Our picks from the single would have to be London producer Shur-I-kan’s funky take on Undetected. Upping the tempo and adding a little energy to the track Shur-I-Kan drags it straight to the dancefloor. Thick synth bass and a flowing Disco groove power this track along, taking Anton’s smooth vocals long for the ride. Also Pioneerball reMix The Universe Made Of Darkness’ ode to the early 90s 1991. Choosing to ignore the track theme, Pioneerball instead conjure up a pitch perfect late 70s Funk take on the track. The whole reMix collection is a nice compliment to the album, check it out.
Dreamwave heroes Futurecop!’s new tune, featuring retro ElectroPop’s man of the moment Patrick Baker on vocals, starts off sounding like Shiny Toy Guns. It’s doesn’t keep sounding like Shiny Toy Guns, but those opening few bars are enough to hook you in to this massive ElectroPop epic.
In fact, there’s a lot about Living In A Daydream that throwsback to that certain crop of early-to-mid 2000’s electronic Emo bands, but with added big room synths and Progressive House sensibilities. Big leads and rousing pads fill the track to bursting point while Baker eschews his usual soulful vocal take for something a little more energetic and Poppy. The end result is fun, youthful, slightly nostalgic, but utterly optimistic. Power ElectroPop at it’s finest.
♫ Futurecop! (Feat. Patrick Baker) – Living In A Daydream
Futurecop!’s new album, Hopes, Dreams & Alienation is released 31st August.
Russ Chimes – 30 Min Guest Mix For Monki (BBC Radio1) = This’ll do for the weekend then. Russ Chimes recent In New DJs We Trust mix is now available to download from the man’s SoundCloud. A totally infectious and deep half hour!
The tracklist:
01. Intro.
02. Mike Mago – The Show
03. Sleaz (Feat. Villanova) – Beautiful (Amine Edge Edit)
04. George Fitzgerald – I Can Tell (By The Way You Move) (Original Mix)
05. Clean Bandit – Dust Clears (Russ Chimes’ VIP Mix)
06. Paul Woolford – Untitled
07. Disclosure – F For You (TEED reMix)
08. Pedestrian – Hoyle Road
09. Rudimental – Right Here (Hot Since 82 reMix)
10. Grum – The Theme (Russ Chimes reMix)
11. Nora En Pure – Come With Me
12. Russ Chimes – Turn Me Out
Russ Chimes’ Turn Me Out is out now on DeConstruction.
So, kicking off this article professing our ignorance. We have no idea who Elliot Smith is. Maybe it’s a being-from-the-UK thing and he never really made it over here, we don’t know, it doesn’t happen to us much. One person who is very much aware of Elliot Smith, though, is Josh from Goldroom, who cites him as one of his songwriting idols, and anyone who led Josh to the kind of songwriting he has crafted for NightWaves and Goldroom is OK by us.
Goldroom have covered Elliot Smith’s tune, St. Ides Heaven, launching into the track with shuffling purcussion and bring arpeggios, which seems odd in comparison to the slightly sombre acoustic folk of the original (yes, we did some research!), but Goldroom just make it work as they make the song their own. Taking an obviously emotionally charged song and weaving it int his trademark mix of LA sunshine House and Sea-faring Disco, Goldroom delivers a real rush of a track, letting the music balance the passion of the vocals. Goldroom have a new EP, Embrace, out in November and are embarking on a US tour to bring the EP to the masses, including a very special show on 8th November at the Glass House in California with out very own Let Em Riot! Find Goldroom’s tour dates here.
Master of the LA Robo-Boogie Touch Tone is back with a brand new track in the form of this slick reMix. The subject of Touch Tone’s machinations this time is Brooklyn based bombastic Indie-ElectroPoppers Xylos and their breezy tune Summerlong.
Eschewing the raucous synths and wall-of-sound guitars of the original for something a little more poolside, Touch Tone whips up a pulsating summery Disco House tune to bounce you into the weekend. Folding in a little Tropical shimmy, a little Chicago warehouse vibe in the bassline department and a jump-up piano hook that straddles the line between House and Indie Touch Tone serves up an infectious daytime jam that you can’t help but move to. So just keep moving, you know you want to.
We’re fast approaching the release of Adeyhawke’s new EP, Kodachrome Sundae, via Girlfriend Records. The amountwe’veposted about the EPs tracks, it feels like we’ve been waiting for ages, but now with a release date set for later this month we can have a listen to the releases final track, a collaboration between Adeyhawke and Girlfriend label boss Sferro, Program Tina.
Adeyhawke & Sferro bring the tempo down a bit on this one, exuding laid back, nostalgic, electronic vibes. The best is slow and steady, I’m not going to go so far as to say Dubstep, but it’s in that arena, with heaps of shimmering synths on top. Actually, this is probably the closes thing that exists to DubstepSynthWave, as the track is washed in subtly Dubstep-esque flourishes, all mixed up with some luscious, epic, vintage synthesizer music.
♫ Adeyhawke & Sferro – Program Tina
Adeyhawke’s Kodachrome Sundae EP is released 20th August.
Here’s the latest incoming dancefloor bomb from Mr. Fear Of Tigers and we can exclusively reveal it right here. Still in it’s demo infancy, Twisted Biscuit is already an absolute big room beast, loaded with floorfilling highs. Mr. Tigers is still working on Hypnerotomachia Poliphiliout (the follow up to 2009’s incredible Cossus Snufsigalonica), an album that is so eagerly awaited round these parts it’s just not funny, although his precious time has also recently been filled producing the likes of this.
So out next taste of things-to-come comes in the form of Twisted Biscuit, a high octane, euphoric, tune so huge you need to back off the speakers to give it some room. It’s got that classic Fear Of Tigers emotional rush, and retro chord progressions, but with a massive contemporary sound. Loaded with horns too! This one’s got it all, can’t wait for the album.
Stop what you’re doing, even if it’s important. The only people authorised to continue with whatever they are up to are people who have others lives in their hands (in which case; get off the internet!). There’s a new single from Orange Country Dreamwave master Let Em Riot. This man is easily one of the most talented ElectroPop producers working today. We know what you’re thinking; are we saying that because we released his SlashWave EP, or did we release his SlashWave EP because we thought that? To which we’d like to counter with “shut up and listen to Let Em Riot’s new single”.
Say What You Need To Say is quintessential Let Em Riot. The big secret of Let Em Riot’s appeal is his knack of being able to mix utterly nostalgic SynthWave music that you can’t help but love with truly heartfelt lyrics that really resonate with people without resorting to cliché or tropes. And that’s exactly what he does here, laying his heart out on a backing of comforting synthesizer music. Nostalgia and emotion, what more do you want from a SynthPop tune? The single also comes equipped with a reMix from another excellent, and increasingly vocal, SynthWave artist, Arcade High, who brings the track in a slightly more traditional Outrun direction with his trademark added ChipTune spice, making the perfect compliment. The single is available on Bandcamp for a fee of name-your-price. You’d better name something that is at least higher than a four…we’re watching you!
♫ Let Em Riot – Say What You Need To Say
♫ Let Em Riot – Say What You Need To Say (Arcade High reMix)
Let Em Riot’s Say What You Need To Say single is out right now!
We tend not to make much of a secret round these parts that Russia Dreamwave ElectroPoppers Tesla Boy are amongst our favourite acts around today. From first discovering them deep in the Outrun community on MySpace they always struck a chord with us, combining out then newfound excitement in this (then) new breed of retro cool SynthWave and out love of vocal SynthPop.
After showing us all what they could do with a killer EP, their début album, Modern Thrills, cemented their reputation for being on of the most talented bands around, whether on the Disco, ElectroPop or SynthWave scene, combining all three styles into one form as catchy and Poppy as it was dancefloor friendly. Inspiring an army of Russian SynthWave acts and kicking off the Russian retro scene, Tesla Boy also brought their brand of vintage DiscoPop to the world on their own terms.
Massively successful in their homeland, with the release of the sophomore album, The Universe Made Of Darkness, Tesla Boy are widening their international appeal with a string of high profile US shows and collaborations with the coolest of House music cats. Tesla Boy head honcho Anton Sevidov to a little time out of their promotional schedule to chat with us about where Tesla Boy came from, where it is and where it’s going.
ER: Let’s take it right back to the beginning. We first became aware of Tesla Boy back in the 2009 MySpace days and your first EP, just prior to being picked up by Mullet Records, what had led you to that point? Had you been in bands before? What attracted you to your retro synth sound?
TB: I have been engaged in music all my life, starting as a jazz pianist. When I was 15, I brought together my first band, and it was so-called acid-jazz, the kind of music we played at that time. Further electronic music carried me away and I arrived at understanding that I really like the 80s sound very much. I began to style my songs in this manner. And next thing what happened – the public was ready to love it.
ER: Speaking of MySpace, the whole Dreamwave and Nu-Disco thing really took off there, do you feel like the social network was a big help to kick starting your career.
TB: Exactly, I really think that social networks made us well-known.
♫ Tesla Boy – Fantasy
ER: And now, you’ve just released your second album, The Universe Made Of Darkness, which had widened your international appeal. How are you feeling now that the album is out in the wild? Were you nervous about “the difficult second album” syndrome?
TB: I thought of the second album syndrome when we started our first tour. I was under the impression that everything is cool – everybody loved our music. At the same time I started to write new songs. And when everything was almost ready I said to myself – Stop it! What about the second album syndrome? You cannot just record it! And I was forced to rewrite it.
ER: We can hear a bit of an evolution of your sound in the second album. How has the way you write changed in the 3 years since Modern Thrills?
TB: I really wanted to add this sensation of a live concert. I did my best to work from my feelings, doing what I really love to do, without paying attention to the style.
ER: Were your influences for this record different from Modern Thrills? (A little more 90s perhaps?)
TB: That was the time of great change worldwide. In 1991 our state split, and freedom was the choice of the time. It was euphoric and painful at the same time. Change is always painful, although necessary. Those were my thoughts when I was writing 1991.
ER: There’s a couple of collaborations on The Universe Made Of Darkness. With Tyson and Fritz Helder From Azari & III. How did these come about and was there anyone you wanted to work with but it didn’t happen?
TB: I met Fritz when Azari & III came to Moscow. At this time it occurred to us to make a track together.
It was Martin who introduced me to Tyson. Marin also worked on his album.
I really would like to work with Erol Alkan. And write a track with Michael McDonald.
♫ Tesla Boy (Feat.Tyson) – Broken Doll
ER: How hook up with Martin Dubkka, your co-producer for the new album?
TB: Martin is a very good musician and our tastes are similar. I really love his style – he is not imposing al all, I like his ideas, and I am happy with our collaboration.
ER: You’ve been playing live a lot in the US recently, how does playing in America compare to playing in Russia? Are the crowds very different?
TB: To tell the truth, there is almost no difference. Probably, it is because the young people is our audience, who look very much alike and similar in different countries. Serbians and Mexicans stand out most of all – they are very hot.
ER: If you were to take us on a night out in Moscow, where would we go? What are the highlights of the Moscow scene?
Strelka-bar, La Boule, Simachev, La Lubanka, The Museum Of KGB, Butirka.
ER: We feature tons of Russian artists on Electronic Rumors (Hot Hot Hawk, 7he Myriads, Serj V, Cosmonaut Grechko, 5 Reasons, Lovinski, Quasars, Sohight & Cheevy, DZA etc…) what is it, do you think, that attracts so many Russian producers to the retro synth sound, and what is it that makes them so good at it (because they really are!)
TB: The Russians are a nation with a very good ear for music. Our heritage is huge – Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Borodin, Prokofiev. Their music possesses melodic beauty. This probably relates it to the sound of 80s. This background might produce this kind of effect.
♫ Tesla Boy – Another Light
ER: So what’s in Tesla Boys studio? Especially in terms of Synths and outboard gear.
That Canadian purveyor of all things dreamy and ElectroPoppy Box Of Wolves has just served up a new single, free to download, alongside Australian producer Hawaii94. Box Of Wolves really does have the sound of summery day locked down, his hazy synths and infectious beats get us in a sunshine mood every time.
Control is the title of the single, a thick synthed slice of nostalgia that weaves a thread of early 90s Pop into Box Of Wolves usual, slightly Chillwave, DreamPop. Strongly heartfelt vocals, that at first glace you would consider too forceful for the music but soon blend into the swirling hazy of synths perfectly, give the track it;s resonant core whilst Control’s reverb soaked chords and skippy hi-hats conjure images of lazy summer evenings. The single also comes equipped with an instrumental version of the tune.
electronic rumors 