13 Feb 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Rhosyn is the solo recording moniker of Oxford native, London resident Rose Dagul, whose highly intricate, vocal- and cello-centred take on intimate chamber pop has turned quite a few heads already, not only among her peers at Oxford's acclaimed Blessing Force imprint and artist collective, of which she has been part for a while now. "Glass", the intriguing opening song of her debut EP Elbow of Capture, has now received an equally compelling if completely altering rework treatment by fellow London producer (and NFOP favourite) Daniel Woolhouse aka Deptford Goth, who has barely left the track's basic structures intact and turned "Glass" into a yearning and melancholic electro pop gem that suitably resonates the original's wistful lyrics solely by sonic means.
Elbow of Capture is out now on Blessing Force. Order your copy here. Deptford Goth's breathtaking, highly recommended debut LP Life After Defo will be released by Merok on March 18.
Listen to the original version as well, which was premiered on Pitchfork in November of last year:
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13 Feb 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Here's a first foretaste of what to expect from Xander Harris's forthcoming full-length The New Dark Age of Love, a highly anticipated LP that's been in the making for quite a while. Album opener "Night Fortress" builds on the Carpenter-infused, nightmarish synth explorations of 2011 debut Urban Gothic, yet quickly takes a deliberate turn towards more classic cold wave territory that is a little less creepy and a bit more upbeat than before. Then again, it's also not exactly dance music as showcased on Harris's twisted house musings on Manda Brown's 100% Silk imprint with his excellent 12" I Want More Than Just Blood two years ago. In any case, while it seems as if you could still easily construct a pitch-dark movie around the music, the glaring horror tropes appear to be gone for now. Check it out below.
The New Dark Age of Love is out soon via Not Not Fun.
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12 Feb 2013 — Silent Shout
Everyone in the Canadian music community is aware of Sean Nicholas Savage's reputation as an incredible songwriter. He's released ten-odd albums, each of which contains countless treasures, so it's no surprise to see such luminaries as Doldrums, Majical Cloudz, Mac DeMarco, Pat Jordache, and so many more covering his tunes on this brand new compilation, available for free from Arbutus Records. Sean is set to release an important full-length in 2013, one that he's been working on for over a year (a long time for him). Stay tuned. (via Silent Shout)
Get Taste Of Savage: His Pupils Sing His Music for free over here.
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12 Feb 2013 — Henning Lahmann
London resident Karen Gwyer's slow house cut "Tehe! Blah Blah! Shhhh!" was probably our favourite track on No Pain In Pop's more than excellent recent compilation, The Bedroom Club II. In contrast, "Pikku-Kokki", the first track to be unveiled from Gwyer's forthcoming debut full-length Needs Contiunuum, is a somewhat more psychedelic, ambient-leaning affair. a distinct, relatively straight rhythm is still present and discernible, which leaves comparisons to Motion Sickness Of Time Travel and other proponents of the US psych synth scene a bit unconvincing after all, but the steering towards more liberal textures seems nonetheless remarkable, although it should be pointed out that most material on last year's limited Kaleidoscope release I've Been You Twice had also been anything but but made for the dancefloor proper. We're very excited for the upcoming LP – indulge yourself with the sprawling synth patterns of "Pikku-Kokki" now.
Needs Continuum is out February 25 via No Pain In Pop. Pre-order now here.
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12 Feb 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Been a while since we last heard news from supreme San Francisco house goddess Avalon Emerson (there are of course reasons for that, but more on that another time), but last night she briefly came back down to Earth to bless humankind with another of her 'Cybernetic Edits' in the guise of "Caroline", a splendid dancefloor filler that employs quite a few twists that sort of mark a departure from Emerson's 4/4 directness of tracks like "Shawty Rock" or "Horoscope", revolving around a tremendously soulful sample for some very serious feel-good vibes. Divine.
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11 Feb 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Sometime last year, we briefly introduced Swedish artist Frida Li Lövgren aka Quiltland when she came to town to perform together with NFOP favourite Sand Circles at Neukölln's Loophole. Her muffled, cinematic take on psychedelic synth composition left quite an impression on us back then, which is why we were more than pleased to learn that one the most exciting boutique labels of recent date, London's Astro:Dynamics (responsible for releasing incredible works by 1991, El Kid, Vessel, and Jabu, among others), is taking care of Lövgren's very worthwhile sound experiments. So far there's no definite word on an actual release save the announcement that there is some material forthcoming in 2013, but yesterday, the label nonetheless unveiled a little appetiser to preview Quiltland's music, the aptly mysterious "Days", a tune that in fact does not land too far away from Sand Circles' night cruise-induced soundscapes. Take a listen below.
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11 Feb 2013 — Henning Lahmann
Millennium is the rather fresh and pretty exciting project by Norman Palm and Finnish native Ville Haimala (the latter also serving as one half of Renaissance Man), who linger somewhere between 'Berlin, Boston, and beyond', though last time I checked, at least fifty per cent of the duo were very much present in the city that this site calls home. Everything about Millennium is obviously highly conceptual and well considered, sonically as well as visually (just go and check out this), yet it's the music that really hits home: "Balloon", taken from the duo's debut EP Terms & Conditions, is a quietly pleasing pop gem, unagitated yet sporting some beautiful, electronically enhanced melodies and Palm's subdued croon that at times evokes Jay Jay Johanson (sans the baroque twist).
Terms & Conditions is out via Berlin/London label and artist collective Greco-Roman.
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11 Feb 2013 — Tonje Thilesen
The highly melodic, chopped & screwed productions of Madeaux were first introduced to us back in February last year with the splendid single "Karma in Reverse". On his self-titled debut EP, certain atmospherics (with exception of the beat production) may send out thoughts to Ryan Hemsworth or Shlohmo, bordering between ambient chillout and crafty, static beats with a heavy drum & bass influence.
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