Drive Me Crazy by Dan Mela & Lady Blacktronica

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Are you in the mood for some deep house grooves? Well then, you'll want to check out the latest release from Dan Mela and Lady Blacktronica! 

The song is called "Drive Me Crazy." Have a listen ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMV_w--evtQ

The press release says ... It comes courtesy of What Ever Not label head Dan Mela and renowned deep house innovator Lady Blacktronika. The pair have teamed up to present 'Drive Me Crazy', a lament to the classic sound of Chicago house. Featured are three takes on the original and one fantastic remix from up and coming Crème Organization producer Alex Israel.

"Drive Me Crazy" is available on iTunes and other digital outlets. 

Cheers then,
—Davearama

Slow Dance by Shalamar

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Jody Watley is back again, but this time with her group Shalamar! They have a new song is called "Slow Dance." And you are going to love it!

Shalamar are Nate, Jody and Rosero

Who is Shalamar? Here is my overview: Shalamar was created in the late 70s by the people behind the TV show Soul Train. Their biggest hits were "Second Time Around" in 1979, "This Is For The Lover In You" in 1981, "A Night To Remember" in 1982 and "Dead Giveaway" in 1983.

Jody's last album with Shalamar in 1983

Jody was in the group until 1983. She left the group because of internal issues. There is a great YouTube series where Jody talks about what really happened in Shalamar. It is very interesting, start watching Part One of Eight here.

After Shalamar, Jody went on to be a solo star. And no doubt, you've read about my love for her as she has been one of my favourite musical artists in my lifetime. Her song "Nightlife" was Poptastic Confessions' #1 song of 2013. And I had the joy of meeting Jody in 2014.

Davearama and Jody Watley

So why is Jody back with Shalamar? Well, after Jody quit the group, they continued making music with another female singer until around 1990. Since then, the band would tour now and then and often times using group photos from when Jody was in the group. And sometimes, they even used her name. Jody's lawyers asked them to stop using Jody's name and photos of her to promote themselves. But it didn't stop. At the same time, it was discovered that the name Shalamar wasn't currently trademarked. So Jody was able to get the ownership of the trademark to the brand name that she helped founded.

Photography: Viktorija Paschua. Styling Jody Watley and Jessie J Collections.
Makeup and Hair: Tres' Major Graphic Design: Ray Easmon

Jody enlisted singers Nate Allen Smith and Rosero McCoy to be a part of the reloaded Shalamar. They've been touring all year, and finally have a record to put out. That brings us to "Slow Dance." Have a listen ...





Wasn't that lovely? I think so! "Slow Dance" is available on iTunes and other digital outlets. Support the artists! Legally buy the track.

Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. Get up-to-date information by liking Shalamar's Facebook page. Also like Jody Watley's Facebook page while you're at it!

Introducing Ani Glass

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Happy July! You might remember my love for The Pipettes and my poptastic interview singer Ani Saunders back in 2012. Since then, Welsh-artist Ani has been the lead singer of The Lovely Wars. Their song "Young Love" came in at #7 in our 2013 countdown. Well, now Ani is going solo, and she's using a different last name.

Ani Glass

Ani Glass is her new persona. It is a nod to Philip Glass (not George Glass from The Brady Bunch). Ani said, "Besides being a cool name, I admire his confidence and conviction in making uncompromising music that represents him." To learn more about Philip, click on his name above.

Ani's new music is what we call a double A-side release. The two songs "Ffôl" and "Little Things" are sung in Welsh, the latter one has the chorus in English. "There's no Welsh pop music I can relate to," Ani said, "and a lack of Welsh pop music in general, so I realised that in order to hear what I like, I'd have to create my own."

But don't worry if you don't speak Welsh! These are highly enjoyable songs! Let's discuss "Little Things" first. I absolutely love this song. It reminds me of the Italo Disco synthpop sound. It has a spoken word middle bit that I adore. And the bassline is inspired by La Roux. "It's about how one day you can seem to have everything and the next day it disappears. That feeling of being stuck in a rut and lonely and then meeting someone who helps you back to your path." Have a listen to "Little Things" ...





The other song is called "Ffôl" and it is a bit more downtempo — blending RnB, dub and pop. This song "deals with people's general tendency to complain about things without actually doing anything about them." Have a listen here ...





Both singles are produced transatlantically by Sean Drinkwater (Freezepop) and Aug Stone (The Soft Close-Ups) and Ani said, "They always kept Depeche Mode in mind." Perhaps also The Human League, too. As The Human League's legendary Dare album was produced by Martin Rushent, who also produced the last album by The Pipettes before his untimely death.

Ani and Gwenno as The Pipettes

Ani is also a photographer as well as an artist. I'm a proud owner of a print of her artwork. I bought Dog Plays Piano and it is proudly displayed in our sun room.

Fiercely proud of her heritage, Ani is commited to singing in Welsh. However, she does give us a chorus in English. And as Ani's sister Gwenno taught us back in 2012, music itself is the universal language.

Both songs are released on July 20th on Bandcamp. Bandcamp gives the artist more money per purchase than other digital outlets. So let's hope support this indie pop artist. Mark you calendars! And bookmark these links ...

**UPDATE! Here is the link to download the FABulous tracks!**

http://aniglass.bandcamp.com/releases

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/aniglass

Bandcamp: aniglass.bandcamp.com

And remember to like Ani Glass on Facebook!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aniglasscymru

Cheers then,
—Davearama