Faves
Read about my favorite music by other pioneering electro pop acts.
Neon Hitch’s Quirky Glow
Today’s fave: quirky electro pop singer Neon Hitch
Listen to Neon Hitch – “Bad Dog” on Soundcloud
Neon Hitch first caught my ear with her song “Silly Girl,” which sounded like the distant cousin of Robyn’s “Konichiwa Bitches.” Mixing a midtempo hip-hop-meets-electro beat with heavily processed vocals and the sounds of electric zaps, it was an off-beat instant favorite. Her current single, “Bad Dog,” is a little more pop-inflected and adds a hint of Ke$ha to her Robyn-esque vocals with its refrain, “you’re just an animal that I caught.” It’s brash, confident, and extremely catchy. Turns out Neon Hitch has a fascinating bio as well. Not only is Neon actually her real name, but she was a street performer and trapeze artist during her childhood and later toured with Neneh Cherry. She’ll soon be releasing her full-length album and I’m eager to hear more!
Get a free remix of “Bad Dog” on Neon Hitch’s Facebook or visit her website.
Erik Hassle: More Proof Sweden is Awesome
Today’s fave: Swedish electro-tinged singer/songwriter Erik Hassle
Sweden is basically pop music’s fertile crescent, and Erik Hassle only further cements the country’s reputation for producing pop geniuses. The young singer already has an album and a few EPs under his belt, but it’s the songs on his most recent offering, “The Mariefred Sessions,” that really caught my attention. I’m particularly drawn to “Are You Leaving”and “Sometimes When It Rains” — which both echo Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” in their ability to juxtapose mournful melodies and lyrics against a pulsating electro sound. (Robyn fans may also want to track down Hassle’s cover of “Be Mine” with rising British star Ellie Goulding.) Hassle’s other songs are generally a little less synth-heavy, but I think his increasing interest in the marriage of electronics and live instrumentation suits him well, and I’m eager to hear more from him!
Check out Erik Hassle’s website and Facebook
Monarchy: Future Synth-Pop Royalty
Today’s fave: synth-pop duo Monarchy
I owe a big thanks to my friend Dan, who frequently shares the love with new tunes, for exposing me to Monarchy. This British synth-pop duo immediately won me over with their song “Gold in the Fire” well over a year ago, and now they’ve just released their full-length debut album “Around the Sun,” and I can’t stop listening. The obvious standout for me is the near-flawless “I Won’t Let Go,” which also happens to be the danciest offering on the album (and features a compelling gender-bending video, embedded below). The propulsive synths lead up to a soaring falsetto chorus, and I’m baffled as to how this hasn’t already become a massive worldwide hit. The rest of their album has a bit more of a “chill disco” vibe, as the BPMs are in dance-territory but the songs still sound relaxed and effortlessly cool. The duo is rather enigmatic (I could not track down a single actual photograph of their faces), but I hope they keep gaining attention for their great work.
Visit their website, Facebook page, or buy “Around the Sun” on iTunes.
Amazing Videos: The Young Professionals & Swedish House Mafia
I have been on vacation for the past week, so I haven’t had the time to properly curate some new choices for “faves” or work much on new music, so I thought I’d keep today’s fave post simple by featuring a couple music videos I’ve seen recently that thoroughly impressed me.
The first is “D.I.S.C.O” by The Young Professionals ( website | Facebook ) — the dance scenes led by a slender, hirsute fellow in what one might call “man drag” (or, more commonly, “gender fuck”) are positively mesmerizing:
The second is much more well-known at this point (17 million views vs. TYP’s 11,000), as the video went viral a few weeks ago, but as someone who grew up loving his dogs, I won’t hesitate to share it again. This is “Save the World” by Swedish House Mafia, and whoever thought up this video concept better win some awards:
Ali Love’s Electro Soul
Today’s fave: electro-soul singer Ali Love
I first heard about Ali Love via a post on the brilliant Electroqueer (their tastes align pretty nicely with my own) and later noticed him getting kudos from another personal favorite blogger, Rich from fourfour. I promptly downloaded his album “Love Harder,” which harkens back to an earlier era of electro pop that was less about hard-hammering beats and more about setting tone and atmosphere through a judicious use of synths and rhythms. Love’s smooth vocals, which frequently highlight his falsetto, add a nice bit of soul to the mix. I was also interested to learn that Love nearly had a major-label album a few years ago before label politics got in the way, although his vocals were featured on “Do It Again,” one of my favorite Chemical Brothers songs. It may have taken him a little bit longer to get his own album out, but the wait was worth it. I’ve selected the mid-tempo “Dark Star” as my favorite, but also check out the more uptempo “Love Harder,” “Done the Dirty,” and “Moscow Girl.”
Find Ali Love on Facebook, Myspace, and iTunes.
Jamie Woon: Breathing in the Night Air
Today’s fave: silky-voiced singer Jamie Woon
A random friendly share got me interested in Jamie Woon’s “Night Air.” The song’s sparse, acoustic-meets-subtly-electronic sound was surprisingly instant. Normally slow-burners like this one take a few listens to grab me, but I was into this song immediately. And what a delight it was to learn that his album, “Mirrorwriting,” is chock full of similarly enchanting mid-tempo tunes. Woon’s voice has an unmistakeable R&B sheen to it, while the backing music adds depth while remaining light and airy. The production hints at inspiration from artists like “Ruby Blue”-era Roisin Murphy (on the track “Lady Luck”), Sade, and even Fever Ray. “Mirrorwriting” is easily one of the finest chill-out albums of the past few years.
“Mirrorwriting” does not appear to have been released in the US yet, but you can get Jamie Woon’s “Night Air” EP on iTunes. Also check him out on Facebook and YouTube.
Florrie: Successfully Experimenting
Today’s fave: British singer/drummer/model Florrie
So, my adoration for Florrie was pretty much love at first listen. I hadn’t heard of her until last week, after a post on MuuMuse got me to check out one of her songs. After less than a minute of listening, it sounded so good I rushed to iTunes to buy her new EP “Experiments” (which one might say is “priced for discovery” at just $2.99). I’d have been ecstatic if 3 or 4 of its 6 songs were winners, but it turns out all 6 tracks are kinda perfect. My favorite is “Speed of Light,” linked above.
Florrie’s sound is surprisingly hard to describe — you could pretty easily call it “pop” music, as it’s mostly uptempo, catchy, and extremely polished in its production. But I struggle to think of someone she sounds quite like — she avoids heavy-handed cliches, as her songs don’t focus on dancing on the floor in the club with your hands up. And while the temptation for any indie female pop artist is to make a Robyn comparison, that doesn’t quite work here either. Florrie seems to be a true original.
The icing on the cake is she seems to be oozing personal style as well (those pants!), and as a model, she’s naturally a looker too. In addition to having her EP “Experiments” on iTunes, she is also offering several other songs for free on her website, florrie.com. You can also hear more on Florrie’s Soundcloud page.
Boy oh boy, it’s Garcon Garcon!
Welcome to my first “fave” post! I plan to share music I love (and that I think you’ll love too) once or twice a week here in addition to sharing my own songs. First up: Garcon Garcon!
Garcon Garcon – Stay in Touch (Byron St. John’s Dream Mix)
This Australian duo has been featured in several of my favorite music blogs, including ElectroQueer and MuuMuse. They make lovely electronic music, featuring ’80s-style drum loops, big synths, and house piano riffs topped off with airy vocals. While their sound is uptempo, their approach is rather relaxed and is a pleasant contrast to the in-your-face electro-hip-hop/pop that has been all over the radio lately. I also appreciate that they make no effort to hide the fact that they’re gay — and indeed even are willing to use male pronouns in their lyrics.
The Byron St. John Remix of their song “Stay in Touch” was recently featured as a free download from ElectroQueer, and it’s the song that caught my attention, but they also have several great tracks on their MySpace page. I’m particularly intrigued by the remix of “Berlin Berlin” posted there (which sadly fades out halfway through — here’s hoping I can find the full version soon).
Check out the Garcon Garcon website, or visit their SoundCloud and MySpace pages!
