synthpop - music art film review

LA Priest – Inji Album Review (Domino Records)

With a Prince-like smoothness, in slides LA Priest on “Occasion”, the album opener for Inji. Without pretension and full of confidence, “Occasion” is immediately arresting — the perfect blend of lip-biting vocals and sexy-slow bass and guitar lines that twirl back and forth, in contrasting harmony from one ear to the next, like two lovers...Read...

Jul 14

by Vivian Hua

TOP POPS! Shameboy, Rebeka, XUXA Santamaria (Video Premiere)

Music video premiere for XUXA Santamaria's "Belshazzar", which was inspired by the 1916 Kenneth Anger film, Intolerance. Also: tracks from Belgium's Shameboy featuring Max Marshall and Poland's Rebeka.

Apr 24

by Vivian Hua

Metavari Band Interview: Black as Midnight on a Moonless Night

Oftentimes, a complete change in sound and a long delay between full-length albums marks the death knell of a band, or at least a rebirth. After a long brainstorming session -- during which the band lost a guitarist, put out an EP without that guitarist, and gained another in time for the latest record --...

Mar 3

by Peter Woodburn

SVN SNS RCRDS (#35) Mixtape Download & Stream (French Record Label)

SVN SNS RCRDS stands for Seven Sons Records; we're a small independent music label from Paris, France, founded in 2010 by David Gamelin and myself, Alex Poveda. A couple years ago, Thibault Signourel, Editor for the French webzine Hartzine, joined us in the adventure. Originally the label was just supposed to be a free space...

Dec 15

by Guest Writer

Outlands – Love Is As Cold As Death Album Review (LebensStrasse Records)

We all come from somewhere. Outlands, the duo of Melissa Smith and Mark Arciaga, are obviously more concerned with where they’re going than where they’ve been, as evidenced by the fact that they hail from Virginia but currently reside in LA. They’re willing to travel thousands of miles to find somewhere that suits them, somewhere...Read...

Feb 11

by Jason Simpson

Up-And-Coming Seattle Musicians: Cairo’s 2013 Year-End Bands To Watch

To pay proper homage to the musical grandness of 2013 and to usher in the new year 2014, we’ve once again decided to call upon our tastemaker friends to compile their favorite up-and-comers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Here, James Scheall, Cameron McCreery, and Katherine Humphreys of Seattle’s stylish boutique shop and venue Cairo throw out...

Dec 27

by Guest Writer

Tape Recorder And Synthesizer Ensemble (T.R.A.S.E.) Musician Interview: Uncovering a 30-Year-Old Project

"When I left school, there were three things I wanted to do before I die. Work for the BBC, work for myself doing the job I love, and record and release an album. Until December last year, I'd settled for two out of three. Now, it is with a deep sense of irony, I have...

Dec 17

by Jason Simpson

Austra Live Show Review (Berlin, Germany)

Austra's two sold out shows in Berlin are expressive of the band's massive appeal in a city that thrives upon innovative music programming, anachronisms of the 1980s, and advocation for LGBT acceptance. Touring behind the sophomore album Olympia, an effort that features all of the aforementioned three, Katie Stelmanis and company delivered a set of...

Nov 6

by Matthew Carter

Biosexual – The Window Wants The Bedroom Album Album & Premiere (w/ Full Album Stream)

On The Window Wants The Bedroom, the debut full-length from Biosexual, the trio of prolific sound artist Zac Nelson, along with Michael RJ Saalman and Jocelyn Noir, it seems like Biosexual is more interested in reflecting the surreal state of modern living through information technology than in smashing the system. Biosexual are very much a...

Oct 29

by Jason Simpson

Keep Shelly in Athens – At Home Album Review (Cascine)

On their inaugural flight, At Home, Keep Shelly in Athens rummage through three decades of electronic sounds – the '80s, 90s, and '00s. But what could have ended up as an awkward patchwork of unrelated genres is instead the refinement of the ore of inspiration, into a polished gem of pop perfection.

Oct 15

by Jason Simpson