Frontman Kele Okereke has been doing his own thing for a little while now. Okereke has aptly titled his solo project Kele (very imaginative) and the new work sees a heavy shift towards electro and a heavy dance sound. Clearly Bloc Party’s progressive transition to a comprehensive electro sound can be attributed to Kele.
Incidentally he will be rocking out solo at this year’s Parklife (tickets still available, so go buy them!). Rumor has it the set will combine new releases with some Bloc Party “classics” so should be a good show all round.
You can grab a copy of Kele’s debut solo record The Boxer HERE!
Check out this excellent video from Don Johnson of Miami Vice fame. The video just doesn’t make much sense. He is looking for a “heartbeat” (super hot woman) using a video camera in New York, then fighting rebel guerrillas in a jungle conflict and throwing children over conveniently small walls… I love the modulation halfway through the song, that is a technique lacking in modern music. Also check out the drummer’s body language after the fill at the end of the first chorus, classic 80’s melodrama.
Johnson’s Heartbeat is obviously the primary track Grum sampled for his standout track Heartbeats off the record of the same name.
Broken Bells is the collaborative brain/love child of James Mercer and Brian Burton of The Shins and Danger Mouse respectively. The new group sees the duo
Mercer’s distinct melodies and faint vocal style still feature prominently which should keep most Shins fans satisfied. This guy has an innate ability to write almost flawless pop tunes so it is pleasing to see this continue with Broken Bells. Burton’s influence is evident through the variety of sounds and instruments used that offer more diversity than the standard Shins record.
Broken Bells self-titled debut LP was released earlier this year in March on Columbia Records and is available here.
Tesla Boy are a most good outfit from Russia, of course. The aptly named electro wizards are the best thing to emerge from the motherland since the coil itself. True to their name they produce the kind of elegant electro that Nikola himself would be proud of.
As eloquently summarised by Gotta Dance Dirty, Tesla Boy tap heavily into the 80’s New Wave sound with a refined modern electro touch. Their combination of emotive electro ballads and funky dance numbers divides the listener between crooning or dancing along, very similar to Australia’s Grafton Primary.
Their debut LP Modern Thrills was released last month and will stand as one of the premier electro releases for 2010. The Tesla Boy EP was also a top quality release from last year.
Toro y Moi is most excellently cool. Chaz Bundick writes, produces and records his marvelously unique brand of lo-fi chillwave tunes under this pseudonym. The product is sample rich, synth heavy, souful music that is borderline indescribable. I have been so taken with Bundick’s music of late that I find it hard to describe it in a concise fashion, but brevity is overrated.
Talamak was probably the first TyM track that I stumbled across and I was instantly hooked, and it is pretty easy to see why. The abrupt samples, simple chord progression and Chaz’ dainty falsetto combine to create a wonderfully charismatic little ditty.
I picked up a few tracks here and there until I uncovered You Hid, a beautifully composed love song. The track has the same lo-fi modest charm of Talamak with tight production and genuine simplicity. Bundick’s skills as a multi-instrumentalist are displayed in the video above.
Did I mention he is also a graphic designer? Not hard to believe.
Talamak and You Hid were featured on Toro y Moi’s debut album Causers Of This released in early January of this year. Remarkably he is backing this outstanding effort up with a second full length release due out later this year. The first sample from the second cut is Leave Everywhere which see Chaz revert to a simplified garage band format. Guitars, drums and vocals replace the synths and laptop to give the track a more organic sound. A real credit to an artist who can produce quality songs across genres and styles.
Happy Music is simply a source of new and interesting music being supplied by fantastic new and interesting artists. The objective is to connect eager listeners with artists and the music they create.
MP3 files are available for a limited time only. They are intended as a sample only. If you like said sample then why not help yourself to more as links to itunes, amazon and other legitimate MP3 download sources are listed where possible. Most importantly if you like an artist's music then spread the word! Tell a friend and go see live performances whenever you can. This broadens the music community, increases support for the artists and enriches everyone's experience of music. That is the point of it after all.
If you would like a link removed please contact us at the address listed above.
Happy Music 