At Cost Magazine - Diaries from The New East - #4 - Pop Elektrichka
Photo of Lithuania's Deeper Upper
From glitchy lo-fi to polished pop gems, our latest digest chronicling the New East takes its name from an ubiquitous commuter train. More than just simply a mode of transportation, the elektrichka is a source of human connection. Like music, the elektrichka can often serve as an avenue for commerce and ideas but ultimately is a place where friends and family meet. Although our digest travels all over the European continent, the slow commuter train with its frequent stops is a seemingly common thread that seemingly ties together the post-Communist world.
Bloom Twins - “Talk to Me” (United Kingdom/Ukraine)
Finding their way in London after the Maidan revolution, Kievan twins Anna and Sofia Kuprienko chronicle their journeys in music with storied pop anthems and cinematic visuals. Take “Talk to Me”, a grabbing example of the twins’ pop-dramatic and platform for mental health. Weaving through the highs and lows of human emotion, the award-winning video thunders with the deep-cutting sound of the Kuprienko twins’ visceral delivery against a grungy ride of turbulent synthwork:
Chris Noah - “River” (Latvia)
Chris Noah, is the stage name of Latvian artist Krists Indrišonoks who with his sophomore track creates a sweeping ballad. On “River”, Noah creates lush and textured emotional spaces, through the emphasis of his howling vocal delivery. Saturated in the sustain of his dreamy synthesizer melodies, his latest track cuts with an enraptured bliss:
Deeper Upper - “Made in 1982″ (Lithuania)
An homage to the perestroika pop from the dying days of the former Soviet Union, Lithuanian band Deeper Upper release track “Made in 1982″. It’s a track that’s quintessentially 1980′s with the race of its searing guitar overlay meeting the new wave jolt of snappy punk percussion and beaming falsetto pitches. Though the 80′s thoroughly changed the cultural landscape of Eastern Europe, Deeper Upper pay a romanticized homage to an era that they only know from movies and music
Golan - “Rocket Love (feat. Island Chain)” (Romania)
Building deep, expansive sounds with their brand of downtempo, Bucharest’s Golan typically does electronica in a big way. However, for their latest track “Rocket Love”, the Romanian collective takes a more casual approach. Featuring the falsetto-tipped delivery of its feature “Island Chain”, the track carries a sauntering disco smooth that finds ease with the track’s gentle, breezing flow:
HELEN - “Chemistry” (Romania)
Hailing from the Romanian capital Bucharest, Elena Moroșanu (HELEN) spent her time penning songs for others before breaking out into her own music space. With her latest of her efforts, HELEN makes a magnetic debut. Percolating through the bubble of her fizzing synth-pop, “Chemistry” is an addictive track where gunning bass lines find cohesion with the siren of Moroșanu’s enchanting pop allure.
Hindu - “Gorgeous” (Ukraine)
Capturing the space-age futurism and Post-Soviet ethos of the Ukrainian capital, HINDU’s latest video “Gorgeous” showcases the dramatic of Kiev’s stunning landscapes. With the angelic of vocalist Tania Yankovska’s heavenly wisp, “Gorgeous” is met with a nudging, electro-pop effervescence. Oozing bass lines and a snappy percussion meet the buzzing synth-wave of its wavy analog keys on their latest track.
Also check out the euphoric lift behind the lo-fi Casio-pop track “Brighton”:
Jinka - Wonderland (Germany/Romania)
Berlin via Transylvania, Jinka pens a jolting pop gem with her track “Wonderland”. A mish-mash of juxtaposing electro-pop textures, Jinka finds her unlikely inspiration from The Prodigy, where the mash of two-step percussion and fuzzy synth walls provide rasp over her slinky R&B delivery: