Browsing Tag

Disco Pop

Conor Latcham gets into the insidious underbelly of manipulationships with his self-deprecating disco track, Running

Posted on 1 March 2022

The Cardiff-based luminary, Conor Latcham has crooned his way back onto the airwaves with his latest spacey, synthy indie-disco pop track, RUNNING. The single was remotely recorded during lockdown with Marc Hughes (Lewis Capaldi, Tom Odell) on drums and Barry Grint (Beatles, Madonna, Prince) behind the mastering desk.

With the surfy angular guitar motifs around the mash of cosmic pop 80s nostalgia paired with Conor Latcham’s cooler than Alex Cameron vibe and the Arcade Fire-style catchy hooks, Running is infectious from the first hit. Despite the euphoria that effortlessly bleeds from Running, the essence of the single is far darker as it delves into the insidious underbelly of one-sided relationships. It is a masterclass in how to use your wit for closure. Grab a notepad and hit play.

You can feel the self-deprecating disco love for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Dutch queer pop icon, Tom Tom Park brings cool indie-disco grooves in his pop track, Déjà Vu, featuring Will Burton.

Posted on 28 October 2021

Tom Tom Park proved that he was more than worth a spot on our radar with the release of his sensually hypnotic pop track, Déjà Vu (Tomorrow, Tomorrow), featuring UK vocalist Will Burton.

While the solid danceable beats bring the structure, the moody synths flood the track with a slick yet cosy atmosphere that Tom Tom Park lays his up-vibe indie-pop vocals into. Instrumentally, Déjà Vu delivers the perfect pop formula; but the real magnetism in Déjà Vu comes via Tom Tom Park’s instantly arresting charisma that pulls you into the cool indie euphoria.

Remember how Scissor Sisters gave us no choice in falling in love with them? You’ll find all that affection and more in this vibrant anthem by the Dutch luminary. Coincidently, one-half of the Scissor Sisters’ duo has already given his seal of approval on Tom Tom Park’s last single ‘Adore Me’; who could argue with Jake Shears?

Déjà Vu hit the airwaves on October 22nd; it is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Christopher George goes ‘All the Way for the Win’ in his debut single.

Posted on 24 September 2021
Christopher George

Pop artist Christopher George is set to release his optimistic floor-filler, All the Way for the Win, which carries the untainted soul of Bananarama along with elements of funk and disco to ensure that the euphoria really flows through this stridently enlivening release.

Before you even get to the chorus, you can tell that Christopher George has a soul of gold. His technical ability is one thing, his ability to appeal to human emotion in such a visceral and compelling way is quite another. His his Jazz degree and years of experience as a professional session musician allowed him to be primed and radio-ready for his solo debut. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Check out Christopher George on his official website, Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tom Tom Park embraces authenticity in his single, ‘Adore Me’, featuring Disc Eyes.

Posted on 10 July 2021

For his latest feat of hyper disco-pop, Netherlands-based songwriter and producer Tom Tom Park teamed up with vocalist Disc Eyes to create a vibrant funk-riding hit that surpasses energetic and moves into the realms of mania – in the best possible way.

The dancey beats, dizzying synths and funky basslines are reminiscent of what you will find on Daft Punk and the Weeknd records. But Adore Me comes with an even deeper sense of soul which is where the influence from artists such as Donna Summer comes into play.

Given that Tom Tom Park has already received praise from one-half of the Scissor Sisters (Jake Shears), he scarcely needs our approval. Yet, notably, his boldly eccentric approach to disco deserves to be met with rapturous acclaim internationally; digging authenticity out of disco in 2021 is no easy feat.

Adore Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lizzie Hosking sends us grooving back to the 70s with her latest pop single, ‘Lose My Mind’.

Posted on 29 May 2021

After making an unforgettable 2020 debut, Adelaide’s quickly ascending pop artist Lizzie Hosking has amassed a loyal fan following with her reflectively poignant lyrics and her soulfully funk-infused instrumentals that send you grooving back to the seventies while you listen to Hosking bring in a new era of pop.

Her latest single, ‘Lose My Mind’, starts with an ethereal ballad-style intro before the acoustic instrumentals lace the soundscape with enlivening melodies that allow Lose My Mind to unravel as a feel-good feat of pop. Even if you spent all day listening to the radio, you would struggle to find better instrumentals in a contemporary pop track. Even the most pretentious music fan in your life couldn’t turn their nose up to the delicious guitar licks in Lose Your Mind.

We can’t wait to hear what else Lizzie has to offer with her upcoming material. She’s definitely worth a spot on your radar.

Lose My Mind is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Oh No! – Royals’ Dylan De Bono is ‘Feeling S**t Right Now’

Posted on 3 May 2021

‘Maltese singer-songwriter’ isn’t a phrase you get to use all that often as a music reviewer, but when it comes to Dylan De Bono it’s one that we can fully expect to become much more common in 2021 and beyond. As one half of pop duo Royals, Dylan’s no stranger to musical acclaim, but with this – the first single from forthcoming solo album ‘Loose Wire’ – De Bono brings us an absolute belter of an electro-pop banger.

Dark yet humorous, edgy and sexy, with one eye on that perfect pop mix of accessibility and catchiness whilst avoiding cliché or ‘throw-away-ness’ (is that a thing?) and the other on an absolutely spot on understanding of dancefloor groove and pop-radio immediacy (aided, no doubt, by the writing and production collaboration with maestro David Vella), ‘Feeling S**t Right Now’ is a superb melting pot of clubby dance stunner and autobiographical songwriting, a mix of 70’s disco, 80’s club classic, and totally up-to-date electro-pop killer. Prince and Bowie mix with the Pet Shop Boys, Years & Years, and David Guetta here, to produce what may be one of the first ‘spot-on’ pop songs of 2021. The sound of the summertime might have just landed.

Check out the official video for ‘Feeling S**t Right Now’ on YouTube, and follow Dylan De Bono on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Perry Michael Allen brings us jazzy old-school groove with ‘Just Like That’

Posted on 2 May 2021

If a career working as a producer, song-writer, arranger, and session man for the likes of Albert King, the Memphis Horns, Wilson Pickett, Boz Skaggs, and Al Green (yep. Read that list again) amongst others isn’t enough for you, let’s add in works on multiple RIAA Certified Gold and Platinum albums, a highly coveted Memphis Blues Foundation ‘Blue Note’ Award, and music licensing to multiple films and TV shows (including ‘House’, ‘C.S.I.’, ‘JAG’, Ally McBeal’, ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Munich’, and ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’), and tutoring at the prestigious Berklee College Of Music. That’s one heck of a resume all in itself, except that now, as if by magic, Allen brings us ‘Just Like That’. A mix of Jazz-inspired motifs set over Hip Hop beats and breaks, with – of course – a huge Memphis-inspired feel.

We’ve got old-school TR-808 style electro beats and punching, hard-driven bass, sitting behind some chilled, grooving hip hop-styled vocals, a little funky syncopated guitar fill here and there, and a beautiful piano riff that reprises the Mission Impossible ‘tension’ music, hinting but never quite being a straight lift. The drums and guitar build through the track, until we get proper Stax-style horn fills, a little sax riff here, a clarinet there, building up the track until…too soon…and it’s over. It’s a killer track, all smooth-groove, funky without being over-the-top in that laid-back Al Green/Marvin Gaye kind of way, with a definite jazzy feel but a hugely modern vibe from the beautifully sung, soulful vocal and those Hip-Hop beats. It’s quite simply excellent.

Check out the video for ‘Just Like That’ on YouTube; follow Perry Michael Allen at the Clubhouse on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Josh Hernandez – Dance Alone: Disco Pop Empowerment

Posted on 20 April 2021
Josh Hernandez

As clubs tentatively open their doors this summer, it is going to take euphoric hits to get people who have picked social awkwardness during lockdown moving. The unifying funk grooves in Josh Hernandez’s debut disco-pop track should do the trick.

The tribally-compelling rhythms and melodies which make an earworm out of Dance Alone bring the danceable energy as the female vocals verse the empowering lyrics that divert from the usual dance-pop tropes. The lyricism is sure to resonate with anyone who has found comfort in their independence in recent months. If you can endure lockdown alone, you can dance alone, not that you’ll need much convincing to be arrested by the Latin and Reggaeton-inspired mix.

Dance Alone released on April 16th. You can check out Josh Hernandez here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Conor Latcham brings realism to romance with their disco-pop track, ‘Do You Think You’re in Love?’

Posted on 14 April 2021

If you’re still sore from Daft Punk’s disbanding, the sonic indie disco pop grooves in Conor Latcham’s ‘Do You Think You’re in Love?’ brings all of the funk-laden consolation you could possibly ask for.

With Luke Marc Hughes (Tom Odell, Lewis Capaldi) on drums and Barry Grint (Bowie, Prince, Beatles & Oasis) in charge of mastering, the production matched the talent exhibited in the subversively relatable track.

Given the number of love songs hitting the airwaves (probably every second at this point), it’s nice to hear an almost-lovesong. It’s passion-driven; it grooves away from the sickly sweet proclivities of pop that allow all tracks alluding to love to sound like the lyrics were written by Disney screenwriters. We can see how Latcham came about their ‘blue-collar poet’ reputation. We can also see how he is going to take the scene by storm in 2021 and beyond.

You can check out Conor Latcham’s track, released by Trident Records, via Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Don’t Blame It On The Boogie; Blame It On Rebelsuns. Dancefloor Anthem ‘Over Again’

Posted on 21 December 2020

Hot on the heels of their previous single ‘Hues’ comes this absolute banger of a dancefloor-ready hit from Indonesia’s Rebelsuns., all mixed-up disco-funk synth-pop in the vein of the Scissor Sisters, Jean Tonique, or Flamingo Pier.

Whereas previous single ‘Hues’ was a more solemn, ballady affair, ‘Over Again’ takes no prisoners in its aim to get booties shaking and feet moving, a total-fun, no-holds-barred party track with Nile Rodgers-Esque funk guitar riffs atop thumping bass, splashed piano chords, and a drum pattern which just invites all those late-seventies open-collar and white suit dance moves.

Taking its cues from K-Pop, J-Pop, and funk/fusion, ‘Over Again’ is all soft, playful vocals, multi-layered chorus harmonies, and inescapable dance grooves. It’s nostalgic yet contemporary, uplifting and wicked, wicked fun, as much Twice’s ‘Fancy’ as Childish Gambino as Swing Out Sister, Johnny Hates Jazz, the Bee Gees, or Chic. It’s that perfect mix of funk, dance, disco, and modern alt-synth-pop, colourful, upbeat, tongue-in-cheek, and with a completely unavoidable boogie; it’s truly impossible to listen to ‘Over Again’ and not want to get up and dance. That’s the mark of a proper future classic right there.

Listen to ‘Over Again’ on Spotify. Follow Rebelsuns on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes