(le) poisson rouge

In the few short years since their debut, Art vs Science have built a huge following, based on their live reputation and their knack for crafting a great pop song.

From winning triple j’s Unearthed in 2008 to selling out theatre shows on their recent run, the accolades continue to roll in for the electro-pop dance band. Art vs Science’s debut album The Experiment - which was released in February - debuted at #2 on the ARIA Album Chart and was the youngest album on triple j's Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time.

The band have had a busy year, having toured all across Australia, the UK and North America. They recently supported the Chemical Brothers and pulled some of the biggest crowds on the festival circuit. Art vs Science have become festival favourites as they continue to do what they do best: bring the party to as many people as possible.

Art vs Science continue to make waves in the States, where their first EP was #12 Most Added on the CMJ Chart. ‘Not only was I completely blown away by the quality of the sound, the infectious energy of the group and their ability to pull off these songs (which at first sounded a bit bizarre to me through headphones), I was most fascinated by the sheer talent of all three musicians on a live level.’ Huffington Post.

Even if you never find out what a Penguin Prison is, there’s no denying Chris Glover aka Penguin Prison has made a brilliant record. If you’re a fan of New York disco, as accessible as it is angular, all burbling bass lines, resonant rhythms, shimmering synths and heavenly melodies, then you’ll love the new Penguin Prison album.

Imagine, if you will, Chic produced by James Murphy, or a collaboration between Prince and The Human League. It is some measure of Penguin Prison’s skills in the studio, on vocals and in terms of songwriting, that such illusory marvels have been achieved on this superb self-titled collection, that some critics have gone as far as to hail it a modern day Off The Wall masterpiece.

Chad Valley are the personal outpourings of one Hugo Manuel, the balearic inclined vocalist of Oxford’s Jonquil and founder member of the Blessing Force collective.
Taking a more electronic approach to sunset vibes, Hugo has made quite a splash this past summer. In his short 25 show career he’s already played in Dublin, Paris, Budapest, Belgrade and Istanbul, been a big smash at In The City and supported the likes of Amiina, Mountain Goats and Foals. His music has been on every blog you can think of from Gorilla vs. Bear to Pitchfork’s Forkcast, the latter of which has featured him three times in recent months and at one point in late October was the fourth most blogged about artist on the planet.
He’s enjoyed a host of radio plays across the BBC and had his debut BBC session recorded for Huw Stephens’ show in January 2011.
Chad Valley’s debut EP is out on Service’s US imprint Cascine (USA / UK / JP / Scan) and French label Maman (EU) and a follow up is slated for release this coming Spring in UK, US and Japan.

The colliding enigmatic sounds on Data Romance’s self-titled debut EP blur the lines between genres, creating a sound totally unique. Ajay Bhattacharyya and Amy Kirkpatrick, both 25, first came together two years ago in their hometown of Victoria on Canada’s Vancouver Island. A quirky community that nurtures a diverse, tight-knit music scene around Lucky Bar; where Ajay first found future partner Amy. Summoned by a friend into lending his drumming skill for her singer-songwriter talents, they immediately clicked. Each discovered artistic talent the other had that would eventually be incorporated into the music. Kirkpatrick was using her training to do lights for the city’s biggest clubs. Bhattacharyya, meanwhile, had come to the city to study sound design for film, mentored by the likes of master Craig Berkey, who has worked on movies like No Country For Old Men, True Grit, and Transformers. Kirkpatrick’s lighting experience definitely influenced Data Romance’s highly visual live show, while Bhattacharyya’s film training can be heard in the album’s most intricate tracks.

Friends have also garnered praise from the likes of , among others, Nylon Magazine, The NME and Creature Mag who had this to say about them: “(Friends)boast a classic pop sound and their single ‘Friend Crush’ is simply the epitome of cool…This Brooklyn quintet are led by lead singer Samantha Urbani whose vocals drip with a gritty sex appeal that relays the heat of a NYC summer… The bass and percussion on ‘Friend Crush’ is sultry, with an instantaneously memorable keys/guitar hook that’ll have you humming this track for weeks to come. Urbani’s vocals are effortless and simultaneously flawless- this band is definitely one to watch for 2011, and they haven’t even started recording their debut album yet.”

ANR is a music-making duo based out of Miami, Florida. The duo consists of Brian Robertson (Keyboards, Vocals) and Michael-John Hancock (Vocals, Drums). In 2010, the duo hunkered down and recorded the Stay Kids album. Influenced heavily by the events of the year, particularly those near to their coastal dwellings, the post-apocalyptic pop record is by far the bands strongest effort to date. The sonic influence of childhood heroes Brian Wilson, Prince, and Keith Emerson as well as the music of the psychedelic warriors of today are very evident therein and continue to inspire the band as they work on new releases and remixes in 2011. The album has gained praise from the NME, Guardian, XFM and Radio 1 DJ’s.

Onstage, the pair add a rawer dimension to their songs, pummeling through sets with a louder, more virtuosic style than one might expect from simply listening to the records, revealing their love of American punk rock and the British and German progressive acts of the 1970‘s. They will be on tour throughout 2011 in the U.S. and Europe. The group is also actively involved in the South Florida music and arts community, organizing shows and aiding the efforts of local peers with production, engineering and scoring film and video art.