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 #19 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

Love Is Free by Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique ft. Maluca

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Robyn is back with another side project! This time it is a collaboration with La Bagatelle and Maluca. The new song is called "Love Is Free" and it will have you dancing in no time!

Robyn was last featured in Poptastic Confessions when her song "Do It Again" with Röyksopp came in at #10 in our year-end countdown. Before that, her song "Call Your Girlfriend" was #18 in our 2011 countdown. And she had three songs in our 2010 countdown.

"Love Is Free" is definitely a nod to 90s dance music. It has a BOOMING bass line that is funky! It's a hard track to describe. I think you are just going to have to listen for yourself ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D73qvPTxIcg

"Love Is Free" is available on digital outlets everywhere. Please support the artists by legally downloading the track.

Cheers then,
—Davearama

Hang Us High Video by RABBII

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Happy Wednesday! Last week, we shared the wonderful new song from the Swedish duo R.A.B.B.I.I. called "Hang Us High." Click on the song name to take you to that post.

Well, great news! R.A.B.B.I.I. debuted their video for the song and it is FABulous. It is a stop-motion video apparently with over 3000 images (I didn't actually count). Check it out here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBJu6r3LF8M

Wasn't that awesome! Keep R.A.B.B.I.I. on your radar!

http://soundcloud.com/rabbiirevolt
http://instagram.com/rabbiirevolt
http://facebook.com/rabbiirevolt
http://twitter.com/rabbiirevolt
http://rabbiirevolt.tumblr.com/

Cheers then,
—Davearama

Pressure Off by Duran Duran

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Over the weekend, Poptastic Confessions quietly turned four years old! HOORAY! Thank you to everyone who has visited (and bookmarked) the home page, liked our Facebook page, shared our links and legally downloaded the music featured.

It gives me great pleasure to let you know that today's post is a brand new song from Duran Duran. The song is called "Pressure Off" and it is from their forthcoming album called Paper Gods. Now, you might remember that I wrote about the history of Duran Duran back in January of 2013 when I read John Taylor's autobiography.

Duran Duran are Roger, John, Nick and Simon.

The new song "Pressure Off" features Janelle Monae with a middle-section vocals. Overall, the funky song isn't far off from their Notorious days because of Nile Rodgers. It is also not far the last album All You Need Is Now. The chorus is quite good. And Duranies will no doubt love the song. The artwork is nod to previous Duran Duran outings ...

Ugly single cover, eh?

I have one slight complaint about the music, and that is the intro to the song. There are some vocal distortions that kinda turn me off. Perhaps there is a nod to the "The Reflex", but it ends up similar to the song "All You Need Is Now", which had one of the worst intros ever (in my opinion). Perhaps the intro will grow on me. It is quite possible. I just think it would have been better without the vocal distortions. Perhaps a radio edit will be different.

The first few times I listened to the track, I only noticed the crowd sound at the end. However, it is also near the beginning of the song. While I think it is a bit silly to end your new song with crowd applause. It is reminiscent of their live album Arena. But will the general audience know that? Unsure. Have a listen ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYpnpYDQdbk

I was such a huge Duran Duran fan back in the 80s and 90s. I collected their records and CDs and I still proudly have them. I like the new Duran Duran song. It's nice to have them back. And I'm looking forward to the new album.

I'm not exactly sure when the single will be released on iTunes. Apparently you can buy it on Google Play. Hopefully they will film a video, too.

Cheers then,

—Davearama

England Calling by Marcella Detroit

Dear Poptastatic Readers,

Marcella Detroit has a new dance-pop track called "Drag Queen" and it is really good! You're going to love it! Have a listen on SoundCloud. I wasn't able to embed it, sadly. So please click the link!

Marcella

Now you might remember Marcella as a member of Shakespear's Sister, the band that Siobhan Fahey started when she left Bananarama. Marcella mostly sang backup to Siobhan. However, the one song she sang lead on was their biggest hit. It was called "Stay" and it was a global hit in 1992.

But Marcella hasn't been in Shakespear's Sister since. She's been doing her own thing. I've had known many people who have seen her perform and even met her. They all say she is lovely and very nice and genuine with her fans.

Now "Drag Queen" is fantastic, but her new single is really called "England Calling." It is an ode to the country where she spend weeks at #1 with "Stay." And she also did a reality TV show there: Pop Star to Opera Star.

To see the lyric video for "England Calling," watch here ...

"England Calling" is available on iTunes. We are still waiting for "Drag Queen" to be released.

To find out more information about Marcella, visit these links ...

www.marcella-detroit.com
www.facebook.com/marcelladetroitofficial

Cheers then,
—Davearama

Young Guns by Alcazar

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Alcazar released a new single last week in Sweden. It is a remake of Wham's 1983 hit "Young Guns (Go For It)."

Thankfully, the remake is a bit more exciting than the dreary single cover. It is a pretty faithful remake of the Wham classic with a few exceptions. Instead of Andreas rapping George Michael's verses, Lina and Tess do the rapping. And sadly, Shirlie's verse is completely taken out of the new remake.

The good news is that Alcazar filmed a video for the song, unlike their last two singles. The bad news the video is not available to be seen in the USA. Booooo! Shame on their record company for blocking it for the US fans. If you live outside the US, here is the video ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pcrd32VH_M&feature=youtu.be

In case you can't see that video, click here to hear the song.

Apparently the song was only released in the Swedish iTunes store. Another poor choice. Still, it is a fun song. Perhaps one day the video won't be blocked and fans from outside of Sweden can legally download the track.

Cheers then,
—Davearama