Magic Man // Every Day

Magic Man aren't new to this game and waste no time in kicking off the release of a new EP (coming next week) with their hulk smash, Every Day.

In an 8-bit street fighting game, with both contestants dodging back and forth as the countdown goes from 5 to 1 on screen, an announcer shouts GO! The western buildings around the dusty fight zone are crowded with onlookers. Faint synths emerge from the distance and everyone's attention is drawn away, and back into the buildings. Two medieval clothed fellas are duking it out below, but that does not seem to matter to the camera operator as he flies into the window to reveal an 8-bit Magic Man playing a new track. The crowd, once gathered for a fight is endlessly hyped and dancing with moves they haven't seen since they drank a 26 of whiskey back in their 20's on New Year's Eve. The more the ground shakes, the more HD Magic Man become. The building collapses and a mushroom cloud of dust forms above. A nerve-wracking 30 seconds pass, and a crystal clear band emerges unscathed. 

90 Pounds of Pete // Promiseland

This is 90 Pounds of Pete, an electro-pop project founded by Peter Martin. A Chicago native now based in New Orleans, he already has plenty of experience playing and touring with indie bands. Listen to 'Promiseland,' which was released just earlier today. Keep your ears peeled for a follow up single coming next month.  Your wig is neon blue and so is the light shimmering at the end of your cigarette. You flick the butt with your slender fingers and fireworks shoot out in the streets. It's fitting because everything seems to be brightly lit tonight; your diamond dress, the empty taxi cabs, the hot breaths in the local basement club, everything is so bright that I can't even open my eyes. The stars are the disco balls. The TV screen is flickering with technicolor static and you're yelling Japanese punk rock into the microphone. Let's do the twist, baby, c'est la vie say the old folks it goes to show you never can tell. We're still kids because we draw mountains like triangles on the toilet walls. The knob is turned to max and we're flying up the highway in my Harley Davidson's. Your body is melting into my jacket and my eyes forgot the sky is raining with confetti.

Dive In // Let Go

Dive In are from Glastonbury, England and they sound like a dreampop love child between Grouplove and The Naked and Famous. Check out their new track ‘Let Go,’ which is full of 80’s nostalgia and jittery synth hooks. The sun is dying and our sky an afterglow. You snap a picture of it on your polaroid camera and stick it inside your pocket. Don't you want to wait until it finishes processing? I won't need it to. I just want it with me, forever. There is a radio on the sandy beach and it’s humming that overplayed summer hit again. Only shadows are dancing in the water; they seem possessed with the purple air and I want to join them. What are you waiting for you said. We walk with naked feet and without fear. Then an inch of silence. Opened lips but wordless. Amorous cold eyes, hot pale skin, we defy the laws of modern science. I have no regrets left behind on that hill. Do you hear that tune ringing and echoing in my head? Because when I lost my grip on your hand we were already dead. We're floating and sinking and dancing towards nothing. It doesn't matter because the sun's still stuck in our eyes.

Starsmith // Clockwork

Starsmith, who has been busy pushing other people's careers to #1 is finally back with the outer space-electro pop that has you feeling as if aliens have overtaken your soul.

A hollow alley on the Imperial Star Destroyer is flickering with light. Colourful beams warping around the blackened mirrors, shooting out the windows and blasting into the dark abyss of the universe. A mob of storm troopers appear silhouetted in the distance, and are then sucked through the cracked windows. They smash together like a broken robot, leaving particles of their bodies littering the open universe. Trying to break out of it, their consistency changes into a creamy liquid that expands and contracts from one blob to a million speckles of light. Back on board the Star Destroyer, the commander engages the melted storm troopers and gathers their energy to push into hyperdrive and enter the unknown.

Hannah Karydas // Heavy

Australia has dropped a new one on the world with 18-year old Hannah Karydas. With only two songs released and already sounding like a First Aid Kit meets Monsters of Folk blend, she's on her way for much bigger things. Check out her brand new song titled Heavy below.

A stallion is booking it through the Western mountains, destined for the peak, to breathe in the higher oxygen and live a better life than in the confines of an enclosed village thousands of feet below. Its hooves dig and carve lines at the peak, eventually causing the point to split open. The horse backs off timidly, and glances at the gash in the earth's creation. With one look below at the fleet of rushing village men coming to rescue the horse, it stares into the black abyss and falls forward. The peak seals back up like a healed wound and the mountains interior brightens, revealing a hidden world beneath our every step. With groups of animals that have fled their homes in search for more, they've created a new world for themselves, and have gathered all of life's necessities and luxuries to start again from day one.

Polarsets // Just Don't Open Your Eyes Yet

Newcastle's Polarsets, who we've had a bit of a crush on for a couple years now, are finally readying their debut album. They have unleashed a song from said album, which sports their trademark sunshine-cocktail-beach party vibe tied to a mast.

Awoken on a yacht in a crystal blue ocean, the golden sun beating down on your sun-burned neck, you stand up and walk down into the cabin. Swinging open the door, you're faced with Chuck E. Cheese's band in a deep sleep as if there's nothing wrong. Stepping back at the tip of the yacht, you dive head first into the water and are immediately transported to last night where you re-live what went down and why you partied with Chuck E. Cheese's band, or better yet, how you got there. 

In your drunken stupor, you waltz into a Chuck E. Cheese and walk into the employees only entrance, where the costumed children's heros are consuming unnamed substances after their shift. They invite you to hang and time shifts to a sunset yacht party with Michael Cera's entourage who slip into the ocean, only to never be seen again. As bewildered as you are, you take shelter on the deck of the yacht and curl into a ball, drenched in saltwater and booze.

Emilie Nicolas // Pstereo

The Scandinavian domination continues as Norway's Emilie Nicolas gently lands with her stunning new track Pstereo. Her fragile voice blows through the swirling deep synths of the dark pop ambiance.

A lone female takes a gondola ride through an uninhabited area doused with fog and zero visibility. Climbing up the mountain, the fog dances and swirls slowly around her. As it picks up speed, the fog changes colours from white to forest green to sky blue, picking up on the colours of its surrounding environment. The fog begins to pack together in one thick bloom of smoke, and lifts the gondola off of its guiding cable. An alternative route is taken to the peak of the mountain, flying past herds of deer, gangs of elk, and packs of wolves, all with their eyes shooting above at the cloud of colourful fog. At the peak of the mountain, the gondola unfolds like origami and gently drops the girl on the ground.

Dead Times // Centuries

The Arizona to LA duo that makes Dead Times appears to be the result of a Caribbean drum group ditching their steel drums for a glitched out, mellow digital revitalization. 

Tens of congo drums are floating amidst the deep blue sea in a circular formation. The still water begins to clash around, eventually forming a whirlpool. The drums crash around and bang into each other creating distant echoed worldly drum beats. As the sounds get louder, the congos morph into each other forming one collective, massive drum. The waves, now toppling over and shooting into the air begin to form shapes. At first it's squares and triangles, but advances into the master hand from Super Smash Bros in water form. Another hand emerges and soon they begin banging onto the massive drum, calling upon the sea and spawning water creatures to help out.

Mereki // Blue Lake

LA's Mereki has been on touring singing with Goldroom and today released her first track Blue Lake that brings out a spiked up Purity Ring on vacation.

A wandering child finds its way into a warehouse with a green screen. Intrigued by the lights, camera, and lack of crew, she hits record on the camera and walks in front of the green screen. As soon as she starts dancing, the green screen transports her background into oceanic views and tropical forests. She jumps in the air out of excitement and a surfboard lands beneath her, then the ground beneath the board begins to crumble and is consumed by an oncoming wave. Within seconds the whole warehouse is filled with crystal blue tidal water and sand brushing across her feet.

Pacific Air // Move

Pacific Air just released what is surely their best song and give us a peak at what to expect with their debut album Stop Talking, which will be released June 11th. The massive oh-oh's, handclaps, signature falsetto, big drums, and the Pacific Air groove to tie it all together.

As you cross over the crisp brown ridge, on the other side the Bryce Canyon awaits your presence. Sitting atop the hoodoo's are a significant chunk of the world's extinct reptiles, amphibians, birds, and arachnids. You raise your arms above your head, and all the creatures rise into the air. As you manipulate your hands, they assemble in a tornado-like formation. Altocumulus lenticularis clouds are circling above in the deep blue sky and they begin to lower to the earth. Completely in awe, you begin to run closer to the peaks. The hovering creatures begin to intertwine and work together to touch the billowing snow white clouds. As you enter the epicenter, the animals all rise into the belly of the central cloud. The cloud then begins to change shape and branch off into individual clouds representing each extinct animal. You look away for one second to gather what you're seeing, and when you look back the clouds all burst and dissipate.

Jon Mesek // Keep on Falling

Germany's Jon Mesek has been working on a new album for a few years now and just unveiled the latest track Keep on Falling. The album Marcy Avenue will be available June 17th.

15,000 feet in the air, a man sits on a pillow of clouds, staring down at life passing below him. He has lived up there his whole life, migrating to new homes to get a new view. His favourite is above Alaska to get a grand view of the Northern Lights. Growing tired of the lonesome life he wakes up to each and every day, he decides it's time for a change. He takes a quick look below him then leaps off the bed of clouds, gaining massive speeds. His whole body in a euphoric peaceful state as he's never felt such thrill in his entire life. His body is doing slow barrel rolls, and he spreads his arms and legs out to stabilize. As this happens, he realizes he just gained control of his direction of flight and is no long falling straight down. With this control, he begins to fly around the globe, getting a close birds eye view of all 196 countries in the world. His body increasingly inches closer to the earth, but not before he gets one last view of the Northern Lights.

Cloud Boat // Youthern

The duo of Cloud Boat from London soundtrack your lonesome 2 a.m. walks home through the pouring rain. Listen to their track Youthern below, and watch out for their debut album Book of Hours being released next week.

A lone doe with a broken leg hobbles along the dense decaying forest. In search for its mother, it enters on an adventure it will never be able to fully realize. Leaves slowly fall to the ground like rain, and the bark of the trees begins to crack. As the bark crumbles, the trees lie naked, barely standing. They begin to fall inward, and parallel trees hit each other and connect at the tip, creating a long domino-like pyramid. The setting sun breaks through the cracks of the collided trees and glimmers in its beady eye. The moon becomes visible and the once thick forest backwards ages and re-enters the ground. The doe regresses into a baby and then enters the rich black soil surrounding its fragile body.

Smallpools // Dreaming

LA's Smallpools just exploded into our ears (thanks to the dudes at Neon Gold) with their debut offering 'Dreaming'. If you're ready to get the long weekend started (as a Canadian), then I'd say this is the proper track to do so. Also, it was produced by remix superstars and Grouplove-affiliates Captain Cuts, so you know you're in for something good.

As you sit on a park bench in Central Park, a bunch of children in yellow track suits emerge from the soil in a similar jaw-dropping fashion as E.T. when he first lifted off. They start running in one large circle, hands connected, creating a massive tide of wind. Their bodies morph together, forming a massive yellow blob which is at least 50 feet wide and tall. The blob begins to roll around central park, picking up every human it touches, and expanding to greater heights. It's gaining more energy and speed, then shoots into the air, landing directly in Times Square. It absorbs the power of Times Square, then blasts into the sky, reaching the clouds. The blob begins hopping state to state, soon taking the size of the entire world.

Jed Nayef // Freaks

Listen to Freaks by New York City's Jed Nayef. One of the best debut singles we've heard in time.

A cloaked duo blend their ingredients together in an underground science lab, uncovering dark secrets of the mystical world. Their recipe assembles a mind that can control the circuitry of an entire city. The white and black specks of their ingredients multiply and morph into full-sized humans made of crystal, but when light touches their surface, the crystal melts to the ground below. 

The sun falls behind the horizon and they exit the basement on a cold fall night. Upon exiting their apartment, they forget about the car lights and street lamps, and their night turns into chaos as they are running for forestry, trying to evade all light. Crystal sweat beads crawl down their bodies and they begin to shrink in size as car beams flash down the urban streets. They are loopy and tired and fall to their hands and knees at the entrance of a forest. One being rolls onto his back with all the power he has left, pulls a module out of his body, presses a button which kills the entire city grid's power, but simultaneously kills him.

Mr. Little Jeans // Oh Sailor

Mr Little Jeans (aka Monica Birkeness) is a singer hailing from Norway and now based in Los Angeles. Oh Sailor is the first single from her upcoming album.

A mermaid sits by a rock pool, her tilted back towards the sun and her eyes closed. She dives into the water, and a group of children emerge from the bushes nearby and follow her along the shore. When she swims through a waterfall into the mouth of a cave, the children jump in and follow her. Inside the cave, they find dozens of mermaids swimming, surrounded by reflections of the water dancing on the walls.

Oh Sailor from Mr Little Jeans on Vimeo.

Chasing Kurt // From The Inside

Bringing the best elements of Disclosure and the aesthetic of The Drums, Chasing Kurt, from Germany, bring us this beautiful and grooving deep house track titled From The Inside.

There's a shadow crawling slowly along the decayed brick wall of an urban alleyway at dusk. The air is stale and a slight breeze flows through the streets. As the shadow passes by each brick, they are painted white. The paint is fresh and as it drips, it erases the paint in its path. The bricks then emit dust from their pores, making the air cloudy. At first crumbling in small chunks, then full-sized bricks fall off the wall and puncture the pavement, creating a sinkhole that opens to a new world enveloped by black light.

Kadie Elder // Simple Guy

Last week, Kadie Elder from Århus, Denmark released their eponymous debut album. Drawing inspiration from Sufjan Stevens and Django Django, they've created a unique blend of orchestral and electronic music.

A naked man sprints through a Colombian jungle with a tree branch in his hand acting as a cane. The dirt lining the jungle slowly transitions into ankle-high water, and is increasing in depth as he goes further. As he runs nervously, the sounds of a group of animals chasing him begin to reverberate throughout the air. The water is rapidly changing hue and he glances behind himself. Staring him dead into his soul are a group of purple jaguar's. The man's skin melts into orange juice then he slowly merges with the water that has formed around him.