ALPINES

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If you like your music to be swimming in atmosphere and beautiful aesthetics then this duo, from Kingston-Upon-Thames in South West London, may well bring you the mood you’ve been looking for. Imagine a world where you’re lost and suffering a host of unfamiliar feelings. Welcome to the uncomfortable, dramatic theatre of Alpines.

The first murmurs of their music drifted past us towards the latter end of last year, following the selection of their song, Drive, that Rankin used in a wonderful video for the fashion designer Hannah Marshall (see below). The resulting magnificent teaser gets your heart rate cowering behind the sofa with equal amounts of fear and intrigue.

You will find the demo of Drive on their Soundcloud and Myspace, but it was also officially released as a download through iTunes last Sunday (12th February). It’s a great showcase of their talents, with their brooding, heavy atmospherics accompanying Catherine Pockson’s gorgeous vocals, reminding us of La Roux‘s Elly Jackson at her strongest. The added bonus of a Kiteshi remix on the single adds a thumping dubstep pace, alongside some squelching electronics, bringing lasers across the otherwise dark landscape.

You would imagine vocals that feel as equally smooth and comforting as they are perilous and haunting, are enough on their own, but they also choose to sample them, utilising them in a way that adds subtle theatrics to each track. It reminds us of Emika, in that the vocals are imaginatively delivered over the serene synths of Bob Matthews, (who you may have seen in the now defunct indie bands, Blue Screen Life and Right Turn Left).

The full EP, Night Drive, will be released on March 28th, on Polydor. Having been signed to a major label you can expect to see a lot more of this pair throughout this year, as the campaign gets in full swing. We’re also aware that they have been added to the excellent rosters of both the PR firm Radar Maker, as well as the booking agent Coda, so they’re in good hands.

With every new arrival in the UK’s ever-increasing gloomy scene, following the success of the The XX and more recently with James Blake, we get an increased focus on the art, style and ambiance that accompanies it, so as you click through to the band’s photos and particularly with their excellent collection of images on their blog, you will notice that Alpines are up and running with a determined style. It’s perhaps no surprise with Catherine being a qualified arts graduate. If this dark genre that they’re starting to claim as ‘night pop’ is going to continue to dominate our iPods in 2011, then Alpines should prove yet another classy addition to the mood makers.

ALPINES – DRIVE

ALPINES – ICE & ARROWS

ALPINES – DRIVE (KITESHI REMIX)

ALPINES – SURVIVAL

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THE RECOMMENDER – YADI

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Far away from the X-Factor, Simon Cowell-induced coma that he calls music, it’s well worth noting that in recent years, in the UK, we’ve had a perfectly efficient factory line producing female pop stars of the future.  Bright, shiny new ones throughout each year.

Just take a look back at the BBC Sound Of 2010 Poll from January, in which this supposed barometer tipped it’s hat to the stars of the year ahead.  They predicted in first and second place two female solo pop artists in Marina & The Diamonds and Ellie Goulding, both of whom have gone on to further successes.  Look back yet another year and you will see Little Boots and La Roux, or back further for Adele and Duffy , all of which adorned their respective year’s lists of fancy soothsaying.

So year on year there is a hotbed of female talent in this country, but how does Hannah Yadi compare, for comparing is something any exciting new female talent will unfortunately get quite a lot of, especially if they’re actually any good.

Yadi is certainly a box of tricks and a delightfully talented one at that, having previously heard her in other capacities, with Will Betts in the band Hella Cholla, as well as her guest vocals with the dance duo Eskimo Twins.  Upon turning our ears to her solo work we first noticed that the standards were also reaching high with this project too.  There was an array of feathers on show, with her sound very much slotting into the pop cap, with piano-led tunes, twinkling synthetic beats and the vocals pushed front and centre.  Choruses are stomped through, whilst the verses show off her range of singing abilities, where comparisons to the likes of Alison Goldfrapp, Tahita Bulmer, or upon reflection a bit of Eddie Reader, will no doubt come to mind.

Utilising pop traditions is admirable, but is there anything that makes her stand out?  Her dark good looks steal your attention through the lens and clearly come from her Algerian heritage, but her love of warping out North African instruments and utilising a more percussive beat will be what gives her the required edge.

Sadly, this tribal tinkering she talks of still needs to find the foreground, but her blend of common pop and all it’s structural strengths, with this authentic, atypical ingredient certainly has potential. With each new demo that appears she seems to ride along more confidently and subsequently creates more intricate and attractive performances.  Like all of the truly special female pop artists, past or present, the comparisons with others off the lengthy production line is actually irrelevant, for we know they always break the mould when it comes to genuine talent.    (MB)

Find her here:         Myspace

Hear her here:         YADI – RUSSIAN LOVE

Hear her here:         YADI – GUILLOTINE

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