Aman Ellis Gives Away Whole EP

After the dismemberment of his successful band The Great Big No! in 2008, Aman Ellis turned to his side project Crunkasaurus Sex. After finding solace with midi controllers, studio monitors, and electronic production, he decided to get out of Alabama and move to the Big Apple. He landed in Brooklyn, NY, and changed his production name to the one he was born with, Aman Ellis. His first official release, All The Things - EP, was issued on February 11, 2010 on Abstract Logic Recordings.

With a melodic quality that's impressive and the ability to shift gears faster then Michael Schumacher, Aman Ellis is a talent that the world will soon have to reckon with. Whether it's tech house, italo, or glitchy stuff, the guy can write a tune almost as if it was second nature to him. Truly a talent to keep an eye on especially if you live up in good ol' New York.

As for his new record, The Cacti EP, which he's just released he says, "This summer I started a project of psychedelic wonky beats. The production style was totally different that what I'm used to and it was an awesome experience and an experiment to get my brain outside the box. A lot of vinyl samples were used to make this record and it has a very distinct analog quality to it. Expect loose wonk drifting beats with a heavy dose of melody and scratchy samples."

Download: The Cacti EP

Top of the Fops

In the short time that Fops has been a band, they've already completed two full length albums. The first CD/LP, Yeth, Yeth, Yeth has just been released worldwide on September 27th via UK label Monotreme Records (65Daysofstatic, Nedry, Barzin). A second disc, Priests In Them Caves, will follow in early 2011.

Taking their musical cues from the syncopated electronic figures of Krautrockers such as Cluster and Faust, and the propulsive, brooding pop of the bands they grew up listening to in the 80's, the duo recorded two albums at once.

Both albums are novels at heart, investigating the possible and impossible, gaudy and fantastical, mundane and downright depressing pasts and futures of a single protagonist. In the world of Fops, Kesler is the narrator, telling stories in Bidwell's singular lyrical style.

Download: Solid Copper Huntress
Download: Maple Mountain

Blowing Kisses

Kisses is a Los-Angeles based disco project featuring Jesse Kivel and Zinzi Edmundson.

Though primarily inspired by long-format, instrumental disco (Cerrone, Gino Soccio) Kisses has developed a uniquely concise songwriting style that is equal parts FM radio pop and expansive four-to-the-floor.

Early in life, Kivel developed a friendship with venerated cult disco producer Alec R. Costandinos, who rose to prominence in the late 1970s on a wave of ambitious concept albums and club singles. As Costandinos made available his knowledge and a healthy vinyl collection, the seeds for the Kisses album were sewn -- the KISSES name chosen as a nod to Costandinos' erstwhile 'Love & Kisses' project. As this creative relationship blossomed, Jesse took a day job as a travel writer to help make ends meet. His editors asked him to review hundreds of exotic hotels and resorts, many of which he had never seen or heard of before. The imagery used to write these reviews wove itself through the lyrics of songs like 'Bermuda' and 'Women of the Club', as well as the overall sound of The Heart of the Nightlife.

Nine songs were composed for the project, each exhibiting a refined pop sensibility evocative of Arthur Russell's later-period romantic works. There is a subconscious embrace of simple emotions and sentimentality on this record. It is a minimalist approach to pop music that revels in the celebratory moments of life, those fragments of time that we only remember in postcards or faint recollections. The Heart of the Nightlife takes these elusive moments and celebrates them openly, without fear of scorn.

Download: Bermuda
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Who The Hell Are The Polyamorous Affair

The Polyamorous Affair is a nomadic-by-way-of-Los Angeles duo who weave a rich fantasy world into their own mischievous brand of electronic pop. The duo which formed in Denmark in 2007 is comprised of Eddie Chacon and Sissy Sainte-Marie who currently divide their time between Copenhagen and Berlin.

Today (August 16th) they release their 3rd album, Strange Bedfellows. Widely acclaimed across the board from NME to Dazed Digital, The Polyamorous Affair have become known for their strategic simplicity, chilly beats and warm vibes, all set in some bizarre frame of opulence.

Their latest album finds the two conjuring up a strangely seductive electronic hybrid laced with haunting guitars and live percussion that pull you in, spellbound. Strange Bedfellows, finds the duo offering surprisingly few duets, instead each branching into two distinct styles. The album breathes and pulsates with vibrancy and balance. Eddie reconnects with his soul roots and traditional songwriting while Sissy taps into dreams and trails off on mystical disco byways. This all makes for one darn fascinating affair (boooooo...ok I had to say that)

Download: Bright One

Sam Prekop's Old Punch Card

Sam Prekop's first solo record in five years is a vast departure from his previous solo work and that of his main band The Sea and Cake. Old Punch Card is an album of dark and mysterious beauty inspired by early electronic music and avant-garde composition.

Comprised entirely of modular synthesizers (with only one instance of guitar, no vocals, and no beats), it's a hard turn away from Prekop's usual fair and an interesting look at some of his more obscure musical interests.

In other news, The Sea and Cake are rumored to have recently visited the studio and new material could possibly be on the way shortly. In the meantime, the band is going on a month long tour with Broken Social Scene. Prekop plays guitar and sings on a track on their latest album that was produced by The Sea and Cake/Tortoise drummer John McEntire.

Oh yeah...the album is due out September 7th.

Download: The Silhouettes

I Can Go For That

You know, the whole Hall and Oates revival really started about four or five years ago when I was DJing. It was weird how all of a sudden all these hipster doofuses had discovered their big brother's 45 collection, found a copy of "Kiss on My List," and dubbed it super cool. The number of requests I got for H&O skyrocketed in the span of a week...it was nuts.

Anyway, five years on from that time, it seems as though the revival hasn't died off and in fact has gained even more steam. In the last six months we've seen the Bird and the Bee release a tribute/covers album and now, Koot Hoomi has done the same.

Entitled, The Darkside of Hall and Oates, Koot's record is far less pop and more like manic depressed. The Darkside of Hall and Oates sounds what would have happened if Hall and Oates were committed to an institution and fed loads and loads of lithium and then forced to make records. This is a dark, brooding, ambient like affair that might just scare the bejesus out of you or make 4ad (or Momus) exceptionally jealous. It's interesting stuff that heads off in the exact opposite of the Bird and The Bee tribute in every sense of the word. Unorthodox and borderline insane, The Darkside of Hall and Oates is fascinating stuff.

Download: Kiss On My List
Download: I Can't Go For That
Download: Maneater