If ever there was a perfect TONN Recordings sound, it would surely be Prinzessin. With its pin sharp minimal aesthetic layered over deep electronic undercurrents, addictive synth lines and a voice as rich as velvet, it was love at first listen.
Now PlayingPolyphonic Size - Tribute To Flexi Pop Vol. 1 - ModeTune In     Song History
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When Chris Stewart set out to write and record his third album as Black Marble, he was newly living in Los Angeles, fresh off a move from New York. The environment brought much excitement and possibility, but the distance had proved too much for the car he brought along. With it out of commission indefinitely, he purchased a bus pass and planned his daily commute from his Echo Park apartment to his downtown studio, where he began to shape Bigger Than Life. The route wound all through the city, from the small local shops of Echo Park to the rising glass of the business district, to the desperation of Skid Row. The hurried energy of the environment provided a backdrop for the daily trip. When Stewart finally arrived at his studio, he’d look through his window at the mountains and the sky, seeing the beauty that makes L.A. unique — the same beauty his fellow commuters, some pushed to the edge of human endurance, had seen. That was the headspace he was in when he began to map out the syncopated drums and staccato arpeggiation of Bigger Than Life, an ode to his new condition and a shimmering synth-pop response to its cacophony.
Electronic Emergencies celebrates its fifth anniversary with ‘After The Fall’, by Croatian dark electro queen and style icon Popsimonova. Cult classic ‘Drive’ was remastered especially for the clubs by Rude 66, who also made a DJ edit of ‘Dark Star Crashes’, the collaboration of La Popsimonova with Italian queer heroes Hard Ton. Bosnian producer Borgie remixed ‘Break and Enter’ and ‘Delete Yourself’ into energizing, pounding dance floor killers.
The toddler Poupard is back in an unrestrained and shameless fashion. After the mental disorder of “Vésanie”, Poupard takes us into the freezing farandole of a Cinderella dancing in the middle of the mire. “We both played” will leave beautiful traces of acid discharge on the bib of your boredom … The scandalous album is now available from Distag Records in cassette format. The pretty fluorescent toy in its flowery case is limited to 40 copies.
SRSQ is the solo project of singer and songwriter Kennedy Ashlyn, the founding member of the bay-area dream pop duo Them Are Us Too. SRSQ’s pulse began after the loss of Kennedy’s closest friend and Them Are Us Too collaborator, Cash Askew, in the tragic Ghost Ship fire of 2016. Driven by this sudden, heartbreaking loss, SRSQ became the vehicle for Kennedy’s transformative process for her to explore nostalgia, reflection, and reconciliation, manifesting in the aural landscape of her 2018 debut album, Unreality. It’s been a year since the release of Unreality and 2019 has taken SRSQ around the world, touring extensively with Black Queen and Uniform, sold out performances in support of Cold Cave and Godflesh, and upcoming tours in support of Torche and label-mates Drab Majesty. Amid performances and writing in preparation for her upcoming 2020 album, Ashlyn went into the studio with producer Jorge Albrecht, who mixed down two new tracks featured on the 7” single Temporal Love b/w Unkept. Wrapped in ethereal gauze and dreamlike textures, what SRSQ presents on this single are undeniably love songs. Wrought with longing, Ashlyn commands on “Temporal Love”: “Kissing you once more could not erase the time, wishing it was the same as it ever was…” her ethereal, soprano-like voice weaving effortlessly through soaring electronics as if the structure of the song itself is her creative playground. Joined in duet by True Body vocalist Isabel Moreno, “Temporal Love” conjures images of heartbreak and a relationship dissolved – perhaps regrettably. The B-side, “Unkept” presents an almost ceremonial incantation channeling the likes of Lisa Gerrard’s finest moments. Stirring in echoes and reverb, Ashlyn emerges alongside a slow and steady beat – rising and building: “Speak softly, my love” to create the perfect counter-balance to the dreamy pop sensibilities of “Temporal Love.” |
