POST CATEGORY : Electro

ROTATION ROUND-UP #4

Time is becoming increasingly precious and difficult to obtain these days but I still have a grá on me for blogging.

So, this is an attempt cover more of what I am listening to on a regular basis, with a relatively quick roundup of what has been on rotation over the past week or two.

Enjoy!

Adwaith – ‘ETO’

Welsh outfit Adwaith – Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony & Heledd Owen – will release the follow-up to their wonderful and Welsh Music Prize winning debut with new album Bato Mato on July 1st via Libertino Records. The new record is led by ‘ETO’, a soaring evocative guitar driven adventure brimming with confidence and ideas. It is shimmering, evocative, life-affirming and moving, and bursting with open-hearted soaring melody’s and lyrical vulnerability – instantly sweeping us along with this stirring anthem. This is Adwaith at their finest; you will be replaying, again and again, and again.

Many Voices Speak – ‘Within Reach’

Many Voices Speak – the project of Swedish musician Matilda Mård – has announced her return with second album Gestures, released on 29th April 2022 via Strangers Candy.

A master of misty-eyed, melancholic and hazy indie-pop, Many Voices Speak has always found its power in its ability to capture an eternity in an expression; found in abundance on her debut and lead single ‘Within Reach’. A six-minute long reflective slow burn that just brims with beauty, as Mård’s elegant, yearning dream-pop makes the world seem to slow down around it, where time stretches out, and you become totally immersed in it. ‘Within Reach’ showcases Mård’s continued growth as a songwriter, one more comfortable in her own skin.

Komla MC vs Fold – ‘Victoria Falls’

Komla MC vs Fold is the unlikely combination of two expats in Leeds, UK. Hailing from Accra and New York respectively, Rob (Komla MC) and Seth (of the band Fold) were brought together by having kids at the same school and united in their undying love of hip hop. Given that Seth’s work with Hip-Hop/Trip Hop outfit Fold has a rep for funky, groovy and cool sounds, it is no surprise that this delivers a healthy dose of all three pitted with a fun and cheeky sensibility. Hopefully there is more to come from this collab – top marks!

The AM – ‘On Joy Road’

The AM – AKA Ann-Marie Teasley – is a DJ with a penchant for Techno and Electro that started out as a classical violinist in Detroit. The AM is releasing her debut EP Black Majik on March 11, and comes fronted by ‘On Joy Road’; an Electro-influenced jam named after the long, dual-carriageway street that connects the centre of Detroit to Nankin Lake and the enclaves on the city’s west side. It is urgent and intense while simultaneously elegant as a hypnotic spell is spun by frantic up-tempo snappy beats, claps, rippling electronics and winding synths, while a warped vocal sample and woozy flourishes fade in and out of view. A mesmerising and thumping dancefloor ready banger.

Clwb Fuzz – ‘Sertraline’

Cardiff outfit Clwb Fuzz return with new single ‘Sertraline’; a magnificent blaze of fuzzed-up spiralling psychedelic-rock. Burning guitars fuzz, ominous eerie synths and swaying, pendulumic percussion, set the swirling stage for Emily Kocan’s haunting vocals, regaling vivid and sometimes far too real dreams, occurring as a side-effect of taking antidepressants. Unsettling paranoid introspection has never sounded so glorious.

DYR – ‘Dysko Mystik’

DYR is a Minneapolis-based DJ and producer who embraces a wide range of genres, weaving eclectic selections of techno, house and disco, creating an innovative, hypnotic and thrilling sound designed for elevating dance floors.

DYR’s latest track ‘Dysko Mystik’ encompasses all the aforementioned attributes and more.

Residing in a space between techno, house and electronica ‘Dysko Mystik’ whisks us off to a futuristic world of subtle, nuanced and transfixing, dancefloor minded, techno influenced music. Heavy on mood, texture and atmosphere with relentless oscillations, driving techno beat and pulsating synth. Although everything is delivered with a pin point accuracy, it has a murky, industrial feel, as we are entranced by relentless repetition and groove, leaving us utterly powerless to resist it’s tempting allure. Driving, pulsating and relentless – a triumph.

Listen to ‘Dysko Mystik’ below:

Kelp – ‘Polygon’

Kelp is a Belfast-based purveyor of loungey cosmic electronica fronted by an inch high, ethereal deep sea diver with a preoccupation for vocoders and additive synthesis.

The surrealist project was introduced around this time last year through debut single ‘Spleen’; an ethereal, slumbering and woozy slice of escapism. Kelp is back with a new single ‘Polygon’. A two-and-a-half minute sojourn to a spellbinding interstellar loungey paradise. It slinks coolly on by, leaving us in a dream-like state, with an alluring blend of slinky, synth-pop with psych brush strokes and woozy synth lines bewitching us entirely. Instantly lovable, ‘Polygon’ breezes gracefully with a seductive soulful underbelly and charm to woo you, so powerful is this that it will have you headed straight for repeated listens.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say we are witnessing Ireland’s, indeed the world’s, greatest musical miniature deep-sea diver fishbowl figurine. All joking aside, this is a marvelous single from a wonderful talent.

Listen to ‘Polygon’ below now – it is yet another absolute joy.

Jimmy Q – ‘Wavey’

Jimmy Q is a Brooklyn-based producer delivering sumptuous slices of sunny, feelgood and grooving house / electronica.

Latest single ‘Wavey’ is all that and more as it blends the exquisite elegance of electronica with dancefloor focus and seductive grooves of house music. It is a warm and sunny melodic groover fueled by a flurry of soft plush beats and sunny tones, as melodic ripples of keys and shimmering synth mingle amid the hazy atmosphere. It is an irresistible jam with a deep seductive groove that propels us along through a warm and alluring soundscape, bringing to mind hazy summer evenings. A beautiful, uplifting and dancey track bound by a smiley feelgood vibe, seductive groove and compulsion to get moving. 

Listen to ‘Wavey’ below – a lavish gem that will keep you coming back for more.


Giga Beat – ‘Roof View (House Mix)’

Giga Beat aka Edilberto De Jesus Rodriguez is a music producer from the Dominican Republic who cut his teeth making beats for a music group called F.O.M.O. but has been going it alone now for the best part of a decade now.

The latest single from Giga Beat is ‘Roof View (House Mix)’ and it is a 9 minute dance floor destroying phenomenon. Opening with a bright, upbeat and funky disco house groove as synths pulse and wind with a relentless energy while frazzled electronics fizzle and explode with colour, and rain on the dance floor below. While a feelgood party vibe is maintained throughout, this carefree aura is punctuated by increasingly frantic crisp and crunchy beats, which increases the tension, energy and harder edge. ‘Roof View (House Mix)’ is a gift that keeps on giving, revealing itself ever more addictive and alluring with each and every listen.

Listen to ‘Roof View (House Mix)’ in all its glory below:


Blimp – ‘Always In My Mind’

Blimp is a Dublin-based producer with a penchant for lush, warm and woozy slices of seductive house/electronica – attributes demonstrated in abundance by the beautiful, feelgood and sunny electronica escapism of new single ‘Always In My Mind’.

‘Always In My Mind’ follows debut single ‘Back To Me’ (feat. Kareem Ali) earlier this year, and delivers something deliciously seductive; marrying the exquisite elegance of electronica, dancefloor focus and seductive grooves of house music – and in doing so, crafting something we’d expect from far more seasoned hands. It is a lush, lavish and sunkissed affair as warm synths fizz with life and effervescence, gushing over soft beats, deep seductive grooves and sparkling spurts of electronics, amid an abundance of uplifting and sunny vibes. ‘Always In My Mind’ is a beautifully, uplifting and lush jam, bound together by a feelgood vibe, seductive groove, and peppered by bouts of mild euphoria and compulsion to dance.

One to get lost in as it forms a real sense of familiarity, oozing nostalgic feelings for hazy summer days and nights – and something that will keep you coming back for more.

Listen to ‘Always In My Mind’ below now:

Freedom Fry – ‘Corde Sensible’

We love a bit of Freedom Fry round these parts – no question.

Over the past number of years the prolific pairing of Marie Seyrat and Bruce Driscoll have  regularly brightened up our lives with charming, catchy and memorable indie-pop jams culminating in 2018 debut LP, Classic, and 2020’s Songs from the West Coast.

And now, Freedom Fry are back with new single ‘Corde Sensible’ – a second track lifted from their forthcoming third album, their first entirely in French. ‘Corde Sensible’ is an exquisitely crafted track fueled by a dance beat coupled with moody piano chords, bright strings, shimmering synth and ethereal tones of Parisian, Seyrat. It has something of an indie-music-to-dance-to vibe as it grooves along a disco-indebted beat  and flows with an ease and breeze. ‘Corde Sensible’ might be Freedom Fry’s danciest tune to date but while it marks a change of pace it retains their signature touches; an ear for hook,  melody and harmony amid their charming shimmering sonic delights.

Get acquainted with ‘Corde Sensible’ below –  it will be released alongside two other new songs as part of a three-song EP on Friday, February 12.

Alps 2 & Simona Drive – ‘Burnt’

Alps 2 & Simona Drive are outfits with pedigree: as performers, Simona Drive have toured with Maribou State; as individuals, they have released on Ralph Lawson’s 2020 Vision and Fatboy Slim’s Southern Fried Records. And as a collective, they’ve launched Selby Sounds, and now,  Alps 2 & Simona Drive have teamed up with Ad Hoc Records proudly for Burnt EP.

The resulting sound is deliciously displayed on title track ‘Burnt’; a lush, feelgood and woozy slice of sunny electronica escapism as the pair marry the exquisite elegance of electronica, dancefloor focus and seductive grooves of house music. ‘Burnt’takes all the aforementioned parts and creates a rich and alluring soundscape. Lush synths fizz with life and effervescence, gushing over soft beats, deep seductive groove and sparkling spurts of electronics, amid a warm, sunny and feelgood dose of escapism. A beautiful, uplifting and lush jam bound together by a smiley feelgood vibe, seductive groove and peppered by bouts of mild euphoria.

An absolute lavish gem, check ‘Burnt’ out below:

 

Mjiri – ‘Stamp City’

Mjiri is the moniker of London-based British-Nigerian producer, performer and educator Mel Uye-Parker.

Uye-Parker has been making music for over 15 years – as a vocalist and writer, working with the likes of Rae & Christian and Yesking – but more recently, under the moniker of Mjiri as explored a flair for stunning sonic distillations that transfix and captivate. Latest single ‘Stamp City’ is a dancefloor ready banger. It is bright, transfixing and utterly addicting as sputtering and choppy electronics and burbling synthesizers are stitched together with acid squelches, house basslines, winding techno and ravey tones. The stuttering beats are delivered with clinical precision as we are utterly captivated by this marriage acid/house/techno which, as it goes, will get your body grooving (and no doubt dancefloors moving).

Listen to ‘Stamp City’ below:

Introducing: Atroxity

Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Atroxity is an electronica producer and composer who embraces the full spectrum of genres and has a preference for cross-pollination.

For almost 20 years, Atroxity has been a part of the local Oslo music scene in varying capacities, culminating in the release of his debut album Newland Punks in November 2016. Today however, we concern ourselves with his latest release, EP Cult Of The Scarab which is buttressed by ‘Outpost 10-3’ and ‘Yeah (It Works)’.

The two pillars provide a perfect example of the differing facets of Atroxity and what binds them together so seamlessly. ‘Outpost 10-3’ is a lush blend of tech-house influenced bass groove, soft pattering percussion and seductive deep house vibes, and bound by a playful synth, that flickers and sparks, bringing some breezy brightness to the fore amid the ambient landscapes. ‘Yeah (It Works)’ is a more uptempo affair, playful yet cinematic, it bounces along a colourful confection of quick step beats and irresistible groove illuminated by acid squiggles, winding synth and bursts of electronics for the more dancefloor ready of the two. Not only is his work bound by a love off of all things electronic, Atroxity’s work is marked by a playfulness, flair for groove and precision beat-work.

You can listen to ‘Outpost 10-3’ and ‘Yeah (It Works)’ below: