Mar 14, 2012 By Frank Valish Issue #40 - In the Studio 2012 - Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors, and Twin Shadow

Django Django is as much the result of musical experimentation and melding of influences as it is of circumstance. Synth player Tommy Grace, singer/guitarist Vincent Neff, and drummer/producer David Maclean met as art students in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2001, but each had his own artistic pursuit at the time. It wasn’t until seven years later that they met up again in London and Django Django came to fruition. More

Jan 26, 2012 By Ryan Reed Web Exclusive

Body Language’s squiggly, headphone-worthy electro-soul feels very… 2011-ish. Social Studies, the band’s excellent EP (with its sugary synth pads and smooth percussion), may harken back to the glistening, disco-lite pop of the early ’80s, but the songs seem linked genetically to this decade, if for no other reason than the music press’s fascination with genre trends. More

Jan 24, 2012 By Austin Trunick Caveman

The New York-based Caveman have had a whirlwind two years since they first started playing music together. Veterans of separate projects that folded around the same time, these long-time friends looked to each other to find a new outlet for their musical compulsions. More

Jan 16, 2012 By Laura Studarus Big Black Delta

Former Mellowdrone frontman Jonathan Bates has stepped out on his own as Big Black Delta. While his debut full-length—the appropriately named Bbdlp1—defies categorization (Ambient? Danceable? Loud?)—it’s difficult to deny its potent blend of heavy beats, scream-along choruses, and eerie electronics. More

Sep 08, 2011 By John Norris Web Exclusive

More often than not when people talk about a “summer record,” they’re talking about those with a certain bounce and thematic preoccupation with, in no particular order: beach, sun, fun, boys, girls. More

Aug 31, 2011 By Laura Studarus Pallers

Take a moment to consider your best friend. He’s awesome, right? Now imagine locking yourself in a room with him and beginning an artistic process that will take years to complete. The picture may start to look less than ideal. Pals and musicians Johan Angergård (Club 8, The Legends, Acid House Kings) and Henrik Mårtensson managed to do just that—and maintain a sense of humor about the process. Leaning on a bulletproof friendship, the two musicians slowly chiseled out their haunting electro take on love and loss over the course of two years (or three—depending on who’s telling the story), displaying a patience usually reserved for sculptors. More

Aug 30, 2011 By Laura Studarus Niki & the Dove

Niki & The Dove seem somewhat otherworldly, delivering larger-than-life tunes built around multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Karlöf’s complex webs of electronics and singer Malin Dahlström’s oversized voice and ambitious storytelling. But, speaking from Dover, England over a cup of tea, the two best friends from Sweden chalk up their partnership not to the hands of fate or other supernatural forces, but rather a gradual evolution. “We had sporadically been making music together over the years,” says Dahlström, dispelling the idea that their current musical constellation simply fell from the heavens. More

Aug 18, 2011 By Austin Trunick Web Exclusive

SBTRKT‘s songs are nearly as cryptic as the persona he’s adopted, often mixing dark, digital beats over soulful-yet-haunting R&B grooves. The mysterious London-based producer keeps his face covered by colorful masks, and his real name separate from his growing body of work. More

Aug 08, 2011 By Austin Trunick Soft Metals

As what now could be considered an electro-pop power couple, Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks have been making music together as Soft Metals since 2009. He was looking for someone to add vocals to his catchy synth tracks, while she was writing songs in need of music. A prosperous relationship quickly bloomed, both creatively and romantically. Drawn together by a mutual love for early ’80s synth-pop and retro film scores, Hicks uses vintage gear to create rich soundscapes that are at times both addictively danceable and darkly cinematic, acting as the perfect backing for Hall’s airy vocals. Their self-titled debut LP, Soft Metals, is now available from Captured Tracks. More