Something amazing we saw last night: Bodebrixen in Camden

Things we forgot to do last night while out in Camden include taking any photos or videos of marvellous French electro-funk duo Jupiter and taking any photos or videos of super-amazing Danish duo Bodebrixen. (When we were drunk we forgot what they called and renamed them Binkybonky - which we think we prefer).

We have covered Jupiter before, but this was out first experience of Bodebrixen (Binkybonky) and we are completely smitten. They have basically stolen all of the joy Alphabeat lost after their first album and mixed it up with the abandoned harmonies I'm From Barcelona scattered when they realised their set-up was neither practical nor financially viable (for those unaware of I'm From Barcelona - there were about 42 members).

Bodebrixen (Binkybonky) sung songs, bounced balloons at the audience and hurled confetti over everyone. The core duo (Aske Bode and Andreas Bixen - Binky and bonky respectively) were joined by four brilliant musicians and everyone was dressed in stripes. They leapt around and sung all of their amazing songs before trying to flog said songs from a table by the door. They basically made us and everyone else at the Play It By Ear club night VERY HAPPY INDEED. All this could have been demonstrated with one simple photo but we were too busy dancing to get the camera out - that's how good they were.

The best song of the night was 'Suit Your Needs' which is full of trumpets and the sort of glee that is only afforded to people of a Danish heritage. In the UK we don't get more cheerful than Editors most of the time.

Bodebrixen 'Suit Your Needs'

We hope everyone will be hearing a lot more of Bodebrixen in 2009 because they sound amazing. And if we have been unable to convince you of this so far, perhaps you will be interested in the picture of Binky and Bonky with their tops off on their MySpace page - you dirty perverts.

Listen to Bodebrixen at MySpace.

I Am Noxious? 'I Am An Exhibitionist' more like (plus amazing free song to download - FYI)

I Am Noxious is a man who we have written about several times on RobotPigeon. We have done this because we like him. We think his songs are brilliant and if you haven't listened to him before then he sounds like a huge and brilliant combination of Erasure, Hot Chip and The Magnetic Fields.

His latest track is called 'Stranded In Love' and was inspired by Daft Punk's 'Digital Love', which is officially Robot's favourite song of all time. 'Stranded On Love' is a properly lovely song which is both humble and introspective and at the same time something you can definitely dance around to. It is all about being in love and shagging each other. Noisily - and possibly in public.

Download: I Am Noxious 'Stranded On Love'

But while we love I Am Noxious, we still know very little about the man. So we asked him to fill in the gaps. Here is what he told us:

1. 'I live in London. I'm from East...'
2. 'I record all my songs in my bedroom and all my vocals are recorded through the build in mic on my Mac.'
3. 'I don't eat breakfast. I drink black coffee!'
4. 'I'd rather stay in than go out and get pissed.'
5. 'I sometimes wish I had other interests but music... But I don't.'

And from that we can deduce the following:

1. That he probably dresses quite nicely and will wear a hat from time to time.
2. Spends a lot of time singing at his computer.
3. Has good energy levels but his metabolism must be screwed.
4. Probably has a nice flat.
5. Could definitely hold a conversation on the ins and outs of Girls Aloud but would struggle to discuss Tony Blair's role in the Iraq war.

Hurrah to all that we say.

Click here for even more I Am Noxious 'whatnot' at MySpace.

Want to get your hands on something free from the generally brilliant band Lo Fi Fnk?

We can't promise you it will be any good and we can't promise you that it will be worth your time - but what we can promise you is that brilliant Swedish pop band Lo-Fi-Fnk will be giving away a free new song on Monday through their Facebook page.

We are mentioning this on the strength of their previous work such as their contribution to the Kitsune Maison 6 compilation:

Lo Fi Fnk 'Want U'


Which is, as we are sure you are aware, quite amazing.

But in the time since then they may have discovered metal, they may have discovered God - we have no idea what it might sound like, only that it will be free. So in essence, this post could be summed up thus:

'A band who have been good in the past are giving away a song we have not heard and cannot guarantee will even be listenable.'

Click here to join the Lo Fi Fnk Facebook group and to get your free thing.

We were first alerted to this on MySpace and will probably mention it on Twitter after blogging it. Quite an interesting bounce across social network site, don't you think?

We will obviously return to this after the event to let you know whether it was worth all of our time.

Toni Braxton is totally back-ston

Toni Braxton will be best remembered for all those horrible ballads. This is a shame because songs like 'He Wasn't Man Enough' and 'Hit The Freeway' were way better than 'Breathe Again' or 'Unbreak My Heart' and this is a fact.

Fortunately for the hearing-able world at large, her new single is a brilliant dance track and makes the whole Whitney Houston comeback seem even more lacklustre than it was when we were all shrugging off 'Million Dollar Bill' a few short months ago.

Toni's new single is called 'Make My Heart' and it's very much like the sound Janet Jackson has been (unsuccessfully) pioneering over the past couple of years ('Make Me Move' - number 73 in the UK). It's relentless electRo'n'B thing which will probably have a video featuring Toni engaging in a vigorous dance routine while lines of muscled dancers do likewise behind her.

We are not going to pretend that 'Make My Heart' is going to be a hit single, but it is very good.

Toni Braxton 'Make My Heart'

They done it again: Play It By Ear book Jupiter & Bodebrixen

Tomorrow night we are supposed to be going to some Scottish people's house to eat some haggis and talk about our neaps and tatties, but we might have to put the kilts back in the wardrobe because Play It By Ear Club have once again gone and booked an amazing line up.

First of all you get RobotPigeon favourites Jupiter bringing their French disco pop to Camden. This French man and French lady are the very definition of funky. The French lady does the vocals and the French man plays funny instruments like a keyboard on a string.

Jupiter's music is jaunty and danceable, uptempo and retro, without ever being derivative or repetative. My God that was almost something approaching real journalism. Ignore that and listen to their cover of Junior's 'Mama Used To Say' which tells you everything you need to know about them.



Then, as if seeing Jupiter wasn't le glaçage sur le gâteau, you get the pleasure of Bodebrixen. They are a Danish man and another Danish man. According to their myspace they met at a summer school for Jazz musicians, but WAIT, COME BACK. Their music is more We're From Barcelona / Ok Go than Duke Ellington / Chet Baker.

Their video for Clock Radio is wonderful (although they need to put some clothes on as those Long Johns leave very little to the imagination...)



Is it just us, or is there something very '80s sex education video' about that? Anyway, we also really like their tracks 'Deadman' and 'Year Is Dying', and we think we might be falling a bit in love with Mr Bode and Mr Brixen.

Well done Play It By Ear. Once again you have put together a very exciting line up and caused a clash in our social diary which will no doubt lead to us making up some awful excuses about dead relatives.

We will insert some mysapce links here for Jupiter, Bodebrixen and Play It By Ear Club.

Dyno might be quite successful in 2010 but on the other hand may not (either way they are very good)

As fan-made videos go, this effort for Dyno's seriously amazing 'Destroy! Destroy!' is not half bad.



> For one thing, no one is acting out every lyric literally (let us not forget the Ke$ha fan-video debacle).

> For another thing, more than a minute has been spent pondering the questions: 'how will I represent this exciting pop song in a visual capacity?'

> For the last thing, it's kinda arty - which is nice because we're pretentious bastards deep down.

The song is great and the band are picking up quite a bit of interest from other blogs. It is a shame Dyno weren't a few months earlier with getting their album in shape so people could have added the band to their 'ones to watch in 2010' lists. Of course SOME clever people were talking about Dyno way back in August 2009... Just saying.

Check out Dyno at MySpace.

Now that's NOT what we call music... The new album by The Knife

Let's be honest, the new album from The Knife was never going to be a pop record and Lo and behold - it isn't. A lot of it sounds like someone left a tap running and the front door open and an opera singer has wandered in off the street - but that is not to say that you should not go to The Knife's website where you can listen to the whole thing for free. Streaming, we believe it is called - like downloading, but you have to sit at your computer listening to The Knife banging pipes together with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock instead of having the freedom of listening to the album on your way to the shops.

Actually, we're not going to lie to you - most of this album is completely and utterly unlistenable. The Knife's debut album took the listener to a dark and unconventional place but this new record is just taking the piss. It's the equivalent of watching a piece of interpretive theatre performed by first year theatre students and someone, somewhere should have had the sense to sort this mess out before it was put anywhere near public ears.

However, we're not saying you won't find something to like in it. If you like that low, relentless hum of a TV set left on in the next room, then this may be right up your street. But for us, it's just noise. We appreciate it's more of a 'project' than anything but Christ on a bike, that's no excuse.

Click here to listen to 'Tomorrow, In A Year'

This here would be the new video from Shy Child then (and it's called 'Disconnected')

Since hearing 40% of the new Shy Child album recently, they have become one of our favourite bands of early 2010. The last time we wrote about them we were a little goggle-eyed over Glee at the time (still the best thing in the world ever) but now you can get more of an audio/visual experience of the new Shy Child stuff for yourself. We mean there is now a video to watch.

'Disconnected' is the first single from their 'Liquid Love' album and falls slap-bang in the middle of sounds of bands such as Hot Chip, Miike Snow, Cut Copy and Friendly Fires. A little bit indie, a little bit dance - but all glorious pop music. We love this band and while they may not have Number One singles while everyone is busy buying the various versions of 'Don't Stop Believing' we reckon they will be showing up at a lot of festivals later in the year and making a lot of people very happy indeed (namely us).

We think Shy Child are very brilliant indeed.

Get to know the 'real' Starsmith with his January Starsmashup mixtape

You might think you know Starsmith and have a pretty good idea of how Starsmith sounds. 'He makes all those Ellie Goulding songs sound dreamy and lovely' you might think (and you would be right) but the sound of Starsmith himself, when let loose on the decks is something else altogether. Instead of soaring pop music, Starsmith is fond of giant house records - from 90s stuff to now, this boy is far more of a party animal than he lets on...

Our evidence for this? His January mixtape. It's 30 minutes of utter amazingness, with tracks including the Algeronics remix of Daft Punk's overlooked 'Digital Love', the Fake Blood mix of 'Animal' by Miike Snow and a stupendous Russ Chimes mix of Ellie Goulding's 'Starry Eyed'. AMONG MANY OTHER BRILLIANT SONGS. We only wish it was a little longer. 30 minutes of this man is not enough. We demand hours.

Here is the full tracklisting:

Alaric 'Cruelty' (Wolfgang Gartner's Mix)
Major Lazer 'Pon De Floor' (Cold Blank Remix)
Deadmau5 'Playmaker'
Miike Snow 'Animal' (Fake Blood Remix)
MSTRKRFT 'Heartbreaker' (Laidback Luke Remix)
AMAZING: Ellie Goulding 'Starry Eyed' (Russ Chimes Remix)
Dizzee Rascal 'Bonkers' (Soulwax Edit)
AMAZING: Daft Punk 'Digital Love' (Algeronics Remix)
Eric Prydz 'Pjanoo' (Dada Life Remix)
Duck Sauce 'Anyway'
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool 'Dance The Way I Feel' (AVH Remix)
Cassius '1999'
AMAZING: Cut Copy 'So Haunted' (Knightlife Remix)
Daft Punk 'Revolution 909'

Here is the download link:

Download: Starsmith 'January's Starsmashup'

Probably not what they expected: Passion Pit remix Lady GaGa's 'Telephone' and results are unusual

'Telephone' is the best song on Lady GaGa's 'Fame Monster' album apart from maybe 'Dance In The Dark' and 'Speechless'. Hmmmmmmmm - perhaps we should rethink that opening; 'Telephone' is one of MANY great songs on Lady GaGa's 'Fame Monster' album and is definitely the one with Beyonce on and it is also the one that is currently being remixed rather often by talented people such as Alphabeat and now Passion Pit.

Now, we all know what Passion Pit sound like - beardy pop music for geeks who fall in love too often and too easily. More dance than indie but with guitars and drums and no dance routines. However, the Passion Pit remix of 'Telephone' sounds NOTHING like Passion Pit and is instead more like a two-step remix found on the b-side of a single from the 90s - perhaps by Gabrielle or Pauline Henry.

It's not proving very popular with listeners on YouTube ('Listened to three seconds and quit', 'Gross' and 'Chipmunk voice fucking ruins it') but we actually think it's rather brilliant. If people still listened to speed garage, this would be on a lot of compilations. There's not a lot of vocals and what there is is mostly the offending chipmunk, but the remix takes a brilliant song and does some marvellous and original things with it - and that is a lot better than just making it a bit faster and put a whoosh on the chorus. Passion Pit have definitely earned their fee.

Lady GaGa feat. Beyonce 'Telephone' (Passion Pit remix)

NEW CHRISTINA SONG (it is): 'Spotlight'

Who would have thought, after the Justice fiasco this morning, that the world of dance music would be rocked again so soon by another leak of a new song by one of their favourite artists. This time it's Christina Aguilera.

This one is definitely by Christina. No-one else covers this many octaves in the space of three minutes. It will probably have been deleted by the time you press play:



Sadly, we wish it was fake. It sounds like a discarded b-side from the last album. Look love, if we wanted wartime chic we'd all buy a Vera Lynn album and be done with it wouldn't we, and when was the last time you saw her in the charts*?

There's a glimmer of hope, however, because this isn't a proper single. It's from Christina's new film 'Burlesque', which also stars some old lady Cher.

BRING BACK THE CHAPS.

*oh, Christmas 2009

NEW JUSTICE SONG! (it's not): 'Beginning Of The End'

This morning the blogosphere (that is such an awful term) was alight (such an awful phrase) with talk of a new Justice song, which had apparently been sent out by Ed Banger Records.

This is said song:



Our first thought was "That is a bit rubbish". Our second thought was "I wonder if it's really Justice, and if it is, should we post it?". Luckily, before we had to waste any time even fathoming an answer the blogosphere was reignited with the news that NO, it is not Justice.

It's not the first time that a track has leaked and been mistaken (intentionally or otherwise) for another artist, but it made us think some funny things about the way we approach listening to new music.

Do we automatically like a new track more if it's by an artist we already like?

Even if it is a bit rubbish?

Do we give new tracks that we don't automatically like more of a chance if they are by an artist we already like?

Even if it is a bit rubbish?

Could this be the label trying out a track that they're not sure about to see if people will buy an old tat if it's attached to a big name?

Even if it is a bit rubbish?

Should we be paying attention to the person who really made the track if it's good enough to convince everyone that it is possibly new material from a band we really like?

Even if it is a bit rubbish?

Should we spend time thinking about things like this, which is probably just a clever promotional tool for the label to get everyone talking about Justice in advance of the campaign for the new album, without everyon getting sick of Justice before the campaign for the new album actually starts?

No. Let's not spend too much time worrying about nonsense like this. Especially when there are things like world famine and kittens who only have two legs and have to wear a harness with wheels on it to worry about. Just thought we'd mention it.

Remix Tudesay: Alphabeat do Gaga, Faust does Fare Soldi, and Monsieur Adi does Javi...

We've been sent a few remixes over the last few days and have been meaning to write about all of them. So here they are in one digestible, waffle lite, cut and paste post.

1. Javi 'Situation' Monsieur Adi remix

Hands up who had not heard of Javi prior to this? *puts hand up with a hint of embarrassment*. Ok hands down. Listen to this and then come back to us:

Download: Javi 'Situation' Monsieur Adi Remix

Here is Javi. He is from Puerto Rico. He wears a pair of braces well. He makes jaunty electro pop. Monsieur Adi works his magic by upping the funky riffs and truncating the vocals. He also adds *caps lock on* SAXOPHONE AND STRINGS. What does that tell you? It tells you that this is fantastic, that's what. When is Monsieur Adi going to produce an album? We demand answers.

2. Fare Soldi 'Tutto Tutti Sempre Subito' Justin Faust Remix

We can partly translate the title of this song because we know that Tutti Frutti ice cream is 'all the fruits'. And 'Per Sempre Amore' was a song by internationally renowned singer Lolly which was handily bracketed with the English translation 'Forever In Love'.

Download: Fare Soldi 'Tutto Tutti Sempre Subito (Translation: Something All The Fruits Forever In Love Something)' Justin Faust Remix

This is nicely restrained, and has a real jaunty, uplifting rhythm to it. Two international thumbs up.

3. Lady Gaga 'Telephone' Alphabeat Remix

This one's a bit of a surprise. Alphabeat have turned Gaga and Beyonce's call barring ballad not into a pop epic, but into a hundered beats per minute dance epic. It was a mistake to lose Beyonce's "Grand Central Station" line which, for us, is the core of the track, but 2:12 is where this really kicks off. Love the whistles.



And that's quite enough remixes for one day thank you very much.

Hyper Crush interview: "It actually gives the artist more of an opportunity to expose themselves"

Hyper Crush are by no means the first band who could be described as having an ‘80s inspired sound’. But the US electro-hip-pop trio go one step further than just listening to Eddy Grant and Prince. Hyper Crush don the neon, play the NES and watch episodes of Knight Rider on Betamax. They have taken the sound of the 1980s out clubbing, introduced it to hip hop, and led it out a side door through a synth supermarket.

Last year they supported Lady Gaga on her European tour. We’re hoping this means Hyper Crush are about to export themselves globally. Although they may find they don’t need their neon sunglasses over here…

RobotPigeon: Hello Hyper Crush. Let’s get the important question out the way first. What is your favourite shade of neon?
Holly: Pink
Donny: Yellow
Preston: Green

RP: Last year you supported Lady Gaga on tour. Was that the start of a plan to crack the European market?
Hyper Crush: It was the first step. We plan on going back to Europe as well as Australia, and hopefully Japan, and South America too. As much as possible. The fans were very open and receptive to what we are doing.

RP: Does Lady Gaga wander round backstage carrying her teacup and talking to flowers, or is she just pretty dull out of the spotlight?
HC: She wasn't really around much. The whole wacky, crazy thing is definitely part of her act and image.

RP: To be honest there are probably certain streets in Europe where you’ll see crazier people than Lady Gaga...
HC: The Red Light District in Amsterdam! Fuckin’ madness.

RP: How much influence do you have on Hyper Crush’s image?
HC: One hundred percent. We oversee everything and design the majority of our merch. We have a lot to do with our videos, and website. We know exactly what we want and don't settle for anything less.

RP: You are big fans of the 80s. Will music forever be recycling previous decades?
HC: Everything is influenced from something else that was previously done. The trick is to start from scratch and not copy anything; just create what you like!

RP: Was there a point where Hyper Crush went from making music for fun to thinking 'this could work as a career'?
HC: Not really. We just always knew this is what we wanted. It was, is, and will always be, our life.

RP: There's a huge Hyper Crush presence on the internet; does all the tweeting and blogging and facebooking detract from actually making music?
HC: I don't think so. It actually gives the artist more of an opportunity to expose themselves. It is now possible for anyone to make music and put it on the internet. If you really want it and are willing to dedicate your life anything is possible nowadays

RP: You've previously cited Radiohead and The Smiths as influences - what do you think Thom Yorke and Morrissey would make of your music?
HC: To be honest they probably wouldn't like it, but maybe they are more open minded than we think.

RP: Tell us a bit the forthcoming album.
HC: We are very happy with the album. We have taken what we do to the next level. Songs that we hope will last the test of time…

Hopefully they will last at least until 2080 and Hyper Crush can be cited as the band who helped shape the sound of the 80s. Thank you Hyper Crush.

Download: Hyper Crush’s ‘Keep Up’ Tony Arzadon Remix

‘Keep Up’ is out now in the US. Click here to nab it off of iTunes. Everyone else, keep an eye on Hyper Crush on Myspace.

This clashes with Glee (but you can record that): Nerina Pallot 'I Don't Want To Go Out' sessions

Beautiful/sometimes-overlooked-by-the-record-buying-public songstress Nerina Pallot has been doing a series of gigs on the world wide web. They are called the 'I Don't Want To Go Out Sessions'. The cleverness here is twofold because not only is 'I Don't Want To Go Out' the name of a song on Nerina's album, but also because this is essentially a gig that you don't have to go out to watch.

It's sort of like when Sandi the liar Thom 'set up her own' webcast from her basement. Only this time the songs being played aren't a load of old rubbish.

Here is a handy video where Nerina, complete with tangerine, explains the whole thing (in case you hadn't already grasped the concept):



There are many good sides to this. Here they are in a list:

1. You can watch it from your armchair (unless, like us, you have Virgin Media's 'intermittent broadband' package).

b. We like following the progress of the blue mug.

iii. If you are a burglar, you can browse the contents of Nerina's lounge before you break in.

4. Nerina has drafted in a raft of talented support artists. Last time it was Theoretical Girl. Tonight it is Bright Light Bright Light who we bang on about all the time. Now you really have no excuse not to watch him.

v. Her dog does funny things.

6. The songs sound bloody amazing. Especially considering they are being beamed around the world down a wire. Technology is frightening.

HERE IS THE ADDRESS TO WATCH IT. Beyond providing you with that link please don't expect us to help out with anything technolological like 'streaming'. It starts at 9pm UK time. That time will vary depending upon where in the world you live in relation to the Royal Observatory.

***UPDATE***

Here is something rather special which you will have seen if tuned in, and which you won't if you didn't (maybe you should do what we tell you next time?):

Shy Child 'Liquid Love': shaping up to be somewhat marvellous

In the few scant moments we've managed to listen to something other than songs from Glee in the past week we've been listening to the new Shy Child album 'Liquid Love' A LOT. It's not exactly the polar opposite of Glee, but the gap between cheerful American schoolkids covering 'chart hits' and credible electro-indie-pop is still pretty wide and could only really be closed in the unlikely event that the writers manage to weave a Shy Child track into a future episode. They won't.

Well, when we say we've been listening to the album, we mean a four-track sampler. It's brilliant, but we've been burned before in times like these, when the other eight songs turn out to be a load of old crap. Like movie trailer, sometimes the preview is better than the real thing.

But, on the strength of the four tracks we've listened to, 'Liquid Love' is going to be a bit brilliant. The general feeling with Shy Child is that they are basically a rougher alternative to Cut Copy, things sound slightly unfinished and grungy around the edges, despite massive choruses and the electronic and very danceable production. Sadly, it will appeal to readers of NME more than it will viewers of Glee but we are proof that Shy Child definitely have a big manly foot in with pop fans.

In more detail (actually, it's going to be rather brief) here's a well thought-out run through of what we've heard from the Shy Child album.

'Disconnected'
Hot Chips meets Friendly Fires. Great chorus.

'Liquid Love'
Either samples or skirts dangerously close to Fleetwood Mac. The most pop of all four - very Cut Copy.

'The Beatles'
Not boring as the title might suggest. The best of the bunch. Nineties house influences are a-ok with us.

'Criss Cross'
Subdued and amazing. Sounds like something Groove Armada might tuck towards the quiet end of an album.

It's all bloody brilliant and we are excited to hear the rest of the album. But let's be honest, we're 100% sure there'll be nothing on it as good as this:



Glee has basically ruined it for modern music by being literally better than everything.

Listen to Shy Child at their MySpace page.

Who wants to go on a date with us? Fenech-Soler live shows 2010

What are you doing this weekend? Are you in London? You should go and see Fenech Soler. We can't go, we are busy, but don't let that stop you. They are also playing some shows outside of London too for the poor people those of you fortunate enough not to live in this smog infested hell hole.

Here is a copy and pasted list from their myspace (so not our fault if it's wrong):

22 Jan 2010 KOKO, LONDON
23 Jan 2010 PROUD GALLERIES, LONDON
5 Feb 2010 HMV NEXT BIG THING, LONDON (w/ Marina & The Diamonds)
6 Feb 2010 THE PLUG, SHEFFIELD (w/ A-Trak)
13 Feb 2010 STEALTH, NOTTINGHAM
19 Feb 2010 MODA, LINCOLN (w/ Erol Alkan)
20 Feb 2010 THEKLA, BRISTOL
25 Feb 2010 CABARET VOLTAIRE, EDINBURGH
26 Feb 2010 DOG HOUSE, DUNDEE
27 Feb 2010 WAREHOUSE 2, ABERDEEN
28 Feb 2010 KING TUTS, GLASGOW
6 Mar 2010 RAZZMATAZZ, BARCELONA
17 Mar 2010 SXSW, AUSTIN, TEXAS
27 Mar 2010 THE LIBRARY, LANCASTER (w/ Chew Lips)
28 Mar 2010 THE LIBRARY, BURNLEY (w/ Chew Lips)
23 Apr 2010 THE CORONET, LONDON

We LOVED 'Lies' when it came out at the end of last year, and there are so many more tracks from this band floating about on the world wide web which are also brilliant that we are literally salivating at the thought of the album. No, seriously, we just had to mop up our desk with a tissue.

Jedward go on the telly and sing their new single. Someone tapes it, sticks it on YouTube and bloggers write about it.

Jedward.

Vanilla Ice.

Under Pressure.

Ice Ice Baby.

National TV Awards.

Dannii and Cheryl - McElderry sandwich at 2:50.

AMAZING.

This Ellie Goulding 'thing' is all going rather nicely, isn't it...

We can't really not mention the video for 'Starry Eyed' by Ellie Goulding today can we.

She is the most exciting popstar the UK has seen in quite some time and knocks other UK female artists like La Roux and Little Boots into the proverbial cocked-hat by straddling the all important divide between being a credible musician and a popstar who is exciting and shiny and who dances and has lovely hair and stuff.

Most importantly, she does all this with ease and for once, the much-touted bright hope for British music of the year has us convicned of her brilliance.

We're sure however, that in reality, Ms Goulding is not one for the 'straddling' mentioned above. She's too much of a lady (see above image of Goulding drinking a cup of tea with a saucer - A SAUCER - for prove of demure femininity) for that sort of nonsense.

Here's the 'Starry Eyed' video.

Girls Can't Catch have great Titch

There's something a little depressing when you see a Girls Can't Catch updating their MySpace status urging people to watch them perform their new single live on the Alan Titchmarsh show.

This misery is twofold:

1. The updating of a MySpace profile must reach all of about 11 fans - mostly in Malaysia and the occasional Dane.
2. When the Alan Titchmarsh show is considered a viable option for a new pop band to promote their new single, you know music television has hit its lowest peak.

However, every cloud has a silver lining and again - this optimism is twofold:

1. This gives us a nice opportunity to write about a song that we have not found a chance to mention before. 'Echo' is never going to change the world but we have been listening to it a lot recently, and, as modern pop singles go, rate rather highly.
2. The live vocals are really very good - and (dare we say it) better than some of Girls Aloud's appearances on daytime television.

There is also some pleasure to be taken from Titchmarsh musing on how difficult the music industry is and interacting with the girls like a distant uncle at Christmas who hasn't needed to speak to anyone under the age of 20 for several decades.



Marvellous. Out this week btw.

Go, Ok Go! : Ok Go and the story of the fight for their own video 'This Too Shall Pass'

We feel all political and rebellious this morning thanks to Ok Go.

Not just because their track 'This Too Shall Pass' is actually a rather brilliant track.

Not just because their video for 'This Too Shall Pass' is actually a rather brilliant video.

Not just because their blog piece explaining why you can't embed their Youtube video is actually a rather brilliant blog piece.

Not just because we love the fact that they uploaded it to Vimeo in two fingers up to Youtube (and possibly their own label - eek).

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

But because we kind of love Ok Go. Always have, always will.

And we like to be a bit obtuse sometimes too.

The End.

PS. If you buy some Ok Go records after reading this it might make their argument more valid.
Here, here, here, here, here, here, you get the idea...

Hunt this down: 'Wolf In A Spacesuit' limited vinyl release

We've noticed an interesting trend of late. Ever since the internet was convicted of murdering the music industry, what with its free mp3 downloads et al, the golden age of the vinyl seems to be on the rise again.

This is good. Because we like holding the music in our hands, blowing off the dust which we cant really see, placing the needle down carefully...and then slipping and scratching the thing to shit so it skips all the time (We desperately need a new copy of 'Thriller', but prices have rocketed since MJ popped it. Gutted). They're also nice to frame and have on the wall and just continue to listen to the mp3s.

The latest label to embrace this needle required format are Hi-Scores Recording Library. We give them ten out of ten (see what we did there?) for choosing Canadian/Chicago (delete as appropriate) based outfit Wolf In A Spacesuit as their first release.

Here's the deal. Pay attention. There are 500 copies of the vinyl. If you buy the vinyl you also get to download a their 'Pink Slip' EP for free. So it's like the format of the future meeting the format of the past and having a 'new industry model' baby. And get this...the vinyl is white.

The tracks on the vinyl (colour = white), 'Bark Of A Cedar' and 'I Fee Nthg', have been released previously as part of a download EP, but to be honest it doesn't matter because, quite aside from having been rerecorded and remastered, they are fucking great.

Think Radiohead 'In Rainbows', think Girls Aloud 'Biology', think The XX (actually forget that, boring), think Air '10,000 Hz Legend'...mix all of that together and that's sort of Wolf In A Spacesuit. They play with structure, sound and melody like a cat playing with a dismembered mouse head. And we are excited to hear what this sounds like on a crackly, scratched old (did we mention it's white) vinyl.

Pre-order from Hi-Scores Recording Library
Wolf In A Spacesuit on Myspace

Just give her all next year's Brits now: Ellie Goulding (Again. Sorry.)

It doesn't matter that 'Starryeyed' has been doing the rounds since before Robot & Pigeon were even born. It. Is. Fucking. Brilliant.

And this new live arrangement, complete with drum solo, just adds that extra sprinkling of crispy breadcrumbs to the top of what was already a delicious fish pie.



Ellie smashes the vocal on this (after an, understandably, rabbit in the headlights-esque appearance on Jools Holland at the end of last year, which worried us slightly). And we're sorry to bang on about her once again, but it's the first time in a long time that a new artist has actually delivered music which lives up to the industry hype.

One thing. Starsmith must be a bit annoyed that they've roped in a replacement 'exceedingly tall bass player™', no?

90s overload: Alphabeat do a fucking great live version of 'The Spell'

Yes, yes, we know Alphabeat are already onto promotion for second single 'Hole In My Heart', but we have watched this live version of 'The Spell' about 8 times in a row today.



It is always pleasing to see a live arrangement that betters the original. It shows the band have looked at what they've done and thought "right, we've got a pretty great song here. How can we take it up a notch to pretty fucking great now that we've got a bit more freedom to mess about and do what we like with the live version?". The Black Box nod at the end is a particularly lovely touch.

We've seen their shows a few times, and the energy and enthusiasm they deliver (particularly singer Anders' dancing) make them the live act equivalent of a food fight at a house party when it's not your house.

We're just absolutely gutted now that we forgot to get our tickets for Alphabeat (with Lady Gaga supporting them) on tour next month.

Bright Light Bright Light remixes Ellie Goulding Ellie Goulding

Sometimes we worry that RobotPigeon is turning into an eternal spiral of death as we constantly repeat how amazing our favourite bands are. You know who we are talking about - they're in every other piece we write.

But it is not our fault if the people we love won't stop being amazing and the Bright Light Bright Light (clang) remix of 'Under The Sheets' by Ellie Goulding (clang) is thoroughly lovely and a welcome freshening on a song we love, but have played to death over the past few months.

And by 'freshening up' we mean that the Bright Light Bright Light mix is subdued and subtle (neither of which RobotPigeon excels at), and has the trademark nineties pop influences of Bright Light Bright Light that elevate his usual melancholy way above the average singer/songwriter/producer/remixer/babysitter. And is it us or does the simple beat running through the song sound nicely reminiscent of a similar beat in the original of Candi Staton's 'You Got The Love'?

Download: Ellie Goulding 'Under The Sheets' (Bright Light Bright Light remix)

WARNING: The Fear of Tigers mix of 'Crysteena' might make your head fall off

Lets be honest - no one else does remixes like Fear of Tigers. This man does things to songs that surely can't be 100% legal and possibly demand investigation by government officials who investigage the dangers of new drugs. His work must also make the people responsible for the original wonder why they didn't make it sound so good in the first place.

Case in point? His mix of 'Crysteena' by Mille. The original was good enough (in fact it was bloody brilliant) but Fear of Tigers has taken it into a whole new level of incredible, with an all-new finale that takes 'Crysteena' totally into orbit and makes it do a little dance on the moon before heading back down to earth to boast about what it did in outer-space. Please excuse those slightly-rubbish space references.

It's still 'Crysteena' but the one to claim the glory on this is Fear of Tigers. This is the best remix of 2010 (so far).

Download: Mille 'Crysteena' (Fear of Tigers remix)

And here is the same song, but in YouTube form - for those who wish to be freed from the burden of actually owning the MP3.

Mille 'Crysteena' (Fear of Tigers remix)

Helsinki 78-82: Beeps, bikes and boys

This weekend we will either go and get horribly drunk and dance like idiots or we will park ourselves on the sofa and plough through the Aliens vs Predator boxset we found in a supermarket wrongly labelled at £3.

For the sake of our dignity, lets say we'll definitely be drinking and dancing. We are more likely to be doing that after hearing 'Cruising' by Helsinki 78-82 this morning (courtesy of Discodust) which is a brilliant piece of bleepy European technopop. Listening to 'Cruising' has made us want to go somewhere that plays music like this - which, unfortunately would probably be Finland, since that is where Helsinki 78-82 are from.

The track has a brilliant video about some nice looking men going on a fashionable bike ride and making bikes look COOL. So maybe we should go and get a bike this weekend. The options are literally endless.



Helsinki 78-82 on MySpace

Crooking up something lovely with Miike Snow

Things we love include:

1. Dinner.
2. Collaborations.
3. Miike Snow.

And the new Crookers track combines two of these brilliant things by being a collaboration with the amazing Miike Snow. Two out of three isn't bad.

The song is called 'Remedy' is basically a remix of Miike Snow's 'In Search Of' but that does not mean that 'Remedy' is not a brilliant creation in it's own right.

'Remedy' is a lot darker than the usual Miike Snow stuff, but that is because the ownership of the track belongs fully to Crookers, the Italian DJs/producers best known for making Kid Cudi's 'Day and Night' almost listenable with their remix.

The video is a lighter version of the terrifying Justice video for 'Stress' with two nice looking chaps committing some not-very-threatening thefts in order to complete a rather relevant art project.



Both the video and the song are brilliant, and the track is taken from the new Crookers album 'Tons of Friends'. We look forward to hearing what else they've been up to with their other mates (whichever credible modern musicians those prove to be).

Cagedbaby edit Editors (ie do a remix) and it is very good indeed

If it's good enough for terminal snooze-maestros Snow Patrol (on most recent single 'Just Say Yes'), then it is good enough for every other nearly-forgotten indie band out there. We are talking about going electronic and in this instance, we're talking about Editors.

After the success of their debut album, Editors seemed to slip away after their second record, but their last single 'Papillion' was of exceptionally high quality, and having gotten Cagedbaby in to remix their new single 'You Don't Know Love', they have stepped well and truly out of the dready indie band stereotype with a dark, menacing slice of electro-pop which far and away outstrips the original of the song.

Cagedbaby has turned 'You Don't Know Love' into something akin to a modern-day Joy Division track, with Tom Smith's distinctive vocals adding just enough doom and gloom to keep this on this on the right side of their indie roots.

It is just a shame Editors didn't have the balls to go all the way with this and lead with this amazing remix for the single's release. It may not have seen them claw back the success they saw with 'Munich' or 'Blood' but it would have done gained even more approving nods that just relegating Cagedbaby's reworking to the b-side.

Download: Editors 'You Don't Know Love' (Cagedbaby remix)

And here's the original - which is not as good but far from dreadful.

Editors 'You Don't Know Love'

The single is released on January 25. Which we should probably mention in exchange for the MP3 :)

Leona Lewis gets her hands on another soundtrack

Leona Lewis can't get enough of geeky soundtracks. Not content with soundtracking the oversized smurfs in Avatar with her 'I See You' blub-a-thon, she's also lent her song 'My Hands' to the soundtrack of the latest Final Fantasy game (which, if you haven't played any of the previous games, is mostly about riding yellow chickens into battle, standing around having a chat for half an hour, quickly bopping some lizards on the head and then going to town to buy a new sword).

There's no video for 'My Hands' only the following trailer, and although it's one of the best on her 'Echo' album it's unlikely to be a single, but at least it will now be heard by thousands of young men with nothing better to wrap their fists around while trying to skip through scenes like these:



That was the official Final Fantasy XIII trailer featuring Leona Lewis' 'My Hands'. We don't imagine the words 'Chocobo' or 'Ivalice' would mean diddly-squat to Leona somehow. But it wouldn't matter if 'My Hands' was being used as the theme tune to a new series of Tracy Beaker - the song is bloody lovely.

Tugging at ours: Frankie & The Heartstrings

Sometimes when you are in Poundland, covered in snow, holding an industrial bottle of bleach for your blocked toilet, having a little cry at the state of your life, a song will come on the shop's crackly stereo and you think "actually, 2010 might be ok after all".

And then you reach into your pocket to pay for your bleach and you only have 97p, but the man lets you have it anyway because he too is cheered up by the song on the radio. This is, of course, a purely fictional scenario and in no way whatsoever did this happen to us on Saturday. But if it had, the song on the radio might have been Frankie & The Heartstrings' 'Hunger'.

Featuring jangly guitars and a hefty bass line, followed up with rousing 'oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ohhhs' and HANDCLAPS, you might fear you are in Fratellis et al territory. But 'Hunger' is delivered with such verve, excitement and, crucially, sincerity that this is elevated way above lads-on-tour indie, and becomes one of those genre busting songs that transcends classification.

We've built it up too much now, but here it is:



There are other bits and pieces by F&THS floating around the world wide web, and you can see the video to downtempo (though equally endearing) track 'Fragile' on their myspace.

We will be keeping one eye firmly on Frankie and his heartstrings this year. And the other on whoever it was that blocked our toilet.

Does Erik Hassle know there's a recession on? : yet another video for 'Hurtful'

Ok, so Hurtful is a good song, and has finally made its way onto the Radio 1 play list. But seriously, in these poor old struggling music industry times, HOW MANY VIDEOS DOES ONE SONG NEED? This one popped up today:
Erik Hassle - Hurtful

Erik Hassle | MySpace Music Videos

Aside from some nice animation it's not wholly dissimilar to:



At least he kept his shirt on this time:



*Update* Here's one we missed (and there we were thinking three was excessive), featuring Erik simultaneously watching all the videos he's made for 'Hurtful'. It's the Penguin Prison remix, just to mix things up a bit:



Can we suggest that next time they re-release 'Hurtful' they just use this one. Stick with it, there's more drama in this than an Eastenders Christmas special:

A quick thing about the UK Top Forty

We don't usually cover what's happening in the Top Forty (because you can read all about it at places like this) but we're surprised that both Justin Bieber and Ellie Goulding are doing so well in this week's chart.

> Justin Bieber (Number 14) because we saw this tiny-teen from Canada as little more than an r&b Lil'Chris and we never thought such sincerity about relationships from a 7 year old (or something) would catch on with the cold, cynical UK music buyer.

> Ellie Goulding because simply being named the BBC's tip for 2010 and being having a clip of 'Under The Sheets' played on the news every now and again last week has seen the single reappear in the Top 75 (Number 66). If ever there was a track that was worthy of more than a limited release, it's this.

We wonder what a buyer of BBC-news recommended music might be like. Sian Williams (that lady above) and Bill Turnbull we imagine.

TeenagersInTokyo: brilliant new single, terrible use of the space bar

Not to be confused with The Teenagers (scruffy men who sing about bonking girls in America) or that Mini Viva single about a weekend in Japan, TeenagersInTokyo are a space-free group of stunning girls (and boy) from Australia. We've been aware of them for some time but now, at the start of 2010, they have a whole heap of new music to unleash on the world - which includes their quite brilliant new single, 'Peter Pan'.

The single is a well dressed slice of super-cool guitar-pop and if it has been released two years ago, TeenagersInTokyo would have been referred to as a female fronted, Australian Foals-a-like. However, things change and music moves on, so it would probably more appropriate to describe TeenagersInTokyo as a female-fronted Delphic (how very BBC zeitgeist). In laymans terms, 'Peter Pan' is a brilliant bit of no-frills indie disco - and we've always got time for a bit of that.

The video to the single is a generally wistful country romp, albeit with a strange and bloody twist at the end, which makes no real sense but livens things up greatly. It looks like it was shot in Devon.



We like.

Here is the TeenagersInTokyo MySpace.

Acid Girls and ladies in corsets

If the saying, 'A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips' is true - then what happens to delicious cake when it is thrown in your face or blobbed all over the rest of your body?

Not a lot we're sure - that was an introduction not a serious question about weight-gain. The introduction is for the new video from Acid Girls, which will probably find approval with fans of the bleepy electronica made by Simian Mobile Disco (who have, food-video-fans, previously made their own food-fight video).

The song makes us want to dance. The video makes us want to head to the nearest Greggs and buy a cream puff. The ladies make us want to watch Lark Rise To Candleford on the BBC later...

Not really what we were hoping for: Plan B 'Stay Too Long'

"Oh hey Plan B. We were thinking, you're not really that into lo-fi grime are you? Only it didn't sell as well as we'd have liked. So we were thinking about when Robbie did 'Swing When You're Winning' and thought you could maybe do something similar? What do you reckon? We can do an 'explicit' video or something if that would cushion the blow?"



*ahem*

The Pendulum remix is better, if a little D:Ream...

Download: Dragonette 'Easy' Slaughterbrains remix

It's difficult to know when to write about a release from our favourite Canadians (sorry Celine) Dragonette because the singles and albums are thrown out left, right and centre, here, there and everywhere. So we're not sure if 'Easy' has been released or not.

Probably not because it doesn't have a video. Well, not an official one. It does have this one:



*aghast face* Let's forget we ever saw that and listen to the Slaughterbrains remix instead:

Download: Dragonette 'Easy' Slaughterbrains remix

Slaughterbrains is back for 2010 everyone! Hooray! This is a more refined sound from SB, and you can tell that he is getting more and more comfortable with the knob twiddling. Our favourite bit is at the 2:20 mark where a cocophany of audible flowers burst through the frozen mud (no, we don't know where we're going with that either).

You should really stop fannying around and just buy the Dragonette album from here
And if you want to hear more brilliant noises from Slaughterbrains go here.

A review of the Fyfe Dangerfield album, 'Fly Yellow Moon'

Fyfe Dangerfield is not our usual sort of thing. He's a serious man who sings sincere songs about love and girls and other poetic things like being optimistic and how sometimes everything can be quite shit but you've just got to get on with it. Basically - he is not a popstar and you would be hard pushed to dance to his music (whether solo or with the endlessly brilliant Guillemots).

But Guillemots are all a bit 'on hold' right now, because Fyfe is currently having a bash at solo success - and on the strength of his debut album, 'Fly Yellow Moon', he could do rather well for himself.

In essence, Guillemots always seemed a little like a Fyfe Dangerfield solo-project anyway - albeit it with a couple of mates and a lady playing the cello - but 'Fly Yellow Moon' is a totally different affair to another Guillemots album. 'Fly Yellow Moon' loses the sound of the band and focuses on the sound of the man, and the result is a far more hushed and thoughtful record.

True, there's the brilliantly messy 'When You Walk In The Room' and the ever-so-slightly epic 'She Needs Me' but apart from 'Faster Than The Setting Sun', the remainder of the album (seven tracks) are either mellow or very mellow. But this isn't a bad thing - especially when 'Livewire' sounds like Bright Eyes' 'First Day of My Life' with less in the way of personal issues.

However, our favourites on the album are 'So Brand New' (which proves that Fyfe Dangerfield can turn his talents to old-school soul) and 'Barricades' which is a simple, sweet ballad about love and stuff - which is essentially what he does best and where he has made his mark with Guillemots.

'Fly Yellow Moon' is jolly good indeed, and while perhaps more something for those twiddling their thumbs waiting for the next Guillemots album than a proper introduction to a huge new artist, Fyfe Dangerfield has, for quite some time, been one of the most talented and poetic stars of UK music for some time, and this album is more than proof of his abilities. We *heart* him greatly and the album comes highly recommended.

Fyfe Dangerfield 'She Needs Me'

Turning up like a curly haired, Swedish penny

A year ago we wrote about Erik Hassle's 'Hurtful' and then did so again a couple of times during 2009. Our general take on the song was that it was amazing and this remains true.

However, there was a bit of dicking around that went on with the release of the single and things went tits up when 'Hurtful' was released (or was it? It more 'vanished' than hit shelves) at the tail end of last year.

However, 'Hurtful' has now back on the Radio One playlist, and most excitingly of all - with a new Starsmith remix to try and break Mr Hassle in the UK. We are fairly sure Starsmith has not bollocksed up the song, because this is not what Starsmith tends to do with pop songs. Listen out for the new remix on BBC radio stations near you.

Download: Alphabeat 'Hole In My Heart' The Sound Of Arrows remix

Here is a picture we nicked from the Alphabeat blog of the video for their forthcoming single 'Hole In My Heart'. It looks like it revolves around Stine playing Mario Kart Wii in front of some appalling interior decoration. The technical term for this is green screening, and we're sure they'll add Yoshi in at a later date.

You have to wait a bit longer to hear the track itself, but in the meantime you can keep your ears busy with a Scandanavian overload in the form of The Sound Of Arrows' remix:

Download: Alphabeat 'Hole In The Heart' The Sound Of Arrows remix

The gist of the track is that love turns Alphabeat upside down. We used to get turned upside down, but it was so that the bullies could shake us and our lunch money would fall out of our pockets. In this instance we assume they mean it in a more affectionate manner.

Bad news:
1. There's a bit of rhyming dictionary abuse (though nothing quite as serious as Sugababes' similarly titled 'Hole In The Head').

Good news:
1. Anders gets a lot more to do this time around.
ii. Lasers - we think this is SOA's input, but if they appear on the single as well we'll be more than happy.
c. The ambiguous "all I want to do is to do something with you" bridge. This may refer to 'sex', or it may innocently mean 'go for a walk in the park'. We may never know.
4. And the most important thing to note is the 3:00-3:06 mark, where Anders essentially counts down to a beat bomb. This is singularly the most exciting thing we have heard in a remix all year (and we've heard a lot in the past four days).

We can come to two conclusions from this:
1. Alphabeat are not lacking in the great new songs department. Go Denmark.
2. The Sound Of Arrows are not lacking the ingenious remixing skills department. Go Sweden.

Come on Norway - you're now severely lagging.

Dear Calvin Harris, bet you wish you'd done this instead: Alex Metric 'It Starts' video

We've started this again 3 times now (the video, not the blog). It's the video for Alex Metric's 'It Starts', and it looks not unlike the moving pictures which appear in the box below:



Ironically, Robot is lounging in front of yet another episode of Come Dine With Me as Pigeon writes this. Maybe he will think twice once he has seen the video - or maybe we'll just end up hosting a dinner party with four fat, drunk strangers.

Anyway, the point is we forgot how arresting and relentlessly brilliant 'It Starts' is. Taken from the eponymously (that's not quite the right word, but we've always wanted to write it so we're going to leave it) titled EP released late last year, it grabs you from the opening second and never lets up for all of its 3 minutes and 19 seconds.

The guitar riff drags the track somewhere across the electro/indie divide, but has its roots firmly in dirty beats rather than scraggly haired and skinny jeaned indie kids. Chuck in a great topline and the nicely put together video you just watched and you have all the makings of someone RobotPigeon are getting in a flap about.

It's also worth checking out the rest of the EP. 'Gusto' is a particular highlight with its blaring sirens and incessant scratching paving the way for dirty dirty synths.

In short, we heart Alex Metric. Now hurry up with that bloody album yeah?

Get 'It Starts' off of iTunes if you feel so inclined.

*Wolfwhistle off the top of a building site whilst eating a pot noodle*: Calvin Harris 'You Used To Hold Me' video

CHICKS*! TRUCKS! CARS! CHICKS DRIVING TRUCKS OVER CARS! SKINNY SCOTTISH DJS! All the makings of a great video, right?

Er...



Maybe it's just fourthsingleoffthealbum syndrome. Or maybe they're going for the Nuts/Zoo/Loaded market. Not our favourite Harris release of recent times, but it's catchy at least (in fact, it's REALLY catchy. Annoyingly so).

Calvin Harris is an interesting specimen. He's presented as a pop star, but really he's a producer. So we're always interested in what he does. But for the next one please can we have more like 'I'm Not Alone'? And more videos like 'I'm Not Alone' too. And if you're going to do the whole 'sexy chicks' routine can we at least have some AK47s in there as well. Thanks.

*We promise never to use the term 'chicks' ever again. Unless we ever need to refer to Charlotte Church's back catalogue.

Ooh shiny - Fyfe Dangerfield's special edition 'Fly Yellow Moon' release

We're true suckers for a special edition, and even if the deluxe release of the Fyfe Dangerfield's inevitably glorious 'Fly Yellow Moon' contains the most hated of all free gifts (a folded-up poster) we are desperate to get our hands on this huge vinyl/CD/mp3/booklet/gatefold whatnot.

On the downside there's no lock of hair included like Lady GaGa did in her 'Fame Monster' special edition release - and it's not as if Fyfe doesn't have plenty of hair to spare. On the upside however, it is not as ridiculously overpriced as the Empire Of The Sun special edition. This version of 'Fly Yellow Moon' is selling for just £25 and while we're kind of skint after Christmas, it's £25 we're willing to spend on such a lovely release from such a brilliant man.

Click here to order a copy of your own. If you are as easily distracted by shiny things as we are.

Futurecop! Mixtape - it's not a real cassette tape, but it is a mix.

If Futurecop! are any indication of what 2010 may hold in terms of advances in law enforcement then we're about to have a force of superstar DJs on our hands. This, of course, is unlikely to happen, and the police will most likely continue just to tell yoofs to take their feet off bus seats whilst some nasty muggers get away with robbing old ladies' handbags. So let's not expect Futurecop! to foil any terrorist attacks, but leave them to make great music.

Futurecop! make 80s movie/tv inspired electrodancepop. We're not talking ET and Beaches, we mean Karate Kid and Jem (just an excuse to post this...)



And whilst they may appear to be married to the 80s, the duo have an extremely eclectic ear and have affairs left, right and centre with the 90s and 00s. So where might you find a mix which veers seamlessly from Xscape to Maria McKee to Blink 182? Well, coming from Futurecop!, that's where.

Download their latest mix by following this link.

You'll also find the theme tune to Due South, Asian Dub Foundation and PM Dawn amongst others. Ending on Bryan Adams' 'Heaven' is what clinches it for us and simultaneously brings a tear to our eye. Beautiful.

Futurecop! Myspace!

A thing about Fyfe Dangerfield, just because we love the man

There are two things we really don't understand.

1. Why were Guillemots never more successful?
2. Why is no one getting especially excited about the Fyfe Dangerfield solo stuff?

The reason we are puzzled by these questions is the same for each - both Guillemots and Fyfe Dangerfield were/are utterly amazing and for us, exactly how guitar pop should sound.

Fyfe's new solo single is 'She Needs Me' which has all the hallmarks of his work with Guillemots and a gigantic nod to the epic orchestral sound McAlmont and Butler were so good at in their day. 'She Needs Me' straddles both one man's vulnerability and his sense of the magnificent and the gigantic. Fyfe Dangerfield is another example that bedraggled looking men with beards and messy hair are perfectly capable of making glorious pop music.

'She Needs Me' is probably our first favourite single of 2010.