Who remembers the band Bis? They were pretty much my soundtrack from 1997-2003. Bratty, anti-corporate, crusaders against media standards. They were the punks I wanted to hang out with who not-so-secretly also loved listening to top 40 radio. After a string of albums released on The Beastie Boy's label Grand Royal, and their final album "Return To Central" on spinArt, Bis broke up. That was pretty much the day I decided life would never be good anymore. They accomplished an insane amount of press for an indie band, being the first unsigned artists to play the UK's Top OF The Pops, selling 100,000 copies of their debut album in Japan, and oh yeah, being responsible for the end theme of The Powerpuff Girls.
Manda Rin (vocalist, keyboardist) has recently released her first proper post-Bis solo album, "My DNA" on US label Retard Disco. I am so fucking happy. She has taken the sound of Bis and made it a little smoother, more groove oriented, and definately more disco. Buy the album if you like it, cause it's a pretty good party album.
Manda Rin - Love To Hate You
Manda Rin - Guilty Pleasure
I had to upload these myself as I own the album and there are NO MP3 SAMPLES ANYWHERE ON THE WEB. Obviously, if they contact me I will take them down. Actually, if Manda Rin contacted me, I think I'd die before being able to delete the links.
Kill yr boyfriend
Electrosexual
Having released the sold-out Fine as Fuck (Scream Club f. Peaches)/I'm Going Crazy EP on his own Rock Machine record label a couple of years ago, electro-sleazer Electrosexual is back with some of new music!
Electrosexual is a Berlin based "one man electronic band" who uses analog synths and a little help from some awesome friends to create music that, as Rough Trade Records describes it, "is standing somewhere between the rawness of the current french scene and the funk of Chicks on Speed". The song we were lucky enough to get from him, "Break You Nice" is no exception to that. It has 2 or 3 funky basslines running under and over swirling synths, an 80's backbeat, diva vocals, space noises, Scream Club rapping, and maybe even a Madonna sample! There's a lot going on in the song, including more guest appearances from Zoe Vermillion (of Vermillion Lies) and Mz Sunday Luv, but it's never too much and everything combines to make a fun, upbeat jam. It's a 4-minute good time that SHOULD find it's way into your queer dance party mix soon!
Electrosexual is currently working on a full-length album with appearances from Shunda K (of Yo Majesty), Nicky Clik, Jenna Riot, and Sheila Chipperfield (of Elastica), amongst others, and is working on a project with Mirah! He also recently did remixes of SSION's "Ah Ma" and "Sucker for Your Sound" from the Sheffield based band I Monster, so be sure to check those out! In addition to all of that--Electrosexual will be playing some shows in Europe, so if you are like my friend Syd and just moved to Berlin--Check him out live! As if that wasn't enough, Electrosexual just released a Spring mix tape, jump over here for that one.
Where are all the women?
I remember hearing of a band in high school called Chicks On Speed and saying to myself "that has to sound like some crazy shit". And I was right. Chicks On Speed are insane. They are multimedia artists who take their shows to club venues around the world as well as fitting in nicely in gallery and museum shows. One time they opened for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and got booed off 10 minutes into their set. ART.
The Chicks are set to take the world by storm yet again with their fifth album "Cutting The Edge". Original member Kiki Moorse has left to embark on a DJ career (The name Kiki will get you anywhere in my book) while Anat Ben-David, A.L. Steiner, and Kathi Glas have joined original members Alex Murray-Leslie and Melissa Logan. "Art Rules" leaked out a bit ago and now we are also given the official first single "Super Surfer Girl". Enjoy!
Chicks On Speed - Art Rules
Jeppe teams up with Classixx
Gay disco bear Jeppe has lent his vocals to a new track from blog stars Classixx. The song is from an upcoming EP collaboration between French label Kitsune and Mark "the cobrasnake" Hunter, and supposedly represents "the finest of the new American scene". The two-song EP, to be released June 1st, also features another collabo, this time from Acid Girls and Frankmusik. Not sure two songs and the cobrasnake can really represent the finest of the new American scene, but the Classixx/Jeppe song is kind of a jam.
Dear Max
A little while back I posted about a short-lived band named Jacqueline Bon Bon that featured Anna Oxygen and some other awesome girls from Olympia. If you didn't read that post, you can find it HERE.
Give me every little thing
The Juan MacLean has always been a favorite of mine. Blasting out dancefloor gems where machine meets the organic in a harmonious way, they pretty much destroyed my car speakers 2005-2007. Growing up in Boston, I had heard of John MacLean's pre-Juan Providence, RI band Six Finger Satellite (I honestly was not all that impressed but then again I was really into my own punk band at the time). When they broke up, obvi I was not really saddened and not expecting anything else from this man...And then we, the American public, were given his debut "Less Than Human". Did that album even have any bad songs on it? It was like a DFA fuckfest. It was everything labelmates The Rapture weren't, which was um, melodic and catchy.
Fast forward 4 years later, Nancy Whang (Of LCD Soundystem) has joined the line-up and they have released another classic album "The Future Will Come" on DFA Records. I fucking hate those 2. Like, the amount of talent I have in my whole body they totally have in their pinky finger. The beats are insane on this album and the vocal interplay between John and Nancy, it's like, these 2 were meant for one another. Recently, they have put out a remix EP for their single "One Day" which quite honestly, if the original can outshine some and keep up with the remixes, that's a job well done.
The Juan MacLean - One Day
The Juan MacLean - One Day (James Curd Remix)
I choose you
Now I'm not a big fan of dance remixes. They tend to beat the original and try to expand it from a perfect 3 minute song into a 9 minute club jam. Did Goldfrapp's "Slide In" really need a 12 minute remix, DFA? No! Which brings me to Fred Falke's remix of Gossip's "Heavy Cross". The song in itself was pretty good to begin with: Thumping bass, handclaps, the occasional pitter patter of synths, Beth Ditto screaming her hot-chub ass all over it. Fred Falke literally took her voice and painted it over a synth filld dreamy landscape for 8 minutes...and I love it! In a time where remixes have become sloppy let's-just-add-an-extra-800bpm-to-this, Fred Falke has taken a song given to him and reimagined it. "Heavy Cross" has become an entirely new song for me. I might even like the remix better. Gossip should think about doing an EP of electro-pop jams. It could totally be cool. In fact, I've been dreaming of the day where Brace Paine would lay a fucking punk rock distorted solo over a 4/4 808 beat.
Gossip - Heavy Cross (Fred Falke Remix)