Another batch of 5 new, stellar tracks have
been added to Turn Up The Volume’s Jukebox.
Turn it up.
ALL TOGETHER
. TRACK BY TRACK
Artist: LIDO PIMIENTA Who: Columbia-born songstress based in Toronto, Canada.
As much as she is an iconoclast, Pimienta is a healer who
has expanded sonically since 2010.
Track: TOXICA
Piece from her forthcoming 4th LP,
titled Caribenya. Out on July 17th.
More info here.
Album artwork
TUTV: Hurray! Summer is here (almost). This is the kind of titillating tunes that boost
your state of mind. Tóxica‘s hip-swinging swagger, triggered by exotic African beats, and her high-spirited voice create a beach party atmosphere, although lyrically the song is
less positive, drawing attention to toxic relationships.
Artists: LUNAR TWIN Who: A dark, cinematic dream-wave duo, based between Hawai, Los Angeles
and Salt Lake City, blending dreamy soundscapes with soulful, nostalgic energy.
“It’s a story as old as the earth and it’s also a story of this very moment.
It’s about searching alone through the darkness, crossing a desert of
the soul.”
TUTV: Expect a synth ear-massage incited by trance-like
trip-hop vibes and dream-stimulating impulses.
Track: THE ENDLESS BORDER
First single from their sophomore LP,
out later in the year.
TUTV: Moody music for glowing sunsets, heartened by a steady-going rhythm section and mellow vocals, while glistening guitar sparks enliven this dreamy pop tune with its Western feel.
Time flies. We already have six months of 2023 behind us.
Six months of listening every day to music, bad/good, very good and 24 Carat Gold.
It was hard to make a selection of the 25 most impressive pieces. But we did it.
These Brighton punk feminists are MENTAL and AWESOME.
They released Turn Up The Volume‘s best EP of 2023 (so far), named You’re Welcome
a couple of weeks ago. And one of the 6 Molotov cocktails on it is this in your-macho-face sucker-punch. The Lambrini girls race faster than a Ferrari bolide. Best band in the world!
A vigorous young trio from the UK. On this turbulent ripsnorter, it’s full tilt ahead
from the get-go. No brakes, no breaks, no mistakes. A whirlwind of scorching guitars,
pounding drumming, a revolving bass line somewhere in the middle, go-getting vocals
and a dynamite refrain. This is gonna be the year for 32 TENS.
This brand-new supergroup features Shaun Ryder & Bez (Happy Mondays/Black Grape), Andy Bell (Ride/Oasis) and drummer Zak Starkey, yes Ringo’s son, who played with Oasis and The Who among others and who actually came up with this project’s idea and describes it as “a fantastic psychedelic groove from a band of misfits, outsiders and innovators.”
It’s an incredible shame that women still have to fight for so many fundamental rights.
It’s bloody 2023 and so much female injustice is still a reality. So, it’s great that female artists get up, stand up and fight for their right to tackle this human disease.
Chic Choc do it right away on their fantastic debut single. An electronic-booming EBM knockout to fill dance floors with. Boosting beats, catching chorus, sensuous vocals and
a protesting choir, lead to a sassy stunner. Bang-on. Le freak, c’est chic choc.
This 4-piece post-punk from London launched their
kick-ass debut LP Metaphysical earlier this year.
Beefcake Doctrine is driven by repetitive Krautrock dynamics.
Its trance-inducing beats create a hypnotic and puzzling razzmatazz
you can’t and you won’t escape from.
After scoring the best debut LP – to TUTV’s ears – of 2023 The Great Regression, followed by a live album, they just
dropped this brain-frying hammer blow.
It’s a liberating, drum-backed anthem that allows the band to break free from any stress
or obligations in pursuit of a good night. Good times or bad times, it’s always (in)sane to lose your marbles while diving into a hot let’s have a ball night, now and then. And ‘Lose Your Mind‘ is the matching master blaster to double your adrenalin production.
On this slam hip-hop dunk the duo condemn the US’s mass shootings of late in a cynical loud-and-clear way The rip-roaring rappers pretend to be murderous shooters firing at everyone and everything. Bulletman is a devastating drill, a boiling burst that cuts like a first-class Swiss knife.
10. ‘Set Yourself On Fire’ by ULTRA SUNN (Brussels, Belgium)
Once again this cold/darkwave duo – Sam Huge and Gaelle Souflet – shine in the darkness. The rapturous chorus hits you from the first spin. Resounding beats, entranced synths, and echoing vocals combine for another triumph.
11. ‘Your Death Is My Glory’ by CAMLANN (Indonesia)
A human-caring dark-disco duo Ony Godfrey and Fauzan Pratama from Indonesia.
Their newest single is a catchy-as-hell injection that accelerates your bloodstream.
An irresistible stomper to jump up and down like crazy while giving the middle
finger to all power-greedy politicians.
What a way to debut! Expect a glorious nightclub gem with a synth-tantalizing vibe reminiscent of the starry-eyed sparks of British electro-pop heroes New Order. Lipstick
is both a sensuous and affectional tune with gripping vocals up front and melancholic
ones in the back.
Their new single is a flabbergasting metallic corker. It goes forth and back, left and
right, slow and fast as if Casablancas and his misfits put several snippets of several
songs together and puzzled them into one stupendous stroke of a track.
This noizzzz jackhammer from their self-titled debut LP rocks and rolls with panache. Expect ablaze guitars buzzing in a slow/fast mode and turning up the volume, especially
on the yell-along refrain. Legends Hüsker Dü come to mind. Say no more.
It’s the second single off of the upcoming debut album World’s End of this cyber-synth duo.
Heart On is an arousing mid-tempo groover. Both spicy and funky, shadowy and seductive, lustful and provocative with hypnotizing vocals. Its slow-mo synth-bass beat crawls under your skin from the kick-off and progresses steadily towards your restlessly pounding heart.
Night Time is an ecstatic, awe-inspiring, and anthemic thrill. It has that engrossing and
afire rock swagger of Bruce Springsteen‘s melancholic Americana exploits, it’s infused with The Edge-like guitar sparks and frontman Sutherland‘s ardent signing is a perfect match for this soul-stirring pearl.
18. ‘Cars’ by Artists: LUNAR TWIN (Hawai/Salt Lake City)
This electro-pop duo scored an excellent album with Aurora last April.
A 30-minute sonic trip, an ambient fantasy with trancy vibrations, ataractic
effects, and near-whispering vocals.
Cars is my favorite piece. Electrifying dream pop
at its mesmerizing best with sparkling guitar play.
This colorful collective criticize the disastrous state of health care, with the government ignoring the life-risking problems, in England with a sickly sticky riot grrrl pop tune that activates your limbs instantly.
Think Debbie Harry and Blondie playing around on their debut LP. Vibey and briskly. Frolicsome 60s organ touches, lively guitars here and there, and avid vocals.
The band’s new punchy stroke jumps up and down in your head and elevates your mood from the start. It’s a contagious foot-stamper with a poppy chorus vibe inviting you to play air guitar and sing along with all the force your lungs can come up with.
The first new music in three years from the post-punk-rock project of singer-songwriter-guitarist Laura Lee Schultz. The composition captures the raw emotions of sadness, frustration, and anxiety that permeated throughout the years since the pandemic began.
The track’s ominous mid-tempo progression and swelling structure advancing over
an ongoing hypnotic guitar riff send shivers down your spine. Second by second, like
a nervously ticking clock, the sonic poignancy and heartfelt fervidness grow with exuberance and magnitude until Schutlz’s monumental vocals go through the roof.
This is an emotive post-break-up pearl. Heartfelt reflections embedded in
a goosebump musing that resonates like a bittersweet symphony. This British
singer-songwriter’s highly passionate vox reminds me of Antony Hegarty‘s sensitive ardency. The whole-souled tristesse and mixed emotions at play here make you
silent.
This is the artistic moniker of Canadian songsmith Miles Evans-Branagh. He signed for
one of this year’s best albums, so far, with Slow Down. Eight musings. Eight engrossing compositions with one and the same message: get high on life with love. Craftily written, subtly arranged, and graciously orchestrated with intimate, soulful charm and stylish elegance that moves and touches.
Opener A Little Bit is one of those 8 affecting reveries.
Chum are a pretty kooky combo that got my ears trembling with joy with their
grooves-filled debut LP a few weeks ago. Its lead single Beefake Doctrine is a
manic mind-twister with its trancy beats creating a mesmeric and puzzling
razzmatazz you can’t and you won’t run from.
With 1:18 these post-punk-rock misfits dropped a neurotic caterwaul that goes forth and back with burning pzazz. Monomaniacal vocalist Angus Rogers gets worked up to an almost hysterical level and sounds like a tormented and obsessed soul and the band’s horn duo blow their lungs out with nerve-racking urgency. Blimey!
My Illusion is a head-banging and riff-crushing jackhammer that makes
your fists pump in the air, makes your legs shake, and triggers you to check out
your vocal cords’ potential. Ignore your illusions, just get real and get out to party.
For those about to rock Electric Circus salute you.
DTL’s mastermind LL Schultz‘s expresses her frustration and stressful state of mind
caused by those two claustrophobic pandemic years with this high-strung cry out. Its ominous mid-tempo progression, its swelling intensity advancing over an ongoing
hypnotic guitar riff and her sky-scraping send shivers down your spine.
Lockdown threw Schultz to the mat, but it couldn’t
knock her out and she’s back stronger than ever.
London‘s up-and-coming young dogs DEADLETTER rattle on repeat
on this rad ripper spiced with relentless vocality, a sensuous saxophone,
a pumping bass and a sickly sticky chorus. 5-star punk funk.
With Sub these Chicago dudes sound like a cross between legends Gang Of Four and Parquet Courts. It’s a riff motherrocker making your head spin uncontrollably. On top of it comes the singer’s highly tense vocal performance. Don’t miss this holy smoke cracker.
These noisy indies from Bristol, UK Post-punk at its sharp-cutting best. Neurotic guitars and frenetic drums alternated with freaked-out vocals, rhythm changes that drive you nuts, an instrumental Devo-esque intermezzo and a mind-boggling climax. I have nothing whatsoever to complain about.
Who? A socially caring dark disco duo featuring Ony Godfrey and Fauzan Pratama from Indonesia.
Your Death Is My Glory is about political hypocrisy
that suppresses the common people for their own
benefit.
It’s a steamed-up disco corker. A catchy-as-hell boomer that
accelerates your bloodstream. An irresistible tune to jump up
and down to like mad while giving the middle finger to all
power-greedy politicians.
The video is a DIY rapid-eye-movement tour de force.
All Of A Sudden is a B-side that easily could be an A-side. It features on the 12″ of
the previous single No Reason It’s a rotating beats-banger to start and end all
(il)legal raves with. It’ll make your adrenalin production go through the roof.
Lunar Twin‘s new full-length opus Aurora is an ideal
companion to relax with when the twilight sets.
One of the highlights and my favorite track Cars is a trippy dreamwave
with tingling guitars, scintillating synths, and near-whispering voice
combining for a top-notch vibration.
This masked Italian dance act describe themselves as “losers on a planet
where nobody really wins. He who has nothing to lose cannot lose anything.”
They recently released a must-hear 5-track EP with Juicy Lips as one of the 5 highlights.
A capricious crackerjack for nightclubs where misfits, dropouts, eccentrics and other related outsiders have a ball. Wicked music for wicked people by wicked madcaps.
They decided to invite an impressive cast of musical friends to remix songs
from that album. The collection is namedSee Trough You: Rerealized. You
can buy it here. The digital version will be available from June 2.
Andy Bell of legendary shoegaze band Ride operating under the moniker
of GLOK is one of the remixes. He picked the psych-mind-bending piece I’m Hurt and turned it into an ambient techno stunner with Kraut-rock-like
synth rhythms and chainsaw guitar fragments. Score!
Who? A British quartet inspired by a mutual passion for the sights,
sounds and creative experimentation of the mid to late 1960s with
its unique blend of garage rock, psychedelia and acid folk.
A 60s colored psych-pop gem that could be written by Californian legends
The Mamas & Papas. Layered vocals, jangly guitars (playing backward at
one point. Remember The Beatles‘ Tomorrow Never Knows song?), and an
infectious chorus. Play it 81 times.
“A song inspired by my walks to coffee shops, my friends,
the band TOPS, and the scotch I like to drink!”
Easy-going tunes you can hum and whistle like this one are always welcome on my headphones after having too much noizz buzzing in my ears. Scotch is a laid-back, jaunty, and happy-go-lucky melody enriched with sunlit guitar play. Perfect for a walk in the city on a lazy Spring day. Kelly‘s mellow voice sounds like it was meant to sing devil-may-care songs like this one. Canadacana at its strolling best. Bottoms up!
To celebrate the first anniversary of their debut album 10 MinutesGmbtLife decided to cover a Pixies classic.
They picked one of their best-known songs, Monkey Gone To Heaven from 1989. Their take is pretty special and surprising. They decelerated it and added subtle piano play, distorted guitars, and low-pitched vocals.
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad tracks
added to this rad 2023 playlist.
Artists: LUNAR TWIN Who: A dreamwave duo from Hawai/Salt Lake City formed in 2013 that
explore “space- and time theories, nature and culture. Their music connects
with the lyrical themes through spacey soundscapes with use of guitar reverbs,
electronics and nature sounds.”
Christopher Murphy (producer): “We live thousands of miles apart separated
by the Pacific ocean and mountains ranges and deserts. These disparate places of
isolation are the nexus for our songwriting.”
Bryce Boudreau (vocalist/songwriter): “Juxtaposition plays a big role in this album, the ebb and flow of the modern world colliding with an ancient one. The moods of ‘Aurora’ embody the ongoing conflicts between humans and machines, the mysteries and unknowns of the primeval world. A homage to the dream state that exists somewhere between the two Bryce Boudreau, Vocalist and Songwriter from where he lives in Hawaii.
TUTV: Aurora is one long 30-minute sonic trip, an ambient fantasy with trancy vibrations, ataractic effects, and near-whispering vocals (think the late great Mark Lanegan at his moodiest). The atmospheric synth symphonies create a chill-out ambiance with a soothing effect. Bouncy and poppy moments like Beyond The Sun, Cars and Traveler alternate with mellow moments Can’t Stop The Rain, Night Orchid and A River Cuts Thru Stone and flow together seamlessly.
Lunar Twin‘s new work is an ideal companion to relax with on your earphones when
the twilight sets in and you want to be on your own for a while in your utopian bubble away from the stressing reality, only surrounded by your dreams, your reveries, and musical sedative Aurora.
Band: LUNAR TWIN Who: A dreamwave duo from Hawai/Salt Lake City formed in 2013 that
explore “space- and time theories, nature and culture. Their music connects
with the lyrical themes through spacey soundscapes with use of guitar reverbs,
electronics and nature sounds.”
It follows the lead single Beyond The Sun from their upcoming album Aurora,
which comes our way on 1 February 2023. Pre-order (digital album) info: here.
Android Dreams is a superb piece of synth symphonic splendor, taking you
on a titillating trip in your mind far away from our grim reality. Spellbinding.
The video was made by Frances Campbell a fan of the group with her re-filming and creating collages out of creative common and fair use footage of Robby Mueller‘s works
as an educational tribute to him. She felt like the band’s music was cinematic in nature
and would be a suitable pairing. When the duo saw the video they were very moved and agreed to let her add footage of the band performing with music to complete this tribute.
“Really random things seem to happen to us folks we have never met sending us such a cool video out of the blue wanting to collaborate with us for this tribute video. I Love the imagery
I have swept away in memories watching the collage Ms Campbell assembled“ .
Band: LUNAR TWIN Who: A dreamwave duo from Hawai/Salt Lake City formed in 2013 that
explore “space- and time theories, nature and culture. Their music connects
with the lyrical themes through spacey soundscapes with use of guitar reverbs,
electronics and nature sounds.” They record the music and vocals separately,
on locations far apart (Hawaii and Salt Lake City).
First shared piece from their forthcoming, second, album titled Aurora,
which lands on the 1st of December. It follows their magnific debut LP Ghost Moon Ritual
Beyond The Sun is a spacey sonic trip, an ambient fantasy with trancy vibrations,
ataractic effects, and near-whispering vocals. The rotating synth riff creates a mind
relaxing sensation. Both sedative and utopian. Unfortunately, the dream lasts for
only 2.21 minutes. A 10-minute 12″ version would excite my greedy ears and my imagination a lot. Bring it on.
The accompanying video clip is directed by Mizuki Hayashi with animated, futuristic
visuals, psychedelic snippets, and Lunar Twin popping up here and there. Absolutely striking.
LUNAR TWIN is a dreamwave duo formed in 2013 with a keen interest for “space- and
time theories, nature and culture. Their music connects with the lyrical themes through spacey soundscapes with use of guitar reverbs, electronics, and nature sounds.” They record the music and vocals separately, on locations far apart, from Hawaii and Salt Lake City.
Expect: Twilight reveries. Introspective medications. Cinematic synth-scapes. Atmospheric euphony. Heavy-hearted and shadowy sensitivity. Spellbinding balladry. Sonic paintings. David Lynch flashes. Whispering vocals bringing Mark Lanegan and Leonard Cohen to mind.
Ambient symphonies for the late-night hours.
Relax, put your headphones on,
dim the lights and float away
to dreamland
