Super Cute Voices!

You know how sometimes you here a band, and you just know they are special. A band you want to keep all to yourself but it is impossible, because all you want to do is tell everyone how awesome they are? Well, Super Cute Voices are one such group.

The Welsh two-piece is comprised of 18 year olds Stuart and Charlie, who hail from Aberystwyth and Llanelli respectively, and they make far much more noise than their diminutive numbers would suggest. I was fortunate to catch them live at an Aberystwyth battle of the bands competition yesterday, and even the compare seemed a little confused as to whether or not the band was ready to start, seeming somewhat uncertain as to if there was just two of them. Stuart handles vocal duties as well as thrashing away on guitar, whilst Charlie (a powerhouse of a drummer) hits the skins and sings all the vocoded vocals (oh yes!). However, what really makes this band stand out from all the carbon-copy indie pretenders is their use of electronic tomfoolery. All their songs are backed by a series of midi synths and 8-bit blippery, not to mention the most bizzare Japanese voice samples, all programmed by Stuart, coming together to make a complete package which sounds somewhat like the off-the-wall Japs, Polysics, or 70s new wavers Devo. Unsuprisingly, Stuart heralds these acts as their two main reference points, but that doesn't make their music devoid of originality. Rather the opposite: they take the prototypyical new wave sound and make it their own.

Imagine To My Boy trapped in a Mark Mothersbaugh's gameboy. Perhaps.

And if you are wondering who won the battle of the bands... well, let's just say the winners were cute.

Super Cute.

mp3: Super Cute Voices - So Desu Ka

mp3: Super Cute Voices - Work!

O M G, I think I'm in love.

Okay. Let's assess the situation.

Yesterday morning I sat my one and only exam (it was not too bad), and spent the rest of the day indulging in my radio show and various tomfoolery to do with the radio. Tom and I are going to spend today doing some maintenance to the studio, so I'm up early (its before nine am) despite not getting to bed until about 4.30am, following a night in the pier with Leona, Hannah and Kathleen. I'm a bit sad that I may not see them again until September, but as I am going home this evening I thought I may as well make the most of my last night.

Oh, and when I got in I decided to watch the most recent episode of Lost. I think I may even have got tearful whilst watching this. I think I'm unstable from lack of sleep.



So, to match my unstable mind, and also due to the fact I may not get to post for a few days (the internet at home in ancient dial-up, although Mom says she may get broadband and a new snazzy PC), here's a song that I have been enjoying the last few days which I hope you like. I stumbled on it by chance, and it has instantly become my favourite of the 'Homecoming' remixes. I'm talking about The Cleft Palettes mix of the Teenagers first single, which takes the original, covers it in 8-bit blips (ala Crystal Castles) and replaces the Teens' original dialogue with a satirical take on the whole "new-rave" scene. It's clever, witty, and original, albeit rather childish.

Just how I like it.

mp3: The Teenagers - Homecoming (The Cleft Palettes remix)



Whilst I'm at it, and because I just mentioned them in passing, why don't I add some Crystal Castles. 'Knights' is one of their most recent tracks, and is to be featured on the Kitsuné Records Compilation 4. Is it just me or does the production sound slightly different than previous efforts? The track sounds rather dark: the vocals distorted and seemingly crying in the background over their trademark waves of synth and rising/falling 8-bit samples.

Also, finally got my hands on the remix they did of Uffie's 'Pop the Glock' entitled 'Make it Hott'. It's well worth checking out, as it is an interesting mix, very different to a lot of their remix work as whilst transferring the song into their own little dream world of computer noises, they edit the track up a fair bit, isolating certain sections, and glitching it up, but not murdering it like the Curtis Vodka mix. Hott indeed.

mp3: Crystal Castles - Knights
mp3: Uffie - Make it Hott (Crystal Castles remix)

Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1986.

Parisian Kavinsky is yet another amazing artist who produces synth-driven electronica, along similar lines as Justice and SebastiAn, the latter of which he is touring with on Daft Punk's Alive 2007 tour. However, whilst aforementioned artists can often verge into glitchey-electro, Kavinsky offers something much more sublime. His first two EPs,Teddy Boy and 1986, both released on Record Makers are drenched in slick synths, with a heavy 8os feel, which is reflected in the artwork which accompanies his releases.

According to his last.fm page, Kavinsky "is a zombie in need of revenge; killed when he crashed his Ferrari Testarossa in 1986. His records are the story of his first steps in the world of the living dead". This is a pretty damn close description of the imagery his music creates. 'Testarossa Autodrive' is the sound of Kavinsky driving at unearthly speeds through a neon city, taillights blazing across lanes of crawling traffic, against a backdrop of skyscrapers. It's the kinda music I imagine RoboCop would listen to, 'Grand Canyon' being the perfect music for cruising through a dystopic and crime infested city.

Alongside his own music, Kavinsky also makes time to make some remixes in his own distinctive style. Find below his reinvention of Klaxons' 'Gravity's Rainbow'. Grab it fast and enjoy.

In June Kavinsky will release Deadcruiser, a mini-album compiling tracks from the first two EPs, the tracklisting is as follows:

01:: The Crash
02:: Testarossa Autodrive
03 :: Transistor
04 :: Grand Canyon
05 :: Flashback
06 :: Testarossa Nightdrive
07 :: Wayfarer
08 :: Ghost Transistor
09 :: Deadcruiser

mp3: Kavinsky - Testarossa Autodrive (Teddy Boy EP)
mp3: Kavinsky - Grand Canyon (1986 EP)
mp3: Klaxons - Gravity's Rainbow (Kavinsky remix)