Never one to lose the momentum of hype prior to the release of his new records, Chi-town’s rap megastar Kanye West has dropped two new joints to satiate the public’s hunger for his curious as-of-now titled project Dark Twisted Fantasy. The aptly titled “Monster” features a star-studded feature heavy line-up including Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and, oddly enough, indie crooners Bon Iver (according to the band’s leading man Justin Vernon, the two had collaborated heavily during three recording sessions in Hawaii). As for the remix of “Runaway Love,” the combination of artists featured on the track is the result of none other than West’s new internet obsession, Twitter. The track features teen sensation Justin Bieber on the hook with Wu Tang associate Raekwon holding it down with a verse.
Nowonder is the alias of aspiring Los Angeles-based electronic-pop recording artist, Danny Choi. With an extensive background in music, including a stint working with the music production staff of the hit television program “Yo Gabba Gabba,” Choi has long since honed his craft and geared it towards developing his own burgeoning production career. Stylistically, the highly infectious hooks and atmospheric electronic bits in the Nowonder tunes delineate the young musician’s diverse tastes and songwriting precision. Like many independent musicians today, Choi utilizes a ‘one-man operation’ approach in the skillful writing, production and mixing processes in his work (the quality of such, however, sets him apart from the rest).
The track “Manic” is one of Nowonder’s first public offerings and a great one at that. Influences like French dance duo Justice and Brooklyn electro favorites Ratatat are definitely felt in this chaotic dance song. More importantly, however, is the fact that it sounds as if Choi’s been at it just as long as the aforementioned artists.
Listen to “Manic” here:
The track, along with two others (”Fall” and “Dream”) available for download on Bandcamp.
The music video for the second single off of Body Talk, Pt. 1 by Swedish dance-pop artist, Robyn, takes a different approach from her others. Complimenting the song’s more down-played electronic pop, the video offers a glimpse into the life of a touring musician.
It should come as no surprise that Canadian electronic pop maestro Caribou (alternately known by his former alias, Manitoba) is not only a gifted essential one-man band, but an accomplished mathematics scholar. Daniel Victor Snaith’s 2010 breakthrough release, Swim, is wholly demonstrative of the musician’s cerebral approach to both his passion in academia as well as in his aural craft. The dance-worthy lush soundscapes Snaith creates in his latest album are the result of his application of chord sequences and logic in his songwriting and some truly and feasibly evocative of progression.
Check out the correspondingly trippy new music video for Caribou’s latest single “Sun”:
Download and listen to “Sun” (Courtesy of Ca Va Cool):
Australian psychedelic indie rockers Tame Impala are the talk of the town (or rather, the ‘blogosphere’) and with good reason. The Perth natives bring to the table a refreshing sound that hearkens back to a generation in which tunes were most inspired and driven by the latest magic mushrooms or LSD an artist had consumed. Retro guitar effects and distortion? Check. Crazy tempo/time changes sure to blow the mind of the young stoner listening intently? Check. It would seem that the band went about their songwriting for their hit self-titled EP bearing these thoughts in mind as the end result was a groovy retro work capable of transporting listeners to other aurally-induced realms that would otherwise necessitate a whole lot of acid. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a friend had me listen to their record and told me that these lanky Aussie hipsters wrote it in the 60’s.
Already hitting number one on the Australian Independent Record Labels chart as well as huge supporting slots with the likes of heavy hitters such like Yeasayer, The Black Keys, and MGMT and with the release of their debut full-length under their collective belt, it’s safe to say these newcomers are set to take over. Thanks to Annie Nguyen for reminding me about their album.
I’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint exactly when and how I learned of this all-female garage quartet from the fertile music breeding ground of the California Bay area, but I can safely say that I am glad I did as they’ve quickly become a favorite of mine. The four UC Berkeley alums collectively known as The Splinters offer a unique blend of lo-fi rock and pop reminiscent of predecessors like The Shangri-Las all the while revealing a penchant for 90’s riot grrrl punk. The band has recently released their first full-length record, Kick, via Double Negative Records last month and performed a few showcases at SXSW. Do yourself a favor and pick up their solid album today.
Watch the music video for “Mysterious” (Directed by Natalie Tsui) here:
Performing “Electricity” live at a house party in Oakland in March:
Download “Mysterious” here (Courtesy of The Fader):
Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam a.k.a. M.I.A. is no stranger to controversy. Much of the eccentric U.K.-based recording artist’s works have incorporated very strong socio-political messages accompanied perfectly by uniquely dance-able, highly infectious tunes. More recently, outside of the musical aspect of her illustrious career, Arulpragasam has made broad statements regarding pop musician Lady Gaga in an interview with British publication, NME, touting her as a ‘mimic’ and going on to allege: “People say we’re similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently,” she said, “but she spits it out exactly the same. None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is.” (NME Interview).
Now, following an airborne advertising campaign in promotion of the June 29th U.S. release of her upcoming third full-length album (in the form of a blimp during rapper Jay-Z’s set at the recent 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival), M.I.A. has released a controversial new music video for a recently distributed track entitled “Born Free”. The video, which was directed by French director Romain Gavras (whose portfolio includes Justice’s “Stress” and Simian Mobile Disco’s “I Believe”), is one chock-full of violence, nudity, and lots of explosions and gore. The song is pretty dope, too.
Check out the NSFW music video for “Born Free” here:
What do you think of the new music video and song? We’d love to hear your opinion in our comments section below.
California’s own The Morning Benders are steady on the rise in the indie rock circuit. The success of their second full-length, Big Echo, (which was produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and released last month) has allowed them to support big-name acts such as Yeasayer and MGMT in the short-span of their existence. A new video for the single, “Promises” has been released and is really nothing short of greatness.
The Temper Trap’s abrupt widespread success is no breaking news. The Australian indie/alternative rock group’s 2009 debut record Conditions was an instant hit as listeners the world over were quickly wooed by the band’s captivating blend of U2-esque guitars and the perfect pinch of pop sprinkled throughout. I mean, even renowned producer DJ Shadow gave the band his stamp of approval with his signature mix of their upbeat anthem “Science of Fear” and, needless to say, being featured on the soundtrack of the flick, (500) Days of Summer didn’t hurt at all either. The band continues to sell out shows worldwide and recently performed at Coachella.
Check out the band’s latest music video for the opening song “Love Lost” (directed by Dougal Wilson):
Remember this Swedish singer-songwriter? Right, you probably don’t. Let’s refresh your memory; this is the bird that dropped the mid-90’s jam “Show Me Love”.
Don’t lie, you couldn’t get enough of that track back in the day. Well, Robyn hasn’t exactly faded into obscurity since then. A few huge electronic collaborations (”With Every Heartbeat” with producer Kleerup amongst others) and a Grammy award nomination later, the pop artist is still going strong.
In anticipation of her fifth studio record, Body Talk Pt. 1, Robyn has thrown up a teaser in the form of a new track/single, “None of Dem”. The song, which marks yet another partnership with Norwegian electronic giants, Röyksopp, (Robyn lent her vocal stylings on the track “The Girl And The Robot” on their 2009 release Junior) features the type of sound you’d expect to find yourself vibing hard to at an obscure Euro discotheque or Hollywood club alike. Robyn comes strong on the track lyrically (touting the ineffectiveness of drugs and guys frontin’ on her) and it already appears that the album’s title encompasses the style/sound that she’s looking to achieve.
Body Talk Pt. 1 is set for release on June 14th via Cherrytree/Interscope and is part of a 3-mini album series.
Tracklisting and album artwork:
“Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do”
“Fembot”
“Dancing on My Own” (feat. Kleerup)
“Cry When You Get Older”
“Dance Hall Queen”
“None of Dem” (feat. Röyksopp)
“Hang With Me (acoustic)”
“Jag Vet En Dejlig Rosa”
Listen to “None of Dem” as well as the “The Girl and The Robot” here:
New Kanye West - “Monster” and “Runaway Love (Remix)”
