Cassette Club is a relatively newly formed UK electro duo consisting of Ben Macklin and Tom Hammond. The pair use their obsessive knowledge of all things electronic to create soulful electropop music. Sophisticated, yet irrepressibly feel-good, Cassette Club have perfected the art of electrosexy. With influences ranging from ABC to Daft Punk, Go West to Justice, Depeche Mode to MGMT, their music is like a colourful afternoon in the sun – Cassette Club style. Their latest release, “4 Me”, is now out on Eye Industries with remixes by Rock DJ and Blackstone.
Cassette Club – 4 Me (Blackstone Mix) [removed by request]
Cassette Club have also remixed many first class acts, one of them being Passion Pit. Their remix of “Sleepyhead” has been around the blogosphere for a while now but it’s so good that we can’t possibly not post it. Flawless production, nice bass and sharp synths, these guys sure have the good recipe!
Ryan Lott, or Son Lux, is a classically trained artist who started playing classical piano at age 6, then picked up the guitar, learned to play drums and took some jazz piano lessons. While studying composition and piano at Indiana University, Lott first explored writing for dance choreography, something that he continued not only after graduation, but also after he moved to New York City in 2007 for a job as a composer at an ad agency. By then the urge to go solo was already strong. Ryan had been collecting sounds that he sampled and working with them and his own voice to create musical landscapes that would later turn into songs.
“I realized half-way through this record that I was actually making a record”, he says. “My aesthetic was to go with sounds that were not originally created to fulfill a particular function within a song. The result is a lot of unique and different ‘performances’ for different purposes that were essentially pulled together.”
Son Lux was eventually signed to Anticon and the result is the album At War with Walls and Mazes (2008, download on ), his stunning debut. The songs, with no verses and no choruses, break the patterns of traditional contemporary music. They are part of a very coherent stylistic whole but at the same time all diferent. The mix of soulful electronica, sharp beats and hip-hop influences builds a sonic puzzle that Son Lux puts together and breaks apart with great skill.
Listen to Son Lux’s remix of My Brightest Diamond’s song ‘Inside a Boy’ and also Son Lux’ track ‘where|sir’ on the compilation U R MY DISCO//vol.2 and find out more about Son Lux on MySpace. You can purchase his new Weapons EP on
Berlin-based trio Bodi Bill make music that really breaks boundaries. Electrofolk? Experimental electronica? Indie pop? Well, let’s forget about genre definitions and focus on the music. Alex Amoon, Fabian Fenk (aka Pantasz) and Anton K. Feisthave have already released two albums and are currently working on their third LP. Their acclaimed debut, No More Wars, was followed by Next Time, released in May 2008 (both albums on Sinnbus). Check them out on MySpace and buy their music on
This track has been given the remix treatment by Siriusmo, who is fast becoming one of our favourites here at umstrum||music. This mix is a completely different take on the original and its slow grinding vibe is so implacable it’s almost unnatural. Hypnotic loops, overpowering bass and jazzy keyboards wrap around compelling vocals and leave a penetrating impression of melancholy. More on MySpace…
School of Seven Bells (often referred to as SVIIB) is a Brooklyn-based electro psychodelica band with a strong melodic sensibility which formed in 2007. The band consists of Benjamin Curtis (guitar) and twin sisters Alejandra Deheza (vocals, bass) and Claudia Deheza (vocals, keyboards). The band is named after the School of the Seven Bells, a mythical South American pickpocket training academy. It was Alley’s idea to name the band after this school. She had heard about it and the mythology grew in her mind. It meant a million different things to her and she also liked the phrase’s musicality.
Their first single, “My Cabal”, was released in May 2007 on UK label Sonic Cathedral. Then the Face to Face on High Places EP was released in September 2007 on Table of the Elements. School of Seven Bells’ debut album, Alpinisms, was released by Ghostly International in October 2008. It is available as both a physical and digital release (iTunes).
Their sound has been described as dreamy and ethereal and the lyrics are impregnated with the theme of sleep and dreams. The trio’s music uses elements of dream-pop, afrobeat, with a heavy base in electronica, but it easily transcends usual genre restrictions. Alpinisms is full of tensions—Curtis’ gentle guitars wrap around jagged beats; silky vocals hide behind grumpy, alien synthesizers—but the resulting songs are effortlessly cohesive, and insidiously catchy.
The band toured with Bat For Lashes on her UKtour and have more recently supported White Lies on their second headlining tour. Have a look at SVIIB’s page on MySpace for updates and concerts…
Pompeya is a young Moscow-based band active since 2007. Daniil Brod (vocals / guitar), Denis Agafonov (bass) and Nairi Simonyan (drums) released their first single “Check” two years ago. This first effort was very well received and the band subsequently recorded a second track, “Traveller”. Pompeya are now working on their debut album.
Their sound distinguishes them from most other Russian pop/rock band. Lush arrangements, New Wave-tinted vocals and catchy guitar riffs are all part of their special mix. In the band’s own words, “the 80′s and the music created back then are just great. We take this music and push it forward!”
U R MY DISCO // vol.6 is here!! When the streets are white with snow and the cold wind blows in your face, you need some quality dance music to warm you up. So stop hiding under your blanket, get out of bed, turn the volume up and enjoy! If it’s freezing outside, get your crew together and put on your dancing shoes cuz this mix is all you need to have an all night disco party…
Here’s a teaser for you… Not released yet, a new track by Sia called “You’ve Changed”…
Hailing from Bangor in Northern Ireland, Two Door Cinema Club‘s energetic indie pop has enough slick guitar progressions, infectious baselines and hum-along choruses for them to come across as a logical contender for the “Best New Act of 2009″ title. They are part of this recent trend in indie-rock, which incorporates a wider embracement of electronica and dance, with the mastery of more established bands like Phoenix and the same energy as early Bloc Party.
The band – Alex Trimble (drums and vocals), Kevin Baird (bass) and Sam Halliday (guitar) – have been together since early 2007, giving up on university places after things starting bubbling over on MySpace.
The energy that one feels when listening to tracks such as “Cigarettes in the Theatre” no doubt helped get them signed to indie label Kitsune. Now, one can expect the fantastic songwriting of Two Door Cinema Club to carry them to great heights. All we have to wait on is their full-length debut, which the trio promises is in the making and could be released in early 2010. In the meantime, go to iTunes to purchase their first single “I Can Talk”…
At this stage is it really necessary to introduce Vitalic? Pascal Arbez (aka Vitalic) is a French electronic music artist who started releasing music in the 90s and received accolades from the electro music scene as soon as his first EP was released in 2001 (Poney EP released on Gigolo Records). After this success, Vitalic released his critically acclaimed debut album Ok Cowboy in 2005. On his official website he states that all of the instruments used in the album were synthesized and that “the only thing he can’t fake is the emotion that galvanizes his music”. Here’s a teaser for you: ‘Poison Lips’ is Vitalic’s new single and it’s massive!!
Flashmob is Vitalic’s first album after a long four year pause. It was released a few weeks ago on Citizen Records, Vitalic’s own imprint. Judging by the singles, Flashmob is going to be another genre-defying record from the French electro trendsetter. You can download it right now on
Chromeo is a Montrealbased electrofunk duo whose music is described as “a shameless return to the glistening, sex-saturated synth-pop which ruled the eighties.”
The duo is composed of P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) on keyboards, synthesizers, and talk box, and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) on guitar and lead vocals. The two childhood friends jokingly describe themselves as “the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture.” David Macklovitch is the older brother of A-Trak (Alain Macklovitch).
Highlights of their 2004 debut album She’s in Control include the club tracks “Needy Girl”, “Mercury Tears”, “Rage!”, and “Destination: Overdrive”. In early 2007 Chromeo supported indie rock group Bloc Party on their British tour. They also released the single “Fancy Footwork” as well as their second album of the same name.
Chromeo’s first single off their forthcoming album has just been released for free courtesy of Green Label Sound. Grab it below..
Cassette Club is a relatively newly formed UK electro duo consisting of Ben Macklin and Tom Hammond. The pair use their obsessive knowledge of all things electronic to create soulful electropop music. Sophisticated, yet irrepressibly feel-good, Cassette Club have perfected the art of electrosexy. With influences ranging from ABC to Daft Punk, Go West to Justice, Depeche Mode to MGMT, their music is like a colourful afternoon in the sun – Cassette Club style. Their latest release, “4 Me”, is now out on Eye Industries with remixes by Rock DJ and Blackstone.
Ryan Lott, or Son Lux, is a classically trained artist who started playing classical piano at age 6, then picked up the guitar, learned to play drums and took some jazz piano lessons. While studying composition and piano at Indiana University, Lott first explored writing for dance choreography, something that he continued not only after graduation, but also after he moved to New York City in 2007 for a job as a composer at an ad agency. By then the urge to go solo was already strong. Ryan had been collecting sounds that he sampled and working with them and his own voice to create musical landscapes that would later turn into songs.
Pompeya is a young Moscow-based band active since 2007. Daniil Brod (vocals / guitar), Denis Agafonov (bass) and Nairi Simonyan (drums) released their first single “Check” two years ago. This first effort was very well received and the band subsequently recorded a second track, “Traveller”. Pompeya are now working on their debut album.
At this stage is it really necessary to introduce Vitalic? Pascal Arbez (aka Vitalic) is a French electronic music artist who started releasing music in the 90s and received accolades from the electro music scene as soon as his first EP was released in 2001 (Poney EP released on Gigolo Records). After this success, Vitalic released his critically acclaimed debut album Ok Cowboy in 2005. On his 
Chromeo is a Montreal based electrofunk duo whose music is described as “a shameless return to the glistening, sex-saturated synth-pop which ruled the eighties.”
