Playing catch up

These popsters, what are they like? Always busy, busy; never standing still (unless you're called Kate Bush). Let's have a looksee at the worrapolava favourites. What have they been up to these past few weeks and what delights are they promising to flog us in the near future...


PARRALOX
John and Roxy are in the UK! Electronically Yours staged a double-edged album launch last night at Industry in East London. Parralox's Electricity (read my review here) and the eponymous electro compilation Electronially Yours were launched to an enthusiastic crowd. Despite the sound problems, like someone had put the PA underwater, Parralox delivered a blasting set. Roxy's voice is CD-perfect: what you hear on the recorded version is the same live. And John's songwriting really comes to the fore. These are great pop songs worthy of rubbing shoulders with top tenners.

Next up is the single release of album track Sharper Than a Knife: click here for a sound clip. And a few weeks ago a remix competition of said track produced 28 of 'em. Go to their home page here to listen. Number 21 is particularly special. But I only wished I had thought up a better moniker! By the way, the remix there is only a third finished. The completed version has been submitted and will hopefully be up soon when they get back to Oz. A special version of the track is on a new German compilation, Electropop, which you can buy here.

Rob at Electronically Yours deserves a special mention here. His one-man quest to provide an outlet for great electro music is admirable. From the site to the album and gigs his passion is self-evident and this was shown in the happy army of supporters who were at Industry last night. And he's such a lovely man to boot!

All things Parralox here.

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EMMON
New single and album alert!!! The Swedish electro minx, Emmon, has been vare busy recently. Closet Wanderings (a reference to Narnia or Tom Cruise?) is the title of her new collection of moosic due for release in February 2009. The first single Secrets and Lies, released just yesterday (28th Novemeber) is fucking AMAZING. Starting off as a gorgeous synth pop number, it kicks in at 1.55 with a blast of nosebleed trance. Watch the vid below or go here for a streaming version.



Emmon's first album The Art and the Evill was well-received if undersold outside Sweden. Hopefully the new stuff will be her breakout onto a world-wide stage. She's friends with Kleerup, The Knife and Robyn, so some of the unit-shifting dust should rub off for her!

All things Emmon here.

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JESSIE
Well, it's good news, bad news in Camp Jessie I'm afraid. Bad news first: Gut Records, who signed her last year, went into liquidation in September meaning the planned single release of Sexy Silk (see the Nivea ad below) and album went down the pan along with any hope of Jessie competing in any 'Big in 2009' lists. But this girl ain't out for the count yet, as she wisely acknowledges in an update blog: "What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger, especially in the music industry".

But the good news is that she's been touring with some big names - Girls Aloud, Jools Holland and Cyndi Lauper (!) - and has created a huge buzz for herself again. Comments on her MySpace include corkers like this: "I wish I'd got your autograph after the show, because I don't think your moment is that far away at all!" And this: "You are a class act, an individual with style and a great sense of fun". She remains unsigned but much respected which is half the battle. Jessie still has, in her words, a great management team behind her so we shall see what we shall see.


Jessie - Sexy Silk

All things Jessie here.

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MARSHEAUX
New album alert!!!

Marsheaux are currently working on their third album scheduled for release in February/March next year. After a steady building of global support with 2007's Peek-A-Boo album, this one will go stellar. Trust me. (Famous last words!!) Just last Saturday, they finished the sixth track of the, as yet, untitled album. If you can help with any suggestions they'll be eternally grateful. And it all bodes well if the one-off single from April this year, Ghost, is anything to go by. Go buy! Here!

Other news in Marianthi and Sophie's world is that their cover package for Peek-A-Boo was nominated in the European Design Awards and featured in the coffe-table book to go with it. I wear my bag over my head with pride. Congrats all 'round!

After their recent support slot at Roisin Murphy's Greek gigs, there's no love lost between the girls and the Irish pop star's sound engineers although they do have much repeck for the "diva" herself who "surely has the knack". (??!)

For a FREE worrapolava remix of Marsheaux's Regret track, go here.

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Other notable worrapolava favourites in brief:

M83 - currently supporting Kings of Leon in a sell-out arena tour. See the lovely Kim & Jessie video here. And all things M83 here.

No news is good news for Cobra Dukes. But I urge you to listen to Airtight again, still a contender for one of my top five tracks this year.

You can stand under my umbrella

Jessie @ Soho Revue Bar, London, Weds 9th July 2008

It rained for 24 hours before last night's gig. 24 hours!! It wasn't just a drizzle, but from sun up to sun down, it was a relentless sheet of London downpour. And standing in the queue that never moved outside a club that hadn't a clue, it was a blessed relief to actually get inside. And then the sun came out. With a voice that would dry sodden Vans and skinny jeans, Jessie lit up the room.

I came across Jessie and her songs a couple of weeks ago and was dumbstruck. She's a legit talent with an enviable roster of tracks, (go over to HerSpace now...), so it was going to be interesting to see her perform live. Supporting the soul/pop voice of the moment, Bryn Christopher (he's just too good, due his own post), Jessie held her own. Stage presence? Check. Electrifying? Check. Warmth? In abundance. And the recorded work is just another side to her. Live, she's a cracking performer. Admittedly, three songs were accoustic and two had a backing track, but there wasn't any difference. It was all about the song and the voice. Sexy Silk just sounds like a big fat hit and the accoustic version of Technology brought it a new intimacy.

Jessie's exciting. There's a real promise of something amazing happening to her. And it seems like she's got the right backing: it's nurturing rather than exploitative.

Anyhoo, here's Jessie's guide to getting ready for a gig:

1. You'll get nowhere without dental hygiene, so get those gnashers brushed

2. Lippy to help leave your mark on the mic

3. A liddle spritz of St-St-Studio Line and the hair becomes a helmet (for safety in case you fall off stage)

4. Accessorise with sunnies to protect against Cybershot flashes and READY!!

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Fantastic new singer alert!

There must be something in the water. Britain is popping female SWVs (singers with voices) like a Pringle box that just can't stop. Jessie J is the latest. And the best thing? She isn't the 'new' anyone. She's all her own, a unique and legitimate voice, just listen to Free on her MySpace player for the evidence. In fact, take time out and play all four songs on rotation. These accomplished tracks sound like they've been around forever.

Technology, a lament about conducting a relationship through a phone, email and web pages is clever; there's a catchy line in the third verse that goes "Click. And I see your face. Click. Click. And I look away". Sexy Silk is slated as the debut single and a cracking jazz-sampling romp it is. Even as a demo version here, it sounds very radio-friendly: I can picture it in the Sunday Top 40 rundown. Free is the song for the voice: the gutsy soul vocals, perfectly delivered. The fourth song Catwalk sounds vare familiar. Maybe it's the En Vogue harmonies but it's bugging me summat rotten as to which song it reminds me of... I love the Captain Caveman vocals: "Zowie, Cavey!"

Jessie is a new signing to Gut Records, that schizoid label which made it's initial millions on Right Said Fred and is home to Sarah Cracknell, Chungking, Tears For Fears and, er, Crazy Frog. It looks like she's being lined up for a launch this year. More details please! But the most interesting side to this 'major new artist' is the fact that she is another Brit School alumni; the talent hothouse which produced Adele, Amy Wino, Leona Lewis and The Feeling.

Thanks to do1frood for the heads up on Jessie. This brilliant blog always seems to uncover musical gems new to me and that's why it's there, on the right, in my blogroll. And he has a knack of finding mixes unheard anywhere. Bona!

For Jessie J's MySpace, clicky here.

And here's footage of a recent live gig...

Jessie does LA LA Land

At the end of 2008, London more-than-hopeful singer, Jessie, lost her record deal when the label went under. Not one to sit around and mope, she upped and headed for the States when other UK record labels failed to bite. One gig at The Viper Rooms in LA and a flurry of meetings ensued with suits falling over themselves to sign the gutsy lass. Universal Republic Records were the successful bidders and below is the actual showcase at their offices...


And so Jessie will be recording an album for release this year. She details everything in her blog here. It's an exciting time for a talent too good to be trapped in MySpace. One request to Universal Republic Records: no Joss Stoning Jessie. Please.

"Sell out Wembley? Lol. Man, that would be sick!"

The fabulous new singer, Jessie, a gem do1frood uncovered and whom I've been listening to relentlessly for a couple of weeks, has a single scheduled for release. Sexy/Silk will be out in September or October on Gut Records. Go here for previous posts and below, let Jessie introduce herself, with a short but sweet Q&A I gave her.

In a random web search for more info, I came across a piece about you winning a national competition as Young Pop Singer fo the Year for CBBC. This was a national comp so it's an amazing achievement. How do you look back on it and what made you enter in the first place?
"I did win a competition when I was 15 on a programme called Britain's Brilliant Prodigies, like Pop Idol for under 16s. I auditioned through an agency I was with at the time and didn't really think anything of it but when I won I was so ridiculously excited. Since then that I've thought "Wow, maybe I could make my hobby my career." It opened my eyes and I haven't looked back."


How would you describe your music and your voice to people listening to your stuff for the first time?
"I would describe my music as versatile but positive. My training is musical theatre so I naturally love to create characters and scenarios. My music is a showcase of that and my voice is the same, I love a pop ballad but I also love rap. I'd like to think my music has no limits in genre or risk."


In your blog, you described the writing process you've been going through for the debut album. What's it like, and do you enjoy collaborating?
"I had never written before last March when I signed to Gut Records, so the writing process has been an amazing journey for me. It's given me an opportunity to express myself and to communicate through my songs. I've co-written and loved learning the different and quirky ways each person has. I've also found my own writing style, working with known and new producers and just enjoying it. The most important thing about writing is enjoying it, however painful it is with some of the more personal stuff."

Performing music and recording songs are very diferent animals. Which do you prefer?
"Wow, that's a tough one as my performing only happens because of the songs I write. Truth be known, I love them both, however I suppose the buzz of being on stage and knowing people want to listen to what you have to say is humbling. I don't think anything could top that! I come alive on stage, the more uncomfortable I feel by the pressure of the occasion the more I want to rise to the challenge."


You went to the Brit School which is a real hotbed of talent. What was your time like there and want do you think of your fellow pupils who've succeeded?
"I did attend the Brit school, I studied Musical Theatre rather a straight music course which most of the successful Brit school pupils did. However, it's an amazing school with lots of opportunity and I can only be proud and respectful of those who have succeeded in their personal goals in music."


What are your goals?
"1. To be a consistent positive role model in the industry.
2. To take inspiration from my life experiences for my music
3. Make amazing music that will stand the test of time.
4. Have fun, laugh lots and never take myself too seriously.
5. Sell out Wembley? Lol. Had to add that on. Man, that would be sick!"

Go here for Jessie's MySpace.

Keep up at the back!

Worra busy week last week, hence the lack of Bloggage. A distinct lack of media too makes my head feel fuzzy... need. to. hear. bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. *switches on radio/TV/iTunes and vacuum cleaner*

Ah, that's better. Now the band above, Melee (can't be arsed finding the proper accents above the 'e's) are a strange current obsession. They're a bit OneRepublicCorporateRock. Judging from their MySpace, they're bombastic and catchy but not my bag. But I've been getting into the track Built to Last. Sounding like a cross between Keane and the Carpenters (it's all in the poly-voiced chorus) this song came out to precisely no one buying it in February and the current re-release seems to have fizzled out too. But stadiums beckon and they probably will have a massive album and we'll all get sick of hearing them. Until then...

Built to Last - Melee (zShare)

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UPDATE on Jessie, the new thang for 08/09: Sexy Silk, the debut single, can be heard on TV! Nivea Body Cream (natch) have used it as a backing track for their new ad. 'Twas a pleasant surprise when it blipped up in break on Celebrity Wife Swap (BTW, how neanderthal and infuriating is Alexander O' Neal. Criticize? I was livid). As soon as it's up on BooTube I'll post it here... This is interesting for two reasons, firstly the song will subconciously seep into the nation's brain so that when the release comes around - in September/October it will feel vare familiar, secondly, Gut Records seem to be following a different path to breaking Jessie that Adele/Duffy/Mika were lead down. I was convinced that it would be a low key push in the autumn followed by a bigger onslaught for a January single to get onto the New for '09 lists. By the way, the song sounds BRILLIANT on TV.

Jessie is supporting Taio Cruz in some upcoming gigs around town this month. And over on HerSpace there's a fabulosa new track called Hello. Catchy? Hello? Go have a look/hear here.

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Australia's Sneaky Sound System seem to making an impact over here in the UK. They're coming over for a few gigs in September when hopefully we'll get the rest of the album. At the mo', the old/new single Pictures is popping up all over the shop. It's such a sugar rush of a track, like drowning in Chuppa Chups: upbeat and a perfect summer anthem.

Pictures - Sneaky Sound System (zShare)

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Talking of sugary records, I rediscovered this track after doing an iPod trawl. I LOVED this track when it first came out in 1985. Icing on the Cake was Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy's follow-up to his bigger hit Kiss Me and I much prefer it out of the two - it reminds me of summer. It's one of those songs that, whilst not exactly referencing summer, was released in summer and always has that association (oooh, I can feel a post coming on). There's a great collection of his songs which came out in 2001: They Call Him Tin Tin is available here at iTunes and here at Amazon

Icing on the Cake - Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy (zShare)

P.S. the cover of that single was shot in Roupell Street in Waterloo, London. Just down the road from me. I get my hair cut there at the best barbers in town!

Fireworks and stalwarts: my top 20 songs of 2008

In a year which has seen more firework artists than ever before - bang, they explode onto the scene and in a flash they're gone - there was some great music but no substance. As soon any new acts try to take root we're onto something else: something newer and shinier. It's an unfortunate byproduct of an industry which has yet to mix the right cocktail of time, finance, product and consumers. Blogs like this pounce on new music because there never seems to be anything but. Forget all that crap about fan power and the power of the bloggers launching acts. Music blogs are a foothold admittedly, but I give full credit to Robyn herself (and Pete Tong) for breaking through for the second time. The wise old bird used her knowledge of the old music industry, mixed it with the new frontiers of the internet and together with a dash of solid good music, voila, she struck gold. But can she stick around?

Will we ever see the likes of Madonna again? Admittedly, she hit a bum note this year as the oldest swinger in town, but her legacy keeps her from falling flat on her ass implants. With high street retailers like Zavvi and Tower Records going to the wall, like Popjustice said, if you're Il Divo, you'll be fine with your supermarket-friendly album. But if you're a new act like Frankmusik, how can you compete? Does Sam Sparro have to record a second album to stay around? And how do newer acts like Daggers break out of their MySpace page? The industry needs to look beyond even the idea of 'the album'. We could actually look to the past where it is all about 'the act' and their songs rather than album units shifted. The likes of Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper, Pet Shop Boys, U2 and even Madonna probably don't need the album model anymore. They could be the vanguard for a new direction - one which will see artists thrive on the material they produce rather than how they package 15 tracks.

2009 will see a healthy mixture of old and new, but let's also talk up the acts who were the 'new for 2008'. Otherwise they'll get lost in the crush and we'll be back to square one. And on that note, here are my top 20 songs from 2008, and by the way, it's one song per artist...

1) More Man Than Man - ANTIGONE
For all her efforts - and this stonking track - Antigone deserves a number one. So here it is. She worked her Spandex socks off to get this track out there, through the blogosphere, live PAs and press interviews but mainstream radio and TV were just too bloody elusive. Radio DJs take note - Pete Tong and Jo Whiley, I mean you. Unfortunately Mr and Mrs Radio 1 still have tremendous power to break brilliant acts like Antigone.

2) The Loving Kind - GIRLS ALOUD
It's a no brainer, really. Pet Shop Boys + Girls Aloud = j'adore. And these girls are the perfect model for following Black Eyed Peas' example in 2009 by releasing a track every two months and doing away with an album altogether.

3) Hot Lips - PACIFIC!
With an accomplished set of tracks on their album Reveries - I can still talk the format - Pacific! could, and should be, as big as MGMT.

4) Airtight - COBRA DUKES
Way back in January, Cobra Dukes released this as a single and then... nuttin', save for a "We're back" notice about a gig in Glasgow with Sam Sparro in September. Stuck in MySpace hell, let's hope 2009 sees more material at least.

5) Embrace - PNAU featuring LADYHAWKE
Aren't they purdy? This duo have a knack for producing amazing songs which sit well alongside the clubbier dance tracks they can bang out with their eyes shut. But Ladyhawke's vocals took this track onto another, higher, level.

6) Kim and Jessie - M83
The band from Antibes are still criss-crossing the globe with their Saturdays = Youth tour. Singer Anthony Gonzalez has the cutest French accent on this beautiful late 80s-sounding power ballad produced by Tracey Thorn's collaborator, Ewan Pearson.

7) The One (Freemasons Mix) - KYLIE
The X song that got away. It should have been MUCH bigger.

8) My Delirium - LADYHAWKE
The bloggers' delight. She's what Katy Perry would love to be. Liked.

9) Pocket - SAM SPARRO
It's not just all black and gold.

10) Secrets and Lies - EMMON
This new track from Swedette, Emmon, came right at the end of the year, like an early Christmas pressie. Ta, love.

11) Big Bass - STARKILLERS
One of my holiday sounds driving around southern Spain. Sounds great in a club or a car. VFM. Value for money.

12) Vacant Heart - FRANKMUSIK
Not released, but it popped up on HisSpace and it's better than the official single 3 Little Words.

13) Nobody Lost, Nobody Found - CUT COPY
Modular, Cut Copy's label, deserve recognition for their services to music from the Southern hemisphere. The Presets and Ladyhawke in particular have taken the world by storm this year thanks to their herclian efforts. Mind you, they're not exactly blogger's friend. Posts and entire blogs disappear without a bye or leave if there's even a sniff of an track being made available for download...

14) I Fell in Love With a Drum Machine - PARRALOX
And this is the track that made me fall in love with them.

15) Sister Siam - THE WHIP
I veered from this track to the less dancey Sirens for this list, but Sister Siam won out just for the sheer energy of the live version.

16) Blind - HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR
On everyone's lists this year. They had a fistful of good tracks but an equal-sized fistful of rubbish.

17) We Are Technology - TECHNOLOGIC
Gorgeous minimal electro from the Pet Shop Boys-loving duo from Holland and Poland.

18) Smilin' - BRYN CHRISTOPHER
Hopefully he will fare better in 2009.

19) Wrapped Up in Plastic - ISABEL GUZMAN
Another Swedish electro pop queen, Isabel Guzman may have unintentinally funny lyrics on this track, but I love it so.

20) The Distance in Romance - KARATKORN
Despite a terrible name (in English, anyway) this Norwegian band have such a sweet song here and sung beautifully.

Honourable mentions:
JESSIE - Sexy Silk
DAGGERS - Better Than Love
THE PRESETS - This Boy's In Love
MADONNA - Give It 2 Me
DREAMINFUSION - Simple Life
CAPTAIN - Safe Harbour
JENNIFER HUDSON - Spotlight
FM BELFAST - Synthia.

"Eat. My. Shorts."

"You just bought yourself another Saturday" - The Breakfast Club. It's 1985 and there's a room full of teen angst set to a background of Simple Minds and Tears For Fears. But on someone's Walkman, The Cocteau Twins are playing. This is M83 from Antibes and their album nouvelle Saturdays = Youth. Produced by singer Anthony Gonzalez with Ewan Pearson (read my earlier post here) and Ken Thomas (producer of Sigur Ros, Suede, Sugarcubes and even Alien Sex Fiend way back) the album is steeped in the late 80s. Apparently, this was part of the plan, Anthony explains: "That’s when I discovered music and started to take drugs and party with my friends."

It stands to reason that the late 80s are the next to be mined for sounds and influences - I guarantee a revival of big shoulders, hair and fancy fabric - but to equate it with M83's album would only trivialise it. This is an epic record with huge ambitions. The slabs of keyboard chords, fluffy drums and Morgan Kibby's vocals melting with Gonzalez's evoke an era but also sound like tomorrow. Amazing.

Kim & Jessie - M83 (zShare)

We Own the Sky - M83 (zShare)