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Listen to “Everything is Beautiful” by Kai Bosch

Mandy Rogers — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 10:12:38 +0000

Join me in celebrating the rise of alt-pop artist Kai Bosch. Hailing from Cornwall, Kai has gained recognition for his avant-garde musical offerings. Often characterized by intelligent, introspective lyricism delivered in an authentic manner. In the new track, “Everything is Beautiful” Kai transitions away from earlier heartbreak-themed tracks to embark on a new chapter. Featuring a new musical direction. In contrast with his previous work, and embraces a pulsing electro-pop sound that is exhilarating, empowering, and frenetic.

Let’s make no mistake the musical shift is quite a statement to make. Especially when the previous releases were subdued and sonically darker, nay melancholy in comparison. What lies at the root of this cheerful musical upturn? Well, the answer is quite simple… because of finding love. Thus giving Kai, a different set of emotions to explore narratively.

About the release, Kai says…

“Everything Is Beautiful” is my first ever happy song! It’s about falling for my now-boyfriend over Hinge and even though we hadn’t been on a date yet (lol) I just felt that “when you know you know” feeling, and it was unlike anything I’d experienced before”.

The song “Everything Is Beautiful” is a powerful ode to the profound connection between two people, a connection that transcends mere words. Additionally, the track captures the essence of two individuals who are so in tune with each other that they seem to share a telepathic bond. Ultimately, it conveys the yearning for a complete union, not only in mind and spirit but also in body. The powerful combination of mental, physical, and spiritual connection epitomizes the concept of a soulmate.

Above all, the track stands out since it is unlike anything else in Kai’s repertoire. Because of its captivating and hooky electronica sound, the track brings to mind the distinctive musical style of the electro-pop band Fenech-Soler. This departure is inspiring, and I am truly hopeful that Kai will continue to experiment with this style. If embracing this new direction, I am confident that I will become an avid supporter who is definitely keen for an EP or album to arrive.

Kai Bosch will take the stage at London’s The Courtyard Theatre in Hoxton on November 22nd. Tickets are available HERE.

Connect with Kai Bosch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaiboschmusic
X: https://x.com/kaibosch
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaiboschmusic/

The post Listen to “Everything is Beautiful” by Kai Bosch appeared first on EQ Music Blog.

Listen to “Vibe” by Editors

Mandy Rogers — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 11:11:54 +0000

How is it that it is September already? By the same token, yay also for September, that is the month the Editors new album “EBM” arrives. (Out 23rd September via PIAS). I have to say this of the rock/electro-rock band, they did not pique my interest in them before. However, in the length of a month, I have found myself writing about them twice. In the first instance, because I shared my glowing report on the band’s recent track “Kiss“. I now follow this up by showering some praise on them for “Vibe,” the last of the focus singles, before the “EBM” album arrives.

There seems to be some discord among the band’s fanbase at the moment at the style being explored for the upcoming long player release. Namely, with the fans that have long since appreciated the rock element, Editors bring to their music. Since they switched to focusing more on the electronic side of their music. A few fans have voiced they are struggling with the transition within the Editors’ new style and sound of the new album.

On a personal note, I very much appreciate the change of musical direction of the Editors that have happened recently. Where they seem to be bringing some New Order style of inspiration in these new tracks. I also pick out glimpses of Fenech-Soler. (As they were one of my all-time favourite bands, this pleases me immensely). That being said, if the Editors can bring this style of electronica back into my life. (Which, since 2017, has been missing). With these last two tracks, “Kiss” and “Vibe“, the band make me feel like a Fenech-Soler fan reborn, if honest.

Speaking about “Vibe” Editors, singer, guitarist and pianist Tom Smith said the track… “It takes up where our 2019 single “Frankenstein” left off, and is a hymn celebrating the night, and all that thrives in the dark”.

Come to think about it, I am picking out some subtle, haunting tones woven into the throbbing bassline and backbeats of “Vibe“. These along with the dark-wave presence that emanates from the melody and topline. Gives the track somewhat a chilling ambience perfect for the spooky season.

Connect with Editors
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/editorsmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/editorsofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/editorsofficial/

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Listen to “Couldn’t Stay” by Lorne Vincent ft Boox Kid

Mandy Rogers — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 08:03:22 +0000

The other day I was thinking about some of the gigs I’ve been to over the years. More importantly, the ones by electronic indie artists. The one which stands out a mile (but who have sadly, now dropped off the radar) was seeing Fenech-Soler at the Waterfront in Norwich. I think the show I was at was the band’s last hurrah. As, last, hurrah’s go, the night in question was bloody, awesome. That being said, (and brought about by reminiscing,) I am in a determined state of mind right now, to bring some new electronic indie artists on to my radar. I didn’t have to go on an internet search to make a new discovery. As pretty much the next instance my inbox went ping, some press had appeared in the mail about Australian’s Lorne Vincent and Boox Kid.

Already, a renowned songwriter. Matt Burke had a hankering to explore different routes of electronica to the indie-pop, pop/rock-orientated styles he covered with band Foreign Architects. Thus, Lorne Vincent was born. The new project dabbles in the softer, atmospheric, electronic realm where the musician draws influence from Flume, Bon Iver and other electro-indie artists. Creating chill vibes and smooth grooves. In other words, the kind of soothing music best played after mid-night / Sunday morning. The latest lo-fi offering “Couldn’t Stay” is with Perth based Boox Kid who assisted with layering up the track with strokes of blissful, dreamy production. While also lending his lush vocal harmonies to the projects emotively strung sophomore effort.

I don’t listen to a vast amount of chillwave, but when I feel inclined to do so. It has to be suitably calming, mesmerising and enveloping. Lorne Vincent falls into this niche. What the project is creating commands re-listens and contemplation. This project’s quality leftfield electronica is now on my radar. An emerging act which can justifiably be filed alongside the darkly sensual works of Massive Attack and Radiohead as similarly likened to Flume or Friendly Fires.

Connect with Lorne Vincent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lornevincentmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorne_vincent/

Connect with Boox Kid
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booxkid/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booxkid/

Now that’s what I call electronic pop!

Only the best new pop, electronic and indie music makes it onto our This Beat Is Poptronik Spotify playlists.

Curated by Mandy Rogers and Raj Rudolph from EQ Music – This Beat Is Poptronik is your must-listen-to playlist to download on-the-go.

Turn it up and tune everything else out.

The post Listen to “Couldn’t Stay” by Lorne Vincent ft Boox Kid appeared first on EQ Music Blog.

Listen to “Hot Sauce” by Butterjack

Mandy Rogers — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 10:02:14 +0000

In the summer of 2017, I was notified about an emerging producer and a songwriter who was recording under the assumed name of Butterjack. It is an intriguing moniker yet, the artist behind the burgeoning project hasn’t been in any rush to reveal their identity. This scenario has proved a tad problematic to me. While I appreciate an artists decision to remain anonymous and the reasoning for doing so. The cold facts of creating an online presence through music are – people connect best by what they see through their eyes first. Ask this question to yourselves. At first glance, would you engage more with a press photo of a household object or a human face better? In most cases, as humans, it’s instinctive that looking at another person is what we find most engaging. With this point now made. The cat slipped out of the bag, during Christmas. When former X Factor contestant Aiden Grimshaw stepped forward on social media, revealing he was the enigmatic artist, who has been releasing tracks using the pseudonym Butterjack. Thinking about it. This is the kind of move I should have suspected Aiden Grimshaw, would do.

He has since bumped us a new track, “Hot Sauce.” Whereas, previous releases “Other Worlds” and “Good Girls” were pointed towards being dance/club specific. The new one “Hot Sauce” is the best of both worlds, successfully blurring the lines between the pop and dance genres. To be fair, when releasing as Aiden Grimshaw he never really went down the big sounding pop whole route apart from “Is This Love,” his marvellous 2012, debut and again with the immense electronic-pop cut “Satisfy Me.” The place he now finds himself in as Butterjack on “Hot Sauce” feels more than a little reminiscent of the indie-electronic, dance-pop style once championed by Fenech-Soler. Which in truth, is a style I can easily stan for.

Just because, these new tracks are taking him down a whole new music avenue. Aiden’s classic sense of songcraft and dynamically soaring vocals remain as strong as ever. Let’s say, it really feels to me as though he’s allowed his imagination to take over and have fun on this track, more so than at any other time. I hope this is a style Butterjack will consider to further, explore, as it is brimming with possibilities. The little hairs on the back of my neck are tingling, just thinking about what could happen next.

Connect with Butterjack
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ButterjackOfficial/
Twitter: @butterjackmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/butterjackmusic/

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Listen to “Cosmic Synchronicity” by Strange Talk

Mandy Rogers — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 09:18:20 +0000

Hurrah for Strange Talk, who are brightening up the electronic pop sphere with their animated brand of synth-pop on “Cosmic Synchronicity” the Melbourne duos first release in two years, since “Y.O.U.N.G.H.E.A.R.T.S“. It is, really nice to have Gerard Sidhu and Stephen Docker back particularly at a time in the year when electronic pop has a tendency to become sonically brooding. Strange Talk’s style has never been this way. At first, with their roots in indie-pop, the duo have never quite left the gritty appeal of the genre behind. What they continue to bring to the table aligns with the gleaming, chromatic approach championed by the likes of Cut Copy and Fenech-Soler.

After finding early success. Strange Talk were faced with a number of label, management and personal changes which set them back. Their upcoming EP will be the independent re-birth of Strange Talk. The news already sounds like music to my ears. The duo have looked to the heavens for inspiration on their latest work. “Cosmic Synchronicity” plumps for a futuristic vibe with some dreamy, nostalgic wonderment mixed in through the lyrics of the song. The track grapples with humankind’s fascination with the universe. The possibility of there being other life-forces which have superior power over the human race than we know about. A topic which will never get old.

In Strange Talk, I now know I have something to look forward to with regard to imminent electronic-pop releases. The vibe and groove of the duos latest work bask in a neon-like glow. The rippling synths permeate a transcendental quality. This adds an air of mystery and blissful intrigue. A song with indelible hooks and irresistible beats, with something of a retro sound. Has staved off the wintry blues from settling in, early. The upcoming EP is off to good start with “Cosmic Synchronicity.”

Connect with Strange Talk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/strangetalkmusic/
Twitter: @Strange_Talk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strangetalkmusic/

The post Listen to “Cosmic Synchronicity” by Strange Talk appeared first on EQ Music Blog.

Watch “Stay” by Saint Best

Mandy Rogers — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:56:46 +0000

Not enough fuss is being made over Danish newcomers Saint Best to my mind, the Copenhagen based four piece launched just last year with 80’s nu-retro stylised debut “In The Morning” and it came with a somewhat provocative video which used food as sexual innuendo. I really, like the indie electronic direction the band are going in and, I think fans of Young Kato or Fenech-Soler will especially appreciate the sonic template from which Saint Best operate. “Stay” is the band’s fourth single release since launching and, they’ve shaken off the cheery veneer that has become familiar on previous tracks, replacing it with a bolder synthronic approach that indie lovers and electro-heads will equally fall charmed too.

A video to accompany the track has just been, unveiled and the focus this time isn’t on quirky storylines. Instead, the action is centred around the band, themselves doing what they do best performing on stage. Briefly, there are little scenes where we see the Saint Best vocalist and frontman Christian Bonne out enjoying the countryside as a way to free his mind from the stresses, drama and chaos of every day twenty-first-century life. Mostly, it forms the best introduction to the band that we’ve seen as yet.

Saint Best are catching the attention of the Danish music industry they are signed with Fake Diamond Records, whose first label signing was Oh Land. Now if this isn’t an omen for a great future, I don’t know what is. For now, the band continue increasing their festival appearances and, I’m hoping these performances will expand beyond Denmark to a greater extent in 2018. It is crucial Saint Best get themselves heard at bigger showcase events like Eurosonic and, in turn, I am hopeful that it will lead to a trip over to the UK of course. They proved they have the music what they need to do now is to get it audiences that will appreciate it.

Connect with Saint Best
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintbestmusic/
Twitter: @saintbestmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saintbestmusic/

The post Watch “Stay” by Saint Best appeared first on EQ Music Blog.

Listen to “Conversation” by Fenech-Soler

Mandy Rogers — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 04:01:43 +0000

Going into “ZILLA” album No 3, Fenech-Soler are making music more off of their own back than ever before. With two acclaimed albums in the debut self-titled effort and follow-up “Rituals” preceding it, Fenech-Soler eluded that tricky sophomore album situation continuing to move forward, refine, diversify and experiment. This is everything that excites me about this band and what makes their album’s engaging and invigorating listening experiences.

A couple of months ago Fenech-Soler sauntered back as a duo, brothers Ben and Ross Duffy. They immediately banished any notions that they’d undergone a massive restructure of their sound though with the arrival of the indie inclined electronic-pop direction of “Kaleidoscope”. It sure sounded pure Fenech-Soler realness of old, which pleased me to no end and excited me of the prospects to come, considerably more.

Joined now by new single “Conversation”, the attention steers straight to the lyrics which are seamlessly carried along with a jaunty synth-pop refrain of the kind that Fenech-Soler have become maestro’s of. It’s unmistakably Fenech-Soler, with an additional flair of personality that singles it out as maybe being tipped as a candidate to be assigned as the band’s new fan anthem. Knowing Fenech-Soler’s electronic pop well, as I do expect there will be a few tracks jostling for this title. “Conversation” though, is a worthy choice.

“Conversation” along with “Kaleidoscope”, “On Top”, “Night Time TV” and “Cold Light” are available instantly when pre-ordering “ZILLA”

The post Listen to “Conversation” by Fenech-Soler appeared first on EQ Music Blog.

“This Beat Is Poptronik – November 16” Now streaming on Spotify

Serena Butler — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 08:49:47 +0000

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How in the world has November come so quickly? Last time I checked, we were enjoying the summer heat, now we’re all bundling up in our winter wear. We shouldn’t let the chilly weather get us down because when it comes to great music, take off those scarves and jackets because we have a brand new This Beat Is Poptronik playlist to warm you right up.

This month’s playlist features:

Ghost by Sleeping Wolf
WTF (Pop Culture) by Lovestarrs
Meteorite by Years & Years
You Won’t Know Where You Stand by Aquilo
Control by Operators
We Don’t Wanna Dance by Jane
The Great Escape by Noréll
I Wanna Shake You Out Of It by Young Kato
I Ain’t Missing You by Aston Merrygold ft. LDN NOISE
13^th Floor by Bravestation
Kaleidoscope by Fenech-Soler
That’s So Us by Allie X
Body Moves by DNCE
Are You Ready by Prides
One Bad Night by Hayley Kiyoko
Last Day Of Summer by Mickolai
Beast by Tungevaag & Raaban ft. Isac Elliot
Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga
Never Ever by Röyksopp ft. Susanne Sundfør
Perth by Avec Sans
My Love Is Gone by SAFIA
Brightside by Icona Pop
Miss You by James Hersey
City Boy by Nic Billington
Sunsets by Nick Pes
Shotgun by Rebecca & Fiona

It’s hard to believe that we only have one more This Beat Is Poptronik Playlist for 2016! So follow EQ Music on Spotify and stay tuned to see who may just make that list, right here on EQ Music Blog.

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Watch “Kaleidoscope” by Fenech-Soler

Mandy Rogers — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 07:32:57 +0000

Hallelu the radio silence has been broken and new Fenech-Soler is out there in the world!

The band configuration may now be slimed down to that of a duo made up of Ben and Ross Duffy, aside from this they are completely brandishing the Fenech-Soler signature sound of indie piqued electronic pop that is wholly identifiable of them throughout their career.

Dang it four times over, they’ve only struck back with an EP which is headed up by the title track “Kaleidoscope”. This EQ’s is the equivalent of all your birthdays coming at once, infact for me it absolutely rings with some truth in that!

Punchy synth strokes inter-mingled with sonically basking chords of new-wave seeped electronica still remain true to the foundations of their work and Ben is really on it with the vocals, but then when isn’t he?

When all trace of Temposhark scuppered off the face of this earth, it was Fenech-Soler I turned to, to fill the void. They have never failed to give me that harder hit of lyrical electro that won me over in an instant.

“Kaleidoscope” puts the band back on the map a touch creatively bolder and dare we say it visually braver. This video depicting what it can feel like falling in love, utilizing a theme of what goes on under the bedcovers, being the right kind of humour matched by art bringing the message of the lyrics across into the music video realm, being of one of their best.

Not gonna lie, mightily happy to have Fenech-Soler back! their albums are just packed with Brilliance with a capital B and I really don’t foresee as we enter into the realization of the third that what we are headed into to be any different.

Now I really must see through the promise to myself, to catch the guys live. Ben and Ross have announced a short run of dates through October but I’ll be holding out for the bigger tour to happen, to hopefully cease my chance of ticking off experiencing Fenech-Soler live from my wish list. It’s been noted down for way too long. This time it happens!

The post Watch “Kaleidoscope” by Fenech-Soler appeared first on EQ Music Blog.

Listen to “The Gates” by Young Empires

Mandy Rogers — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 10:17:01 +0000

Photo: Kyle Thompson

Canadian three piece Young Empires are really striking a chord with me today, since their new single “The Gates” has perked up my inbox by exhibiting a malleably defined profusion of stadium rock propulsive energy accentuated by a wafting use of dreamy synths. All of which just happens to be one of my favoured grittier type of indie sought sound combinations.

Garnered firmly on a cinematic wall of sound and building of almost percussive strokes of melody to begin with before breaking into a thrilling eruption of exhilarating euphoria, “The Gates” really has it all going off, and mores to the point it all balances out pretty much seamlessly as an end result.

Much like a hybrid of Empire Of The Sun, Fenech-Soler & Prides together, the Toronto based trio tackle this intrinsic mix with such aplomb that it’s hard not to get swept up in its path of festival ready fierceness without succumbing to the overwhelming urge of obediently punching the air.

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