Christian Sonic » Dance/Electro/Techno

Michael Ketterer – Love/War/Solar System (2011)

Matthew — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:29:05 +0000

Artist: Michael Ketterer
Album: Love/War/Solar System
Release Date: July 25th, 2011
Style: Pop / Dance / Funk
Label: United Pursuit Records
Location: Chattanooga, TN

Reviews:

“For so long the secular music world has been running the show as far as “new sound” goes and Christian music has been coming in second place.. and i believe that as Christians we are supposed to be the ones making the new sound that compels all people to listen.. resulting in all people getting exposed to something that is new and fresh from God and i believe that when people listen to this album they are getting exposed to just that. This album is so anointed and so fresh, and it led me right into the Father’s arms with every beat. God, i ask that you would keep pouring out more anointed and fresh lyrics and sounds through Michael Ketterer.. so the people can experience you and your love.. in the name of Jesus.” - Andrew

Listen below:

“This is so fun and different. You’ll be dancing around your house before you know it having your mind blow by thoughtful lyrics and the soulful voice of MK. I’m partial to this guy because he’s a friend of mine. You couldn’t ask for a more amazing guy and all that comes out in his music. Go ahead and pull the trigger, buy this album and clear out the furniture in your living room. “ - Dave

“f there is any question in your mind as to whether this album is worth the measly 10 bucks, let me swiftly allay your every fear–it is worth it. This album is incredibly creative, intimately worshipful, and profoundly prophetic. With sounds ranging anywhere from pop to dance to hip hop to funk to stadium worship to i-don’t-even-know-what-to-call-it-because-i’ve-never-heard-it-before, Mr. Ketterer creates a genre entirely his own and carves a bold and daring path through the dense jungles of familiarity. If you feel your feet dragging along, stuck in the mires or boring and predictable music, go ahead and do yourself a gigantic favor and buy Love/War/Solar System. ” - Stencil

Track Listing:

1. Love/War/Solar System Intro
2. Keep on Burning
3. Solar System
4. Watchout
5. Love in the City
6. Count Your Lovin (feat. Brandon Hampton)
7. Gonna Find Me
8. Wild One Michael
9. The Rock (feat. J. May)
10. Water Need
11. Shout It (feat. J. May)
12. Dusty Road

Listen:

Aniel – Who We R [Single] (2011)

Matthew — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:30:19 +0000

Artist: Aniel
Album: Who We R (Single)
Release Date: July 9, 2011
Style: Dance, Pop
Label: Unsigned
Location: Jacksonville

About:

Following his debut album, ”Who We R” is Aniel’s first single from his much anticipated second album. It boasts the sounds of dance music with a hint of runway-like style along with lyrics that promote independence from the social norm and standing out in today’s generation for Christ. Now available on iTunes and Bandcamp.

Listen:

Who We R by Aniel

Shonlock – Never Odd Or Even (2011)

Matthew — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:43:13 +0000

Artist: Shonlock
Album: Never Odd Or Even
Release Date: June 21st, 2011
Style: Pop / R&B / Tehno / Rap
Label: Arrow Records
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma

About:

On the heels of the chart-topping #1 radio hit “Something In Your Eyes,” Arrow Records recording artist Shonlock is proud to release his debut album `NEVERODDOREVEN’ in stores June 21st!

Listen to “Something In Your Eyes” (Single):

Best known to Christian music fans as a member of TobyMac’s Diverse City, Shonlock has been busy preparing to step out into a spotlight of his own. He spent much of 2010 on tour with TobyMac and Skillet for their record-breaking Awake Tonight Tour. And later this year, Shonlock will hit the road with Group 1 Crew. But what may appear to be an overnight success story has been a long time coming.

While touring with TobyMac, Shonlock demonstrated that he was more than just a dancer and choreographer. His ability to craft a song brought songwriting opportunities with touring partner TobyMac, as well as artists like Mandisa, Verbs and Kierra “Kiki” Sheard. His pop/rock/hip-hop stylings caught the attention of Arrow Records, resulting in a partnership that spawned the Where Never Begins EP in late 2010, followed by the new full-length album NEVERODDOREVEN.

“There’s a play on the title visually where it spells the same phrase forward or backwards,” says Shonlock. “The message is all about my relationship with God, and when you’re walking with Him, I never find it odd when amazing things happen. But on the flipside with the ultimate sacrifice of His son, I could never get even, which makes me forever indebted to Him.”

Track Listing:

1. Something In Your Eyes
2. Could U Be
3. Hello
4. Simple Man
5. Bet Ya House
6. Set It Off
7. You Act Like
8. Cheers
9. Scarred
10. Monsta
11. Q2GO
12. Get Free
13. Never Odd Or Even

Behind the scenes footage of “NEVEREODDOREVEN” (album teaser):

Listen to “Something In Your Eyes” (Single):

Swimming With Dolphins – Water Colours (2011)

Matthew — Wed, 18 May 2011 22:34:48 +0000

Artist: Swimming With Dolphins (Austin Tofte)
Album: Water Colours
Release Date: May 17th, 2011
Style: Synthpop / New Wave / Electronica Pop / House
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Location: Cambridge, MN

About:

Although Swimming With Dolphins hails from the chilly climate of Minnesota. Front man, Austin Tofte has created a sound with their music that is surprisingly warm and upbeat. Formed in 2008, Swimming With Dolphins released the Ambient Blue EP (production genius of Adam Young / Owl City) later that year to critical acclaim.

Continue reading + Listen to the whole album below:

Since then, Swimming With Dolphins has toured the country with the likes of Owl City, Lydia and Kill Paradise. He has won over countless fans with his ambient electronica pop that speaks to fans of all ages and backgrounds. Deriving his inspiration from the ocean and fond childhood memories of America’s largest lakes.

One can’t listen to his music without smiling from ear to ear. The band crafted their album in Seattle, WA with help from producer Aaron Sprinkle and in Atlanta, GA with the help of producers Zack Odom and Ken Mount.

Reviews:

“I have waited a very long time for this album, and it definitely meets expectations! All of the songs are catchy with fun lyrics. Buy the album!” - Seales

Track Listing:

1. Holiday

2. Easy

3. Sleep To Dream

4. Diplomat

5. Watercolors

6. Jacques Cousteau

7. I Was A Lover

8. Captured

9. Happiness

10. Good Times (feat. Mod Sun)

Audio CD: Amazon ($11.58) | MP3: Amazon (5.99$) / iTunes | Website | MySpace | Facebook

Aniel – Freakshow [Single] (2011)

Matthew — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:37:58 +0000

Artist: Aniel
Single: Freakshow
Album: Surround Sound (June 6th)
Release Date: April 30th, 2011
Style: Pop / Dance
Label: Unsigned
Location: Jacksonville, FL

About:

New emerging Christian pop artist Aniel is set to shake up the current Christian music scene with his second single ”Freakshow” from his up coming debut album ”Surround Sound” set to release June 6, 2011! Blending the truth and encouragement of the gospel message with the fresh and relevant sounds of today’s mainstream pop and dance music, Aniel is soon to be a name synonymous with Christian pop music.

Listen to the single below:

Son Lux – We Are Rising (2011)

Matthew — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 09:55:42 +0000

Artist: Son Lux
Album: We Are Rising
Release Date: April 26th, 2011
Style: Electronic / Pop / Experimental
Label: Anticon Records
Location: New York City, New York

About:

For his second album as Son Lux, New York’s Ryan Lott did a very un-Son Lux thing. He recorded “We Are Rising” in a month the shortest month of the year, actually while NPR tracked his every move. This, as opposed to the making of his lauded 2008 debut, “At War With Walls And Mazes”, which he slowly built in complete privacy over nearly three years. Of course, he didn’t plan it this way. He simply awoke one late January morning to find a message from All Songs Considered titled, “You busy?” The annual RPM Challenge, an international open call to create an album in 28 days, had been issued and Lott had been tapped. How could he say no?

Continue reading + Listen to “Rising” Single:

Lott was, in fact, quite busy. Both with his day job at SoHo post house Butter Music + Sound, where “We Are Rising” was recorded, and with the painstaking assembly of what would’ve been the sophomore Son Lux album. But none of those ideas were allowed into this, so Lott shelved them and instead ran headlong into what would become an exquisitely arranged album of classical notions, modern electronics, unusual pop and transcendent emotion. He made the deadline, and got by with a little help from his friends: folks like the yMusic sextet (Antony, Sufjan, the National), DM Stith, Jace Everett and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond).

Listening to “We Are Rising”, it’s hard to believe the record came together in a rush. “Flickers” offers a paced introduction a delicate array of woodwinds, strings, glassy digitalia and synth throb that lifts Lott’s parched quaver into the clouds. Triumphant standout “Rising” follows, bursting in waves of static-smacked keys and choral bliss (Lott and Stith, joined by the Antlers’ Peter Silberman). By the song’s end, it becomes something like the Faint reimagined by Nico Muhly. String-driven late album highlight “Let Go” starts spare and eventually builds into a gorgeous surging symphony of sounds both imagined and real.

Perhaps what the album owes most to its odd upbringing is an inherent unpredictability. Lott picks up the guitar for “Leave The Riches,” a thickly haunted piece that pits Everett’s country baritone against Worden’s operatic coo. And “Claws” is noisy, fuzz-caked and lumbering, while its predecessor “Chase” is all about the details: violin and trumpet tracing intricate circles around percussion provided by members of Midlake and Mutemath. By the time “We Are Rising” closes with the chiming, skittering “Rebuild,” Lott has staked claim over an entire universe of sound, expanding the Son Lux oeuvre in exponential terms, almost accidentally, for years to come.

Track Listing:

1. Flickers
2. All The Right Things
3. Rising
4. Leave The Riches
5. Flowers
6. Chase
7. Claws
8. Let Go
9. Rebuild

Listen to “Rising” Single:

Eleventyseven – Quota EP (2011)

Matthew — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:56:46 +0000

Artist: Eleventyseven
Album: Quota
Release Date: April 1st, 2011
Style: Electro / Pop / Rock
Label: Unsigned / Independent
Location: Greenville, SC

Review:

Eleventyseven won’t be delivering any surprises with this EP. They’ve solidly defined their sound and have opted to mature in what they know, rather than push into unfamiliar territory. The result is a highly enjoyable, familiar-feeling product.

Continue reading + Listen:

For those who don’t follow the band, Eleventyseven features an electronic/pop sound with Christian influence. This EP’s high point is definitely “Quota”, and while bonus track “Take On Me” is probably the weakest link, it is by no means bad. Overall, a solid entry into 11t7′s discography, and an excellent buy at a very reasonable price. 4/5

Track Listing:
1. Don’t Want to Fall in Love

2. College Girls

3. Divers In A Hurricane

4. Book of Secrets

5. Quota

6. Take On Me

Available Now!

Spirit Spine – Glossolalia (2011)

Matthew — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:44:54 +0000

Artist: Spirit Spine
Album: Glossolalia
Release Date: February 1st, 2011
Style: Ambient / Shoegaze / Pop
Label: Lovegiraffe Records (unsigned)
Location: Bloomington, IN

About:

After a year of writing and recording in his bedroom and his parents’ basement, Spirit Spine (the recording name of Indiana-native Joseph Denney) returns with his third album, Glossolalia. Meaning “the religious practice of speaking in tongues,” Glossolalia leaves behind the synths and samplers of previous albums in order to craft the soundtrack to an imaginary desert epic.

Continue reading + listen to sound clips:

Glossolalia wraps the listener in a heat-warped haze of bending guitars, hypnotic drumming and chant-like vocals that draws on influences like Grouper, My Bloody Valentine, Boards of Canada, Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska”, and the Smithsonian Anthology of American Folk Music. Because of the new sonic and thematic territory explored by Glossolalia, one may have to resort to made-up pseudogenres like Desert Dub, Sandgaze, or Heatwave in order to describe Denney’s new album.

Glossolalia was expertly mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk of Stereophonic Sound (Grouper, Nite Jewel, The Antlers).

Track Listing:

1. Gauze
2. Ocean of Sand
3. Mission Bells
4. Ritualistic
5. Thirst
6. Hunger
7. Fennec Fox
8. Ascension
9. Sorro

Listen to song clips:

Aniel – How U Love (2011)

Matthew — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:23:20 +0000

Artist: Aniel
Single: How U Love
Release Date: February 7, 2011
Style: Dance / Pop
Label: Unsigned / Independent
Location: Jacksonville, FL

About:

“How U Love”, the second single from up and coming Christian artist Aniel is sure to have you dancing in the mirror. It’s bright poppy vocals and thumping dance beat go hand in hand with lyrics that tell of the pure mystery of God’s unchanging love towards his people. It’s releasing February 8, 2011 on iTunes and Amazon.

Listen to “How U Love” sample:

Rebecca St. James – I Will Praise You (2011)

Matthew — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:37:29 +0000

Artist: Rebecca St. James
Album: I Will Praise You
Release Date: April 5th, 2011
Style: Pop / Rock / Dance
Label: Beach Street/ Reunion Records / Provident
Location: Nashville, TN

About:

New Studio Album for Rebecca St. James set for April, Plus A Feature Film Debuting in March and New Book in September. “Shine Your Glory Down” First Single from I Will Praise You (April 5) Releases To Radio Feb. 11

Listen below:

Track Listing:

1. I Will Praise You
2. You Never Let Go
3. Shine Your Glory Down
4. You Still Amaze Me
5. In A Moment
6. The Kindness of Our God
7. When The Stars Burn Down (Blessing and Honor)
8. Almighty God
9. You Hold Me Now
10. You Make Everything Beautiful

Listen: