Trevor Something - Death Dream

 I enjoy the VHS electro haze of Trevor Something's releases. Some tracks also blur into a "High Tides" style of distortion which are dreamily pleasant too:

GLASS TEETH - Black Kool-Aid

The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health

Covers that aren't covers [Updated]

While listening to this great track, I couldn't quite remember what GRIMES song he's based "Heartache" on:



It took Googling "GRIMES swinging a sword in the desert", but I found it: The original is called "Genesis":



Jump to 1:10 in the video for the core of the song. Also came across this: An excellent 8-bit rendition of Genesis. I don't usually go for chiptunes, but this is unlike most chiptune tracks that lean too heavily on midi or that ear-piercing Gameboy-reverb. Check it out:



Other versions are availble on the artists Bandcamp:



Update: More covers that aren't covers of Grimes - Genesis: Trevorsomething - Sega-Genesis. :)
 

Sidewalks & Skeletons

More via: Sidewalks & Skeletons SoundCloud

Pearl White - White EP

This came across my SoundCloud dashboard this morning, and it's wonderful.

Pearl White difficult to peg what genre it is, and it's all the better for it. I'm hearing some elements of trance, trap, and various other electronic dance genres - but it also has some pitch-shifted vocals and spooky synth happening (mixed with urban-dance vocals? ok!) that remind me of Purity Ring, or random Witchouse bands--minus the "triple-clap" sound.

The general vibe is a multi-genre, futuristic distopian background music. Some of that might come from how the EP is mixed together into a single set:

https://soundcloud.com/pearlywhite/white-ep

Support the artist by buying the EP (no minimum price, currently) via Bandcamp.



Another album with a similar vibe (but far more ambient-dance) was reposted on the Pearl White SoundCloud called Heavy Hearts - Archaic.

New Beat

Apparently in late 1980's Belgium, there was a genre called "New Beat" which straddled the divide between New Wave european dance music and the electronica genre that would ride to popularity in the 1990s with raver culture.

The 'new' aspect of the beat came from it's contrast to the HiNRG ('high-energy') sound that dominated most New Wave Dance music of the time (i.e: Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Right Round).
While not specifically New Beat, this fan video for French Coldwave act Trisomie 21 certainly captures the aesthetic of the era.




Like any genre of music, there's quite a range within New Beat. A lot of New Beat sounds very much like New Order backing tracks from the '80s, while others feel like playing them will suddenly cause sweaty dude dancing in front of industrial fans to appear.

The first New Beat track I heard was Tragic Error - Tanzen (in English, "Dance"). The video is beyond strange, but taps into my love of '80s dark synth dance music.




It's little wonder that Front 242's early works (including 'Headhunter') are often considered "New Beat":



A fellow on YouTube's posted a few mixes of music played in Belgian clubs in this era. They're well mixed and have a good track selection. However, some do include 'edgy' 1980s German dance tracks that reference WWII though. Your mileage may vary.

It has consistently surprised me how many samples from these tracks I recognize, and how familiar the "New Beat"-beat was. For example, Pleasure game - Le dormeur is a pretty clear example of the "New Beat"-beat structure, and it sounds eerily similar to the classic "Mortal Kombat Theme song". 


I did some research and figured out why: the guy who wrote the Mortal Kombat theme was Praga Khan, a Belgian techno, and originally New Beat musician. It's fun to find odd cultural connections like this - and goes a long way in explaining why this style of music seemed so familiar. I don't think I was in any Belgian dance clubs when I was 5 years old, but who can really be sure?

Further listening:

For more "New Beat", check out this Youtube playlist on the topic. 

A Split Second - Flesh [Link]

BOW CHURCH / b()w(hur(h

I've meant to post about Bow Church, or "b()w ( hur ( h" in that bizarro ascii-style - or a few weeks now. 

Regardless of how you write the name, I'm thoroughly enjoying their mix of predominantly instrumental, Witchhouse-esk, crunchy dark electro tracks.



 
Currently their track 'The Flesh is Weak' is Free/Pay-what-you-want at Bandcamp, while the full self-titled EP is listed at ~5GBP.

There's also a few videos made for Bow Church tracks, viewable here.