For today’s new wave we’re going to start by using one of those classic blogger clichés. This is an act we almost posted about a long time ago, but for one reason or another never got round to. So today we’re making amends.
Anne Frier is I Am Harlequin, a German born London dwelling artist and multi-instrumentalist who has been making music since 1998. If you press play on the track below you may recognise it from very recently, for Wild One premiered last night on E4's teen drama Skins (Season 6, Episode 9) and her current single Onesome has already received support from radio stations as varied as BBC 6Music, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, Q Radio and NME Radio. (Listen to Onesome using this link)
Wild One takes Adele-like piano refrains and couples it with Florence styled vocal structures and melodies to provide something that certainly grabs the zeitgeist. But don’t think that I Am Harlequin is just a of the moment copyist, although the Florence comparisons are going to be inevitable - watch The Kings Daughter with its clattering tribal drums, stormy instrumentation and woah-oh-oh hooks and you'll see what we mean. Look elsewhere online and you’ll find a wealth of other diverse and interesting sounds coming from this talented lady. Choosing to remix Queen's Don’t Stop Me Now could be seen as sacrilege by many, but I Am Harlequin makes it work with new choral vocals, harp and sense of purposefulness that is delightful, whilst Radio Fire (which you can hear and download from this link) sparks with an impressive Regina Spektor jamming with Joanna Newsom vibe.
If quirky belting female fronted edgy pop is your thing then it’s highly likely that I Am Harlequin is going find a place in your record collection very soon. It already has in ours.
I Am Harlequin - Wild One
Queen - Don't Stop Me Now (I Am Harlequin Remix)
I Am Harlequin - The Kings Daughter (Video)
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