Jan 27 2014

[Audio] Chvrches cover Bauhaus’ ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’

Chvrches seem to love a good cover, and why not. They’ve been given the opportunity for another one in the form of their contribution to the soundtrack of forthcoming movie Vampire Academy; which looks, frankly, fucking awful. Still, any excuse, eh? So Chvrches have covered Bauhaus’ Bela Lugosi’s Dead. Didn’t see that one coming, makes sense though. Check out Chvrches injecting a rousing Pop sheen into the Batcave classic.

Appearing to upset Goths left, right and centre, Churches blend the instantly recognisable bassline in with growling synths and bubbling arpeggios Lauren’s take on the vocals gives them a new, anthemic, spin and is soon joined by waves of euphoric synths. It’s very soundtrack-y (obviously), you can almost imaging the scene this will accompany. We reckon Chvrches did a pretty good job with this one, even if the black-clad masses appear to disagree.

♫ Chvrches – Bela Lugosi’s Dead (Bauhaus Cover)

Chvrches début full length record, The Bones Of What You Believe, is out now.

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Jan 27 2014

[Download] Bright Light Bright Light & Ana Matronic cover Pet Shop Boys’ ‘West End Girls’

Here’s a nice surprise for the start of the week. One of the UK’s leading SynthPop artists Bright Light Bright Light teaming up with Scissor Sisters’ Ana Matronic to cover Pet Shop Boys classic West End Girls. Premièred last week live in NYC for the Hetrick-Martin Institute Benefit the track is now available as a free download, so get it while it’s hot.

Loads of people have covered West End Girls. Like loads. But very few have been able to keep the sombre, deadpan angle of the track intact. BLx2 and Ana Matronic manage to pull this off triumphantly. Rod injects his flair for 90s dance into the track with popping beats, shiny synths and some subtly 909 snare rolls. Their vocals are surprisingly complementary too, with Ana handling most of the verse action, joined by Rod for the choruses, being true to the original but giving it a twist with their own personalities. A very good job indeed.

♫ Bright Light Bright Light & Ana Matronic – West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys Cover)

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Jan 27 2014

[Audio] Paperwhite reMixes Fickle Friends’ ‘Swim’

A big shout out to Breaking More Waves for turning us on to this one, and it’s right up our street. Fickle Friends are a UK IndiePop outfit whos début single, Swim, has been making quite stir on blogs who like a bit of jangly guitar. From the sound of it we expect them to be festival faves over the coming summer. What we’ve got here, though, is a reMix of the track from Brooklyn DreamPop duo Paperwhite, who do things to the song that come straight from our dreams.

Thick 80s Pop beats, with a hint of a B-boy groove, matched up with popping, summery synths and rich pads. The vocals sound like they were always meant for ElectroPop, the whole package is just pretty stunning. Energetic ElectroPop with just the right amount of nostalgia and just the right amount of swing. This tune has been played to death here in the last 48 hours, and we’re still nowhere close to getting bored of it, it’s got a classic sound that I don’t think we’d ever tire of. Definitely keeping a massive beady eye on Paperwhite from now on.

♫ Fickle Friends – Swim (Paperwhite reMix)

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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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Jan 17 2014

[Audio] Falcone’s ‘Are You That Somebody?’

Who’s Falcone then; I hear you ask? Well boys and girls, it’s the new alter-ego of our good friend Aaron Alexis who, for reasons that are either obvious to your or aren’t, has decided to claim himself a shiny new name and kick on with the majestic ElectroPop offerings. And it is quite a shiny new name too, one that matches the big dramatic sounds the man makes. The first of those theatrical Pop tunes id a cover of Aaliyah’s Are You That Somebody?

We’d suggest you sit yourself somewhere comfortable and grab your headphones for this one. Aaron whips up a pulsating, enigmatic tune loaded with cinematic piano a relentless march of snares. Co-produced with She’s The Queen’s Drew, this is one of those tracks to give you goosebumps as Aaron’s powerful coon cuts through the mix, finding it’s place amongst piercing arpeggios and ominous synths. It;s got a nice funk to it too.

♫ Falcone – Are You That Somebody? (Aaliyah Cover)

Check out more from Falcone on SoundCloud.

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Jan 16 2014

[Video] CHPLN’s ‘White Snow’

South London based duo CHPLN consists of UK House rising star Karma Kid and Armeria, or Dali Bor and Pippo Vari as their press release would have it. They are about to release their début single, White Snow, a dreamy slice of urban Indie-Electro.

Here’s the video, directed by Jon Bilbrough. An introspective, intimate clip to match the tone of the song.

CHPLN’s White Snow is out soon.

Check out more from CHPLN’s on SoundCloud.

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Dec 20 2013

[Audio] Chvrches’ ‘Tether’ reMixed by Junior Sanchez

2013’s kings (and queen) of ElectroPop, Glaswegian trio Chvrches, will be kicking off 2014 with the single release of Tether. Taken from their all-comers-destroying début album, The Bones Of What You Believe, the single will come with a full reMix package that will include this slice of dancefloor euphoria from acclaimed New York DJ Junior Sanchez. This should set you up for the weekend.

Sanchez turns in an upbeat mixture of his driving House and Chvrches sweet SynthPop. The tempo is increased, the kicks are solid, the uplifting keys are in place. This has got everything your expect from a meeting of these two entities. A six minute DJ weapon, complete with rolling snare fills and a Balearic flavour, this one b rings Chvrches straight to the dancefloor.

♫ Chvrches – Tether (Junior Sanchez reMix)

Chvrches début full length record, The Bones Of What You Believe, is out now.

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Dec 19 2013

[Download] Diamond Cut reMixes Thief’s ‘Broken Boy’

The mastermind and music genius that is Diamond Cut is back this week with one of his amazing, but increasingly rare, reMixes. Lucky for us, he’s got to grips with Australian SynthPopper Thief’s Broken Boy, a tune we introduced you to back in October. Diamond Cut embraces the track’s introspective Kraftwerk-y-ness and works a little of his retro Electro magic with the song.

Dusting off the pulsating, robotic synths for this one, Diamond Cut’s Manic Computer reMix is appropriately titled, encompassing all manner of electronic shudders and blips. Thief’s vocals still work wonderfully with the music, slightly modulated they sound a little otherworldly set against the synthesizer’s shimmering retro soundtrack. Diamond Cut always delivers the very best, and often surprising, tracks. This tune is no different.

♫ Thief – Broken Boy (DC’s Manic Computer reMix)

Check out more from Thief on SoundCloud.

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Dec 19 2013

[Audio] St. Lucia’s ‘All Eyes On You’ reMixed by Goldroom

Here’s a meeting of two of Americas finest purveyors of blissful tunes. New Yorks hazy ElectroPop sensation, St. Lucia released one of the albums of the year in 2013, and on that album was a little track called All Eyes On You. A tack which looks set to be his next single if the looks of this brand new reMix from the-man-with-the-Dreamwave-plan Goldroom is to be believed.

There’s some devilish purcussion going on in this one. Goldroom tune just make you want to get up and dance (if it’s sunny, if it’s not the make you want to close your eyes and pretend you’re dancing in the sun), and that’s heightened with the drums on this reMix. Embracing St. Lucia’s dreamy ElectroPop sound, Goldroom delivers a floaty Beach House tune to get carried away in. We weren’t going to mention the Sax, we were going to just let you discover it. But the sax!

♫ St. Lucia – All Eyes On You (Goldroom reMix)

St. Lucia’s début album When The Night is out now.

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Dec 18 2013

[Download] I Am Snow Angel’s ‘Let Me Go’ & ‘Grey White December’

We weren’t sure if I Am Snow Angel was called I Am Snow Angel, or whether it was just Snow Angel and the ‘I Am’; was added because all the Snow Angel usernames were taken. But apparently it is I AM Snow Angel, which has actually got a nice ring to it. Julie Kathryn is a New York based SynthPop artist with a sweet line in dreamy electronic sounds and is gearing up for the February release of her début EP. Check out two of the releases tracks right now.

Let Me Go is a swirling embrace of calming synthesizer sounds and one of the most interesting voices we’ve come across this year. Kathryn’s distinct voice conveys both a fragility and a deep passion as she half lilts, half growls her way through the song. Pulsating arpeggios and haunting keys form the undercurrent of the track, which carries and almost ScaniPop flavour, making what would be a gentle, ethereal track suitable for the dancefloor. Grey White December delivers more of the same, but with a husky soul to the vocals and a Chillwave feel to the beat heavy, smokey music. I Am Snow Angel is definitely one to keep an eye on in 2014.