Heart Mechanical
The new EP featuring "We're Here to Recruit Your Kids"
Available now at iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and more. See lyrics and details
For every EP sold, I'm personally donating $1 to the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth. Learn more about the Trevor Project
Ellie Goulding’s Bright Start
Today’s fave: electro-acoustic pop singer Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding “Lights (Bassnectar Remix)”
Ellie Goulding has already made quite a name for herself in her native UK, where her debut album “Lights” hit #1. It seems the US is quickly warming up to her as well, after a performance on Saturday Night Live earlier this year, and just this past week her song “Lights” became her first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. I’ve been aware of her for close to two years now and have been thoroughly loving her work, and I got the chance to see her live earlier this year to a sold-out crowd in Boston. (In fact, she had to move her show to a larger venue to accommodate demand.) I already enjoyed her slightly raspy (yet still strong) voice, but she further impressed me live by also playing drums and guitar on stage. Her sound, which is like a much more energetic version of Beth Orton’s “folktronica,” brings a healthy dose of artistic substance to the electro pop scene.
Visit Ellie Goulding’s website or Facebook
My Summer 2011 Playlist
Now that I’ve been amassing a list of some of my fave electro-pop indie artists, I thought it was time to actually put together a cohesive playlist highlighting some of the songs that I’ve been listening to all summer. You can stream my playlist below or listen to it at the 8tracks website, which also has its own app if you want to listen on the go. (And, of course, I snuck in one of my own songs in there!)
Monarchy “I Won’t Let Go”
Swedish House Mafia “Save the World”
Garcon Garcon “Stay In Touch (Byron St. John’s Dream Mix)”
Michael Hensley “You Don’t Own Me”
Neon Hitch “Bad Dog”
Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette “Boys & Girls”
Sky Ferreira “One”
Frankmusik featuring Far East Movement “Do It In the A.M.”
The Young Professionals “D.I.S.C.O”
The Black and White Years “Up!”
Friendly Fires “Live Those Days Tonight”
Florrie “Speed of Light”
Calvin Harris “I’m Not Alone”
Robyn “Call Your Girlfriend (Sultan & Ned Remix Radio Edit)”
Erik Hassle “Are You Leaving”
Katy B “Perfect Stranger”
Mason featuring Roisin Murphy “Boadicea”
Ali Love “Done the Dirty”
Sophie Ellis-Bextor “Starlight”
Jamie Woon “Night Air”
Let me know what you think! (And note I’ve made this just be streaming only, so please support those artist you like and buy their music!)
Nice bit of press from Fabtastic!
Many thanks to Aaron of Fabtastic! Music for this nice little feature of my music! Scroll down a bit to see it, including this quote:
“I’m crushing hard on the electro-pop beat and bassline of You Don’t Own Me a lot at the moment. Thumping stuff with an amazing sound. I love it.”
The Black and White Years’ Colorful Sound
Today’s fave: Austin-based indie rock/dance band The Black and White Years
The Black and White Years – Up!
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending a free concert hosted by Ryan’s Smashing Life featuring Boston band Mystery Roar and Austin-based band The Black and White Years (TBAWY). I hadn’t heard of TBAWY before, but became an instant fan after their engaging live set. I’m now thoroughly enjoying their 2010 album “Patterns,” particularly its lead single “Up!” Their sound is like a more electronic counterpart to Modest Mouse or even The B-52′s. It’s no surprise that they caught the ear of Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison (who produced their previous album), as lead singer Scott Butler employs a similar sing-song style with his vocals. It helps that the band was also extraordinarily nice, as I enjoyed a quick chat with Butler after the show. Here’s hoping for their continued success!
Visit The Black and White Years website or Facebook page
Frankmusik Returns
Today’s fave: British electro-pop singer Frankmusik
Few people embody “electro pop” so literally as Frankmusik. When I discovered his debut album “Complete Me” a couple years ago, what struck me most about him was that he wasn’t just “electro,” he was electric in every sense of the word, infusing his music with a level of excitement and surprise well beyond your standard synths-meet-beats formula. Songs like “Better Off as 2,” “Three Little Words,” and “Time Will Tell” were thoroughly invigorating in their ability to take innovative, high-energy production and merge that with supremely solid pop melodies. (It helps that he also has some of the strongest vocals in the electronic music world.)
He is about to release his newest album, “Do it in the AM,” and from the sounds of the preview single “The Fear Inside” and the title track (which features Far East Movement), he’s pushing toward a cleaner, less frantic sound with a heavier emphasis on pop elements. “Complete Me” stands as one of my favorite albums of the past ten years, and I’m looking forward to hearing the rest soon!
Visit Frankmusik’s website and Facebook page.
P.S. I also had the privilege of seeing Frankmusik live last year and chatting with him after the show, and combined with his Twitter friendliness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen another musician be more willing to interact with his fans. Luckily I got a (blurry) snapshot of me with him and my friend Tyler:
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.”
