Janosch Troehler

Jonathan Bree – Destiny (feat. Princess Chelsea)

A buzzing bass line slowly melts with the synthesizer's melody while dreamy voices whispers of love.

It's a New Zealand duet to die for: The obscure masked singer Jonathan Bree and the devilish angel voice of Princess Chelsea are a perfect match. And not the first time they've collaborated: Bree co-produced Princess Chelsea's albums Lil' Golden Book and The Great Cybernetic Depression while she contributed to his tracks like Static or Kiss My Lips.

With Destiny, they add another work into their collaborative cabinet. In all fairness, Destiny is hardly a surprise for avid Jonathan Bree fans. The song is put together with the same construction plans as basically any Bree track: A thick bass line, melodic synthesizers, and his sombre voice. They all create a distinctively melancholic sound with a glorious vintage vibe.

Destiny, by Jonathan Bree

track by Jonathan Bree

Jonathan BreeJonathan Bree

Liv Alma – Peeling

The tension is oppressing, almost brutally violent, but definitely leadenly heavy.

German musician Johanna Klein, aka Liv Alma, came into contact with various instruments at an early age: After learning classical piano, she dabbled with the saxophone and jazz music. Then, she deepened her musical skills at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. The pandemic was finally the catalyst that gave creative birth to her alter-ego Liv Alma.

Although Liv Alma is undoubtedly a newcomer, her work doesn't sound amateurish. After Palmtree and Anonymous, her third single, Peeling, is a beast: dense, dangerous, and dark. The strange humming and rattling are juxtaposed with her sensual singing to polish this experimental pop pearl. With Peeling, Liv Alma plugs an impressive flag onto the musical map.

Peeling, by LIV ALMA

track by LIV ALMA

LIV ALMABandcamp New & Notable Jun 14, 2022

Ladytron – City of Angels

Glimmering electro-pop with a unique voice—shooting Los Angeles into space.

Ladytron was founded in 1999 in Liverpool. Since then, the band has gained a considerable following amongst electro- and synth-pop fans around the globe. Their simply structured and often minimal songs are reminiscent of early 80's electronic music. I first encountered Ladytron in 2018 with their stunning singles The Animals and The Island; however, their most successful tracks remain Seventeen and the pushy Destroy Everything You Touch.

City of Angels is a smooth track, refined in Ladytron's sonic forge. Their sound remains somewhat postmodern, inherently retro, and still travelling through space and time with alien technology. The conjuring, trance-inducing voice of Helen Marnie is simply unmatched.

City Of Angels, by Ladytron

from the album Time’s Arrow

Ladytronelectronic_dave

Valentino Vivace – Autoradio

A declaration of love to analogue synthesisers of the 80s and flashing Italo disco lights. Retro pop for a good mood.

Valentino Vivace, who grew up in the Italian-speaking Ticino, the sunny region of Switzerland, is not easily pigeonholed. The previous singles—L'equilibrio and Come mai—are of a completely different calibre. L'equilibrio is characterised by expanding expanses, slightly psychedelic and wacky. Come mai, on the other hand, is driven by an irresistible indie groove. Vivace takes inspiration here and there, throws it all together, shakes it hard and what comes out in the end works.

With Autoradio, Valentino Vivace now throws a third track into the ring that again breaks with the previous. The song is hot and sticky, like a summer night danced through, refined with Italo-disco nostalgia and a catchy melody. This picture-book pop serves "as a backdrop to tell of those moments when everything supposedly goes wrong, and you urgently need to clear your head," as Vivace explains. And there's no question about it: Autoradio definitely has this cathartic power.

Brooke Annibale – What if You

The subjunctive is heartbreaking; it hurts and puts you in loneliness. But, accompanied by a dense composition, it also has bittersweet beauty.

US singer-songwriter Brooke Annibale recently released her fourth album, Better by Now. Ten tender and perfectly balanced songs full of vulnerability, fear, but also love. "The album is half about falling in love and half about mental health," says the artist, who struggles with depression but has just married her partner.

Audio Dope – Quartz

Innocent, almost childlike chimes in contrast with crisp beats and rich bass—a combination that searches for the origin between time and space.

Audio Dope, the producer from Basel, was part of Weekly5 a long time ago. His speciality: filigree compositions, put together with attention to detail and a passion for daydreams. His output is astonishing: Audio Dope released the album Instant Noodle Soup in May, followed in June by Echo Pool II with Kappa Mountain, his collaboration with Matthias Gusset. Since then, three more tracks have come out of his sonic workshop, Quartz being the latest.

Quartz is a storybook example of Audio Dope's skill. He pours thick bass into the foundation, constructs sophisticated struts of intricate beats, and decorates his sound cathedral with playful ornaments. And although Quartz remains an electronic structure, there is something primal and completely human about the song.

Omni Selassi – D1111NGER

It's an infernal dance, a shattering collision of contrasts, a vortex inevitably dragging you in all directions at once.

Brought together by singer Rea Dubach in 2019, Omni Selassi is a construct that, on paper, shouldn't work: A singer battles against two drummers, Mirko Schwab and Lukas Rutzen. And yet, against all odds, the Swiss trio not only beats the odds but thrives in light of the impossible. Even the name of their debut album, Dance or Die, conjures the ultimate challenge as if nothing with smaller stakes is worth the fight.

Editors – Kiss

An epic journey accompanied by the hymnic signature and fresh flavours—a track simultaneously inviting dance and dream.

The British band Editors have always subverted expectations. So it's no surprise that their latest record, EBM, requires you to get used to the new sonic outfit. "We're quite used to that feeling of scaring our audience with new material," frontman Tom Smith says. Primarily responsible for the Editors once again reinventing their sound is one man: Benjamin John Power, aka Blanck Mass, who has co-produced the album and joined the band as a member.

The track Kiss, however, synthesizes the best of old and new editors: There's this hymnic composition, enforced by Smith's longing falsetto, a brilliant synth hook, and a never-tired beat. But then, there's the freshness of flickering electronic trickery, the almost disco-like feeling.

EBM, by Editors

11 track album

EditorsBandcamp New & Notable Mar 9, 2020

Obacht Obacht – I Haunt This Place

The guitar reverbs in the night. The voice searches in the darkness, sounding almost detached and missing a sense of direction.

Obacht Obacht, a Swiss quartet, just released a new album called Reality Check. Their music fuses heavy rock, psychedelic vibes, and sometimes even a wink cheeky at synthpop.

I Haunt This Place is one of eight tracks (that includes one remix) on Reality Check. However, the song is significantly older: It first appeared on the 2017 EP Some Ghosts. For their new record, Obacht Obacht re-recorded the song. The result isn't just better production quality but a far superior composition. It's a tight track, neatly balancing the psychedelic elements with sophisticated rock music.

Ber – Boys Who Kiss You In Their Car

At first, it seems like an easy-listing pop-rock song. Then, suddenly, it explodes loud and rough as if it is trying to escape the trap.

Markus Nikolaus – Bicycle Day

A catchy groove, nonchalant guitar escapades, a distorted voice—it all adds to the lovely weirdness and slightly psychedelic atmosphere.

Markus Nikolaus: Some might remember his name in the context of the German duo Lea Porcelain, where he partners up with Julien Bracht. After his colleague released the album Now Forever One last year and doubled down with the EP Rave Flower on Friday, Nikolaus also started publishing solo material. But while Bracht roams in techno, his home turf, Nikolaus wanders on his singer-songwriter paths.

Suz – Winds Of Summer Fields

There's a lucid rumbling, a beat roaming through the nocturnal city street canyons. The voice harrowingly echoing for companionship—lost amidst the lonely urban jungle.

Suz, born as Susanna La Polla De Giovanni, is an Italian singer and composer from Bologna. Despite having already released three albums, the new EP Hiatus marks a new chapter for the artist as it's the first record entirely written and produced by herself. Moreover, Suz steers from a pure trip-hop sound to a wider variety of electronic music.