Feature Song of the Day = 'Wake Up' by Acid Girls (feat Frankmusik) (2009)

Today's feature song is Wake Up, by Los-Angeles-based DJ duo Acid Girls (feat. FRANKMUSIK). The duo started out as music bloggers, and moved up to dj'ing major parties the world-round and of course now they are producing their own music and remixes. Wake Up was released in 2009 on the French Music Label Kitsuné, and their Kitsuné X The Cobrasnake album. There isn't a whole lot of bio-information on these two, so you might head over to their MySpace page HERE if you are interested in checking out more of their work.

Todays Feature Song = 'Jacksons Last Stand' by Ou Est Le Swimming Pool (2010)

Today' s feature song is Jackson's Last Stand by British synth-pop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool originate out of Camden, London UK and consisted of members Charles Haddon (ex-lead singer, is now deceased), Joe Hutchinson, and Caan Capan. This song was the 3rd single released by the group, and it was released on July 12th, 2010 which later also appeared on their debut album titled The Golden Year. The release of that album was delayed from its original release date when the lead vocalist Charles Haddon tragically committed suicide on August 20th, 2010  following a performance in Belgium, and so I will dedicate this post in honor of his memory as well as to honor his friends and family. R.I.P.

Today's Feature Song = 'Starlighter' by Jupiter (2009)

Today's feature song is Starlighter by French electro-disco-duo Jupiter. Jupiter are a boy/girl duo based out of Paris, France and there isn't really a whole lot of other info on them out there, unless of course it is in French somewhere that I haven't located. Starlighter comes off of their 2009 release EP of the same Title. If you like what you hear you can head over to their MySpace page HERE, or check out their Lastfm page HERE.

Today's Featured Song = 'Fashion' by Grum

Today's featured song is Fashion, by UK electro-artist Grum. Grum (Graeme Shepard) has been active on the synth-electro music scene since 2007 and he originates out of Leeds, UK. Fashion comes off of his May 2010 debut album titled Heartbeats, which I would highly recommend checking out if you are into the synth-electro scene and are fond of artists like Cut Copy, Van She, The Presets, Miami Horror, and Tesla Boy.

Song of the Day for September 7th, 2010: "Met on Mars" by Mammoth Logic

And the song of the day is....Met on Mars, by Australian electronica duo Mammoth Logic. Mammoth Logic consists of Dave Crowe & Reid Jones, and they come out of the city of Adelaide, in South Australia. The electronic duo have been described as a mix of 'futuristic pop' with 'French-electro' with post-punk-rock, which is quite a mix indeed. This song came out just in the past few months of this year (2010), and they are set to release an album, so keep your eyes peeled for that. If you like the song then you should take note that it is currently available as a free download at this page.

Song of the Day for August 31st, 2010: "Climbing Walls," by Strange Talk

And the song is....Climbing Walls, by Australian indie-pop band Strange Talk. Strange Talk were formed just this year in February and they come out of Melbourne, Victoria in the Land Down Under. Members are Stephen Docker (vocals), Gerard Sidhu (bass guitar), Travis Constable (drums), and Gillan Gregory (guitar). This is the only song I have heard by them thus far, and I reckon they sound a bit like another Melbourne band named Cut Copy, and also a little bit like Sydney band Empire of the Sun. Also the mp3 is available for free download at this very link.  That is a good thing by the way ;-)

And the "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Golden Child, by Aussie Electro-Indie band World's End Press. Now I don't have much data or facts on them except their location and origin. This song starts out with a sort of minor-progression but contains all sorts of goodies, especially the keyboard jam towards the end of the song. The Aussies are producing lots of good music these days. Now, there is only a live version of the song on youtube, which is pretty shiite sound quality, but go to their myspace page and listen a decent quality version of the song. The mp3 is still for free on the triple J free mp3's page here.

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

Journey, by Aussie electro artist Matt Van Schie. Matt Van Schie also does vocals and bass guitar for the electro band Van She. This song comes off of his solo album titled Balmy Nights, which was released in 2010.

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Heartbreaker, by Canadian electronica group MSTRKRFT (pronounced Mastercraft). MSTRKRFT comes out of Toronto and formed in 2005. The group consists of two members, Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P. Heartbreaker comes off of their Fist of God album (released in March 2009), which was their second studio album. Heartbreaker reached #5 on the UK Dance Charts, whilst Fist of God was ranked #14 Top Electronic Albums. MSTRKRFT are known for their various remixes of songs by other artists as well. Snap!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Little Secrets, by US electronica band Passion Pit. Passion Pit come at us out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and formed in 2007. The group consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards/guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (on da drums). According to wikipedia, the name is derived from slang that was used to describe drive-in movie theaters as "passion pits," due to teenage hancky-pancky that tends to go on there. Passion Pit have released an EP and one full-length studio album. Little Secrets comes off of their album titled Manners (released in May 2009). Passion Pit definitely have a unique sound and electronic style to their music that makes them stand out a bit in that realm where so many bands tend to sound, how does one say "same same, but different." There are also such a ridiculous number of remixes by so many other dj's and groups out there that it can be a chore just to sort through it all to find the original mixes. Bloody volcanoes!

#96: of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!

Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting #96 of the top 100 countdown! And the song is....Living on a Video, by 80's-Candian-electro-space-synth sensation Trans-X! Now if this song isn't synth, then I just don't know what is. I have always considered Trans-X to be a highly influential electro-trance pioneers. This group was pretty much a one-hit-80's-wonder. Living on a Video was an instant hit in their home country of Canada and worldwide when it was originally released as a single in 1981. The single sold over 2 millions copies and reached the top ten charts in both the USA and the UK. The single was later added to the 1983 album release by the same name. Most of you will no doubt have heard this song at some point, but may not be able to put a song to a face, or something like that. It is funny, looking back now on how the electro-synth music era transformed into the 90's-00's techno-trance (with artists like The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and the legions of DJ's from The Ministry of Sound)  and how its now come back full-circle to a sort of electro-indie rock era we see now (such as with artists like The Presets, or La Roux, or Van She, Cut Copy, etc.). There are just so many different flavors to music, and an endless way of rehashing and remixing and reblending... blah!!! Anyways, enjoy #96, as 95 is just around da corna!

A Not So New, But Still Good Music Post

VJ Samsonite here! So, I have decided that I want to post some more music on the vlog/blog, but this time it isn't necessarily new (+-2 years or so), but generally within 5-8 years of recency (if that is even a word...ya sabes). And so, here goes...I really dig the Aussie electro-group Cut Copy, in fact I sort of think of them as the next generation Duran Duran (and that is saying a lot, believe me!) So here, I am posting one of my favourite songs by them offm! of the latest In Ghost Coulours album (released March 2008), but be sure to check out their earlier album too. The song is called Hearts on Fire, boom boom!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

....Propane Nightmares by Australia drum and bass/rock group Pendulum. Originally coming at us out of Perth, Australia (on da west coast!), Pendulum relocated to the UK in 2003 where they began to gain increased popularity. I love Propane Nightmares just because it is so unpredictable, which is part of this groups unique style. It starts out with latin sounding horns (sort of like a Cat Empire type of intro), then moves into a more main-streamish rock sound, only to change yet again when it busts out into a full-on drum and bass session. Pendulum does an excellent job of blending their drum and bass style with rock, electro-synth, and other more unpredictable musical elements not mentioned here. Pendulum have released 3 studio albums, with Propane Nightmares coming off of their 2008 In Silico album, which makes it 2 years old already (bloody oath!). They have also released an album this year (2010) called Immersion, which I myself have yet to listen to but mos def am looking forward to it. Chickity Check it!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

...Saturday Night, by Aussie artist Matt Van Schie (pronounced Matt Van Ski). Matt Van Schie is also the vocals/bass in Sydney electro-pop band Van She who were formed in 2005 (and whom I would also highly recommend everyone give a listen to). This song reminds me of many old 80's synth-pop songs but holds its own elements in this new wave of electro-pop which is upon now upon us. Perhaps I will have to post some Van She in the future, although much of their music is about 4-5 yrs old already, my how the time flies!

VJ Samsonite's "Hot New Music" song of the day is....

..."Flippers," by Aussie electro-pop band Art Vs. Science. Now, this song was on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008, so it is not super-new or anything, but it was good enough to mention here, and this is my vlog, so there! Art Vs. Science are from Sydney Australia (lots of cool new bands coming out of Sydney and Melbourne these days) where the Sun always shines and the beer flows like wine. This song has an awesome beat, and the whole flippers theme reminds me of Aussie's diving and the Great Barrier Reef with their flippers masks and air-tanks, whether its meant to or not, that is the theme of the song after all. I was watching a movie at a cinema in Melbourne a few months ago, and I also saw this song featured on an anti-gambling advert, which was actually quite clever "Pokies" TV spot | Problem Gambling. They have been nominated for some awards (can't be bothered to look it all up right now) and their song "Parlez Vous Francais," was ranked number 2 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009. The video posted here is a live versio of "Flippers" as I couldn't locate the actual music video on youtube. Check it:
Art Vs Science

VJ Samsonite's New Music Song of the Day is.....

Today, I bring you a newcomer to electro-pop/synth-pop, who is really making an smashing impression and adding her own unique touch to it all. Today's Song is "Bulletproof," by U.K. artist La Roux, which comes off of her debut self-titled album (released in June of 2009). La Roux, means "the read-head" in french for all of those who don't already know. I love La Roux's sound because it harkens right back to one of my favourite musical era's, the 1980's, and no doubt she has been compared to many of the new-wave artists already. I was delighted and surprised to actually hear a mainstream radio station here in the USA playing this song the other day, which means that she really has made it big (as the radio-stations here, generally all owned by the same company) tend to play the same loops over and over again, and if your stuff isn't on the loop then it generally doesn't hit the airwaves here. Bulletproof is the song of many ex-girlfriends no doubt, but there is one in particular that comes to my mind when I hear this song, and thus it has that personal appeal to me I suppose. Excuse the advert at the beginning, so typical of youtube to disable the embedding abilities, and thus for some ludicrous reason, and thus I had to use this one as last resort). The video is great stuff, and reminds me so much of the old Eurythmics 80's music videos, in fact that is where I reckon the idea came from but I could be wrong. So without further ado here is Bulletproof: