Category: Introducing (Page 23 of 25)

Introducing MAISON VAGUE

12 February 2011 /


It’s 2011 and the MAISON VAGUE battlecry is “Synthpop’s alive!”!

MAISON VAGUE’s debut long player of the same name harks back to an earlier stage of Synth Britannia when the mighty Moog was king. Consisting of lone American-born German-domiciled keyboardist / programmer Clark Stiefel, the title track of MAISON VAGUE’s album was initially a reaction to a YouTube video entitled ‘Synthpop Is Dead’.

Totally disagreeing with its creator, Clark responded but instead of speaking his protest, he sang it in a classic synthpop style. The opening salvo of “Everyone’s entitled to opinion… you have yours and well I have mine. And though it seems that our opinions differ… you’ll agree in time!” could be the sound of PLACEBO gone electro.

Featuring lots of organic synth sounds and rich vintage soloing, some clever programming helps to provide a fluid as opposed to mechanical rhythm section to give it heart and soul.

With a template of Gary Numan meeting DEVO, among the other tracks from the album, the brilliant ‘Give Them Away’ takes its lead from ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and in particular ‘Observer’, but is developed into a far more complete composition. It also finishes with a simulated violin solo that recalls ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie who incidentally played on that very Numan album. Its second cousin ‘Buried In Sandstone’ is also decidedly Numan-esque while ‘My Situation’ takes its inspiration from THE HUMAN LEAGUE.

Changing the tempo slightly, the reggae stabbed electro of ‘Tunnel Vision’ recalls late 90s cult combo BAXENDALE and lifts in the chorus via some lovely layers of string machine. As a whole, ‘Synthpop’s Alive’ combines aggression with eccentricity although a sly tongue-in-cheek irony allows the listener to have fun and not take it all too seriously!

‘Synthpop’s Alive’ is available now as a download album from Amazon

http://www.maisonvague.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Maison-Vague-43000159265/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th February 2011

Introducing THE HORN THE HUNT

1 February 2011 /


THE HORN THE HUNT are enigmatic Leeds based pop duo Clare Carter and Joseph Osborne.

They have an intriguing Nordic tinged sound which has added authenticity following a three-month spell writing on location in Greenland and spending half the time in perpetual darkness.

They released their self-titled debut album ndependently in 2009 but in early 2010 were signed by Ann Shenton of ADD N TO X’s White Label Music.

The grandiose ‘Raptor’ is the first single to be taken from their forthcoming second album ‘Depressur Jolie’. The vintage synths whirr like sirens, while the brooding bass compliments the multi-timbre vocals as they hit several octaves. Aurally disconcerting, the spectre of THE KNIFE runs throughout although the sinister edge of dark Teutonic industrialists RAMMSTEIN also lingers.

Of THE HORN THE HUNT’s other recent material, ‘Henry’s Out’ is percussively spooky with echoes of NEW ORDER fronted by Karin Dreijer Andersson while ‘Old Town Cow’ adds a Far Eastern flavour to some chattering cowbells. With additional inspiration from artists such as KATE BUSH, BJORK and ANGELO BADALAMENTI, Clare Carter says: “The darkness of the human mind and our difficult relationship with nature, these are the things that became apparent, and the most therapeutic way to deal with them, in all cultures, is through art.”

THE HORN THE HUNT’s music is mysterious but accessible. Sourced from futuristic sounds, stark beats and Pagan mythology, their sonic chill provides challenging but rewarding listening.

‘Depressur Jolie’ is scheduled to be released by White Label Music in May 2011

http://thehornthehunt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thehornthehunt

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd February 2011, updated 12th October 2013

Introducing SUNDAY GIRL

28 October 2010 /


Jade Williams got her stage name from a part time job she had in a pet shop where she was known simply as SUNDAY GIRL.

So is she a Pet Shop Girl? No, she hints at something much darker although the suspicion that’s she’s just a model trying her hand at a pop career still looms. But her new single ‘Stop Hey!’ is kooky and stylish avant pop.

Overdriven drum sounds and a piercing trebly riff dominate this piece of icy Eurocentric electro, sounding not unlike Ellie Goulding with a 20 cigarettes a day habit backed by MIRRORS and MGMT!

Her 21st Century cover of RAF’s ‘Self Control’ which was made famous by LAURA BRANNIGAN was pleasant but inconclusive as was her folktronica debut single ‘Four Floors’. However, Miss Williams does have some superb songs from her forthcoming debut album waiting to be unleashed.

Of those, ’24 Hours’ is wonderfully claustrophobic post-punk with hints of early Factory Records while best of all, the brilliant ‘All The Songs’ and its moodier percussive pace is powered by pulsing electronic bass and layers of vibrato synth tones.

This is music to crumble to while smoking a Gauloises alone in a Paris cafe. So could SUNDAY GIRL be Hertfordshire’s answer to EMILIE SIMON? Peut-être! Qui Sait?

‘Stop Hey!’ is released by Geffen Records

www.wearesundaygirl.com

www.myspace.com/wearesundaygirl

Text by Chi Ming Lai
28th October 2010

Introducing HYPERBUBBLE

7 October 2010 /

Quirky Texan synthesizer couple HYPERBUBBLE are already veterans of two albums ‘Solid Pop’ and ‘Airbrushed Alibis’.

Jess (vocals, synthesizers and bionics) and Jeff (sequencers, synthesizers and vocals) deliver a species of cartoonish synthpop that is reminiscent of that great lost duo VIC TWENTY who supported ERASURE in 2004 and practically blew them off the stage during their unconvincing covers period.

HYPERBUBBLE themselves call their music Bionic Bubblepunk. Jess is the electro Emma Peel while Jeff is the obedient robotic version of John Steed. To HYPERBUBBLE, “guitars are retro and sequencers are the key to the future”. But among all the blips and blops, good humourous songs are the key.

Their most recent album ‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ is a tasty fairground ride that takes in influences as diverse as YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA and OUR DAUGHTERS WEDDING to THE OHIO EXPRESS and THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE. The wonderfully quirky title track with its colourful feline flavoured promo video somehow manages to be a cross of all of those.

The album doesn’t disappoint, packed with fun tunes such as ‘Pictures of Paradise’, ‘Girl Boy’, ‘Pop Toy’ and ‘U.F.O. Beach Party’ plus a supporting cast of short eccentric instrumentals like ‘Moogzilla Vs Korgatron’ and ‘Teddy Bear Crime Wave’.

Signed to Bubblegum Records, HYPERBUBBLE will appeal to those who like their electro shiny and with a sense of humour.

‘Candy Apple Daydreams’ is available via the usual retaliers

http://www.hyperbubble.net/

https://www.facebook.com/hyperbubble

https://twitter.com/Hyperbubble

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photo by Joe Wallace
7th October 2010

Introducing VILE ELECTRODES

19 August 2010 /

VILE ELECTRODES are a colourful trio consisting of Anais Neon, Loz Tronic and Martin Swan who formed due to an unhealthy obsession with analogue synthesizers and a desire to escape reality through dressing up.

And dress up they do. They also describe themselves “Vulgar – Eloquent, Vitriolic – Electronic, Vintage – Embittered, Visceral – Epicurean, Vague – Ephemeral.”

Their best track so far is ‘Deep Red’, a title inspired by Dario Argento’s ‘Profondo Rosso’. It’s a gorgeous seven and a half minute synth ballad that comes over like Client B born and raised in the Home Counties fronting Dindisc-era ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK.

Their other material has disco potential, ranging from the dark neo-rave of ‘Empire Of Wolves’ to the shiny indie electro of ‘Play With Fire’ which musically is what THE SMITHS probably would have sounded like if Johnny Marr had picked up a Roland instead of a Rickenbacker!

VILE ELECTRODES will be playing a number of gigs towards the end of the summer at: London Putney Half Moon (19 August), Sheffield West Street Live (2 September), London Camden Purple Turtle with INERTIA and MECHANICAL CABARET (10 September)

http://www.vileelectrodes.com/

https://www.facebook.com/vileelectrodes/

https://twitter.com/vileelectrodes

Text by Chi Ming Lai
19th August 2010

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