British electronic artist, FNP (“Fake Name Preferably”), likes his dance music fun and nostalgic. His new single, ‘Weeks Of Rain’ is perfect, disco-infused house with lashings of hazy synthwave and retro drums.
Inspired by indietronica, we asked FNP to put together a playlist for us, and here it is below:
Nina – My Mistake
Love a chugging bassline…Actually heard this first on a Mercedes advert and spent a long long time trying to find out what it was! Beauty…
Baynk – Settle
Really lush mix of organic and electronic elements. Sinead Harnett’s vocal just makes it pop as well.
Shura – 2shy
Massive fan of pretty much everything shura does but this is a favourite for me.. Proper summer vibes on this.
SG Lewis – Chemicals
This one is just summer in a bowl – The lyrics are quite clearly about getting off your bonce as well which is bonus points for me.
Breakbot – Be Mine Tonight
Pretty close to a perfect Nu-Disco track this. Can’t fault it in any way. The little synth melodies are so, so lovely.
Lou Hayter – Cherry on Top
Epic use of a classic sample. Really nice work on this, pure beach vibes and her vocal works perfectly on it.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Sylvia Says
Charlotte Gainsbourg might just about be the coolest most chic person on Earth…Considering she does a lot of acting and other muse stuff, she ain’t bad at music either. Probably takes from her dad on that.
Confidence Man – Out The Window
Could have chosen any confidence man track to be honest but this one is a bit special. Proper screamadelica, uplifting 90’s vibes on show here.
Blood Orange – EVP
For me, the best of many great Dev Hynes productions – Those chords are just sublime, much prefer this album to the newer stuff, so much more funk.
Frances – Borrowed Time
Simple yet effective – The production here is really lush but there’s really not much to it. Love the chord sound contrasting the sharp vocal.
Chromatics – Cherry
An absolute monster of a tune this. Chromatics are absolutely stellar at what they do and for me, this is their best work. That guitar melody is just..
IRAH – Into Dimensions
Really powerful new artist from the Eastern Bloc – Thick, warm analogue synths are the order of the day on this one.
Younger Hunger is making waves with new single ‘Second Best’.
Inspired by 90’s indie-rock guitars, chart-topping pop hooks, and emo lyricism, their sound is quite difficult to pin down, especially when they refuse to make the same song twice.
Musically sitting somewhere between APRE and Sea Girls, the Orange Country-based upstarts present us with a perfect contradiction.
Blog-house promoter Urchin (aka London-based producer Leo Appleyard) shares his new single, ‘Without No Fear’, out now on BonFire Records.
‘Without No Fear’ is the third track from the jazz-turned-indietronica musician’s sophomore EP, due out in January 2020, and features luxurious R&B vocals from Black Rose.
Sounds like: Kudu Blue, Kllo, Two Door Cinema Club, Von Sell, Ratatat
Jazz and neo-soul musician Birthh (real name Alice Bisi) was raised in Florence on a diet of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan.
The new video for her single ‘Yello / Concrete’ was filmed between the Tuscan countryside and Milan and, as the visuals suggest, merge two unconventional sounds
Swedish duo I AM KARATE (aka producer and songwriters, Marta Pettersson and Erika Ahlström) shares new single, ‘Hey Love’.
Speaking about insecurity, the girls explain,
“The song is about insecurity and not feeling sure you’re being honest with your love. Like he’s got a secret world when he’s dreaming that you’re not a part of, and you wonder if it’s more than just dreams.”
Sounds like: Ralph, Say Lou Lou, MIYNT, Doe Paoro, Sirena, Susanne Sundfør, Shura, Kyla La Grange
German born, Los Angeles-based artist NoMBe shares his vibrant new single, ‘Paint California’, the first single from his sophomore breakup album, ‘Chromotopia’.
The leftfield leaning pop single perfectly encapsulates NoMBe’s butter-smooth vocals over the intricately created arrangement.
Sounds like: Du Tonc, Friendly Fires, Jungle, Vampire Weekend, Local Natives
Nottingham-born singer/songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Ronika is back and sounding distinctively disco-noir.
Continuing Ronika’s inclination for all things funk and dream pop, the track features spoken-word contribution from Lee-Ann Curren (a French female pro-surfer and fellow musician) whilst also forming part of Ronika’s latest longer-form project.
Sounds like: ABBA, Chaka Khan, Aeroplane, Breakbot, Ballet School, Ladyhawke, Color War, The Human League, Little Boots, Bananarama, Annie
George Eve‘s music is quite frankly a melting pot of different sounds and rhythms.
From bold, expansive and inventive melodies to candid lyrics touching on love, heartbreak and isolation, it’s clear Eve will be forming his own path in the industry.
He has teamed up with Sam Duckworth as co-producer for the brooding single, ‘One track Mind’.
Canadian singer/songwriter Constance shares her effervescent sophomore single, ‘Work Hard’.
With smooth electronic production and lush vocals, her music continues to shed light through her raw and emotional lyricism exploring heartbreak, love, and loss.
20 year old Berlin-based artist Nina Chuba shares her most vulnerable release to date.
Written about treating herself better and muting those negative voices in her head, ‘Lips Shut’ is another urban leaning pop hymn from the unique artist.
Bristol-born pop three-piece KOKO have a natural wall of energy which they call the “KOKO traingle”.
They’ve just dropped the acoustic version of their debut single, ‘Freak’. Stripping back the electro-tinged original of their debut singl, it’s all about embracing individuality – “It’s a FU to the man!”
Has Gigi Rowe travelled from the 80’s just to release ‘Promises’? We think so.
The bright and eclectic artist brings the retro/futuristic sounds of that decade to life in the new single, as she boldly showcases her hot pink characteristics.
Jon Sandler and Luke Moellman are Great Good Fine Ok (or GGFO for regular listeners of their synth-laden music).
They’ve teamed up with Indietronica once again and put together a playlist for us.
Breakbot – Arrested
LUKE: Love the groove on this one. Drums and percussion are sparse and simple but the complexity and funk comes from the synth and guitar rhythms. Lyrics are kind of hilarious to me — likening a romantic encounter to a legal offense? — but it works somehow.
One Republic – Wherever I Go
JON: As a crazy person with a car in NYC, I end up listening to a ton of top 40 radio. When you are suffocated with same 20 songs over and over again, you develop a unique ability to differentiate the “hits” from the HITS. I am not sure what category this song falls into yet, because I’ve only heard it twice, once when they performed it on Jimmy Fallon and once when I just looked it up on Spotify, but I do know one thing, it will soon be on the radio ALL THE TIME. Ryan Tedder is considered one of the best pop songwriters for a reason. From One Republic’s hit “Apologize” in 2006 to their hit “Counting Stars” in 2013 to songs for Beyonce and everyone one else you can think of, this dude never stops killing it. Soon we’ll all be sick of this song and it won’t be cool to talk about it, but for now, enjoy!
Porches – Mood
LUKE: As a producer one of the first things that grabs me about a track is the combination of sounds. The way the elements on this track contrast with themselves in how they give the illusion of space is great. The drums, guitars, bass, and percussion are all super dry, groovy, and right in the front, but the vocals and especially the keyboards are dramatically spacious. The writing is incredibly beautiful as well. Kind of sounds like if Midlake and Prefab Sprout collaborated on a song and James Murphy produced it.
Sia – Cheap Thrills
JON: While I’ve got radio and pop songwriters on the mind, i’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Sia’s latest banger “Cheap Thrills”. Something about a choir of kids singing “I love cheap thrills!” makes me very happy.
Steve Reich – Mallet Quartet: III. Fast
LUKE: Steve Reich has had a huge influence on the music I write. The muted piano part that plays at the beginning of “Always” and continues throughout the track is very Steve Reich to me (although he’d never swing the rhythm quite like that). I grew up playing a lot of mallet percussion, so that’s something that always seems to work its way into my music as well.
Their single, ‘Always’ is out now.
Sounds like: Fenech Soler, Ghost Beach, Yeasayer, Phoenix, Passion Pit, Pistol Shrimp, Penguin Prison, Futurecop!, The Chain Gang of 1974, LANY, Paperwhite
We received a press release in our inbox for Soft Touch‘s new track ‘Swim In The Night’ featuring Norweigen vocalist Silya and we couldn’t stop pressing repeat!
Soft Touch is made up of Chrome Canyon of Stones Throw Records (Peanut Butter Wolf, Aloe Blacc, Dam-Funk) and Saarid of VHS or Beta.
The duo formed in Brooklyn in 2012 with an intention to make adventurous pop music, and it appears that they have succeeded.
‘Swim In The Night’ is the epitome of a nu-disco 80’s track.
Sounds like: Futurecop!, Ronika, Aeroplane, Breakbot, Ballet School, Ladyhawke, Color War, The Human League, Little Boots
