Valuemart Release New Single "Skin"

Bay Area post punk/goth/synthpop band Valuemart (led by multi-instrumentalist Tory Knowles) have released their new single "Skin".

Valuemart was created in 2018 by multi-instrumentalist Tory Knowles, who was inspired to create music faithful to the production styles of the 80’s. Knowles began to receive press coverage after the release of his single ‘Blow’, this led to an eventual record deal with the Berlin based label Detriti Records, who in March of 2021 published his flagship album ‘Alice Underground’, a culmination of songs composed over a two year period of intense emotions and losses. Knowles subsequently recruited three band members after the release to begin live shows.

The song, produced by Tory Knowles is out now, take a listen below.

Tags: Valuemart

Desire Release "Liquid Dreams (Guy Gerber Rework)"

Palm Springs-via-Montreal electronic/synthpop duo Desire (aka Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel) have released the Guy Gerber Rework of their track "Liquid Dreams".

The original version of the song features on their album 'Escape', which came out in May via Italians Do It Better. Get the remix here.

Watch the clip below.

(facebook.com/PRIMITIVEDESIRE)

Tags: Desire

Sacred Skin Release Music Video For "Stay Awake"

Los Angeles new wave/post punk/synth pop duo Sacred Skin (aka Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert FKA Second Skin) have released the video for their latest single "Stay Awake".

The song is part of our current playlist and is taken from their excellent debut album 'The Decline of Pleasure', released back in May 27 via NYC label Synthicide. Get it here.

Watch the video below.

(facebook.com/SecondSkinmusic)

Tags: Second Skin

Blancmange Unleash New Single/Video "Reduced Voltage"

British electronic pioneers Blancmange have unleashed their new single "Reduced Voltage".

The song is taken from their upcoming new album 'Private View', which will be out on September 30. Pre-order your copy here.

Private View captures an artist who is potently in the moment while also being able to draw on 40 years’ worth of knowledge, experience and built-in intuition. “I'm really lucky to be able to make music completely on my own terms,” Arthur says. “Within myself, there are no limits, there’s a massive palette inside and I will try anything.

The video was created by Harvey Wise: "Exploring these visuals throughout in a graphical manner, from the movement in dance to abstracted pixelated textures. Using the simplicity of the dots as a voice to express through, these boundaries give the video an identity or self-contained world."

Watch/listenlisten below.

(facebook.com/BlancmangeMusic)

Tags: Blancmange

The New Division Drops New Single "Silent Films"

LA-based new wave/synthpop/electronic artist John Glenn Kunkel aka The New Division has dropped his new single "Silent Films".

“I thought writing a piece of music about something I’m unfamiliar with would be a fun exercise. That later translated into ‘Silent Films,’ which goes into what the lyrics portray. While the song isn’t immediately straightforward about who’s on the wrong or right, I think there’s an open-ended spirit of competition that the listener can dissect between the lines.” Kunkel states.

Get it here and take a listen below.

(facebook.com/thenewdivision)

Tags: The New Division

Glüme Reveals New Single/Video "Dangerous Blue"

LA-based synthwave/synthpop artist GLÜME  has revealed the video for her new single "Dangerous Blue".

The song features on the 'After Dark 4' compilation, out now through Italians Do It Better. Get your copy here.

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/babyglume)

Tags: Glüme

Watch: DESIRE Unleash Music Video For "Days & Nights"

Palm Springs-via-Montreal electronic/synthpop duo Desire (aka Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel) have unleashed the video for their latest single "Days & Nights".

The song is taken from their newest album 'Escape', which came out last month (May 3) via Italians Do It Better. Grab your copy here.

"Days & Nights" is the 7th video from their campy Escape saga. It's an eye for an eye in this Sci Fi thriller killer. Our heroine stares deep inside the fortune teller's crystal ball to a parallel dimension. As she sees herself strapped to the hood of a muscle car ala Mad Max, her fever dream comes to a boil. Blurring the timeline between past & future with a tall glass of green liquid, she quantum leaps. As cold blood pours from her eyes...she realizes she's death proof.

Tossing & turning through the sleepless hours, "Days & Nights" is a love song bruised with anxiety. Stardust sparkles in the night sky...while down below a brooding cloud hovers over the bed. Sometimes it's difficult to see the amazing world around us as we tend to focus on the challenge right in front of us. Desire sings about graceful transcendence in the face of terror, "Love Is Stronger Than Us All". If no man is island, we can still connect across the void, & even though a heart might feel broken...it's still beating. That's a good thing. The drums sync to the chambers of the primary organ of the circulatory system, while a soft arpeggio pumps like blood to the brain. "Going To Take A Little Time To Kill The Pain…”

Watch the clip below.

(facebook.com/PRIMITIVEDESIRE)

Tags: Desire

Watch: Sacred Skin Reveal Music Video For "Circles"

Los Angeles new wave/post punk/synth pop duo Sacred Skin (aka Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert FKA Second Skin) have revealed the video for their latest single "Circles".

The song is part of our current playlist and is taken from their upcoming debut album 'The Decline of Pleasure', set to be released on May 27 via NYC label Synthicide. Pre-order your copy here.

The Decline of Pleasure brims with hope and brings the listener back to a more innocent and carefree experience, as we boldly move forward from the era of isolation.

Watch the video below.

(facebook.com/SecondSkinmusic)

Tags: Second Skin

Watch: Speedboat Air New Single/Video "Theodora"

Brighton-based new wave-inspired/synth pop band Speedboat - aka Johnny and Will Griffiths aka the Blue Jean Brothers aka Musk and Hook - have aired the video for their new single "Theodora".

The soft and slow dance song is taken from their upcoming new EP 'Better Men', which will be available on via 0800-MOSHI-MOSHI on on 24th June. Pre-order your copy here.

Bass and keys move together in a tight embrace, as a desperate croon brings the two closer still. Reminiscent of soft late 70’s disco, the track is held together by classic instrumentation, tight grooves and tasteful embellishments. It yearns and burns slowly, but just enough to keep those feet moving. About the track, they say…

New Entry: The New Division Shares New Single "Nosedive"

LA-based new wave/synthpop/electronic artist John Glenn Kunkel aka The New Division has shared his new single "Nosedive".

The song is out now via Division 87 Records and is taken from his forthcoming full-length effort. Featuring soaring synths, driven vocals, and Cure-nodding guitars, "Nosedive" ventures into epic sonic territory familiar to fans of LA-based producer, John Kunkel.

"Nosedive was inspired by the stock market's ups and downs, and how that could play out in a violent way. If I had to pin-point it visually to one film, it'd have to be American Psycho as the protagonist in this song is loosely based on Patrick Bateman," Kunkel states. "As long-time fans of The New Division might already know, I'm often drawn to lyrics that touch on the darker side of human nature. There's something interesting about how words in that context come across when paired with dark melodies."

Get it here and take a listen below.

(facebook.com/thenewdivision)

Tags: The New Division

New Entry: Sacred Skin Premiere New Single "Circles"

Los Angeles new wave/post punk/synth pop duo Sacred Skin (aka Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert FKA Second Skin) have premiered their new single "Circles".

The song is taken from their upcoming debut album 'The Decline of Pleasure', set to be released on May 27 via NYC label Synthicide. Pre-order your copy here.

Formed in the Spring of 2020 by friends Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert, Sacred Skin balances between new wave heartthrob royalty—akin to Talk Talk or The Fixx—and glittering, emotional post-punk.

With its dreamy new wave structures and DaMert’s vocals induced with loss and longing, the album is unlike any other released so far in 2022. Their use of vintage gear, namely the Sequential Prophet VS and the EMU Emulator II, retains a vintage, yet polished, studio feel that is unique to their style alone.

The Decline of Pleasure brims with hope and brings the listener back to a more innocent and carefree experience, as we boldly move forward from the era of isolation.

Take a listen below.

(facebook.com/SecondSkinmusic)

Tags: Second Skin

Watch: DESIRE Air New Single/Video "Black Latex"

Palm Springs-via-Montreal electronic/synthpop duo Desire (aka Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel) have aired the video for their new single "Black Latex".

The song is taken from their brand new album 'Escape', out today, May 3 via Italians Do It Better. Grab it here.

"Black Latex" opens the new album in a hypnotic vocoder trance. It's like a machine trying to catch its breath. Driven by a single note, the menacing tone sets the stage for the melodrama that unfolds throughout the record. The brazen minimalism recalls Johnny Jewel's signature compositions "Tick Of The Clock" & "Digital Versicolor" from the neon-noir films of Nic Refn. Megan Louise pivots from English to French in a spoken monologue fit for the silver screen. Our heroine turns villain, carrying the torch of vaudeville camp into this century proclaiming "It's A Horror Show...Don't You Know?" Lights, Camera, Action!

Watch/listen below (directed By Talvi Faustmann & Desire).

(facebook.com/PRIMITIVEDESIRE)

Tags: Desire

Watch: DESIRE Share New Single/Video "Love Is A Crime"

Palm Springs-via-Montreal electronic/synthpop duo Desire (aka Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel) have shared the video for their new single "Love Is A Crime feat. Mirage".

The song is taken from their upcoming new album 'Escape', which will be out on May 3 via Italians Do It Better. Grab it here.

“Love Is A Crime” kicks in with a girl group-styled narration “Calling After Dark…Trying To Break My Heart”. A lyrical nod signaling that the song features the illusive After Dark artist, Mirage, in a duet with Desire. Asking the question…is true love a crime? Electro boogie synthesizers spar with distorted vocals chanting the words “There’s No One Left To Hold You”. The flame of love attempts to connect via dial-up internet service in the track’s outro.

The video is the next chapter in Desire's Escape saga. Megan Louise hunts down Mirage at an off grid compound in Joshua Tree. In this revenge thriller, she poisons the harlequin with a diamond laced amphibian, inducing a kaleidoscopic fever dream before she attacks.

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/PRIMITIVEDESIRE)

Tags: Desire

DESIRE Announce New LP 'Escape', Stream "Telling Me Lies"

Palm Springs-via-Montreal electronic/synthpop duo Desire (aka Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel) have announced the release of their new full-length album 'Escape'. 

The 13-track record, their first in nine years, was written & produced by Johnny Jewel in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, CA and  mixed by Vaughn Oliver, it will be out on May 3 via Italians Do It Better featuring the previously shared singles ‘Black Latex’, ‘Zeros’, and the title track. Grab it here.

Escape was inspired by the ominous, vivid aura of 1970s giallo films (think Dario Argento’s masterpieces Suspiria and Deep Red). Almost as if they were soundtracking a campy slasher of their own, the band’s Megan Louise and Johnny Jewel used an array of electronic instruments on Escape, including a Minikorg, Jupiter 8, 909, Mellotron, Simmons Rhythm Modules, String Machine, a D-50, and Fender Rhodes. Implementing girl group melodies, children’s choirs, and Louise’s trilingual lyrics, Escape is a project that only Desire could make.

New Entry: Sacred Skin Drop "No Surprise" (MVTANT Remix)

Los Angeles new wave/post punk/synth pop duo Sacred Skin (aka Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert FKA Second Skin) have dropped the MVTANT Remix of their latest single "No Surprise".

The song was features as Single of the Week here on KRR, get the remix here.

The duo's debut album "The Decline of Pleasure" brims with hope and brings the listener back to a more innocent and carefree experience, as we boldly move forward from the era of isolation. It will be out out this spring via NYC label Synthicide.

Stream it below.

(facebook.com/SecondSkinmusic)

Tags: Second Skin

Watch: Kraków Loves Adana Reveal New Single/Video "Open The Door"

Hamburg synthpop/darkwave duo Kraków Loves Adana (Deniz Çiçek & Robert Heitmann) have dropped their new single "Open The Door".

The song is taken from the 'Swim In The Blue' EP, out this Friday, March 25th. Get it here.

From Deniz Çiçek: "Sometimes I feel like I haven’t said enough through a song, so I selected three songs from the album and explored them from a different perspective. Today I‘m sharing the first track "Open The Door" with you ❤️"

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/krakowlovesadana)

Tags: Kraków Loves Adana

Watch: Sacred Skin Premiere New Single/Video "No Surprise"

Los Angeles new wave/post punk/synth pop duo Sacred Skin (aka Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert FKA Second Skin) have premiered their catchy new single "No Surprise", and its accompanying music video.

UPDATE 21/03/2022: "No Surprise" is our new Single of the Week!

Formed in the Spring of 2020 by friends Brian Tarney and Brian DaMert, Sacred Skin balances between new wave heartthrob royalty—akin to Talk Talk or The Fixx—and glittering, emotional post-punk.

Their use of vintage gear, namely the Sequential Prophet VS and the EMU Emulator II, retains a vintage, yet polished, studio feel that is unique to their style alone.

The duo's debut album "The Decline of Pleasure" brims with hope and brings the listener back to a more innocent and carefree experience, as we boldly move forward from the era of isolation. It will be out out this spring via NYC label Synthicide.

Get the single here and watch the video below.

(facebook.com/SecondSkinmusic)

Tags: Second Skin

Watch: Speedboat Premiere New Single "Sadie Grey"

Brighton-based new wave-inspired/synth pop band Speedboat - aka Johnny and Will Griffiths aka the Blue Jean Brothers aka Musk and Hook - have premiered the video for their new single "Sadie Grey".

The song is taken from their upcoming new EP 'Better Men', which will be available on via 0800-MOSHI-MOSHI on on 24th June. Pre-order your copy here.

“Better Men”, sees the brothers navigate everything from the Kinks to Kanye to create their distinctive playful pop songs. Speedboat are just two boys, trying to be Better Men. But ask yourself, are these men better than you or I? Most likely not, on a personal level. But the fruits Speedboat bear come as a rare and succulent treat; actual vocal melody with no spoken word, chord sequences without angular dissonance, matching hair-cuts, matching boots, matching kimonos, a backline that can fit in a Samsonite suitcase. A list like this makes you think, shit, these are Better Men.

Stream the track below.

Better Men EP Tracklisting:

01. Better Man

02. Sadie Grey

03. Theodora

04. D Sports

05. Russki Radio

06. Your Life And Mine

(facebook.com/speedboat3000)

Tags: Speedboat

New Entry: Leisure Twins Drop New Single "Make It Better"

San Diego, CA contemporary pop duo Leisure Twins have dropped their catchy new single "Make It Better".

They are influenced by the likes of David Bowie, Hall & Oates, Roxy Music, Thompson Twins, Keane and Icehouse. 

Get it here and stream it below.

(facebook.com/thecribs)

Watch: Maranta Reveal New Single/Video "My Man"

Edinburgh synth-pop duo Maranta have revealed the video for their new single "My Man".

The song is out today (February 14) through Lost Map Records. Get it here.

‘My Man’ is a shimmering analogue-synth-powered shock-pop bop all about “difficult things,” the band explain. “Suicide, comatose, sexual abuse, misogyny, rape culture, trauma. It’s also about forgiveness and hope.” 

Watch/listen below.

(facebook.com/marantaband)

Tags: Maranta