Category: Introducing (Page 8 of 25)

Introducing VON KONOW

1 July 2019 /

From the same stable as VILLA NAH, SIN COS TAN,  JUNO FRANCIS and THE HEARING comes Marko von Konow.

The flamboyant Finnish art rocker says he is all about contradictions. Combining European cabaret, progressive rock and synthpop within his strange but accessible world, his sound was premiered on his 2017 album ‘Lieder’ and featured the epic single ‘Horses Run With Me’.

Unsurprisingly, von Konow looks towards Nietzsche and Sartre for literary inspiration while within popular culture, the chameleon presence of Bowie, Mercury and Gaga all loom. Embarking on a journey to distant places, his songs tell of the survival of outsiders.

With rousing avant pop melodies and dramatic orchestrations, the lead single ‘On A Hill’ from the new album ‘For All & None’ sonically echoes THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS cult favourite ‘Love My Way’ with its charming marimba hook. In a superbly picturesque monochromatic video directed by Tommi Pietiläinen with costumes designed by Suvi Hänninen, von Konow exudes an enigmatic demeanour dressed with a thoughtful glam edge.

Utilising von Konow’s inherent theatrics, other highlights on the impressive new album include a filmic jazz inflected duet with Salla Seppälä entitled ‘True As a Dream’ and ‘Away To Harbourside’ which comes over like an Owen Pallett collaboration with PET SHOP BOYS.

The intensely adventurous baroque of ‘Overtaken’ is appropriately Bowie-esque while the vivid colours of ‘Lucid Sound’ bounce like THE DIVINE COMEDY meeting LLOYD COLE & THE COMMOTIONS, but with unexpected bursts of synth for good measure alongside the strings and woodwinds.

With themes of love and death, these dramatic widescreen overtures could appeal to fans of ASSOCIATES, FIAT LUX and THE FALLOUT CLUB.

‘For All & None’ is released by Solina Records in digital formats

https://vonkonow.net/

https://www.facebook.com/vonkonowmusic/

https://www.instagram.com/vonkonowartist/

https://solinarecords.com/von-konow-for-all-and-none/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
1st July 2019

Introducing ALICE HUBBLE

12 June 2019 /


ALICE HUBBLE is the new solo project of Alice Hubley, previously best known for fronting ARTHUR & MARTHA.

Channelling her inner Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram while also exploring the sonics of Germanic masters TANGERINE DREAM and ASHRA, Hubley’s upcoming debut album ‘Polarlichter’ is the product of one lady locked at home with her collection of synthesizers.

An impressive support slot for CAN’s Damo Suzuki finally showcased the electronic pop potential of Hubley which has largely remained hidden within the more indie confines of her musical adventures since ARTHUR & MARTHA. With her forlorn vocal presence, her earthy demeanour is ideal for melancholic pop layered by vintage synths and driven by primitive drum boxes.

‘Goddess’ is the first single and while its musical inspirations are cited as being ‘Boy’ by BOOK OF LOVE, ‘Plainsong’ by THE CURE and ‘Of All The Things We’ve Made’ by OMD, the iconic chordial structure from the first section of the full-length ‘No1 Song In Heaven’ by SPARKS, the Mael Brothers’ pièce de résistance recorded with Giorgio Moroder is also very much in evidence.

Laced in Korg and Juno, Hubley says: “Goddess is a song about the male gaze; about a man idolising a woman to the point that he doesn’t see her as a person. His ‘love’ is all consuming and the focus of his affection is seen merely as an object. As a result he consumes her and takes from her until she has little left, but thankfully she finds the inner strength to walk away.”

With the single released by Happy Robots Records, the rather good B-side ‘Lake Louise’ is a progressive  instrumental in two distinct movements…

Lightly Motorik while dressed with endearing transistorised keyboard tones and grainy synthetic strings in its first half, the second half is more baroque with a lonely piano adding to its solemn film noir quality.

Having already remixed ‘Radio On’ featuring ex-KRAFTWERK elektronisches schlagzeugmeister Wolfgang Flür for TINY MAGNETIC PETS, Hubley opened for the Dublin synthpop trio on their London sojourn during the late May Bank Holiday weekend.

‘Goddess’ featuring three remixes and ‘Lake Louise’ is released as a download bundle by Happy Robots Records on 31st May 2019

The album ‘Polarlichter’ will be released as a limited edition vinyl LP sometime in early August, pre-order direct from https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/product-page/alice-hubble-polarlichter-new-12-lp-pre-order

ALICE HUBBLE opens for ADVANCE BASE at Redon in London’s Bethnal Green on 22nd July 2019 and PRAM at The Moon in Cardiff on 8th August 2019

https://www.happyrobots.co.uk/alice-hubble

https://www.facebook.com/alicehubblemusic/

https://twitter.com/alice_hubble

https://www.instagram.com/alice_hubble/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th June 2019

Introducing WE ARE REPLICA

21 May 2019 /

Formed in 2015, London-based Franco German dark synth duo WE ARE REPLICA offer intense post-industrial electronics for their brand of Pan-European avant-punk.

Comprising of Nadège Préaudat and Martin Kinz who both share songwriting vocals, synths and production, their captivating live presentation is a heavy aural barrage that is not only sinister but actually sexy too.

With the inevitable spectre of THROBBING GRISTLE, CABARET VOLTAIRE and SPK all looming, it all has a strangely enjoyable sado-masochistic presence. With a side-facing keyboard set-up of a Korg M500 Micro Preset, Korg Monologue, Yamaha DX21, Casiotone MT100 and Korg Volca Keys, the unbelievably photogenic Préaudat is the alluring bohemian seductress with the deep gallic utterances while more enigmatic but powerful, Kinz’s persona resembles that of Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep in ‘The Mummy’.

The pair have now presented their first video for ‘B Baby’, a song from their second extended play release ‘Emergency’. With an eccentrically cerebral demeanour smothered in clattering percussion and a schizophrenic cocoon of haunting voices, it is a dynamic showcase of cross-generational collaboration where within a desolate riverside backdrop, Préaudat and Kinz do erotic deviance while wearing masks of insanity…

The visual presentation was realised by director Lefteris Parasyris and cinematographer Martine Wolff with colour grading by Lionel Kopp who worked on ‘Amélie’ and ‘A Very Long Engagement’, both starring Audrey Tautou. Kinz’s describes the video to ‘B Baby’ as having “an old school MTV vibe” and it certainly is a refreshing antidote to all the filtered digital sanitisation around online and in cinema.

Also from the ‘Emergency’ EP, Préaudat declares ‘Non’ with screechy psychedelic overtones, while ‘1. 2. Free’ exploits the repeat function on the Korg Micro-Preset as on OMD’s ‘Messages’ and OUR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING’s ‘Lawnchairs’, with the cutting hypnotic melody occasionally running free amongst the unsettling processed density of sound.

A highlight from their debut EP and a mainstay of their live set, ‘Create (Who You Are)’ captures the cold cognitive chaos of the artistic mindset, with mutant octave passages, tempo changes and dispassionate vocals messaging home that well-being starts with oneself.

WE ARE REPLICA will not be an immediate proposition to some, but for other listeners, their experimental visceral approach will appeal immensely.

‘EP’ and ‘Emergency’ are both available as downloads direct from https://wearereplica.bandcamp.com/

https://wearereplica.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/wearereplica/

https://soundcloud.com/wearereplica/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Lefteris Parasyris
21st May 2019

Introducing SOMEONE WHO ISN’T ME

9 May 2019 /

“Pop. What else?” is the mission statement of Athens trio SOMEONE WHO ISN’T ME.

Also known as S.W.I.M. by those who find that a bit of a mouthful, the feisty threesome of Marilena Orfanou (synths, guitars + vocals), Maria Hatzakou (drums + vocals) and Gina Dimakopoulou (guitars + vocals) swear by analogue sounds, toy synths, chaotic guitars, fake strings, and off-beat rhythms complimented by deep voices in English and Greek.

The new single ‘Pinku’ comes over an interesting snarly mix of TR/ST and KITE crossed with NEW ORDER. Meanwhile, its superb visual presentation directed by Alkistis Terzi features striking time freeze effect portraits of five Biblical female figures Jezebel, Lilith, the Virgin Mary, Salome and Delilah.

The debut album ‘Dance With You’ was released in February 2019 by Amour Records, the Hellenic home of SARAH P. and KID MOXIE. SOMEONE WHO ISN’T ME’s two most overtly synthy numbers on the album are both instrumentals; ‘Night Flight’ is an airy dream pop number offset by an uptempo backbone while the electronically orchestrated cinematics of ‘Strange’ flirts with the enigmatic aura of arthouse soundtracks.

Meanwhile, the title song was a grand statement of baroque indie with a superb cutting synth solo while the moody synthesized shoegaze of ‘Gomenaki’ was a European radio hit in the summer of 2018; its accompanying video won the 2019 Sound Award for ‘Best Music Video’ at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.

‘Dance With You’ is released by Amour Records

http://www.swimtheband.com/

https://facebook.com/swimtheband.page

https://twitter.com/swimtheband_

https://instagram.com/swimtheband

https://soundcloud.com/swimtheband

https://open.spotify.com/album/0P0DJuiFd2CzDU9Vaxw0il

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th May 2019

Introducing JENNIFER TOUCH

28 April 2019 /

Hailing from Dresden and a member of the Sinchi DJ Collective, Berlin-based Jennifer Touch offers a varied musical palette that is sometimes danced-based and sometimes synthpop.

While her new EP release ‘Seven’ is more techno-oriented, her previous song-based single ‘Chemistry’ was a dark electronic pop affair with that post-punk snarl, rising and reverberating with brooding vintage synths.

It demonstrates her songwriting abilities away from the clubby climes from which she emerged, not too far off from the intense drama of BOY HARSHER. The hazy visual accompaniment preserves her enigmatic aura with a dose of Mittel Europa chic. Now if Berghain did fashion shows…

On the flipside of ‘Chemistry’, the oddball electro of ‘DDD-1’ is weird and wonderful with Touch’s nonchalant almost spoken voice suiting the artful beat laden backdrop perfectly.

Having released her debut self-titled EP in 2015 with the detached EMMON sounding ‘Boom’, the ‘Feeling C’ mini-album from 2016 featured ‘No One’ which explored some of the abstract vocal aesthetics of fellow Berlin resident EMIKA in her earlier work but in a more four-to-the-floor template, proving that there is indeed something in the water in the former divided city. Meanwhile, the spacey sequenced cacophony of the ‘Feeling C’ title track with its cutting synths and gated snare offered a hypnotic avant-classical disco escape.

Wearing a coat of many colours, Jennifer Touch is a cool developing talent who will play her most prestigious date yet opening for ROBERT GÖRL as part of his occasional ‘Glücksritter’ series of performances in Leipzig on 18th May 2019.

‘Chemistry’ is available as a digital EP direct from https://riotvan.bandcamp.com/album/rvn016-chemistry-ep

http://www.jennifertouch.com/

https://www.facebook.com/touch.jennifer/

https://www.instagram.com/jennifertouch/

https://soundcloud.com/jennifertouch

Text by Chi Ming Lai
28th  April 2019

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