Nov 11 2009

The Good Natured

Sarah McIntosh A.K.A. The Good Natured is currently making tiny ripples amongst the UK music press having been championed by, amongst others, The NME, The Guardian and PopJustice. Tiny ripples that are sure to grow into ElectroPop waves!

Beats that range from laidback grooves to more dancefloor and Drum & Bass tinged patterns provide the backdrop for cheap synths and Sarah’s heartfelt vocals.

Sounding a lot more raw and exiting than many of her contemporary female singer/songwriters, The Good Natured is a UK female fronted ElectroPop act who are headed for dark, dingy clubs rather than her peer’s glossy retro discos!

♫ The Good Natured – Your Body Is A Machine (zShare) (MediaFire)

You can pick up The Good Natured ‘s ‘Your Body Is A Machine’ EP from either their MySpace or from Rough Trade records.

The Good Natured @ MySpace

The Good Natured @ Rough Trade

Nov 9 2009

New Atomizer album out today!

Atomizer, being ex-Specimen keyboardist Johnny Slut and his DJ partner Fil OK, spearheaded the London electro scene in the early 2000’s with their legendary club night Nag Nag Nag, and arguably helped kick-off the Electro resurgence we are enjoying today.

Today they drop their second full length studio album after a run of fantastic EPs, titled ‘Cult Of Europa’ and it’s the sleazy, twisted, noisy SynthPop affair you would expect from these two, with a healthy dose of Acid burbling.

Check these tracks from the album:

♫ Atomizer – I’d Prefer Not To (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Atomizer – Je Suis Lesbien (zShare) (MediaFire)

’Cult Of Europa’ is out on Nag Nag Nag Records:

Atomizer @ Beatport

Atomizer @ Juno

Atomizer @ Amazon

Nov 3 2009

Róisín Murphy’s new single

Highly underrated queen of UK ElectroPop Róisín Murphy returns this month with her eagerly anticipated new single ‘Orally Fixated’.

Never one to completely bow to the mainstream, Róisín litters ‘Orally Fixated’ with broken beats and cut up samples that power through a spacious 80’s sounding mix (huge reverb washed snares!) before unexpectedly dropping a wailing guitar solo!

Experimental and Pop seem like two diametrically opposed terms, but Ms. Murphy skilfully brings the two together and takes them both to the disco.

♫ Róisín Murphy – Orally Fixated (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘Orally Fixated‘ let’s loose November 16th on AWAL, also The Guardian will be offering a free download for 48 hours.

Róisín Murphy @ Beatport

Róisín Murphy @ Juno

Róisín Murphy @ 7Digital

Róisín Murphy @ Amazon

Oct 31 2009

The Vault: Creaking open to bring you some Halloween Ministry!

The Vault: The classics of Electronic Music. The influential and the groundbreaking. The pioneering and the music we grew up on…

Happy Halloween readers!

Just a quick one today, but we couldn’t really let Halloween slip by without posting this gem could we?

You may know who Ministry are; black dreads, long beards, Metal guitars, shouty vocals, skulls on mic stands etc…, basically a walking Metal cliché. Things weren’t always the case!

1981 to 1984 Ministry were actually a really good SynthPop band, probably one of the best the US has ever produced Releasing a handful of 12”s on Wax Trax! Records culminating with the album ‘With Sympathy’ on Arista Records, Al Jourgensen (above; later to sport black dreads, a cowboy hat and a heroin addiction) produced some fantastic, emotional and groove laden New Wave music. With 1986’s ‘Twitch’ album Ministry discovered Industrial music, and it was still all good. ‘Twitch’ is a well crafted, harsh, electronic record. Even 1998’s ‘Land Of Rape And Honey’ has some good tracks on it, although it’s standing at the top of (if not actually sliding down) the slippery slope of mediocre rock music.

Ministry’s career, from1989 onwards, is just a decent into stereotypical Heavy Metal with any originality or innovation stripped from the mix. In a laughable attempt to sound ‘hard’ Al Jourgensen has disowned his early recordings as “…an abortion”.

Such a pity…such talent gone to waste…

Anyway, it’s the ‘season of the witch’ and all that, so get your listening gear ‘round Ministry’s classic ‘Everyday (Is Halloween)’, a brilliant poppy disco track, and imagine the band that could have been…

♫ Ministry – Everyday (Is Halloween) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Ministry’s early works are still available on CD:

Ministry @ 7Digital

Ministry @ Amazon

Oct 23 2009

Marina’s made my week!

Seriously! Ever since these two reMixes of Marina And The Diamonds forthcoming single, ‘Mowgli’s Road’ (Originally the B-side of ‘Obsessions’), dropped into the electronic rumors inbox I haven’t been able to stop listening to them.

And don’t make me pick between the two, I couldn’t do it. Mille’s rework is upbeat with a bouncing bassline. It’s arpeggios and strings brilliantly capture the epicness of the original while Valerie man Russ Chimes brings his 80’s styled disco funk to the track and then hits you with massive electro breakdowns.

Two seriously good reMixes:

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (Mille reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (Russ Chimes reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

Check the original too, in all it’s quirky brilliance!

♫ Marina And The Diamonds – Mowgli’s Road (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘Mowgli’s Road’ drops on November 16th and can be pre ordered at PureGroove, it comes B-sided with a cover of Late Of The Pier’s ‘Space And The Woods’.

Marina And The Diamonds @ PureGroove

Marina And The Diamonds @ 7Digital

Marina And The Diamonds @ Amazon

Jun 5 2009

Saar & Sky

It’s my pleasure to introduce to you Saar & Sky, and I say “my pleasure” as I believe S&S are one of the best bands in London, which in the current musical climate is saying quite a lot.

Both members of electronic act New Europeans, these two have branched off to produce something kinda’ poppier than their previous work.

In a world of retro-esq or nostalgia laden gimmicky tracks this ElectroPop duo make authentic 80’s sounding Pop tunes. Even without the synth work the songwriting itself is straight out of the great decade but the package is wrapped with the tiniest hint of French/Electro-House, just enough to make it sound fresh and relevant.

Whether it’s the layers of synthesizers, the electro toms or Saar’s impassioned vocals (which have just the right amount of theatricality without sounding over the top, a real trait of 80’s vocals) the guys have nailed it.

Give it a listen:

♫ Saar & Sky – Charge Me Up (zShare) (MediaFire)

Go show S&S some MySpace love and check out their other tracks:

Saar & Sky @ MySpace

Jun 5 2009

Pony Pony Run Run

Getting some major airplay in Europe is French ElectroPop trio Pony Pony Run Run’s latest single ‘Hey You’. The accompanying reMixes are a really great crop of tunes.

Pony Pony Run Run themselves have dropped a stunning dance reMix. Heavier than the original it’s a ice cold Nu-Disco/ElectroPop mashup.

StereoHeroes have fun with their reMix, warping sound and bringing an old school dance flavour before dropping the Disco riffs while sayCet go completely the opposite direction and deliver an ambient, chilled noise lullaby that sounds like the world winding down.

♫ Pony Pony Run Run – Hey You (PPRR Dance reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Pony Pony Run Run – Hey You (StereoHeroes reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Pony Pony Run Run – Hey You (sayCet Official reMix) (zShare) (MediaFire)

The album ‘You Need Pony Pony Run Run’ is released June 8th:

Pony Pony Run Run @ Amazon

Jun 4 2009

Robyn covers Yelle

‘Ding!’ “Seconds out, Round two!”

Ducking and diving, it’s the mad Swede Robyn with an English take on Yelle’s ‘À Cause Des Garçons’, ‘Because Of Boys’.

Mixing it up ‘Cobrastyle’ Robyn’s tack is actually very cool, however the song itself doesn’t translate as well which is most evident in the chorus. What was once a big focal point to the track becomes almost apologetic in English.

It’s a pity as Robyn brought a brilliant ElectroPop tune to the ring.

♫ Robyn – Because Of Boys (À Cause Des Garçons) (Yelle Cover) (zShare) (MediaFire)

I kinda’ prefer Yelle’s track, but in the end the we, the listeners, are the winners!

Robyn @ 7Digital

Robyn @ Amazon

Jun 4 2009

Yelle covers Robyn

As part of the iTunes Foreign Exchange series France and Sweden are going head-to-head in a clash of the ElectroPop nutcases.

Round One sees Parisian Electro queen Yelle covering Robyn’s ‘Who’s That Girl?’ in her native tongue and she comes out swinging with a brilliant upbeat Club-Pop take on the track that’s bristling with ‘crazy’.

Écoutez:

♫ Yelle – Qui Est Cette Fille? (Who’s That Girl?) (Robyn Cover) (zShare) (MediaFire)

‘Ding’!’ There’s the bell…

Yelle @ Juno

Yelle @ 7Digital

Yelle @ Amazon

Jun 2 2009

Little Boots album tracks (inc. Phil Oakey!)

Pretty exiting stuff, two tracks from Little Boots’ forthcoming album, ‘Hands’, right here, right now!

Remedy is pure Little Boots, dancefloor electronics that are just that little bit more interesting than your average Pop song and a huge chorus, every bit as infectious as her previous tracks.

But the main event here is ‘Symmetry’, her duet with The Human League’s Phil Oakey, just thinking about it gives me goose bumps. So the track’s bouncing along nicely. Again, it’s proper Boots Pop. Some nice filtered bass and Victoria is working it, then ‘bam’, Phil come in and takes the track to another level. As with his recent collaboration with Pet Shop Boys he seems to dominate the track (I don’t mean that in a bad way!). Loving the 80’s spoken bridge!

♫ Little Boots – Remedy (Radio Rip) (zShare) (MediaFire)

♫ Little Boots (Feat. Philip Oakey) – Symmetry (Promo.) (zShare) (MediaFire)

I can’t wait for the album release (but then, I would love some new The Human League too!).

Little Boots @ Beatport

Little Boots @ 7Digital

Little Boots @ Juno

Little Boots @ Amazon