At Cost Magazine - Blog Digest #12 - Pax Europa
Our latest blog digest is inspired by Belgium, the land of chocolate and the neurological center of the European Union. In this short and sweet compilation, we display a variety of tracks from the chocolatey smooth to leading edge of pop music today.
Chackie Jam - "Shotokan (Take Me With You)"
A synthpop collective which in their own words makes "guilty pleasure synthpop", "Shotokan (Take Me With You)" is the latest cut from the Belgian band with the cheeky moniker. A little jazz, funk and soul to glowing gobs of amorphous synth, the track is fun and not too serious as shown through its brightly-hued synthesizer pastels:
Float Fall - “Hard Time Loving You”
Ruben and Rozanne constitute the pairing of Brussels' Float Fall, with their latest track "Hard Time Loving You" bridging the harmonies between their two voices. It's a track which carries a lofty air, with the billowing synth sound of its resonant delivery alternating between Rozanne's wispy sweet and Ruben's husky howl.
Gilles, Maxime, Janjannes and Simon are members of Pale Grey, a Belgian indie-pop four piece hailing from Brussels. Their latest track is soft and breezy,
with light resonant bass lines snapping over synth quirk and flowing to the ooze of sweet and honeyed twee pop vocals.
RAVVEL - “Pick Your Poison”
"Pick Your Poison" is the debut track from Antwerp's RAVVEL that illustrates a dark, foreboding mythology. Walking between the organics of her acoustic guitar
and an otherworldly electronic, the track's deep pulsing penetration drifts to the ethereal beauty of RAVVEL's ghostly float.
Sonnfjord - “Fresh Heart”
Sonnfjord is comprised of Brussels vocalist Maria-Laetitia Mattern and her brother Aurelio Mattern on keys alongside bassist François de Moffarts.
Light and fluttery electropop, their latest track "Fresh Heart" contrasts the sad and sullen to the youthful squeak Maria-Laetitia's beaming falsettos.
Beating over the snap of resonant basslines that's contrasted to an ambient piano sombre, the track is emotively-rich yet not adverse to the beat-driven.
Arnaud, Benoit and Julien are ULYSSE, a synth-pop trio from the Belgian capital. With their latest track "Mañana", ULYSSE paint the diverse styles of their ecletic, electro-pop palette. Juxtaposing funky synth wonk to steady disco grooves, the track is coated by the silken smooth of Arnaud's vocals for the colorful video that is their single “Mañana"
