Browsing Tag

dance pop

Spotlight Feature: I, Harappan. unveiled his celestially unshackling dance pop meets folk single, THE FREE ONES

Posted on 24 September 2022

Splicing ancient spirituality with dance-pop, the London-based experimental artist, I, Harappan. describes his upcoming debut album, The Harappan & The Devil, as a genre-bending epic, combining cosmic horror storytelling with funk, disco pop and RnB.

The celestial single, THE FREE ONES, is an unforgettable introduction to his strident mystique, which uses traditional progressive house structures around a folkish sense of beguile, which resonates through the soulfully beckoning lyrics and the profound command of his vocal timbre which scarcely seems of this century. While the beats appeal to your rhythmic pulses, the lyricism unshackles you from the illusory chains that keep us all grounded in antipathy. It is a sonic awakening like no other.

Here’s what I, Harappan had to say on his debut release:

“A long ago, in the forgotten city of Harappa, in the land of river and stone, there was a child forged of bronze. The tribe of the Unicorn lived amidst the broken and beautiful Himalayas, birthing fortress worlds of twisted screens and dead white light; though lost to time, their stories live on.

Free Ones is the first release from my debut album, “The Harappan & The Devil”, an uplifting cosmic pop experience about never giving up, inspired by ancient mysticism, Tolkien & Diana Ross.”

THE FREE ONES is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Evan de Roeper brought hopeless romanticism back in style with his pop single, Call My Name.

Posted on 23 August 2022

Evan de Roeper is the 21st-century dance-pop equivalent to Sinatra in his latest single, Call My Name. Whoever said that romance is dead clearly wasn’t one of the tens of thousands caught up in his hype. Just a week after the release, the smoothly affection-laden track has racked up over 32,000 streams and counting.

With his signature piano work behind the dancey short and sweet pop hit, it is all too easy to feel the sincerity behind the lyrics that yearn for a paramour – especially when the rap verses groove into the atmospheric production.

Here is what Evan de Roeper had to say about his latest release:

“Call My Name is the first single from my 4-track EP, Lavender, which documents the cycle of a relationship, told through the stages of a day. Call My Name is the ‘morning’ song, where you are waking up happy and generally optimistic about a future relationship. You are eager to find new love from someone who will call your name. Musically, it carries the euphoria of a Calvin Harris-Esque dance track.”

Call My Name was officially released on August 15th. Check it out for yourselves via Spotify & follow Evan de Roeper on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Feel the heat of Keelan X’s latest synth-pop anthem, Fever

Posted on 19 August 2022

Like many artists, Ireland’s prodigal son of pop, Keelan Cunningham, turned to creative solitude during the pandemic, which saw him taking his strides as a solo artist after the dissolution of his band, The Marigolds. His third single, Fever, affirms that even as a one-man entity, he’s a powerhouse.

Armed with his Telecaster and Roland keyboard, he built a robust anthem out of Fever, which allows the strident vocal dynamism to match the mesmerizing energy of the heavy production, which will be an instant hit with The War on Drugs, The Weeknd, and The Midnight fans. To borrow a line from Labrinth, this one is feeling like a straight ten on the Richter scale. Fever is one of those rare hits that would work just as well filling a dance floor as it would on the radio. He became one to watch with his debut. Get him on your radar.

Fever is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anna Wells became the UK’s brightest pop luminary with her self-actualized single, No More

Posted on 18 August 2022

Starting with the syncopated bluesy piano, Anna Wells’ latest progressive synth-pop single, No More, due for release on August 18th, 2022, instantly draws you in through the quirkiness that assures you that the Essex, UK-residing artist is autonomously electric enough to deserve your undivided attention.

The dance-worthy, marginally Avant-Garde beats and sporadically theatric vocals could sell the record alone; the empowered and self-actualized lyrics heighten the listening experience to the nth degree.

“I don’t need that kind of man in my life no more because I’m not so insecure anymore”, may just be the lyric of the year – if prizes go for those. It perfectly encapsulates theh human proclivity to martyr ourselves to misery through the subconscious belief we don’t deserve more. I officially love her.

Check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dante Beverley lets the good times roll in his latest funk pop earworm The Party Never Dies

Posted on 10 August 2022

After garnering tens of thousands of streams with his feel-good grooves released since his 2019 debut, the euphorically provocative pop sensation, Dante Beverley has declared The Party Never Dies with his latest single.

The 80s-inspired rhythmic riot exhibits a brand-new sonic signature that you’re going to want scribbled across your playlists; it also sets the tone for his forthcoming EP, due for release in early 2023.

The 22-year-old Rotterdam-hailing singer-songwriter takes influence from the likes of Bruno Mars, The Weeknd and Michael Jackson; notably, his inclination to enliven through disco and funk textures led the way in The Party Never Dies. Oscar Wilde would be proud of his revival of 80s synthy hedonistic pop.

The Party Never Dies is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shanaya gave us the 80s pop anthem to ‘Dance the Night Away’ to

Posted on 3 August 2022

Fleetwood Mac meets ABBA in the up-and-coming pop artist, Shanaya’s debut single, Dance the Night Away, which borrows a few of the iconic 80s tones before turning them into textures which form the artist’s sonic signature.

The orchestral sweeps, popping beats and Shanaya’s yearning for something more vocals pull you right into the essence of the single, which pays ode to those who are worth painting the town red with. A somewhat archetypal concept, yet, there’s a sense of mysticism to Shanaya, which won’t be getting old any time soon.

This upbeat originated debut is a sure sign of even bigger things to come from the rising artist.

Dance the Night Away is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christelle brings out her inner-saboteur in her urban dance-pop single, Piccadilly

Posted on 1 August 2022

After a break from the airwaves, London’s Christelle is back to remind indie synth pop fans why she’s the Kate Nash of this generation with her latest single, Piccadilly. Keeping the pace with her hyper-dancey beats is the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s cleaver-sharp wit, which juxtapoxingly exhibits her relatability and iconic lyrical flair in the same breath.

Piccadilly is for every one that falls hard and runs just as fast when their inner saboteur takes control. It may be the most self-aware single we have heard this year with its increasing depth and playful self-effacing personality, amplified by the magnetic sense of expressive vulnerability. Few artists deserve to climb the charts more. She’s the whole package.

Piccadilly was officially released on July 29th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ashes to Amber took the evolution of indie one off-kilter step further with HEEBIE JEEBIES

Posted on 24 June 2022
https://soundcloud.com/steedyroyce/heebee-jeebies-1/s-dMU88ZdfQch?in=steedyroyce/sets/heebee-geebees/s-wNN99aj7fTk&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

It isn’t all too long after the prelude that trying to pull out genre or reminiscence from Ashes to Amber’s latest single, HEEBIE JEEBIES starts to feel redundant. The unapologetic indie originator is one of the increasingly rare new names that are willing to expose his soul on the airwaves without hiding behind the style of another.

From gorgeously angular guitars fed through frenetic loops to harsh dancey synthetic textures to hip hop beats to cosmic blisters of dream pop, it’s all fed into the electrifying livewire of a title single to his forthcoming EP. As an anchor for sonic sanctity, Ashes to Amber gave us his sweetest indie-pop vocals, which will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Peace, Jaws, the 1975, The Maccabees, and Swim Deep.

The HEEBIE JEEBIES EP will officially drop on June 24th. You can hear it for yourselves here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Partimama has made her empowering EDM pop debut with ‘Mamma Loves Ya’

Posted on 4 May 2022

Melbourne-based EDM pop artist, Partimama, has released her riotously catchy empowerment track, Mamma Loves Ya. With more soul than all of Ru Paul’s aural productions combined, it’s hard not to let the wholesomely uplifting anthem sink its teeth and drip-feed serotonin.

With the well-placed horn stabs and disco grooves around the unfaltering pounding bass, Partimama became the queer-celebrating icon we never knew we needed through her infectious extension of unconditional love. Even if you don’t get it from your mother, you’ve got an unlimited supply from this unity inspiring hit.

Like many of her fans, we couldn’t be happier that she stepped away from other people’s music and turned her attention to her own expression.

Mamma Loves Ya is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jennifer Jess has changed the perfect pop formula in her latest convictively electrifying earworm, Imagine You

Posted on 28 April 2022

It’s getting impossible not to get caught up in the hype amassing around the Atlanta-raised pop singer-songwriter Jennifer Jess and her demurely modernist nu-disco sound. Equally as affable is her tendency to bring mental health advocacy into her electrifying 80s-inspired sound.

Her latest release, Imagine You, comes after garnering 700k streams on Spotify for viral hits such as her 2019 earworm, Blue. The Shiny Toy Guns fan in me couldn’t be more enamoured with the ensnaring percussion, jangly indie pop guitars and Jess’ emotionally vulnerable yet convectively powerful vocals.

Imagine You is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast