KIsses

Jesse Kivel (vocals) met Zinzi Edmundson (keyboards) on a chance visit to a friends' college when Cupid ratcheted back that arrow and let fly. The LA loves now play under the name Kisses, without an ounce of shame over it's sugary sweetness. Rather, they revel in honey-coated lyrics and bumblebee buzzing Balearic pop beats.

Schedule your next nostalgic makeout sesh November 16th for their unblushing debut, The Heart of Nightlife.

Kisses // People Can Do the Most Amazing of Things

Happy Wedding Em&Jay!

White Sea

After Morgan Kibby finished touring with M83, she took it upon herself to sit down and learn Pro Tools so she could write and produce this minute gem of an EP - This Frontier. Kibby is White Sea, a name that stuck after looking up her own name's meaning on a baby website. Mine means "pure maiden." That's rich.

The five tracks don't sound much like the other, and I dig it. Album cohesiveness is all good, but I like the differing urge to doo-wap to #5 and sprint in the desert to #1. Kibby was heavily influenced by disco when putting things together, making the effort to wrench herself from familiar heavy brooding to lighter, dancier faire.

And that album cover is definitely inspiring my zombie makeup for Howlyween. Care if I copy?

White Sea // Mountaineer

(pssst...like this? have the rest, and read more about my current girlcrush)

Jack Peñate

There's a lot of pop out there to sift through. Orchestral pop, bubblegum pop, afro-pop, dream pop, cherry pop rocks. Can't blame the musicmakers - daily bread depends on the earworms making you fork over hard-earned .99cents. Lucky for us, there's a hefty portion of it that doesn't suck.
(disclaimer: don't call me a pop snob. I stood in a teal Pontiac convertible belting Backstreet Boyz "Incomplete" in 2006 all right? Sorry I'm not sorry.)

Peñate pop, it's got range - R&B, soul, gospel, disco, reggaeton.
It's got fash - the English lad looks good in a bedazzled track jacket.
It's got moves - not many a man can shimmyshonga at this caliber while playing guitars, singing, making sex eyes, etc.

His cockney yelp fizzes pleasantly over tracks washed with horns and vibing to distorted Telecasters. Everything is New is slow and smooth carbonation. You'll sing, you'll dance and you'll raise your can of cream soda to acknowledge the mustachioed gent.

Jack Peñate // Be The One

Miwon

Continuing to swim around in the huge heap of Deustch sent to me by Forced Exposure. I feel like Scrooge McDuck.

Miwon hit up das Berlin club scene as a DJ for awhile but it seems he's more into his studio these days. He's been recording on a label City Centre Offices, based in Manchester y Berlin, with which I am heretofore not familiar but seems pretty tight.

This track, "A to B," is indeed the most accessible on the album. That's why I chose it. It takes from Fleetwood Mac with singers Maho Masuda, from Japan, and Sibylle Fendt, who also took the photo below. If you know Fleckfumie, their guitarist Nick Gloeckner is also on here, along with Galaktlan, who is from Estonia, on synths.



Miwon // A to B

Hell

Hell has been active as a dj and producer for 30 years. He is also the founder and boss of the label International Deejay Gigolos (Miss Kittin & the Hacker, Dopplereffekt, Terence Fixmer, Fischerspooner, Tiga, Vitalic, Jeff Mills...).

This track I'm posting is from his new album Teufelswerk. He's divided it in two by the themes of Night and Day; Kruder of Kruder and Dorfmeister helped produce the Day half. Drops in late April and I completely cannot wait... there's a Hawkwind cover on it. Hell's last album, NY Muscle, is so so brilliant.

Hell is short for Helmut btw.


The Angst & The Angst Pt 2


Hell was German GQ's Man of the Year in 2003.

Bonus: In 2006 Hell also produced this track, which I love, for G Rizo.

Eye Wanna C U

Architecture in Helsinki

Aus pop orchestra superhappy-times band's got a new single with some cool remixes, That Beep.

They're pretty good with packaging themselves, so I'll refer you onward: http://thatbeep.com/. (There you can listen and get your download on>)

No pun intended... Fun intended.


Boney M, Brown Girl in the Ring.

I admit I have been looking for an excuse to post Boney M since I started contributing to this blog, but I do think they have influenced Architecture in Helsinki.