Yesterday we reported on Charli XCX’s release of Vroom Vroom and Trophy, the announcement of her Vroom Vroom EP, produced by UK producer SOPHIE, and that she’s started a label which is called, yep you guessed it, Vroom Vroom Recordings. Today, she’s premiered a third track from her Vroom Vroom EP, Paradise, featuring long time PC Music collaborator Hannah Diamond, on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show. Charli spoke at length via a phone interview, about the process of becoming her own boss, and creating Paradise, which you can read excerpts of below:
“I just wanted to release music that I love and that, you know, I always work with people that I find inspiring and artists I find inspiring so I thought, what a way to do it by having my own record label and being able to really champion the artists that I believe in. It just started from that thought process really, and I was already managing a girl called CuckooLander and I kind of thought it’d be a great home for her, and then I found RIVRS and we decided that we would put something out there, and I guess it’s a whole new aesthetic for me and a whole new kind of string to my bow I suppose. I kind of feel like I just want to be a boss you know?
“Paradise is a song that SOPHIE and myself made in Sweden in January of last year, so quite a long time ago. It kind of started on the guitar which is really weird cause of the way it sounds right now, but I guess it’s the most rave inspired track that I’ve ever made, but I think SOPHIE bring a new kind of dimension to it. Also Hannah Diamond, one of my favourite singers is featured on it too. We worked together not really on music before but on photos.. but I’m really happy that we’re on track together.”
Charli’s right, Paradise is ravey. Like a lot of SOPHIE’s tunes, it seems like it’s straight from a 90s hyper-dance party, with some really crunchy percussion and samples thrown in there for good measure. Charli and Hannah’s vocals are gorgeous, but also turned up to Alvin & The Chipmunks level high, as is the way with a lot of PC Music’s releases. You can stream it here at bbc.co.uk (skip to around 59:30) until it becomes available elsewhere.
With Charli’s Vroom Vroom EP releasing on the 26th, all this hype surrounding her working with PC Music is no doubt a precursor to more of this kind of pop becoming available.
Photo: Vroom Vroom Recordings
What lies at the heart of the London producer SOPHIE‘s creative impetus, is pushing pop music to its very limits. While SOPHIE’s intent seems more aligned with subverting the norms of popular culture rather than embracing it, in a truly Warholian fashion the producer’s work has met with some considerable commercial success. SOPHIE’s third single Lemonade diffused into the mainstream this year, when the bubbly track was synchronised to an advertisement for fast food mega-corporation McDonalds.
For another project, SOPHIE collaborated with AG Cook to form QT, a group entirely premised on the promotion of fictitious energy drink QT (although, naturally, a tangible version of the product was produced). It was also recently announced that sound collective PC Music will be partnering with Sony Music, bringing many of SOPHIE’s underground collaborators and fellow idealists directly under the umbrella of an industry giant. Within many musical circles these actions would be considered selling out; here it only seems to be another step towards realising the PC Music aesthetic.
Debut album Product has strung together four singles released between 2013 and until early 2015, together with four new helpings. As a whole, it’s impressive to say the least, and undoubtedly thrusts the the shadowy producer into the limelight. Driven by a minimalistic bass-line, interspersed with pitch shifted lyrical motif ‘I can make you feel better/You know you want to’, opener Bipp familiarises listeners with the core of SOPHIE’s signature sound. The track also exemplifies the producer’s recurrent fixation with industrial sounding sonic textures and exaggerated notions of ‘cuteness’ derived from the sugary glitter of K-Pop, J-Pop and Eurodance.
With the help of washing synths, droning strings, building pads and stuttering kicks, ELLE draws the listener into a gritty industrial soundscape. SOPHIE’s knack for building infectiously minimalistic rhythms also gives Elle life as an ultra-futuristic dance track. Pushing minimalism to even further heights, follow-up Hard is nearly totally devoid of melodic character. Clanging mechanical rhythms weave into a sinister dystopian monotony before breaking into a warped dance groove. In a similar vein, MSMSMSM is permeated by clattering metallic melodies and ominous bass heavy beats.
L.O.V.E. provides some poignant commentary on the inhuman nature of consumer culture. Repeatedly spelling of the word ‘love’ to a point where it loses any meaning, the track’s deadpan vocals are contrasted against the sweetness of a naïve and digital sounding synth hook. Closer Just Like We Never Say Goodbye acts as a grandiose culmination of all which has come before, evoking a glimmering and heartfelt euphoria which bleeds through the trappings of the track’s artificial exterior.
Subverting the notion of pop culture SOPHIE’s music creates something experimental yet readymade for commercial exploitation. Artificial, alienating and yet infectiously addictive Product pushes into the stratosphere of power pop, but somehow manages to fall short of absurdity. In an age of imitation and retro cannibalism, Product shows promise of something entirely new.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY9ejw1728w
Trying to peg Charli XCX‘s sound as any particular genre or style is an increasingly difficult feat. With every release, she drops something drastically different from what came before, from her unreleased debut 14, which she once described as “fucking terrible Myspace music”, to the more commercially friendly True Romance (and lest we forget her collab with Iggy Azalea). Her most recent effort, Vroom Vroom, bumps the sass up a thousand notches, honing in that punk aesthetic she claims to have always been drawn to while also boasting the electronic expertise of London-based producer SOPHIE.
A bootlegged version of the track has been making the Internet rounds this past winter, as well as being featured in the singer’s live set on her American summer tour circuit. While the track had already been receiving some considerable acclaim from fans, the official version dropped this week, when Charli filled in for radio host Julie Adenuga on Apple Music’s Beats 1.
It’s not yet confirmed whether or not this track will appear on her upcoming third album. This past August, Charli cancelled the second leg of her tour with Bleachers in order to record said album, and if this song is any indication, the time off was most definitely worth it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKo6TqOJM6U&w=560&h=315]
The Metro was the place to be last Saturday night, as record label Future Classic and BBE brought together some of this year’s best talent for their Xmas Weekender, celebrating a year full of musical greatness. A special shout out goes to special attendee Flume, blending into the crowd seamlessly as punters milled about restlessly in anticipation of a night full of electronic goodness.
Being a music label Christmas party, you’d expect the line up to be pretty phenomenal, and Future Classic did not disappoint with international imports such as Lido, SOPHIE, Nadus and QT coming in all the way from the UK, Norway and the US to perform. Local talents such as the magnificent George Maple, HWLS and UV Boi also made an appearance, making for a pretty impressive set list of performances.
First up were the FC DJ’s, followed by Brisbane-based producer and DJ UV Boi, pumping out tunes like A Q U A T I C. Soul-pop chanteuse George Maple was up next, delivering beautiful renditions of her hits Talk Talk, Fixed and Vacant Space among others, with Touch Sensitive supporting her on keyboard. Norwegian DJ Lido delivered an amazing set, playing some of his classic remixes such as Why I’m Single, Ain’t No Sunshine and Zhu’s Faded, interspaced with some playful crowd banter, before finishing off with his two biggest hits Often (Lido Remix) and I Love You.
George Maple performing her amazing set
On stage next was the mysterious and elusive producer SOPHIE, who, despite going under a female pseudonym, is actually a guy who decided on this particular moniker because he thought “it tastes good and it’s like moisturizer.” The London-based producer teamed up with QT to deliver some of their iconic collaborations, such as Hey QT and Lemonade, incorporating high, pitch-shifted vocals with QT’s brilliant but bizarre tin-foil jacket get-up.
Burning the midnight oil was homegrown Aussie act HWLS, who kept the crowd going with the conveniently and consecutively named playlist of tracks 001, 002, 003 and probably his most well-known 004 w/ Noah Breakfast. Last, but not least, was Nadus. The American, hailing from Newark, New Jersey, capped off a night of brilliant performances with Nxwxrk, his remix of Kanye West’s Send It Up, Sharpe James and many more.
George Maple, Nadus and QT were all spotted mingling with the crowd after each of their respective performances. I think it’s always great when artists take the time to interact with their fans, it allows for that level of interaction and dialogue between the two parties. The venue was full, but not packed, with everyone in the audience having enough elbow room to dance and really appreciate the music. To say it was an epic night would be an understatement. More like the perfect send off for an amazing year of music and emerging artists. Check out Future Classic’s playlist of the night to get a little taste of what went on at the best kind of Xmas celebrations.
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