Forced To Have You In Rewind

It feels a bit as though I'm living on a musical diet of R'n'B 'slow jams' at the moment. Maybe I'm in heat? Or maybe I'm just tired of being clobbered about the head by the chart pop and dance music 'du jour'?

Anyway, 'Careless Over You' is the latest track from Sasha Keable, a vocalist you might recognise from the Disclosure album, or maybe even this Zinc track. It's a sultry track with Keable's silky vocals soldered on to a backdrop of keys and electronic beats, with more than enough quirkly production flourishes to keep things interesting.

It reminds me of some of fellow-Disclosure collaborator Jessie Ware's material and definitely bodes well for her forthcoming 'Black Book' EP.



She's also recently uploaded a series of acoustic versions of the EP tracks that reveal the true power of her voice:

Let's Die For A Few Hours

Earlier today, Solange announced plans for the first release on her Saint Records imprint. Saint Heron is a compilation of new tracks from artists like Kelela, Kingdom, Cassie and Solange herself.

Another inclusion on the compilation is an artist I've admire for a while: Brussels-born and Cape Town-reared musician Yannick Ilunga, aka Petite Noir. Ilunga, previously played as part of South African electropop outfit Popskaar, but his work as Petite Noir is darker, permeated by a brooding intensity that's mirrored in the videos for his songs.

He himself describes the music as “noir wave” or “new wave with an African aesthetic”. His native influences are certainly present and a number of his tracks are anchored by spectres of African shuffles. Other elements, meanwhile, hark back to the gloomy sounds of New Order, Depeche Mode or Joy Division, with a smattering of Foals and Bloc Party thrown in for good measure.

I'm looking forward to hearing what he's come up with for Miss Knowles's collection, but my favourite of his tracks to date is probably 'Noirse'.

Try So Hard But You Can't Conceal It

'Bipp' by Sophie is a song I heard a few months back but came across again when Pitchfork featured Sophie as one of their 'Rising' artists last week. Since then, I haven't been able to stop playing it.

Despite the name and the high-pitched vocals on the track, Sophie is apparently a Scottish man by the name of Sam. I really enjoy the sense of humour he adopts in his approach to his work, whether it's his playfully standoffish response to Pitchfork's attempt at an interview, his vaguely ridiculous website or this bizarre segment he did on Skream's radio show.

Sophie's other tracks are all pretty great, even if none quite match the dizzy synth-driven genius of 'Bipp'. Supposedly another double-track single is coming before the end of the year. Good news.

If It Wasn't For You, I'd Be Alone

Yet another Scandinavian export that's caught my attention is Mapei, whose current single 'Don't Wait' has been lodged in my head the past couple of weeks.

Her voice has a quality that reminds me of Kelis and the combination of vocoders, doo-wop finger snaps and a slathering of talk-sing come together very nicely on what is quite simply a great pop song. Her debut album is due out next year on SpankRock's 'Downton Records'.

Dirty Bed So I'm On The Ground

Elliphant first caught my attention late last year with the excellent if occasionally nonsensical 'Down On Life', the kind of pop song that sort of screeches into sight and and stops traffic.

Sadly, not much off the Swedish singer's material tickled my fancy in quite the same way. Today, however, she's come up with something that certainly comes close to the dizzy heights of 'Down On Life'.

Electropop with a hint of hip-hop swagger, 'Could It Be' bodes well for Elliphant's forthcoming debut album on Dr Luke's Kemosabe imprint. Her English might not be perfect, but the song's theme of festering post-relationship staleness sounds out loud and clear, while the 'Requiem For A Dream'-inspired video works a treat.

I Don't Need It To Be Black And White

"BOMBTRACK" is, at the time of writing, the top comment on Samsaya's 'Stereotype' video and that's a pretty fair assessment, if you ask me.

Musically, Samsaya reminds of Yadi when she sings, M.I.A. when she raps and Santigold when she's in between. The lyrics for 'Stereotype' veer towards clichés occasionally but, given that Samsaya has come to us from India via Norway, we probably should make some allowances in that regard.

The track was produced by Fred Ball of Roc Nation and is released on Samsaya's own label 3mm (which is precisely the size of the gap between her front teeth apparently.)



Thanks to Alex for the recommendation.

Palms To The Sky On A Religious High

In the past two years, rapper Azealia Banks has served up a masterclass in squandering hype. Alienating those who fell in love with '212' by picking internet scraps with anyone and everyone, while repeatedly pushing back the release of her fabled debut album 'Broke With Expensive Taste', she has found the likes of Iggy Azalea and Angel Haze muscling in on the playing field.

Although his behaviour has been considerably less objectionable, UK producer and singer Jai Paul too seems to have crumbled under the pressure of premature hype. A bizarre incident earlier this year apparently saw him 'go renegade' by leaking his own album and now there are a number of emerging artists, gunning for the 'sound of 2014' tag, producing music that seems to be influenced by his.

One such artist is UK singer/producer Ben Khan. The spidery guitar and breathy bedroom-soul vocals of Khan's track 'Eden' certainly recall Paul's 'Jasmine', and the inclusion of elephant-like blasts of horn seem in keeping with Paul's inventive approach to production.

Khan is pulling the ol' 'mystery identity' card, which has perhaps inevitably led some to speculate that he is in fact Jai Paul. Whatever the case, Khan is probably be a safer bet to have an album out in 2014 than Paul. Or Azealia Banks, for that matter.

Someone Who Gives A Fuck

There's a peculiar thing happening in music right now. R'n'B singers like Ciara, Cassie and Brandy can't seem to catch a break and, despite their best efforts, haven't troubled the charts for quite some time.

And yet, vocal tracks by these very same artists remain in high demand among a generation of emerging producers, who are appropriating elements of late 90s/early 00s R'n'B for futuristic dance concoctions (see: Jacques Greene, Le Youth, Follow Me).

Perhaps inevitably, we're beginning to see a new wave of artists emerge producing music that owes a debt to R'n'B's Timbaland-helmed heyday but also embraces up-to-the-minute production. Los Angeles singer Kelela is one such artist.

Her debut mixtape 'Cut 4 Me' is available free from Kingdom's Fade To Mind imprint. Established beatmakers Bok Bok, Nguzunguzu and Kingdom himself bring their respective A-games to the table but, a few tracks in, it's clear that Kelela's running the show.

Her 'light-touch' vocals certainly have more in common with the likes of Aaliyah, Kelis and Cassie than today's crop of chart-toppers and, over the course of the mixtape's 13 tracks, she showcases remarkable versatility and range.

From the spiky sass of 'Enemy' to feather-light slow-burner 'Cherry Coffee', 'Cut 4 Me' is the sound of a bright new talent making her presence felt.

Dowload the mixtape for free here:

As We Are Floating In The Blue

Sometimes when two artists you like join forces, the results can be underwhelming, no matter how mouthwatering a prospect it sounds like on paper.

Thankfully, that's not the case on the new version of Woodkid's single 'I Love You' that features Brooklyn rapper Angel Haze, which somehow manages to add up to more than the sum of its parts.

All credit to French musician/filmmaker/generally talented person whose original version of the track was pretty decent to begin with, but Angel Haze steals the show on this occasion with a part-sung part-rapped contribution that elevates the track to new realms of greatness.



Check out the video for the original version here:

Stuck On Repeat: Suddenly Submerged Edition

Joywave - Tongues (featuring Kopps)



Kate Boy - The Way We Are



Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack (Viceroy 'Jet Life' Remix)



Amerie - Why Don't We Fall In Love (Kaytranada Remix)



Pharrell - Happy



Jacques Greene - On Your Side (featuring How To Dress Well)



Marina & The Diamonds and Charli XCX - Just Desserts

Not A Part So Far Entwined

Festival season is upon us. Plans for a pilgrimage to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury may have been scuppered once again, but rest assured I will be wreckin' it at as many Irish festivals as the piggybank will permit.

Headliners are all well and good (I'm looking forward to ticking Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Knife and Bjork off my musical bucket list) but it can be more fun to try figure out which acts further down the line-up can't afford to be missed.

Someone I'll certainly be chasing down at Electric Picnic this year is Scottish three-piece CHVRCHES. Although the band appeared on a slew of tastemakers' 'big for 2013' lists last year, it's only in the past few weeks that I've fully succumbed to their charms.

The 80's synthpop swagger of current single 'Gun', anchored by Lauren Mayberry's irresistible vocal, is easily the best song I've heard about homicidal arms-based revenge. Meanwhile, their pacey reworking of MS MR's already pretty excellent 'Hurricane' is, for now at least, the definitive version.

On A Journey To Who Knows Where

In a recent post I mentioned that, although the state of pop music Ireland is in rude health right now, I thought we might be a while off laying claim to a chart-conquering EDM star in the vein of this year's Oxegen headliners Calvin Harris and David Guetta. Turns out I may have spoken too soon.

Dáithí Ó Drónaí is a musician I happened upon way back in the days of Myspace and it's been really interesting to follow his progress from fresh-faced TV talent show contestant to ambient trad/electronic indie kid and now, seemingly, chart-ready pop maestro.

New single 'Chemeleon Life' is a markedly more 'commercial' sound than his previous releases, with rich vocals from Dublin singer Rachel Barror, credited as Raye, soldered onto Dáithí's synth-heavy production. 

It's pretty remarkable how he's managed to transition to this sound with such ease, but it's also reassuring to see in the video for the track, directed by Feel Good Lost, that he hasn't abandoned his trusted fiddle altogether.

Dáithí's debut album, which is shaping up to be an intriguing prospect, will be released on Sony later this year.

And You Stashed My Heart Somewhere In The Dark

Disclosure can do very little wrong these days. After being denied their all-but-guaranteed spot on the BBC's 'Sound of 2013' list due to the premature success of their single 'Latch', Surrey-based brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence went on to score an even bigger hit earlier this year with their AlunaGeorge collaboration 'White Noise'.

For latest single 'You & Me', they've recruited English popstar Eliza Doolittle, swathing her vocals with a pacey 'nu-garage' backdrop. The results are impressive, with Ms Doolittle coming off like an on-form Katy B and Disclosure consolidating their position as UK dance music's new wunkerdkinds ahead of the release of their debut album 'Settle' next month.



Also worth a listen is Auckland singer Ruby Frost's version of 'White Noise'. Recorded for what seems to be New Zealand's answer to 'Live Lounge', Ruby strips the track back to a keyboard ballad and it really works.

I Don't Want To Know What You Did Before

Occupying a point on the musical spectrum somewhere between Ms Mr, Ghost Loft and Until The Ribbon Breaks, it was never going to take long for New York duo to nuzzle their way into my affections.

Backed by one of my favourite new music sources, Neon Gold, the 'mysterious' New York duo (groogh) produce pop music that's doused with shimmering synths and underpinned by punchy hip hop beats. Latest release 'Operate' is probably their 'piéce de resistance' but a clutch of their other tracks, including a sprightly cover of Beck's 'Gamma Ray' are similarly impressive.

Dreams I Had Got Lost In The Dance

Today, a friend of mine introduced me to 'Dance With Me', the latest single from Dublin chamber pop duo Maud in Cahoots, and I've had it on loop for the past couple of hours.

I'm feeling a little silly that this fantastic act has been sitting more or less under my nose for the past couple of years, without me realising. Combining luscious instrumentation, gorgeous harmonies that remind of a softer Heathers and melancholy melodies worthy of the most lovelorn of Scandinavian chanteuses, sisters Zoe and Maud Reardon make music that stands apart from anything else I've encountered on the Dublin music scene.

'Dance With Me' is one part of a double A-side single taken from their new EP, on which they worked with Max Heyes. The other part is 'Make Me Right', which you can hear below.

A Dream That I Was Told To Keep

Ireland has a pretty fantastic reputation for producing mopey indie bands and guitar-grinding rock groups, but our track record in the fields of pop and dance music has been considerably more patchy.

While a chart-conquering Irish EDM star may still be some way off, a number of homegrown acts teaming ambient electronica with pop sensibilities have recently been forging a new path that is proving to be music blog catnip.

Newbridge teenager MMOTHS's bedroom-brewed musical concoctions earned him a support slot for The xx on their recent tour, while Dublin duo Slow Skies have been riding high in the Hype Machine chart with their recent release 'On The Shore'.

Now comes 'Time', a collaboration between Cork electropop outfit Young Wonder and another Irish artist Sacred Animals that is destined to expedite the rise of Irish electronica. Likened by The 405 to a "Ben Gibbard and Björk duet produced by Balam Acab", this track is certainly one we can proudly export.



Check out Young Wonder's video for 'Orange' below:

Living Life Three Times As Fast

“What's your dick like, homie? What are you into?”  Azealia Banks barks at a bespectacled and bemused-looking Jacques Greene in the music video for her signature tune '212'. My guess is that Greene's genitals, like the rest of him, are perfectly formed. And sexual proclivities aside, what he's 'into' is slinky synths and killer, killer beats.

The Canadian producer/DJ has demonstrated a singular flair for extracting vocal samples from forgotten-but not-gone R'n'B stars like Mario, Brandy and Ashanti and using these as cornerstones in gauzy house and two-step constructions.

More recently, Greene has deviated from this blueprint, juggling more 'commercial' projects like a guest-spot on the recent Katy B EP with solo releases, such as this excellent collaboration with Tinashe, 'Painted Faces'.

When There Are No More Walls To Climb

Heathers' album 'Kingdom' was one of my favourite Irish releases of 2012. Expanding on the harmonies-and-acoustic-guitar formula that worked so well on their debut, the girls incorporated synths, strings and percussion into the mix for a fuller pop sound.

They may have risked alienating their folk fanbase but the strategy paid off in spades, with the album spawning the anthemic radio hit 'Forget Me Knots' and earning the Blackrock twins a Choice Prize nomination (Ireland's answer to the Mercury or Polaris).

Now, with a national headline tour under their belts, they return with the moody new single 'Lions, Tigers, Bears' and a windswept video to boot (in parts reminiscent of All Saints' 'Pure Shores'.)

Didn't Know Getting Lost In The Blue

MS MR's 'Hurricane' already had a pretty great video, condensing the 'essence' of Tumblr into just under four minutes. That was, however, when they were being super secretive about their identities.

They have have since revealed themselves as New Yorkers Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow and to be in possession of faces. Accordingly, they have made a new video that features said faces smeared with lurid bodypaint.

Combining a bubblegum palette with murky happenings, the clip is a welcome reminder of MS MR's knack for grade-A gloom-pop ahead of the release of their album 'Secondhand Rapture' next month. Kind of hoping they're going to turn up one of the Irish festival line-ups one of these days...

All The Time To Keep You Off My Mind

The lofty standards set by Scandinavian pop music have been well documented and one of its key archetypes has been the lovelorn Swedish chanteuse.

The latest addition to Stockholm's stockpile of swoon-inducing songbirds is 24-year-old Tove Lo.  Her latest track 'Habits', an ode to heartbreak-fuelled self-destruction, was sent to me by a friend and I've been playing it all day.

Granted, it probably owes a debt to the tumbling percussion of Lykke Li's 'Little Bit' and the hook-heavy chorus would fit right into one of Robyn's signature electro-ballads, but there's a black humour and lyrical quirkiness that sets 'Habits' apart from the work of her contemporaries.

Stuck On Repeat - April Showers Edition

Phoenix - Entertainment (Blood Orange Remix)



A Tribe Called Quest - 1nce Again (Bit Funk Remix)



Boy - Little Numbers



TLC - Unpretty (Follow Me Remix)



Purity Ring - Grammy (Soulja Boy Cover)



Bastille - Pompeii (Monsieur Adi Remix)



Ms Mr - Fantasy

[Image: Moritz Aust]

I'm Holding On To What I Can't Have

Los Angeles-based singer/producer Danny Choi, recording as Ghost Loft, caught my attention last year with his excellent track 'Seconds', a glorious 3 minute mélange of R&B-tinged minimalist pop and airy vocals, embellished with a killer sample.

Now he has dropped the sombre but similarly superb 'So High', a strong indication that Ghost Loft is here for the long haul. Teaming subdued synths with a guitar line that recalls Shontelle's 'Impossible',  the track is three minutes of pure magic.

Fire Burning Through Your Veins

After releasing three EPs independently, collaborating with Fred Falke and Xenomania along the way, Bristol pop maven Florrie made the leap to a major label in 2012.

Since then, she has been working away on the tracks that will make up her debut album. A recent post on her site claimed that she is close to completing work on 20 tracks and almost ready to launch her quest to conquer the charts and our hearts.

Before then, though, there is a sneak preview of what to expect in the guise of the new theme tune to a new Sony headphones advertisement, 'Live A Little'. Written and performed by Florrie, the track is a welcome reminder of her vibrant pop energy.



Download the track for free here.

We're Smoking The Right Stuff

I really like Miley Cyrus.

What began as a semi-ironic enjoyment of 'Hannah Montana' quickly snowballed into fully-fledged adoration for the pop perfection of 'See You Again', 'Party In The USA' and 'Black Umbrella'.

As regards her music, I will vigorously defend Billy Ray's singing sprog to all detractors. Miley's movies, mind, I could take or leave. In fact, I don't think I've successfully managed a full sitting of a film she's been in, which is why I'm very glad that she's recently put her music-making cap back on (and lopped off most of her hair for good measure.)

Ahead of her own new material, Miley found time to guest-spot on the new Snoop Lion track 'Ashtrays & Heartbreaks'. Produced by the dream-team of Major Lazer and Ariel Rechtshaid, the track is Snoop's finest pop moment this side of his guest spot on Robyn's 'U Should Know Better' and Miley is sounding pretty good too.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think the song was about getting high. Thankfully, we all know Miley ain't got no time for that.

And When The Clouds Part Open

Charli XCX is my kind of popstar.

With her passion for nineties nostalgia, loud outfits and slightly leftfield pop output, we were destined to get along well. Thankfully, after a string of excellent EPs/mixtapes, her debut album 'True Romance' lands next month.

We've already heard quite a few of the tracks that made the album, but today she's premiered a new one called 'What I Like'. After a pacy opening that suggests Charli's 'gone Guetta', the song settles into a nice mid-tempo ode to being comfortable in a relationship, kind of like an electro-swathed cousin of Lily Allen's 'Who'd Have Known'.

The track is produced by J£ZUS MILLION, who was also behind Charli's excellent 'Cloud Aura' with Brooke Candy.

Are You Maybe Here To Help Me Hurt Myself?

Baths' 2010 album 'Cerulean' was a great record that I was quite late in coming across.

I was never especially fond of the so-called 'chillwave' trend that emerged around that time but there's something hypnotic about Will Wiesenfeld's ambient soundscapes that drew me in.

His 2011 release Pop Music/False B-Sides kind of passed me by but I am definitely going to investigate further, having in it now that I've heard his latest track 'Miasma Sky' from forthcoming release 'Obsidian'.

The song's pop sheen belies the underlying murk that becomes evident as you listen to the lyrics. In his own words, "Miasma Sky balances being “swallowed alive by the sky” with a gorgeous piano groove and levitative croon that could detonate a disco club night."

I'm Latching On To You

Sam Smith first came to my attention as the vocalist on Disclosure's excellent breakthrough single 'Latch'. His soulful timbre initially reminded of Sam Sparro (remember him?) but I wasn't able to find too much information about him.

A solo track 'Lay Me Down', co-produced by Disclosure, surfaced in January but, lovely as it might be, it's not really my cup of tea. More interesting though is his new collaboration with Naught Boy on 'La La La'.

Built around an infectious sample that I'm guessing was lifted from a Bollywood soundtrack, the track makes great use of Smith's extensive register and, given Naughty Boy's recent success with Emeli Sandé, it has the potential to do very well.

More of this, please.

Already Been Here Too Many Times Before

It's strange to think it's almost a year since concrete information about the 'original' Sugababes reunion began to surface. It was a few months until Mutya Keisha and Siobhan officially confirmed that they were reforming under the dubious moniker Mutya Keisha Siobhan.

Since then, there have been assurances that we would hear new material "very soon" and vague details of collaborations with a mouth-watering roster of artists and producers, including Dev Hynes, Shaznay Lewis, Cameron McVey, Emeli Sandé, Naughty Boy, Richard X, William Orbit and MNEK.

However, the closest we've come to new material has been an 'a capella' version of a track called 'Boys' uploaded in January. Until now, that is.



Today, man-of-the-moment Devonté Hynes uploaded a track to his Soundcloud that sees Mutya Keisha Siobhan put a spin on Kendrick Lamar's signature tune 'Swimming Pools (Drank)'. A veritable feast for the ears, the supposedly spur-of-the-moment studio cut is reason enough to get excited all over again at the prospect of a new album from these ladies.

For one thing, all three sound in full voice and their vocals blend together just as harmoniously as they did on their first and only album 'One Touch' over a decade ago. Furthermore, Siobhan's solo on the middle eight harks back to the best of her own solo material and suggests that a democratic approach to the new album may pay dividends.

All My Shadows For A Walk Tonight

"Elliphant pulls the balls of this dancehall slayer through its own throat and ties them in a cherry knot the other side." So reads the boisterous introduction on Swedish newcomer Elinor Olovosdotter's website for her musical project, Elliphant.

She claims to be influenced by M.I.A. and Diplo so its perhaps not surprising that she bears a sonic resemblance to their frequent collaborator Santigold. Current single 'Down On Life' is currently the source of mild blogospheric hysteria, thanks to its zany lyrics, contagious melodies and striking music video. She's apparently signed to the same management company as Niki & The Dove, so let's hope she can capitalise on the attention she's currently receiving better than they have.

Elliphant: In The Jungle by ElliphantMusic

Secrets. Secrets. Buried In The Floor.

At the risk of making an already very poorly maintained blog even more redundant, I will confess that lately I've been finding some of my favourite music over on Belgian blog, Disco Naïveté.

The latest discovery is Until The Ribbon Breaks. The project is supposedly a collaboration between Rollo Armstrong (Dido's brother and member of Faithless) and Welsh singer Pete Lawrie, who was likened to Hothouse Flowers when his brand of "rugged, soul-tinged guitar music" was profiled by Paul Lester two years ago.

Now, a year after the first couple of U.T.R.B. songs were posted to SoundCloud, a video for one of the songs 'Pressure' has materialised, featuring an additional guest spot by Mr MFN eXquire. Lawrie's layered and distorted vocals combine with Rollo's inventive production for something very fresh-sounding, with an unexpected detour mid-way through the track adding another dimension.

A second track, 'A Taste of Silver', is like the iPad-wielding nephew of The Beatles' 'Come Together' and reaffirms the promise of this venture.





Pressure by UntilTheRibbonBreaks