Outward - Note Passers

Kentucky's Corey Philpot is an emerging talent whose genre-juggling soundscapes are causing ripples on both sides of the Atlantic. Recording under the pseudonym of Outward, Philpot has already produced one self-titled EP (2013's The King's Ascension) and is attracting significant label interest as he puts the finishing touches to a first full-length album, Reverie Remedy; scheduled for release later in the year.

A solo artist in the truest sense of the word, all Outward recordings to date have been mixed, mastered and produced single-handedly. Arguably, it's this lack of outside interference which has allowed Philpot's creativity to flourish as he segues elements of synth-pop with darkwave, shoegaze and warped electronica.

A sample track, Note Passers, is featured below; meanwhile you can learn more about Outward by visiting the official artist website, or Bandcamp to sample that debut EP in full.

Foreign Television - Youthless

Earlier this week, Bandcamp announced five-year profits of over $50m for recording artists publishing music through its site. It's a remarkable haul and testament to the success of a platform that directly promotes independent producers and DIY artists, the world over.

One of the primary joys of exploring Bandcamp is the listener's ability to unearth those unexpected gems that simply wouldn't have seen the light of day half a decade ago. One such gem is Welsh-born, Moscow-based producer Francis Allen. Under the alias of Foreign Television, Allen weaves together one of the most understated but engaging records of the year in Youthless - an elegant mosaic of ambient synths and lo-fi acoustics.

With a sound that drifts somewhere between Mark Kozelek and Chad Valley, Youthless is minimalist in essence, yet subtle textures and delicate melodies fill tracks with genuine warmth and depth.

For the time-being at least, Youthless is available on a 'name you price' download. Meanwhile, you can sample a track, Longlights, below.

iamforest - Driven Out EP

iamforest is the electronic music project of Luke Hartle, a musician and producer from Vancouver, Canada.

Whilst early Bandcamp releases favoured vocal folktronica, Hartle's recent direction has seen him champion a brand of stylish electro that nestles somewhere between chillwave and lush, textured synthpop. And it's here that iamforest seems to have found its niche - firstly with 2012's sparkling, self-titled EP and latterly with the three-track follow up, Driven Out.

Set atop a subtle backdrop of crackling vinyl, the Driven out EP blurs blissed-out melodies with lo-fi beats to produce a work comparable with Washed Out and Chad Valley's Equatorial Ultravox. Its title track shimmers amidst Hartle's hushed vocals, sending fizzing synths over delicate guitar strokes; whilst Goliath (featured track, below) sends tumbling basslines through a wall of glo-fi magic.

The EP closes with rippling synths and fuzzy edged beats as Versions provides a further slice of blissed-out electro-pop.

Driven out EP is available as a name-your-price download through Bandcamp, and you can follow the artist on Tumblr, Facebook and Soundcloud.

Twin Oaks - Gravity (Vucari Remix)

Vucari is the alias of Nick James, an ambient producer hailing from Plymouth, MA.

Describing his work as "an outlet for my brain" James has slowly pieced together a catalogue of impressive downtempo electronica, available through his Soundcloud page.

Tracks such as Silently, Hope Endures and the mesmeric Wet Snow are hallmarked by featherlite percussion and a rush of delicate synths to produce blissed-out escapist etherea.

But it's Vucari's most recent work, a collaboration with Los Angeles folk pairing Twin Oaks, which has perhaps garnered the most attention. Indeed, the Vucari remix of Gravity - originally a melodic acoustic piece - has been transformed into a soaring chillwave imprint. Inviting comparisons with contemporaries such as Sun Glitters and Blackbird Blackbird; it's a masterclass in towering, electronic dream pop.

For the time being, Gravity is available for free download here. To discover more about Twin Oaks, visit their official website or Facebook pages.

Blackbird Blackbird - Blind & Sunspray (Live)

Blackbird Blackbird, the electro project of San Franciso producer, Mikey Maramag, arrived in London on Thursday to deliver a spellbinding set of lush synth-pop and experimental chillwave. Armed with little more than a Mac and an Ableton launchpad, Maramag played a set of heart-bursting electronica to an intimate, sell-out crowd.

Here's a video clip of the evening, featuring Blind (taken from 2011's Halo LP) and Sunspray (from its 2010 predecessor, Summer Heart).

Washed Out - Amor Fati

Chillwave. A sub-genre and musical phenomenon with a name coined - ironically enough - by a humble music blog. 

Whether you buy into shoehorning acts into pigeon holes or not, what is apparent is that many of the artists associated with this particular tag (Chad Valley, Blackbird Blackbird and Brothertiger to name but three) are amongst the most vibrant and promising of the decade, thus far.

Leading a who's who of electronica royalty is Washed Out, the DIY project of Ernest Greene; an unemployed librarian from Perry, Georgia. With his debut album little more than 6 months old, the impact and influence Washed Out has had has been pretty remarkable. Celebrity endorsements ensued, and a great year culminated in a world tour and appearance at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival at the behest of guest curators, Battles.

And it's no surprise. Greene produces some of the most sumptuous, elegant synth-pop to emerge from the scene - as accessible on a dancefloor as it is on a starlit stroll through the country. This is the domain of deep grooves, gushing textures and aesthetic samples. It's blissful stuff, buffered by Greene's own, delicately filtered vocals.

Featured track is the glorious, sunburst dream-pop of Amor Fati - available for free download from the Sub-Pop website.

 

Public Transport - I Want, You Want

Public Transport is the solo project of Duncan Bailey, a resident of Maine, ME. An accomplished producer, DJ and musician, Bailey recently had an EP (the self-titled, Public Transport) released via the Gothenburg-based 23Seconds label.

Under the guise of Public Transport, Bailey has made a string of remarkable self-produced recordings ranging from the deep-electro synth of Timecode, (a cover of long-term influence Justus Köhncke) to the sun-drenched chillwave of Seawall.

With a strong germanic influence on both his life and music, it's unsurprising that Bailey cites Ulrich Schnauss (alongside original shoegazers My Bloody Valentine and Lush) as a major creative influence. It's this influence which comes to the fore in the swerving, reverb-laden nugaze of Der Unterschied zwischen Signal und Rausch and our featured track, I Want, You Want.

Pleasingly, for those with inquisitive ears, Bailey has a habit of giving away Public Transport music for free, and much of it is downloadable through his SoundCloud page.