Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:
We really don;t know why Goin; Old School hasn’t featured 80s heroes A Flock Of Seagulls’ biggest hit, 1982’s Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) before, but here you go.
Followed by some early Electro from 1984 with Hey DJ from Malcolm McLaren cohorts World’s Famous Supreme Team.
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The current single from French ElectroPop duo Reflex, Together, out now on Continental Records, has been getting some serious play round these parts during the warmer months. It’s now available in video for that perfectly captures the summery vibe.
Pieced together from footage of Reflex’s recent trip to the US, the clip contains some nice bits of Las Vegas going on. Ah the memories.
Reflex’s Together reMixes is out now
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Riding high on a couple of amazing and well received singles, New York DiscoPop duo French Horn Rebellion recently asked their fans what track they should cover. Well, the fans have spoken and the choice cut comes straight from our beloved The Human League and their most recognisable hit, Don’t You Want Me. Mess with The Human League and got it wrong at your peril, let’s check it out.
Bringing the tempo down and replacing the originals abrasive synths with a dreamy laid back funk, French Horn Rebellion make the track pretty unrecognisable. The lyrics crooned, the hook hammered out slap bass style this version of the tune slinks it’s way through lounge Disco until it finally nods toward the decade that spawned the song with some fidgety 80s synths. Not quite as good as the original, but a damn good attempt to reinvent the track. French Horn Rebellion get a pass.
♫ French Horn Rebellion – Don’t You Want Me (The Human League Cover)
French Horn Rebellion’s Dancing Out single is out now.
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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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Here we end the week with an absolute synthesizer legend remixing another, not-quite-so-legendary–but-still-pretty-legendary artist. SynthPop pioneer and electronic music foundation John Foxx, alongside long-time collaborator Benge as John Foxx & The Maths have reworked the new single from Detroit ElectroClash originators Adult.’s new single, Tonight, We Fall with unsettling results.
What Foxx and cohorts present for you here is five minutes of growling synths, icy arpeggios and machine beats. Factory floor filtered electronic rhythms and hypnotic melodies pin the track down into a relentless march of synthetic sounds broken only by an epic, soaring, middle eight and Adult.’s Nicola Kuperus post Post-Punk vocals. The original version of the track is surprisingly jolly in comparison, after listening to the John Foxx mix, the originals beats seem skippy, the lead lines playful, the harsh drones positively welcoming.
♫ Adult. – Tonight, We Fall (John Foxx & The Maths reMix)
♫ Adult. – Tonight, We Fall
Adult.’s Tonight, We Fall is released 27th August.
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London’s finest Dreamwave outfit New Arcades are here to brighten up your week with a new free track. Hot on the heels of the acclaimed self-titled début EP and a growing reputation for live brilliance in the capital, the guys are working hard on new material, but have dropped this instrumental to keep you going until the new tunes are ready for the picking.
Reflections is a majestic tune. Emotionally resonant in it’s use of synthesizers to create a rush of nostalgic warmth. Based around an Industrial beat and chugging Italo bassline, the track builds and builds, creating a multi-layered soundtrack where rousing hooks and shining melodies swirl around the listeners head. The lead riff, particularly, will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Get involved.
New Arcades self-titled EP is out now.
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As teased in our interview with Anton earlier this month Tesla Boy’s new single from their amazing The Universe Made Of Darkness album is Undetected. The slow-mo snyth funk track also gets three slick reimaginings in the single package, reMixes coming from the likes of Shur-I-Kan, Lipelis and Pioneerball.
Our picks from the single would have to be London producer Shur-I-kan’s funky take on Undetected. Upping the tempo and adding a little energy to the track Shur-I-Kan drags it straight to the dancefloor. Thick synth bass and a flowing Disco groove power this track along, taking Anton’s smooth vocals long for the ride. Also Pioneerball reMix The Universe Made Of Darkness’ ode to the early 90s 1991. Choosing to ignore the track theme, Pioneerball instead conjure up a pitch perfect late 70s Funk take on the track. The whole reMix collection is a nice compliment to the album, check it out.
♫ Tesla Boy – Undetected (Shur-I-Kan reMix)
♫ Tesla Boy – 1991 (Pioneerball reMix)
Tesla Boy’s Undetected single, is out now.
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Here’s the video for Lenses, the title track of amazing Portland based Minimal Synth outfit Soft Metals’ sophomore album.
Co-Directed by Eva Aguila and Soft Metal’s Patricia Hall, it’s the closes thing to a ‘traditional’ music video Soft Metals have done, but with added Soft Metals psychedelic, electronic, flair.
Soft Metals’ Lenses is out now.
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We don’t tend to make much of a secret of our love for Sheffield Electronic Music pioneers Cabaret Voltaire. They’ve been one of our favourite artists for as long as we can remember and their myriad forms have always been an influence on us. They’ve been few quite a few music changes, experimenting with new styles and taking on new influences and whist we love their harsh experimental beginnings and the deep House influenced later work, the mid-80s era of Cabaret Voltaire is ‘our’ Cabs, the Cabs we grew up with.
Continuing Mute Records series of re-issues, Cabaret Voltaire are set to release the box set #8385 (Collected Works 1984-1985). this is a pretty exciting collection, featuring remastered editions of The Crackdown (1983), Micro-Phonies (1984), Drinking Gasoline (1985) and The Covenant, The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord (1985), some of The Cabs greatest works. Also contained in the package is a CD of Cabaret Voltaire’s 12” of the period and a CD of unreleased material, titled Earthshaker, alongside two DVDs featuring a couple of live shows, the promo videos from the time and the long awaited DVD release of 1985 VHS tape Gasoline In Your Eye. That’s not all, there’s also included a 40-page booklet and some slick packaging. This is a seriously essential purchase for Cabaret Voltaire fans and for anyone interested in the history of electronic music.
♫ Cabaret Voltaire – Sensoria (12” Version)
♫ Cabaret Voltaire – Just Fascination
♫ Cabaret Voltaire – I Want You
Cabaret Voltaire’s #8385 (Collected Works 1984-1985) is released 4th November.
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Sheen is the forthcoming new single from Brooklyn Minimal Synth duo Xeno & Oaklander. The first taste of their forthcoming new album, due out this Autumn, Sheen is a surprisingly upbeat and catchy affair.
The video was directed by Joshua Zucker-Pluda and revolves around the last woman left int he world, alone and searching for answers.
Xeno & Oaklander’s Sheen is out now on 12” and digital with single pamphlet.
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