Since the beginning of this magazine that we have been receiving great electronic tracks. For some reason, we didn’t post about those submissions because we felt they should be integrated into a specific mood. We are now building that mood with a monthly post focusing on the best of indietronica. This is electromental – part 16.
ASW feat Chris Hovers and Victor Rasha – My Own
After remixing the likes of Galantis, Sweaterbeats, Icona Pop, and ARIZONA, Pacific Northwest-raised Alex Wagner has split off to revive his solo project ASW (A Single Wave). This new exploration of ASW brings out his truest vision of musical expression combining alternative rock, psychedelia, progressive house, and more all under one hood to tell stories he’s wanted to tell his whole life. For the third track on the “More Than Yesterday” EP, ASW taps ATL-based rappers Chris Hovers and Victor Rashad to remind us of the magnitude staying in the moment can bring, beckoning for meaning, elevating the already epic anthem even further.
Big In Borneo – How It Feels
“At the start of this year, I began suffering with anxiety and felt a total lack of creativity as a result. After seeking help and getting a prescription for Sertraline, I felt inspired again and started making music. This EP is named for the drug that helped me come out the other side. “
“How It Feels” one of the latest tracks by Big In Borneo, and part of a three-track EP entitled “Sentraline” samples kids in Belfast, back in 1967, talking about their feelings. This was at a time when it wasn’t encouraged as much as it should be. “It’s always important to talk about your feelings“. The track that speaks for itself (literally) is a gorgeous contemplation about feelings and how they can be intertwined with electronic movement and electronic contemplation. A gorgeous composition for the mind, soul and body.
Dot Never – Wrong Again
From London, Dot Never releases a refreshing and hypnotic new single. Wrong Again, in many ways, perfectly encapsulates Dot Never’s sound; what starts as a melancholy, acoustic-centred song of loneliness and yearning gives way to something altogether more muscular and euphoric. The Junip-esque guitar gradually mutates into a guttural synth arpeggio, akin to Moderat or Jon Hopkins, and singer Calum Duncan’s heartache is engulfed by the music’s determined crescendo. The track was written, recorded and produced by Dot Never at their studio in South East London (a space they share with the likes of Dave Okumu, Eska & Paul White), before enlisting frequent collaborator Sam Beste (The Vernon Spring, Kano, Amy Winehouse) on mixing and additional production duties.
Ghost Kicks – Reality Bites
Reality Bites is the second single from Portland / SF-based alternative dance music duo Ghost Kick. Born in a basement in outer space, Ghost Kick channels cosmic energy & heartbreak into dance groves and breakbeats. With heavy hooks, big harmonies, and a thirst for dance, the duo combines the flavours of Daft Punk, Jamiroquai & Franc Moody to create something truly unique that planet Earth has certainly been waiting for.
“Head in the clouds, feet on the rings of Saturn”, Ghost Kick journeyed through the six sites of celestial creation, finally coming to rest in their chosen bodies on the planet Earth. Fully realized and human, they now deal in breakbeats and broken hearts, sending signals to fellow descendants of the stars.
Gloomer – Wait Up
Gloomer is the new project from Los Angeles-based producer/mastermind Elliott Kozel, who in the past has contributed his production skills to names such as Jean Dawson, Velvet Negroni or Yves Tumor. Now, Elliott is ready to take the world solo, and that’s where Gloomer comes from.
“Wait Up” is the name of Gloomer’s second single, and it’s a hefty introduction to the neo-psychedelia pop world of the artist. The guitars and vocals are heavily drowned in reverb, surrounded by drum’n’bass patterns ready to make us dance without disdain. It’s heavy, it’s trippy, and it’s a certified banger.
Hank Midnight – Undefeated
New Jersey’s Hank Mittnacht (aka Hank Midnight) is releasing his debut album, “Memory Box LP“. After two E.P.’s and some singles in the past two years, Hank wrote the songs on the Memory Box LP out of his suitcase during a period punctuated by frequent movement. A genre-agnostic narrative album, its protagonist travels through his memories to revisit people, lights, literary characters, and places of his past. But his journey is far from linear, and his recollections are not always reliable: many of them are as inviting as they are haunting, and the line between dream and nightmare is not always clear — at every turn is an undercurrent of static.
“Undefeated” is an understated easy-to-dance-to alt-pop / electronic song off Memory Box LP, released last Friday (September 23rd) and breathes hints of acts like Sylvan Esso & Neil Frances, showcasing an analogue drum machine gone rogue beneath a tremolo bass, pulsating keys, & meandering vocals.
While it celebrates a night out on the town that ends with a character catching the sunrise in a “heavenly field seven miles from home” while indulging in some quality provisions to the static of a car radio, “Undefeated” has a tonally ambiguous subtext: now an adult– time, family, and professional commitments have created some distance between the narrator and landscapes of his youth, and the experience of being in them again can feel bittersweet. And who is the character with him? An old friend? A long-ago lover? Perhaps some manifestation of his former self-running sidekick in this nostalgic debauchery? Ultimately, all answers live in the static.
Mariatti – Caotica Dance
Mariatti appeared on the big scene for the first time thanks to deadmau5, announcing on BBC Radio 1: “It’s a little weird, a little different but we like it“. There are several rumours about his birthplace. Some claim he is Italian. Some say he is French. Probably he was born in 1994, but all this information is sure to be kept uncertain. A thing you can be sure of is the unique bounce behind every song: as soon as you hit play, you’ll notice that electronic voltage blowing up your speakers.
A proper example of that was released already about one year ago but only now have we managed to see this light. “Caotica Dance” is a never-ending downtempo progression for celebrating Mariatti love for dance music. Released under the context of “7 topics to reflect on. 7 tracks to dance to. 7 vibes to experiment with”, this is pure indietronica that makes us experience every single one of those zones.
Mathien – JONES
Chicago Native, Mathien has been aggressively ignoring yet embracing the house genre since 2002. Despite going against industry norms and conventional pop sensibility, the multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter/producer has managed to carve out a strong identity in the music business, not only as an artist but also as a sound designer, mixing engineer and film scorer.
JONES, his latest release, is a track that really came out of nowhere. “I was enjoying a double shot of espresso at a coffee shop in my neighbourhood, sitting in the corner with my sampler for a few hours constructing this instrumental. People were looking at me all crazy but I was vibin’ right? I felt this unexplainable motivation to take the beat home to my studio and I ended up staying up until 6 AM writing and recording it“. The track sounds like a house kick that talks about love and faithfulness under the guise of a subtle or maybe not-so-subtle drug reference.
Mick Jeets – move your feet
Mick Jeets has found his niche breaking boundaries and burning the bridges of dance music conventions. For the last decade, he has carved a space between techno and jungle, bass and disco to curate a vibe that is uniquely his own. Finding a hint of hyper pop or country in his productions and live shows is the norm, not the exception. He’s brought his vibe across the country making new friends and fans and continues to share his vision through DJ mixes, internet radio and original productions. Finding solace in a single beat or genre goes against his spiritual grain. You wanna come along for the ride?
“Move Your Feet” is a juke track with elements of deep house, jazz and hip-hop. Rave stabs, moody chords and pitched-up vocals send this one to the moon!
Rival Consoles – World Turns
Rival Consoles’ upcoming album “Now Is” marks a new chapter in an ongoing quest for refinement and evolution for London-based musician and producer Ryan Lee West. More playful and melodic, the album draws from much experimentation in minimalist songwriting and seamlessly blends synthesizers and acoustic instruments.
“World Turns” is the thumping new track from the album. Released at the beginning of the month, “the essence of ‘World Turns’ is built around this pendulum-like bass, that constantly drives the piece forward. I like having parts in music which are repetitive but everything else is changing around it, almost like a kind of hidden structure, because the repetition becomes more subliminal“. Coming and going there is an intensity that feels captivating and also paralyzing in the track. The bass elements are surreal and the track constancy makes us dive into it from start to end, making hard to move except inside our brain.
Sidechick – Moss
Raised in Yellowknife, NWT and now residing in Montreal, producer, DJ and multifaceted-creative Nick Walker – aka Sidechick – translates his sardonic personality into bass thumping drops. His latest tune, “Moss”, is a downright smooth club banger, an odyssey of synths that flow like jello through the air, coordinating (and commanding) our members to dance as the beat propels us along.
The APX – Greatest Love of All
Atlanta’s nostalgic R&B/Soul/Funk duo The APX (The Amplified Experiment) has switched gears with their self-produced house single “Greatest Love of All” (G.L.O.A) marking their first official entry into the house music realm by popular demand. G.L.O.A is accompanied by a breathtaking colourful music video self-directed and edited by the duo. The song follows up their 2019 Grammy-considered album “Amplified Experiment”. After self-producing & promoting their own world tour, “The Amplified Experiment Tour”, The APX experience is back greater than ever, amplifying their much-needed Global Dance Message (GDM) of love worldwide!
“Greatest Love of All” is an ode to love’s ascending journey. Being married, The APX reminds us that the search for love always leads back to us. When we learn to love ourselves unconditionally, it opens us up to receive love unconditionally and that… is the Greatest Love of All.
The Toxic Avenger – Getting Started
“Getting Started“, is The Toxic Avenger’s mastery of orchestral and uncompromising electronic music at its peak. Part of his new long play “YES FUTURE“, this is where he is already mastering power and lightness to perfection.
The track was composed between the end of 2021 and 2022. The track (and album) oscillates between synthetic and organic Electro, offering his vision of the Nu- Disco-French Touch scene, refining his approach to vocals by working the voices like instruments and slipping his own vision of a melodious Techno, he manages to impose his musical signature whatever the style.
The cover is an original drawing by Lucas Harari (author and cartoonist of comics) who also accompanied the creation of the visual album in its Retro-Futuristic ambition (this is also the author of the drawing featured as the cover in this edition of Electromental).
Most of these tracks (and previous tracks featured in Electromental) are also in our Spotify Playlist: