The Love Theme's 'Indian Girl' is an entertaining piece of fluff dominated by a cut-up vocal sample taken from the 1967 Bollywood film Anita. It sounds very little like the song it samples, or indeed any other Indian music that I've heard, but that hasn't stopped this remix collection being marketed as a celebration of global musical diversity.

Oh hi, theatrical violins! How are you? You must meet this terrifying Dubstep beat! Oh, you’ve never met before? Quite frankly, I’m not surprised.

A highly-acclaimed British DJ and a renowned house vocalist make up 2010’s dance-pop enigma, Different Frequencies. The band’s latest offering ‘Flicking Switches’ is such a violent mix of different genres it is almost ridiculous. Aforementioned violins mixed with a grubby-dub bass, electro tickling and the sort of summer pop feel-good vocals that would be more at home on a Peter Andre record.

Immediate reactions will undoubtedly be along the lines of ‘What were they thinking?’, however the band’s collaboration with record label ‘Unpopular’ suggest the duo know exactly what they’re doing. Through the absurdity of ‘Flicking Switches’, the band are pushing the boundaries of pop and electro while quashing the stereotypes of different genres. Like Dubstep? Well, of course you wouldn’t like pop. But what happens when Rob Watson and Benjamin McCourt mix the two together?
Watson, known better in some circles as The Magic Fly or Wicked Devil, has been praised by various contemporaries such as Mr Scruff and DJ Vadim, as well as finding a fan in the heart of BBC Radio Music 6 DJ, Don Lett.
He has also received ‘Hottest Record in the World’ twice on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 Show.

Benjamin McCourt is no stranger to genre tampering as his Nottingham-based band Brown fuse pop, house, chillout, ska and dub vibes into their set.

‘Flicking Switches’ is going to be hard to stomach for even the most open-minded of critics. But quite frankly, if you like dubstep, electro, pop or even theatrical violins, you’re going to love this.

Breton’s ‘Sharing Notes EP’ starts with a whoosh.
The whoosh is followed by keyboards and synths and then - the delicious drop of a Dub-inspired beat. The vocals however are as gritty and emotion-laden as Radiohead, remarkably different, a voice straight from the hearts and streets of South East London. And then everything stops apart from the vocal drawls: “I’ll find a way to count it owwwt.”

As the musical boundaries continue to converge and cross pollinate and genre hopping mutant mash ups are slowly but steadily become somewhat the norm, Curry and Coco are the latest outfit to blur the boundaries; this time round cramming indie, disco, eighties electro and nasal punk into one coherent whole.

 Newest release SEX IS FASHION is an EP that proves this outfits prowess at creating memorable pop hooks amidst the chaos, the title track here a day glo collision of influences and sounds ranging all the way from Giorgio Moroder to Franz Ferdinand to Donna Summer and back again, throbbing synth, programmed beats, infectious choruses and disco samples all present and correct. A couple of decent remixes expand and elongate the original, SEX IS FASHION metamorhasised in even more colourful disco directions, particularly Miami beach eightiefied on the campy EMPEROR MACHINE EXTENDED VOCAL MIX.

The raucous WHO'S NEXT? sees Curry and Coco delivering the pop/disco/punk goods again in fine style, proving they've got the hooks and the attitude to spare, this another infectious sounding number that suggests this is definetly an outfit to watch closely.

As 2009 came to a close, female music artists were really making an impact on the British public. Not only by selling the most records, but by being different and original compared to their predecessors – Gaga and her outrageousness, Florence Welch and her gothic imagery, Marina Diamandis and her outspoken feminism. Another artist who turned a few heads was American songstress Kesha Sebert, or Ke$ha.  Her debut single, Tik Tok, stormed the charts worldwide in November, reaching number one in nine countries and number four in the UK. The song was a massive hit in the UK - on the radio and in the clubs - as its witty lyrics applauded the one thing we all know what to do – Party!

Ke$ha’s highly anticipated debut album, Animal, was released three months later in February 2010. Sounding like the work of Taylor Swift’s ASBO older sister, ‘Animal’ is packed full of girl power anthems for the 21st century. Dripping with attitude, this album almost acts as a how-to guide on how to be a real party ‘Animal’.
On the surface, Ke$ha might be brushed off as another preppy pop clone; a middle ground between Avril Lavigne’s harmless teenage pop and Lady Gaga’s extreme, over-sexualised lyrics. But lyrically, there is some magic here. Many critics have branded her lyrics as corny and hilarious, but the truth is, Ke$ha’s lyrics paint a brutally honest picture that young girls will relate to in ways middle-aged, male critics cannot. Hungover, for example, is a lovesong that negates itself in the chorus through Ke$ha’s confession, “Now my heart is broken/ Like the bottles on the floor/ Does it really matter/ Or am I just hungover?” The lyrics of Boots & Boys however, won’t be forgiven by even the most liberal of critics (‘Boots & Boys/ they bring me so much joy’).

It becomes apparent however, that Ke$ha’s appeal lies solely in the rebelliousness and sassiness of some of her lyrics, because the calmer, more ballad-like songs on the album – ‘Stephen’, for example – come off as boring and unappealing.
If the key to success is making edgy pop tracks that can be remixed to death and then played in nightclubs every Friday night, then the majority of Animal will cash in. A number of tracks, like ‘Your Love is my Drug’ and 3OH!3 collaboration, Blah, Blah, Blah’ imitate the catchy pop feel and super cool production that made Tik Tok a success.
Tik Tok however, set a very high standard of attitude-ridden, raunch pop that her debut album, Animal, never really manages to recreate.
To put it bluntly, you’ll probably love this album when you’re on the dancefloor and full of vodka, but up until the moment - it might prove just a little too girly, fluffy and bittersweet for you to find bearable. Imagine if someone wrote a musical based on the film, Mean Girls, and then played the soundtrack over and over again to you. That’s what reviewing this album has felt like.
A good effort from an artist that you know has it in her to make smash hits, but with all the Gagas and Marinas ravaging the charts at the moment, Ke$ha’s ‘Animal’ won’t stand a chance.

The Animal Farm (Remember when All Saints released The Beach theme tune and it was all twingy-twangy and magical and made you want to go on holiday, but at the same time it was still dire because it was All Saints and they’re not cool at all? The Beach is exactly what comes to mind as Glide and Swerve’s Bring Back Love opens with ‘Healing Overture’.
The difference is however, Glide and Swerve’s Ivan Clarke and Simon Glantz are so much cooler. Glide and Swerve was originally the title for the duo’s themed club nights,; started in Hong Kong in 2005.  They started recording their own material in 2007 and following their experience with the Glide and Swerve club nights, they are true experts at their own game. Although Bring Back Love is erratic, random and will sound like nothing you’ve heard before, you trust that Clarke and Glantz know what makes the punters happy. This is electronica at its finest – sporadic vocals, mesmerising interludes and not a La Roux-like chart hit in sight.
The production is nowhere near perfect and it is clear from this and the album artwork that the duo is currently working on a moderate budget. This however, is a great promotion for the brilliance of their music; talented artists, like Glide and Swerve, don’t need a massive budget to impress.

As previously mentioned, the first track, Healing Overture, is breathtaking. Second track, ‘And I Smile’ follows suit with its gritty beats and sweet, girly vocals reminiscent of Florence Welsh and Feist.
‘Falling’ has a subtle ska feel to it while ‘Last Stand of Mr Dann’ and ‘Here and Now Interlude’ are instrumental tracks that vary wildly from the two opening tracks. Glide and Swerve can skip from chart-feel to chilled house music in a matter of tracks.
‘The Journey Back’ is a sexy, chillout track with a husky female vocalist and album ender, This is Yours, is a raucous dance track fit for the last song slot at the end of the night.

‘Bring Back Love’ looks set to bring its moody mix of house and synthesizers to the mainstream with no need for a poppy vocalist or celebrity collaboration to help. Electronica may not be your thing but Glide & Swerve definitely are.

As their name suggests, Risqué are an electro-rock duo with a penchant for fetish wear and Pedro Almodovar films.  Other reviews I’ve found are mainly from alternative lifestyle mags like Bearded and Skin Two, hyping the group’s ‘sexy provocation and S&M links’.  So all that remains is for us to discover whether their music deserves a pat on the back or a good hard slap (and whether they’d enjoy it or not).

The title track is a piece of techno burlesque through which singer Nathalie breathily intones the title rather a lot.  It’s slightly kinky electronic decadence in the vein of Goldfrapp or the Kylie’s comeback stuff.  Things continue in this vein through the tracks ‘Push The Button’ and ‘I Want Your Number’, until we get to the first of the many cover versions on this album- Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’, which is something of a letdown, any attempt at raunch abandoned in favour of a straight cover with synths instead of guitars.  ‘Marilyn’ suffers from a dodgy name checking bit (Madonna, Britney, etc,   are all fakes compared to Marilyn Monroe- dull, as Madonna inadvertently proved that herself years ago) and a cringey Euro-rap middle section.  Things pick up again with ‘Hotline’, which is reminiscent of bands like Daft Punk or Air.  ‘Do You Believe In Heaven?’ has a real Kraftwerk feel to it, and then we get a whiplash-sharp cover of the Velvets’ ‘Venus in Furs’, all synths and whip samples, enlivened further by Nathalie’s vocals making sound a bit Nouvelle Vague meet Depeche Mode.  ‘Plastic Lover’ is too reminiscent of Rogue Traders’ ‘Voodoo Child’ to escape adverse comment.  ‘Superstitious’ goes into Kylie overdrive, before diverting down the euro-house route again with ‘Deshabille-toi’.  ‘Can’t Stop’ is more Kraftwerk.  Things wind up with a cover of ‘Disorder’.  As anyone who’s seen Twenty Four Hour Party People will know, interpreting the music of Joy Division is not something to be approached lightly, but Risqué pull it off with electronic aplomb and cold Teutonic vocals of which Ian Curtis would undoubtedly have approved.

Glitzy, louche, glam and oh-so-decadent, ‘Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down’ had me nodding my head along as I reviewed it, which made typing a bit of a challenge.  Yes, there are some distinctly iffy bits, but this album will fill dancefloors wherever tracks are played, or at least having people tapping their feet, depending how tightly done up their bondage gear is.

Biography

Risqué – French vixen Nathalie and her Welsh husband Huw – combine their lavish soundscapes with a series of incredible collaborations from the likes of dance pop diva Billie Ray Martin and New York City’s legendary transsexual sexbomb and muse of David LaChapelle, Amanda Lepore.