Sep 7 2015

[Audio] Chad Valley’s ‘Seventeen’

Oxford’s Hugo Manuel A.K.A. Chad Valley is not a go-to artist for us. Which is an odd way to start talking about him, we know. We absolutely love pretty much everything he’s released, we happily fork out the cash for lovely Chad Valley vinyl (we’ve even pre-ordered the new album) and spent hours and hours chilling with his début full album, still a killer after a couple of years. But whenever we’re sat around thinking ‘what to listen to?’ we never go straight got Chad Valley. Which is a shame as whenever Chad Valley pops into our head (and subsequently our speakers) we’re always like “oh shit! fuck yeah! Chad Valley!” Too much music, too little time we guess.

Chad Valley is the shining light of the label that other labels wish they were, Cascine. Since releasing his first EP back in 2010, at the height of the birth of Chillwave, he has steadily offered up a plethora of sunkissed and deeply emotional synth music that draws on everything from Shoegazing Indie to Funk fuelled R&B to weave his densely layered musical tapestry. Haunting and enigmatic at the same times as irresistibly groovy, all the time Hugo’s soft, heartfelt vocals never letting us forget that he wears his heart on his sleeve. His first full length record, 2012’s Young Hunger was a well rounded slice of intricately crafted left-field Pop that really showed off how much Chad Valley’s sound had matured.

This emotionality and sonic maturity is set to continue on his recently announce sophomore record. To be titled Entirely New Blue, the new album is due out in October and sees Joel Ford, of Ford & Lopatin, alongside Yung Ejecta on co-production duties. Largely produced during the break-up of a long-term relationship, we’re likely to see Hugo’s passionate lament taken to the next level. In-fact, Hugo himself calls the album’s second single, Seventeen, “the most deeply personal song I have even written”.

Seventeen takes it’s time to get started, spending over a minute purely on a gentle piano and Hugo’s sincere and regretful croon. Just when you think the tension will never break, Seventeen splits to reveal a shuffling beat and warm, swelling keys. The track build a musical and vocal mantra, undulating sounds tumbling around each other as Hugo’s effect laden voice swings from an narratively emotional centrepiece to another instrument in the tracks swirling finale. We were quite excited about Entirely New Blue when it was announced last month, Seventeen has assured us that our excitement is justified. Hugo truly is a master at his craft, we can’t think of anyone who serves up this kind of hazy, sentimental synth music as well as he does. Just sink into this one, put it in your headphones and lie back. Stay in that warm place until Entirely New Blue drops next month.

Hopefully we can remember lo listen to Chad Valley from now on.

♫ Chad Valley – Seventeen

Chad Valley’s Entirely New Blue is released 2nd October.

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Sep 7 2015

[Movie] They Call it Acid

We’re not known for writing about films or documentaries, or for writing about Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns; but sometimes something comes along and we feel we just have to let you know so you can go and support it, mainly because we really want it to get funded and finished.

If you are a regular reader of electronic rumors you’ll know that we have a big place in our hearts for Acid House. Having grown up when it exploded in the late 80s, in those exciting times when the music was truly mind-blowing and fresh and when dance music and drugs brought people together in a way that had never been seen before which changed the landscape of culture forever, we’re itching to see They Call It Acid. Documentary maker Gordon Mason has a massive archive of his own footage from the time along with interviews from the movers and shakers who made the scene what it was. Disco may have come from New York, Italo may have come from Europe, House may have come from Chicago and Techno may have come from Detroit; but the UK in the late 80s is where dance music culture was born. When the Acid House invasion started it kinda’ felt like our Punk.

Gordon’s documentary is finished, but he needs money for music clearance, production, distribution etc.. So check out his Indiegogo page and support what should be both an amazing trip down memory lane and a fascinating educational record.

Check out the They Call It Acid Indiegogo page here.

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Sep 4 2015

[Mixtape] Tensnake, Little Boots, Goldroom & Le Youth in Mixmag’s Lab

For today’s mixtape offering we’re presenting something a little different. Mixmag’s In The Lab videos on YouTube have been smashing it recently. You don’t have to sit there for an hour watching someone mixing (unless you really want to). Just stick them on your big TV and listen to them like you would any other mixtape, only now you get to occasionally glance across at the little DJ playing live in the corner of your room.

We’ve got three for your here, all three we really enjoyed and can highly recommend, especially for pre-going out this weekend revelries. Check out recent live sets from Tensnake, in Mixmag’s London Lab, along with Little Boots and Goldroom & Le Youth B2B from Their Lab in LA.

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Sep 3 2015

[Audio] Tove Styrke’s ‘Kiddo’

We may be a little obsessed with this album right now.

We came across Tove Styrke a few weeks ago while browsing the Local paper. Checking, as we tend to do, local gig listings we see Tove Styrke is playing at Start The Bus (a once amazing music venue that has gone somewhat downhill after a failed attempt to go ‘gastro’). The listings include the words ‘Swedish’ and ‘ElectroPop’. We immediately buy tickets. Then we figure we should check out some of Tove’s music. Her just released sophomore album was out first port of call. But before that, some backstory…

Ms. Styrke was runner up on Swedish Pop Idol in 2010 and hastily afterward released her self-titled début, a perfectly enjoyable but slightly bland (although even when bland the Swedish do Pop better than another else) album that Tove herself has since admitted was rushed and that she wasn’t happy with the results (despite going platinum). Fast-forward to 2014, after taking some time out of the limelight Tove returns with the Borderline EP, a preview of the follow-up album to come. It’s was a brash, left-field take on Pop loaded with personality. This wasn’t the work of a post-TV show puppet, this was a self-assured artist grabbing Pop music with both hands and shaking it down.

A year later and this summer Tove released Kiddo, a twelve track musical manifesto that swings between the empowerment of an ex-teen star and outright vitriol against anyone who won’t let her be herself. Tove’s playful and soft vocals comes across as all sweetness and light but with a knife behind her back; and it’s this underlying antagonism amid a sea of perfectly crafted Pop music that gives Kiddo it’s edge. Tove seems to lay out her grievances with the music industry, grievances with anyone who doesn’t like her new music and grievances with anyone who doesn’t understand her new direction and, basically, tells them to fuck off. All to some particularly Scandinavian and eclectic Pop sounds .

Kiddo hits the ground running with opening salvo that kicks off with Ain’t Got No…, a left-field opener that sways to woozy basslines and a juddering beat while Tove croons her policy statement. It’s on Ain’t Got No… that we are introduced to one of the surprising musical themes running throughout the record. Big, dirty, 303 Acid hooks; the album is packed with them. You’ll be settling into a smooth Pop tune and suddenly, from nowhere, this gritty, distorted TB-303 line with inject itself into the track, cutoff and resonance tweaked to the max. It’s one of the many unexpected teats Kiddo has to offer.

Snaren shows off Kiddo’s other musical motif. On more than one occasion Tove weaves a Dancehall flavour into her songs, bringing Dub spaciousness and rolling snares to the mix. Snaren delivers a ballsy party tune with a comfortable Tropical House vibe to the chorus. A vibe that continues into the single Ego, one of the albums more traditional chart friendly moments with it’s big R&B-lite sing-a-long chorus (and , oh look, a burbling Acid line). A mood that is mirrored on the tongue-in-cheek album closer, Brag.

The likes of Samurai Boy and Walk The Line provide typical ScandiPop fare. All crisp synths and thick production while the Dub-Pop of Burn and the majestic anthem of Decay delve deeper into the album’s physiological dark side (and Acid lines. Seriously, they just appear from nowhere!). The height of the Island influence comes on the single Boarderline, a headstrong hymn that mixes aggression and a Dancehall patter with a oddly Folk like elements which contrast nicely with the Pop ballad turned ominous dark SynthPop of Who’s Got News.

Of the album’s other two singles, Number One feels like the earliest track on Kiddo, maybe Tove shedding her former self? while Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You, the records biggest hit, is a crazy, chanted, literal “fuck off” to anyone pretentious to think themselves above Pop music. Possible the most infectious song of the decade.

Sometimes political, sometimes social, always feminist, Kiddo is not just a coming-of-age for Tove Styrke, but the freeing of someone tired of industry manipulation and has zero fuck to give if you like it or not. Which makes for a supremely confident record which is not-at-all hurt by the fact that it is loaded with infectious, expertly crafted, diverse, perfect Pop.

♫ Tove Styrke – Snaren

♫ Tove Styrke – Decay

Tove Styrke’s Kiddo is out now.

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Sep 2 2015

[Audio] AIMES’ ‘Dirtbox’

Brooklyn’s finest is back with another slice of thoughtful, robotic House music. AIMES has been a firm fixture on electronic rumors since he made his début. Sometimes an artist comes along with something about them that makes them stand out from the crowd to us; with AIMES there was both a musicality beyond his contemporaries and a crisp, synthetic, analog sound to his tunes, whether turning his attention to Disco, House or SynthWave his tunes were just that bit more electronic (which obviously appeals to us!).

AIMES has dipped his music toe into a number of genres in his career; but whether Chillwave, Nu-Disco or Indie-Electro his tunes are generally pretty recognisable as he gives the styles his own unique spin. Right about now he’s teamed up with Mexican label Trafico and gone a bit left-field for his latest single. It’s out now, called Dirtbox, and comes loaded with it’s B-side, Prophet Jam, and reMixes from Mexico’s Juan Soto and NYC’s Tunnel Signs.

AIMES keeps things on just the right side of weird on Dirtbox. Hypnotic and undulating, Dirtbox introduces you to the hook early on, amid a sea of hammerfall piano. The hook persists throughout the track, weaving in and out of a symphony of pads, strings and vocal snatches in a tapestry of mysteries dancefloor sounds. Jumping in with some good squelchy Acid riffs is just the icing on the cake. Dirtbox is a track that will draw you in and command you to dance, and even when it’s over it will be ringing round your head and leaving it’s shadow on your feet.

AIMEs is one of a small group of artists who manage to make records that are both full-on funky Disco and House, and yet are quite experimental and intricate in their use of sounds and arrangement. It’s a hard feat to pull off, but AIMEs does it with style.

♫ AIMES – Dirtbox

AIMES’ Dirtbox is out now.

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Sep 1 2015

[Audio] Le Matos & PAWWS’ ‘No Tomorrow’

We do love it when two acts that we dig work together. Especially when we had no idea they were connected, in this pairing’s case, at all. Montréal based SynthWavers Le Matos have been cropping up on these pages off and on since way back in 2009. They’re one of a rare breed of SynthWave producers who have managed to keep their tracks consistently top quality and avoid getting repetitive. They’ve also not let himself become to insular on the SynthWave scene, having worked with and reMixed some diverse electronic artists such as We Have Band and Johan Agebjörn & Ercola. Le Matos don’t release new material with the crazy high frequency the SynthWave scene fosters, so when they so it’s something special to pay attention too.

And who have they teamed up with for this new track? Well, it’s none other than Pawws. This North Londoner has also been known to grace these pages on more than one occasion. Lucy Taylor made her way into all our hearts with one of last summer’s best vinyl released, her Sugar EP and we’ve been eagerly awaiting the follow up ever since.

That’s two fine artists right there, opposite sides of the Atlantic, who have both been teasing this collaboration for a while now and have had us itching to hear the results. They’ve brought together to release No Tomorrow, a track taken from form the soundtrack to forthcoming post-apocalyptic BMX flick Turbo Kid. From what we can gather about Turbo Kid it was set to be a retro fuelled thrill ride even before the soundtrack was full of awesomeness. No Tomorrow is out now accompanied by a blue heavyweight vinyl 7” release by Death Waltz, who will be releasing the full Turbo Kid soundtrack later this year.

You know we’re massive fans of Electric Youth here. Bear that in mind when we say No Tomorrow sounds a bit like Electric Youth…but better. Le Matos keep the production light and airy on this one; it’s lead line a raindrop pitter-patter of bright keys flowing gently over a spiky arpeggiated bassline and a wonderfully thick and robust vintage beat. Adding to the tracks breathiness is Lucy’s hushed and lilting vocals with a slightly more typical 80s arrangement than you’d hear on her own Pawws records. The combination of Le Matos’ dreamy, nostalgic sounds and Lucy’s optimistic tone makes for a classic sounding slice of synthesizer euphoria. Effortlessly uplifting and hopeful, No Tomorrow is a ray of musical sunshine with just the right amount of cinematic rhapsody to perfectly soundtrack some kind of beaten-the-odds scene in a movie, which we are presuming it does.

♫ Le Matos (Feat. Pawws) – No Tomorrow

Le Matos’ No Tomorrow is out now.

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Aug 31 2015

[Video] Jean-Michel Jarre & Little Boot’s ‘If..!’

To say we are massive fans of French synthesizer legend Jean-Michel Jarre would be an understatement. We’ve been pretty fascinated by the man ever since Channel 4 aired Destination Docklands in ‘89 and he’s most likely got something to do with our persistent love of electronic music. As you’ll know JMJ has been releasing collaborative singles in the past few months, all in the lead up to a new album, and album which was finally announced over the weekend. Electronica Pt. 1: The Time Machine (there will be a part 2 in Spring 2016) is released in October and contains 16 tracks, each one seeing JMJ teaming up with another, often contemporary, artist.

We’ve approached Jerre’s new material with trepidation. Legends making comebacks have been pretty hit and miss in recent years; and even when they have (somewhat) hit, they’ve still not been able to capture the essence of what made them legends in the first piece (Giorgio Moroder and Nile Rodgers spring to mind) trying to hard to be relevant and up-to-date whilst missing the point of why people loved them in the first place. The fact that JMJ is collaborating with so many current artists rang a few alarm bells.

So far our fears have been, mostly, quashed by what we’ve heard. The first three singles, with Gesaffelstein, Tangerine Dream and 3D were all good, good enough for us to fork out for The Vinyl Factory’s 12” releases of them. Glory, the track he did with M83 was also good. His track with Armin Van Buuren was OK-ish. The announcement of the album came with a list of the remaining team-ups. Vince Clarke, AIR and John Carpenter will no doubt all produce some interesting results (the teasers of the Clarke and Carpenter tracks sound amazing). Fuck Buttons, Moby, Laurie Anderson, Lang Lang and Pete Townsend’s collaborations should be worth a listen. Boys Noize is their too, let’s hope feeling slightly more innovative than his 2007-Boys-Noize-by-the-numbers offerings of recent years.

And amongst those names sits one of right-now’s top tier electronic musicians. Little Boots. The Jarre/Boots collaboration is out now as an album pre-order track. It’s called If..! and, honestly, it’s the best thing we’ve heard from Electronica Pt. 1 to date. It’s just a massive Pop song. Built up over layers of synthesized bass; undulating kick drums pop and pulse coalescing into a summery swing, rolling and shaking from bar to bar. Victoria’s on fine Pop form as she delivers a catchy, carefree ditty wrapped in waves of warm electronics. We’re feeling like this might be the most commercially accessible track on the album and with the right push we could easily see this one charting. It’s definitely got a Jarre production sheen, being a thicker sounding track than the more stripped back production in Little Boots’ recent Working Girl album but with Victoria’s unique left-field take on ElectroPop permeating every second of it. We were around 50% excited, 50% nervous about Jarre’s new album, If..! has done a lot to push the swing-o-meter in the excited direction.

Check out the video below. We’re not 100% sure what’s going on there. There Jarre himself hanging out with some modular synths and lens flares, and some bearded dude and a girl being random. We’re probably missing something. Looks nice enough.

Jean-Michel Jarre’s Electronica Pt. 1: The Time Machine is released 16th October.

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Aug 28 2015

[Mixtape] MiGHty mOUse’s ‘Discolife Episode 1’

MiGHty mOUse – Discolife Episode 1 = Well, after Monday’s jaw dropping announcement/rant/suicide we said we’d still be serving up mixtapes from time to time, and what better way to hold true to that than the first in a (hopefully) long new sequence from the man MiGHty mOUse. The premiére episode of the aptly named Discolife series is an ecclectic, but consistently funky hour and a half (almost) that’s absolutely perfect for setting up your weekend. Y’know, the one that starts right……………now.

♫ MiGHty mOUse – Discolife Episode 1

The tracklist:
01. Pink Murder – Fresh & Made (Demi Re-Edit)
02. Arling & Cameron – Club Fashion
03. David Shaw & The Beat (Feat. Jennifer Cardini) – In The Ballroom
04. Shura – White Light (Gabe Guernsey Factory Floor reMix)
05. Pedestrian (Feat. Maribou State) – The Clown (Axel Bowman reMix)
06. Inaky Garcia & Alfredo Magrini – Destination (Afro Club Mix)
07. Groove Junkies & Solara – Sunshine (Timmy Vegas Paradise Mix)
08. Tigerbalm – The 80s (Oscar P reMix)
09. Deadbeat – Berghain Drum Jack (2015 Edit)
10. The Housemaster Boyz – House Nation (Club Mix)
11. M.Caporale – Dune (Original Mix)
12. DJ T.I.C, Koncrete & DJ Oats – Dhumba (Main Mix)
13. Groove Armada – Paris (Andhim reMix)
14. Bicep – Just (Original Mix)
15. Felipe Gordon – Galactico
16. Terranova – Kepler 186F (Original Mix)
17. Gardens Of God – Zulu (Original Mix)
18. Nicolas Alisferi – Across The Universe (Original Mix)
19. Slam Dunk’d – No Price (Robosonic ‘Disco Break’ reMix)
20. Pariah – Railroad (Original Mix)
21. Floating Points – K&G Beat (Original Mix)

MiGHty mOUse’s current single, Dusk, is out now.

Buy MiGHty mOUse’s music from:

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Aug 27 2015

[Audio] Liskka’s self-titled EP

When last we checked Liskka were an all girl trio, now we’re not so sure. Formed from the ashes of Boy/Girl swirly Indie-Electro outfit Happy Hunting, Jana Tyrell enlisted Susie Wedderburn and Hannah Ashman to form her new group, launching with the effervescent As It Goes (I Give). Now, however, it appears that Liskka are, well, a Boy/Girl Indie-Electro outfit (again). The giveaways being copious amounts of male vocals on the new tracks and a Mr. Rick David listed as Jana’s other band member. Anyway, whatever the make up of Jana Tyrell’s band of troubadours; Liskka have just released their début proper EP via Pink Bird Records, a five track affair loaded with experimental Popisms and a wealth of influences.

You’ll find As It Goes (I Give) squeezed onto the end of the EP, a cacophonous Future R&B track wrapped in Chillwave duvet. Eclectic percussion meeting girl harmonies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. As with most of the EP, the track battles with chaos and brings the charm out of the noise; at once alarming and enchanting, the track kinda’ gets under your skin.

Of the new tunes present Cold really stood out for us on the EP, a symphony of broken samples, reverb washed chords and ethereal vocals. Still keeping an R&B swing, but pushing it to it’s most unrecognizable limits as Liskka’s sonic experimentalism layer the organic with the synthetic to haunting effect. The enigmatic arrangement and obscure instrumentation made human by Jana’s versatile voice. Far From Us is more traditionally Shoegaze, a tad to guitary for our tastes and features male vocals prominently; as does the EP’s opener Night Terrors, a perfectly pleasant IndiePop anthem but we do feel Liskka works best with an intangible female voice at the fore.

The self-titled EP’s remaining track, Ghost In The Machine, certainly delivered on everything we love about Liskka and was the other stand out new track in our humble opinion. Building it’s own majesty on an multiform swing groove and a mystical sound pallet. Switching things up a little, Liskka play around with breakbeats and fuller synths as the song builds, resulting in the most powerful track on the EP. Disjointed and dissonant elements coming together in Liskka’s talented hands to create a beautiful whole. Which is much like Liskka in general actually, and the EP in total. Sometimes it doesn’t work, more often it does; and when it does it delivers something truly captivating.

♫ Liskka – Ghost In The Machine

♫ Liskka – Cold

♫ Liskka – As It Goes (I Give)

Liskka’ Liskka EP is out now.

Buy Liskka’s music from:

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Aug 26 2015

[Audio] Hot Natured’s ‘Off World Lover’

2013’s Different Sides Of The Sun, by robotic House supergroup Hot Natured is still one of our favourite albums of the decade so far. The outfit, consisting of London SynthPop turned synthetic House master Ali Love, Chicago DJ superstar Lee Foss, Wales’ fines Jamie Jones and Cazals’ Luca C delivered an instant classic in their début full length record. Sounding unlike anything else around at the time, the album grabbed house and took it down a decidedly 80s Electro alleyway for a good seeing to. Ali Love’s futuristic, Sci-Fi themed vocal performances, paired with a host of quality guests, and an array of stripped down & groovy, analog dance tracks made Different Sides Of The Sun something both compelling and unique. It’s an album that still in heavy rotation round these parts.

It’s been eighteen months since the last new tune from this foursome. We’ve had reMix singles in the meantime (including the amazing Luxry mix of Benediction) but new in terms of original track. Well the wait was finally over with the announcement of Off World Lover. The single is due out in September, as a prelude to the group’s sophomore album that is slated for a 2016 release and will feature a remix from Bristolian producer Will Clarke.

Appropriately released on Jones and Foss’s Emerald City label, Off World Lover continues deeper along their visionary House journey. From a title that brings BladeRunner to mind, to Ali’s interplanetary lyrics, to the otherworldly lead lines this is definitely SynthPop and House music for futurists.

Hot Natured have this knack of making raw, analog sounds sound rich and full. Like most Hot Natured tunes, Off World Lover is quite minimal in it’s arrangement, but never feels like it. In lesser producers hands this synthetic orchestra might sound lacking, but these four maestros can eschew flashy, cheap, modern production tricks and still sound as bombastic as any of today’s big, overproduced, dance tunes. With a growling, rumbling bass undulating over a skippy House beat the foundations are laid for this galactic opus. Synthesizers bleep, sounding like the alerts of a spaceship’s computer while electronic strings zip past like starlight and an otherworldly hook plays in the distance like a half-heard Theremin. Over this Ali’s passionately delivers his long-distance lament, calling out between the planets to his long lost love. Howe Hot Natured manage to sound like this, and never once stop being unbelievably funky is a mystery. But they do, and we’re all thankful for that.