Stream: This Time/Remember - Else Born

Having previously appeared on Eskimo alongside label stalwarts Horixon on one of their stand-out tracks Colours, Else Born is back with her debut solo release This Time/Remember.

Else Born's real name is Turid Alida Soldberg, best known as the vocalist from Norwegian pop duo Philco Fiction whose sophomore album Talk/Brag clawed its way into my head back in January. Continuing Soldberg's apparent affection for the forward slash, This Time/Remember is as infectious and understated a slice of electronic pop as you could expect from one half of Philco Fiction. In other words, you should hit play below. I think Eskimo are onto another good thing here...

Else Born was featured on one of the finest Horixon tracks to date, 'Colours'. It was recently used as the soundtrack to the Stella McCartney produced One City, One Girl series based in Berlin. Now Else Born, aka Turid Alida Solberg from Norwegian twisted pop sensation Philco Fiction, steps forward with her very own debut single, 'This Time/Remember'. It’s a melancholic mid-tempo track we instantly fell in love with at the Eskimo HQ. With its gentle synths, soft percussive elements and mesmerizing vocals, 'This Time/Remember' is a beautifully crafted track that creates a sense of nostalgia. On the remixes we find Blue Motel, a French electronic music duo based in Los Angeles, composed of Julien Nolan and Thomas Toccafondi. The cosmic grooves of Blue Motel are stepped in no particular musical tradition, but rather in multi-genre background ranging from disco, funk, house, new wave and other styles. The duo debuted in 2016 with a self-titled EP ‘Pacific Resident’ and has remixed the likes of Classixx, Poolside, Cannons and Kraak & Smaak. www.eskimorecordings.com www.facebook.com/eskimorecordings www.twitter.com/eskimorecords www.youtube.com/eskimorecordings https://play.spotify.com/user/eskimorecordings

Album Review: Talk/Brag - Philco Fiction

Oslo duo Philco Fiction have been drop feeding us with tracks from their sophomore album midway through last year. Here together as a full album are singles Bodies, June 17, the title track Talk/Brag and Runimals, and they come alongside four new tracks to round out the release.

Which is to say Talk/Brag doesn't hang around and it certainly doesn't overstay it's welcome. The album is less than 40-minutes long, and with so few tracks it is hard not to want more, yet everything here is pretty much spot on. Carefully constructed and played Scandinavian pop music. Careful, understated and gorgeously infectious.

The previous singles still shine. June 17 maintains its smouldering sound and Turid Alida's soaring vocal, creating a track that sounds like it looks you in the eye as it empties your wallet. It's the aural equivalent talking to the smartest guy in the room. Runimals is both slow moving and funky as hell, the brass stabs in the bridge a stark contrast to the track's gently flowing verse.

The title track is still the sound of the band at their absolute best, an eighties riffing pop masterclass, Alida's vocals gently reverberating in the midst of strong drum kicks and smooth electronic soundscapes that feel part sassy pop, part meticulously plotted hi-fidelity dad rock.

The new tracks hold up their end of the deal. Move On Frank is moody and sparsely plotted, the lyrical harmonies betraying a sensitivity that recurs throughout the band's work. Album closer 2pm is a thrilling conclusion - a tale of dissatisfaction and malaise that descends into an extended electronic finale, pounding drums recreating the dance music Alida's vocals appear to be trying to avoid. It punctuates the album like a heavy-set exclamation mark, and leaves me wanting so much more.

Talk/Brag by Philco Fiction is out today via Killing Moon Records. You can currently listen to the album in full on Soundcloud below:

Stream: Talk / Brag - Philco Fiction

Following on from Bodies and June 17 earlier on in the year, Philco Fiction are back with Talk / Brag - the title track from their forthcoming second album.

This new track feels like their most accomplished yet, vocalist Alida's fragile vocals pouring out of her head like the sheer force of gravity would make keeping them in impossible. Layered electronic production creates a timeless cinematic feel - luxurious yet simply played. Simply gorgeous. 

Speaking of the track, Alida shared: “'I’m a lover, lover, lover. I’m a force. I’m a mother. And I’m never, never, never gonna let you down - leave you alone.' [With] Talk/Brag, we wanna talk about our place in this world. We wanna brag about our potential as human beings. Tell everyone we are here to love. Tell everyone we want a piece of it. Did someone whisper ‘Airwolf'?

The Talk / Brag album is due out early next year via Killing Moon Records. 

Stream: June 17 - Philco Fiction

This new single from Oslo band Philco Fiction, it's kind of gorgeous. And exactly the sort of thing I want from my Scandinavian bands. I.e. meticulously paced and gorgeously understated. Also: that cover.

I don't have a bio, just this gloriously obtuse passage from band member Turid Alida:

June 17 2012 - Bad weather. Preaching ‘This is not the summer of 92’ on a piece of paper. I soon find myself watching full length 90s rave parties, drowning in deep house, googling ’THE summer of 92’. Yes, bad weather makes me wanna go back in time. And the early 90s is where I wanna go. To me, it's bright, big and beautiful. The music, the preachers, the wars, the vibrations, the illusions, the summers were different. I try to remember one single rainy day from my childhood, but I just can't. Summer never cheated on the 90s, I promise. Like I would ever lie about such things as the weather.  - Turid Alida