Oct 7 2015

[Audio] Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Silent Rain’

Keep Shelly In Athens? Keep us on our toes more like. Amirite? we honestly weren’t sure, or indeed confident, about the future of the Greek chiller cabinet ElectroPoppers when the voice of KSiA, Sarah P, departed the duo to follow her own musical path. When her final track with the outfit, Old Time Glory, dropped we we’re slightly pessimistic that this was the last we’d hear of the group. So often, even with the best intentions to carry on, a bad breakup can spell the end of even the most committed musicians; and even when the music keeps flowing, sometimes it’s just not the same.

With a change of line-up, new singer Myrtha, replaces Sarah P and a new label; the baton being passed from purveyors of good taste Cascine (who released Keep Shelly In Athens début official full lengther At Home) to L.A. based tastemakers Friends Of Friends, there could quite easily be a confusion of direction. It could feel like a whole new band, and as Keep Shelly In Athens unleash some brand new material it’s time to find out if they are still a band we dig.

So it was with some trepidation that we met the recent news of Keep Shelly In Athens sophomore (proper) album, titled Now I’m Ready and due out later this month, and it’s lead single, Fractals. If we’re honest, we were on the fence with Fractals, it was very guitar heavy and very shoegazy; it was nice enough but we missed the waves of hazy synths that made us love KSiA. The album’s second single though, Silent Rain, is more up our street.

We can’t help but feel like Silent Rain is Keep Shelly In Athens with a Post-Punk injection. It’s that The Sisters Of Mercy bassline, chugging away amid a sea of lush Dreamwave style synths, that gives the track a mid-80s Indie urgency. This is more of a ‘live’ sounding KSiA than we have been used to, Even Myrtha’s vocals, as they flit from Shoegaze ethereal to early Indie chants, add to the synthesized floppy haired nostalgia. This whole record could go either way, it could be an exciting excursion in electronic soundscapes that draws it’s influences from the wealth of independent records released in the last three decades, or it could be a Goth-Rock record with a few synths here and there. Silent Rain, thankfully, makes us think it will be the former. If the whole album is filled with similar moments of vintage leaning beauty then we will be happy.

Think Electric Youth meets March Violets meets early Lush meets mid-70s Jean Michel-Jarre. If you can.

♫ Keep Shelly In Athens – Silent Rain

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Jan 20 2014

[Download] Keep Shelly in Athens’ ‘Old Time Glory’

Sarah P has left Keep Shelly In Athens. That’s some pretty sad shit right there. The voice of Keep Shelly In Athens has departed to peruse her own projects, isn’t that what they used to call ‘musical differences’? KSiA plan to carry on the good work with a new vocalist, and the occasional guest, but Sarah’s voice was so distinctive you can;t help but feel like it’s the end of an era. So, how do they give Sarah a fitting send off? But releasing her final track, one that sums up the golden era of KSiA both in sound and title. Old Time Glory.

Shiny, sparking and bouncy ElectroPop permeates every minute of Old Time Glory. Optimistic and hopeful (or maybe we’re just reading too much into it), it’s an upbeat track with Sarah riding it perfectly; dominating the track with her playful vocals. It’s a bit of a bittersweet parting gift, but it’s an awesome slice of SynthPop so let’s ignore the context. Who needs context anyway? Stupid words with ‘x’s in them.

♫ Keep Shelly in Athens – Old Time Glory

Keep Shelly In Athens’ début album, At Home, is out now on Cascine.

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Oct 24 2013

[Video] Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Oostende’

Here’s the video for Greek Chiller-cabinet ElectroPoppers Keep Shelly In Athens’s Oostende, as track we featured a couple of months ago as the precursor to their amazing At Home album.

Directed, shot and edited by Brendan Canty & Conal Thomson of Feel Good Lost, the clip may or may not have been filmed in Oostende, I’m just not familiar enough with Belgian port towns to make that call. Readers?

Keep Shelly In Athens’ début album, At Home, is out now on Cascine.

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Sep 26 2013

[Video] Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Recollection’

Here’s a bit of a hazy audio/video shimmer in the form of the new video for Greek Chillypeppers Keep Shelly In Athens’ tune, Recollection taken from their début album, At Home.

The clip was directed by LAMAR+NIK and features some nice urban exploring and totally real bubbles!

Keep Shelly In Athens’ début album is due out now on Cascine.

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Aug 29 2013

[Audio] Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Flyaway’

The countdown is well and truly underway to the release of Keep Shelly In Athens’ long awaited début album. We’ve already had a taste of what to expect from the Cascine released record and each time we hear a new track out appetites are whetted even further. The duo have dropped a new tune, Flyway, and it;s our favourite of the tracks so far.

There’s something a little Röyksoppy about Flyway. Maybe its the smooth, laid back Funk, Maybe it’s the icy Scandinavian-esque synths, maybe it’s that we’re listening to it on a sunny day with the windows flung wide open (that’s a Röyksopp thing for us), but it’s got the infectious flow of Melody AM. An infectious dance beat and an inquisitive bassline (yup, we just described a bassline as ‘inquisitive’, deal with it) underpin the track with a rock solid groove, letting the reverb washed vocals and arpeggiated synths glide around the track, easing their way in and out of your conscious listening experience. Not that’s you’d notice, you’ll be too busy shuffling your feet. Album now please.

♫ Keep Shelly In Athens – Flyway

Keep Shelly In Athens’ début album is due out 17th September on Cascine.

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Aug 23 2013

[MP3] Selebrities reMix Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Recollection’

It’s part two of the Keep Shelly In Athens and Selebrities reMix exchange program. After Keep Shelly In Athens reMixed Selebrities’ Temporary Touch, the Selebs are returning the favour for their Cascine labelmates by whipping up their recent single Recollection into a poppin’ vintage synth fest. Why don’t they just get a room!

From the offset, Selebrities drop an infectious B-boy beat, layering it with vintage synths in a way that brings early New Order to mind. Creating a truly beautiful vintage mood, Selebrities manage to keep this surprisingly funky amidst the washy-washy, reverb soaked, nostalgia. Sarah P’s vocals swim through clam waters of electronic sound and effortlessly meld with the five minutes of upbeat, optimistic, 80s glory.

♫ Keep Shelly In Athens – Recollection (Selebrities reMix)

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Aug 9 2013

[MP3] Keep Shelly In Athens reMix Selebrities’ ‘Temporary Touch’

You may think it’s Shark Week…but you’re wrong. It appears to be Keep Shelly In Athens week. Hot on the heels of Oostende, their ode to all things double ‘o’, come this wonderful, and a little scary, reMix of fellow Cascine labelmates Selebrities’ Temporary Touch.

Eschewing the Post-Punk Shoegazeyness of the original for something a little more ambient and atmospheric, Keep Shelly In Athens take a tiny snatch of the vocals and repeats it through the length of the reMix until it becomes an unsettling mantra. Set against a backdrop of growling tones and ice chords, the vocal chant rides the machine beats and created a totally involving experience.

♫ Selebrities – Temporary Touch (Keep Shelly in Athens reMix)

Selebrities’ Lovely Things is out now on Cascine.

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Aug 7 2013

[Audio] Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Oostende’

We don’t mean to repeat ourselves (actually, what are we talking about, of course we repeat ourselves, we must have a keyboard shortcut for typing the word ‘groove’!) but as we mentioned a couple of weeks ago Greek SpacePoppers Keep Shelly In Athens are soon to release their long awaited début album, via those lovely folk at Cascine. The albums called At Home, and this is our second taste of what’s to come, Oostende.

It’s a lovely tune, not least because the title begins with two ‘o’s (always a winner) or that it appears to be named after the Belgian post town us Brits ferry to if we can’t afford France (or are headed to Amsterdam). No, it’s lovely because it’s a swirling blanket of shimmering synths with which to soothe your head. As Sarah P.’s vocals cut through the icy warmth of contradictory soundscapes you’re taken down magic music corridors and you’ve just got to hope Keep Shelly In Athens know where they are going. Also, it’s quite a good Chillwavey ElectroPop tune too!

♫ Keep Shelly In Athens – Oostende

Keep Shelly In Athens’ début album is due out 17th September on Cascine.

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Jul 17 2013

[Audio] Keep Shelly In Athens’ ‘Recollection’

It’s all about surprisingly big beats, and a hazy, carefree vibe on Greek Chilly-Indie-Electro duo Keep Shelly In Athens’ new tune, Recollection. The track is a taste of what we can expect from their forthcoming début album, to be released this September on Cascine.

It really is the combination of the big beats and Sarah P’s vocal that keeps this track going. Playing the ethereal voice against punchy rhythms makes for a schizophrenic track,but one that doesn’t suffer for the condition one bit. It’s one both your head and your feet can loose themselves in, but for different reasons. A beautiful cacophony of wall-of-sound electronics compliments the groove, alongside a screaming solo, and the end result is strangely summery. Check it out.

♫ Keep Shelly In Athens – Recollection

Keep Shelly In Athens’ début album is due out 17th September on Cascine.

Buy Keep Shelly In Athens’ music from:

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Feb 20 2013

[Audio] Keep Shelly In Athens’ new single

Acclaimed left-field ElectroPop outfit Keep Shelly In Athens have announced their signing to Cascine for the release of the début full-length record. To celebrate the occasion they have unleashed the first single from the album onto an unsuspecting world.

Madmen Love is four minutes of brutal beauty. Deep, ominous bass synths and fidgety, industrial percussion. It’s a track that has a lot in common with much Minimal Synth, dark synthetic pulsating, kling-klang beats and tormented vocals that are pretty relentless, giving way only briefly the the dreamiest of breakdowns, just to build toward a cacophonous climax. Taking in influenced as varied as UK bass the more avant-garde Goth, Madmen Love is modern Post-Punk done right.