Good news on this Friday the 13th – Automelodi has a Bandcamp now, and not only does it have his excellent 2nd full-length album, he also uploaded a single from last year that was previously hard to find. Lendemain acide no2 is fun, dancy and is the newest track available from Automelodi, so you bet I listen to it a lot while I wait for future releases!
Minimal-synth
Molly Nilsson
Although Molly Nilsson previously collaborated with John Maus and also has a large discography under her belt, I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing her music before today. The above song caught my attention for its macabre/romantic lyrics and minimal melody, and the other tracks I’ve listened to off of various releases are equally as wonderful. I can’t find much information about her, but some articles claim she was born in Sweden and currently lives in Berlin. I’m loving her powerful voice matched with her simple synth anthems. Her ‘These Things Take Time’ release is available on Spotify, and you can listen to/buy her other releases via her official website.
La Mystique Féminine vol. 1
Frankie Teardrop of the fantastic Systems of Romance music blog has created a mix of entirely female-fronted projects in the coldwave, minimal and post-punk vein. It’s a great mix so I highly recommend giving it a listen, and check out the tracklist here for any artists you don’t recognize.
Figure Study
Figure Study is a minimal synth band based in NYC. According to the description of their self-titled LP on Dark Entries, members Nathan Antolik and April Chalpara met at a Wierd Party event in 2009 and began collaborating soon after. Their music evokes a sense of gloomy foreboding while still remaining very danceable. Loneliness and distance tinge each song, but the soundscape somehow leaves the listener feeling energized instead of desolate. This is an album I’d love to listen to while walking the streets of a city I’ve never been to before, at night.
In addition to their debut LP, Figure Study also has one single available. ‘Lesson One’ was my introduction to this great band, and remains one of my favourites. You can listen to Figure Study by buying their music from Dark Entries, visiting their Soundcloud, or streaming on Spotify or Rdio.
The Shortwave Mystery
This week’s album on repeat is Signals From Afar by a fairly unknown 80s band called The Shortwave Mystery. A duo from California, in 1985 they apparently released a 12″ of the above song, Pilots, that was so unsuccessful that the majority of the records ended up in a landfill. How they didn’t take off is beyond me – their songs combine the best parts of synthpop and minimal-synth, with some EBM sprinkled in for good measure. However, due to resurging interest in the 80s synth scene, the band re-issued their songs into a full-length album a few years ago.
Signals From Afar is excellent from beginning to end – I haven’t been this excited about stumbling upon a band in at least a couple of months. Which actually says a lot. I get excited pretty often.
You can buy their releases directly from the label that re-issued them here.
Stacian
Quick post about this solo minimal-synth project from Chicago called Stacian. There’s some great classic analog sounds here, and I’m really enjoying the Songs For Cadets release. Beep boops, lo-fi quality and echoey female vocals: these are a few of my favourite things – as if you didn’t know that by now. Check out more songs on Stacian’s Bandcamp here.
Voltheque
Just stumbled upon Voltheque, a really neat synth project from Philadelphia. I’ve Known All Along, their second big release, has some songs with a fantastic 80s synthpop feel that I’m really loving. There’s a very diverse mix of moods on the album in addition to high tempo dance numbers – ‘The Bells’ is a spooky spoken word track, and ‘The Stillness’ has a swaying and hypnotic atmosphere that makes for a great closing song.
Listening to I’ve Known All Along in its entirety is kind of making my Friday. You can find it here at their Bandcamp.
Cult Club
Sounds like there’s an amazing new project forming in Berlin…Laslo Antal of Sixth June and Sally Dige Jørgensen have teamed up to form Cult Club, a minimal synth project that sounds really promising from the two tracks I’ve heard so far. ‘All The People’ has a relaxed, almost ethereal vibe while ‘Why Do You Go?’ picks up the pace by being amazingly catchy and danceable. I can’t find any information about ordering or downloading their music, but they do have a Soundcloud and an official site that is being updated. If you like Sixth June or Sally Dige I highly recommend checking out Cult Club – it’s a great melding of their distinctive sounds.
Fake Tears
Just a quick post about a great local band that played a show here in Vancouver last night. Fake Tears are a synthpop duo who play somewhat eerie tunes that are super catchy. They’re fun and I’m really enjoying the songs they have up on their Bandcamp page here, and looking forward to future releases from them!
Automelodi is coming to Vancouver!
And the year is off to a fantastic start. Event page here!
Lèvres Froides 