One of the best things that I like about the internet is that it’s so easy to make your work accessible to a lot of people. Not only that, with a truckload of software applications being made to help produce your work of art, you’ll require less time, effort and manpower.
The offshoot are digital tracks strewn across the web: some weird and quirky, while others, unique gems. What I love most about these do-it-yourself home-made tracks is that, a bunch of them are electronic (to the 80’s child, it’s the music of choice!) and it’s also in a way, very 21st century. Interestingly, a lot of them are a solo efforts – the producer is also the singer, songwriter and all around instrumentalist.
This being list addicts Fridays, I’ve queued up a couple of electronic solo acts that currently tickle my fancy:
1. Playradioplay! – At This Particular Moment In Time
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Playradioplay! is 19-year old Daniel Hunter, who got started posting self recorded music on MySpace. His songs gained immense popularity which eventually led to a 2 year stint with a major record label. ‘At This Particular Moment In Time’ is one of the tracks from his debut EP The Frequency. It’s a dancey tune about being a scrawny teenager, in love with an attractive, older girl. I hear he did get the girl eventually, and based on that, I figure she’s not the type who goes for the manly-man kind, since our boy Daniel, definitely sounds like a girl in this song. Nonetheless, the song is quite cute.
2. Her Space Holiday – Tech Romance |
In ‘Tech Romance’ Her Space Holiday aka Marc Bianchi, mixes soundbytes, violin samples and electronic drumbeats to create a neat little love song. I’m not sure where the title comes from, but the song is about a guy pining for a girl, who’s already with someone he thinks isn’t deserving of her. He regards their never to be destined love, as a picture perfect movie that won’t ever get made.
3. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone – Scattered Pearls |
There’s great imagery and metaphor in the lyrics of this song, which actually reads well as prose…but I won’t get into that. Basically, ‘Scattered Pearls’ is a just a fun song about a girl losing her grandmother’s pearls while at the disco. Owen Ashworth does almost everything else in this song except sing (employing the help of guest vocalist Jenn Herbinson). What results is a catchy, electro-pop song – cute enough for Hello Kitty to star in the music video.
Notable lyrics: Mom don’t cry. They are only pearls.
4. The Blow – Fists Up |
This band started out as a duo, with Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt . Jona left to concentrate on his other project (Yacht) while Khaela became the now solo act known as The Blow. ‘Fists Up’ is a song that will make you feel like you’ve heard it before, but can’t figure out where and when you heard it. I still am scratching my head how it’s all familiar to me, but in the end, I just happily bounce my head to tune when listening to it.
Notable lyrics: I don’t want to come to the point of this song, because the point of this song would have to be so long
5. Dntel – (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan |
If you think this sounds like The Postal Service, it’s because it is. This is the collaboration that started it all. When Dntel aka Jimmy Tamborello asked Ben Gibbard to contribute to his new album, what resulted was one of the best non Postal Service, Postal Service songs. If you listen closely, you’ll hear the static noise at the beginning that gets peppered throughout. I think it gives the song character, like an old record that you’ve listened too much to. Gibbard’s lyrics on the other hand, seals the deal, making you instantly fall in love with this catchy electro-pop classic.
Notable lyrics: Your eyelashes tickled my neck, with every nervous blink. And it was perfect.
