Oct 31 2009

The Vault: Creaking open to bring you some Halloween Ministry!

The Vault: The classics of Electronic Music. The influential and the groundbreaking. The pioneering and the music we grew up on…

Happy Halloween readers!

Just a quick one today, but we couldn’t really let Halloween slip by without posting this gem could we?

You may know who Ministry are; black dreads, long beards, Metal guitars, shouty vocals, skulls on mic stands etc…, basically a walking Metal cliché. Things weren’t always the case!

1981 to 1984 Ministry were actually a really good SynthPop band, probably one of the best the US has ever produced Releasing a handful of 12”s on Wax Trax! Records culminating with the album ‘With Sympathy’ on Arista Records, Al Jourgensen (above; later to sport black dreads, a cowboy hat and a heroin addiction) produced some fantastic, emotional and groove laden New Wave music. With 1986’s ‘Twitch’ album Ministry discovered Industrial music, and it was still all good. ‘Twitch’ is a well crafted, harsh, electronic record. Even 1998’s ‘Land Of Rape And Honey’ has some good tracks on it, although it’s standing at the top of (if not actually sliding down) the slippery slope of mediocre rock music.

Ministry’s career, from1989 onwards, is just a decent into stereotypical Heavy Metal with any originality or innovation stripped from the mix. In a laughable attempt to sound ‘hard’ Al Jourgensen has disowned his early recordings as “…an abortion”.

Such a pity…such talent gone to waste…

Anyway, it’s the ‘season of the witch’ and all that, so get your listening gear ‘round Ministry’s classic ‘Everyday (Is Halloween)’, a brilliant poppy disco track, and imagine the band that could have been…

♫ Ministry – Everyday (Is Halloween) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Ministry’s early works are still available on CD:

Ministry @ 7Digital

Ministry @ Amazon

Oct 30 2009

Fire For Effect

Firstly, let me just say amongst the list of words you should never use are Darkwave and Graver. Unless you are Das Ich, Project Pitchfork or an actual Darkwave band, using Darkwave ‘cos you think it’s cool as it has the words Dark and Wave in it just make you look ignorant and needy. Graver, on the other hand, is one of the most embarrassing terms ever conceived.

Both words were used in Fire For Effect’s press release…shudder.

So it’s a good job the music speaks for itself. Solo project of Albert J, who played keyboards for SSION and Josephine Collective, and DJed alongside the likes of FischerSpooner and CSS, Fire For Effect make some rockin’ noise-Pop. Heavily AutoTuned vocals blend hauntingly with bit-crunched beats and distorted synths. Each track manages to hit you with the unexpected at least once without veering off into the murky world of experimental. A spacey yet quite harsh sound makes for some intelligent dance-Pop tunes.

‘Paradise Drudge’ would have to be my favourite, I’m lovin’ the lead line:

♫ Fire For Effect – Paradise Drudge (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Fire For Effect – Cell (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Fire For Effect – The Beach (zShare) (MediaFire)

Fire For Effect’s album should be dropping some time in January, ‘til then I believe some MySpace love is in order!

Fire For Effect @ MySpace

Oct 29 2009

It’s Van She day!

Matt Van Schie, of Van She fame, has dropped this solo effort onto an unexpecting interwebz and it’s a really nice little ElectroPop jam, it’s kinda’ late 70’s/early 80’s post-punk sounding track. Like a (more) retro Van She.

♫ Matt Van Schie – Saturday Night (zShare) (MediaFire)

Also, this cover version of Blue Öyster Cult’s ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ by Van She proper has surfaced. It’s from Australian radio station Triple J and it’s huge sounding with massive synth stabs.

♫ Van She – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Radio Rip) (zShare) (MediaFire)

I really hope this gets properly released!

Oct 29 2009

CHEW LiPS: Seven

London’s finest, CHEW LiPS, are currently holding down a residency at The Fly Bar and each month they are giving away a free promo CD of a track from their forthcoming album. The day after the show the tracks will be up for free download on their official website.

The first of these is also their next single, released in January 2010, ‘Seven’ and today they débuted the video for the track.

It’s pin picture-tastic!

It’s a fantastic track and just makes the album even more eagerly awaited, although it’s out in January I have a feeling it will be one of the best records of the year.

♫ CHEW LiPS – Seven (zShare) (MediaFire)

Keep checking CHEW LiPS Official Site for future downloads!

Oct 28 2009

Stephen Falken just Crusin’

Fenech-Soler: Lies reMix

Fenech-Soler’s ‘Lies’ is a sweet Indie-Electro jam with a noisy chorus that synth rocks! For the upcoming single release The Phantom’s Revenge have given the track a Filter-House/Disco workover to stand alongside Stardust or Deft Punk. Pure dancefloor gold!

Fenech-Soler really are receiving a lot of, justified, attention these days!

♫ Fenech-Soler – Lies (The Phantom’s Revenge reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Lies’ is released on ‘Moda Music on 2nd November. A limited edition 12” will be available October 26th.

Fenech-Soler @ Beatport

Fenech-Soler @ Juno

Fenech-Soler @ Amazon

Oct 28 2009

Ellie Goulding Under The Sheets

Neon Gold are just knocking them out!

Their latest, Ellie Goulding, is getting much blog love right now and it’s well deserved. Like her labelmate, Marina And The Diamonds, Ellie hails for Wales and you can hear that slight Welsh lilt in her voice, her début single ‘Under The Sheets’ starts off in quiet Electro-Folk mode but rapidly evolves into a powerful, intelligent, emotive slice of ElectroPop.

She Is Danger have whipped up a haunting DubStep reMix for contrast:

♫ Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Ellie Goulding – Under The Sheets (She Is Danger reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Neon Gold drop the single November 9th, you can pre-order now.

Ellie Goulding @ Neon Gold

Ellie Goulding @ Amazon

Oct 28 2009

Fan Death travel the pop landscape

The American countryside is littered with musical icons then?

Fan Death are back (and about time too!) with, this, the headline track of their forthcoming EP ‘A Coin For The Well’. ‘Reunited’ is Fan Death maintaining their prefect track record for off-centre Indie-Electro that manages to sound ominous yet uplifting at the same time.

The video is just genius and follows Dandi traversing the last 30 years of pop after her car breaks down. It was directed by Dandi herself.

And the tune’s just a good without the video! The video features an extended cut of the track (to fit all the cameos in!).

♫ Fan Death – Reunited (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘A Coin For The Well’ will be released by The Pharmacy Recording Co. .

Oct 23 2009

Kitsuné Maison 8; MiniMix By JBAG

It’s that time again!

November sees volume 8 of Kitsuné Music’s Kitsuné Maison series released. This one’s subtitled ‘The Chic And Nice Issue’.

It looks like there will be some pretty exiting stuff on here, the likes of CHEW LiPS, Heartsrevolution and Le Corps Mince De Françoise are always welcome. Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic are massive right now, both have albums out on Kitsuné soon and the new Midnight Juggernauts single is on there too, bonus!

Clock the tracklisting:

01. French Horn Rebellion – Up All Night
02. The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing
03. Siriusmo – High Together
04. Le Corps Mince De Françoise – Something Golden
05. Midnight Juggernauts – This New Technology
06. Heartsrevolution – Dance ‘Till Dawn
07. Logo – Junocide
08. Two Door Cinema Club – I Can Talk (Moulinex reMix)
09. Slagsmålsklubben – Brutal Weapons
10. Beni – Maximus (Harvard Bass reMix)
11. AMWE – Friction Between The Lovers
12. Jolie Charie – Star
13. CHEW LiPS – Salt Air (Alex Kapranos reMix)
14. Delphic – This Momentary
15. Memory Tapes – Bicycle
16. Parallels – Find The Fire
17. Nottee – Control
18. Encore
19. Crystal Fighters – I Love London
20. My Tiger My Timing – I Am The Sound

So, as is standard with Maison releases, top ElectroPop gurus JBAG have thrown together a MiniMix to showcase the compilation, it’s short but sweet and really wets the appetite for ‘The Chic And Nice Issue’.

Bring it on!

♫ Kitsuné Maison 8 MiniMix By JBAG (zShare) (MediaFire)

While you’re waiting for November 30th when volume 8 hits the stores why not check out some more of JBAG’s mixes and reMixes:

JBAG @ Beatport

JBAG @ Juno

JBAG @ Amazon

Oct 23 2009

Marina’s made my week!

Seriously! Ever since these two reMixes of Marina And The Diamonds forthcoming single, ‘Mowgli’s Road’ (Originally the B-side of ‘Obsessions’), dropped into the electronic rumors inbox I haven’t been able to stop listening to them.

And don’t make me pick between the two, I couldn’t do it. Mille’s rework is upbeat with a bouncing bassline. It’s arpeggios and strings brilliantly capture the epicness of the original while Valerie man Russ Chimes brings his 80’s styled disco funk to the track and then hits you with massive electro breakdowns.

Two seriously good reMixes:

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (Mille reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (Russ Chimes reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Check the original too, in all it’s quirky brilliance!

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘Mowgli’s Road’ drops on November 16th and can be pre ordered at PureGroove, it comes B-sided with a cover of Late Of The Pier’s ‘Space And The Woods’.

Marina And The Diamonds @ PureGroove

Marina And The Diamonds @ 7Digital

Marina And The Diamonds @ Amazon