Pay attention Mrs Rihanna, young Albanian-British 22 y.o. pop diva Rita Ora has definetely made her debut among the highest music icons. Copycat or not, I definetly think she got what it takes to smash it.
After the release of nice hits like How We Do (Party), R.I.P. feat London thug Tinie Tempah and Shine Ya Light, please welcome the next Euro Top 20 hit: Radioactive. Moreover her self titled album Ora has debuted at #1 in the UK chart.
In the track mrs. Ora is on FIYAH. Radioactive simply shines with anthemic hooks and definetely infectious melodies which reminds me of 90s Euro dance hits.
Bet it this track will set on fire many dancefloors, thanks also to the wise collaboration of Australian dance queen Sia (remember David Guetta's Titanium?). But most of all thanks to her mentor: Mr. Jay Z. The hip hop hugest star alive claimed Rita to be indeed his #1 protégé. With a such a music pimp, Rita can nothing but be radioactive.
It was quite a bit since UK released a whole female R&B funky soul group. I just can't remembr any since All Saints reign in the late 90s. But here it comes a band that I really think will last quite long: Stooshe. Stooshe is made of Alexandra Buggs (black), Courtney Rumbold (blondie) and Karis Anderson (ginger). Those three girls were put up together when producer Joe Perry decide scouting across UK fashion retail Topshops to discover some girls who got the presence and the sound. That's why Stooshe was selected as the band name: a stoosh indeed indicates a girl who think it's nicer than she actually is. And guess he made a really good work. Basically Stooshe is a more modern version of TLC. They got same style, same sound and now even the same song of the 90s American R&B group. As fans of TLC, the three girls released an home made video of Waterfalls on Twitter and they immediately grabbed the attention of Mrs. T-Boz who personally congratulated with them. That's why the UK trio decided to release the song as leading single. A big surprise in the video. Guess what? In the closing scenes you can see former TLC member T-Boz and Chilli who make a brief cameo. It just gave me chills. Waterfalls hasn't changed so much actually. The three UK babies just add some acoustic guitars and pushing drums, but basically the melody remains identical to original version. The only change links to the rapping verses sang by all three singers, while in the original version it was Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes' dedicated part. R.I.P. Lisa. Wish all the best to these three British chicks. Let's see where they can reach for.
And finally here it comes. The new video of lady RiRi's Diamonds has just been premiered on MTV. I definetely think this is the best video that the Bajan singer has released so far. Thanks also to the big help of music stars director Anthony "Tony" Mandler, who collaborated also with Beyonce, Nelly Furtado and Maroon 5 just to mention some. The video is mainly a collection of RiRi's black&white close ups spaced out by different widescreen shots, like a couple of horses running through green hills. It seems that now singers just can't get enough of the horses. Just think about Scissor Sisters' Only The Horses video in which the fiery animal is the one and only protagonist. It leaves me puzzled. By the way Rihanna is enchanting more than ever in Diamonds. And I am sure she will be ven more in her forthcoming Unapologetic album. No official tracklist has been released yet, but I am sure we will definetely have news soon since the album release is set for November 19th. Let's wait. For now, enjoy Lady Rihanna and her stunning beauty in Diamonds.
Since I discovered the sound of this young British lady, I just can't get enough of listening to her innovative sonorities. Despite fame came to Goulding last summer with her massive hit Lights, but published in 2010, I still appreciate her humbleness and perseverance along her style. I think it may be the precious advice of her boyfriend Skrillex, who actually collaborated with some huge music gods (see Matt Bellamy and friends).
Halcyon is the result of such hard work and with this album it seems that finally Ellie was able to match the huge expectations gravitating around her. At first listening, it may seems a Florence + The Machine album sprinkled with eerie and ghosty sonorities but with a more dancy side. What caught me the most in this work are definetely drums and synths. The perfect tools to make Ellie's unique and shy voice sounds far more precious. A good example is Don't Say A Word which may sounds quite chaotic at the start, but gets clearer and clearer thanks to polite drums which give an electro folk background. Halcyon is full of tracks that might turn into stunning hits. My Blood is one of that. Nothing special actually if it wasn't for a great chorus climax during which Goulding's voice morphs and reaches very new dissonancies. Another nice track is marchy and synthsfull Anything Could Happen chosen as leading single. But by far my fav track is Figure 8, produced by Mr. Mike Spencer (producer of newbies like Kylie or Jamiroquai), which alternates heavy dubstep drums to shy harp chords embellished with Goulding's voic. Very similar to Atlantis too. But Halcyon gives us also two good collaborations: one with London rapper Tinie Tempah in Hanging On...wow to Goulding's in alt singingalteration. And the other with house master Calvin Harris in I Need Your Love. A+. Only You gives addiction: with her (autotuned) voice Goulding's instill notes directly to the brain and you just can't help but repeat the track once again. Failed try to balance the track with ballads like Explosions and I Know You Care...great for those who suffer of insomnia. In the end Halcyon definetely consecrates Ellie Goulding as the alternative ethereal European lady which was actually still missing in the scene. A good new music perspective.
Sometimes I think it's good to stop and look back at the start. I think it's a mantra which is very true in music since our favourite styles are actually the fruit of the musical stock we collected in our life. That's why I decided to write something about one of the most ecleptic and yet avanguardist contemporary artist: Bjork. I think the biggest talent of Bjork is the capability to use the right sounds to address the feelings she wants to deliver with the lyrics of her songs. It was 1995 when Bjork published her masterpiece Post. A very fertile period made of deep evolutions: rock bands like No Doubt and U2 gain huge success, hip hop makes its massive entrance in the commercial panorama (remember Coolio and his Gansta Paradise or Shaggy's Boombastic), boy and girl bands bands become teenagers' idol. But eveolution also means leveraging and building up on the past. Indeed Bjork was able to combine tradition and avantgarde like no other artist before.
Hyperballad is a fabolous example of her artistic vein. Hyperballad isn't a love song, perhaps is a songs about love and relations. A world of morbid routine made of private neurosis in which the only way to evade from the other is a made-of-destruction research of oxygen. Bjork sings about her private ritual, followed by house music impulses in contrast with the acoustic arrangement of the song. A never broken balance which proceeds until the end, when the track explodes with a liberating conclusion with high dance intensity. In Hyperballad Bjork reaches her huge expressive talents, that will be hardly repeated in her next efforts. The consacration of an artist. Enjoy Hyperballad.
