GEORGE MAPLE.
Jess Higgs is George Maple. And whilst there’s a chance you might know her by the new name (she featured on Flume‘s track ‘Bring You Down’), you would definitely be familiar with Jess’s voice – she featured on Flight Facilities awesome track of 2011, ‘Foreign Language’.
As a solo George Maple, the sound is still electronic, but does that whole Jamie Lidell soul vibe. It makes for a freaking catchy, warm, and funky sound.
‘Fixed’ is getting a release on April 15 through her own label, Tuluum Records. The single will come with remixes from Moonbase Commander and Maribou State.
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Miks
DEJA.
DEJA are always going to do something a little outta left-field. Their left-field electronica infused pop music always manages to fit a mood, and never goes go far outta left-field that…well…there’s no more field. It’s just stands.
Their clips equally hit it out of the park (to keep that tortured, pretty crap analogy going). Featuring some pretty stunning photography, the clip for their latest single ‘Holiday’ also includes a small bit of expressive/interpretive dance, but hey, the clip looks absolutely amazing.
Check it out just below, and if you dig the track, you can download that one just below too!
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Miks
RAUS.
December is usually a bit of a quiet month when it comes to new music. Most of us blogs are busy doing end of year lists etc (the maamf list will be up by the end of the week). But then something pretty fucking exciting comes through and blows it outtathepark.
Raus is a Canberra based dude doing some some incredibly good glitchy, poppy electronica music. His first EP, Killerwhale is nuts. It’s strange and at times, otherworldly, but always accessible. Raus himself has a bit of musical training behind him, which you can hear – there is a real level of sophistication to this stuff. From the beats that almost sit on top of each other, to the real jazz influences (the keys on all four of the tracks), it’s music that you need to listen to a lot, because every time you give it a go, it gives you something new.
My faves are streaming below…and if you dig, you can download the full EP over on Raus’s bandcamp.
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Miks
PVT.
PVT are one of those incredible bands that do some of the most innovative, interesting, and thoughtful music out there. The guys are set to release their fourth album Homosapien early next year. The first single from it, ‘Nightfall’ was released a few weeks ago…but just yesterday the clip surfaced.
Directed by Jennifer Juniper Stratford, it’s a pretty freakin colourful, wonky VHS tinged clip. Really pretty darn cool.
You can also get a free download of ‘Nightfall’ below too.
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Miks
NAYSAYER & GILSUN.
So this is a name I’ve heard round the traps for a fair while. And man, glad I took the next step and listened to a track of theirs.
Naysayer & Gilsun‘s new track ‘In Mind’ features Simon Lam from awesome Melbourne dudes I’lls. It is something else. Simon’s vocals are chopped and changed and layered on top of this super massive pad of sound sitting underneath it. What i’m enjoying the most is the really large sound that these guys put across. There’s a depth in the sound, a sense that it’s all pretty much complete.
You need to/must listen/watch this with a good set of headphones on full screen in a darkened room for full effect (you can put your clothes back on later you creep).
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Miks
FISHING.
Blue Mountains duo, Fishing are back with a new single ‘Choy Lin’, something that is all out a little nuts, but still restrained and really quite pop in it’s structure and sensibilities.
The track is taken from a 7″ out next month and will feature another track, ‘White Sheet Beach’. You can pre-order the release over on the Yes Please Records page. All this is leading up to an album dropping early next year too. But before that, make sure you check ‘em out as they tour around the joint (dates belowzzz).
FISHING “Choy Lin” National Tour
Saturday November 3
Plus One @ Ed Castle
233 Currie St, Adelaide SA
Tickets on the door
Friday November 9
Can’t Say @ Platform One
Vault 8, Banana Alley, Melbourne VIC
Tickets on the door
Thursday November 15
No Fixed Address, Byron Bay
More Details Soon: www.facebook.com/fishinggg
Saturday November 17
Alhambra Lounge (w. Baths)
12 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley QLD
Tickets on the door, free before 11pm
Thursday November 22
Brighton Up Bar (w. Special guests)
77 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW
$10 + bf www.gobookem.com
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Miks
PVT.
PVT always push their sound. Taking a more chilled electronica vibe with new track and opener to their fourth yet to be titled album, ‘Shiver’, the boys seem to be moving in a direction that is a constant reflection of their evolving musicianship.
If ‘Shiver’ is anything to go by then my gosh, do we have something to look forward to. You can check out the clip below and if you’re catching Gotye in December, then you’ll be able to check them out too!
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Miks
SABLE.
Yikes. Some really big throbbing electronica to get you through your hump day night. Outta Perth, Sable is one dude, John Dewhurst.
At the moment there’s only one track of his kicking around on the interwebs…but hopefully we’ll see some more soon, coz this kid is pretty fucking ace.
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Miks
MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS.
Done for Sony, the rather amazing (and a pretty old school fave of maamf) Midnight Juggernauts have re-recorded their big track ‘This New Technology’…in a cave. Yeah, you read that right. Using the demo of the track as inspiration, the boys recorded the track with their sound man Byron Scullin who added some killer sax. Where the original track is a bit anthemic, ‘This Newer Technology’ is dark, gloomy, but still hard, in your face/the end of the world is happening electronica.
And it is freakin’ great.
Midnight Juggernauts – This Newer Technology (Link through to Sony site with free download)
Miks
BIG SAD.
“I’m not sure it’s 100% in-line with what you guys normally post, but I thought I’d shoot you a link regardless : )”
That’s part of the email Brisbane based minimal tech dude Big Sad sent a couple of days ago. And whilst I’m not up with the lingo (is minimal tech right??!), I really love this sound. It’s deep, takes you somewhere else completely and although you can get up and lose your shit a bit to it, it’s also kinda relaxing, especially his track Goner.
Both are below as streams, and make sure you download them.
Like this a heap!
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Miks
CHET FAKER – THINKING IN TEXTURES.
ok, so a bit of a mini album review. Chet Faker has been one of those artists that everyone has taken notice of lately. Having sold out two shows at The Toff in a couple of weeks and a third show selling fast, the dude is doing a fair few things right.
The mini album (It’s 7 tracks), ‘Thinking In Textures’ has elements of nu-soul, down-tempo r’n'b and groove based electronica as well as sprinklings of hip hop, jazz, and a bit of blues. It has a sound that takes control over you – from the atmosphere and a beat that sounds like it’s stuck in a box that begins new single and opening track I’m Into You , to the super soul sounds and sleazy dance inducing Love and Feeling, there’s something constant and evolving about how the tracks are put together.
Perhaps my faves from the disc are Cigarettes and Chocolate, a track that provides a bit of respite after that dirty feel of another fave Love and Feeling. Then there’s the big ones – Chet’s cover of Blackstreet’s No Diggity which went absolutely nuts on blogs and the first official single, Terms and Conditions, a track that I think really helped cement his place in the international scene. It’s hard to fault any of the tracks on the release – they all sit well on their own and make even more sense in the context of the full release, something I think is pretty hard to master.
Faves are below. If you dig, check out Chet’s Soundcloud, and if you really dig, you can grab the mini-album on iTunes (Australian store).
Chet Faker – Cigarettes and Chocolate
Miks
CHET FAKER.
Melbourne boy Chet Faker has a new single out. After hitting the blogosphere rather large with his cover of No Diggity, there’s been a fair bit of love for the bloke.
For me, it’s that beaty soul sound he got goin on. This new one, Terms and Conditions, as opposed to others, is more focussed on the vocals, which I really dig. It sounds a little more down-tempo r’n'b. And not only does it work, it shows that he can do more than one thing.
Chet Faker - Terms and Conditions
And for some reason, during the second line of the chorus I wanna sing: And there ain’t no holla back girl. Yeah there ain’t no holla back girl. But anyway.
Chet also has a new EP Thinking In Textures, due out late March. Although the presser is calling it an EP, i’m more inclined to call this one a mini album – it’s a seven tracker and features some already well known tracks of his. Keep an eye/ear out – this will be sure to establish this bloke.
Miks
PHONDUPE
ok, so we found out about these guys from the lovely Who The Hell peeps. We then tagged them on our facebook with a link to their soundcloud. Sometimes shit like that pays off.
Phondupe are out of Sydney town and seriously make chill cool again. Lead track Aviary West reminds me of early Air and even some of the early Groove Armada kinda stuff. It’s got such a lovely laidback groove to it, it’s kinda perfect for that early summer slowly starting to creep on in. You can check out Aviary West down below and make sure you check out their other track Hideyoshi’s Seven Skillful Spearmen of Shizugatake (yeah, seriously) over on their unearthed profile. The guys should have a vid as well as a debut EP.
KEEP AN EYE!
Miks
FELIX.
Felix is a dude out of Paris and man, so glad he’s come out of the woodwork. The guy has been doing things in his bedroom for about 4-5 years now (with a computer…and no…I know what you just thought).
Anyway, if you dig that atmospheric beaty electronica kinda stuff then I think Felix might be up your alley. I listen to these songs and there’s a level of familiarity about them. I feel like they should have appeared on a mount kimbie record or something. That’s not a bad thing either. Just shows how good this guy is.
It was actually a massive struggle to choose which tracks I would post of the four he sent me. So, check out his Soundcloud where you can check out all of them! But nah, really, below are two of the tracks he sent me, the two that just pip the others at the post in terms of quality. The first, Hex is that beaty, atmospheric, a little bit nuts tune that takes a hold. It keeps the same motif right throughout – the track is essentially the same thing repeated. But it’s what else is there that makes it. The motif carries it and the rest gives the track it’s body. It is pretty darn good and I’ve just realised that I don’t usually sound like that much of a wanker when I’m talking about music.
…it’s good ok?!
Onto the second fave. This was actually really hard. Something that tends to feature in a lot of his tracks is the use of a repeated motif right throughout (as Hex does so well). One that perhaps sounds more musical (or tune based and melody based) is For_eign. Once again, there is the repeated motif, this time of the guy singing, but it’s different to the others in that the chords that surround the melody give the track a level of depth.
Miks
BON CHAT, BON RAT.
Bon Chat, Bon Rat. We posted about these fellas a while ago, and got pretty excited.
They make kinda leftfield electronica pop songs. Nice stuff that is moody, but still makes you move.
The guys have a new track out called Blackbird. It’s a bit more straight up than their earlier stuff, but I think it’s gone even beatier and I kinda dig it heaps. The single also comes with remixes from Marseilles, Hugo Frederik and Collarbones. We got the title track as a stream below as well as the Collarbones remix – perhaps the best remix on the release (big call – they’re all pretty darn decent).
You can download the whole freakin thing on their Bandcamp page. YES!
Bon Chat, Bon Rat – Blackbird
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Bon Chat, Bon Rat – Blackbird (Collarbones Remix)
Also check out the clip for the track – feels like it needs to be put up on a big projector screen. Love it.
true true
Ah yes, Sweden. Seems to be one of the best spots for new music. Korallreven are no exception. The dudes have just put out their The Truest Faith EP. It is a lovely listen. Features two originals and six remixes, three of each track.
The title track is a cruisy number and is a really good accompaniment to a lazy afternoon (which, in my case, should be spent doing work, but instead writing about some killer tunes). The string lines and the layers of vocals towards the end make this such a sweet track.
Korallreven – The Truest Faith
The EP features remixes from CFCF, Sail A Whale, and Ghostape. We’ve got the CFCF remix just below. Definitely goes a little darker and deeper than the original and it drives a bit more. Really sweet.
Korallreven – The Truest Faith (CFCF Remix)
The second original track on the EP, Loved-Up is this blissed out guitar chill kinda track. Complete with some delayed handclaps, some great tuned conga groove, and this driving offbeat high hat. Once again, it’s pretty chilled, and is perfect for a lazy afternoon. The EP has remixes from LOLboys, JD, and Cosimo Paradise. The LOLboys remix is definitely the best. It’s glitchy goodness just the way it should be. Glitch-pop FTW!
lady magic
Computer Magic is pretty cool. Coming out of what seems to be the indie music hub of the world, Brooklyn, Computer Magic is just one chick! Danz is her name and she plays everything you hear on the tracks.
So it’s kinda stripped back electronica kinda stuff. Vocals, pretty sweet synth lines, some really nice percussion. On VHS is kinda tropical too! For a Melbourne winter, this is exactly the kind of music we need!
Check her tracks out below. They’re all really nice, bedroom produced pop songs.
ring ring
ok. So, a little while ago, we featured a remix by a fella called Ring Trick. He’s out of San Fran and had this really awesome, almost tripped out version of Zebra by Beach House going on. It was a great remix.
He has just dropped a new EP called Remainder and it is the most chilled out thing I have ever heard. It was a seriously good intro this morning with all that fog about. Heck, I even tweeted about it.
The EP has limited beats, and more ambient sounding synths you can throw a stick at (although, you wouldn’t want to throw anything after listening to this EP. Seriously chilled). It’s bloody nice, and if you need a little help either calming down or warming you up on a freezing Melbourne morning, seriously give this a shot.
It is super difficult to find a fave from the EP to post, as they’re all really good in their own way, but I think track 3 My Big Mistake, the beatiest of the 5 is perhaps the best. Only just though.
chatting with a rat
Bon Chat, Bon Rat. What the hell kinda name is that?!
It’s actually kinda cool. Makes you instantly stand up and take notice. With a name like that, you wanna know more.
Bon Chat, Bon Rat are three dudes out of Sydney you make some pretty interesting tripped up electronica. Really really nice, soundscapish, lush, beaty. They’re about to set out on tour with a fella called Jake Phillips who creates some pretty interesting projections on screen. Definitely worth checking out I think.
Below are two cuts from they’re debut EP, Tribes and A Still Life.
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Bon Chat, Bon Rat – A Still Life
You can pick up they’re debut EP for free via they’re MySpace page.
jonjon
Jonjon. Perhaps the most mysterious band of our time (maybe. they claim they are! they don’t have a MySpace…so I guess that makes them kinda mysterious!) Their track Close To Ya is pretty alright. Has that Tim & Jean sound (Always A Plus!), a bit of Kanye, some Animal Collective. It’s a little glitchy. It’s got a pretty massive chorus. Has an awesome groove.
Anyway, to break that whole mysterious thing down, the guys are brothers. One’s in a bigbeat/electronica band called Paqman, and the other is in a funk/rock band called Pleased To Jive You.
Check out Close To Ya, and you can expect a debut EP coming out in the next month…and maybe a MySpace!
