Thursday, April 28, 2011

DAYS GETTING LONGER. SKIRTS GETTING SHORTER.

Having trouble expressing just how much you're loving this amazing spring weather? Worry not, as our favorite Prince-a-like Gordon Voidwell has teamed up with New York MC Iron Solomon on the perfect ode to springtime living with their new single "Spring Fever". The brilliance of this song is that it plays out a whole lot like the days we've been having. It starts out with a sunny blunted-out stroll around the city - bells chiming, dudes rhyming, big synths vibing... that sort of thing - before spiraling into a warped slow jam that feels like that perfect burnt out post-day-drunk-at-sunset moment we're all no doubt familiar with once the sun comes out and the mercury starts rising.

As sir Iron Solomon so aptly puts it "I'm talking about the first Thursday of spring", and guess what? SO ARE WE. May rears its beautiful head next week and we've got that first Thursday on lock, as Gordon Voidwell takes the stage at Popshop (alongside Futurecop, NewVillager and more) to help you usher in the fairest season with some serious dancefloor heat. Tickets available here and going fast, get involved.

MP3: "Spring Fever" (ft. Gordon Voidwell) - Iron Solomon

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

THESE THINGS ABOUT ME YOU NEVER CAN TELL.

Don't be surprised if your heart pops out of your chest on this one, folks. "Whirring," one of our favorite tracks from The Joy Formidable's, um, formidable debut album The Big Roar, has been graced with the fiery touch of Innerpartysystem's sensational "this is just the way God made me" remix skills. Fortunately they're using their powers for good rather than evil here, and the result is nothing short of IMMENSE.

We've always thought of Ritzy Bryan and The Joy Formidable as Wales' answer to Karen O and the YYYs, and with this remix's sincere respect for rock 'n roll it can only be concluded that the Innerpartysystem feel the same. The same kick-drum-kick-off that amped up the original remains prominent, only now it finds itself alongside distorted face melting synths and the faint but effective sound of grenade pins hitting the floor, as if to warn the listener of the explosive climaxes that lie ahead. Throughout it all remains the same racing heartbeat tempo that provided the backbone of the original, only now you're panting and just trying not to throw up from excitement.

MP3: "Whirring" (Innerpartysystem Remix) - The Joy Formidable [exclusive]

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

POPSHOP005: GORDON VOIDWELL + FUTURECOP!

Oh shit, Popshop: Cinco de Mayo Edition coming right at you. It's been four straight sell out shows and we're not planning on slowing down anytime soon, so without further ado, here's what you'll be breaking it down to at Tammany Hall May 5th. Headlining we've got the Bronx's finest in the inimitable Gordon Voidwell and his floor-filling brand of electro-funk, as well as UK partystarters Futurecop! and support from bi-coastal tribal pop duo NewVillager. Then, rounding out the lineup we've got some VERY SPECIAL TOP SECRET GUESTS providing main support to Voidwell, and though we can't reveal their identity, they're pretty much our favorite new band of 2011 and we can assure you they'll be bringing the party in spades.

Absolut will once again be hooking up the 2-for-1 drinks from 8-9pm and The Knocks will be on the decks as our resident DJs all night long, so bring your sombrero and your party pants, because we're going IN on this one New York. As always, it's all going down at Tammany Hall the first Thursday of the month, and tickets are available HERE. By now you should know the deal - these all tend to sell out in advance and fill up early - so get your tickets now before it's too late.

09:00pm: NewVillager // DOWNLOAD: "Lighthouse"

10:00pm: SECRET GUESTS

11:00pm: Gordon Voidwell // STREAM: "Ivy League Circus"

12:00am: Futurecop! // STREAM: "N.A.S.A."

01:00am: The Knocks (DJ) // DOWNLOAD: "Pumped Up Kicks" (The Knocks Remix)

Monday, April 25, 2011

NEON GOLD RETURNS TO THE UK.

It's been a while, but at long last we make our triumphant return to the UK next month for a double drop of Neon Gold showcases with our latest US export Walk The Moon in tow for their debut international shows in London and Brighton. More info on the Brighton show (part of our official showcase at The Great Escape) to come soon, but for now it's time to announce the band's first-ever UK play, going down May 9th at Notting Hill Arts Club.

With much of the US industry falling all over themselves to sign the Ohio superstars-in-waiting, it's time now for the UK to get a taste of Walk The Moon's brilliance, and it's with great pleasure that we put on their debut London show as a Neon Gold event with our friends at SPC Live. Rounding out the lineup are Newcastle's Polarsets (also making their London live debut) and Mancunian four-piece The Kill Van Kulls, two of our favorite up-and-coming UK acts who look primed to take things to the next level this summer as two of the most promising new bands the country has to offer. Set times and mp3 download/streams below, this one's sure to be a sell out so make sure to grab your tickets from Crowdsurge here before it's too late.

08:15pm: The Kill Van Kulls // STREAM: "Wooden Heart"

09:00pm: Polarsets // STREAM: "Sunshine Eyes"

10:00pm: Walk The Moon // DOWNLOAD: "Lisa Baby"

Thursday, April 21, 2011

GOLD025: STRANGE TALK

Well here we are 25 releases in on our biggest year to date, so we figured it was only right to celebrate hitting the quarter-century mark with our biggest release ever. We first introduced you to Strange Talk as the shining stars of the Class of 2011 here at Neon Gold High earlier this year, and now we're thrilled to be bringing their debut self-titled EP into the world next month as our first ever vinyl and CD release. Shit just got real all over again.

Many of you will already be familiar with the Australian foursome's lead single "Climbing Walls", but now it's time for a proper introduction with their debut EP proper Strange Talk. Coming off like the perfect hybrid of Friendly Fires and Phoenix with a bit of that Down Under electro touch thrown in for good measure, the Aussie four-piece are one of the most polished and exciting new acts we've heard in ages. Fully equipped with an arsenal of stadium-ready anthems, "Climbing Walls" is all shimmering synths, cascading bass surges and expert delay pedal use, while next single "Eskimo Boy" shines as the bands flagship anthem, churning synths and heavy basslines slowly building up to the kind of dancefloor-swallowing breakdown Neon Gold dreams are made of. Elsewhere, "Is It Real" and "We Can Pretend" beg to be blasted with the top down on the open roads of summer as producer Eliot James (Two Door Cinema Club, Bloc Party), earns his 2011 Music Producers' Guild Breakthrough Producer of the Year award with some of his finest work yet. Look no further, your summer has arrived.

MP3: "Climbing Walls" - Strange Talk

Coming May 2nd on limited edition 12" vinyl and CD, you can grab lead single "Climbing Walls" above and stream the EP in its entirety below. Preorder is available now from the BRAND NEW Neon Gold Shop* which we've been hard at work on for months and hope will make your Neon Gold shopping experience everything you'd ever hoped it could be and more. Limited to 1500 copies worldwide (500 vinyl, 1000 CD), this is basically our biggest release yet so, y'know, let's fucking celebrate.



*this is a brand new webstore so please don't hesitate to alert us to any bugs you encounter in the comments.

INTERNS WANTED.

Calling all interns. Neon Gold is looking for a few superstars in the making to come live the dream with us at Neon Gold HQ this summer and autumn. As we are a small operation (there's two of us), this will be a very hands-on internship experience both in and out of the office. There will be some boring stuff. But there will also be a lot of awesome stuff, we promise. We are seeking interns for 4-8 week internships, and any interested parties would need to be available to work out of our NYC headquarters near Union Square in downtown Manhattan. Desk space will be provided, though interns will need access to their own laptops for daily use in the office.

Applicants should be responsible, organized, personable and most of all, hungry. You're going to be on the front lines with us fighting the good fight, getting that real life experience you can only learn in the streets. Or something like that.

As an intern your responsibilities will include (but won't be limited to): maintaining and updating social networks, assisting with promotional and marketing materials, coordinating events and assisting with our monthly Popshop club night, helping out on a number of top secret but extremely exciting new ventures we've got in the works, and most importantly, keeping it real.

Still with us? Still interested? We'll be conducting interviews over the next few weeks with those applicants we feel are the most qualified and impressive candidates, so fill out this awesome application below and email it back to us at intern@neongoldrecords.com.

APPLICATION: PDF / DOC

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

KEEP IT UP DON'T STOP.

NewVillager burst onto the scene with their rather amazing debut single "Rich Doors"/"Ghengis On" and started making waves around SXSW 2009. Then things quieted down for a minute. But now they're back with new single "LightHouse" (out now on IAMSOUND) and have the buzz swirling once again. Big track, bigger video. Alright we're off to Coachella catch y'all next week.

MP3: "LightHouse" - NewVillager

Monday, April 11, 2011

THIS HOUSE IS FULL OF MIRRORS.

Suns out guns out and the Captain Cuts dudes are just in time, bringing the heat once again on yet another completely unfuckwithable remix. This time it's fellow Golden State dreamweavers Superhumanoids going under the knife, as the Captains light a fire beneath frontlady Sarah Chernoff's beautiful, lilting vocals - and in turn, a fire betwixt our loins - transposing them over club-swallowing beats and synth drops straight out of Dr. Luke's diamond-encrusted playbook. Intricate, poetic and downright massive, it's everything we've come to expect from the unstoppable production duo and more, so go on... get a little Captain in you.

MP3: "Mirrors" (Captain Cuts + Grouplove Remix) - Superhumanoids

Friday, April 8, 2011

SOMETHING OUT OF THIS WORLD.

We've been patiently waiting for a Wolf Gang full length since like forever (seriously dudes where's our advance promo), and while we're all going to have to wait just a little bit longer (until June 27th), here's a little something that's helping us pass the time. "Something Unusual" is a brand new tropical day dream from the London outfit and provides an exciting taste of things to come on their forthcoming debut longplayer. This one takes a page from the Peter Gabriel big beats 'n rad wind chimes school of pop that Wolf Gang often find themselves channeling, and if you ask us it's pretty hard to go wrong there. The track starts out simply enough with frontman Max McElligott's soon-to-be iconic voice carrying the load before the guitar kicks in, your pulse quickens and things kick into high gear. It's the kind of song that'll whisk your soul away to a utopian paradise if you let it, and if you haven't mentally checked out from the harsh realities of the real world by the time that first chorus drops then there really might be something wrong with you. Seriously, you should get that checked out.



Unfortunately we don't have clearance from The Powers That Be to share an mp3 of that new Wolf Gang freshness, but we have been given the green light to share the brilliant E. Russell remix of their current single "Dancing With The Devil", which we've been crushing on for a long minute now. Maybe it's because we heard it before the original, but we actually prefer it to the single version. There's just something about the moody darkness E. Russell brings to the track that suits the lyrics and subject matter beautifully, and we'll definitely be keeping an ear to the ground to hear what kind of magic E. Russell has in store for us on remixes in the future.

MP3: "Dancing With The Devil" (E. Russell Remix) - Wolf Gang [exclusive]

Also anyone who stayed super late night at Popshop last night - first of all, props - got treated to an amazing supergroup of Wolf Gang, Walk The Moon and Lunar Youth (joined by our own Miss Gold USA) performing Weezer covers at 3am. And that, friends, is why you always stay late night. Lesson learned y'all.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

POPSHOP RADIO 004

Did we mention Popshop was coming up this Thursday? Well it is, and to ring it in we've got another Popshop Radio minimix from The Knocks featuring some seriously hot exclusives in the form of unreleased new remixes from Lightwaves and The Knocks themselves, both of whom take it to another level with shit-hot reworks of Strange Talk and Foster The People respectively. We've also got another amazing Popshop clip from our friends at Jackpot In The West, who've truly outdone themselves this time with their latest video recap of Popshop featuring Icona Pop and Oh Land. Check the video above, cop the minimix below and get ready for the glory on Thursday. Going to be a LARGE evening, friends.

1. "Pumped Up Kicks" (The Knocks Remix) - Foster The People
2. "Sister Wife" (Starslinger Remix) - Alex Winston
3. "Big Problem" - ANR
4. "Anna Sun" - Walk The Moon
5. "The Jackson Pit" - Xaphoon Jones
6. "Sparrow" - Savoir Adore
7. "Eskimo Boy" (Lightwaves Remix) - Strange Talk

RUN THE HELL OUT OF TOWN.

ANR are amazing. Their new album Stay Kids is amazing. And the new video for current single "Big Problem" is AMAZING. With that in mind, y'all should probably come see them tear up Popshop this week (tickets here). It might be amazing.

MP3: "Big Problem" - ANR

Monday, April 4, 2011

TAKE A SECOND LOOK AND YOU'LL SEE.

Captain Cuts exploded onto the scene earlier this year with their 1000% gamechanging remix of Grouplove's "Colours", and now we're thrilled to have them back with their sophomore effort on our latest Neon Gold release with Icona Pop (available here at the Neon Gold Shop). We've already made our feelings known about "Manners" (basically that it's pop music perfected), but now here's the Captain Cuts remix coming over the hill, ready to pound your town to hell with a fire in its eyes and an insatiable appetite for destruction. It starts off innocently enough, pristine synth tones drawing the listener in before the Captains rain down a metric ton of synths and percussion on an out-of-nowhere haymaker of a chorus that hits harder than Mike Tyson on PCP. Even caps lock can't do the unrelenting MASSIVENESS of the track justice, just turn the speakers up to 11 and hope you make it through. Hide your children. Hide your spouse. Shit just got REAL.

MP3: "Manners" (Captain Cuts Remix) - Icona Pop [exclusive]

Saturday, April 2, 2011

ONE WRONG MOVE AND YEAH WE'RE THROUGH.

Star Slinger, that British dude with the golden touch and a whole lotta soul behind some of the best tracks and remixes from the past year has struck again. This time around, our number one lady Alex Winston is his target and he's shooting to thrill with this oven fresh remix of "Sister Wife". With a militant snare beat and fuck-off swagger, Star Slinger reworks everyone's favorite anthem for dysfunctional polygamy into a jam that's way more Mormons In The Hood than Big Love. Playing off Winnie's sugar sweet yet strong vocals, the astral crusader seamlessly pairs a warped drumline percussion with ice cream truck jingles and synthy fireworks, boldly underscoring Winston's straight shooting message. If you didn't already then you certainly know now: this sister wife is not fucking around. Alex wraps up her current tour this Tuesday at Mercury Lounge, come join us down front and discover firsthand why Alex is one of the best new performers in the game.

MP3: "Sister Wife" (Star Slinger Remix) - Alex Winston

Friday, April 1, 2011

LIKE FIRE AROUND THE BRIM.

Friday nights in NYC used to be all about The Knocks' Mr. Jpatt tearing up the decks at Antik, the highlight of which was always his immaculate blend of Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" and The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back". Then when Xaphoon Jones moved to New York and witnessed the magic, he took it one step further and turned Jpatt's segue into a full length track, which he's been playing out around town for a minute now and finally today unveiled on his brand new mixtape Xaphoon Jones Volume 2. Basically, it's perfect. Grab it below and hit up Ill Roots for the whole tape, since it's kind of furiously brilliant.

MP3: "The Jackson Pit" - Xaphoon Jones