Gold Zebra

The first clue as to what Gold Zebra sounds like is to notice that they are signed to Visage Musique – a label out of Montreal that specialized in the darkest, smoothest, most arpeggiated electronic pop. This is a seriously wonderful label, so their endorsement of a band speaks volumes to their quality.

AOTY #15. Peine Perdue - Moreceaux Choisis

Peine Perdue (that could be translated by Wasted Effort) is a French duo, sharing their time between Berlin and Paris, which was created by Stéphane Argillet, composer, keyboardist and programming the magical machines, and Coco Gallo, who writes most of the texts and recite them more than she sings. Together, they offer a music often cold and yet very endearing, sometimes pop, sometimes more minimalist and experimental, which mingles inextricably with the smooth voice of Coco, whose poetic and enigmatic texts fascinate as far as they intrigue.
Often with groups that propose minimal compositions, charm lies in the subtle blend of the melodies and the voice. With Peine Perdue, the synthetic and mechanical music perfectly fits with this sensual and although distant voice, that loves to lead us into the vortex of her poetic riddles. One without the other would be missing a part, the two together are wonderful, and have managed to create their own universe, in this quite crowded world of minimal-synth duets.

Vox Low

French act Vox Low remain virtually unknown, however, even by the meager standards of niche psychedelia, a state of affairs that releasing 100 vinyl copies of their latest, two-track single probably won’t do a great deal to address. The band have the potential to be huge but, like pandas flown halfway around the world who then refuse to fuck their way off the endangered list, they need to meet us halfway.