2020s 354 Items

Angel Deradoorian and Kate NV are Decisive Pink - Ticket To Fame is their highly anticipated debut. After teasing the single ‘Haffmilch Holiday’ the duo amassed a rapturous response, with The Guardian calling it “a space-age-dancefloor swoon that brings to mind Kate Bush’s Waking the Witch” and the New York Times highlighting the single as “substantive and thoroughly hypnotic”. On their first LP they do not disappoint, calling on Kate NV’s experimental pop leanings and Angel Deradoorian’s taste for atmosphere and otherworldliness, Decisive Pink have created a playful and abstract album designed for escape and enchantment. Electronic pop at it’s finest, the debut points to the fact that life is a puzzle, but you can still get a lot from living it. ‘Destiny’ is a smart take on the nature of belief, built on a question-and-answer format, where Angel plays a role as the seer, and Kate the enquirer. The poppy beat is reminiscent of Talking Heads’ ‘The Great Curve’, from Remain in Light. There again, it could be a sinister take on Will Powers’ ‘Kissing with Confidence’. The synth squeaks, squelches and toots sound like the timid affirmation of the initiate. Ticket to Fame is also unashamedly romantic in atmosphere and tone. Romance is to be found in the simple pleasures, such as listening to a blackbird on the instrumental ‘Rodeo’, where warm synths, a melancholic guitar pattern and hissing rhythm combine with some vocal snippets to form a soothing contemplation. Then there is ‘Ode to Boy’; a perfect pop track. The walking into the room of “more than just an ordinary boy” (doubtless “drunk with fire”) allows a set of initially different, and shortened synth patterns to build to a glorious affirmation of the power of love. “Perfect pop music” Marc Riley, Bbc6 Music

Chilly Gonzales releases his new album 'French Kiss' on September 15 through his own label Gentle Threat - the first album by Chilly Gonzales to be written and performed in the language of Molière and Bangalter.

Chilly Gonzales is as well known for his intimate approach to the piano through his Solo Piano album trilogy as he is for his undeniable talents as a performer, exuding his showman energy in the philharmonic halls of Europe. He has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as Feist, Drake, Jarvis Cocker and Daft Punk, and the anthemic power of his track Smothered Mate (from Ivory Tower) became the soundtrack to the French national soccer team's 2018 World Cup victory.

Since then, the unpredictable pianist has grown closer and closer to France, finally returning to Paris to live in the heart of the Ile Saint-Louis, from where he watched the inauguration of Notre-Dame with a tear in his eye and a joint on his lips. After several years of intense preparation, which consisted of feeding exclusively on Camembert and French literature, and while waiting to be elected to the famous Académie Française, he is now releasing the album 'French Kiss' on September 15.