Jun 28 2011

Class Actress album news

It was announced today that following last year’s amazing ‘Journal Of Ardency’ EP ElectroPop artist Elizabeth Harper, better known as Class Actress, is to release her début album later this year.

To be titled ‘Rapprocher’ the album continues Class Actress’ journey into analog fuelled SynthPop with an authentic 80’s musicality. Check out the opening track, ‘Keep You’ displays Elezabeth’s unique brand of Electro, with the enveloping, chilling, vintage synth sound tempered with her intimate 90’s Indie vocals. A winning combination that leaves us thirsting to hear the album.

♫ Class Actress – Keep You

‘Rapprocher’ will be released 18th October on Carpark Records.

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Jun 26 2011

Xeno & Oaklander’s new single

New York Minimal Synth duo Xeno & Oaklander’s released their new single, ‘The Staircase’, this week. An arpeggio fuelled synthesizer lament, the analog electronics conveying just as much frustration as the lyrics. Still, the track isn’t nearly as cold as the outfit’s previous offerings, ‘The Staircase’ is almost warm and dreamlike, if a little edgy.

The Taryn Waldman directed video is a grainy, stark, haunted journey through an 19th-century Brooklyn tenement building.

‘The Staircase’ is taken from Xeno & Oaklander’s forthcoming new album, ‘Sets and Lights’, which drops 11th October via Wierd Records.

♫ Xeno & Oaklander – The Staircase

‘The Staircase’ single is out now.

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Jun 25 2011

Goin’ Old School: Thompson Twins – Doctor! Doctor!

Thompson Twins, sorely overlooked heroes of 80’s music, to often considered a flash-in-the-pan, they awere actually around for years with a string of successful records, one of those being 1984’s ‘Doctor! Doctor!’, here performed on Top Of The Pops.

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Jun 24 2011

Soft Metals’ new album

The first time I heard Portland duo Soft Metals I was instantly enamoured with their blend of Minimal Synth and 90’s House and Techno. Next month they finally release their début, self titled, LP.

Their highly acclaimed EP, ‘The Cold World Melts’ was a five track synth music lovers dream. Analog machine music tempered with soaring melodies and haunting vocals, and surprisingly funky too. The forthcoming album promises a full ten tracks of the same. Check out ‘Psychic Driving’ the sweet electronic ballad the record opens with.

♫ Soft Metals – Psychic Driving

Soft Metal’s début album is released 19th July on Captured Tracks.

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Jun 23 2011

Goin’ Old School: John Foxx – Underpass

Whether with his work in early Ultravox for with three decades of making innovative electronic music John Foxx has always been a banner flyer for the synthesizer, and we love him for it. Here’s 1980’s ‘Underpass’, still a classic.

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Jun 19 2011

The Human League’s next single

The Human League next single, the fourth taken from their recent album ‘Credo’, will be ‘Sky’.

It’s a bit of an odd choice for a single release, I think there are tracks on the album that are better suited, but it’s pretty quintessential League. A classic ElectroPop bassline and Phil’s narrative vocals dominate the track. The single is backed up with reMixes from Plastic Plates, The Hacker, Fusty Delights and Martin Brodin. Plastic Plates bring some really nice synth Funk into play on his reMix, which is probably my favourite of the single, while Fusty Delights is a close second as he revels in a retro synth workout that boarders on ols school EBM at times with rapid fire arpeggios.

♫ The Human League – Sky (Radio Edit)

♫ The Human League – Sky (Plastic Plates reMix)

♫ The Human League – Sky (Fusty Delights reMix)

‘Sky’ is released 17th July, ‘Credo’ is out now.

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Jun 19 2011

Kid Kasio’s new video

UK SynthPop wizard Kid Kasio is back with a brand new tune and video.

Shot on location in New Orleans at their 6 Flags theme park ,which was destroyed by hurricane Katrina in 2005, Nathan Cooper once again proves that with talent and vision you really can do it yourself, without a major labels budget, and produce indistinguishable results.

His latest tune, ‘Over And Over’, perfectly captures that meeting of melancholy and hopefulness that was only really done well in the 80’s with reflective and nostalgic subject matter set against uplifting melodies. The video was directed by Dominic Cooper with photography direction from Ben Todd and Rufus Sewell (yes, that Rufus Sewell).

Kid Kasio is now equipped with a shiny new keyboard rig and ready to take his sound live!

Check out Kid Kasio’s music on SoundCloud.

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Jun 19 2011

Goin’ Old School: Alphaville – Big In Japan

Here’s your slice of nostalgia for Sunday. From 1984 we have Germany’s Alphaville with Big In Japan. It’s an absolutely amazing song. Banner flags and smoke were so big in the mid 80’s!

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Jun 17 2011

Goin’ Old School: Heaven 17 – Penthouse And Pavement

It’s 1981, The Human League seem to have split up, your world is in tatters, then this happens. Heaven 17 put a little funk in your synth life with ‘Penthouse And Pavement’.