Tag Archives: futurepop

A Late Delivery of Electronica from Last Year

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There haven’t been too many great electronic albums so far this year, but that’s no problem: I’ve been going back to check out some releases from last year that I’d initially missed. Here’s a short selection – a late delivery – of electronica from 2011!

 

Asura – 360

Asura expertly mix in trance ambient and World Music elements into their sound. Sometimes I find pure ambient music a little too laid-back and uninteresting, but Asura has beats, occasional vocals, and such a diverse palette of sounds that I hear new things every time I listen to this album.

Genre: psybient, ambient
Similar to: Vibrasphere, Galaxy, Solar Fields

 

Ghost & Writer – Shipwrecks

Seabound and Edge of Dawn vocalist Frank Spinah teamed up with The Weathermen’s Jimmy-Joe Snark III to release an album last year under the name of Ghost & Writer.

Genre: futurepop
Similar to: Seabound, Edge of Dawn, Solar Fake

 

 

Detachments – Detachments

I discovered Detachments at the end of 2011, although they’ve been around for a year or two. After the renaissance of “friendly” synthpop, it was refreshing to hear a new synth band more closely aligned to post-punk and the original Mute and Factory Records sound.

Genre: synthpop, post-punk
Similar to: Joy Division, New Order, Fad Gadget

 

Foretaste – Love On Demand

Arriving too late in 2011 to make in onto my best of year list, Foretastes rounded off a fantastic year of synthpop with this their third – and best – album. Lead single Superstar is a definite highlight, but Love on Demand is packed with great electropop goodies.

Genre: synthpop
Similar to: Parralox, Northern Kind, Thermostatic

 

 

Severe Illusion – No More Alive Than You Deserve

I read about Severe Illusion on I Die: You Die, one of my favorite new music blogs. Swedish band Severe Illusion hark back to the electro-industrial sound coming out of North America in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cold, brutal and cynical, there’s something I find quite intoxicating about this album; I’ve listened to it on repeat obsessively.

Genre: industrial, EBM
Similar to: Skinny Puppy, Mommy Hurt My Head

 

Eat Lights Become Lights – Autopia

I’m still a relative newcomer to the joys of  krautrock, but I’m learning fast and think I’ve found it at just the right time. Eat Lights Become Lights is my latest discovery and I’m loving the motorik beats and pulsing rhythms on Autopia.

Genre: krautrock
Similar to: Neu!, Can, New Order, Kraftwerk, Warm Digits

Parralox – ‘Isn’t It Strange’ New CD and Download

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Fresh from mainstream acclaim (“Listen to this: it cuts!” – Perez Hilton), electronic band Parralox return with a new maxi-CD. The Isn’t It Strange EP (Conzoom Records) features fifteen tracks with a total running time that’s just shy of the full 80 minutes possible on silver disc. It’s also on download of course, but the limited edition CD is well worth the purchase for the exclusive tracks. Listen Here or read on for more.

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A Few Albums Not on Spotify

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Using Spotify so much has somehow also increased the number of CDs I buy. Here are a few I’ve bought this month, none of which are available on Spotify.

 

Glass Candy – “Deep Gems” (Genre: discophonic)

A collection of singles, b-sides, and rarities. Glass Candy are one of the best of the new wave of synth-disco bands coming out of the States. Spotify has a few of their tracks (including the superb “Digital Versicolor” as featured on the soundtrack to to the recent hard-man movie Bronson – if you like Moroder, you must listen to this!) but none of the albums. If you like this space discophonica, check out the Milky Disco compilations from Lo Recordings (all on Spotify thankfully).

Desire – “II” (Tour CD) (Genre: discophonic)

A new Glass Candy/Chromatics project, Desire are the perfect mix of the pop glaze of Glass Candy and the synthpop sounds of Chromatics. Both this and the Glass Candy CD are available from the Italians Do It Better store.

VNV Nation – “Of Faith, Power and Glory” (Genre: futurepop)
VNV Nation’s 7th album, and the second to be released on their own Anachron label. I’ve followed this band for a while now and have seen them live a few times too. I think Ronan Harris is the best lyricist alive, so many of his songs have some kind of profound meaning or imagery. If you’ve not seen it, spare 4 minutes and watch this incredibly moving video: Doll Face featuring “Illusion” by VNV Nation. This new album is quite possibly their best yet: it’s certainly the most consistent and distills everything that’s good about this band into one album. It almost works like a greatest hits, but made up of new songs if you know what I mean.

Various Artists – “Electronically Yours Volume 1” (2xCD) (Genre: synthpop)


Three years in the making, but the wait has been worth it: Rob aka Orac’s baby finally see the light of day and he’s not reneged on his promise to showcase the very best in new synthpop (as well as some choice tracks from slightly better know artists such as Client, Marsheaux, and Northern Kind). It’s certainly something special: the care and attention that’s gone into this release shines through from the selection, mixing, sequencing, and gorgeous packaging including two pull-out posters of custom art from Christina Christoforou. Deservedly the number 1 selling album on MusicNonStop on release, this compilation is a great primer to the current state of female-fronted British and European synthpop.

You won’t find many of these artists on Spotify yet, but if you have any interest in electronic music then get yourself a copy of Electronically Yours and enjoy some great electro-pop music!