Category: Introducing (Page 18 of 25)

Introducing PAWWS

9 May 2014 /
PAWWS_press_shot_credit-SIMON_WISBEY

Photo by Simon Wisbey

With LITTLE BOOTS having gone dance and LA ROUX brandishing a guitar on her forthcoming second album, there is now a vacancy for a new kooky homegrown talent to take on the female electropop challenge laid down by Norway’s ANNIE back in 2007.

One of the possible candidates is PAWWS, otherwise known to her parents as Lucy Taylor.

PAWWS is what CHVRCHES would sound like if they were an all-female concern ie a blokey free zone. Throw in some Scandipop influences plus a dose of second hand Roland JX-8P and the end result is some sweet, sugary electronically driven pop.

Certainly those on a calorie controlled diet will need to be careful. Sparkling and sprightly, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was drawn to the coy, feline magnetism of ‘Slow Love’, a track that was the B-side of her 2013 debut single ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ while several of the team spotted her supporting HURTS.

Slightly moodier, ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ took on a more dramatic pace but was no less impactful, like LYKKE LI or IAMAMIWHOAMI on extra helium. Whether the classically trained North Londoner will last the course eventually to take on ROBYN and ANNIE or disappear into the wilderness like SUNDAY GIRL is not important right now. That her music exists and is good is all that really matters.

Her new EP ‘Sugar’ uses the short-chain, soluble carbohydrate as a metaphor for the pitfalls of love… after all, who hasn’t pursued something that may actually be harmful for you in the long term? The title track has been described “As if Kylie had worked with OMD” by The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile Lucy Taylor herself has labelled her music “upsetting disco” and ‘Give You Love’ from the EP lives up to that template. Certainly those who prefer their music with rough edges and have an aversion to female fronted synthpop will have their touch paper lit even further with the rich, smooth offerings that are ‘Sugar’ and ‘Give You Love’ 😉

‘Sugar’ is released on 16th June 2014 as a download EP by Best Fit Recordings but there will also be a limited edition 12” pink vinyl and most importantly, a CD… yes, at last, there is an artist and label who together are seeing sense and recognising there is still a demand for the silver digital discs!

The ‘Sugar’ EP is released by Best Fit Recordings

PAWWS plays The Lexington in London on Monday 12th May 2014

https://www.pawwsmusic.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/PawwsMusic

https://www.instagram.com/pawwslucy/

https://www.soundcloud.com/pawws

Text by Chi Ming Lai
9th May 2014, updated 7th July 2014

Introducing FIFI RONG

31 March 2014 /

FifiRong-01With trip-hop back in the ether thanks to the success of LONDON GRAMMAR, one lady taking a fresh, more electronic based approach to the sub-genre is Beijing born singer and musician FIFI RONG.

She first came to prominence as a member of THE TENORIONS, an all female trio created to showcase Yamaha’s then new hand held box of sequencing tricks also used by LITTLE BOOTS and EMILIE SIMON; they made an appearance on The Paul O’Grady Show in 2008.

When THE TENORIONS disbanded but under her moniker of FIFI RONG, she has been building her repertoire using a wide range of influences such as dubstep, trip hop and Chinese folk music while also name checking the likes of COCTEAU TWINS and MAZZY STAR.

She collaborated with TRICKY on his 2013 album ‘False Idols’, with the tracks ‘If Only I Knew’ and ‘Chinese Interlude’ being the end results. Meanwhile she also released her debut single ‘Over You’, a laid back soulful number that acted as a sultry platform for her versatile talent.

Her first album ‘Wrong’ came not long after and songs such as ‘Addicted To Water’ harked back to the sound of PORTISHEAD’s ‘Dummy’ but minus its claustrophobia. Meanwhile there was her own rework of her TRICKY track retitled as ‘Only If I Knew’ which was by far a more beautiful interpretation and fully exploited the song’s potential.

Now resident in London, FIFI RONG has just released a 6 track EP ‘Next Pursuit’, her first new material since ‘Wrong’. The superbly breathy title track takes on a crisper passage combining the vocal mystery of KELLI ALI and the quirkiness of MOLOKO. There’s even a touch of LANA DEL REY about it too. Crucially, it also adds in rhythmical variation, something that many trip-hoppers were inherently adverse to in their quest for that stoner vibe.

By avoiding those clichés, FIFI RONG has manifested her own dream laden underground electronica template with her hypnotic vocals as a focal point. She says her new EP “is a reinforcement of who I am, and a platform for me to set out on a musical journey toward the future and grow with it, always thriving to retain the freedom of making something new, exciting and better in one way or another”.

FifiRong-nextpursuit‘Next Pursuit’ is released on 4th April 2014 by Ditto Music as a CD or download via the usual digital outlets. The album ‘Wrong’ is available now from Amazon and Bandcamp at http://fifirong.bandcamp.com/

http://www.fifirong.com

https://www.twitter.com/fifirong

https://www.instagram.com/fifirong/

https://soundcloud.com/fifirong

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Portrait Photo by Paris Seawell
31st March 2014

Introducing QUIETER THAN SPIDERS

12 March 2014 /

Little is known about the mysterious combo QUIETER THAN SPIDERS, other than they are to have their debut album released by Anna Logue Records, home to the Anglo-German collective TWINS NATALIA, and that VILE ELECTRODES have done a remix of a forthcoming single release.

Further investigation has uncovered that QUIETER THAN SPIDERS appears to be the project of Leon Robinson-Zhang. Piloting a brand of “Shanghai Synthpop… using home-made electronic sounds played by hand”, the first track unveiled back in 2013 was ‘Shanghai Metro’.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK reader Si Wooldridge remarked “You could put this on the last OMD album and no one would notice it was by QTS…”, but while the obvious melodic elements recall Messrs Humphreys and McCluskey’s recent return to form, the beautiful electronics certainly come with a fresh, dynamic slant on the station announcer sample laden tune.

The dreamscape of ‘Hibakusha’ merges the sounds of FOTONOVELA, SOLVENT and Michael Rother while a modern, processed masculine twist is proof that male vocals on electronic songs do not have to be off-key monotone whines and snarls. Another positive that sets QUIETER THAN SPIDERS apart in male fronted electro is that Dave Gahan impersonations, both vocally and physically, are absent.

The simply wonderful ‘The Land Of The Lost Content’ just glides with a glacial beauty that not only is appealing to the ear, but can be danced to as well. ‘No Illusion’ keeps up the standard but has a harsher, robotic tone that is at times, reminiscent of Jyoti Mishra’s WHITETOWN.

QUIETER THAN SPIDERS are a prime example of how to get things right when starting out… compose a body of work, record the songs as well as possible, edit together some accompanying videos and let the music do the talking without spamming Facebook with some grandiose manifesto and poorly designed artwork.

A few bands could learn from this process… how can you be taken seriously if you shout like you are the best thing since sliced bread after just one song and have never played live? Funnily enough, the title ‘The Land Of The Lost Content’ seems to sums things up 😉

With thanks to Marc Schaffer at Anna Logue Records

https://www.facebook.com/QTSpiders

https://soundcloud.com/quieterthanspiders

https://www.facebook.com/annaloguerecords

Text by Chi Ming Lai
12th March 2014, updated 5th August 2015

Introducing I AM SNOW ANGEL

24 February 2014 /

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK heads back to New York State for its next new artist introduction, Lake Placid to be precise.

The location of the 1980 Winter Olympics, it is the apt that this village in the Adirondack Mountains should be at the heart of the beautifully gentle electronica of I AM SNOW ANGEL.

The self-produced vehicle of the now Brooklyn based singer/songwriter Julie Kathryn, as can be imagined from the artist moniker, the music evokes images of icy landscapes and crystalline hydro basins. I AM SNOW ANGEL’s self titled debut EP has been described as “an arresting mix of Kate Bush and Imogen Heap” and is Julie Kathryn’s first adventure in synthpop having previously made initial forays into Americana Noir at the start of her career.

The EP’s most immediate song ‘Grey White December’ is vibrant but whispery with a strong atmospheric quality. The blend of synthetic and organic textures strikes a balance to prove that using electronics does not have to mean raiding the DEPECHE MODE or ULTRAVOX songbooks. ‘Grey White December’ is accompanied by a step animation video that captures the song’s chilling aura.

Even better though is the lead track ‘Let Me Go’; rich in understatement, it is a Nordic styled tour de force swathed in melancholy. The subtle percussive textures provide an enticing backbone to cling onto. Meanwhile, ‘Not The Same’ features some muted guitar drive to highlight Kathryn’s countrified origins and ups the tempo slightly to accompany the soundscapes, a bit like THE POSTAL SERVICE. The intro to ‘Leave The Rest Behind’ though could come from ‘Twin Peaks’, all ambient and ethereal before a Eurocentric electronic rhythm and some pretty synth layers kick in.

Whether this is a full time project or a one-off experiment before returning to more traditional musical values, I AM SNOW ANGEL is again proving that North America is where the some of more interesting developments in synth friendly music are happening. But quite what I AM SNOW ANGEL will do when the weather gets a bit warmer remains to be seen.

The ‘I Am Snow Angel’ EP is available now via Amazon, iTunes and the usual digital outlets

http://iamsnowangel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iamsnowangel

https://twitter.com/I_Am_SnowAngel

https://www.instagram.com/i_am_snowangel/

https://soundcloud.com/iamsnowangel

Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th February 2014

Introducing REXXY

17 February 2014 /


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has said it once and will say it again but much of the best new electronic based pop music seems to be coming from North America. Why is that?

Perhaps the territory is so vast that various bubbles of talent are able to develop independently and without spill, unlike in the UK where acts are much closer together and with the nation’s inherent synthpop tradition, more likely to take the phrase synth revival a little too literally. Hot on the heels of GRIMES, AUSTRA, SOFT METALS, FEATHERS, TRUST and ELEVEN: ELEVEN is REXXY, the independent music project of musician, singer / songwriter Monica Velasquez.

With dreamy sounds and pentatonic vocal melodies, she comes over a little like GRIMES fronting NEW ORDER or THE CURE. With a mix of synths and moody bass riffs to a contemporary, new wave influenced sound, ‘Careless’ is a fine example of REXXY’s haunting demeanour; her vocals are melancholic yet seductively feline while her self-played four string adds texture to the precise rhythm on top of the eerie synth swoops.

Although her early projects were influenced by disco glam and garage rock, a move to Los Angeles saw her open her horizons. Now based in Brooklyn, her self-titled debut was released by CMI Vibe Records at the end of last year. Opening numbers ‘What Makes Us Fade’ and ‘Glasshead’ both possess a tremendous wispy drive. ‘Moonshine’ follows similar territory and comes over a bit like a more indie take on PAWWS ‘Slow Love’.

Meanwhile, the mechanical clatter of ‘Just For You’ makes things a little bit more club friendly. REXXY has also been experimenting with more dance related collaborations; the first result in partnership with Lif of DUO FOX is ‘Mageyez’ and brilliantly delightful.

REXXY is not all uptempo though as more mystic, ethereal compositions such as ‘Your Eyes’ prove. Yes, Velasquez’s vocals have a marmite effect, but lovers of J-Pop and K-Pop should have no trouble adapting. Whether you are at the purer end of the electro spectrum or like things toughened with organic instrumentation, REXXY has something for you.

With thanks to Darby Kaighin-Shields at Red Tape Productions Inc

‘Rexxy’ is out now on CMI Vibe Records via iTunes, Amazon and Spotify

www.rexxymusic.com

www.facebook.com/RexxyMusic

https://soundcloud.com/rexxymusic

Text by Chi Ming Lai
17th February 2014

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