Category: Introducing (Page 11 of 26)

Introducing FARAO

8 August 2018 /

Berlin based Norwegian songstress and multi-instrumentalist FARAO could be next to follow her compatriot Susanne Sundfør onto the wider world stage with her brand of prog pop.

The musical vehicle of Kari Jahnsen, FARAO formally launches her second album ‘Pure-O’ with a self-directed and edited video for the captivating ‘Lula Loves You’, an electro driven number laced with sub-bass that is loosely inspired by the David Lynch film ‘Wild At Heart’.

The grainy stoic video gives ample opportunity for gear geeks to play ‘Name That Synth’ and showcases Jahnsen’s new found interest in collecting Soviet-built analogue instruments. Alongside a Formanta Polivoks duophonic, a Elektronika EM-25 string machine can be seen. Meanwhile better known vintage equipment like a Korg Delta and a Sequential Drumtraks also make an appearance.

‘Lula Loves You’ follows the superbly rousing trailer single ‘The Ghost Ship’ which was championed by Hannah Peel when she stood in for Guy Garvey on his BBC 6 Music radio show ‘Finest Hour’ in May. That particular song was about losing a sense of direction but it would seem artistically as least, Jahnsen is focussed, presenting ‘Pure-O’ as her statement on the “the curious dichotomy between beauty and destructiveness in sex and relationships”.

Combining vintage synths, harps, minimalism, disco and even a touch of R’n’B on ‘Pure-O’, FARAO adds some Cold War chic to develop further on that Nordic mystery which won acclaim for her quirky folk-tinged 2015 debut long player ‘Till It’s All Forgotten’.

‘Lula Loves You’ and ‘The Ghost Ship’ are from the album ‘Pure-O’ which will be released by Western Vinyl and Su Tissue Records on 19th October 2018 in transparent vinyl LP, black vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, pre-order from http://westernvinyl.com/shop/wv177

FARAO plays live at The Sebright Arms in London on Wednesday 17th October 2018

https://www.farao.biz/

https://www.facebook.com/faraomusic/

https://twitter.com/faraomusic

https://www.instagram.com/faraomusic/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Maxime Imbert
8th August 2018

Introducing PARK FIRES

5 June 2018 /

What’s the definition of synthpop? Well, it’s pop music that uses synthesizers.

Whether it’s THE HUMAN LEAGUE or CHVRCHES, for generations over 30 years apart, these two acts’ interpretations of synthpop have been an entry point for many into the world of electronic music.

People seem to forget that very few actually get into THROBBING GRISTLE on first listen!

Even Luis Vasquez, the man behind the darker platitudes of THE SOFT MOON expressed a love for PRINCE and MICHAEL JACKSON, admitting to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “My first exposure to music was pop”

One new act embracing the sound of both THE HUMAN LEAGUE and CHVRCHES are the Leeds-based duo PARK FIRES. Comprising of Rachel Lissenburg and Emma Duffy, their second single ‘Watch Me Go’ released at the start of 2017 was both accessible and aesthetically inventive, adopting CHVRCHES’ ethos by producing a song that could have easily come from the pen of Taylor Swift.

With its percussive barrages and sweeps of sparkling synths, some might call it synthwave but ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK will keep it simple and call it synthpop. Presenting ‘Watch Me Go’ with a classic synth-laden framework for that avant pop edge which allowed THE HUMAN LEAGUE to appeal to tech geeks and hairdressers alike, those who enjoyed the small but enjoyable catalogues of TECHNIQUE and PEACH are likely to appreciate PARK FIRES.

PARK FIRES have had an interesting journey to date since their bittersweet debut single ‘Home’, having been part of indie trio AGAINST HABIT and experienced the joys of now jettisoned band management. Now wholly independent, Lissenburg and Emma Duffy have attracted BBC local radio airplay and have just had a brand new single ‘Wake Me Up’ released by local label Come Play With Me.

Utilising a 6/8 swing and dealing with the difficult issue of futile unrequited love, ‘Wake Me Up’ offers a darker trip-hop influence but with a wonderfully soulful chorus and sparkling synth runs to offset that mood.

So far releasing at a rate of one single per year, creative momentum is now increasing in the PARK FIRES camp with further live dates on the way and an EP expected later in 2018.

‘Wake Me Up’ is released by Come Play With Me via the usual digital platforms

https://www.facebook.com/parkfires/

https://twitter.com/parkfires

https://www.instagram.com/parkfires/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th June 2018

Introducing SINOSA

14 May 2018 /

With her quirky electronically driven avant disco, Los Angeles based SINOSA has charmed audiences with her debut single ‘If U Must Dance’.

Knowingly oddball with a delightful vocal nonchalance, the former member of FOL CHEN cites influences such as Laurie Anderson and BROADCAST.

Indeed, with a glitchy ambience amongst the beats, ‘If U Must Dance’ is what LITTLE BOOTS could have been had she put her mind to it.

This is all visually reinforced by a strangely alluring video directed by Al Kamalizad and choreographed by Ania Catherine, which illustrates the song perfectly with its surreal modern dance and mime while SINOSA goes on something of a power trip.

SINOSA said of her visual concept: “We had to decide how literally we wanted to interpret the words in the video. Al is also an incredible animator so that let us go far with body isolation and impossible movement. It’s fun and a little unnerving.”

B-side ‘The State’ is less immediate but recalls some of LADYTRON’s more experimental but still melodic moments on their debut ‘604’ album, showcasing the possibilities of a home studio equipped with just a microphone, a sampler and a MIDI controller. In all, it’s rather delightfully promising.

Released on Happy Robots Records who also brought the world musical various works by RODNEY CROMWELL, HOLGRAM TEEN and PATTERN LANGUAGE, this is an impressive statement of intent from the graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, with an artful but accessible opening salvo.

‘If U Must Dance’ b/w ‘The State’ is released by Happy Robots Records as a 7 inch clear vinyl single, available from https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/product-page/sinosa-if-u-must-dance-7

https://sinosa.com

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
14th May 2018

Introducing SOFT AS SNOW

3 March 2018 /

If Karin Dreijer and Trent Reznor made a record together, then they might sound like Norwegian leftfield duo SOFT AS SNOW.

After two EPs ‘Glass Body’ and ‘Chrysalis’ released in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the Berlin based pairing of Oda Egjar Starheim and Øystein Monsen finally make the plunge on the long playing trail with their first album ‘Deep Wave’ out in April 2018.

As can be expected from an act that may or may not have named themselves after the song by MY BLOODY VALENTINE, creative use of noise is one of SOFT AS SNOW’s key philosophies. But this is not to say that they eschew melody or song structures.

Indeed, Monsen says of ‘Deep Wave’: “We’ve both always been drawn to the idea of pop music, and are interested in how far you can stretch the boundaries, before it becomes something else. For us, this is essentially a pop album”.

The excellent lead single ‘Snake’ is a fine calling card for ‘Deep Wave’, with stuttering drum machine and whirring synth bass coupled to Starheim’s unsettling distorted vocals, forming an amalgam of congruous intonation and decipherable words before the whole thing rumbles to aural implosion!

A film created by Conrad Pack to visualise ‘Snake’ puts the song into mindbending context with its surreal computer animation that at various points enters space and other strange dimensions. Given SOFT AS SNOW’s strident experimental sound, it is perhaps not surprising to learn that Starheim has a background in performance art, while Monsen drummed in noise rock bands.

‘Deep Wave’ is not an easy listen by any means, but sees Starheim and Monsen fully committed to their ethos and growing as artists, especially on the desolate atmospheres of ‘Sleep/Slip’ and ‘Mass’. But the new single ‘Pink Rushes’ is even more warped and uncompromising.

‘Deep Wave’ develops on the promise of their earlier work; ‘I Adore’ from the ‘Chrysalis’ EP was an intriguing slice of witch house quite obviously inspired by THE KNIFE’s ‘Silent Shout’, although given a more aggressive stance with its blend of live percussion over programmed beats and icy layers of synths. Meanwhile, the title track of the ‘Glass Body’ EP showcased a fragility and vulnerability amongst the brooding upbeat cacophony of trancey sounds.

This is not synthwave, this is ‘Deep Wave’. Unconventional, innocent, fierce, tuneful, haunting and danceable all at same time, SOFT AS SNOW have generated curiosity in their weird little world.

‘Deep Wave’ is released by Houndstooth on 6th April 2018 in vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, pre-order from https://softassnow.bandcamp.com/album/deep-wave

https://www.softassnow.com

https://www.facebook.com/softassnow/

http://twitter.com/allourbeasts

https://www.houndstoothlabel.com

https://twitter.com/houndstoothlbl

Text by Chi Ming Lai
3rd March 2018

Introducing KNIGHT$

5 October 2017 /

Coming over like the love child of Richard Butler and Neil Tennant, KNIGHT$ is making waves with his self-confessed brand of sparkly Britalo!

Formally of London duo SCARLET SOHO who were capable of a good tune or two as proven by ‘Gigolo’ and ‘Two Steps From Heartache’, James Knights has a new electropop anthem in ‘Alligator’ co-produced by Martin Dubka. With its unashamedly glitterball disco drive, KNIGHT$ plays on his crowd pleasing nature like KID KASIO collaborating with LES RYTHMES DIGITALES.

The B-side ‘Playin’ It Cool’ doesn’t stray too far from the formula, but is evidence why he was chosen for a parallel role as the lead singer in the current live incarnation of veteran German electropopsters BOYTRONIC.

Shiny danceable pop might be what KNIGHT$ is all about, but he knows and understands his synthpop history, as exemplified by the covers that have featured in his live set. ‘Uncivilized’ was originally recorded by Canadian darkwave trailblazers PSYCHE, while at the other end of the spectrum is PET SHOP BOYS‘ fourth UK No1 single ‘Heart’.

These influences were all successfully mutated together for the impressive debut EP ‘What’s Your Poison?’ which came out in 2016. From it, ‘What We Leave Behind’ took up the mantle of Giorgio Moroder, while the playful neo-instrumental ‘Miami Knight$’ fitted right in with the current vogue for sun kissed synthwave. Then there was the loose electro-funk of the title song while borrowing from NEW ORDER’s ‘Subculture’, ‘So Cold’ more than affirmed KNIGHT$’ Britalo aspirations.

It is often very easy for a promising artist to make a good first impression only to lose it by the release of the first album, but KNIGHT$ still has the poptastic IAMX of ‘Cards On The Table’ up his sleeve. With a recent slot opening for HEAVEN 17 and an upcoming tour supporting Peter Heppner of cult German act WOLFSHEIM in November, things are certainly heading on the right trajectory for KNIGHT$.

‘Alligator’ featuring remixes from ITALOCONNECTION and SUPER HEXAGON is released on 13th October 2017 by Mirrorman / SpecchioUomo via the usual digital outlets

A limited edition 4 track 10 inch green vinyl EP and CD are also available direct from https://knights101.bandcamp.com/

KNIGHT$ opens for Peter Heppner of WOLFSHEIM on the following dates:

Munich Backstage Werk (17th November), Krefeld Kulturfabrik (18th November), Bremen Aladin (19th November), Dresden Alter Schlachthof (23rd November), Erfurt Gewerkschafthaus (24th November), Potsdam Waschaus (25th November),

https://www.facebook.com/Knights101/

https://twitter.com/JPSKNIGHTS

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th October 2017

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