NEW #12 - Glüme

 

Who is Glüme?

I’m not even sure if she is real.

Is she just an internet-born character? Is she ’a séance with Norma Jean starring as Marilyn Monroe hosted by Julee Cruise’ as her biography reads? Is she just a creation of those at label Italians Do It Better? Is she actually an alien? Or perhaps she is just a dream?

Whoever she (or they as Glüme may well be a collaborative project) is, I don’t care. David Bowie, whilst talking about authenticity as an artist described it as being about following a personal vision and inspiration, whilst pushing the boundaries of comfort and normality.  Glüme seems to be doing this. There’s a real vision here all wrapped in the beautiful package we call pop.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, we’re told that Glüme was a child actress and juggled time between training her voice, exploring music and living with a heart condition called Prinzmetal. Later this year she’ll be releasing an album. It’s called The Internet, a title which sits perfectly with her art.

The small number of tracks she has online so far range from electronic cotton wool takes of 1950s US number ones (Come Softly To Me by The Fleetwoods) to retro futurist electronic pop tunes with darkly dystopian sounding intros and a video that features tapdancing and colour aesthetics that the White Stripes would be proud of (Get Low). 

Then there’s the sensuously dreamy Body, her most streamed track to date, which is about her ongoing health issues: “Body is about returning from an episode get with my heart disease and starting to notice each part of my body working again.” 

All of these songs, which are part sung, part spoken merge to create something both otherworldly and unsettling. You can hear it on Don't @ Me, the video of which certainly has some elements of the atmosphere of  director David Lynch. Then there’s a cover of Britney as well, which takes ….Baby One More Time to a new place – first stripped back to just guitars before all the instruments drop out and it’s just Glüme’s voice. 

Glüme is creating hypnotic chemical pop music full of digital invention and artistry. Take a listen below

Glüme - Don't @ Me (Video) 

 

Glüme - Come Softly To Me (Video)

NEW #11 - Attalie

 

If you’re craving something with soul, ghostly beauty and elegance then today’s new artist is going to tick all of your boxes.

Attalie might only have just over 1,000 plays of her latest song Homeless on Spotify, but never let the numbers cloud your judgement over the quality of the material.

Taken from her second EP Sigh, the follow up to the Latin influenced Polluted, Homeless is absolutely exquisite. With a voice that floats, despite its heavy depth, Attalie sings of being disconnected: “A stranger at home, have I become?”. It gave me shivers.

There’s a warmth to the musicianship as well; from the soft percussive rhythm that propels the introspective piece forward gently to the sudden surprising sunny stabs of brass, it’s a treat for the ears and one to lose yourself in.

Whilst Attalie might not sound exactly like these artists, Homeless reminds me of the likes of Laura Mvula or Anonhi. There’s the same quality running through her musical blood.

She really deserves more than the pitiful amount of streams she has at the moment.

Attalie - Homeless

NEW #10 - Folly Group

 

They’ve already been touted by the NME as a ‘fired up collective making angsty post-punk anthems’, played Brixton Windmill the south London venue with its own little scene that has pushed bands like Black Country, New Road, Goat Girl and PVA  to the forefront and released two songs last year that twitched with an unflinching velocity.

But it’s their newest release that has particularly grabbed my attention. Released towards the end of January 2021, Fashionista is more refined, less scrappy and frantic than the earlier Butt No Rifle and the jerky spoken verses of  Fewer Closer Friends. Dark synth drones, spiked guitars, and yelped vocals combine here to form something that bears at least a passing resemblance to another bunch of Brixton Windmill graduates; Squid. The vocals are a little exaggerated and camp for sure, but that’s good in these books; it gives the song a stylish art-pop edge, throwing back to 80's new wave. 

It’s bands like this that a year or so ago I would have been expecting to begin cropping up on plenty of support slots and multi-venue festivals in London and further afield – possibly even the one I help book – Dials in Portsmouth. But for now everything remains on pause or is cancelled. Folly Group was due to go out on the road with the aforementioned PVA and Lazarus Kane in January but for the moment the best chance of possibly seeing them live is in Scotland where they are on the bill for Scotland’s Stag & Dagger multi-venue festival in May. However, given the current lockdown there has to be some question if that event can realistically go ahead. 

But for now blast out Fashionista and get to know your favourite new London jerky guitar four piece who aren't afraid to dabble in murky electronics.

Folly Group - Fashionista

Folly Group · Fashionista

NEW #9 - Blu DeTiger

 

Today’s new artist is Blu DeTiger. She’s a purveyor of funky-strut-your-stuff pop and yes, she’s built quite an audience on the platform of choice for the early 2020’s – TikTok. Over there you’ll find, alongside her 1 million other followers, videos of her jamming out over pop classics with her bass guitar; Grover Washington Jr and Bill Withers track Just The Two Of Us and Dua Lipa’s Don’t Start Now as being two such examples.

Hailing from New York City, Blu is a producer, a DJ (she was blagging her way into clubs before she was 18) and has already toured with Caroline Polachek She’s also a former member of the band Kitten.

Of course, blowing up on Tik Tok is no guarantee of any longevity, but the handful of songs Blu has released so far have done pretty well on streaming services. 2020’s Figure It Out is the big one so far with 22 million streams on Spotify and counting; it’s all about a slinky bass line and languid not trying too hard vocal delivery. 

The recently released Vintage (which you can find on the Breaking More Waves weekly playlist until Friday just click here) has, for me, a bigger punch. With its tongue firmly in its cheek it finds Blu singing about how she needs a ‘Vintage Boy’ to be an accessory to compliment her outfit. “He looks so good showing up at karaoke night. He knows all the words to Mr Brightside, he says it’s a joke, but I know it’s honest, it’s so ironic, it’s  iconic, I get off on it,” she sings. 

Whilst Blu sounds modern and fresh, there are plenty of nods to the past, particularly the 70s and 80s. With what sounds suspiciously like a sample from Thomas Dolby’s Hyperactive and some beats that sound like they’ve come off an old Street Sound Electro compilation, Tangerine is once again all about the bass grooves and a certain aloof coolness in the vocals. Mad Love could perhaps be an out take from a Janet Jackson or Paula Abdul album.

If a fusion of funk, pop, electronic and nod along grooves gets you roaring, then take a listen to Blu De Tiger. Her debut EP is out soon.

Blu De Tiger - Vintage

Blu DeTiger · Vintage