Having captured the attention of i-D, The Quietus and EARMILK, Los Angeles based creative crooner Raven Artson combines his internal monologue with enigmatic pop culture and underground art.
Returning with new single ‘Whatever’, Raven delivers a powerful testimony; to empower your authentic self. Intertwined with a synth-fuelled melody and a hint of autotune, a detail which compliments his ethereal vocals; the new woozy bop sees Raven step out of the shadows to present his most confrontational outpour of emotions yet.
He says: “Whatever was written in a stream of consciousness, the words just poured out of me. When finished the brutal honesty struck me. I created a mirror, forcing myself to look into my own eyes.”
As a highly ambitious singer-songwriter who creative directs his own shoots and produces for artists including Sevdaliza, Pip Blom and Ray Fuego, Raven can just about do anything. More recently he started curating his own interdisciplinary shows, which has led fashion designers like Hardeman and Hanger Inc. to collaborate with artist like himself, True Blue, Beskhen and Cosima.
With a new EP, Raven is ready to take the next step in his career: “As a person I try to be as honest as possible in my relationships. It’s exciting to share music that’s just as genuine.”
Ultraflex is made up of Norway’s Farao & Icelandic musician Special-K. Who have announced their debut album ‘Visions of Ultraflex’ is set for release Oct 30th. Packed with playful disco pop, the new single & video from the record “Work Out Tonight“ is online now.
Speaking about the video, the band said “‘Work Out Tonight’ is the first in a trilogy of Ultraflex videos directed by genius artist and our good friend OKAY KAYA. Bathing, sunshine, pickles… We decided to give our fans a special glimpse into our everyday lifestyle.”
‘Visions of Ultraflex’, the self produced album by Icelandic/Norwegian duo Ultraflex is a joyride through a disco theme park. The conflux of the individually accomplished artists, Farao (NO) and Special-K (ISO), channels the cheekily frank Icelandic nature through Norwegian acuteness and reason, resulting in an interdisciplinary artistic collaboration that oozes charisma.
The pair met when they were both living in Berlin and had mutual artistic crushes on each other. The opportunity to collaborate arose when they were hired to make a piece for the Scandinavian electronic music festivals Insomnia and Extreme Chill in 2019. After a few short, intense writing sessions in the remote Westfjords of Iceland, the arctic Tromsø and Berlin, they managed to construct their sound, image and debut album.
‘Visions of Ultraflex’ is a cocktail of contemporary disco and futuristic boogie, the production style falling somewhere between Peggy Gou and The Rah Band, topped with lyrics and vocal performances reminiscent of Easter, Saâda Bonaire, and Janet Jackson. Live, they perform exercise routines in synchronisation with visuals largely based on 80’s Soviet aerobics, which goes well with their overall fashion output, a look that would make Lotta Volkova proud. The project has an easily detectable background in fine art, an everpresent tinge of wit and self irony enveloping everything.Their music videos, many of which are made by fellow Norwegian pop artist OKAY KAYA, are a sophisticated blend of camp and chic and their internet presence is as nonsensical as it is carefully curated.
The album gently glides open on a lingering high-pitched string sample, which little by little blossoms into the fully formed synth bouquet that is “Get Fit”. Along comes a bouncy and borderline corny bassline accompanied by a pumping 80’s drum beat. The only vocals are the band’s watermark ‘Ultraflex’ and the occasionally repeated phrase: “Get fit, get ripped, get a lover, get kids”. This inviting opener establishes the lush and mischievous world we are about to enter.
After this appetiser we’re hit full force by “Work Out Tonight”,a track that fully showcases the band’s brashness. Overtly sexual sport metaphors are whispered atop a naked drum beat and thrusting bass line, and via a breezy pre-chorus we take a dive into the deep and sensual chorus:“I’m gonna make you work it tonight, gonna make you work out tonight.” The ever present cheekiness climaxes with a lewd dialogue between a man who wanders into the women’s dressing room and the person he encounters there.
Sunny instrumental “Papaya”, with its glittering saxophone solo and a dell’Orso-esque interlude, perfectly sets the mood for the melancholic dance anthem “Never Forget My Baby”.The effortlessness with which the girl’s voices blend together in the chorus and the sentimental, verging on saccharine, lyrics make this song stand out in an already delicious assortment.
This luminous dreamboat sails and sinks into the next track, “Man U Sheets”,which contains considerably more shade. A remorseful saxophone opens the door to a roaring bassline and heavy beat as we are told a merciless tale of adolescent sexual debuts. The slightly dissonant chords and the deadpan delivery of the lyrics enhance the awkwardness of the subject. The next track “Olympic Sweat” lightens the mood with a Michal Rother-esque harmonised solo and a slow yet triumphant tempo, allowing us to lean into the bright stream of synths and chimes feeling like we’ve just crossed a finish-line in slow motion.
Right before the end we reach the final energetic crest – the bold and seductive “Full Of Lust”,with exaggeratedly sensual vocals and bratty lyrics like “When I tell you I’m tired, you light up a smoke, tryna fill up the silence when I don’t laugh at your jokes”. The album concludes with the repetitive and wacky “Secret Lover” with sentences spoken by Farao in a thick Norwegian accent from the perspective of a private investigator. The last words of the album are accurately: “So we’ve done a good job. Very happy with our work”.
Musically and conceptually, ‘Visions of Ultraflex’ is a seductive and inventive debut. Glimmering through it all is the warm and playful relationship between Special-K and Farao; they seem to have found a home in each other where they can progress musically while feeling relaxed enough to be nonsensical. “With our solo projects we are both miserable and lonely, so we are coming together like step sisters or lovers to keep each other warm when it’s cold outside”, they say about their unification. Ultraflex brings us a bundle of joy, self-irony and snarky attitude wrapped up in danceable beats – it’s a breath of fresh air in today’s intricate landscape, reminding us that we must not forget to have fun.“
Rock fans and indie rock fans alike, this new music video from award-winning band Catastrophe & Cure is sure to give you chills if you are a fan of the melancholic yet playful energy of 80’s band The Smiths. Catastrophe & Cure have crafted their sound around iconic acts in rock history, and their latest album Somewhere Down The Line features this indie-rock delight.
Previously featured on our blog for the single release, we mentioned our thoughts on the song, “Catastrophe & Cure’s sound on this track is reminiscent of some of your favorite 90’s indie-rock anthems, feeling so familiar I would not see why this single would not feature at a club or on your playlist. “
The band talk about the release, “’Another Wave’ was one of the first songs we recorded for our new album. It almost wrote itself. We had a couple of chords, the lead guitar and all of a sudden the song was finished. It’s a song about the ambivalence of love and about being at the mercy of one’s own emotions. “You’re my love / Yet my downfall / You’re my love / Still my pain”…. you get the idea!”
Today, music producer and composer HELMAUD has released single ‘Hey Boi’ ft. DIXIE along with an official music video for the single, featuring fiery songstress DIXIE and of course the man himself. Filmed with a DIY approach, the video captures the pair taking a night drive in the iconic city of Paris, where HELMAUD is from.
Previously interviewed by Muze FM, the music producer commented on his relationship with collaborator DIXIE, “The two neighbours initially met in Thai boxing classes in 2015 (have been doing boxing for 8 years now). They would both come and spar with good energy and an open mind, but DIXIE and HELMAUD only truly started sympathizing in spring 2019, as DIXIE learned HELMAUD was a pianist. DIXIE has a wonderful 1920 Pleyel Piano in her flat, rue St Denis, 75002, so I drop by many times just to jam. And she did the same, coming over randomly while down my block. Hitting me up asking if I’m around, and dropped by for a fast jam, and a lot of white wine… Man, I can’t follow up with her drinking.. she’s way too trained. As HELMAUD’s jazz-infused technique started attracting DIXIE, the two yet-to-be friends very quickly became inseparable. Music, and especially jamming had forged a very strong bond for the two, DIXIE, discovering her attraction for singing and composition, and HELMAUD, finding very much satisfaction through DIXIE’s soul heritage and care-free energy. Hedonism, stoicism, philosophy, friendship, and the ups and downs of relationships have forged their urge to doing music together.”
Talking about the video concept, HELMAUD adds, “After many unsatisfying cuts based on another story from a former director, I decided to change totally and go for a real DIY video. A variation on an old hip hop famous theme: the whip ride – a tribute to American hip hop iconography. We thought this 1964 Cadillac riding along contemporary Paris would fit the soul vibe on the modern beat and attitude of this song. Knowing that Dixie is half American (New Orleans) & I’m a full Parisian, it made sense. No one was in town or available for the last-minute deadline. Then comes Isabel Deprice, an old friend of mine, (who featured in my previous music video “I Know Your Game”, shot by Ryan Doubiago). In the end, it was shot in 2 hours with an Iphone & edited with an Ipad.”
