rescuing musical virtue in distress.
There was a time when the term "world music" seemed to be a pointless label. It was used to describe everything from Classic Indian music to Bulgarian folk choirs, Latin salsa bands to Australian aboriginal sounds; as a phrase, it was so broadly stretched as to be almost meaningless. But as we moved into the... Continue Reading →
With his latest single, Lefteris Sampson weaves together hot dance floor beats and funky grooves into an infectious clubland track that both slightly nods to the past but, for the most part, has its eyes fixed firmly on the future. And the result, a classic electro-pop track for the here-and-now. You Gotta Love Her is... Continue Reading →
One of the failings in dance music, or at least an area where it could do better, is that many of the genre's creators are happy to sacrifice melody for the beat. Yes, I know that dance is all about the beat, that it is those almost tribalistic rhythms, those hypnotic percussive grooves which are... Continue Reading →
The dance music scene is perhaps the fastest-moving musical arena of them all. Tied directly to the advancement of technology and riding the pulsing, creative energies which the dancefloor feeds off, it is a place where living on the sonic edge is not only advantageous but perhaps essential. And if a week is a long... Continue Reading →
Hip-Hop started life as a pioneering new form of musical manipulation. Young sonic adventurers rebuilt record decks and spliced electronics to create new technologies, ones that enabled them to not just play records but to mould them into new forms, cutting pieces of one track into another, scratching music to create exciting new sounds, in... Continue Reading →
Previous singles, such as What Is Love? and Do What You Gotta Do, have perfectly displayed Dejhare's ability to make music that straddles the worlds of underground clubland cool and mainstream chart accessibility. Plead The Fifth, her latest five-track offering, continues that journey to merge worlds but it is much more than just a collection... Continue Reading →
It did seem for a while that as technology brought accessibility, both financial and creative, to a generation of would-be music makers the contemporary music scene was awash with identikit beatmakers and dance music wannabees. But as the adage proved, "it ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it," most fly-by-night, style... Continue Reading →
I remember a time, although I must admit that I am older than most, when the rock fraternity and the dance camp were sworn, enemies. Or at least the music press and a few shallow-minded buffoons would have us believe this to be the case. But rock and dance, it turns out, make for the... Continue Reading →
Oceans Away and the story behind it is the perfect example of the mindset which seems to have evolved due to the restrictions of lockdown. As musicians have found themselves shut out from their traditional workplaces, they have retreated more and more into home recordings and distanced collaborations. Ironically, as the physical walls closed in... Continue Reading →
Cupidkarma is an album that could only exist today. Not just for the fact that it sounds so utterly modern and refreshing but also because at 70 tracks long, a physical version of such an album would probably not get past the planning and costing stage. Thankfully times have changed and technology allows artists to... Continue Reading →
Music can be many things to many people and often what it means to the listener is very different to what it means for the creator. And if The Perfect Son is a bundle of disco vibes, 80's electronica vibes and 21st-century dance floor poise to the casual ear, to its creator, David E. Johnston,... Continue Reading →
On this short, three-salvo sonic collection, H-chris offers us a triptych of tracks that span a number of dance moves and moods. His chosen style is an instrumental, groovesome synth, deep house sound and even without the lyrical component, there is plenty of melody and emotion to be found. Waiting In The Back Seat is... Continue Reading →
As I write this, I am listening to an artist that has come to my attention almost by accident. The music is from a five-song EP called ‘In Bloom’ by an artist born in Poland and living in Florida. If you keep an ear on all things hot and happening in the world of the... Continue Reading →
Shackles set out the sonic stall nicely for this latest ep from Seattle duo Sugar Addikt, but one song, as great as it is, can only say so much. And if you liked that first single, and why wouldn't you, then embracing the sonic charms of this 5-track offering is the logical next step. As... Continue Reading →
Seattle synth duo, Sugar Addikt, take elements from 70's disco, 80's mainstream pop, 90's dance music and 21st-century electronica and use those wide-ranging influences to forge music that is both familiar and infectious yet unique and forward-thinking. Shackles, from their latest ep, Phoenix, is a song that wanders between pulsating dancefloor energy and the highly... Continue Reading →
Well, that's a great way to start the working day. A funky, dance-fueled blend of shuffling beats and chiming electronica, a bundle of hypnotic grooves and beguiling rhythms. Is it breakbeat, is it dance, is it electro-funk? Who really cares? All that matters is that it is the sort of music which immediately makes you... Continue Reading →
This latest scorching slice of alt-pop from Wingman works on many levels. Firstly, there is the fact that it is a song written during, and rooted in, the heart of the pandemic and so seeks to offer both a positive vibe and a distraction for everyone who is having a hard time dealing with recent... Continue Reading →
Pop music is an ever-changing beast, something that quickly moves in and out of various shifting fads and fashions as taste dictates. But the smart pop creator knows that whilst they need to build something that is appealing to the audience of today, pop music is always built on some pretty strong basic tenets too.... Continue Reading →
Pop music doesn't generally have much to say in its lyrics, not beyond love lorn platitudes or euphoric sentiment. But that isn't pop music's job. Its main concern is engagement with the audience, lifting spirits (or perhaps sending the mood the other way) offering something immediate and of the moment. But what if pop could... Continue Reading →
Getting away from the day to day grind through the escapism which music provides is pretty much its main reason for existence. Break Free, as the name suggests, is a celebration of such an ethic. With the buoyant beats and addictive sonics of Funky Fool's music as a platform, the fantastically named Ciinderella Balthazar lays... Continue Reading →
As this small but perfectly formed EP rises out of some traditional piano sounds and beguiling electronica, you wonder where it might be going. Modern classic fusion? Indie-dance? Ambient electronica? And then the main body of Multitasking drops into earshot and you find yourself in high-octane, clubland heaven. Taking a low and hypnotic route through... Continue Reading →
What if indie music could be as infectious and attractive as its big sister, pop music? What if it could be as groovesome as the most addictive dancefloor offerings? What if it made clever sonic choices and had something to say? What if it oozed underground cool as easily as it vibed with all the... Continue Reading →
Above & Beyond's Thing Called Love rightly found a large audience amongst the pop pickers and denizens of the dance scene a decade ago, but just because a song already has such a firm following that doesn't mean that it isn't ripe for reinvention. And that is exactly what Lian Gold does with her latest... Continue Reading →
To most people "instrumental music," a term really too broad to have any significant or specific meaning, is the stuff of background listening, a mood enhancer or perhaps a soundtrack to something more engaging such as a film or a video game. Brain Bleach, the latest album from Samvridh, proves that it can be something... Continue Reading →
Not all art has to poignant or powerful, some of the most iconic and memorable is also fun and frivolous, this is especially true of music. Songwriter and producer, Only Child, certainly makes music which falls into such a category but to look down on such music would be to massively miss the point of... Continue Reading →
Mixing the Afro-pop vibes of their Nigerian upbringing with the more western sonic groove of The Bronx, the place that they now call home, Moonside is a chilled slice of dance music with a taste of the exotic. The song also draws on their experiences of life in both places, particularly their harrowing enforced stay... Continue Reading →
So much of today's music seems concerned with trying to create the "new sound", to build its own zeitgeists to surf or being seen as some sort of musical saviours, it is utterly refreshing when you come across artists that just revels in having fun. The songs on Head Fake Vs Dub Fu Masters may... Continue Reading →
It is difficult to capture the sheer breadth of the band sound with easy generic labels. Can you explain how the sound came together and how it has evolved into what we hear on this album? Nevaris A.C: The sound is built around the drums, bass and vocals more than anything else. Lockatron, Bill Laswell and I recorded... Continue Reading →
If the previous album, Alternate Realities, from which much of the core material for this follow-up is drawn, was an exercise in musical cross-pollination and genre-hoping, Into The Multiverse is doubly so. It takes the already eclectic nature of the original music and then re-imagines the songs through the prism of re-mixing. A process which,... Continue Reading →
You might not know the name but you’ve heard the voice. Even if you don’t realise it. As a Weather Girl, she helped give us “It’s Raining Men,” working with C&C Music Factory she was responsible for “Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” and with Black Box’s album Dreamland, she added four number ones and three top... Continue Reading →
