Top Tunes To Blog About 15

MONARCHY FT BRITT LOVE - "YOU DON'T WANT TO DANCE WITH ME"

When you take a drastically underrated British synth-pop duo and have them collaborate with a vocally gifted reject of the Xenomania circa 2009 behemoth to produce a simply delightful track with accurately measured amounts of pop commerciality and alternative slinky electro, that's when you get Monarchy featuring Britt Love.

Monarchy are something of an enigma; a riddle yet to be solved. The London based duo refrain from showing their identity preferring to let their music do the talking which actually works quite nicely. The air of mystery surrounding Monarchy enhances the eventual song production and gives extra, almost intangible depth to their final pieces. Having worked with Neon Gold and Mercury Records and dusting off superb remixes for established pop Goliaths like Kylie Minogue and Lady Gaga amongst others, their reputation is rapidly gaining momentum. Sounding like a mix of Fare Soldi, Hey Champ, The Golden Filter and Pony Pony Run Run, it is evident this twosome have the audio credentials. For this track Monarchy have teamed up with Britt Love (one half of the defunct Xenomania victims Mini Viva who graced the Top 10 all too briefly with "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" that was penned by Norway's Annie). Since then, Britt has honed her vocals and polished her act to sweep away the 2009 heydays of glitter-pop camp shenanigans for a much more refined approach.

"You Don't Want To Dance With Me" kicks off with a series of monastic hums threaded over predatory drum beats. These are quickly eroded by prickly synth jabs and whirring siren bleeps; essentially paving a way through the track. This mid-to-slow tempo offering fuses an irresistibly hypnotic back beat with relaxed contemporary synthesising to aid the song along almost idly. There is certainly something enchanting and captivating about Monarchy's approach to producing perfectly crystalline electro-pop. It's an excellent song, Monarchy knows that, we know that, but crucially the song doesn't know that and it's that humble nature that makes this a brilliant tune; there is so much potential. Britt Love's wispy vocals sit gently amongst the heavier electro undergrowth and with lyrics such as "How do I get you to feel what I feel for you" creating an almost ambient mixture of rueful emotive distress meets determined individualism and harnessed strength, it is clear this track isn't the usual electro-dance starry-eyed fodder the charts might be accustomed to. The pulsating troughs of murky bass support the lighter waves of zorbing electro beats with dexterity and typical London resonance. The addition of feverish stabbing synths and the tumbling excesses of both Love and Monarchy's vocals help construct a song that culminates into a regal piece of music; dazzling and resplendent. With this song, Monarchy and Britt Love have a mind-absorbing electro cracker of planetary proportions and masterful prowess.

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VISIONS OF TREES - "SIRENS"

Dramatic, imposing, multi-dimensional, dark electro alternativism and eerie vocals with lashings of production finesse and ballsy cultural beats; just some of the many descriptors you could stamp on Visions Of Trees and their unique musical styling.

The London based twosome have only been together several years, so it is quite shocking that they have already carved out a personal sound niche and expertly packaged it for the industry. Sara Atalar and Joni Juden have been making significant waves on the pool surface that is the online blog world since 2009. Already the duo have notched up an impressive list of ingenious remixes for the likes of Memory Tapes, Everything Everything and Filthy Dukes and have netted themselves a growing band of followers on the blogosphere baying for original Visions Of Trees material and "Sirens" is just the right dose of punchy-mood-bending electro-vocal-afro-drum-synthy-dark-tastic qualities needed to satisfy fans.

"Sirens" starts off with a stuttering array of angular spacey raps, raspy disembodied breaths and damp cavernous loops that prance forth into the opening vocals. The sound feels somewhat malevolent and spectral; haunting in it's composition but highly enticing and draws upon a vast plethora of musical influences; electro-gothica, African drum mantras, indigenous tribal beats, vivacious RnB traits and stormy techno-pop vibes. If you blended Crystal Castles, The Golden Filter, Sleigh Bells, I Blame Coco and Bat For Lashes together, Visions Of Trees would be the rather imposing and monstrous end product; raw talent of epic proportions. Atalar's vocals are perfectly orchestrated to compliment the backing music. They impale the skittish instrumentals with assured diligence and warrior-esque tenacity; almost draconian in places. This crescendo-building technique perfectly allows the chorus to puncture the ghostly ambiance which caresses the song's underbelly and ultimately makes the song feel deliberately laboured and generates mood. The chorus is full of the same whomping electro synths, collapsing drones of bass and icy vocals. There is a distinct urban feel to this song; with tell-tale RnB essences that wouldn't look out of place on an Ashanti or Destiny's Child record. Throughout "Sirens", Visions Of Trees throw in amongst the enormous electro pulses and tempestuous audio thumps some primitive yet scintillating fire-dance beats and pagan taunts; admirably juxtaposed in competent and professional fashion. The song continues at this pace with energetic guile right through to the end maintaining the song's strong presence accordingly. All this makes "Sirens" alarmingly creative and well-crafted and Visions Of Trees will surely be a name to look out for if this single is certainly anything to go by.

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