat’. The track contains one of the catchiest lead lines you will ever hear! The clips in the video come from the film Letter To Brezhnev, which features the song on it’s soundtrack.
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The Human League, 1981, ‘Dare’, prefect. ‘Nuff said.
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Mjolnir, you probably know from their The Chemical Brothers reMix that was doing the rounds a couple of weeks ago. This Indonesian trio make some sweet Disco and Italo influenced ElectroPop that you need to check out.
Picking up the ItaloPop torch from Heartbreak (what’s happened to Heartbreak?) ‘Just A Boy’ is an epic six minutes of mid-80’s sounding SynthPop that could easily be dropped in the middle of an 80’s set and have the crown stroking their chins a commenting that they remember this track, it’s on the tips of their tongues! ‘Midway’ is slightly more contemporary in it’s production but sneaks Duran Duran-esque guitar riff in there amongst the sparkling ElectroPop and vodocer madness, and it’s catchy as hell too.
♫ Mjolnir (Feat. Dini) – Midway
They also entered this reMix in Tuff ‘Em up’s Barretso remix competition, it’s some seriously solid Disco.
♫ Barretso – Chase (Mjolnir reMix)
Mjolnir are definatly a trio to keep you eyes on, we expect great things.
Check out more from Mjolnir on their SoundCloud
We’re going to start putting up videos, maybe daily, of classic tracks and performances ‘cos, well, why not!
Kicking things off is UK DancePop act Freeze’s Pop/Electro crossover ‘IOU’ from 1983. Arthur Baker produces for that B-Boy feel the track made it onto the soundtrack for Beat Street.
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Studio !K7’s latest signing is Canadian SynthPop duo New Look who are soon to release a new single titles ‘The Ballad’.
An awesome deep and enveloping track like an electronic heartbeat, ‘The Ballad’’s video was directed by Australian fashion photographer and film maker Will Davidson.
New Look release ‘The Ballad’ on 27th June.
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‘Master And Servant’ is amongst my favourite Depeche Mode tracks, it’s also one that has always lent itself well to reMixes and faired slightly better in reMix output that some other DM songs.
So with the eagerly anticipated ‘reMixes 2: 81-11’ album, featuring Depeche Mode reMixes from the likes of M83, UNKLE, Trentemøller, François Kervorkian, Dan The Automator, Stargate, Eric Prydz, Karlsson & Winnberg (from Miike Snow) and Røyksopp amongst others, only a couple of week away we present this reMix, not featured on the album, from RSS who grab vocal and synth hooks from the tune and apply them to their hypnotic Acid-Techno.
♫ Depeche Mode – Master And Servant (RSS reMix)
‘reMixes 2: 81-11’ is released 6th June on MuteReprise, of extra special interest for me is the expanded editions which will include exclusive reMixes by former band members Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder.
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Coming up next on the awesome Girlfriend Records is a three track EP from Toque, a side project from HR.
With just the right combination of ElectroPop, Disco and Electro-Funk, Toque’s ‘Xtro’ is dark of content but funky of beats. Like ‘Thriller’, ‘Xtro’ is quality, retro, DancePop with a horror movie theme. The juxtaposition between the get-up-and-dance music and the dark, though I expect tounge-in-cheek, lyrics is actually pretty fun. The thing I like most about this track though, is the prefect combination of 80’s sounding SynthPop and B-boy Electro, two of my greatest loves. One the one hand you’ve got the 808 claps, orchestral hits, Moog-esq funk synths, and some dark, heavily effected, MCing, and on the other shimmering lead lines and sweet as hell vocals. Definatly looking forward to this EP.
The ‘Xtro’ EP is out next Friday on Girlfriend Records, HR is also working hard on her second EP under that moniker.
Also incoming this summer is a Girlfriend Records compilation that they say is their ‘biggest project yet’ which should feature the whole Girlfriend family and some new faces. Defiantly something to be looking forward to!
Oh, this track is defiantly going to get a lot of play ‘round here!
Belgian newcomers Expo are apparently “part of a rather well-known Belgian DJ-formation.”, I’m not sure what a DJ formation actually is, maybe in Belgium they have, like, DJ cheerleader teams making pyramids and stuff. Whatever, the track is awesome. Slick summery SynthPop with enough Disco in it’s DNA to be hip and enough European SynthPop to be quite nostalgic. The prefect combination.
Expect more from Expo soon!
Southend-On-Sea’s premiere ElectroPop outfit The Vanity Clause are back with a new track this month after months in the studio, a string of successful shows in the South-East and a major line-up change (not reflected in pic).
‘The Scream’ sees The Vanity Clause showing more of their New York Disco influenced side, helped as usual in no small part by Louisa Strachan powerful, soulful voice which, in the wrong hands, could be wasted but Russell Harris skilful melding of ElectroPop styles gives the backing enough groove to sit well with the vocals without straying too far from the SynthPop path. If this track is any indication of what to expect from The Vanity Clause’s next release then we could be in for something special.
♫ The Vanity Clause – The Scream
You’ll be able to get yourself a download of ‘The Scream’ by signing up to The Vanity Clause’s newsletter.
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electronic rumors 