Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:
Probably Mr. Howard Jones’s most well known hit, 1983’s ‘What Is Love?’
From 1979, because it was reMixed this week and it’s in my head, Yellow Magic Orchestra’s ‘Techopolis’
Nik Kershaw’s ‘Wouldn’t It Be Good’, really good video for the time, still looks fantastic, if dated. From 1984.
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So, if you’re a long-time reader you’ll already know that Russian Nu-Disco/ElectroPop outfit The Tapeaters are amongst our favourites. We’ve been writing about them for years and, particularly, the latest crop of single have been pretty rad. Yesterday they released their latest album, which in part collects their recent tunes, and whist we loved the tracks individually when they are packed together in a complete LP it really highlights what an impressive body of work The Tapeaters have amassed.
‘Remembering Next Summer’ is a cleverly apt title for the record, it’s pure forward thinking nostalgia. Combining elements of Disco, Electro, Pop and Indie with some absurdly catchy songwriting, The Tapeaters kinda’ make me think that this is what the excellent Dirty Vegas would have sounded like if they had embraced Disco a little more than deep house. Funky basslines and massive retro synth sounds play against dancefloor beats and softly sung vocals with the occasional Indie guitar lick for good measure. The album kicks off with a new track ‘Umbrella’, which sets the tone for the record with a laid back, beach Disco vibe and an enticing sound which is closely followed by’ ‘Echo’, a track that wears it’s ‘80’s influences on it’s sleeve. That double whammy of Disco and ‘80’s pretty much sums up the album, and that’s two things we love, but it’s The Tapeaters genius songwriting, with their sing-a-long choruses and infectious hooks, that really seal the deal for us. Don’t be surprised if this album reared it’s head in our end-on-year ‘best of’ lists.
♫ The Tapeaters – Umbrella
♫ The Tapeaters – Waiting For a Sign
♫ The Tapeaters – The Real Deal
The Tapeaters’ ‘Remembering Next Summer’ is available right now from a stupidly cheap price. You can pick up the .mp3s from their official website from a tweet or a ‘like’, or pic up lossless copies from their Bandcamp from as little as $1!
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Here’s a bit of a treat from Brooklyn funkster Chrome Canyon, who’s On The Fruit Records released ‘Body Music EP from earlier this year still gets some heavy rotation. It’s his edit of Yellow Magic Orchestra’s classic ‘Techopolis’ (possibly my fourth favourite YMO track!).
If you’ve ever thought to yourself ‘I love ‘Technopolis’, but I’d really like a more modern version with a pumping contemporary beat so I could work it into one of my sets’ then you are in so much luck. The essence of YMO’s track is all here, with pretty minimal chopping up, the riff and basslines are all where you remember leaving them. There are a couple of cuts here and there but the majority of additions come in the form of some lovely filtering and modulation and bringing a rhythm fit for dancefloors in 2012. It’s giving the original such a new lease of life. I’ll definitely be playing this out.
♫ Yellow Magic Orchestra – Technopolis (Chrome Canyon Rework)
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Here’s the latest clip in the recent string of videos from Chromatics highlighting tracks from their new album, ‘Kill For Love’. This time it’s ‘These Streets Will Never Look The Same’ that’s treated to visuals.
The video was, once again, directed by Alberto Rossini and was shot on videotape live in Las Vegas, Mexico City and Montreal.
‘Kill For Love’ is out now on Italians Do It Better.
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The reigning champions of euphoric SynthPop The Sound Of Arrows have a new single incoming. Taken from their amazing ‘Voyage’ album, ‘Conquest’ is released next month.
The video is full of the best things ever, most notable a crystal powered DeLorean. It’s also loaded with classy, fantastical imagery and Stefan & Oskar doing that back to back slow-mo thing they love doing.
‘Conquest’ released 25th June via Skies Above.
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Introspective ElectroPop producer Aaron Alexis is back with a new track to haunt your dreams. Not loosing his particular unique style of ElectroPop based, Chillwave leaning Indie-Electro, Aaron’s new track is, at the same time, both warm and chilling.
‘Saboteurs’ is a throbbing electronic soundscape that draws lines between, Industrial, Chillwave and raw SynthPop. Reminiscant of parts of the recent M83 album and washed in the kinds of reverb usually reserved for Neon Indian, the contrast of the brittle synth bassline and the lush pads and LFO heavy organ sounds create a soundtrack where the instruments weave in and out of each other in a dreamlike way. Atop this sit Aaron’s trademark croon. Part seduction, part lament, part hipster drawl, the vocals glide across the track, ingratiating themselves as another instrument.
♫ Aaron Alexis – Saboteurs
Check out more from Aaron Alexis on SoundCloud.
Here’s the video for Karin Park’s “crazy good” single ‘Restless’, Yes, when we wrote about the track we called it “crazy good”, and we’re sticking with that. An amazing slice of ElectroPop.
The video was apparently shot in the church Karin lives in. Let’s just absorb that statement for a while while we watch the clip. She lives there!
The ‘Restless’ single is out via State Of The Eye Recordings on this week with her début album ‘Highwire Poetry’ coming 28th May.
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This week the new single by one of our favourite acts, Muscovite retro SynthPop act Tesla Boy is released . Hopefully this signposts the lead in to their new album, although their début full length record, Modern Thrills’ still get’s a hell of a lot of play around these parts, it’s definitely time for a new one.
Tesla Boy are one of a seriously tiny handful of bands who have successfully merged SynthWave, Nu-Disco and ElectroPop, in that they write proper Pop songs but I can think of few other vocal Pop artists who’s tracks sound like Nu-Disco tracks, or Dreamwave tracks. How they haven’t gain more attention if a mystery to me. ‘Fantasy’ is a smooth, perfectly Tesla Boy track. The deep funk synth bass is there playing against the choppy New Wave guitar, the Disco beat and vintage synth work. But the centrepiece of any Tesla Boy track is Anton’s trademark impassioned croon. This new track is just as catchy and warm as we’ve come to expect from Tesla Boy, who really are one of the best ElectroPop bands in the world today. Hopefully this years releases will seem them reaching the wider audience they deserve.
♫ Tesla Boy – Fantasy
‘Fantasy’ is out now on Gorby Regan Records with hints of a new EP on the horizon.
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Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:
We’re breaking the ‘Goin’ Old School’ rules a little today by featuring tracks we’ve featured before and tracks that aren’t strictly ‘80’s, but in celebration if the late, great, Bob Moog’s birthday, here’s some of our favourite Moog tracks. Starting with Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’ from 1975.
And we had to feature New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ again, from 1983. Moog Source anyone?
DEVO 1980 hit ’ Whip It’ is covered in MiniMoogs!
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Leitbur are an LA based SynthPop outfit, well I say outfit, it’s actually one guy, Jaron Widman (who is one ‘l’ away from having an top tier name) who was amongst the winners of the recent Cinnamon Chasers reMix competition. Seizing the opportunity to gain a little more exposure Leitbur is wasting no time in releasing a new EP.
The ‘Think Of Tomorrow’ EP is out next month and holds five tracks of dreamy Californian SynthPop, which is actually quite an interesting twist on things. By now we’re all quite used to the west cost vibe in Electronic music. From Binary’s Dreamwave stable or DâM-FunK’s LA groove to the likes of Leisure Council and Oliver’s smooth take on Nu-Disco, there seems to be an LA atmosphere that permeates the music, kinda’ relaxed, kinda’ optimistic, loaded with nostalgia. We’ve seen it applied to Disco, ElectroPop, Electro but I think this is the first time I’ve heard it in a SynthPop context, and it works really well. The title track is a pumping, epic, slice of SynthPop with a contrasting summery feel and a streak of melancholy that really sit comfortable. There’s a slight bit of Italo in there too that gives it a nice dancefloor slant that pushed forward the anaemic chorus. The EP’s other standout is Old Life, which displays more of a laid back groove and a sunset vibe over the rolling synths. It’s an impressive collection of retro sounding synth tracks and well written songs that hopefully should see Leitbur gaining a wider audience.
♫ Leitbur – Think Of Tomorrow
♫ Leitbur – Old Life (Indie Cut)
Leitbur’ ‘Think Of Tomorrow’ EP is released 26th June.
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electronic rumors 