Paris-based synth disco outfit Agar Agar have just released their debut EP, Cardan, via Cracki Records. The duo consisting of singer Clara Cappagli and producer Armand Bultheel offer listeners an eclectic collection of synth-laden late night disco jams with a nostalgic twist.
“Prettiest Virgin” is a spellbinding 6-minute late night disco pop jam, laced with layers of icy synths and sleek minimal beats. Singer Clara lights up the dancefloor with her smooth and sultry vocals that tell the same old bittersweet story of unrequited love at the disco.
Norwegian synthpop princess Annie recently released a new 4-track EP called Endless Vacation and the second tune taken off this release is “Dadaday”. Following the single “Cara Mia”, this sweet-but-sad track feels like a long lost dance treasure complete with vocoder-heavy vocals, a springy bass line and 90’s inspired beat.
Like some of Annie’s previous hits (think “Chewing Gum”, “Anthonio”, “Songs Remind Me”), “Dadaday” is written and produced by Richard X, here joined by Jim Eliot and Stefon Storm.
Annie explained that her new songs are “like a perfect holiday which is actually a disaster. You’re spending time in a wonderful place but with someone who you don’t have anything to talk about with. But if you looked at the holiday photos everything would still look good on the surface. ‘Dadaday’ is a sad song from this holiday… like you are left alone in the hotel disco”
Elusive London producer/songwriter/artist Schulkid released debut single “Slow Dancing” digitally via Stop Being Cute on June 19th. This track takes a deep electro beat and couples it alongside diverse melodies and tribal attitude, appealing to a broad base of listeners despite never compromising on style.
Teaming up with Belgium-based singer Valair for the second time, SchulKid takes far-flung and diverse influences and distills them into a single sound unlike anything else. This uniqueness is emphasised by the fact that Schulkid remains a ‘nameless’ artist, refusing to show his face and instead using sketches on Instagram as guides to him and his art: “I have no desire to be recognized at face value, I just want people to recognize my sound in the future.”
Sweden’s pop starlet Veronica Maggio is back with triumphant new single “Sergles Torg”, once again proving that she is an artist to be reckoned with in contemporary Swedish music. Her last album Satan i Gatan topped the Swedish charts for three weeks straight in 2011 and got millions of streams on Spotify and the new single managed to knock Avicii off the number 1 on iTunes the week of its release!
“Sergels Torg” was co-written and produced by Salem Al Fakir and the result is a sweet, uptempo pop gem, with an intro of ABBA calibre. What’s best about this song is that, much like the rest of Maggio’s already sizable back catalogue, it manages to be melancholic and yet irresistibly uplifting. In other words, this is pure pop bliss!
Paris-based pop band Mondrian comprises vocalist Roman Oswald, guitarist Marc Mifune (aka Morning Crash), keyboardist Demoiselle and drummer Cyrille Fournel. Since their formation in 2007, the quartet has released a handful of catchy albums, sharing their common love for bright singalong poppy tunes.
Mondrian - A Kiss A Day
With their latest release, Tea Boy, Dry Biscuits & Roller Disco Beat, they depart from their customary low-key 60s-70s surf rock to wander into a more electronic landscape, with hints of synth and electropop. “5250’d” is a good example of this new stylistic orientation. It’s jagged and robotic and yet addictive as hell and irresistibly poppy!
