Orally. Fixated.

Well in the few months that I was out dry, not posting on indiemind, I got my driver’s license, got a new MacBook and had Roisin Murphy leak a new track on her MySpace.

Orally Fixated. I do not understand why fans have slammed this song for being underwhelming and unlike the previous materials on Overpowered. I for one, think that, the track is an upgrade in sound for Roisin Murphy.

Yes, I did watch her on the runways of the Viktor and Rolf show and did hear some tracks prior to that, through a DJ set she did somewhere. So it was with great anticipation that I listened to Orally Fixated.

It does not disappoint, as with all tracks Roisin, she makes it a point to make it quirky in lyrics and in production. The track pulsates with beats and kinks as she sings to the title. I like it how, this track is not outrightly disco as with Overpowered but more quirky disco.

Can’t wait till she drops her album.

Did I mention, she is no longer with EMI. Wonder how all this all pan out. And doesn’t the picture for Orally Fixated remind you of GaGa. Well for one they are both in a league of their own and  Ms Murphy was in the game way before GaGa was. So no judgement there .

Take a listen to Orally Fixated:

www.myspace.com/roisinmurphy

 

 

indiemind.

a month plus

Wow, I’ve left this place empty for quite awhile.

Anyway,

Underground pop chanteuse Siobhan Donaghy resurfaces from pop obscurity after her bout of failure with her second album.
In this insightful interview with PonyStep, she discusses the perennial topic on her long and illustrious music career in the ever-changing pop landscape, and also the possibility that she might be in the process of making new material.

Ghosts, her second album was overlooked and under-marketed, resulting in her being thrown unceremoniously into pop limbo. What is more interesting about this interview are the photos. The striking concept of it, kinda like a innocent Bridgette Bardot-boudoir-esque type of feel to it. Which sets across the fact that Siobhan is still a vulnerable creature in the pop landscape, but with a naughty side as she so daringly poses in lingerie by D&G.

http://www.ponystep.com/music/article/SiobhanDonaghyTheonethatgotaway_380.aspx

simply lush.

indiemind

wild about it

I am so excited about this…

Natalie Imbruglia comes back to us with a whimsical number Wild About It. With Natalie, I’m always afraid that she under performs whenever she goes for a new direction. When Torn was released way back in ‘97, she broke the teeny-pop chain of Spice Girls-All Saint etc and let the easy-ness of a pop-rock melody shine.

Then she went on such a long break before releasing White Lilies Island (which I thought was an amazing gem), moving into a more emotionally driven phase. That did not work well on the charts but garnered more than enough fans for her third release Counting Down The Days which was such an unprecendented success and gave a much needed boost to her career.

Then she went on to release a greatest hits compilation with a some new tracks and now we are getting ready for a fourth studio album release, Come To Life. Her first single, Wild About It,  reflects her work with some of the industries biggest big wigs like Chris Martin and Brian Eno.

Most delightful I say.

indiemind

picture

Just had to put this picture of Antigone. Absolutely love this picture of her.

Antigone obessesion continues.

FYI.

http://www.myspace.com/antigoneland

if you don’t already know her.

underground-overhead

British electro-synth pop duo, La Roux has been on heavy rotation of late, along with Little Boots. The former has had quite unprecendented, unexpected success while the latter has had moderate success.

La Roux’s sound is off kilter and very heavily synthed which I think provided well for their success on the charts for both their singles (unexpectedly), In For the Kill and Bulletproof.  Both singles were of stark contrast with Bulletproof being more accessible while In for the Kill provided a sort of indie-esque sucess to it.

Their self-titled album is an amalgam of synth based fine-tune pop songs that were well crafted in production and lyrics. Elly Jackson’s voice changes from song to song showcasing her range has a singer. Theirs is a sort of well-honed album whereby every track was worked on with much meticulousness and hard work. Definitely one of best synth-based albums of the year.

Elly Jackson, the face of La Roux, provides the edge that the band needs. With her unique voice and sharp sense of style,  she might just prove to be a force to be reckoned with, amongst the established lead of female fronted electronic bands. I can already see forging a career for herself and rising to the position the likes of Roisin Murphy, Tracy Thorn and Victoria Hesketh (Little Boots) just to name a few.

Let 2009 be the year of La Roux and hope that Little Boots’ big production album, Hands has more success of in the US.

heart collison

Victoria Hesketh aka Little Boots finally greets us officially with her full-length debut after feeding us for a long time with tracks that were suffice to say, mind boggling. Perhaps that ran out of steam when Hands finally was released.

Her sound, though not revolutionary, is still mind boggling. The thing with an artist like her is that she does not necessarily wow, but who she collaborated with. Carving a name for herself on Youtube and Facebook, Little Boots has done some pretty amazing collaborations with the likes of Hearts Revolution and many more. Its because of these collaborations, we have tracks like Stuck on Repeat, Meddle and the insanely catchy Love Kills.

When it came to making Hands, Little Boots moved up a notch (with big label backing of course) to work with big name producers like RedOne (who did Lady Gaga’s Just Dance). This formula I suppose gives Hands a great balance of raw edge and slick surface.

Explanation being, on tracks like Remedy and Click which sounds like amazing singles, to tracks like Meddle and Stuck on Repeat, which sounds uncannily left field. Little Boots gives old followers and new fans something to look forward to. Symmetry, is by far the best track on the album.  In my opinion at least.

Comparisons are of course inevitable, in the case of Little Boots, she reminds me of alot artists, from Kylie Minogue to Annie. She does actually sound a bit like Holly Valance in some songs. Songs on Hands also could be sung by artists like Sophie Ellis-Bextor or maybe Lily Allen.

Hence what works for Little Boots? One is her loyal following. The other is of course the fact that she is a likeable person and has great on stage presence. Not exactly like Kylie Minogue but could be potentially. We’ll see. The thing with these new artists with big label backing is, if they do not perform they are dropped. Case in point, Annie.

Breaking My Own Heart

Ellis-Bextor is back with Freemasons. The highly controversial song, initially written for Roisin Murphy with Calvin Harris, did not see the light of day and Sophie decided to take it on.

Pretty nifty I say. The Freemasons mix sounds typically Freemasons (one we love to hate).  It is released as Freemasons ft. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, hope she will have better stuff for her new album, just because this song is… so old. In pop years that is.

The dancers in the videos are using Lili glasess, more famoulsy used by standup comedienne Pam Ann to symbolize Singapore Airlines’ Singapore Girls (ala air stewardesses). How cool is that! The video is cool too and Ellis-Bextor is looking mighty fine.

excite

Waking up to Antigone stuck in my head is the best feeling ever. I can stress enough how good a pop album this is, please go and download it. Antigone if you read this, I need to see you live.

I lost my iPhone over a night of drunken debauchery. Damn. But there are other thinngs to get excited about, Mrs. Nancy Botwin is coming back to our screens with season 5 of Weeds!

How hot is she? MILF.

striking debut

Welcome to Antigoneland. Who is she you might ask? A lass from Down Under who has made a name for herself from back in the day when she was electronic outfit Etherfox. The former had contributions in the now-legendary record label Hed Kandi, the bible of all bibles of summer electronica music.

Striking out on her own (as they always do), Antigone, which is her real name, has definitely done it with much striking aplomb. Her debut album, Antigoneland, is a smorgasbord  of carefully crafted electro lush tunes complete with cheesy pop moments. All this is in effortless chic and forward moving music sound system.

The closest comparison would be to Roisin Murphy, both suffer the same disease, the smartness in the lyrics that they sing out of their mouths. This plus smart and edgy productions on their albums. For Antigoneland, Antigone enlisted the help of maestro, Shave , who is also her long-time collaborator.

Songs on her debut standout mostly for their easy on the disco but heavy on its smooth melodies to house beats. The workings of Shave is evident here, with his polished works on tracks such as, Mirror and Uberwoman. All in all, brilliant production carefully smart lyrical waxing.

Little Boots loves…

…being New in Town. New song on her myspazz.

Sounds pretty decent, reminds me of Ladyhawke. check out the Golden Filter mix… rad.

how fucking awesome is hearts revolution – latest discovery

www.myspace.com/littleboots