Tag: Britney Spears (Page 2 of 3)

A Short Conversation with NYXX

Seductive alternative songstress NYXX has been making a good impression of late, thanks to her new creative partnership with Daniel Graves.

As well the brilliance of his ‘Rhythm + Control’ featuring NYXX’s Britney-like vocal presence, the AESTHETIC PERFECTION main man has also lent his Industrial Pop touch to her tunes ‘Diabolical’ and the new single ‘Voodoo’.

But NYXX is very much her own woman, like the Greek goddess of night she is named after, a figure of power and beauty, combining rock tension and pop prowess with a strong visual presence and her own self-designed line of chokers.

With a debut EP ‘Nightmare’ already under her belt, the striking tattooed starlet is on an upward artistic trajectory that can only intrigue further as she delves into her dark psyche with greater confidence.

NYXX kindly chatted about how her music has flourished over the last 24 months.

Your early material like ‘Wicked’ was heavy rock, so what attracted you toward pursuing a more electronic pop sound?

I have a deep love for 80s metal. That song was a fun project with my friend Sabi Saltiel. We actually had forgot about it for a year and then rediscovered it in my archives!

But as far as moving more electronic, it wasn’t a conscious effort. I have been writing pop-rock since, goodness, 13 years old! I feel my sound is still evolving, but only now do I feel like I’ve reached a point where I am confident in my abilities and potential and am making music that best represents me.

With your interest love of pop, did you ever consider going through the audition / reality show process before creating NYXX?

I have tried out for a couple. It’s actually how I took the plunge into seriously pursuing music! Back in 2009, I was still in art school in Boston when a LA-based friend suggested I send in an audition tape to a new Randy Jackson show.

They wanted a PARAMORE type band, so I sent in a cover of ‘Emergency’ and the producers responded right away! They liked me, but since the live auditions were the next day across the country, I unfortunately wouldn’t progress onto the next round.

Although I didn’t make the cut, they did urge me to move to LA to pursue music. That was the first time I ever felt like it was something really attainable. That someone IN the industry saw the same potential in me as I did. But, honestly, I don’t think a reality or competition show would be beneficial to me in any capacity.

What music in your life has influenced you the most in the concept of NYXX?

Just to clarify, there’s no conscious effort going into my “branding”, so to speak. It’s just me. What looks, sounds, and feels right to me. But as far as my inspiration… everything from Top 40s to Otis Rush… from hair metal to ambient soundscapes… I grew up listening to blues, rock, hip hop, and, of course, pop.

How important has Daniel Graves been in helping you realise your vision, particularly on ‘Voodoo’? What did he give you that you might have been unable to achieve on your own?

Daniel is amazing. ‘Voodoo’ was a joint creation. It would not be what it is without him. I came in with a sketch of a song, a melody and lyric of another song… the original sketch is a completely different sound. Daniel heard nuances in it and we built what is now ‘Voodoo’. He puts that nice layer of glitter over everything. His writing and production skills paralleled to what whole TEAMS do for top labels… except, all wrapped up into one person.

Of course, you have appeared on several AESTHETIC PERFECTION recordings including the rather brilliant ‘Rhythm + Control’; the ‘Electro Version’ was a favourite song of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2017. How was it to record for you and how do you think it helped your international profile?

Thank you! I love ‘Rhythm + Control’! When I first heard it, I said to Daniel “This is really good. REALLY good”. It’s just the next level. To record, it was streamlined. It was practically final when I came in. He’s an incredible musician. It is evident that my collaborations with AESTHETIC PERFECTION have helped opened the international market for me.

‘Rhythm + Control’ had a great reception internationally and I am forever grateful for Daniel working with me. He sees that same aforementioned potential in me and pushes me to sit up straight when I’m doubting myself.

The development is quite easy to trace, as the signs were there on say ‘Diabolical’ which does have a haunting European quality about it?

I wrote ‘Diabolical’ with Daniel, so there you go! Ha ha! It started the same as ‘Voodoo’, I came in with the demo and we built upon it.

How do you look back on now on your ‘Nightmare’ EP, and what you’ve learnt on the way to get to where you are now?

Sometimes I cringe, sometimes I shimmy with excitement. I just look back and see where I want to go. I’ve learned so much about myself as a writer, artist and performer.

You direct your own videos, how important is the visual aspect to your music and are there any funny stories you can tell from filming on location?

The audio and visual have always been one in the same to me. My visual work has always involved music. I have been enjoying shooting video lately. It is a completely different beast than still photography. I distinctly remember in college saying, “Video?! I won’t ever be doing video. I don’t need to take it”. Oh… how I regret!

As far as filming on location… it has got to be hilarious to SEE me filming. I’m usually dressed up, out in the woods, and running back and forth. I think the funniest story was in college, I did a series where I strung myself up into trees. I was shooting one day, all tied up into a tree, camera on a tripod, and a couple hiking happened upon me. They were concerned, then just creeped out.

With regards live performance, you’re currently performing alone but where ideally would you like to take things presentation wise?

I have so much I want to do! I would love to have musicians to play with me, but I just simply can’t afford that at the moment.

I would like to play keyboards, maybe guitar? I want to incorporate my stage props, lighting and visual elements. It’s just hard to go full-on as an opener, because you don’t have the room or time to have a lot of stuff on stage. One day soon!

You’ve shared the stage with our friends NIGHT CLUB who have similar dark electropop ethos, do you feel any affinity with them or other acts, or do you prefer to exist in your own bubble to extract the most from your artistic aspirations?

AHHHH I LOVE NIGHT CLUB!!! They’re amazing artists and humans. I listen to them all the time. I wish I could see their faces more often! I love hearing and sharing other artists’ work. I get inspired by others. It’s important for artists to support other artists.

So what’s next for NYXX? Another EP or will you do an album? Does the album format still have a place in today’s music market?

Good question! I keep getting asked for a full length album, so it does still have a place. I do not have plans specifically to release another EP / full length… yet! January was insane for me, so, now I can finally focus on my writing. I’d like to write a good collection of new material. So, an EP may very well be in the cards!


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to NYXX

Special thanks to Daniel Graves

‘Voodoo’ is released as a download bundle by Close To Human Music through the usual digital outlets, also available direct from http://www.nyxxnyxxnyxx.com/

https://www.facebook.com/justnyxx/

https://twitter.com/nyxxnyxxnyxx

https://www.instagram.com/nyxxnyxxnyxx/


Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
8th February 2018

NYXX Featuring AESTHETIC PERFECTION Voodoo

If Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had not been part of The Disney Club but actually raised by The Addams Family, would they have ended up making a record like this?

Fresh from lending her voice to one of the songs of 2017 in AESTHETIC PERFECTION’s ‘Rhythm + Control’, NYXX begins her year with some ‘Voodoo’.

Laced in lusty gothic tension with robotic voices and an almost evangelical middle eight from Daniel Graves, ‘Voodoo’ is like its predecessor ‘Diabolical’, co-written by the AESTHETIC PERFECTION main man.

The promo video, self-directed by NYXX, sees the striking tattooed starlet out in the dust and briars of the LA countryside, pondering how best to dispose of her latest victim because “that girl is psycho”!

The speedier Danny Armand Remix of ‘Voodoo’ with its stutters and drops, comes over like Britney gone dubstep so won’t be to everyone’s tastes.

But with its enticing pop sensibilities and a sinister animist backdrop of swirling electronics built around the rhythmic snap of imperial phase LADY GAGA, the single version of ‘Voodoo’ is the first truly happening tune of 2018.


‘Voodoo’ is released as a download bundle by Close To Human Music through the usual digital outlets

Also available direct from http://www.nyxxnyxxnyxx.com/

https://www.facebook.com/justnyxx/

https://twitter.com/nyxxnyxxnyxx

https://www.instagram.com/nyxxnyxxnyxx/

http://www.aesthetic-perfection.net

http://facebook.com/aestheticperfection


Text by Chi Ming Lai
16th January 2018

NYXX Diabolical

Having been recently heard on the AESTHETIC PERFECTION single ‘Rhythm + Control’, gothic pop princess NYXX presents her self-directed video to ‘Diabolical’.

Coming in a particularly magnificent Electro Mix, ‘Rhythm + Control’ showcased a hard but danceable tune that somehow crossed Darren Hayes and Britney Spears with Marilyn Manson!

‘Diabolical’ is co-written with AESTHETIC PERFECTION’s Daniel Graves and sees NYXX maximising her deviant Britney meets NINE INCH NAILS template.

From her self-released her debut EP ‘Nightmare’, this haunting slice of electro-goth drama discharges a penetrating set of dynamics and an enticing feline demeanour. Meanwhile the video, which NYXX describes as “the fruit of my literal blood, sweat, and tears”, also features a cameo from Graves.

With a name inspired by the Greek goddess of night, NYXX issued ‘Nightmare’ in April 2016. The title track was feisty electronic rock with her inherent pop glitz shaken through a Trent Reznor filter. Meanwhile the collection also flirted with Zombie-like heavy metal on ‘Wicked’ and industrial dubstep on ‘Blindsided’.

Having toured North America with AESTHETIC PERFECTION in early 2017, this artistic association with the Aggro-Tech pioneer from Los Angeles has sparked a lot of interest. With two acclaimed songs in ‘Rhythm + Control’ and ‘Diabolical’ already under their belt, any more work possibly involving the pair will be eagerly awaited.


‘Diabolical’ is from the ‘Nightmare’ EP, available as a CD or download from http://www.nyxxnyxxnyxx.com/merch

NYXX plays the following live dates:
Los Angeles Sayers Club (12th August), San Diego Casbah (1st September), Mesa Club Red (2nd September)

http://www.nyxxnyxxnyxx.com/

https://www.facebook.com/justnyxx/

https://twitter.com/nyxxnyxxnyxx

https://www.instagram.com/nyxxnyxxnyxx/


Text by Chi Ming Lai
10th August 2017

A Short Conversation with NIGHT CLUB

NIGHT CLUB have been active since 2011, and have since taken off enormously in Tinseltown, getting numerous gigs for television shows such as ‘Jersey Shore’, ‘XOX Batsey Johnson’, ‘Washington Heights’ and ‘The Mysteries Of Laura’.

The Comedy Central show ‘Moonbeam City’ saw the duo’s compositions utilised and the soundtrack was released in 2015.

Larger than life front lady Emily Kavanaugh, joined by the master of synth Mark Brooks, have produced a “more bombastic and aggressive” sound on their latest long player ‘Requiem For Romance’, seeing Kavanaugh’s voice undergo all sorts of experimentation.

Indeed, NIGHT CLUB offer a rockier, darker approach to synthpop, while still remaining true to the genre. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK is chatting to the LA based duo about their latest offering and the highlights of their career.

‘Requiem For Romance’ is your first full length opus, however, you’ve been together since 2011. Some would say it is a long time to wait for a debut?

At first we were pretty content just making EPs and not worried about doing full albums. Then we spent a year and a half writing all the music for ‘Moonbeam City’ and a year scoring the feature film ‘Nerdland’.

So to us, it hasn’t been that long considering we put out 3 EPs, a TV soundtrack and a movie score. After that was all finished, we finally had time to sit down and write a full record.

How did the ‘Moonbeam City’ collaboration come about?

Chris Prynoski, a friend of ours who owns an animation studio, asked us to give him some music to make a teaser for an animated project that he was trying to bring into the studio. That project ended up being ‘Moonbeam City’ and the creator of the show, Scott Gairdner, liked the music so much that we ending up scoring the pilot for him. When the show got picked up, we ended up scoring the entire season and releasing a soundtrack. Scott loves music more than anyone we know, so it was a blast to make music for someone that had such eclectic taste.

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Given you’re based in LA and its accessibility to anything movie related, are you planning to supply your music to other TV programmes/films?

Yeah, we love to write original music for television and film as well as having our own songs placed in projects. Late last year, we scored our first film called ‘Nerdland’, written by Andrew Kevin Walker (‘Se7en’), that will be coming out this December.

It stars Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt as two Hollywood losers willing to do just about anything to become famous.

Right now, our attention is 100% back on the band and we’re really just trying to tour as much as possible and promote the new record. We’re sure at some point we’ll pick up where we left off and score another project.

The album feel is rockier than the previous EP releases, is that the direction you are willing to pursue from now on?

There was no master plan when we started writing this record, we just fell in love with some of the new sounds we were making organically. The “rock” element came out of having a more aggressive live sound and we wanted to incorporate it into this LP. We love to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s expected and keep it interesting for the audience as well as ourselves. Just for the record, there are NO guitars on this album. It’s all synthesizers.

Your new single ‘Dear Enemy’ sounds like Britney Spears has joined NINE INCH NAILS…

We take that as a supreme compliment!

The album kicks off with ‘Requiem’. It does sound like a little brother to DEPECHE MODE’s ‘Shake The Disease’?

Actually that’s one of the last songs we wrote for the record and it was solely an instrumental until we thought it should have a simple little vocal line. Emily came up with the part on the spot and we finished the album. It wasn’t until the LP came out that people brought up its similarity to the intro of ‘Shake The Disease’, and we realised once again DEPECHE MODE just naturally runs through our veins. Could be worse.

Mark, what are your favourite synths to use? Do you sway towards the real thing or are soft synths your preferred medium?

I prefer to use soft synths as I find them more flexible and creative in the process of writing and recording. Even though I own quite a few old school synths, I find them to be very limiting in the songwriting process. With soft synths, you can change / tweak / destroy all the sounds up until the very last minute of mixing.

Emily, your voice sounds fantastic on the new album, how do you work on your voice?

Lots of pinot noir, spaghetti and channeling my inner neuroses. I don’t do any vocal exercises and I’ve never taken a lesson.

I think I’ve just developed a confidence from recording and touring over the past few years and maybe it came through a bit more on this record.

When I first recorded ‘Lovestruck’, which was our first single back in 2012, I was super intimidated and insecure about my voice, and the idea of being a lead singer in a band freaked the sh*t out of me. It’s taken a while, but I think I’ve finally come to accept myself as a vocalist and musician.

Speaking of working on voices, a lot of pitch shift effects have been used to make Emily sound more blokey… what inspired this?

We’ve always been using vocal effects as part of our sound, but on this record we decided to experiment a little more. We started coming up with vocal parts that seemed like they should have a different voice saying them. Once we recorded the bridge to ‘Bad Girl’, we got hooked on seeing how far we could push the effects on certain vocal parts. We love how that sound has added a dark, creepy, schizophrenic quality to the music.

Emily, you recently worked with Rusty Egan on his ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ collection, is lending your voice on other projects something we are to expect more of?

I’m always down to work with other artists and producers as long as it’s something that seems like the right fit.

Working with electronic legends Rusty Egan and Chris Payne on ‘Evermore’ was a complete no brainer.

Do you have any favourite electronic acts at the moment?

We’ve been listening to TR/ST quite a bit and recently have been getting into PRAYERS, who we just played a show with here in Los Angeles.


night-club-requiem-for-romanceELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to NIGHT CLUB

‘Requiem For Romance’ is released by Gato Blanco, available in CD and download formats from http://nightclubband.com/album/requiem-for-romance

http://nightclubband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nightclubband

https://twitter.com/nightclubband

https://www.instagram.com/nightclubband/


Text and Interview by Monika Izabela Trigwell
21st December 2016

GIORGIO MORODER Déjà Vu

At 74 years of age, GIORGIO MORODER has nothing more to prove, he’s back because he wants to be.

Da Maestro’s 21st Century musical return was launched in 2013 when he was commissioned by Google Chrome for their online game ‘Racer’. It was like the history of electronic dance music compressed into 4 minutes. But as these ideas have been mostly borrowed from Moroder anyway, it was only right for him to grab it all back. it showed the pretenders once again how electronic dance music should be done, and without stooping down to Guetta level.

Then at the backend of 2014 came Moroder’s statement of intent, ‘74 Is The New 24’. “Dance music doesn’t care where you live. It doesn’t care who your friends are” he said, “It doesn’t care how much money you make. It doesn’t care if you’re 74 or if you are 24 because… 74 is the new 24!” – distinctly Giorgio, it featured hints of his own ‘Chase’ from ‘Midnight Express’ as well as his defining productions for DONNA SUMMER, JAPAN and SPARKS.

‘74 Is The New 24’ comes in halfway through ‘Déjà Vu’, GIORGIO MORODER’s first album bearing his name since his 1985 collaboration with Phil Oakey from THE HUMAN LEAGUE. Although a vocalist in his own right on his solo material like his first single ‘Stop’ in 1966 to his 1977 UK hit ‘From Here To Eternity’, the Italian’s best known work has generally been in collaboration and in particular, with female vocalists. Thus ‘Déjà Vu’ is heavily biased towards an impressive roll call of well-known pop princesses such as SIA, BRITNEY SPEARS, KYLIE MINOGUE, CHARLI XCX, FOXES and KELIS.

First things first… ‘Déjà Vu’ is not a cutting edge club record, it is very much a Pop album with a capital P. Beginning with the wordless ‘4 U With Love’, it’s archetypal, thrusting Moroder although it also recalls ROGER SANCHEZ’s TOTO sampling ‘Another Chance’. It acts as a sparkling introduction to say “I’m back” before the title track fronted by the enigmatic Antipodean singer SIA. With rhythm guitars chopping away in the manner of CHIC’s Nile Rodgers, it is a good tune that LADY GAGA would be proud of.

Following on, CHARLIE XCX has certainly come a long way since ELECTRICTYCLUB.CO.UK first saw her in 2008 propping up third on the bill at a Popjustice showcase evening. Back then, she was a feisty Hertfordshire teenager with a Darth Vader obsession but now, she is rubbing shoulders with one of the most influential record producers of the last 50 years. Her appropriately titled ‘Diamonds’ is frantically paced, wobbling electro that comes over a bit like Marina on Quaaludes.

To tell the truth, the effervescent ‘Right Here, Right Now’ could be any one of KYLIE MINOGUE’s appealing electropoptastic numbers over the last two decades. But since ‘Light Years’ in 2000, the Australian pop pixie has been mining the Moroder treasure box, culminating in the Musicland meets Kling Klang amalgam of ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’… so in reality, everything has just come full circle.

Staying on the dancefloor, ‘Wildstar’ featuring the kooky Louisa Rose Allen aka FOXES enjoyably parties like its Studio 54. Along with a soaring chorus, there’s some throbbing synthbass and robot voices working in tandem for the middle eight. The stomping ‘Back & Forth’ sees KELIS processed to an almost masculine demeanour for an energetic slice of Europop, while Swedish chanteuse MARLENE adds a touch of Nordic soul to proceedings on the album’s most R’n’B leaning tune, ‘I Do This for You’.

The surprise of the collection is ‘Tom’s Diner’ featuring BRITNEY SPEARS. The original by SUZANNE VEGA was given a club treatment by DNA back in 1990 but here, not only does Moroder work some pulsing magic for the former teenage pop siren, he even adds a new bridge section featuring his deadpan vocodered phrasing alongside Miss Spears’ autotuned larynx.

However, the album’s two token male vocalists MIKKY EKKO and MATTHEW KOMA don’t fare so well, both sounding like generic boy band fodder on ‘Don’t Let Go’ and ‘Tempted’ respectively, with the former being the least irritating of the pair.

‘La Disco’ bookends ‘Déjà Vu’ with another instrumental in that classic Moroder-esque vein and when it finishes, it’s as if Da Maestro has never been away… the album does have a degree of familiarity to it and that’s because he more or less invented today’s format of modern dance friendly pop.

As the album title suggests, there are references to Moroder’s past glories… so listen out for those ‘Flashdance’ derived synth sounds! But overall, the various guest vocalists he has directly or indirectly influenced are the dominant players. Even in his absence, his sound has been around the ether. It’s a shadow that can’t be escaped now, so why fight it? ‘Déjà Vu’ is the sound of GIORGIO MORODER enjoying himself.


‘Déjà Vu’ is released via Giorgio Moroder Music LCC under exclusive license to RCA in CD, deluxe 2CD, vinyl LP and download formats

https://www.giorgiomoroder.com/

https://www.facebook.com/GiorgioMoroderOfficial

https://twitter.com/giorgiomoroder

https://soundcloud.com/giorgiomoroder


Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos from Giorgio Moroder’s Facebook page
14th June 2015

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