Nathalie Archangel - Next To Me

This blog has given me so many opportunities to hear so much new music and it has introduced me to so many new artists.  One of these new artists isn't new to the music industry but she is new to me.  Nathalie Archangel has been making music since the 80s but unless you were on the cutting edge of the synth pop/ New Wave movement, you probably never got the opportunity to hear her.  Here is a quick video primer as to what I think she's all about.

Not only did the song have one of the most amazing sax solos in the 80s but the video had all the trappings of what could have been an amazing video.  Beautiful songstress, exotic locales, romance...it had it all.  What happened with our flaxen haired ingenue seemed to be the cause of potentially shoddy management and not the right kind of push from her record label.  She fell by the wayside after releasing her first album but went on to release one more album and now she's back with a new single, "Next To Me". And I have to tell you, it's what I want someone to tell me over and over for the rest of my life.  The song is super dreamy and has romance written all over it.



"If you promise when I stumble, when I trip and take a tumble.  Same as now you will be, the fuddy duddy next to me"

It's a classic song of staying with the person you love until the end of time.  It reminds me of a quote A.A. Milne wrote, “If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”  Songs like this restore my faith in love and what it means to be loved in return.  As a bonus for being awesome readers of my blog, I have been given the authority by the powers that be to give you (yes you) a copy of this amazing song for free.  All you have to do is right click here and choose "Save As" and you will have your very own copy of this brilliant track.  By the way, this is the first exclusive track to be offered as a download from this very blog.  Hopefully it won't be the last.... looking at you recording artists and managers!!

If you want to buy the single and get a couple of awesome remixes, you can do so at Amazon by clicking here.  It is also going to be on the upcoming compilation, Kiss My Lipstick Off (which also features songs by England's Spray, Georgia Haege of Liquid Diet, Liz Primo and producer extraordinaire Stormby, among others).

Rita Ora - Ora

A lot of people are going to make the assumption that Jay-Z's new protege is nothing more than a Rhianna clone.  Those people would be incredibly wrong.  Other people feel her debut album, Ora is a bit anonymous.  She has worked with incredible producers on this album and each song has their flavor on it but the undercurrent through all the songs in Rita.  From Stargate to DJ Fresh to Diplo, there isn't a hot ass producer that hasn't blessed this 21 year old native of Kosovo with their talent.  From the outset with "Facemelt" you have an understanding that this album is going to let you have it.  The DJ Fresh track, "Hot Right Now" is just that...it's freaking hot.  Probably my favorite track on the album is "Roc the Life". I know it's a bit self gratifying considering she is signed to Roc Nation but it's all good.  The song is a major earworm that will tear the roof off the joint.  "Radioactive" has Sia all over it and as well it should considering she wrote it.  She shares the album with Tinie Tempah, J.Cole and will.i.am and in my opinion, the only misstep is will.i.am.  I don't like his track and wish it wasn't there.  Other bright spots are "Uneasy", "R.I.P." (written by Drake), "How We Do" and I really like "Hello, Hi, Goodbye".  "Young, Single and Sexy" is a super fun girl power anthem that will have you bobbing your head before you know it.

By now, you know that I am not going to feature an artist on this blog if I don't like them.  I didn't want to like her in the beginning but it's super hard not to.  Her voice is consistent through the album and there are bits and pieces of autotune but I don't think that detracts from the over all presentation.  If you're looking for something new and you dig powerful women, Ora is a great piece of power pop that has enough of a rock edge to it that it doesn't sound over done.  With it being her debut album, I can't wait to hear what she has to offer with her sophomore release.

Dubelius - Stapstick Shitstorm

I don't get into Dubstep too much anymore because after a while it all sounded exceptionally repetitive and boring.  This however is something kind of new and a bit unexpected.  The 8-bit aspect of the track gives it this nostalgic out of place feel but the glitch and the wub make it a bit dangerous and sinister.  There is something not quite right about this track and it makes it a bit crazy (in the best possible way).  Dubelius is a 17 year old producer in the United Arab Emirates.  I love the internet for creating a global music community. Even if you aren't a super huge fan of dubstep, give his music a chance because I think it's different enough to stand out against the increasingly large group of artists in a genre that is almost overpopulated as is.

City Rain - Montage EP

I've actually been sitting at my monitor trying to decide how to properly talk about this album, this band and what they've created in this new EP.  I have started over and over because I really couldn't decide the best manner in which to proceed.  So I just stopped trying to write and listened to the album again.  It wasn't a moment of clarity or an epiphany or a bolt of lightning but as I was listening to "Big Boys Do Cry", it made me think of this a parable I've read about "The Small Stuff". It goes something like filling vase with rocks and then with sand and the sand filling all the cracks around the rocks. I think that's what City Rain is. Not small stuff but the sand. They fill all the cracks and fill out all the emptiness. The music just expands and takes up all the space.

You can classify the music any way you want, you can label it as synth pop or indie electronic; all I know is that when I listen to any of their tracks, I am immediately taken away from all the crap that I'm dealing with. There is something otherworldly and ethereal about the over all sound and vibe behind what they do. It's got a mercurial quality to it, you can hold it in your hand for a second but it will get away from you before you know what's happened.

Montage is their newest EP and the7 track album is probably the best 30 minutes I have spent every time I listen to it.  It's an easy album to sink into because there isn't any pretentiousness or overworked musical cliches.  Each time I've listened to it, and there have been many, I find something new to appreciate.  A new beat or riff or even a loop that takes me by surprise.  I've said it before that Ben's voice is incredible and has so much character and distinction to it that it makes the album flow.  He never seems out of place and he always has exactly what the track needs at that moment in time.

I would like to sit down and say this or that is my favorite track off the EP but each one has an organic nature to it and depending on the moment I am experiencing the music in, my tastes change.  Even the two orchestral tracks have a place.  One thing that I have tried not to do with this album is over analyze it.  I know that all the tracks have meaning and are grounded in substance,  I have read other reviews but I didn't want to assume I knew any more than I did with the tracks.

City Rain has quickly become one of my favorite groups and I am proud to call myself a fan.  I want to see them do amazing things because I think they deserve all the respect and accolades they can get.  Go to bandcamp and buy the EP.  Name your price because that's what all the cool kids are doing.  Trust me. you are going to listen to this album tremendously.

City Rain on the Web

http://www.cityraintunes.com
BandCamp: http://cityraintunes.bandcamp.com
SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/cityraintunes
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cityraintunes
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cityraintunes
Twitter: @cityraintunes 

Stormby (feat. Roz) - In Dreams

I was totally asleep when this dropped.  Stormby just has this ability to take anything he touches and turns it into something amazing.  This song sounds great small and I am betting it sounds amazing being pumped through a huge system.  Roz's voice is amazing and the production is brilliant.  It never feels heavy or over worked.  It is just light and bobs along while keeping you totally interested.  That's one of my biggest issues with a lot of dance music, it is so repetitive that I just lose focus and don't care.  Stormy has yet to lose me yet.  He is working non-stop right now creating new music every day and I can't wait until we get to hear what comes next from him.

City Rain - Hearts on Fire

Ben's voice is so direct and forceful in this track.  I love it.  There is a decisive direction that he lays out from the very beginning of this track and if you aren't on board almost immediately, you are going to get left behind.  And that's pretty much the attitude of the song.  This is me, this is who I am, get with the program or get out the way.  No regrets. No remorse.  I dig how Ben's vocals are not only used in the manner a singer naturally would but they also work as an instrument in the production as well.  That's something I am getting used to hearing and I love how it is just meshed in with the whole track.  There are other artists that do something similar to the same effect, Grimes and Twitch the Ripper come to mind.  All these groups are synth heavy but there is a level of organic matter that pulls them up above simply being another synth artist in the vast multitude of artists.  Because of this separation, I believe they have more endurance overall and will last much longer than other groups.