Tag Archives: Pop

Sep 4 2011

Qkumba Zoo’s new album

qkumba zoo

You may remember South African dance act Qkumba Zoo. Well, they storm back this month with a brand new album. There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is their sound hasn’t changed or evolved in the slightest since the ‘90’s, the good news is their sound hasn’t changed or evolved in the slightest since the ‘90’s!

Now is the prefect time for Qkumba Zoo to strike while the iron is hot. With the current resurgence of interest in ‘90’s dance music and the creeping of ‘90’s dance sounds and production techniques into contemporary club records, Qkumba Zoo’s new album, ‘LetTheLightIn’, sounds pleasingly nostalgic. The big 909 beats, occasional breaks and layered floaty vocals that run throughout the record feel almost retro these days. It’s vocalist Levannah that really drives this album, her effortless sliding, between the chanted and the ethereal, weaves an audio narrative  that is surprisingly involving, and if you can get into the ‘90’s groove then the album is a good experience. If you’ve been chilling in the sun this summer, busting out the old Orbital or Opus III as the ‘90’s revival hits full swing, then this album will be right up your alley.

♫ Qkumba Zoo – I Like

♫ Qkumba Zoo – Torn Between You And The Sky

‘LetTheLightIn’ is out now on Souvenir Records.

Buy Qkumba Zoo’s music from:

 

Sep 3 2011

Goin Old School: Debbie Gibson – Electric Youth

The fact that Debbie Gibson’s ‘Electric Youth’ is from 1989 feels a little wrong somehow. Anyway, I’m dropping it ‘cos no-one reads this thing on a Saturday anyway! Besides, if a painfully hip Canadian ElectroPop duo can name themselves after the song that counts for something…right?

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Sep 2 2011

Goin’ Old School: Black Box – Ride On Time

In 1989 Black Box made Italo, House and Balearic into Pop with ‘Ride On Time’.

Buy Black Box’s music from:

   

Sep 1 2011

Goin’ Old School: Falco – Rock Me Amadeus

Heads up! It’s Austrian megastar Falco’s 1985 international breakthrough ‘Rock Me Amadeus’.

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Aug 31 2011

Goin’ Old School: Ollie And Jerry – Breakin’… There’s No Stoppin’ Us

Watched Breakin’ again this weekend. I watch that move far too much. Here’s some 1983 Electro Soul goodness in the form of Ollie And Jerry’s title track ‘Breakin’… There’s No Stoppin’ Us’.

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Aug 27 2011

Goin’ Old School: Tiffany – I Think We’re Alone Now

Today, we are ‘Goin’ Old School’ with Tiffany’s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ from 1987. What?

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Aug 26 2011

Monsieur Adi reMixes Madonna’s ‘Erotica’

madonna

Monsieur Adi’s trilogy of Madonna reMixes seems to have given up trying to be a trilogy, grabbed his Madonna record collection and run with it.

This time he’s taking on ‘Erotica’ and gives us something a little different, but inspired genius. Tribal, almost dancehall, beast and robotic vocal manipulation which builds and builds it’s hypnotic groove until a peak where it injects the bit we’re all waiting for. Adi immaculate orchestration. The huge strings and brass then giveaway to an edgy, haunting ending. Monsieur Adi nails is again, the layers and textures with which he crafts his reMix really put him in a league of his own.

♫ Madonna – Erotica (Monsieur Adi reMix)

Monsieur Adi ‘s other Madonna reMixes are available on his SoundCloud.

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Aug 26 2011

Goin’ Old School: Sabrina – Boys (Summertime Love)

In 1987, Sabrina brought Italo music to darkened teenage boy’s bedrooms all across Europe with ‘Boys (Summertime Love)’. Yeah, you know what I’m talkin’ about!

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Aug 25 2011

Marina And The Diamonds’ new single reMixed by Starsmith

marina-and-the-diamonds

Marina And The Diamonds’s forthcoming single ‘Radioactive’ is a weird one. It’s a good song, let down by dated production from Stargate. As we said in our post fearing the video we were excited to hear some of the reMixes. In our view there is no better way to kick thing off than with ElectroPop/Nu-Disco producer extraordinaire Starsmith.

Bewilderingly, this reMix won’t be featured on the single (someone is making bad decisions for our Marina), in fact the decision is made all the more strange by the fact that Starsmith’s version of the track feels and sounds like a more well rounded, contemporary and relevant single that the Stargate produced original. This is how the track should have sounded all along. This is Marina back on the top of the quirky ElectroPop pile. Thank you Starsmith.

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Radioactive (Starsmith Rework)

‘Radioactive’ is released 3rd October’

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Aug 24 2011

Goin’ Old School: Sandra – (I’ll Never Be) Maria Magdalena

It’s Sandra, from 1985, dropping an Italo/ElectroPop/Disco sound with ‘(I’ll Never Be) Maria Magdalena’. It’s Italo with a drama only the Germans could produce.

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