The musical artist known as “Boo Hoo” is a 24 year old man named Bernhard Karakoulakis from Frankfurt Germany. He describes his music as “an antifolkish indietronic version of Simon and Garfunkel”. That’s not far off, his music is full of charming melodies and introspective lyrics. On his second release “Hypermarché”, Synths wash over glockenspiel and lo fi drum beats carry the whole affair like cartoon ants at a picnic. The songs featured here were recorded at his home and are mostly about shopping save for one song about robots. This song, called “Gakutensoku”, is “is partly inspired by the japanese robot Gakutensoku, partly by the movie “Brave Little Toaster” and partly by the “Wesley the Robot” strips” created by me, AZLTRON!
Gosh, I feel all important! But don’t think that I’m bias due to flattery, although I am honored that a man this talented would look to Wesley for inspiration, “Hypermarché” is the most complete crossover of two of my favorite genres that I’ve heard to date. Those two genres being lo-fi electro pop and melodic chamber pop. Boo Hoo glides effortlessly between the two. My only complaint is that the song “Nothing” really is nothing, two minutes and ten seconds of nothing. Other than that, this is an album of compelling beauty that is entertaining and insightful.
This is a bit strange. I posted this Wesley cartoon a while back along with a mix and now it doesn’t exist anymore. I know there wasn’t any objectionable content and no one notified me regarding taking a track down… Hm, well anyway here’s a few more tracks that go along with the repost of the cartoon. It seems that Wesley is encountering some electrical problems… I wonder what the cause could be? Autolux – Robots in the Garden My Robot Friend – Robot High School Bright Eyes – Light Pollution
UK Electro band and sometimes DJ’s have unleased a monster of a mix for this Halloween season. From remixed classic horror movie themes, to the best bangers of the year, they’re sure to have you shed your skin and become a creature of the night.
The Age of Rockets are a small unsigned band with a huge signable sound. Vocalist, programmer, keyboardist and guitarist, Andrew Futral, drummer and trumpet player Saul Simon Mcwilliams and bass, synth, glockenspiel and flute player Bess Rogers hail from New York Ciry. The three of them love making music together and have just recently released their sophomore album “Hanna”.
Their sound inhabits the space between orchestral pop and glitch heavy ballads. The album begins with sweeping synthesizers that give way to glorious harmonies and eventually gentle guitar and glockenspiel. Andrew Futral recently posted that he wanted to take the band in a more organic direction from their previously heavy electronic sounds. If the sound of the first few tracks is any indication, they have accomplished their mission. The soft melodies, harmonies, and understated glitch beats work together to create an album that is the most comprehensive successor to the Postal Service’s “Give Up”.
While the melodies, harmonies and rich lyrical content are the primary draws to their sophomore album “Hanna” there are some great pure rock moments here as well. Like the eruptions of guitar riffs on “H. Soft Escape”. Or the towering strings and ultra glitchy breaks on “Ship to Shore.”
The biggest pitfall The Age of Rockets could fall into is sounding to the passing ear as “Too Alike” to The Postal Service with Futral’s soft voice not sounding terribly different to Ben Gibbards saccharine croon. If anyone takes the time to listen to more than 10 seconds of a song, it should be readily apparent that their songs have greater cohesion and depth than that of the groundbreaking 2003 subpop collaboration between James Tamborello and Ben Gibbard. There’s not an unpleasant sound to be heard on “Hanna” and that’s sure to make them on many short lists for album of the year.
DJ remixers extraordinaireSaint Pauli hail from the efficient land of Hamburg Germany and present to you their remix of Egotronics’ “Raven Gagen Deutschland”. After some vocal experimentation on beat, akin to Mouse on Mars’ “Wipe That Sound” a bass riff kicks off a full on freak out of Justice proportions. Those Germans and their efficient German techno; What will they think of next?
The classy cuts of Mr. Vega once again grace the AZLTRON music blog, with a smattering of original works, and remixes of pop icons Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and transcendent French House icons Justice. Now would be a good time to have a sub woofer.
There’s something about Halloween that just syncs up with so much of the music that I listen to. The airy atmosphere, chilling winds and bright colors of fall just go together with rich arrangements, luminescent melodies, and poignant lyrics. Halloween also allows for a rich palette from which to carve a political pumpkin, or in this case a political cartoon. Here are a few songs to accompany the winds of change that are sure to shift to our backs in the next eight days.
The Bansheeare an electro/punk band from Genova Italy. Their post punk stylings call to mind the likes of Gary Numan, XTC, wire, Talking Heads and many others. Their music is rife with angled jagged riffs and huge grooves with gooey bass filling.
Their debut album Your Nice Habits features production from former Clor member Luke Smith, who has also produced such bands as Shit Disco, frYars, Theoretical Girl and he’s now working on the new Depeche Mode album. His influence can be felt on the twitchy rhythms and loud quiet tensions that can be found on many of the songs.
For all of their intelligence and desire to be a unique quirky bunch of skinny white boys from Europe, their music doesn’t always sound a lot different. They have a lot of nearly impossibly complicated all over the place plunked melodies and rhythms similar to that of Clor or Shit Disco that are incredibly catchy, but sometimes it’s a bit much. While they don’t bring much new to the table in the terms of their format as an indie electro punk band, they execute their ideas flawlessly, and they show incredible potential when they poke some air holes in their grooves on closing tracks “People Around” and “Colder”.
At it’s core, Your Nice Habits, is like a college student at 4am with a quart of caffeine circulating his veins and ADD thoughts flashing in his mind of partying, papers, and prudent action in our day and times.
It’s that time of year again, the leaves have changed color, it’s getting colder, the winter is creeping in on us, and yes there will be drunken Halloween parties. Being the generous individual that I am I am going to share with you my custom Halloween mix of 2008. So dress up as Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin, a French Maid with a breezy chemisier, or just as a sorority girl in her underwear and enjoy the tunes that I have compiled for this Halloween season. After all, you’re the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
It’s often said that electronic music lacks the warmth and feeling of more organic instruments, which is why I’m so glad there are so many musicians setting their sites on completely destroying the validity of that notion. One such band that has injected their electronic compositions with an immense amount of emotion and passion are Thieves Like Us.
Thieves Like Us is an electronic post-punk band that has a uniquely international origin. Two thirds of the band, named Pontus and Bjorn, are Swedish and one third of the band, named Andy, is American by way of New York City. The trio first met in Berlin nightclubs and shared the same feeling that they could create more engaging and imaginative music than what they heard in their nightly debauchery. So together they formed Thieves Like Us, which is in itself is a shout out to the original post-punk electro pioneers, New Order, who released a song of the same name in 1984. This song was featured in an emotionally poignant scene in the popular Molly Ringwald film “Pretty In Pink”.
Thieves Like Us have stated that thier debut album Play Music, which was recorded in Berlin, Stockholm, New York City, and London, is “Not an album of easy going club tracks, these songs encompass the emotional highs and lows experienced in day to day life.” Thieves like us emphasize that they “exist as people outside of the clubs” and that they “are sometimes shy, lonely, nervous, insecure and broke” and that “Sometimes we feel good and sometimes we are drunk and crazy”, and their debut Play Music is their autobiography.
Just like the song that they get their name from, Thieves like us do employ an intensely emotional sound.” Play Music” does embody the highs and lows of life. The opening track “Program of the First Part” ripples with energy and determination. The track starts modestly with just a few spare claps before the driving bass and swirling delayed keyboards surge into place. Their use of minimalist elements creates a strikingly stark and aggressive track. Arpeggios and synths crash over intimate revelations like “You need me, admit it” before the track falls apart in a spectacle of synth and percussion. Thieves Like Us also released a music video for this track that is notable because of it’s use of footage from the seminal 1982 Disney Film Tron. The song races along to Tron’s signature light cycle races and adds much pathos to scenes from the movies’ climactic Identity Disk Battles.
Thieves Like Us inhabit a space in electro/punk that is at once calm and dramatic, like the hero of a Greek tragedy heading to war well aware of the probable outcome. While at the same time their sound is fused at the hip to intensely danceable bass grooves and soothing waves of synthesizer, making a trip to the dance floor seem like an epic journey. There are many examples of this unique sonic combination. One exciting example is the driving number “Lady” where the band adds significant pathos through atmospheric synths and a dramatic drum machine. Following that track is a remarkable spoken word track, called “Program of the Second Part”, that features sound sculpting similar to the Blade Runner soundtrack written by the composer Vangelis. Another standout song that fuses serious subject matter with serious beats is “Your Heart Feels”. This song creates an atmosphere as big as a stadium and hooks to match, halfway through the song you’re sure to be singing along.
The biggest highlights of the album are the songs that retain the serious lyrics, but where the sound lightens up significantly. Like the lead single “Drugs in My Body” that bounds along with a giant beat and a repetitive hook reminiscent of Daft Punk. Perhaps the best song on the album is the electro pseudo rap of “Miss You”, that features a theme of reconciliation in a relationship and grooves along on disco bass that would make legendary Italian electro producer Giorgio Moroder bob his head.
Thieves Like Us has released an album of sounds that makes you think as much as it makes you move. The glorious vintage synths wash over each song, intricately wrapping each track in a shimmering wall of elation, love and determination. Thieves Like Us has the most authentic early 80′s synth sound I’ve heard from a modern band and while they might not be the best band from 1981, they certainly are a contender for 2008. Their album drops November 7 on the Kitsune-Maison Label.
The musical artist known as “Boo Hoo” is a 24 year old man named Bernhard Karakoulakis from Frankfurt Germany. He describes his music as “an antifolkish indietronic version of Simon and Garfunkel”. That’s not far off, his music is full of charming melodies and introspective lyrics. On his second release “Hypermarché”, Synths wash over glockenspiel and lo fi drum beats carry the whole affair like cartoon ants at a picnic. The songs featured here were recorded at his home and are mostly about shopping save for one song about robots. This song, called “Gakutensoku”, is “is partly inspired by the japanese robot Gakutensoku, partly by the movie “Brave Little Toaster” and partly by the “Wesley the Robot” strips” created by me, AZLTRON!
