Those who have been reading the blog for a while, know that we don’t often include remixes on the site but we had to share Bristol based producers Icarus‘ new remix of Milky Chance‘s single ‘Colorado’.
It’s taken from the German indie superstar duo’s surprise mixtape, ‘Trip Tape,’ via their own independent record label, Muggelig Records. They’ve also just been nominated for “Best Band” at the German radio award 1live Krone, alongside artists including ÄTNA.
Icarus transform the single into their own world of euphoric synths and downtempo electronic-inspired rhythms and grooves, making this a standout remix.
Canadian born popstar Mathew V releases his enigmatic single ‘Don’t Let Me Go’.
A bold, unabashed pop track, Mathew V is using his strong roots within the LGBTQ+ community to express himself and let the music do the talking. Listen below.
Debut act MΛD FVN has a lot to say, about a lot of things, including the light hearted topic of life, which she so nearly lost in two separate accidents.
A call to arms, this is emotional, raw and powerful.
Rising Los Angeles vocalist kauf is offering a rework of his first original track featuring another vocalist Overjoy – one of three artists on his burgeoning label ONE / HALF.
Taking a more “pop” approach to his music, he has added a UK garage style beat and some looped vocal samples, giving it more energy and bringing it into the dance world.
Only on her second release, 16 year old Romanian electro-pop act Francis On My Mind is proving that “Euro pop” is very much a thing of the past.
Sparing synth, melodic drums and fragile but still powerful vocals, this new song comes as a breath of fresh air in a saturated industry of overproduced singles.
Danish pop newcomer ELBA is 25-year-old singer and songwriter Ellen Bathum. She tells stories about the loss of control and the many nuances of love.
Her new single ‘700 Angels’ has a catchy pop hook, but it almost feels like it splits in two directions – experimental electronic music and indie that ultimately culminates into a fiery explosion.
Former death metal singer, Cloudy June, takes a proud new step into the world of pop.
Expect her new ‘Psycho’ to be an exhilarating ride of rock and pop. It proves once again how young self-made independent talent can make a real impact.
With a modern twist on an emo/pop-punk ballad, the song was initially written in the format of a love letter to an ex, and shows a more sentimental perspective to Mokita’s music.
Nashville bootgaze/indie-rock outfit Creature Comfort share the fuzzy ‘Arcade Fire’.
Not to be confused with the track ‘Creature’ Comfort’ by the band Arcade Fire (a cheeky nod to Arcade Fire unexpectedly releasing ‘Creature Comfort on the same day Clark and his bandmates performed at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2017), this is a psychedelic explosion with wavy electric guitar and unrelenting percussion.
UK producer Mazoulew takes inspiration from various genres such as trip-hop, Motown, acid jazz and drum&bass.
His new single ‘Retrospective’ leans to the more ambient electronica instrumental with a focus on leaving the city and heading to the great unknown. To coincide with its release, he has put together an eclectic mix of songs for an Indietronica playlist.
You’ll be surprised at what songs he’s chosen!
Fugees – The Mask
The score was actually the first record I ever bought, I paid £1.5 in a charity shop for the cassette that I played so much it wore out completely. Definitely a defining album for me personally.
DJ Shadow – Building Steam With A Grain Of
I mean, Shadow kinda set the pace for the rest of us back in the day, what he did with the Endtroducing record was just beyond anything else at the time.
Massive Attack – Dissolved Girl
This album sounds as good today as it did 22 years ago when they dropped it, there is nothing else to say, it’s just a masterpiece and it truly opened my eyes and ears to new ideas.
RJD2 – Smoke & Mirrors
Like Shadow, RJD2 just shows you how it should be done, his approach to sampling and composition is second to none. His music has consistently stayed at the forefront of my life since I was introduced to him in the early 2000’s.
Eskmo – Cloudlight
I remember the first time I heard this track it was so fresh and inspiring to me. Most artists nowadays fall into traps within genres, Eskmo punch a hole in this for me and delivered a sound that I never really thought about before.
Gonzales – Overnight
I had to include this record as I think we can sometimes get a bit lost with the production and technology available to us, we can now manipulate and modulate anything into anything. Personally I think it’s important not to lose the fundamental of great composition and harmony.
Amon Tobin – Lost and Found
Amon is another producer that changed my life and my music tastes forever. His ability to reimagine sounds, manipulate source material, taking things that were never designed to go together and make them sound like they had always been that way is simply inspired.
Brushy One String – Grays in My Blues
I included Brushy for much the same reasons that I included Gonzales. When I heard this record a few things struck me, the fact that it is recorded on the side of the road and that brushy only has one string on a beat-up guitar. There is nothing fancy, no tricks or anything to hide behind, it’s just emotion and art in a very pure form.
Foreign Beggars – One Take
It’s with a heavy heart that yesterday I learned my friend Ebow Graham (Metropolis) passed away. The Foreign Beggars made a huge impact on my life and my music. I played ‘Asylum Speakers’ over and over while I was studying, then when I moved to London and actually became friends with these guys I felt incredibly honoured and lucky to have them in my life.
Louis Armstrong – What a Wonderful World
It’s a strange time to be alive in 2020, every day you can turn on the news and for one reason or another there is reason to get a little stressed out with things, to say the least. I think we all need to remember, between all the headlines and noise, there really is some amazing stuff happening in the world still and we should all take a minute sometimes to stop and appreciate it.
Sounds like: Bicep, Kidnap, Model Man, Lane 8, Jamie xx
We’ve been huge fans of Model Man for some time now.
Growing up in a house full of club music and classical, it’s no wonder the brothers, Mark and Rob Brandon, have such a contrast in music. Something which undeniably has created such an unparalleled project – a fusion of childhood obsessions and minimalist motifs.
Their new EP, ‘Beta Songs’ features 6 songs of piano-fused deep bass sounds. It can be listened to below.
Sounds like: Maribou State, TSHA, Bicep, Fourtet, Bonobo, George Fitzgerald
Roland Tings is one of our favourite Australian producers of the moment.
A euphoric number at its heart, ‘Up Close’ by Roland Tings is the third single to be taken from his forthcoming ‘Salt Water’ LP, and a reassuring late-night potion.
Speaking on the process behind ‘Up Close’ and its positioning on the album, Tings explains, “I knew that I needed a really euphoric track in the first half of the record to propel the LP forwards. When I heard the original vocal by Alyss, I knew that it was perfect for what I wanted. The production of her voice was psychedelic, and the lyrics fit with exactly what I wanted the record to say.”
Inspired by life on the road, Newman decided to record much of the new album in relative isolation from a rented home on the Great Ocean Road near Melbourne. Immersed in his studio and buried in his work, he came up for air and returned to the environments that first inspired the album. “I put the demo on my phone and drove around the winding coastal road near my house, making mental notes on how it felt as I drove,” he says. “I could hear everything that needed to happen in the track. I rushed home, made the changes and then got in the car again. I repeated this for hours, driving this crazy road away from my house, then back again to make the changes I could hear in my head.”
‘Up Close’ is out now via Sony/Cascine.
Sounds like: Lane 8, Four Tet, Tame Impala, Rufus Du Sol, Caribou, Bicep, Dusky, TSHA
Introducing Sydney-born, Melbourne-based producer Roland Tings. He has just dropped his single ‘Always Rushing’, the second release to emerge from his eagerly anticipated upcoming album ‘Salt Water’.
To celebrate the upcoming release, Roland has put together a pretty epic playlist for us.
Lord Echo – In Your Life I love Lord Echo, a guy truly devoted to authentic production techniques and keeping alive the spirit of dub, while maintaining a fresh spin
Dip In The Pool – On Retinae An obscure Japanese record now reissued and having a bit a of a resurgence, lovely Balearic vibe!
Eurythmics – Take Me To Your Heart I had never dug into Eurythmics until recently, this tune gets me every time. I found this tune when looking through things Holger Cuzkay had worked on, his freaky stamp is all over it
John Maus – Bennington This John Maus track came out a long time ago but still sounds super fresh, amazing dreamy synths and vocal combo in typical monotone Maus style
Suicide – Cheree The original innovators of electronic indie music, New York duo Suicide did it all before everyone else
Doug Hream Blunt – Caribbean Queen This is such an evocative song, really send you out there into the Caribbean!
Ruins – Elegant Shout Not sure how I came by this one, it has a few of my favourite things going, freaked out organ drum machines, big synth lines and new waves vocals.
Jaakko Eino Kalevi – I Wann Win Freak disco at its finest. Jaakko Eino Kalevi, I love this song since I first heard it on Beats In Space almost 10 years ago. One of the all-time great sax solos!
Baba Stiltz – Can’t Help It Keeping it Scandinavian, Baba Stiltz is another all-time favourite. You never really know what he’s gonna do next, my money is on a country record.
Vanderschrick – Ongehoord A deep and weird dubbed out droner from Vanderschrick, an 80s referencing post-punk vibe out on the exceptional Stroom label from Germany.
AC Marias – Just Talk This is the real deal, shoegazing and ethereal pop from Wire collaborator Angela Conway from the mid-80s
Roland Tings – Always Rushing Feat. Mild Minds Had to include my new one! It pales in comparison to the masterpieces in this playlist, but hopefully, you can hear where I’m coming from with this list of great songs!
His new single is out now via Sony/Cascine and taken from his forthcoming album ‘Salt Water’.
Sounds like: Tame Impala, Rufus Du Sol, Caribou, Bicep, Dusky
Tessa Dixson has just released the emotive ‘Falling’, which one again feature those trademark yearning and goosebumps inducing vocals. To celebrate the release, we asked Tessa to put together a playlist of inspiration for us.
Listen below.
Tessa Dixson – Prayer
This was my first ever release, and it still embodies everything i am today. It’s still so true to what i believe and i feel it’s the kind of anthem for any young adult discovering the beauty and sadness of life.
Frank Ocean – White Ferrari
His album Blonde is the only album i am able to listen to on repeat without getting tired of it, but on the contrary falling in love with it even more every time. He captures your emotions so perfectly and something quite extraordinary happens, he’s a musical genius to me.
Maggie Rogers – Give A Little
I’ve never really been into pop rock, but Maggie is an amazing singer songwriter, and when you hear one of her songs you will directly know it’s hers, and this song is a perfect feel-good-get out of bed-on a sunny morning-dancing in front of the mirror song, start off your morning right with Maggie!
Spooky Black – DJ Khaled Is My Father
I think Spooky Black may be the artist i’ve listened to the most since i was 16 years old. He has this haunting truth telling that is just so sad and he is able to make poetry out of it, that’s beautiful to me. When i listen to this song i feel i am laying on a bed of white roses in the sky slowly falling into a pool of red.
Ama Lou – Tried Up
To me, Ama Lou is the next big thing in the underground world, she has a really strong concept and her latest project DDD is super interesting. Her songs resonate a cool coolness.
Aphex Twin – #3
I have a playlist on my phone called “starfish” and a lot of Aphex Twin’s songs are in it simply because that’s what the songs make me feel like, a starfish underwater, a certain serenity and peace of mind and just gliding with the slow current, i usually listen to this playlist when i’ve smoked a spliff.
The song is 7 minutes long and is very monotonous in the sense that it is the same chords over and over but that is the beauty of the song, it’s not about the chords itself but more about what happens in between.
Bicep – Opal (Four Tet Remix)
I NEVER GET TIRED OF THIS SONG!!! It has so many ups and downs in it that you never get bored from it. It’s the kind of song you want to listen to when you come back from a party and the sun starts to come up and you still feel a bit buzzed but tired at the same time, thats the feeling i get from this song. Just writing about it gives me sweaty palms and butterflies in my stomach.
James Black / Bon Iver – I Need A Forest Fire
Everything about this song makes me emotional and i don’t know why but that’s why i love it so much. James Blake and Bon Iver is a match made in heaven, everything about this song is perfect, the harmonies, the ad-libs, the beat, the chords, the strength of their voices together, i mean everything.
The Blaze – Virile
If you haven’t yet noticed, i tend to like songs that make me feel some kind of way, that’s usually why i like a song or not. Well this song represents a form of nostalgia and that’s why i like it so much, it tells a story by the atmosphere.
Romeo Elvis/Primero/Tessa Dixson/Halibab Matador – Poliss Massa
Romeo Elvis has really been able to create a sort of empire so i’m very proud to have been a part of it in the very beginning. It’s such a chill song and really makes me think of Brussels somehow.
It is incredible how some musicians create music that can be so introvert and emotive, yet at the same time be sonic and mind altering.
Kauf is one of those artists. The Los Angeles-based electronic producer makes dance music that is also song led and lyrically deep.
His new single ‘Limestone’ hits you on a deeper level. Kauf says,
“The chorus comes from something my boyfriend and I have proudly said to other people – that ‘we never fight,’ which is true, we don’t yell or get into big heated arguments, but that’s definitely not the only sign of problems in a relationship. In this case it was a lack of communication about things under the surface that slowly built up over a long period of time. And the song is about that claustrophobic feeling when you’re in the same space with someone physically but don’t feel you can really connect, whether it’s caused by events that happened within the relationship or other things in your history.”
Kauf’s album ‘Regrowth’ is out on 13 October.
Sounds like: James Blake, Nordic Giants, Bicep, Jon Hopkins, Caribou, Talos, Bonobo
The Du Tonc disco boys have finally put together a playlist for us!
Du Tonc are still one of our favourites, which is handy as their new single, ‘Wonderland’ (which also features on the playlist), is one of their favourites too.
V – La Nouvelle Epoque
It’s pretty apparent we love the 80’s, can’t get enough of this gem. Modern 80’s vibes (if that makes sense).
Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened
If there is one track we’ve love to get the parts for and re work, it’s this.
Beyond The Wizards Sleeve – White Cow (Erol Allan Rework)
We’re big Wizard and Erol fans. This is stunning.
Charlie – Spacer Woman (Vocal)
More 80’s spaced out funkiness.
The Cure – A Forest
Think this tracks still get’s better overtime you listen to it.
Du Tonc – I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
The only cover we’ve done and possibly our our favourite track.
Tears For Fears – Head Over Heals
Tears for Fears are a big inspiration to us, this track is genius (also featured in a rather awesome film).
Johnny Cash – Personal Jesus
Love the Depeche Mode version, but this is just filthy.
Du Tonc – Wonderland
Our favourite song we’ve written.
Midland – Final Credits
Effortless perfect dance floor record.
Sisterhood – Tunnels (Bicep Remix)
Still cane this, get’s better with each listen.
Sounds like: Kavinsky, ROOSEVELT, Summer Heart, MGMT, Day Wave, Washed Out, Yeasayer, Miike Snow, RAC, Goldroom, Set Mo, Luke Million, Neon Indian, Classixx, Holy Ghost!, Blood Orange
