Champanes was started by Lexi Freider after he made a Dutch bargain with a bass savage. Getting reinforcements from Puerto Rico, the band rehearses for the first time with drummer Tommy Daimes in April 2014. Lexi used to hang out in backstreet bars at the time, boozing up pure alcohol drinks. That is how he met Lisa, an Ariel Pink’s unlawful bride, and invited her to join the band. Defining themselves as a sparkling fun from outer space, Champanes were recording their first bedroom tapes. With regular line up changes, the band approached the ionosphere playing a number of shows. First half of 2015 caught Tommy and Lexi playing as a duo since Lisa had left the band at the beginning of the year. Writing a new song at each rehearsal, they presented a completely new set of songs in June. However, the going gets very tough in mid-summer. Only a miracle can save Champanes,and it actually does: in a haze of shoe Lexi meets Nick, a prophet pimping a red nine.
By the end of August, Champanes had reunited with Lisa and locked themselves in their own studio to set out into a six-month journey. “Daniel Laments”, a first song from the journey, was dropped by the band to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2016. Next Champanes' release was brought by Washington-based Really Rad records and contained two songs recorded during the journey. At this point the band has joined Beko disques family and started to prepare their new release called “Daysaway”. Lisa left the band for the last time. The female voice for “Daysaway” was provided by Laura, a friend of the band, when she coincidentally had boarded the band’s studio. From Pop 2 Top is happy to premiere the video for 'Daysaway', the title track of their new EP which is out today on Beko disques. The EP also contains a remix by Aldous RH and you can find it as 'Name your price' on Bandcamp. Enjoy the breezy and refreshing dreampop tune below.
Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, The Blessed Isles is a duo that makes dreamy pop music. In 2011 Aaron Closson and Nolan Thies released an EP and in 2012 they signed with the amazing Saint Marie Records and last year they caught our attention with 'Winter Moon' and a beautiful cover of Slowdive's 'When The Sun Hits', both part of Static Waves 3 . April 29th marks the release of their debut album "Straining Hard Against The Strength Of Night", which you can order on CD or vinyl here. The band have just premiered a video for 'Caroline', one of the album's gleaming tracks. You can watch it below.
We first met Danish band Another Juggle back in May 2015 when they released the single 'Dance Sunshine, Dance'. On January 29th earlier this year the Copenhagen quartet (Nikolaj Dalsgaard, Emil Eggert Scherrebeck, Anders Cederblad and Thomas Haahr) released their debut album on Target Records. They describe their music as dreampop and it is invariably impregnated with 80's inspired synthesizers and melodic guitars. However, their sound is hazily reminiscent of the past. Here they have succeeded in creating an album that transforms the Nordic melancholy into an audible awakening experience. Here you will find mid tempo tracks, such as 'Slide' and 'Coins'. And here you will find more upbeat songs like 'Dance Sunshine, Dance' and 'Cities Crash'. It is how the band express their feelings about the morose heart's - sometimes futile - leap to an introspective and at the same time self-liberating journey. This is a debut masterfully done that absolutely deserves your attention. 'Dance Sunshine, Dance' is available to stream and buy on Bandcamp. You can also watch the video for the opening track 'Not Now' below.
True I.T.C. are an electronic pop duo formed in Bergen, Norway in 2013 by John Olav Nilsen and Eirik Vestrheim. FP2T is happy to premiere their third single 'Please Don't Die', which is out now on Beko Disques. Through seemingly smooth synth lines and vocals the duo have managed to create a powerful track proving that true beauty sometimes lies in simplicity.
While listening to NTW on DKFM yesterday I stumbled on a new band that immediately caught my attention. Their name is Jupimatoon, they come from Seattle, WA and they describe their music as a blend of electronic, ambient and dream pop. The duet of Anna Thompson and Eric Smith released a dazzling debut EP on February 2nd called 'Take Your Time'. It comprises five tracks full of resplendent synths accompanied by Anna's mesmerizing vocals. 'The Window' is the first single off the EP and the darker 'White Lightning' is a personal favourite, but the whole EP is absolutely worth listening to. You can stream 'Take Your Time' on Soundcloud as well as on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
