Digging that 80′s DX7-esque bassline on this joint — Micheal Jackson would be proud.
26
Jan
2012
2012
Christopher Norman – Connect Me
Christopher Norman is back with a new release from his forthcoming “EP 3 “. This time around, it’s a warm mid tempo track showcasing his velvet smooth voice (think Damon Albarn [Gorillaz front man] in tone). Love the balance of electronic tones with the more traditional classical elements, such as the piano and strings, a lovely balance indeed.
Christopher Norman – Connect Me
Lyrics:
[verse 1]
room alight with sparks
running up the wall / more static left to discharge
diffusing it quietly
i know how it feels to be
stuck living inside your head
chasing words that were never said
[chorus]
baby I can feel the voltage running through my skin
come on and tap into the current i’m generating
down through every node
my circuits overload with all this energy
heart racing / without a sound
every wall around you coming down
take a look at me / plug it in and see
how it works when you connect me
[verse 2]
none of your transmissions getting free
you’re out of time / no charge left in your battery
all of this resistance in your way
with no power you’ll decay
don’t you know I’m calling you all the time?
nothing but noise to hear on your line
[chorus]
24
Jan
2012
2012
Silva Hound – Sapphire Shores (ft. Marika Bedford)
Daft Punk influenced filter disco house action from Silva Hound. Can only imagine this sounds fantastic on a really loud system.
Silva Hound – Sapphire Shores (ft. Marika Bedford)
22
Jan
2012
2012
Different Gear – Worry (ft. Dirty Kylie)
How about some acid house for you all, going back to 2005 on this 12″ from Different Gear.
21
Jan
2012
2012
Ducky – Like Rain
Gloomy dubstep action here from Ducky. Producing music from the tender age of thirteen, Ducky (aka Morgan Neiman) is set to release her EP, The Whether on Februrary 21st. This track sound like a missing track from the Sneak Pimps album, Becoming X but with a dubstep twist.
20
Jan
2012
2012
Yuna – Live Your Life
Calm, casual house along the lines of Thievery Corporation from 24 year old Malaysian singer, Yunalis Zarai (aka Yuna)
19
Jan
2012
2012
Tanlines – Brothers
Moody and driving is the track, “Brothers”. Taken from their forthcoming album, “Mixed Emotions” due out March 20th.
Track List for Mixed Emotions:
1) Brothers
2) All Of Me
3) Green Grass
4) Abby
5) Yes Way
6) Not The Same
7) Lost Somewhere
Real Life
9) Rain Delay
10) Cactus
11) Nonesuch
13
Jan
2012
2012
Rene Lopez – Shing-a-ling Is What I Bring
Summer sounds that much closer after listening to Rene Lopez’s, Shing-a-ling Is What I Bring. Has that old school Marvin Gaye summer time sound, but in the barrio.
Rene Lopez – Shing-a-ling Is What I Bring
Press Release:
Rene Lopez will be proving that February is the month of love with appearances at Nublu every Thursday during the month. He will additionally be appearing for a performance at Arlene’s Grocery on February 28th. Rene will be playing old favorites as well as tracks off his latest album, ELS (released this past summer by Nat Geo Music). ELS stands for Electric Latin Soul, a term Rene has coined for the new style of music he has developed. A mixture of Latin soul and Boogaloo with elements of rock, hip-hop, and R&B – Rene’s sound is one that is distinctly Nuyorican. ELS features co-producers Mario Caldato Jr., a.k.a. Mario C (Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson, Bebel Gilberto) and Jason Lader (Julian Casablancas, Jenny Lewis), as well as special guests Joey Altruda, and Money Mark (John Butler Trio). The album as a whole is a nod to Rene’s Latin roots, with an eye on modern electronic music and good ol’ rock-and-roll.
Rene Lopez Tour Dates
02/02: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)
02/09: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)
02/16: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)
02/23: New York, NY @ Nublu (9pm set time)
02/28: New York, NY @ Arlene’s Grocery (10pm set time)
12
Jan
2012
2012
Newtimers – January Love
Smooth, relaxed and infused with a little 90′s New Jack sound for good measure. Big fan of Newtimers after being introduced to them last year, so much so they made my top 50 of 2011.
5
Jan
2012
2012
The 2 Bears – Work
Yes, another solid track from The 2 Bears, injecting some old school house sound in this one.
Work by The 2 Bears
4
Jan
2012
2012
Visc. – Apollo
Visc. is 18 year old musician Dylan Fellows, from Athens, Georgia. On Apollo, Dylan sounds like a male version Chrissie Hynde (lead singer of the Pretenders) being backed by an Erasure track. So in other words, a dream match-up come true. Really looking forward to hearing more of this electronic dream match up!
Visc. – Apollo
Visc. – Virtual Friend
2
Jan
2012
2012
Best of 2011 – The Top 50 Electronic Tracks!
Here we are again, and this year I wanted to up the ante to include the top 50 tracks of 2011. So fire up the audio player at the bottom left of the screen and enjoy what I thought to be the best electronic pop tracks of 2011.
50 Rimer London
49 Rodriguez Jr.
48 Monarch
Monarchy – You Don’t Want To Dance With Me (ft. Britt Love)
47 Jagwar Ma
46 Get People
45 Cold Cave
Purchase: Cold Cave – Cherish the Light Years
44 Calibre
43 Oliver
Oliver – Memories Of The Future
42 Foster the People
Foster the People – Call It What You Want
41 Brandy Kills
40 When Saints Go Machine
When Saints Go Machine – Add Ends
39 AlunaGeorge
AlunaGeorge – You Know You Like It
38 Benoit & Sergio
37 Huck Finn
36 Black Light Dinner Party
Black Light Dinner Party – Small Boxes
35 Junior Boys
Junior Boys – Truly Happy Ending
34 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Household Goods
Purchase: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs -EP [Vinyl]
33 The Reverb Junkie
The Reverb Junkie – Good To Get Away (Wait It Out)
32 Jamie Woon
31 Monarchy
30 Class Actress
29 Datarock
28 Beni
Beni – Someone Like You (ft. Mattie Safer)
27 The Black Ghost
The Black Ghosts – In The Clouds
26 M83
25 Alex Clare
24 Goyte
Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (Ft. Kimbra)
23 Monarchy
Monarchy – I Won’t Let Go
Purchase: Monarchy – Monarchy
22 College
College – A Real Hero (ft Electric Youth)
21 The Reverb Junkie
Idioteque – Asleep (ft. Reverb Junkie) DEMO by thereverbjunkie
20 Black Light Dinner Party
Black Light Dinner Party – Older Together
19 Louis La Roche & Patrick Alavi
Louis La Roche & Patrick Alavi – Number One (ft. Josh Jakq)
18 Newtimers
17 The Twelevs
16 Flight Facilities
Flight Facilities – Foreign Language (ft. Jess)
15 Christopher Norman
14 When Saints Go Machine
When Saints Go Machine – Kelly
13 Sebastian
Sebastian – Love In Motion (Featuring Mayer Hawthorne)
12 SBTRKT
SBTRKT – Wildfire (ft. Little Dragon)
11 Black Light Dinner Party
Black Light Dinner Party – Gold Chain
10 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Dream On
9 Pretty Good Dance Moves
Pretty Good Dance Moves – I Wonder Why (Ft. Brazilian Girls’ Sabina Sciubba)
8 Sneaky Sound System
7 Benny Benassi
Benny Benassi – Cinema (ft. Gary Go)
6 Metronomy
5 Penguin Prison
Penguin Prison – Multi-Millionaire
4 Architecture in Helsinki
Architecture in Helsinki – Contact High
Purchase: Architecture in Helsinki – Moment Bends
3 Calvin Harris
2 Martin Solveig
1 Joe Goddard
31
Dec
2011
2011
Jagwar Ma – Come Save Me
Big Beat, Psychedelic Brit Pop, and Phil Spector’s wall of sound drums converg on this track from Jagwar Ma. So in essence, we cover a lot of musical history in this one track and just like all good works of art; Jagwar Ma makes it all sound seamless.
30
Dec
2011
2011
Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know (Ft. Kimbra)
Some tracks just grab you from the moment of the first note, and others take awhile to warm up like an old oven. This happens to be a case of the latter. I wasn’t really get grabed by this track until I recently saw the video for it, which compelled me to watch/listen to this track for it’s entirety. I sure am grateful I did. There have been a few tracks that have been “slow burners” for me this year and typically, they up being my favorites. Now I get to add this track to said list.
21
Dec
2011
2011
Perseus – Cool Runnings
Fantastic reminder of summer with it’s tropical house flavor. Taken from Perseus free EP, Russian Girlfriends.
Short Bio:
PERSEUS | http://facebook.com/perseus1980 | http://twitter.com/perseus
Alternatively, you can download the full EP with art (by Jean Charles Frémont), here: http://french-express.com/perseus/FE010.zip
This is the tale of young Perseus. Just a few moons ago, Perseus opened The Magician’s Magic Tape 12 with his retouch of “New Life.” After noticing the people’s desire for 112bpm tropical flavors, The Magician descended upon the lands of Mycenae and challenged Perseus to undertake a quest only fit for demigods. The Kraken? Medusa? No — that’s ancient history. The undertaking was fairly simple: if Perseus could craft 3 magical originals, he would share them with the masses. And so it happened, Magic Tape 15 was met with “Russian Girlfriends,” followed by “Cool Runnings” in tape 17, and finally “Running Back To You” in tape 18.
The people prayed, day after day, asking for Perseus to unlock his music and share it with them. And so it was, through the help of his “fly” stallion, Pegasus (or in alternative universes, “The French Express”), they heroically unchained the EP, for the masses to fully consume & enjoy.
All which remains from the great epic is the highly-coveted, highly-demanded 3-track EP, in heavenly 320kbit quality. It is yours, for keeps… Tweet about it, post about it, share it, blare it. This EP will be live on Beatport soon, for those wanting to hang 10 and catch a few .WAV’s.
20
Dec
2011
2011
Plastic Operator – Making It Right
Plastic Operator is set to release their new full length, due out in Feb 2012, and from it they have just released their first single, “Making It Right”.
17
Dec
2011
2011
Class Actress – Weekend
Fitting, since this is after all the weekend, but that just happens to be coincidence to be honest. I some how forgot to post this track when I initially ran by it. After all, I’ve had this thing playing on my iPod for quite sometime now. Anyhow, this track is taken from their first full length titled, Rapprocher (meaning “to come closer” in French), which was released in October of this year.
Class Actress is a synthpop band formed in 2009 in Brooklyn, New York City, USA. The group consists of the singer-songwriter Elizabeth Harper and the producers Scott Rosenthal and Mark Richardson. Their music has been compared with artists like Depeche Mode, The Human League, OMD and Madonna.
Band Site
Class Actress, Electronic, Pop, Best of 2011
11
Dec
2011
2011
Eurythmics – Love Is A Stranger
This is electronic pop perfection. This single was released back in 1982 on RCA records, but it was initially considered a flop. It wasn’t until the bands’ break out hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” that the single shot up the charts, and ultimately landing on U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart at the seven spot.
From Songfacts.com:
“The song was produced by Dave Stewart and Adam Williams and was self-financed at Eurythmics’ 8-track facility above a picture framing factory in Chalk Farm, London. They decided on a simpler arrangement than their previous singles emphasizing Annie’s vocals more. Said Lennox: “We did decide for ‘Love Is A Stranger’ that everything in it would be very clear. All that is there is seen to be there and nothing is hidden in a big mush of sound.” Stewart added: “Using our own eight track we hear a song millions of times and the melody in it is always apparent to us. We realized it might not be so obvious for people hearing the song for the first time.”"
Eurythmics – Love Is A Stranger
9
Dec
2011
2011
Monarchy – Resignation
Nothing like new Monarchy to kick off the weekend, enjoy! This track can be found on their bonus disc from a Limited edition, signed, deluxe double CD. Only 500 copies.
You can buy it here: www.monarchysound.com/shop
9
Dec
2011
2011
Rodriguez Jr. – Bare
Full of wonderful textures and mood is a track called, “Bare”. If you’re a fan of Burial, then this is on that level of depth and detail.
Bio:
As an artist with already a lot of very successful material to his name, Rodriguez Jr.’s debut album Bittersweet is a highly anticipated release. There are in fact many reasons why people should hold their breath for it – an impressive 11 track body of work that features some of the well renowned and loved Rodriguez Jr. sonic traits, as well as a lot of new and previously unchartered musical ground. It simultaneously presents techno, atmospheric dub, hypnotic, melancholy and hands down hedonistic music, and with a focus on exploring textures and moods, there is something here for everyone to get lost in.
Rodriguez Jr., aka Oliver Mateu, was originally introduced to music through radio in the south of France, where he closely followed a selection of 80s bands, as well as forming a strong love for synthesizers. It wasn’t long before he was inspired to start his own group with partner Giles Escoffier ‘The Youngsters’, which quickly signed to Laurent Garnier’s F-Communications, taking them to some of the biggest clubs and festivals around the world. After great success, the project was put on hold and over the last five years Mateu has been given the space to focus more on his solo work and finally the opportunity to create an album.
In spite of his French origins, both Olivier Mateu’s artist name and productions lean more towards his father’s Spanish roots, with a Mediterranean warmth and party atmosphere often coming to the fore. Bittersweet, however, embodies influences from all over the world. Inspired during recent trips to Japan, Canada and Europe, the voyaging Rodriguez Jr. accompanied by his laptop lay down ideas in hotel rooms after playing in clubs and absorbed the different environments around him into his work. With each country creating a new experience, his touring has played a big part in the variety of tracks that are presented here.
Whilst the spice of Bittersweet was captivated in far away places, the main body of the production of the album was carried out in Mateu’s hidden away studio in Belgium, filled with many loved pieces of analogue gear and synthesizers. Ranging from the Roland TR909, for a classic house drum feel, to the Korg MS10 for dirtier sounds, and a selection of Roland keyboards to choose from, “I am definitely a synth fetishist! Ahaha!” (Rodriguez Jr.). Each has contributed in Rodriguez Jr.’s quest to create an artistic project of the highest quality and creativity that he is capable of, with outstanding results. He has also drawn on the creative input of two musicians who are featured in two of the tracks – And.Id playing his trumpet and Cari Golden’s vocals.
A masterpiece that truly reflects the Rodriguez Jr. of today, it also offers us enough variety and surprise to keep us inspired by this ever-evolving artist. Reflecting on the tracks Bittersweet refers to the contradictory forces at play within the music – it may be beautiful and it may be sweet – but be careful of the party animal it can unleash both in the creator and within all of you present on the dancefloor!