Canadian Electronica Trio Dragonette Drop Fierce New Single, Remixes

Canadian electropop trio Dragonette (AKA Martina Sorbara - singer/songwriter, Dan Kurtz - bassist & producer, Joel Stouffer - drummer)  are back with a smashingly good new single, "Let It Go," which was released April 2nd.  The band is currently prepping for the release of their upcoming third album, the follow up to 2009's fantastic Fixin' to Thrill.  "Let It Go," which was written and produced by Dragonette, is a fantastic reintroduction to this criminally overlooked and multi-talented band.  

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Hot Video Alert: Nicola Roberts - Lucky Day

Nicola Roberts is absolutely adorable in the video for new single, "Lucky Day," due out September 18th in the UK. I know the video was inspired by Grandmaster Flash's video for "The Message," and I see that to an extent, to me Roberts is channeling the legendary Ann Margret's Bye Bye Birdie intro. See what I mean?  It's more than just her red hair people. An ever so coy Roberts (just like Margret) puts on a pouty & playful performance, walking through the East Village on a hot summery day (it was apparently over 120 degrees that day!).  The video was directed by Stephen Agnew, who's directed videos for The Vaccines and White Lies.  Catch it below.

"Lucky Day" is the second single off Nicola Roberts' debut album, Cinderella's Eyes, due September 26th on Polydor Records.  The album features collaborations with Dimitri Tikovoi, Diplo, Metronomy and Invisible Men and is expected to be "as fresh as anything else you’ll hear this year," promising "a riot of colossal pop melodies, underground sounds, singing, rapping and astonishing honesty." SOLD!

A follow up to the catchy but not overly commercial "Beat Of My Drum," "Lucky Day" is far better single choice.  While I happen to LOVE LOVE LOVE "Beat Of My Drum," from the lackluster video right down to those Diplo beats, it doesn't really surprise me that the single didn't make into the UK top ten (peaking instead at #27).  Co-written by Roberts and Canadian electro outfit Dragonette, "Lucky Day" is light, poppy fare that showcases Roberts' vocal abilities far better than "Beat Of My Drum" ever good.  I'm also thinking this song is FAR more suitable for live performances, because let's be honest...the majority of her "Beat Of My Drum" performances were lacking energy.  "Beat Of My Drum" just wasn't a singer's song, focused more on the cool dubsteppy beats and overall production.  Nicola Roberts will undoubtedly knock this song out of the park whenever she gets around to singing it live.  UK fans, download "Beat Of My Drum" on UK iTunes HERE and snag "Lucky Day" when it's released September 18th.

Check out Nicola Roberts on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

'Ginger Swan' Nicola Roberts Readies Single Number Two

While debut single, "Beat Of My Drum" might not have been the chart smash everyone was hoping for, Nicola Roberts is wasting no time in getting together her follow up. Whereas the Diplo-produced "Beat Of My Drum" was a bit more unconventional as far as commercial pop goes, delving into dubstep territory, new single "Lucky Day" (which premiered just this afternoon on BBC Radio 1) has Roberts doing a complete 180. The song is bubbly fun electropop at it's very best, even channeling a little bit of Kylie Minogue in parts. Co-written by Roberts and Canadian electropop band Dragonette, "Lucky Day" is one of the first songs Nicola wrote after going solo. According to Roberts,

"Dragonette were the first people I worked with when starting my album. When I wrote Lucky Day I had short hair and was really into 40s fashion. All of the 'woah woah woah woah' and the 'ah ha' really is a reflection of that," explains Nicola. "When it came to producing the track early this year, I wanted to change it to a more modern downbeat dance record because that's what I am more into now."

I think it's a wise decision to go for a more conventional pop sound this time around, as Nicola should have no problems at all performing this one live.  "Beat of My Drum" is a bit more all over the place musically speaking and involves a lot more technical effects that are hard to incorporate into a live performance.  While Roberts certainly held her own for the most part during live appearances, there was always a bit of awkwardness whenever there were no vocals to sing.  "Lucky Day" is a lot more musically straightforward, lending itself perfectly to Roberts' undeniable singing talent.  A video for the single has already been shot in New York City, directed by Stephen Agnew (White Lies, The Vaccines), the concept for which came from Nicola herself, inspired by Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" video. Considering how lackluster her last video was, the "Lucky Day" video really needs to take it to the next level.

"Lucky Day" is due out September 18th, just before Nicola's debut solo album Cinderella's Eyes (Polydor) is scheduled for release on September 26th. The album features collaborations with Dimitri Tikovoi, Diplo, Metronomy, Invisible Men and more and was co-written almost entirely by Nicola herself.  "Beat Of My Drum" was released June 5th 2011 and managed to peak at #27 on the UK Singles chart, #26 on the Scottish Singles chart and #37 in Ireland.  The single featured remixes from Loverush UK!, Pictureplanes and KC Blitz.  Download "Beat Of My Drum" on UK iTunes HERE.  Listen to a snippet of "Lucky Day" below.

Check out Nicola Roberts on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hot Video Alert: Nicola Roberts - Beat Of My Drum

As previously reported, Girls Aloud member and solo pop up-and-comer, Nicola Roberts has a new single out in the UK. The song is called "Beat Of My Drum" and it was produced by Diplo (M.I.A., Robyn) and Dimitri Tikovoi (Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Placebo). The two producers also shared in the writing credits alongside Roberts herself, and Maya von Doll.  The light and hard hitting at the same time - a perfect mix of dubstep elements and pop sensibilities.

We've already established how hot I think the song is, but what about the song-downloading public? Released on June 5th in the UK, "Beat Of My Drum" peaked at #27 on the Official UK Singles chart, #26 in Scotland and #37 in Ireland. Not horrible, but not top ten either, which would have been amazing. I'm honestly not sure how much Roberts is being promoted over across the pond. I'd imagine that promotional efforts would ramp up closer to the October 3rd release of her debut album, Cinderella's Eyes, right? In any case, there's plenty of time to turn Nicola Roberts into the star that she deserves to be.

Directed by Wendy Morgan (Janelle Monae, Dragonette), the "Beat Of My Drum" video made it's television debut June 5th on T4 with mixed reviews from the peanut gallery {SOURCE}.  Some seem disappointed that she didn't take the concept farther.  To that end, I can sort of see where naysayers are coming from.  The video was seemingly filmed in one room, and aside from brightly colored costumes and talented backup dancers doing their thang, there's not much else going on.  That all being taken into account, overall I quite enjoyed the video.  Nicola looks amazing in her outfits, each one providing a pop of primary colors. I also quite enjoyed the choreography.  While not as advanced or as exciting as let's say, something the Pussycat Dolls might put out there, girl does her thing and does her thing well.  A lot of the choreography seems to feature Roberts shuffling around in place and/or swinging her head and arms round, which while not visually arresting, does prove that she has moves and has lots of room to grow.  Nicola Roberts does wind up stealing the spotlight in the end and all is right with the world.

"Beat Of My Drum" is available to download on UK iTunes HERE. Fans can also order the physical version of the single, due out July 18th.  Look out for hot remixes from Loverush UK! and KC Blitz as well as B-Sides including "Disco, Blisters and a Comedown" and "Porcelain Heart."  Check out the video below (U.S. fans click HERE).

[EDIT] This just in!  if you haven't seen Nicola's live debut on T4 from Saturday night, performing "Beat of My Drum" here's your chance.  While it starts out a little awkward, she gets into a rhythm, especially when a drummer comes out on stage and does a little face off with Nicola.  I'm also digging the all female band she has on stage.  Not too shabby Nicola. Not too shabby. {SOURCE}

Check out Nicola Roberts on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Nicola Roberts Teams Up with Diplo, Dimitri Tikovoi, Metronomy, Dragonette for Solo Album

I know I'm a little bit behind with this news but I'm still going to talk about it because it's AMAZING!  Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud is releasing a solo album...AND it's ELECTROPOP! EEEEEEE! The album is called Cinderella's Eyes and is due out sometime this fall. The album's first single, the Diplo-produced "Beat Of My Drum" is due out in the UK on June 5th via Universal Records.

There have been rumors swirling around since last year about Roberts' solo music and it's finally become a reality and I can't WAIT to get my hands on it. Physically of course. No illegal downloads for me!  While working on her solo debut, Roberts teamed up with an impressive group of collaborators including Dimitri Tikovoi (Goldfrapp, The Horrors), Diplo (M.I.A., Beyonce), Metronomy and Canadian electropop duo Dragonette. per the press release:

"The album has a very British sound, that was important to me," explains Nicola. "I co-wrote all of the songs on the record. The stories I tell in the album are things that have happened to me and life in general. Some are happy, some songs are a little cheeky and one song is sad."{SOURCE}

Good for her. To come from a MAJOR girl group like Girls Aloud and dive into a solo career is huge. Add to that the mix that she co-wrote all of the songs? I'm impressed...and a little surprised to be honest. I've been a Girls Aloud fan for some time (I bought the singles collection!), but to me, Nicola was one that faded into the background. Sure, she's absolutely stunning - porcelain skin, gorgeous red hair - but certain stronger personalities emerged from the group (*AHEM* - Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle). In the videos, Nicola always seemed to be a bit player. Sure, she had the occasional solo bit as a member of the group but she never got her fair share of the camera time.  Looks like that's all about to change as Nicola gets ready to release "Beat Of My Drum."

As a newly emerging solo artist, I can't help but think that Nicola is a little bit nervous, given Nadine's recent pop failures (her album barely cracked the Top 50 in the UK and her single peaked just outside of the Top 20) and given Cheryl Cole's relatively lacklustre performing sophomore album (which floundered after single #1).  Cinderella's Eyes looks to be Nicola's long over due chance to emerge as an artist and I personally can't wait to see where she takes her career.  Look for the album this fall and look for first single, "Beat Of My Drum" on June 5th.  A second single will be released preceding the album's release this autumn.  You can hear a snippet of "Beat Of My Drum" below (U.S. fans click HERE).  Nicola Roberts overload! I'm so excited!

Note: Pre-order the single on UK iTunes HERE OR a signed copy of the CD single HERE.  You can also pre-order a signed copy of her album HERE.

Check out Nicola Roberts on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube