Elohim – ‘Hallucinating’
We hate to give you a big ‘Told you So’ but we already hyped you about masked synthpop artist ELOHIM waaaay back in 2015, thanks to the catchy tunes Xanax and Bridge And The Wall. Now, the young lady remained productive throughout the entire year and also released her debut EP on B3SCI Records. One of the tracks from it, Hallucinating, now gets a really joyful music video which captures the luxurious life of a rich kid left alone in a way too big mansion. ELOHIM is also joining the game during the course of this video and so does a mariachi band. All you need to know: this is a fun video and quite a catchy piece of pop.
Einar Stray Orchestra – ‘Penny For Your Thoughts’
Norway’s cinematic indie-pop group EINAR STRAY ORCHESTRA reports back with new material after crossing our paths for a few times in the past. 2014’s album Politricks ended up being a bit too ambitious and left us a questioning but judging from their new single Penny For Your Thoughts we’re pretty convinced that the group is back on track. It’s a powerful and uplifting tune, one that teasers the third album Dear Bigotry which arrives on February 17, 2017 via label Sinnbus.
Mono Mono – ‘Helium Balloon’
MONO MONO are a Danish duo comprised of vocalist Karoline Elsig and producer Jakob Franck. Their new single Helium Balloon is a woozy take on experimental electronica, its little dabbles of saxophone taking it into almost neo-jazz territory in places (and echoes SAMARIS‘ use of clarinet in the way it interplays with the electronics). Its beats and synths are perfectly meshed together with its more traditional elements to make a smooth and captivating digital soul song. They’re currently working on an EP, to be released in early 2017.
Keiandra – ‘Milk Tooth’
Newcastle-based songwriter KEIANDRA released an EP called Empty Palaces earlier this year, and now she’s back with a new single Milk Tooth. It’s a murky, fizzing pop song, utilising the metaphor of ripping out of the milk teeth for the transition into new worlds. KEIANDRA‘s clear melodies cut and echo through the fuzz in a song that’s delicately balanced between innocence and menace.
Der Ringer und Isolation Berlin – ‘Ich bin so unendlich schön’
Back in 2011, Germany’s very own poet laureate PETERLICHT chanted ‘Ich wüsste niemanden, der sich selbst gehörte’ (‘I don’t know anybody who owns’) himself) and since we’re already at German territory here let’s stick with it musically. In terms of LICHT’s saying at least for the Hamburg-based band DER RINGER and ISOLATION BERLIN (who we introduced you to right here), things have turned around. In their first conjoint song Ich bin so unendlich schön (‘I’m so endlessly beautiful’) leading men Schneider and Bamborschke decidedly voice ‘Ich gehör‘ nur mir allein‘ (‘I only belong to myself’). Admittedly, the context is slightly different here, but it’s nonetheless exciting to observe the two young band’s obsession with the ‘self’ and its place in society. The two befriended groups just released a krautrock-filled split EP in case you’re up for more.
Badlands – ‘Quiet Heart (The Go-Betweens cover)’
BADLANDS is Malmö producer Catharina Jaunviksna , who released Locus, an album of chilly electronica, in April this year. This week she’s dropped a cover of THE GO-BETWEENS’ Quiet Heart, which has been part of her live set for a while. Jaunviksna takes the soul and essence of the original and takes it into electronic waters, transforming it into colourful, emotive 80s synthpop. Listen below.
Sam Vance-Law – ‘Prettyboy’
Now ain’t that a pretty boy? Canadian songwriter SAM VANCE-LAW and his debut single Prettyboy provides joyful independent rock that reminds us of the playfulness that genre used to have a few years back. The song – as well as his debut album which arrives in 2017 – was also produced by GET WELL SOON mastermind Konstantin Gropper and you can clearly sense that in some form, right? Time to get this young man on your radar for next year.
Soft Grid – ‘Corolla’
We almost forgot to mention that beloved electronic producer and former part-time NBHAP editor SAM SLATER is now part of a fascinating new group called SOFT GRID. They released their debut album Corolla back in October and are also playing their release show at the Bergain Kantine next weekend. Fans can expect furious and krautrock-infected synthesizer madness, as im someone made a post-rock album without the stereotypical guitar walls. There’s a lot to discover on the LP that much is for sure but for now why not just sticking with the following performance clip of SOFT GRID?
If you want the latest sounds don’t forget to follow NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION‘s ‘Weekly Discoveries’ playlist on Spotify, featuring the 50 freshest new songs we recently featured on our page. For other more frequent news don’t forget to follow NBHAP on Twitter and Facebook as well.
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