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.

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.

Purity Ring

Purity Ring was brought to my attention by Bruce Lord from I Die:You Die, proving to me that his musical taste continues to be pretty excellent.


Puirty Ring - Amenamy



I'd heard of the band's before, but it was typically associated with Wichhouse / indie dark electronica's low-fi crowd - and that carries with it a whole hipster-pagan, Triangles & Unicode crowd. I enjoy alot of that music, but feel pidgeon holing this band misses the point.

Once I had the chance to listen to their album SHRINES, I was humming it for days. Purity Ring's tracks, if I had to assign a category, fall somewhere in the realm of expertly crafted electropop. The dark, surreal lyrical content works really well with the synth. It's hard to define music like by what's come before - and like my thoughts on "Chillwave" artists, it's probably better for that.

Image credit above goes to a Spin article about the band - well worth checking out. While live, the vocals sometimes land a bit flat, the overall performance with their DIY setup looks pretty neat.

I'll certainly be keeping an eye out on Purity Ring's Facebook page to see when they'll next visit Toronto.

 Purity Ring - Shrine


Purity Ring - Crawlersout

Purity Ring - "Crawlersout" from Tom Beal on Vimeo.

Purity Ring - Lofticries

A particularly horrifying remix of "Gangnam Style"

Do yourself a favor today, and play this video of a Krampus dancing on loop, while listening to this Industrial Witchpop remix of Psy - Gangnam Style by HERITICS: