Wednesday 29 January 2014

NEW MUSIC: Marlene - Stay Awake

It's no secret that the Scandinavians produce top notch pop music, but one thing that often eludes them is, alongside all the addictive melodies and sharp synth work, producing anything genuinely vulnerable and emotional. That's often why it's so well constructed - Scandinavian pop prides itself of its musical merit and production above sounding human. 

The voice of Sweden's Marlene however, manages to channel the aches and pains of American popstar JoJo on latest single "Stay Awake". Her voice breaks and hiccups not in a traditionally quirky European pop way, but in a way that suggests that she has listened to a lot of over-emoting US pop singers. With the melodramatic synthpop/R&B hybrid "Stay Awake", Marlene manages to find the happy medium between the perfectly crafted pop songs of her homeland, and a delivery which suggests she has desires to reach a commercially minded audience worldwide, not just a niche European one.

FOR FANS OF: MØ, JoJo, LIZ (Mad Decent)




- Joe Copplestone, 29.01.14

Monday 27 January 2014

NEW MUSIC: Yasmin Green - All Of You

More love for the 2014 Sade from us. Yasmin Green's new upload "All Of You" is acoustic, stripped back and as fragile as it's love-scared subject matter. It's Yasmin's voice alone that makes the gentle chorus haunting and beautiful, when with many other singers it would coast aimlessly. When the simple becomes spellbinding, you know it won't be long before a singer is skyrocketing to the top.

FOR FANS OF: Sade, Jessie Ware




And for those of you wanting diversity, check out Yasmin's powerhouse vocal on last year's cover of Florence's "Spectrum". Dare I say it - much more affecting than the original.




- Joe Copplestone, 27.01.14

Sunday 26 January 2014

OUT AND ABOUT: Leon Else/Claire LIVE @ Gold Dust, Hoxton Bar & Grill, 22/01/14

For those always on the look out for potential Next-Big-Things, Hoxton Bar & Grill's Gold Dust club night if ideal - a night designed for trend-obsessed hipsters, good-time students and music geeks - in short, London's music buying public. So when two of GivePopAChance's most hotly tipped new acts for 2014 (namely Leon Else and Claire) popped up on the line-up for the first Gold Dust of the year, there was no doubt it was a great opportunity to gauge just how good our judge of musical character was.

Arriving just after 9 to the packed out/blacked out back-room of HB&G, we were just in time to catch a suave Leon Else take to the stage. Dressed all in black and humbly inching his way past an inconveniently placed keyboard to the stage, Else opens with "Protocol", his simmering James Blake-alike single, and his voice is as electrifying as on record.

However, just when you think you've got him pegged as the tortured artist type, the Londoner launches into "Us Against The World", an uptempo Script-esque anthem with flecks of "Get Lucky" disco sheen, complete with arm stretching choreographed moves and foot stomping. He surprises us further with set highlight "Refund", a steamy, soulful slow jam that first really demonstrates his sizzling falsetto. It goes down a treat and from that moment on, we begin to see Else's inner freak emerge.

Turns out this guy isn't James Blake, he's more Robin Thicke, a black man not-so-trapped inside a 24 year old white boy's body. He oozes sex, thrusting his hips during numbers such as "Purple Stars" and "Heart Beat", the subtley of "Protocol" nowhere in sight. As the set goes on and an enthusiastic crowd clearly gives him confidence, he exercises his falsetto muscle to ridiculous extremes. Whilst he may have a slight case of multiple musical personalities, there's no denying that when the showman in Leon is released, there's no getting him back in his "Protocol" cage.

Up next are Claire, who, contrary to the initial impression, is not the name of the stylishly top-ponytailed Pagan-looking woman centre stage, but the whole band, an indie-minded synthpop 5 piece hailing from Germany. However, until singer Josie Burkle drops the "we" bomb when addressing the audience, you might well be forgiven for thinking this is a solo act. Beaming from ear to ear, belting every gutsy note and bashing her electronic sample kit with gusto, it is impossible to take your eyes of Burkle as she contorts herself and flings her ponytail through a spectacular set of european electropop and nu disco.

Opening with the Niki And The Dove-esque duo of "Broken Promise Land" and single "Games", the band establish a definite and infectious sound, a much cleaner and European sound than that of Else before them. That's not to say that Claire's set isn't also full of surprises. There is a glorious 180 in genre when one jaw dropping number features a majestic post-hip hop shudder and a surprisingly awesome rap courtesy of Burkle. Later numbers also bring to mind Santigold. Closing with a ravey, burbling techno number, Claire have won over even the most anti-Europop of the hipsters here.

The two acts seemed to be testing the waters with genre and direction tonight, but considering we may have witnessed some songs and even personalities both acts may ditch at a later stage, there's no doubt that tonight showcased both Leon Else and Claire at the most exciting stage of their early careers - and perhaps the most dangerous too. Listen out for them both in 2014, and if all goes well, we could have a couple of BBC Sound of 2015 finalists here.

Listen to "Protocol" by Leon Else and "Games" by Claire below:




- Joe Copplestone, 27.01.14

Tuesday 14 January 2014

NEW MUSIC: Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne - Rather Be

Clean Bandit are what I call a truly great pop act. They manage to appeal to the trendy crowd with their deep house credibility (the Gorgon City collaboration in particular helped them there) whilst still managing to avoid genres and maintain a level of musical freshness and creativity that lacks in so many modern acts.

"Rather Be" isn't chart-oriented enough to be considered straight up pop and isn't deep and dancey enough to be considered house. If anything it recalls a time in the early 00s, when disco-meets-ibiza chillout was the dancefloor filling sound du jour, and easy going house-lite tunes like Milky's "Just The Way You Are" and DB Boulevard's "Point Of View" were crossing over from the underground to the charts.  However, whilst these decade-old songs lack 'edge' compared to the sharp bass-heavy crossover tunes we hear on the radio in 2014, Clean Bandit manage to bring some energy and back bone to the sound they throw back to. In the process they succeed in combining the best of house in 2004 with the best of house in 2014. 

Their trademark string quartet intro gives way to perky raindrop synths and a life affirming piano house chorus, sung with gusto by Jess Glynne. No doubt it's the remixes that will make it to the clubs (particularly the ultra cool garage take from All About She), but the emotional peak that the original version reaches is definitely the place I'd rather be.

FOR FANS OF: Mausi, Disclosure, Tensnake

Monday 13 January 2014

NEW MUSIC: Andy Lovelee - Love You Today

The UK and indeed the international music scene is missing an androgynous alt-pop star, and the spine-tinglingly voiced Aussie Andy Lovelee could be the one to hold that tragic flame. Gothic-tinged debut single "Love You Today" for any other male singer would be the wrong side of depressing, but Lovelee's irresistibly sexy croon floats suggestively between full voice and falsetto over shimmering guitars and shuddering beats that Hurts would jump upon, injecting the epic melody with a convincing and striking performance.

Lovelee is very much up and coming, so make sure you support him by following his SoundCloud below.

FOR FANS OF: Hurts, MS MR, Active Child



- Joe Copplestone, 13.1.14

Wednesday 8 January 2014

NEW MUSIC: Peter Thomas ft. Betty Who - All Of You

It's no secret that we love Betty Who here at GivePopAChance. A young woman with 4 solo tracks to her name, 2 of which appearing in our Top 10 of 2013, 1 of which ("Somebody Loves You") hitting our top spot by a country mile. So imagine our delight when as 2014 hits, Betty Who is once again dominating our iPods with the glorious "All Of You", a tale of volatile but passionate young love, on par with both "Somebody Loves You" and "High Society".

Of course, this is not a Betty Who solo gig, so most of the credit must go to LA producer Peter Thomas, whose goliath Madeon-esque production exudes as much effortless joy as Betty's song. It's a match made in EDM heaven. 

You can download a lower quality version of the song for free from SoundCloud below, but for anyone really wanted to appreciate this track the way it was meant to be heard, you can download a high quality version on iTunes now. No brainer.

FOR FANS OF: Madeon, The Knocks, Lenno



- Joe Copplestone, 8/1/14

Monday 6 January 2014

NEW MUSIC: Leon Else - Protocol

Lying somewhere between the glitchy post trip hop of James Blake and the majestic nu soul of up and coming young prodigies Sam Smith and John Newman, Leon Else's debut single "Protocol" is a stunning new addition to our impressive UK male vocalist rosta. A warm electro pulse gives plenty of leeway for Leon's spectacular voice to show off its gritty soulful lows and emotionally raw highs.

Thanks to Tasha at House of 27 for introducing us to this guy. No release date as of yet, but expect this to be all over Radio 1 once they finally decide to let 2013 rest.

FOR FANS OF: Sam Smith, James Blake, John Newman



The Orikami remix gives a slightly more ravey interpretation.




- Joe Copplestone, 6/1/14