We’ve had a little break and a trip overseas for some winter sun and boy it was blissful. It provided the opportunity for maximum headphones/sunlounger time and a new track which we had on repeat was Bambina’s ‘If I Can’t Have Love (God Then Please Just Give Me Money)’. Soft 80s synths and gentle disco funk make this a delight – it’s got the sass of Holiday Sidewinder, the Miami palm tree vibes of Expose with the teenpop perkiness of Debbie Gibson. That guitar solo is a treat too and Bambina’s honeyed vocal is simply a dream.
Gosh how time flies – it’s 6 years ago that we discovered Fabiana Palladino and her bewitching track ‘Mystery’. Earlier today Fabiana announced that her self titled debut album will be released in April on XL/Paul Institute Records. We’ve had the new single ‘Stay With Me Through The Night’ on repeat all afternoon – proper magic has been made between Fabiana, her Dad (legendary writer and musician Pino Palladino) and Jai Paul. We’re getting 80s sophistisoul (Brenda Russell, Taja Sevelle, Cherelle, Mica Paris) meets first album Jessie Ware and also a bit of Ainslie Wills’ ‘Hawaii’ (a cult favourite here at T&D). It already feels like a classic and when you pair it with the stunning album art (by Nicola Delorme) we think this could become an album of the year.
So you all know how we adore a male/female duo here at T&D and we might have found our new fave pairing. Georgie & Joe have just dropped ‘Student’ on foundation.fm records and it’s a totally addictive earworm. The track glitches, percolates and then bolts along – flitting from classic Artful Dodger to recent Confidence Man and a bit of Charli XCX too. Wethinks this duo might have melodic bops by the bucketload in their future and we’re locked in to follow their progress through 2024.
Blusher were our breakout stars of 2023 and topped our best tracks of the year list with the formidable and fabulous ‘Dead End’. Having first seen the ladies perform live at the Sounds of Australia showcase (the Aussie BBQ!) in Hoxton in Spring we got a late surprise at the back end of the year when they opened for Dadi Freyr in Cambridge. During that set not only did they perform an inspired Kylie mash up but they previewed ‘Rave Angel’ which is the new single out this week. It sounded pretty large in the live setting and having now played it in the region of 50 times in 50 hours (!) we can confirm it’s up there with ‘Dead End’. It shows the full on dance attack style the girls can whip up at any time (we foresee many a kitchen disco moments to this over the weekend) – it’s as much Confidence Man as it is Gina G (Aussie legends in both cases). The stabby synths really do it for us and as ever lyrically they’re pop geniuses in the making (“somebody hand me the aux cord” – gonna need that on a t shirt!!!!!). These women have so much talent and bops for days – we just can’t wait to see what they bring for the rest of 2024. Fan club card stamped FOR LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP!!!
One of my favourite things and greatest privileges is to be able to share new music with my dear Wildes (Kim and Ricky). Both still have a voracious appetite for discovering new artists and the next great pop tune. Ricky and I are constantly popping new tunes in each other’s earholes and every now and then when I find something that I think Ms Wilde just has to hear I send to her too. A few years back I discovered and became smitten with the musical stylings of the wondrous Holiday Sidewinder. Holiday’s ‘Whispers’ was one of those tunes I shot straight into Ms Wilde’s inbox and the response was almost instant. “OMG” said Kimmy in reply to me, “who is this divine creature you’ve shared with me”. ‘Whispers’ became a firm favourite of Kim and Ricky and I reached out to Holiday to let her know about her new superstar superfan. Low and behold turns out Ms Sidewinder is the biggest Wilde fan (check the dedications on her ‘Forever Or Whatever’ album).
Fast forward to 2024 and Holiday is readying her new album ‘The Last Resort’ (out in March and up for pre-order/pre-save now). It was a dream of Holiday’s to create something with Kim and ‘Cliffhanger’ is that swoonsome collaboration we’ve been waiting for. It’s very much a Sidewinder track with Kim doing some gorgeous and distinctive backing vocals – however when given a more prominent line Kim owns the delivery – she ain’t coming back ya know. This one really whets the appetite for ‘The Last Resort’ to become our summer soundtrack – see also the previous singles ‘Ripe’ and ‘Escape and Retreat’. We think these two icons have conjured up a little musical magic and hope they get together again soon.
There’s a listening party for ‘The Last Resort’ at 5pm GMT – deets via Holiday’s bandcamp (see below)
We’ve had Anané’s ‘Take A Ride’ pencilled in on our release calendar for the longest time. This past week has seen the full 10 track EP/collection hit streaming and there is just so much to absorb. The BBC/PBS recent documentary series ‘Disco – The Sound Of Revolution’ has made us delve deeper into the genre – finding gem after gem of musical delight previously unknown to us. Anané’s EP feels so incredibly authentic and classic that it’s hard to believe it’s a new release in 2024 – watching the video for ‘High’ it’s difficult to contemplate that it doesn’t contain real footage of the artist skating around Studio 54 from more than 4 decades ago. Since discovering this take on ‘High’ we’ve learned it’s a cult classic from Skyy written by disco legend Randy Muller.
Growing up in rural England in the late 70s and early 80s, the disco scene in New York of that time seemed a universe away – and one filled with wonder and glamour which we could only admire from afar – all of that is captured to perfection by Anané with Louie Vega and Josh Milan on this record (released by the Nervous label). That magic has been recreated and we asked our friend and Billboard journalistic legend/broadcaster Larry Flick (who actually lived the scene in New York) to confirm that our ears weren’t deceiving us and that ‘Take A Ride’ really is the purest disco – he gave us one word back on text “STUNNING”. If Larry says it’s so, then it must be.
Back in 2022 we discovered a very exciting father/daughter Aussie duo called Tenspeed and were OBSESSED by their jazzy pop funk offering ‘Out Past Ten’. Life had other plans for them in 2023 but they kept working away behind the scenes and the best news is they are back and ready to roll in 2024. We caught up with them on the cusp of the release of their brand new single ‘Everything’ which hits playlists today!
T&D: Obviously the Kerr household is super musical. How did Tenspeed evolve from a dad and daughter jamming at home to being a recording act?
Sofie: Probably boredom and a $99 USB mic. We kept coming up with ideas until suddenly we realised “oh, we might have enough for an EP” and then “hang on, we’ve almost got a whole album”. Once we started messing around with some songwriting together, we really got into the flow and kept coming up with more and more music.
Gavin: It’s funny, we very rarely “jam” at home but we certainly listened to a lot of music together. We have played quite a few jazz gigs together, with Sofie joining me on stage since she was very young. It’s always a real treat to do things like that with your kids. I think the first tune we “wrote” together was when Sofie was about 8 years old and had come up with this cute little song, that I then put to music using GarageBand. I was starting to get back into writing/producing stuff when Covid hit and I had made a little track and asked if she would like to write a melody and lyrics to it. That led to another, then another….
T&D: Do you have a set way for writing together or does it depend on the track? What’s your process?
Sofie: Every track has been somewhat unique, some were written first by Dad, and I would add some vocals, others I would write in a practise room at uni and then bring home for Dad to add his ideas too. From there it is a very collaborative process. I would pull a chair into our tiny spare room where we set up and would write next to him.
Gavin: Yes, one of us has the that first kernel of an idea that we then flesh out together. That time collaborating is the most rewarding part, for me. We don’t seem to argue much either…Gen X vs Gen Z…there’s certainly potential for arguments there! The truth is I can’t do what she does and vice versa, so there is a lot of mutual respect.
T&D: How do you cross generational differences in musical influences? Where’s your musical middle ground?
Gavin: Ah, without sounding like I forced the music I love on Sofie from a young age, I did. Sofie is the first of 3 daughters and I just couldn’t stand the idea of them listening to “kids music” just because they are kids. I really believe that great art is for everyone and just because someone is young doesn’t mean they need to be spoken down to musically. So, Sofie was the only little kid in her class who didn’t know the top 40 so much but had a deep love of Steely Dan, Chic, Wynton Marsalis and Stevie Wonder. I think she was a little surprised to learn that not every 8 year old loved Donald Fagan. Honestly it’s been a gift sharing music with my kids and now them with me. Something I think you know about Lee.
Sofie: I’ve been trying really hard to introduce Dad to some of the younger singers that I have really resonated with. I’ve gotten him into artists like Lizzy McAlpine, Stacey Ryan, Olivia Rodrigo and Remi Wolf. [Gavin: I do love Remi!]. We both have a jazz background, so find our middle ground there and with the music he brought me up on, like Jamiroquai and Chic.
T&D: Let us tell you Gavin there’s nothing wrong with a bit of musical brainwashing of the youth! But likewise Sofie it’s great that your Dad listens to stuff you recommend to him too. We love knowing what our favourite acts are listening to in terms of new music – what’s on your personal playlists at the moment?
Sofie: I’ve been obsessed with Reneé Rapp’s new album ‘Snowangel’ and Jacob Collier’s new songs that have been coming out for his new album release.
Gavin: Honestly, I think a good chunk of what I’ve listened to in the past 12 months is music I’ve discovered through the Teases and Dares blog or your playlists (Nina and Ricky, Fred Falke, Grace Lightman, Maya Killtron). The Dave Lee remix of Jamiroquai’s ‘Little L’ has been in constant play in my headphones. I am writing a lot of music at the moment, so whatever style I am writing, I immerse myself fully so this could be disco/funk, drum and bass, more avant-garde music or orchestral. So, in that order: Chromeo and Franc Moody, LTJ Baker and Calibre, Photay (I love his music!), Aaron Copeland and Charles Ives.
T&D: We love that you find new music on our little ole blog and yes that Dave Lee remix is something special. Talking of new music….you have a new single called ‘Everything’. What’s the vibe and how did you create it?
Sofie: I wrote this song a couple of years ago whilst procrastinating exam practice (most of my songs are written under these circumstances…) I was just in an awful mood, and sat down at the piano and sang “I suck at everything”… and continued from there. It’s actually an oddly uplifting song, that I feel encapsulates that feeling of feeling like a failure of a young adult, which I think is quite relatable.
Gavin: So can middle aged adults, Sof! They are brilliant and relatable lyrics. Sofie first wrote it as a ballad but I liked the idea of making it ironic and shifted it into a much happier feel. There’s a little darkness that creeps out but I wanted it to feel almost Disney-like…it reminds me of the animated scenes in the movie Elf. It is a simple song and so catchy (aren’t the best ones often like that), so I thought we would use the strings to take it on a journey. Our engineer, Kieran Kenderessy, did a great job making it sound huge.
T&D: Yeah listen to Dad Sofie, we all struggle with imposter syndrome or/and inferiority complexes – not just unique to being young. But importantly in your case, you’ve made good art out of it. Tell us what 2024 has in store for Tenspeed. An album and live dates hopefully?!
Sofie: The album will be out! Yes, if you’re in Perth, Australia look out for our gigs!
Gavin: I second that, album out and then from there…we want as many people as we can to hear it. I really think the lyrics will resonate with a lot of people and hopefully the music helps that. I have loved every second of making this music with my daughter (something not many musicians get to do) and playing it at a gigs with her and her young friends (I am the old guy at the back of the stage, behind the drums). Maybe we need to tour to the UK? We actually already have a number of songs that could be on album #2!
T&D: Oh we’d love to see you in the UK. From what we’ve heard from you so far it feels like Tenspeed music could be ripe for the remix process. If you could choose anyone to remix a Tenspeed song which song would it be and who would remix it?
Gavin: The tune we are planning to release as the last single off the album, ‘SUPERHERO’, is an old-school disco banger. I’d love UK super producer, Steve Anderson (Kylie, Westlife….) or Dave Lee. Oh to dream!
T&D: Ooh we are here for a disco banger. Lovely to speak to you both – thanks for your time.
You might have heard us on Steve Anderson’s ‘Such A Good Feeling’ the other week – we were choosing our artists to watch in 2024 and the pick of our bunch was Mr Bentley Robles (prounounced Row-bless just FYI). Bentley emerged last year as one of the most talented and endearing pop boys on the block – posting duets with fellow darlings LEXXE and T&D legend Tom Aspaul amongst a heap of fizzing pop bops.
We feel mighty smug about our choice on the podcast based upon Bentley’s first release of 2024 – the barrelling pop confection that is ‘Just OK’ (the track is soooo much more than OK). If you took one of MUNA’s most upbeat bangers and gave it extra synth oomph alongside a dreamy male pop vocal akin to Darren Hayes you’d be in the right ball park.
We also want to shout out Bentley’s co-writer and producer Dominic Florio who, under the FLORIO moniker, has blessed these pages in the past. ‘Just OK’ shows that Dominic has lost none of his melodic flair and it’s a match made in heaven with Bentley based on what they’ve cooked up.
It’s a bit of a Sandor Gavin love-in this weekend. First up we have his new track which is a collaboration with Lucian (vocals) and Sleepless-Nights (guitar). ‘Not Enough’ is a danceable and pulsating bit of nighttime synthwave (think Nina’s ‘Automatic Call’). Alongside that, we’ve been rinsing Sandor’s remix of ‘Daydreaming’ from Bunny X’s ‘Love Minus 80 – The Remixes’ album (the gift that keeps on giving with new faves rotating daily!). Sandor adds some warm disco hues to the track which has such a gorgeous melody line as it is.
This one is a decade old but just appeared on streaming services so it will be finding a new audience. There’s nothing new, however, about our admiration for Maria Minerva. Her collaborations with LA Vampires and the late, great Cherushii hold very special places in our music collection and heart. ‘All The Heart Breaks’ comes from a 4 track EP in collaboration with Ajukaja on the Porridge Bullet label. The track is a wonky electro groover which erupts from about 2.17 with some early 90s rave house synths – could almost be a Saint Etienne lost classic (Cola Boy’s ‘7 Ways To Love’ also springs to mind). For those after a physical, the vinyl is long since sold out on Bandcamp but appears to be reasonably priced on Discogs (indeed on her socials this week Maria herself mentioned needing to track down a copy for her own library!).
Teases and Dares 