One of our favourite French producers, SynthWave genius Tommy ‘86, is set to drop his new EP this week. It’s called Aurora, a track that he débuted a while ago but is now getting a proper release with a couple of reMixes to boot. One of those reMixes comes from our Scandinavian friend Johan Agebjörn. He’s partnered with Mikael Ögren for the reMix, which we can première for you right here.
These two get their serious synth on right here. A mystical synth excursion for fans of Jean Michelle-Jarre, this reMix is a mid-tempo piece that envelopes you in it’s electronic magic as it pours out of the speaks. Using reverb heavy drums and sparkling arpeggios to craft an enigmatic mood, thee guys build up an exotic atmosphere before launching into some of the most captivating synth solos you’ll have heard in a while. Sit back and sink into this evocative and intoxicating track. It’s even got a little Sally Shapiro vocal sampling going on.
♫ Tommy ‘86 – Aurora (Johan Agebjörn and Mikael Ôgren reMix)
Johan has also currently got a reMix competition on the go for his track The Leftovers where you can win a Numark NS7, which is a pretty good prize for a reMix comp really!
Top-of-his-game SynthWave producer Tommy is gearing up for the release of his new album, Frequency Modulations, due out next month on Girlfriend Records. Taking the plunge into the waters of ElectroPop, Tommy has collaborated with rad ScandiPop duo Sally Shapiro on one of the album tracks, Why Did I Say Goodbye? is a true meeting of minds.
Somewhere in the middle between Sally Shapiro’s lilting SynthPop and Tommy’s driving, emotional, SynthWave sounds, Why Did I Say Goodbye? powers along on an energetic arpeggio and evolving snyth melodies, tempered by Sally’s sweet vocal. Both haunting and frantic, the dichotomy of the track really does express the styles of the collaborators. Can;t wait for the album.
♫ Tommy (Feat. Sally Shapiro) – Why Did I Say Goodbye?
Tommy’s Frequency Modulations is released in March.
Never one to sit around on his arse, prolific ElectroPop producer Johan Agebjörn having already released the new Sally Shapiroalbum and it’s associated collection of reMixes, the man is keeping himself busy by releasing this free compilation of his reMix work, both as himself and as part of Sally Shapiro. Sweetened pulls together some pretty big names that Agebjörn has gifted with his production skills, featuring the likes of Little Boots, Jam & Spoon, Glass Candy, Lindstrøm, CFCF, Wolfram and Holy Ghost! and Hercules And Love Affair, and more.
It’s hard to pick favourites from this sweet collection, the releases here span a couple of years and showcase every side to Agebjörn’s production. From the blistering ElectroPop to the growling Italo, Johan always injects his music with an emotional energy, often mirroring the mood of the vocals, rising and falling with the sentiment of the track. Expect an album’s worth of punchy dance beats and starlight synthesizers that whirl around your head. At times the album show’s off Agebjörn deeper, groovier, more experimental side, but on the whole you’re treated to 13 tracks from one of the best ElectroPop producers in the world working today. Did we mention it was free?
After the overwhelming success of Swedish ElectroPop duo Sally Shapiro’s third album, Somewhere Else, and the preceding single, the Electric Youth featuring Starman we were eager for more, but we didn’t expect something this hot. Just released is Elsewhere, a reMix companion for Somewhere Else who line-up is a variable whos-who is the cream of ElectroPop talent. It’s a killer meeting of minds that features the likes of Dan Lissvik, Young Galaxy, Lost Years and The Field, but right now we are going to take a look at some of our highlights.
First up, the undeniable king of SynthWave, Mr. Mitch Murder, graces the album with his presence. Reworking All My Life, Mitch delivers on his particular brand or rich, emotional, synthesized soundtrack work beautifully here. The deep, twanging, digital bass and invigorating electronic pulse play nicely against the warm tones to create something head-nodding brilliant. It’s prefect for Sally’s vocals too, the interaction between the chorus vocals and the bass is just amazing. If Mitch if the electronic music king, then our girl Little Boots is the queen. Taking on the brilliantly titled This City’s Local Italo Disco DJ Has A Crush On Me, Boots whips up some mirrorball sheen with a surprisingly gritty hook. Mixing up House and Nu-Disco elements to classy effect, Boots turns-in a slo-mo, soft focus, dancefloor dream. One of the most talented men in retro electronica, Steve Moore, here in his Lovelock guise turns his attention to I Dream With an Angel Tonight, injecting it with smooth, laid back, vintage Disco and Italo sounds with a cinematic feel and a slight mysterious, Sci-Fi vibe. LA synthesizer Funk queen Nite Jewel bring to the table a typically atmospheric and left-field slice of electronics in her rendition of Sundown, loaded with compelling basses and swirling soundscapes turning Sally Shapiro from twee ElectroPop into brooding, but groove, Cold Wave. This is definitely a recommended release, with a stellar line-up and a wide variety of styles, there really is something for everyone.
♫ Sally Shapiro – All My Life (Mitch Murder reMix)
♫ Sally Shapiro – This City’s Local Italo Disco DJ Has A Crush On Me (Little Boots Discotheque reMix)
♫ Sally Shapiro – I Dream With an Angel Tonight (Lovelock reMix)
♫ Sally Shapiro – Sundown (Nite Jewel reMix)
Sally Shapiro’s reMix album, Everywhere, is out now.
If It Doesn’t Rain is the new video from Swedish ElectroPoppersSally Shapiro. One of the highlights of their excellent Somewhere Else album, it;s a lush, sweeping slice of SynthPop
The clip was put together by Iris B Cegarra and is based on a Czech cartoon from 1953.
If It Doesn’t Rain is taken from Sally Shapiro’s new album, Somewhere Else, out now.
Sally Shapiro first came into our lives way back in 2006. This duo, because Sally Shapiro is a duo, made up of ElectroPop producer extraordinaire Johan Agebjörn and an blissful unnamed singer whom we shall henceforth call Sally (to avoid (or create) confusion), have put out some of the most exciting, listenable, Italo-Disco tinged ElectroPop records in the last decade. Released today is album number three, Somewhere Else, that has already spawned the acclaimed singles What Can I Do? and Starman, the latter featuring a guest turn from Toronto’s Electric Youth.
The album is a thrilling excursion through poppy, dancefloor friendly electronic music with heart. Johan’s beats are always meticulously produced. Clean, shiny and pitch perfect whilst Sally’s sugar sweet, personal vocals tell tails in the most appealing way. This time around the pair have a little help with Anoraak, Le Prix and the aforementioned Electric Youth all doing turns on Somewhere Else.
Sally and Johan too some time out from their album release prep to chat with us about how this unlikely partnership hooked up and what the album holds:
ER: First off, how did you two get together?
S & J: We met in a youth environmental organization back in 2001 where we both worked at the office. But we actually didn’t discover our common interest in 80s disco until 2004!
ER: Did you both come to Sally Shapiro with the same influences, or do you each bring something different with you?
S & J: Johan is more the expert on various genres of electronic music. Sally has a good feel for what is a good and catchy pop song. She can’t really deliver a good vocal performance if she’s not into it. In the beginning, it felt like poppy 80s disco was the only thing that worked for both of us, but we think that we have broadened a bit since the start.
ER: I always feel that there is a 60s British Pop influence to Sally Shapiro songs, in a kind of Saint Etienne way. Is that the case or do you think there is just a 60s Pop influence in classic Swedish Pop in general?
S & J: We don’t think that the 60s are a conscious influence, but we listen to British pop like Saint Etienne and Belle & Sebastian for example. “What Can I Do” was very inspired by Belle & Sebastian.
ER: With so many good ElectroPop artists coming out of Sweden, and the music seeming to be the more dominant form of Pop there, do you think there is a reason for ElectroPop finding it’s spiritual home in Sweden?
S & J: We don’t know. When we grew up it was not like that, Sweden was a guitar country and far behind the UK when it came to appreciating electronic music. But Sweden was also early a very computerized country so maybe that’s a reason.
♫ Sally Shapiro – What Can I Do?
ER: Where does the name Sally Shapiro come from? Are we right in thinking Johan chose it? Is it named after anyone?
S & J: It was Johan’s suggestion to use a pseudonym in the tradition of Italo disco stars like Valerie Dore and Katy Gray. It’s not named after anyone, but we wanted a name that sounded English, with a surname that was not too common and not too uncommon. And then the first name should begin with the same letter as the surname, and it’s beautiful with names that end with a y, isn’t it?
ER: Sally’s said she has no interest in being a Pop star. When you originally wrote songs together was it with the intention of the public hearing them, or just for fun?
J: Well the goal was to make a track for fun and hopefully that someone wanted to release on a 12″ record. But we never thought it would reach out to more than the Italo disco fans and vinyl collectors to be found on various forums on the internet.
ER: Were you surprised with the reception Disco Romance received, and how fast it became a hyped record?
J: Yes, though it actually didn’t become hyped that quickly. At the very beginning, the distributor complained that it didn’t sell so well. Then Pitchfork rated it “best new music” and everything changed, it got re-released twice and licensed to different countries. But the whole process of re-releases and finally two remix albums based on the tracks took one and a half year.
ER: And now, three albums later. How would you say your sound has changed since the first record?
S & J: It’s a bit more varied, we’d say, but still grounded in 80s disco, which is still the ultimate genre of music. But these days we take influences also from trance, euro dance, IDM, jazz, electronic funk, indie pop etc.
ER: Is there a theme that runs through Somewhere Else?
S: There’s a theme in all our music, we think, about melancholic longing and hope. Hoping that something will be better, maybe in a different place, somewhere else.
ER: How did the collaborations on the new album come about?
S & J: Johan released the album “Casablanca Nights” in 2001 with a lot of collaborations, so he’s got quite used to working with other producers and he likes it. He works with Le Prix a lot, sometimes they meet in Stockholm but mostly via the internet as we live in Lund in Southern Sweden. The collaboration with Anoraak was originally Anoraak’s idea and a different version of that track appeared on his album a few years ago, we’re really happy with the track and wanted to release this version too. The collaboration with Electric Youth was our idea as we really like them. Both those collaborations were carried out through the internet, we’ve never met them…but it would be nice! Apart from the collaborations mentioned here, there are also lyricists, co-writers (frequently Roger Gunnarsson) and guest musicians involved on the album.
ER: How does the writing and recording process work for Sally Shapiro? Is Johan allowed in when Sally’s recording now?
S & J: No, Johan is still not allowed in. Johan is the composer and producer, sometimes together with other songwriters and producers. When he has something almost finished he plays it to Sally and gets some feedback. We then write the lyrics together, and the vocals are almost always the last things that are recorded before finally mixing the track.
ER: Is there a favourite synth or bit of studio kit.
J: Not really, it shifts. Yamaha DX-7 wasn’t used before this album, it can sound really smooth. Earlier there were a lot of sounds from the Roland Juno-60 and Jupiter-4.
ER: If money was no object, what synth would you love to own?
J: Elka Synthex.
♫ Sally Shapiro – Lives Together (Johan Agebjörn Dub)
ER: Are there plans for Sally Shapiro beyond Somewhere Else?
S & J: Not which are official right now.
ER: Are Sally Shapiro more of a full cooked breakfast, or bowl of cereal kind of duo?
S & J: Bowl of cereal probably. Sally drinks coffee, Johan drinks tea.
Many thanks to Sally and Johan for speaking with us.
Sally Shapiro’s Somewhere Else is released today in the UK and tomorrow in the rest of the world. It comes highly recommended.
Tomorrow, Sally and Johan will be hosting on online release party where you can chat with them and ask them stuff we was too lazy to ask, details here.
Sally Shapiro’s, Electric Youth featuring, Starman is officially released today. Ever since we wrote about the track earlier this month we’ve been pretty excited about the release coming out, not least because it is backed with this track. A reMix from electronic rumors favourite and one of the leading lights of the SynthWave scene, Miami Nights 1984.
Sally Shapiro’s swirling, 60s inspired, cute ElectroPop and MN84’s driving Outrun and retro leads, how will that sound? As it turns out, amazing. Kicking things off with an Italo bassline and heavy, heavy, drums, MN84 creates a moody synthetic groove as we enter the song, but it’s the choruses where MN84 really let’s himself go. Taking advantage of the big vocals MN84 revels in the drama and throws all manner of big synth lines at the listener, and suddenly, Sally Shapiro is performing on Top Of The Pops circa the mid-80s. the other highlight of the tune, is MN84 introducing the SynthWave build, combine a big build with SynthWave soloing and something truly magical happens. just Listen.
Sally Shapiro are well on their way to the release of their third album, Somewhere Else, now. The idea of another whole record of Sally’s blissful vocals and Johan’s shiny beats is totally exciting, but that’s now all, the album contains contributions from Anoraak, Le Prix and this tune, the second single from the album featuring Canada’s finest retro Poppers Electric Youth.
Starman is a particularly deep and dreamy slick of these guys ScandiPop. Sally is at her hushed-Saint-Etienne best, and being backed by the vintage tones of Electric Youth’s Bronwyn, cast a beautiful vocal net. A totally compelling voice in electronic music, Sally has found the perfect music partner in Johan, who knows exactly how to deliver sweeping, passionate synth music, with a subtle 60s twist, that suits her just right. Cannot wait for the album.
Starman is released 29th January and features a reMix from electronic rumors faves Miami Nights 1984. Sally Shapiro’s Somewhere Else album is released next month on Paper Bag Recordings.
Sally Shapiro’s easy-breezy, 60s sounding, new single What Can I Do? has not got itself an equally whimsical video.
Jarett Sitter put together this animated clip, looking just as dreamlike and the song sounds.
Sally Shapiro’s What Can I Do? is released out now on Paper Bag Records followed by the new album, Somewhere Else 26th February next year with contributions from Anoraak, Le Prix and Electric Youth.
This is one of those track that just reading the title gets you excited. Sally Shapiro reMixed by Com Truise! If ears watered with appetite, like your mouth, then the thought of Sally and Johan Agebjörn’s blissful ElectroPop reworked by the master of SynthWave would leave drool on our lobes. Which is a pretty gross analogy, so let’s just say it’s a pretty exciting thought. OK.
The track is ace, Com’s reMix of the new Shapiro single, What Can I Do?, takes a funky 80s stab at the track. the Truise way, which is Boogie fuelled beats and basslines mixed with more cosmic, esoteric synth work is very much present here with a digital bass powering the track giving the rest of Com’s sound pallet free reign to swirl in and out of Sally’s vocals. The contrast between the thick Electro Funk and the ominous vocal manipulation & atmospheric synths make for a track destined for both the feet and the head. Amazing retro synth goodness.
♫ Sally Shapiro – What Can I Do? (Com Truise reMix)
Sally Shapiro’s What Can I Do? is released November 20th on Paper Bag Records followed by the new album, Somewhere Else 26th February next year with contributions from Anoraak, Le Prix and Electric Youth.
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