Start Fresh This Week With Four Fun Tracks!
RETRO CULTURE with Thread
Melbourne electro-pop artist Matt Connelly a.k.a. Retro Culture has followed up his impressive debut single Cold in style with his new track Thread.
The song starts with eerie Bon Iver-esque vocals over atmospheric electric guitar notes, gradually mixing in touches of percussion in the lead up to the beat-heavy chorus. The second verse takes on a funk rhythm, filling every empty space with infectious guitar notes and relentlessly energetic drumming.
An electric guitar solo after the second chorus seals the deal, setting the track’s potential energy in motion and injecting the final chorus with rock-anthem status. Thread shows without a doubt Retro Culture knows how to stitch a tapestry of rhythm, melody, and vocals into a hit tune.
CALYPSO with Numbered
There’s a lot to love about Tasmanian songstress and producer Calypso’s latest genre-crossing tune. Sounding like a combination of Rebecca Ferguson’s vocals and Florence + the Machine’s production with just a touch of disco fever, the song is full of well-chosen influences.
Deep piano chords make for an intense opening verse, the perfect backing for Calypso’s unique, emotive vocals, and disco-style synthesisers soon transform it into an irresistible dance track. The song is packed with a variety of genre influences, weaving a disco rhythm and ballad-ready piano chords together with a jazz saxophone.
“Numbered is about the struggle between two people as their love for each other is coming to an end – the painful experience of wanting to keep somebody close, but knowing that you will eventually have to let go,” said Calypso.
Numbered is the first release from Calypso’s debut EP, due out in late 22 June. Keep an eye out for the coming Numbered music video!
Calypso Tour Dates
SUN 12 JUN
Joe’s Garage, Dark Mofo
D.D DUMBO with Satan
After a two-year hiatus, D.D Dumbo a.k.a. Oliver Hugh Perry has dropped a new single Satan paired with a music video! The multifaceted verses merge a touch of Middle Eastern instrumentation with a pop edge and a subtle disco rhythm, creating a complex, yet just-poppy-enough-for-mainstream genre blend.
The chorus is filled with stylistic rhythms, pop vocals, and harmonies, but it also leaves plenty of room to breathe, perfectly demonstrating the power of silence in song.
The Satan music video is set in the Victorian salt plains, a perfect visual match for the sparsity and wild rhythms of the song. The band said they wanted to shoot the video in an iconic Australian location that also had a “strong otherworldly quality”.
Check out the Satan video below, and don’t miss D.D Dumbo on their Australian tour in July!
D.D. Dumbo Tour Dates
THU 28 JUL
Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane
FRI 29 JUL
Newtown Social Club, Sydney
FRI 5 AUG
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Get Tickets HERE
BATTS with Kiki
Following up two strong singles in 2015, Melbourne songstress-turned-electro star Tanya Batt a.k.a. BATTS is back with Kiki. The track starts with rhythmic, pulsing synthesisers, supporting Batt’s smooth, breathy vocals.
Combining a tender vocal performance and emotional lyrics with tasteful, modern production, Batt takes the familiar into a captivating new realm: “Are you dreaming about me?/Are you hurting without me?/ Are you thinking about someone that isn’t me?”. Touches of acoustic instrumentation add character and texture to an otherwise incredibly modern, atmospheric dance track.
“Kiki is a song about the over thinking element that takes over your mind after a break up and during the initial stages of heartbreak,” Batt says. One thing is for sure – pairing unfamiliar, modern production with a subject matter as old as time itself makes for an interesting contrast. Give the track a listen below!
