Premiere: Bella - BOO

BOO are DIY synth pop duo Chris Black and Brigitte Rose. Claiming influence in both ABBA and Devo, you can hear the disco-informed pop of the former and the playful punk-like electronic experimentation of the latter here on Bella.

Bella is the second single to be lifted from BOO’s forthcoming third album Snare, and it shimmers with a summer-like lightness whilst underneath the surface lurks something darker.

Describing the track, BOO said:

We wrote this at the height of Summer just before a big change. It’s full of all the turmoil and excitement that brings and the languid escape of those long hot days.”

Check out Bella below and look out for Snare, out on 10 August. Using the Cold War as inspiration, Snare aims to capture echoes of a divided past and trace them into an uncertain future. You can pre-order Snare here and if you pre-order it now you will get Bella straight away.

The second single from Snare (out August 10th) Get the single free when you pre-order Snare: https://batteryoperatedorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/snare

Stream: Free - Mono Mono

On Free, Danish duo Mono Mono have created something deep, sunbaked and dubby. As a duo, Jakob Franck’s dreamlike electronic melodies drift by whilst Karoline Elsig’s vocals and saxophone seemingly hang mid-air.

Mono Mono’s new EP Natural is an attempt to celebrate those things sometimes viewed as flaws and instead aims to celebrate what is natural and vulnerable. With subjects including heartache, loneliness and longing, Mono Mono have created a contrast between their clean and minimal electronic soundscapes and the messy organic and intangible nature of the human experience.

Here on Free it is possible to feel something akin to human emotion frozen in midair. Capturing the imperfection and nonlinearity of emotion, Free feels deliberately open to interpretation. It is the kind of song that lets your mind rest still in it for just a brief moment.

Check out Free below. Mono Mono’s EP Natural is out now.

Stream: Somebody - Weslee

To promote the release of their debut EP 9F, transatlantic duo Weslee unveiled new song Somebody on Friday and it is a beautiful dreamlike electronic soulful pop song.

The combination of playful vocals, electronics and analogue acoustics here calls to mind Sylvan Esso. Sharp percussive sounds and thick bass provide the grounding for Somebody, but it is frontperson Emma’s vocals that really make this shine. Her performance almost sounds nervous in its attempt to assert itself. This record feels like a beautiful whisper from someone who manages to suck the air out of the room just by stepping into it.

Across Somebody and 9F, Weslee explore the joy and uncertainty of relationships. The whole EP is a beautiful, nervous mess of emotions. This music sounds like the wonderful but vulnerable feeling of tracking out the outlines of a new relationship.

Producer and Kansas-native Josh met Emma when she first relocated from London to New York. They teamed up to create a behind-the-scenes songwriting partnership following a cancelled session with a wannabe pop star. Their first session in the studio saw them cement their partnership when they discovered a shared love of American-style donuts.

Check out Somebody below and then go and listen to the rest of 9F - it gave me goosebumps.

Stream: Young And Reckless - Charlotte Lawrence

Following on from recent vulnerable pop record Keep Me Up, Charlotte Lawrence is back with new single Young And Reckless.

Young And Reckless comes ahead of Lawrence’s debut EP Young, due out on 22 June. It’s a similarly urgent sounding song to what I’ve come to expect from Charlotte... a track that tells a tale of giving into temptation, yet the melancholy that runs through the melody here hints at something deeper. A desire to give up control, perhaps - when it feels easier to externalise a decision than accept full responsibility for your actions.

At just two-and-a-half-minutes Young And Reckless is brief but intense, with closing lines that feel dangerously out of control. Check it out below.

Photo credit: Catie Laffoon

Stream: Need Ya - Pluko feat. Nevve

Pluko is 18-year-old producer Sam Martinsen who already has his own original releases and official remixes for the likes of Odesza and Hayden James under his belt. Here Martinsen unveils new track Need Ya, a track set to feature on his forthcoming debut album, due out later this year on Foreign Family Collective.

With breathless vocals from Nevve, Need Ya is a bouncy track full of the irrepressible desires of summer days and overheated nights. The layers of electronic melodies and reverb here will resonate for fans of Odesza, and Need Ya is that perfect mix of sunny pop and foot shuffling electronic dance.

Check out Need Ya below and look out for Pluko’s debut album later in the year.

the first time i ever played this track out was at coachella this year, the energy and smiles on people’s faces just made me so happy for this day to finally come. need ya (feat. Nevve) is out now. buy/listen - foreignf.am/needya-pink follow pluko: instagram.com/pluko twitter.com/pluko facebook.com/plukomusic @plukomusic