The lead track from L.A. Dreamwave outfit Leitbur’s The Moment That I Knew You EP, the wonderful Strange In L.A., has gone and got itself a brand new video. Peep this!
The clip, directed by Jaron Widman, is pieced together from creative commons clips, with an added layer of the surreal served up by some slick animation. It really is strange in L.A.
Leitbur’s The Moment That I Knew You EP is out now.
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Antony & Cleopatra (Anita Blay, as in CockNBullKid, and Alexander Burnett (of Sparkadia) have just released their new single, Take Me, a genre spanning dance track that absorbs the history of the dancefloor and delivers one timeless track. One of our favourite Canadian groovers, Pat Lok, takes things to the next level with this storming reMix of the track.Lend him your ears.
Mr. Lok’s take on Take Me pays respect tot he original while turning into a jacking track that has one foot on both sides of the Atlantic. Working up a Chicago House groove, Lok dabbles with bassier UK elements; injecting the tune with all manner of subby goodness. Despite the rumbling tones, Pat keeps things light with playful melodies and full usage of Anita’s soulful vocals. An energetic slice of sunshine House that shows off why Pat Lok is on top of his game.
♫ Antony & Cleopatra – Take Me (Pat Lok reMix)
Antony & Cleopatra’s Take Me is out now.
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OK; first things first. Leeuw is pronounced “Lay-U” (apparently Dutch for ‘lion’). I know, I know, it’s hard to get used to, but it’s best that you start saying it right now because you’ll probably be saying it a lot in the future. The reason you’ll be saying it a lot in the future is because it’s only a matter of time before Leeuw become huge. That’s just a fact. Leeuw is otherwise knows as Californian Laura Maus (ex-of an indie-folk duo called Sense Motive) who is making some of the most compelling ElectroPop we’ve heard for a while (and that’s saying something, being the website that we are). She’s teamed up with producer Wolves for her début single. It’s called Waters, press play below.
Riding over skippy, almost Trap-y beats, Waters serves up layers upon layers of crystal clear synths for Leeuw’s heartfelt vocal delivery to glide over like silk. Kinda’ like an L.A. version of Avec Sans, there’s similarities of sound between the two, with Leeuw adding a west coast Funk quality to the mix. Managing to be both uplifting and haunting at the same time, Waters’ stacked soundscape is loaded with mystery while Laura’s introspective vocals feel very close and personal. After this kind of assured début, we’ll definitely be keeping an ear our for more from Leeuw.
♫ Leeuw – Waters (Prod. By Wolves)
Leeuw’s Waters is out now.
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We’ve got no idea what’s going on with HURTS anymore. So, when they emerged, rising from the ashes of Daggers, with the Wonderful Life single it was like a shining beacon of hope for enigmatic British SynthPop. A mantle they more than lived up to with their début album Happiness. All their tongue-in-cheek Berlin posturing and bombastic, emotional dark SynthPop went out the window, however, with their sophomore album cycle. Exile, and it’s accompanying singles and live shows, was Rock posturing at it’s worse. Clichéd Electro-Rock and tired Goth imagery practically ruined everything that went before it. Once we saw Theo high-kick and attempt to head bang his slicked back hair onstage, without a hint of irony, we knew it was all over for our love of HURTS. And then this happened. From no-where HURTS have released a brand new single, presumably the first from their forthcoming third album. It’s called Some Kind Of Heaven and it’s nothing like Exile whatsoever; and it’s nothing like Happiness either.
Wielding a strong 90s Indie vibe, Some Kind Of Heaven is all shuffling Indie breaks, big hooks and sing-along vocals. Anthemic in that particular way that HURTS do best, Some Kind Of Heaven doesn’t hark back to the brooding SynthPop for their first record, but eschews the chugging guitar and hackneyed edginess of the second. It’s an entirely new beats and one that, if they keep up sounding like this, bodes well for the forthcoming record. It’s majestic, catchy, and passionate as we’d expect from pre-Exile HURTS, but more than anything there is a return to that sense of fun too. We are tentatively, nervously, hopeful for the future of HURTS.
♫ HURTS – Some Kind Of Heaven
HURTS’ Some Kind Of Heaven is out now.
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The shaping-up-to-be-utterly-amazing new project from ex-Van She man Matt Van Schie and ex-Van She man Touch Sensitive; Tear Council have offered up another new tune for us. My Car follows on from the duo’s début single Anywhere, and continues in a similar vein. While we were writing this post we wondered what happened to Tomek, Matt, Michael and Nicky have done loads of post-Van She stuff but Tomek is barely heard from. Well, Tomek is now a furniture designer. So that happened.
Anyway…My Car glides out of the speakers in that breezy Van She manner we’re all used to. Low key and subtly smooth, My Car blends easy going basslines and relaxed Disco beats with a cheeky vocal that doesn’t take itself to seriously. The waves of summer evening synths that roll over the track capture a carefree mood and are the icing on the nostalgic cake. Pure sunshine bliss.
♫ Tear Council – My Car
Tear Council’s My Car is out now.
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Nude Disco – Selections Vol. 2 = To celebrate the impending release of Nude Disco’s Selections Vol. 2 compilation album, Vern has put together this cheeky little MiniMix of the album that really highlights it’s Italo-Disco excellence.
♫ Nude Disco – Selections Vol. 2
The tracklist:
01. Ben Macklin – Total
02. Italo Brutalo & Volt Age – High Fidelity
03. LosBikini – La Pista
04. Nude Disco – Associate
05. Nude Disco – Of U
06. Baltazar B – Ficus
07. Sometimes – Sample & Hold
08. AIMES – The Night is Young
09. Auxiliary Tha Masterfader – Disco Machine
10. Boysinadisco (Feat. Sara Williams) – Come Back To Me
11. Foreign Boy – Dance Like A Light (Gold Spectacles reMix)
12. Jules Schimmer – Soar
13. The Sanfernando Sound – The World Was Ours
14. Sunnysunday – Disco Knights
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Brixton based Nu-Disco collective Nude Disco are gearing up for the release of their second label compilation. Nude Disco Selections Vol. 2 is set for release at the start of next month and will be a tasty snapshot of the kind of Italo Disco goodness we’ve come to expect from the label and it’s Brixton nightclub home. Sitting loud and proud on this storming collection is this little gem from long time friend of electronic rumors Jules Schimmer. It’s his first new tune in quite a while, it’s called Soar, and you can grab your exclusive first listen below.
Mr. Schimmer serves up as emotional and heartfelt electronic as we’ve ever heard with Soar. It’s a fitting title as the tune is warm and uplifting with comfortable retro Italo and House grooves playing out inspiring chord progressions. Like a mid-90s euphoric Trance tune played by a late-80s House producer, Soar is pleasingly nostalgic with a sunrise rush. That lead hook worms it’s way into your brain and stats with you four hours after you’ve finished listening, and with a hook like that, that’s no bad thing. There’s nothing not to like about this one.
♫ Jules Schimmer – Soar
Nude Disco Selections Vol. 2 is released 1st June
Check out more from Jules Schimmer on SoundCloud.
Next Jack Swing Pt. 1, Brooklyn groovers French Horn Rebellion’s second album of last year is set for an action packed reMix edition this week. The aptly named Next Jack Swing Pt. 1 (reMixes) boasts a whopping twenty re-takes of the original album’s track from the likes of Chordashian, Blende, Justin Faust, JD Samson, Chrome Canyon, and this monster from the mighty AIMES. AIMES has chosen to take on the HAERTS featuring Swing Into It. Listen up below.
Our boy AIMES dives hard into the deep end of pulsating Italo Disco and retro House grooves. Driven by a slightly acidic, and utterly compelling, old school synth bassline, the track is a loaded love-letter to late 80s extended 12” reMixes. The heavily reverbed vocal snatches that pepper the track lend more authenticity to this period piece, intertwining with the intricate tapestry of Electro hook. Everything comes together in a fun and feel-good arrangement that commands you to dance.
♫ French Horn Rebellion (Feat. HAERTS) – Swing Into It (AIMES reMix)
French Horn Rebellion’s Next Jack Swing Pt.1 (reMixes) is released 29th May.
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tEPr has long been one of your favourite French producers. His solo work, his reMixes and his production chops as part of Yelle have always hit the right spot for us. The man has a new EP forthcoming, to be released on Yuksek’s Partyfine label, called Hypnotease. A six track affair from which tEPr has unleashed the title track for your listening pleasure.
Hypnotease is certainly hypnotic; it’s no taste though as is really delivers the goods. After years with Yelle it’s probably not right to compare this tune to older tEPr work, this track is more mellow; maybe even more mature. An undulating DiscoPop tune for the first three minutes of it’s life, warm and drifting on hazy synths and Tanguy Destable’s distant vocals, then just past the midway point the track explodes with a huge Inner City-esque Chicago hook and House beat. Intoxicating stuff.
♫ tEPr – Hypnotease
tEPr’s Hypnotease is released 25th May
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Ben Browning, of Cut Copy fame, has unveiled the second single from his forthcoming début solo album, Turns. The full length record is due out next month and sees Browning drawing from a wide variety of influences to express his personal vision. This new single, Friends Of Mine, follows the well received Make It Easy from earlier this month and loads on some blissed out summery Disco. Check it out.
Ben takes it easy with this one; a carefree nostalgia-fest that is a joy to listen to. Taking those breezy beach Disco sounds so often associated with L.A. and mixing it us with a little Cut Copy-esque Aussie Indie-ElectroPop Friends Of Mine treats the listener to a skippy symphony of warm bass, twinkling leads and Ben’s contented vocal over a steady Disco groove. Like a cool drink on a warm day, this is summer comfort at it’s finest.
♫ Ben Browning – Friends Of Mine
Ben Browning’s début album, Turns, is released 16th June.
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electronic rumors 