Adam Kesher "Gravy Train" live teaser

Dave One from Chromeo has released previous tracks from these guys, and Adam Kesher are really doing work in the electronic music industry today.  The guys hail from Bordeaux, France (you might be familiar with some of the region's award-winning red wines); their sound is upbeat, catchy, and manages to maintain a certain dissonance that ads a different dimension to the music being created.

Like this? Check out the video for the title track of this record, "Gravy Train" here.
Currently listening to: "Dayglow Vista Road" by Minus The Bear

Minks - "Our Ritual"

Minks are a Boston-based lo-fi/new-wave/The Cure-rip-off band that are doing some real justice to the whole garage-synth thing.  I guess you might be able to label them 'shoegaze.' "Our Ritual" sounds about as lo-fi as one can get, it was obviously not recorded with a metronome and the multitudinous layers of synths and guitars create a washy soundscape that you could definitely zone out to.

Mackintosh Braun - "Made For Us"

Mackintosh Braun is the project of, appropriately enough, Ian Mackintosh and Ben Braun, two Portland natives.  And I thought the two-name band name went out of style with Hall & Oates.  You could label the duo "chillwave," but that would be a massive oversimplification of their sound.  They draw lots from new wave acts like Tears for Fears and mesh it nicely with upbeat electronic in the vain of Delorean, MGMT, and Breakbot.  

Like this? Check out their brilliant new album "Where We Are."

Currently listening to: Miike Snow - "Billie Holiday (LightsoverLA Remix)"

Stepdad - "My Leather, My Fur, My Nails"

Chiptune usually sounds pretty cheesy, at least in my opinion.. it seems limited by the fact that it's based around one timbre, sort of like how Reggaeton is limited by the fact that it's based around one drum beat.  Call me ignorant, whatever.  Stepdad really made the whole 8-bit thing fresh with this tune, "My Leather, My Fur, My Nails."  Feel like these guys pull a lot from Dan Deacon, even the way they make their music videos (you've probably seen the salvia trip that is "CRYSTAL CAT").  But the music is interesting, fresh, and very bouncy.  Love the vocal melodies.

Like this? Download their album on their bandcamp here.
Currently listening to: Robyn - "Dancing On My Own"

Lykke Li live at Le Poisson Rouge

Le Poisson Rouge is one of the hipper places to be seen midtown; the place is owned by The Roots' ?uestlove and throws great concerts and afterparties in their basement club.  I went to this place when visiting NYU to see Kele Okereke spin after a Bloc Party concert once, and I must recommend it to anybody chilling in or around Greenwich village.

I recently saw a series of videos of Lykke Li performing at the place; she absolutely kills it.  Here is one video of her performance of "I Follow Rivers."  You can watch the whole concert in segments thanks to Good Fella Media.

Damn she's cute.

The Naked And Famous - "Girls Like You"

On the subject of bands from down under, kiwi band The Naked In Famous recently put out a video for the song "Girls Like You" off of their September full-length Passive Me, Agressive You.  These kids have been compared to Passion Pit, but they always made me think of sort of an electronic Arcade Fire.  Their sound is big and bold with subtly catchy hooks, and Thom Powers' and Alisa Xayalit's vocals complement each other beautifully.  The video for 'Girls' is very cool; the music syncs with lit windows in an anonymous building.  Honestly I can't believe nobody has thought of this before.

Like this? Check out fellow New Zealanders Computers Want Me Dead, whose singles "In Your Blood" (featured here) and "We Walk In Circles" made a huge mark in the international synth scene last summer.

"In Your Blood" - Computers Want Me Dead
--> By the way, what is it with Aussies and New Zealanders and amazing synth music?

Currently listening to: "My House" - Kids of 88

GLOVES remix Bag Raiders

GLOVES is at it again.  Some might remember his remix of Van She's "Changes," which lacked serious depth and sounded like a bootlegged Russ Chimes track.  Fortunately, the aussie native stepped us his game for this one, creating a remix that pumps hard and does a great amount of justice to the original mix.  I would honestly say it's better than the original.

Bag Raiders are aussies as well, hailing from New South Wales.  If you haven't heard "Shooting Stars" then you've probably been living under a rock.  Speaking of Australia, god DAMN that country is holding it down.  Bag Raiders and GLOVES are just two of the solid electronic artists to break free from down under and gain international acclaim in the past few years.  Cut Copy, Van She, PNAU, Computers Want Me Dead, Light Year... the list goes on and on.  For anybody interested in the aussie electro scene, check out this website, which offers plenty of free download links.

Like this? Check out this relatively new track from Bag Raiders.

Currently listening to: "In Your Blood" - Computers Want Me Dead