Flashback Friday.. Robyn - 'Be Mine'

Or Flashback Saturday, as it appears! I'll make it quick today!

I've been listening to a lot of pop music all week, and one of my favourite female pop artists is Robyn.

Robyn is a Swedish singer who was originally molded by her label for mainstream consumption, however, she began writing more alternative pop songs and started her own label, Konnichiwa Records, on which she released her 2005/07 album, Robyn, and 2010 series of albums entitled Body Talk.

The song that I'm going to put up today is taken from Robyn, and is one of the songs that broke her internationally. 'Be Mine' is a brilliant pop song that sounds surprisingly upbeat whilst discussing heartbreak in the end of a relationship and seeing that person move onto another. It wasn't as successful in the UK charts as her UK number 1 'With Every Heartbeat' (feat. Kleerup), however, in my opinion it is easily one of the standout tracks on the album.

http://www.robyn.com/
http://www.facebook.com/robyn
https://twitter.com/robynkonichiwa

New Waves.. Sky Ferreira - 'Everything is Embarrassing'

This track from Sky Ferreira reminds me of upcoming UK singer, Charli XCX, and as the two share the skills of producer Ariel Reichtshaid and Blood Orange's Dev Hynes in their recent output, it is hardly surprising.

The addition of the production duo gives the track a chilled out electronic vibe that I'd previously thought Ferreira was straying away from with her previous rockier single, 'Red Lips', however I'm pleased that she has embraced electronic sounds once again, as in my opinion her voice suits such music far, far more! Her sullen vocal suits the understated vintage electro-pop of the song, and brings to mind a wistful insight into young love.

I can already tell that I will become addicted to this song! I was largely indifferent towards her debut single 'One' back in 2010, I didn't investigate further into her music, although I will definitely be paying more attention this time around!

Her Ghost EP is due for October 2nd.

https://twitter.com/skyferreira
http://www.skyferreira.com/
http://www.facebook.com/skyferreira

Rapid Review.. PSY - 'Gangnam Style'

As one of those people obsessed with manga, anime and all things Japanese in my early teens, I have maintained what I can only call a 'soft spot' for Asian music. I recall listening to (and still have on my iPod) Visual Kei bands such as the Gazette, Alice Nine, pop artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Aya Kamiki and epic punk/metal/funk bands such as Maximum the Hormone (CHECK THEM OUT!).

Somehow, at some point, I discovered Korean pop, or as it appears to be known on the global stage - K-Pop!

The first K-Pop songs that I can remember finding randomly on YouTube were by a boyband named BIG BANG. It was catchy, fun to listen to - despite the language barrier! - and visually grabbed my attention, a factor in common with all of the K-Pop acts that I've encountered.

In early 2011, I chanced a search of Taeyang's (BIG BANG member) solo album on iTunes, and to my great surprise, found it sitting there ready for purchase. In the past year, Korean music labels have been making their music more and more accessible for the western market, and this has - finally! - culminated in the worldwide craze that is 'GANGNAM STYLE'!

Perhaps it's been hinted at before with O-Zone's 'Dragostea din tei', but 'Gangnam Style' has swept the media and continues to snowball, help largely due to its funny and easy-to-learn dance moves!

The rapper responsible for the craze, PSY, is labelmates with BIG BANG on YG Entertainment (one of the 3 main labels, S.M. Entertainment and JYP Entertainment being the other 2), and the song, due to its funny and easy to replicate dance, has been parodied (Gandalf Style - LOL!) and much covered by the Western media. Who knows, this in turn may mean that you may be seeing and hearing more K-Pop music on our screens and airwaves in the near future!

http://www.facebook.com/officialpsy
https://twitter.com/psy_oppa
http://www.ygfamily.com/

New album releases.. 17th Sept

17 September 2012
Artist	Title
Mika	The Origin Of Love
How To Dress Well	Total Loss
Muse	2nd Law
The Killers	Battle Born
Catherine Irwin	Little Heater
We Are The Ocean	Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow
Dinosaur Jr.	I Bet on Sky
Grizzly Bear	Shields
Michael Jackson	Bad: 25th Anniversary Edition
Skunk Anansie	Blac Traffic
Joe Mcelderry	Here's What I Believe
Nelly Furtado	Spirit Indestructible
P!nk	The Truth About Love
The Killers	Battle Born
Rival Sons	Head Down
The Script	Three
Band of Horses	Mirage Rock
Kreayshawn	Somethin Bout Kreay
James Walsh	Lullaby
thenewo2	thefearofmissingout
Hey Sholay	((O))
Presets	Pacifica

courtesy of NME.com