It’s finally the weekend and time to choose MTV Iggy’s Artist of the Week!
This is a round-up of the best global bands we found this week. You have a week, until next Friday morning at 9 a.m. USA Eastern Standard Time to vote for your favorite new artist on MTV Iggy, using the bottom poll!
The band with the most votes will be have prime real estate on MTVIggy.com this week, along with a tell-all interview!
Good luck!
Veneno
Photo courtesy of Etoro Records
Veneno –his name means venom and, after listening to his EP Plata Plata, we think we’ve been bitten by Argentina’s Veneno. The dance music producer, whose real name is Alejandro Ferrer, just made his debut on Isa GT’s Etoro record label. We love the organic sound of the slapping bass guitar on the title track and we really love the way it’s braided into an otherwise utterly minimal electro track. Something about it makes us want to dance, like, really dance, like, reenacting scenes from Flashdance and Footloose dance.
Free Deserters
Photo Courtesy of the artist
Free Deserters, the Malaysian psych rockers, take things back to the days in the 1990s when the kids dreamed about the 1960s and proceeded to make music that was right on time, if only for a moment. Listening to joints like their new single “Out of Reach,” you can fairly smell the incense, weed and freshly brewed cappuccino. These guys have a talent for sincere alt-rock tunecraft in the manner of UK’s Tribes and they roll out their creations with conviction and roguish attitude, which is exactly how it’s done. It’s the insouciance that makes their taste in bouncy Brit-pop bass lines, space rock guitar noise and meaty garage riffs seem very clever indeed.
Saint Lou Lou
Photo Courtesy of the artist
Saint Lou Lou — it’s unclear where they’re from — born in Australia, raised in Stockholm? the other way around? — they aren’t revealing too much yet. The song — their debut single — is dripping in neon new wave tropes and unadulterated sadness, with lyrics calling out to a true love. A pulsing beat creates tension that never quite breaks, and you’re left pretty much with one of the saddest songs you’ve heard in years — or at least, since the Drive soundtrack. Then there are remixes by CFCF, Miami Horror drummer Good Night Kean, and more, which you can sample in the recently-released minimix.
Om Unit
Photo Credit: Jonangelo Molinari
Om Unit — despite a moniker that conjured zenned out world beats, UK’s Om Unit is actually an honorary member of the Low End Theory crew — in gig at least. What this amounts to groovy, slow bpms, erratic beats, knob noodling, and hip-hop influenced synthscapes. Better than yoga music, but just as relaxing. Om Unit has been busy tinkering with remixes and a few EPs on Civil Music, with the latest one Aeolian Processes featuring the lush track “Dark Sunrise.” It’s got a beat that will knock you right off balance.
Sinkane
Photo Credit: Phil di Fiore
Sinkane — or Ahmed Gallab, (roots in Sudan/moved to Utah at a young age) came at us with a richly textured psychedelic soul sound, almost like an updated Shuggie Otis. The vibe was rounded out with touches of blues and free-jazz, full of cloudy ambiances and space-echo guitars.This fall, he’ll be releasing a new, full-length album titled Mars and from the sound of the teaser single “Jeeper Creeper,” (below) Sinkane is delving into new territories. The track has the driving four-on-the-floor kick and riffy guitars you often hear in West African jams, mashed up with the gun-smoke drama of Ennio Morricone’s “Spaghetti Western” soundtracks and some almost Enya-esque ecstasies.