Australian SynthPop heroes Parralox have débuted the video for their forthcoming single ‘Isn’t It Strange’. Like a female fronted, early ’90’s Depeche Mode, Parralox produce classic SynthPop, in the truest sense of the word. The new single is tinged with melancholy but a generally uplifting electronic Pop tune and this classy video works really well with the track.
I’ll tell you what, I’ve missed 90’s orchestral stabs!
‘Isn’t It Strange’ is released April 2010 on Conzoom Records.
British SynthPop duo Monarchy may still remain a mystery but the good tunes keep coming. Their combination of chilled out dance grooves, classic SynthPop and beautiful lyrics are winning over hearts, minds and ears everywhere.
Their next single’ The Phoenix Alive’ is out next month and features reMixes by Kris Menace and Hot City. You can hear the Kris Menace mix here, with a kinda’ of old school feel, and kinda’ epic.
♫ Monarchy – The Phoenix Alive (Kris Menace Mix) (zShare) (MediaFire)
‘The Phoenix Alive’ drops 16th April.
Right kids, I’ve been pretty ill the last few days so I have all these posts mounting up and tonight they are gonna’ drop. We’ve got a lot to get through, so hold on tight!
So, I can think of no better way to kick things off than with Essex SynthPoppers Relation who are gearing up for the release of the second single from their ‘Fear Of Night’ album.
Relation’s slightly house tinged SynthPop mixes some really early 80’s sounding elements, particularly in the vocals and lead lines (think early Depeche Mode) with modern beats and basslines which makes for a compelling combination. The single, ‘Optimistic’, is a smooth, almost SynthSoul, jam that comes with a meaty reMix package. The Laserdisco mix is a minimal, bass heavy take that verges on Dub. The Diogenes Club provide probably my favourite of the mixes sending the track straight into Disco territory. You know all the Dreamwave tracks your playing in your Ferrari driving through the city streets at night? Well, this is the track they are playing at the club you’re heading to! Eat More Cake attack the track from left field with some world music atmospherics that somehow actually compliment the vocals.
♫ Relation – Optimistic (Laserdisco reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Relation – Optimistic (The Diogenes Club reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Relation – Optimistic (Eat More Cake reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)
It’s nice to see such a varies bunch of reMixes!
‘Optimistic’ is released 26th April on Urban Torque
The second Jocks reMix of the day!
This time it’s ElectroPop act Ou Est Le Swimming Pool who get the treatment with their brand new single ‘These New Knights’. In the last 12 months Ou Est have gone from SynthPop obscurity to having a huge hit in the form of ‘Dance The Way I Feel’ and a string of high profile live shows. ‘These New Knights’ is a precursor to their début album, scheduled for a June release. Jocks gives us a poppy yet heavy electro workout of the single.
♫ Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – These New Knights (Jocks reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)
‘These New Knights’ is released later this month.
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool @ Beatport
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool @ Juno
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool @ 7Digital
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool @ Amazon
Kisses, otherwise known as Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson, a Disco-Pop duo out of LA, will be releasing their début single in April.
‘Bermuda’ is everything you’d want from a summery ElectroPop track, chilled and laidback but interesting enough to hold your attention with smooth production. Rather than commanding you to the dancefloor, it politely invites you with a charm you just can’t turn down!
♫ Kisses – Bermuda (zShare) (MediaFire)
‘Bermuda’ is out on 19th April on Transparent and includes a reMix from Active Child. Until the, show the pair some MySpace love!
It can’t just be me?
I can’t be the only one?
I find myself completely unable to hum/sing to myself this:
Without ending up humming/singing to myself this:
Black and white videos? Suits? Saxophone solos? Five letter bandnames? Songs called “Wonderful Life” that have the lyric “It’s a Wonderful Life” in the chorus? C’mon, are they trying to mess with my head?
But with all that in common they sound totally different, are totally different songs. Black’s 1987 Synth-Soul classic holds a lot of memories for me and as much as it has a place in my heart it has been really outdone by HURTS SynthPop powerhouse.
I do suggest you own both though!
Last night Depeche Mode performed a one off show at London’s Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust and come encore they were joined on stage by the one and only Alan Wider.
This the first time he has joined his ex-bandmates since leaving the band in June 1995, and forming Recoil. These couple of poor quality videos of the performance of ‘Somebody’ can be your solace for not being there!
All they need now is to convince him to produce the next album and we’re good to go!
22 year old Londoner Japayork is a graphic designer, photographer, maker of sweet SynthPop tracks and now video director with this excellent self-made video he created for his track ‘Our Now’.
Japayork is defiantly a name to keep an eye on in 2010, his lush, layered synth tunes and personal lyrics are sure to strike a chord with most people who hear them.
Also here we have a reMix of his track ‘Teenager’ that sees Japanese Electro producer Lalory get medieval orchestral all over the track!
♫ Japayork – Our Now (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Japayork – Teenager (Lalory’s Broadway Mix) (zShare) (MediaFire)
You should head over to Japayork’s MySpace and show him some love!
I still don’t remember it ever being called ‘cold wave’ or ‘minimal synth’ but I am glad that the early pioneers of SynthPop are getting a bit of attention these past few months (and that the sound is being carried on by a new batch of artists!). Angular Recording Corporation has enlisted the help of two men who spearheaded this revival, Pieter Schoolwerth, founder of Wired Records and Angular’s own Joe Daniel to compile 17 tracks of classic Futurist Pop for their forthcoming ‘Cold Waves And Minimal Electronics Vol.1’.
Spanning 1981-1985 and digging out some severely rare 7”s and demo tapes the compilation perfectly captures the underground electronic sound of the early 80’s northern Europe. Check the track list:
01. Absolute Body Control – Figures
02. Nine Circles – Twinkling Stars
03. Linear Movement – Night In June
04. Opera Multi Steel – Ills S’eloigent
05. Bal Paré – Palais D’Amour
06. Eleven Pond – Watching Trees
07. The Vyllies – Babylon
08. End Of Data – Dans Votre Monde
09. The Actor – Lights
10. Ausgang Verboten – Consumer
11. Jeunesse D’Ivoire – A Gift Of Tears
12. OTO – Anyway
13. Ruth – Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
14. Stereo – Somewhere In The Night
15. The Neon Judgement – The Fashion Party
16. Land Of Giants – Cannibal Dolls
17. Days Of Sorrow – Travel
To give you a taste of what to expect I’ve dug into my archive to bring you two tracks that appear on the compilation. End Of Data’s ‘Dans Votre Monde’ from the LP of the same name and The Neon Judgement’s classic ‘The Fashion Party’, two amazing slices of raw, early electronic Pop.
♫ End Of Data – Dans Votre Monde (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ The Neon Judgement – The Fashion Party (zShare) (MediaFire)
‘Cold Waves And Minimal Electronics Vol.1’ is released 8th March.
Cold Waves And Minimal Electronics Vol.1 @ Amazon
The later part of last year saw a resurgence of what ‘they’ are now calling Minimal Synth or (even) Coldwave, but which I would really just call SynthPop. I guess it’s SynthPop inspired by the late 70’s/early 80’s pioneers of the genre rather than the mid 80’s chart toppers, if you wanted to be really picky I’d call it Futurist music, but whatever, scenes do love their genre names so Minimal Synth it is!
Led Er Est hailing from Brooklyn are one of the leaders of the pack, signed to scene leaders Wierd Records and recently released their ‘Dust On Common’ album which could have quite happily been released on Mute in 1979 alongside Fad Gadget and The Normal. Cheap drum machines and synths hammer away relentlessly forming a post-industrial soundscape for sombre yet emotive vocals.
♫ Led Er Est – Laredo (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Led Er Est – Poll Gorm (zShare) (MediaFire)
♫ Led Er Est – Port Isabel (zShare) (MediaFire)
Their album is out now on Wierd Records.
electronic rumors 