Sep 3 2012

Ugly Kids’ ‘Mercury Road’

Ugly Kids

The latest blistering release on Trashbag’s Tuff Em Up! label is this free single from Swiss duo Ugly Kids.  Tony Tran & Zoel Aeschbacher have steadily been releasing class reMixes over the past year or so, but with this début single they are about to make some sever impact on the Nu-Disco world.

Mercury Road is a lush synthetic Disco track that layers on thick retro synth after thick retro synth. It’s a blissful, dreamy tune, loaded with French Touch, that combines a floaty euphoric feel with a seriously tough groove. Probably the best straight up French Touch/Nu-Disco tune we have heard in a long time. Ugly Kids are definitely a name to keep an eye on in the future. The single also features a reMix from Conny G, from Renegade, who add a little more robo Funk to the tune, taking the track in more of a dirty Disco direction. If you listen to one track this week, this should be it.

♫ Ugly Kids – Mercury Road

♫ Ugly Kids – Mercury Road (Conny G. reMix)

You can download the Mercury Road single here.

Check out more from Ugly Kids on SoundCloud.

Sep 3 2012

Awkoder reMixes Tiam Wills

Tiam Wills

Awesome French SynthWaver Awkoder has dropped his latest reMix. A reworking of fellow Frenchman Tiam Wills’ new single Hardiscount and it’s a surprising massive Nu-Disco monster. Surprising because we’re more used to atmospheric synth epics from Awkoder, and this reMix is full of funk. Good surprising though.

Kicking of with a wicked Disco lick the track soon descends into a retro synth love-fest. Drawing in the particularly Disco end of the Italo spectrum, Awkoder whips up big slice of synth Funk a throws in a little French Touch filtering and some of those crisp SynthWave lead lines for good measure. Keeping the vocals to a hypnotic mantra, Awkoder lets them become the tracks underlay. A base on which his intertwining arpeggios and crystal clear chord stabs can play out with a nice late ‘80’s feel and a solid dancefloor leaning. This one’ll keep them moving at peak time.

♫ Tiam Wills (Feat. Elsalou) – Hardiscount (Awkoder reMix)

You can download the whole Hardiscount reMix Single here, including work from Alex Carlson and Ben Flav.

Buy Tiam Wills’ music from:

Sep 3 2012

The Penelopes reMix Glitches

Glitches

Our favourite two Frenchmen lost in London The Penelopes recently reMixed fellow London denizens, Electro-Indie band Glitches forthcoming single, Dust & Shadow. This Bethnal Green/Whitechapel soundclash has resulted in one of the funkiest Indie tracks of the summer.

This reMixes plays to both Glitches and The Penelopes strengths. Glitches dual range vocals belt out in an epic style. Emotional and passionate, the vocal track sits perfectly on The Penelope’s bass led  DiscoPop. Driven by a bassline you can help bobbing to, this track lays the shimmering synth lines on thick. Bright melodies play against otherworldly pads and energetic arpeggios to create an organic sounding synth symphony that seems to evolve naturally as it progresses. It’s got a groove that guaranteed to keep the dancefloor moving too.

♫ Glitches – Dust & Shadow (The Penelopes reMix)

Dust & Shadow is due out 8th October.

Check out more from Glitches on SoundCloud.

Sep 3 2012

A couple of new (or old) Monsieur Adi demos

Monsieur Adi

In the past week the most underrated artist producing today, France’s Monsieur Adi let loose a couple of new (or old in some cases) demos on his SoundCloud account. Adi talent cannot be contained by genre, and it’s amazing to hear him branching out in terms of styles and sounds.

The first track, Paradis, is a brooding dark affair. The darkest we’ve ever had from Adi. Ominous droning synths and menacing whispered vocals lean the track an Industrial quality whist keeping an analog French Electro sound. This use of an Electro pallet with an experimental flavour makes for a track that’s as unsettling as it is fascinating. Of course, Adi’s emotional arrangements just ass to the songs involvement. Joyride was apparently written for Madonna, during Adi’s reMixing Madonna phase, but he presents it here as sung by Javi. It’s an excellent Pop track, and Madge is truly missing out with this one. You can kinda’ tell it was written with her range, and style, in mind and it would have been something new for her whilst obviously referencing classic Madonna. It’s about time the music industry at large paid attention to Adi, he could be knocking out hits for any number if stars right now if they’d let him. Joyride is a sweeping, rich Pop tune with added helpings of Adi’s musical majesty. The demo is from last year, but Adi plans on devolving the track further, we can’t wait.

♫ Monsieur Adi (Feat. Javi) – Joyride (Demo.)

♫ Monsieur Adi – Paradis (Demo.)

Buy Monsieur Adi’s music from:

Sep 3 2012

Bright Light Bright Light’s new single

Bright Light Bright Light

The next single taken from ‘90’s leaning ElectroPop hero Bright Light Bright Light’s excellent album Make Me Believe In Hope will be the  ‘90’s House tinged Feel It. Just so you know, it’s pretty hard to talk about a Bright Light Bright Light release without saying “90’s” a fair few times, so that’s happening.

Feel It is definitely a good choice for a single. It kinda’ encompasses everything Rod Thomas’ work stand for. One the one hand it’s classic ElectroPop, beautifully written (Rod’s major talent is pure songwriting), and on the other hand it’s luscious early ‘90’s House, complete with dropping breakbeats, infectious piano hook and gospel backing vocals. And as with the very best Pop that utilises Gospel vocals, Feel It is epic and uplifting and destined for the dancefloor.

♫ Bright Light Bright Light – Feel It (Single Edit)

Bright Light Bright Light’s Feel It single is released 29th October.

Buy Bright Light Bright Light’s music from:

Sep 3 2012

Jowie Schulner’s new tune

jowie-schulner_thumb

Boombar Music main man Jowie Schulner is celebrating the release of his new single, Two Hearts, with a bonus free track. This free gift to than fans for supporting the single is a classical powered progressive monster titled From Here To Eternity.

Not connected to the legendary Moroder song of the same name, this track is a Trance-like take on a classical piece, reminiscent of Ferry Corsten or William Orbits experimentations with bringing classical to the dancefloor. In fact, the tune is quite a unique mixture of Classical, Trance and SynthWave. It’s an uplifting, euphoric slice of vintage synth, peak time, dancefloor bliss. Enjoy, and check out Jowie’s new release.

♫ Jowie Schulner – From Here To Eternity

Jowie Schulner’s Two Hearts is out now.

Buy Jowie Schulner’s music from:

Sep 3 2012

Creatures Of Love’s ‘Vakkula’ video

Here’s the video for London ethereal Industro-Pop trio Creatures Of Love’s new track, Vakkula.

It’s a suitably eerie and beautiful affair, directed by Beth Robinson & Creatures of Love themselves. As powerful as the music itself.

Vakkula is taken from Creatures Of Love’s début EP, Boy Crimes, released 24th September.

Buy Creatures Of Love’s music from:

  

Sep 3 2012

Virgin Magnetic Material reMixes Echo & The Bunnymen

Echo & The Bunnymen

If you’re not familiar with the reMix work of Virgin Magnetic Material, you should be. Usually we have a dim view of ‘artists’ who do nothing but reMixes, but Tel Aviv’s Shai Vardi just has a knack for picking the right tunes, and doing exactly the right thing with them. It doesn’t hurt that he refers to himself as a ‘reMix project’ rather than a producer or artist. Whatever he calls himself, almost all of his reMixes, and there are loads, hit just the right spot.

His latest work is a reMix of Echo & The Bunnymen’s 1984 Indie hit The Killing Moon, a track we may have mentioned before we have a soft spot for. VMM does exactly the right thing with the track, doesn’t try to turn it into a dance classic, or a floorfiller but works with the mood of the song, transforming it into a moody electronic masterpiece full of drama and tension. Slowly building on top of the deep rolling bass with layers upon layers of dark synths and plucked strings throughout the track until it reaches it’s climax, VMM crafts a powerful listening experience that actually does the original justice.

♫ Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon (Virgin Magnetic Material reMix)

Buy Echo & The Bunnymen’s music from:

     

Aug 31 2012

Arc Neon’s ‘Night Heat’ EP

Arc Neon

‘Night Heat’ is the new EP from London SynthWave producer Arc Neon. His second since moving on from Indie-Electro outfit Wolf And Yeti into the realms of ‘80’s soundtrack inspired electronics. Whereas his last EP, Wet Dreams, was very focused on samples from news reports etc… this new collection is much more a self contained imaginary soundtrack.

Kicking off with Prey For Your Life, the EP immediately sets itself up as an ominous musical narrative. This headmost track droops you right in the thick of it, with Italo basslines and stabbing lead synths conjuring feelings of oppressive city nights and the shady, desperate, lives of those within. Arguable the EP’s lead track, Night Heat Theme is a definite cop show classic, this is where Arc Neon shows if his musical chops. The track is five minutes of intertwining melodies, intricately crated, SynthWave, based on a vintage drum machine beat, that adds layers and layers of hooks lead lines until it reaches it’s emotional peak. At this point the the EP, you really start to feel how Arc Neon sets himself apart from a lot of the SynthWave pack. His retro influenced go beyond the standard soundtrack fare, with elements of Electronic Soul and B-Boy Electro permeating all of his track, not just in terms of arrangement, but production style too. It’s a refreshing take on the genre.  Midnight Madman is a chaotic mid-point of the EP, juxtaposing hard Industrial beats with euphoric leads to produce a schizophrenic aural assault. This a nicely followed by the moody respite of Breaking In By Moonlight, loaded with lush atmospherics and an urban bassline and The Golden Rule, the EP’s most standard SynthWave track, rich in progressions that inspire. The EP ends on perhaps it’s strongest track, Femmé Fatalé (Ending Theme) (although, soundtracks ending themes being their highlight isn’t exactly unusual). Femmé Fatalé revolves around a haunting melody that will be stuck in your head all day, it’s a unique production in the world of SynthWave, placing raw Electro Funk alongside heartfelt synth soundtrack work to brilliant effect. The SynthWave scene feels like it’s due for a shake up soon, the danger is there of it becoming full of copycats, and growing stale, Arc Neon is amongst those who could do the shaking.

♫ Arc Neon – Femmé Fatalé (Ending Theme)

♫ Arc Neon – Night Heat Theme

♫ Arc Neon – Breaking In By Moonlight

Arc Neon’s Night Heat EP is out now.

Buy Arc Neon’s music from: