All The Single Ladies

A while back, I posted a Penguin Prison remix of Kimbra's Settle Down that I stumbled upon but, idiotically, I forgot to investigate the original.

Thankfully, Nialler9 posted the video for the track a few weeks ago and, since then, I've pretty much had it on loop and forced it upon everybody that's crossed my path.



Originally from New Zealand, Kimbra operates out of Australia these days. Her debut album, Vows, will be released pretty shortly but, in the mean time, there are a couple of cuts worth a spin. None are quite as devastatingly brilliant as Settle Down, but few songs are.

Settle Down by Kimbra

Cameo Lover by Kimbra

Kimbra - Settle Down (Penguin Prison Remix) by Lizmania

An Old Design That Can't Be Traced

It's been fairly slow progress for Penguin Prison. His debut album, which was shaping up to be one of the best of 2010, is now destined to be among the cream of 2011 instead.

However, on the plus side, the New York-based singer has inked a deal with Wall of Sound to release his album in both Europe and Australia.

He's also premiered another track called 'Golden Train', which is up to his usual standards of brilliance and should tide diehard fans like myself over for the time being.

Penguin Prison - Golden Train



Penguin Prison - Golden Train (The Royal Palms Remix)

Fair and Fowl

I've probably posted about Penguin Prison far too much given the sparse amount of material in the public domain but, honestly, I'm obsessed.

His latest release 'Something I'm Not'/'The Worse It Gets' has inspired all manner of wonderful remixes, some of which I've already posted. And they keep on coming.

This funk-flavoured mix of 'The Worse It Gets' by Shook is the latest to land in my inbox and aggravate my infatuation.

Penguin Prison - The Worse It Gets (Shook Remix) (free download)



Here's a couple more mixes I've been hooked on:

Penguin Prison - Worse It Gets (RAC Remix)



Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not (Friends Electric Remix):

Deferred Sentence

I have been trying desperately to clamber back on the blog-wagon the past few days but, annoyingly, circumstances have been conspiring against me doing so. As such, I'm pretty late in posting this, the new video from Penguin Prison for 'Something I'm Not':



The video was created using footage recorded during Skype sessions between singer Chris Glover and director Roman Rappak. Simple but effective.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Penguin Prison is my favourite artist right now. This remix also comes courtesy of director Rappak:

Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not (BretonLABS remix) (free download)

The Caged Bird Sings

The more I hear from New York wunderkind Penguin Prison, the more I'm convinced he's poised to deliver one of the finest pop albums of this year.

After the initial teasers of 'A Funny Thing' and 'Animal Animal', he's today released a second double whammy on Neon Gold's record label.

'The Worse It Gets' is a tidy little disco-tinged number, laden with catchy hooks, while synthpop slow-burner 'Something I'm Not' is, to my ears, the best thing we've heard from him to date.

Oh, and both tracks have been made available as free downloads. Nice.

Penguin Prison - The Worse It Gets (Free Download)



Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not (Free Download)



Starsmith is apparently set to unleash a big remix of 'Something I'm Not' but, for now, I'm kinda taken with the club-friendly Friends Electric Remix:

Pick Up A Penguin

Neon Gold Records is, in my opinion, the most exciting record label on the scene at the moment. Not only was Neon Gold responsible for first bringing Passion Pit, The Sound of Arrows and Marina and the Diamonds to the masses but pretty much every song posted on the label's blog is an anthem-in-waiting.

The latest exclusive Neon Gold track is a rather stonking remix of Erik Hassle's already-quite-brilliant track 'Hurtful' by hot prospect Penguin Prison. The remix strips away some of the melancholy of the original, slipping some synths and a cow-bell under Hassle's vocal and transforming him into an anguished disco diva.

You can download the track here but this is a sneak preview:



[Image: Bjorn Iooss]