When I Want To Stop I Can

One of the pillars of my current infatuation with all things New Zealand is Princess Chelsea, aka Chelsea Nikkel. Introduced to me by my lovely friend Sean, I was instantly charmed by her singular brand of 'baroque pop'.

Nikkel's calling card is 'The Cigarette Duet', a collaboration with her former Brunettes bandmate, Jonathan Bree, but early indications are that her forthcoming album 'Lil' Golden Book' will deliver on the promise of this morbid musical morsel. Colourfully described elsewhere as "the soundtrack to an old Disney movie meets Kraftwerk fronted by Enya in a 60s production of Les Mis, in space", Princess Chelsea is certainly an intriguing prospect.

Plus, she's mates with Pikachunes.

Be There In A Second's Flat

A track I've been hooked on for the past couple of weeks is 'Seconds' by Ghost Loft. Teaming electronica with R'n'B á la James Blake, The XX and The Weeknd, the track is also slathered with pop sensibilities.

Ghost Loft, real name Danny Choi, hails from Los Angeles and seems to be another of these camera shy fellows. It appears that he is only getting started at this music-making lark, with just a handful of uploads to his Soundcloud. In any case, he's already making waves with these initial releases and should be worth keeping tabs on in the coming months.



Incidentally, the track was featured on Ms Mr's recent mixtape, which can be downloaded here.

Welcome To The Inner Workings Of My Mind

One of the last posts I managed before my mysterious absence (Recuperation after suffering a porcupine to the heart. Probably) was about Ms Mr.

'Bones' remains an absolute favourite of mine, but it's their latest release 'Hurricane' which is really doing the business for them, even leading to a feature in the Guardian's New Band of the Day.

The mysterious pair still haven't 'revealed' their 'identities' and, if you ask me, that's a pretty risky strategy. I mean it didn't exactly pay dividends for iamamiwhoami or Monarchy.

In any case, with a major label deal behind them, it probably won't be too long until we see what exactly Ms and Mr look like.

What a fucking tune.

Oh, My Heart Is A Porcupine

Meet Ruby Frost, one of a number of musical wonders hailing from New Zealand that are beginning to make ripples on the global scene (see also Pikachunes, Princess Chelsea, and of course Kimbra).

After picking up the MTV 42Unheard Award in 2009 and the John Lennon Songwriting Competition in 2010, Ms Frost inked a deal with Universal and set to work on her debut album, 'Volition', which was released a short time ago.

I've yet to hear the album in its entirety but, based on the evidence of the first few singles, I imagine it's not half bad. Recent singles 'Porcupine' and 'Water To Ice' can rival the output of some of the great artpop dames.

Plus, it might just be the hair, but doesn't she look a bit like Amelia Lily?

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