Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: MONØLO Shares a Hypnotic Club Banger

Samuel Lachaud is a French electronic music producer and artist, best known as MONØLO. Lachaud is a classically trained pianist and with MONØLO, the French electronic producer and artist has developed a sound that blends organic piano with contemporary techno.

The French artist’s latest single “H14” is the first release on Other Dimension Records‘ new techno imprint while also showcasing a new sound. Featuring listening analog synths, skittering. tweeter and woofer rattling thump and a relentless motorik groove, the song is anchored in hypnotic repetition, tension and delayed release. Arguably one of the more raw tracks of Lachaud’s growing catalog, “H14” sonically seemingly channels a blend of Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Dragonflies Perform “Slower” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

Dragonfiles is a new musical project between Nigel Godrich and Dhani Harrison. Godrich and Harrison had already know each other for years — running in the same circles, hanging out in nature and admiring each other’s work from afar. During the pandemic, Harrison reached out to Godrich for advice and insight on what would become his 2023 solo effort Innerstanding. Historically,. Harrison helmed all of his own projects and was generally averse to working with outside producers. At the same time, Godrich had reached the point where he was less interested in producing for strangers, and was much more eager to only work with friends.

Eventually a conversation around Innerstanding led to a different conversation: “Why don’t we try to work on something?”

Godrich’s first impulse was to invite Harrison to his Brixton-based studio, to draw the producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter out of his comfort zone. There, Godrich brought Harrison into his current working method, which involves creating tape loops as the basis for songs. Though, they had known each other for years, the pair were entering completely unknown territory. But they had a shared musical language and multi-faceted decades-long careers between them, with each uniquely adept at production and an array of instruments. And at Godrich’s studio, they embarked on a series of writing and recording sessions in which songs quickly bursting out of them. “It’s like one person throwing something in the air and the other person catching it,” Godrich describes.

During their writing and recording sessions, Harrison was impressed by Godrich’s ability to edit on the fly. “He’s a machine,” Harrison says, then adds with a laugh: “He has strong opinions about what he wants to hear, and for me it’s very humbling — that’s why it’s such a new experience for me.” And yet for Harrison. a student of the alternative and electronic albums of late 90s Brain, working with his friend was a dream come true, and an experience in which each was able to shift roles. Harrison, who was long used to being control behind the computer, went to different places by operating primarily as a vocalist and guitarist. For his part, Godrich credits Harrison’s openness and compassion with allowing the writing process to be one of happy accidents, and began coming in with lyrics and melodies. 

It was a unique way of working, both electronic and organic that involved laying down an idea, then chiseling the song into shape above mechanical sections of 24-track tape loops. Harrison conjured influences like Beth Gibbons, David Sylvain and Ryuchi Sakamoto in his vocals, while the duo refined their original recordings into layered grooves that channeled trip hop and electronic music — yet performed by hand. Then Godrich enlisted his Ultraísta and Atoms For Peace bandmate Joey Waronker (drums) to add more percussion. He also traveled to Los Angeles to work with composer and arranger David Campbell, with whom he worked on Beck‘s iconic Sea Change. Campbell draped the sputtering drums, rippling piano and frayed synths of several album tracks in gorgeous string arrangements. The result is a sort of earthbound space rock; music that’s transportive and far-reaching without ever sounding stereotypically psychedelic.

The destination was appropriately cosmic for a project that felt like liberation for both Godrich and Harrison. “Dragonflies are a symbol of spiritual enlightenment,” Harrison explains. “When Nigel suggested the name I was like, yeah, sold, done. Whenever I see a dragonfly it’s magical.” 

Interestingly, Dragonflies embed from a period of both great chance and stillness. After two decades being primarily based in Los Angeles leading bands like thenewno2 and scoring for television and films, Harrison returned to his native England, shocked at the quiet remove back home. At the same time, Godrich had pulled back from touring and recording, and considered himself in semi-retirement. But it was from the newfound silence in both of their lives that Dragonflies became a vehicle in which they could chase unforeseen sound sand horizons.

Dragonflies emerged from a period of both great change and stillness. After two decades primarily based in Los Angeles — leading bands like thenewno2 and scoring television and films — Harrison returned to his native England, shocked at the quiet remove back home. Compared to running himself ragged in LA, he felt free, and the next phase of his musical life blossomed. At the same time, Godrich had pulled back from touring and recording, and considered himself in semi-retirement. It was from the newfound silence in both of their lives that Dragonflies became a vehicle in which they could chase unforeseen sounds and horizons. 

Through the creation of the self-titled album, the duo discovered a new, brotherly depth to their friendship, and the fact that their bond allowed them to explore emotions and aesthetics neither could have done in another project — or by themselves. Built on trust, their experiments led to someplace unexpected for each, and opened the door for the future; They have a second album’s worth of material taht they’re putting the finishing touches on, and they plan on forming a touring band to take this new music on the road.

“I mean, it’s really fun,” Godrich explains simply. “Why would you not want to keep going?” 

“We could go even further,” Harrison concludes. “I’m still not sure what it is, where the band is going. But I want to go to that place more.” 

Dragonflies recently were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform, album opener — and the first song the do worked on together — “Slower.” Built around a tumbling drums, glistening Rhodes and shimmering and bluesy and searching guitar beneath Harrison’s yearning delivery “Slower” is an atmospheric and vibey tune about the need to slow down and take stock that seemingly channels a blend of Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd, Kid A and Amensiac-era Radiohead and Portishead — but while evoking a yearning toward the cosmic.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Ricky Bell!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe co-founder Ricky Bell’s 59th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: San Francisco’s Blord Shares Sultry and Euphoric “Frequency”

Brett Ferrera is a San Francisco-based electronic music producer, electronic music artist and DJ, best known as Blord. Citing influences that run the gamut from Tinlicker, Zhu and Kavinsky, Ferrera’s career journey has been at times tumultuous and painstaking, but that has also managed to inform his most recent work.

He believes that music serves as a bridge between the world we see and the one we feel — a powerful, celestial language. Sonically, his mission is to blend the heavy and melodic depths of melodic techno with the collective energy of dance pop to create a space for unity and healing.

Ferrera has quickly built a reputation for crafting mesmerizing house music: Last year, he landed two tracks on Beatpot’s top 10 Melodic Techno and Progressive House genre charts — “Hustlin‘” and “Till The End.” And building upon a growing profile, he has played Madarae, Paname, and Bergerac alongside Denis Horvat.

His latest single “Frequency” is a sultry and euphoric bit of melodic techno featuring thumping, tweeter and woofer rattling 808s, glistening synth arpeggios and euphoria-inducing hooks and choruses beneath a yearning vocal melody. Perfectly suited to get bodies moving, and to perhaps have you dance and sweat away your stresses and troubles, “Frequency” is about finding someone that matches your wavelength.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: AN_NA Shares a Seething, Industrial Club Banger

French-born, Montréal-based married couple and electronic music duo AN_NA formed over three decades ago. And over the course of their lengthy careers, they’ve used their experiences within electronic music, industrial and experimental music scenes to create a […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Baltimore’s Little Lungs Share Gorgeous, Introspective “Strangest Thing”

Baltimore-based indie rock outfit Little Lungs — Leena Rhodes (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synth), Brendan Russell (bass). Ricky Schwarzenberg (guitar) and Eli Simms (drums) — combine intimate and sincere lyricism with intricate guitar melodies and pulsating rhythms to create a sound that blends elements of folk and indie rock. Never shying away from vulnerability, the Baltimore-based quintet’s work dives into the obscure, difficult to explain emotions, like the innate feeling of absence, the flux of infatuation, the beauty of intoxication.

Recorded at Charm City’s The Watermelon Room last spring, the Ricky Schwarzenberg-produced sophomore album The Heat was released earlier this year. Arguably, their most cathartic effort to date, The Heat examines the love, loss and rebirth left in the wake of a tumultuous and volatile relationship — with vivid imagery and decisive storytelling.

“Strangest Thing,” The Heat‘s latest single is a breathtakingly gorgeous and soulful blend of folk, country and dream pop built around strummed acoustic guitar, jangling electric guitar and bursts of shimmering pedal steel with Rhodes’ introspective lyricism, big hooks and choruses and Rhodes’ equally gorgeous delivery.

The song is full of small, novelistic details and observations, which gives the song a deeply lived-in feel, while the narrator confesses a seemingly undying devotion to their lover.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Soccer Mommy Shares Yearning “Rings of Saturn”

Nashville-based singer/songwriter and musician Sophie Allison, the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed project Soccer Mommy, has made a name for herself over the past decade as one of indie rock’s most beloved and distinct voices. Her latest single, the Eliott Kozel-produced “Rings of Saturn” is the first bit of new material from the JOVM mainstay since 2024’s Evergreen. and it comes on the heels of the Allison opening for her heroes Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney on their tour.

Featuring an introduction that has Allison accompanying her yearning vocal with strummed acoustic guitar that serves as the backbone of the song. the song quickly showcases her penchant for rousingly anthemic choruses featuring glitchy boom bap breakbeats and fuzzy guitars and twinkling keys. But at its core is a relatable narrator, who’s lost and desperately looking for hope from anywhere. They’re trying to hold on but they don’t know if they could hold on — or for how long.

“This song is about feeling lost and looking for hope from anywhere,” Allison explains. “I wrote it during a difficult time when I would often take my telescope out into the yard to look at the moon or at planets. There’s something about feeling small that can kind of take the weight off.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 103rd Birthday, Hank Williams!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 103rd anniversary of the birth of Hank Williams.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 57th Birthday, Keith Flint!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 57th anniversary of the birth of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LutchamaK Shares a Thumping, Glitchy Banger

Restlessly prolific French electronic music producer and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK recently released his latest EP, Digital Display, which features five songs that bounce between techno and breakbeat — with a bit of urban swagger.

Digital Display EP’s latest single “Naughty” is a swaggering techno banger, anchored around glitchy synth arpeggios and tweeter and woofer rattling, skittering thump that gradually morphs to subtly reveal different textures and variations throughout the song’s run time. It’s the sort of tune you’d expect to rock a club at 3:00am and 4:00am while rooted in the melodicism the JOVM mainstay has long been known for.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul Share a Shimmering, Uneasy and Confrontational Ode to Motherhood

Acclaimed Belgian duo Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul‘s latest single, the Pupul and Soulwax co-produced “GOOGOO GAGA” is the duo’s first release since 2022’s widely acclaimed full-length debut, Topical Dancer. Built around a restless, uneasy production that seemingly blends Timbaland’s classic and beloved 90s era, footwork, hyper pop and deep house featuring tweeter and woofer rattling thump and shimmering synths beneath Adigéry’s unique delivery which manages to be ironic and earnest within a turn of a phrase.

“GOOGOO GAGA” finds Adigéry giving voice to the relentless rhythms of caring for a young child: feeding and carrying, crying and sleeping, mess and repetition, guilt and uncertainty. Thematically, the song explores the largely invisible work of parenthood and of motherhood, the endless small acts of care alongside the much larger questions that accompanying them: How do you protect a child without allowing fear to dictate their life? How do you learn to be a parent while you are already parenting? And what happens to the idea that raising a child “takes a village” when so much of that responsibility is still experienced alone?

”It takes a village, and yet you’re doing it alone. This record was made as we both became parents: ‘Googoo Gaga’ is about feeling drained, the self-sacrifice, the overwhelm, yet embracing all of it,” the Belgian duo explain.

Directed by Lennert Madou, the accompanying video extends the song’s central questions of motherhood into a wider meditation of race, gender and their relationship to power — by referencing the Flemish folkloric figure De Mammelokker, a legend embedded into the folklore of the duo’s hometown of Ghent, and itself derived from the ancient story of Roman Charity. In the De Mammelokker tale, a prisoner condemned to starvation is kept alive when his daughter secretly breastfeeds him during her visits.

The video remains the tale with a Black woman (Adigéry) feeding an elderly white man, which transforms an image of nature into something uncomfortable and confrontational. In Madou and the Belgian duo’s interpretation, care is not synonymous with submission. And as a result, the video asks who is expected to nourish whom. whose labor sustains existing power structures and what happens when person who’s traditionally underestimated within that structure becomes a source of survival.