_ Unofficial Xenomania fansite. Facebook Twitter RSS
Beyond Xenomania: the new groups
Posted at 2:42 PM, 26 June 2010 - 1 Comments

Four new acts who consist of people that have previously worked with Xenomania and no longer are with the team: Jessie & the Toy Boys, D E K A D E, Lite N Dark and Alex Vargas


JESSIE & THE TOY BOYS

Sounds like: Bubblegum 80s pop with an urban edge

Jessie Malakouti began working with Xenomania while she was a member of female trio Shut Up Stella. When she went solo, she worked with several producers, including Xenomania. During the time she worked with the team, she sang backing vocals for the Pet Shop Boys and went on a UK tour supporting The Saturdays.

The Xenomania-produced "Standing Up For The Lonely" was set to be released as a single on Hard2Beat/ Ministry Of Sound, but it only ended up on a few dance compilations. A 4-track album sampler/megamix of her Xenomania collaboration is still available to download here.

Her latest musical endeavour is called Jessie and the Toy Boys (the "toy boys" are mannequins, because "mannequins don't talk back and are easy to write songs with"). Jessie has been working with David Gamson from Scritti Politti, Matt Squire and Sam from The Bravery, Scott Storch, Richard Vission, Howie D. and Lil' Eddie.You can listen to her new demos on MySpace.


Links: Official site / MySpace / Facebook / Twitter
Xenomania songs: Standing Up For The Lonely,  Baby Don't Ask Me, Crash Bang Baby, Jungle Town, Never Be the Same, Who's That Man



D E K A D E

Sounds like: Dark synth pop with big melodies

Andy Taylor and James Taylor started working with Xenomania when they were still known as The Electric City. Later they became a duo and changed their name to NiteVisions. More recently they have rechristened themselves DEKADE and are now working with producer Flood.

Andy and James, the sons of Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor from Duran Duran, continue the growing trend for male synth pop duos and take inspiration from the dark pop from the 80s and late 70s, when people like Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and New Order ruled the world.

Their new Flood-produced tracks can be heard on DEKADE's MySpace. The Xenomania-produced "Fire" can be found here.


Links: MySpace / Twitter / Blog
See also: NiteVisions, The Electric City
Xenomania songs:  Fire (NiteVisions), Rapture (The Electric City)



LITE N DARK

Sounds like: Electro-pop-rap with hard club beats and boy-girl vocals

Katie McKenna (17) and Tim Talbot (21) met in the Xenomania house: Tim was playing keyboards for a new Xenomania act and Katie, as a recently scouted future starlet, was recording vocals.

Months later, once they had both left Xenomania to work on other projects, they met again and decided to team up as a duo. Their music is said to be a mixture of Soulwax basslines, Timbaland synths and Gaga rhythms.

Lite N Dark have been in the studio with Andy Taylor (from DEKADE - see above) and Matt Peel.  For now their songs can be downloaded for free on Bandcamp.

Their first ever live show had Britt Love of Mini Viva fame behind the decks. Click here to watch an amusing video from their Xenomania days, with Katie, Britt and Maxine making a rap about Xenomania and Westerham.

Listen/download: Losing Control EP / Nightfever (feat. Kay Maf)
Links: MySpace / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Bandcamp
Upcoming shows: August 1 - The Cockpit (supporting Starman) Leeds, UK




ALEX VARGAS

Sounds like: Rocking tunes with a soulful spirit and an electro twist

 Alex Vargas was signed to Geffen Records in 2008 and formed the band Vagabond, the first act launched by Xenomania. Vagabond released their Xenomania-produced debut album, You Don't Know the Half of It, in 2009. Earlier this year the group announced their decision to split.

Throughout 2009, Vagabond toured the UK supporting artists such as James Morrison, McFly and The Script, and they also performed at Glastonbury, T in the Park and V music festivals in the UK.

Alex is currently writing and recording his debut solo album in London and Los Angeles. You can listen to four demos on his MySpace: "Supernova", "Higher", "Mr. Heartache" and  "One Track Mind".

Links: MySpace / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube

Upcoming shows:
1 Jul Smash & Grab Loves TV Nights @ Proud Camden, London,
5 Aug Smash & Grab Loves TV Nights @ Proud Camden, London



Bookmark and Share

Labels: , , ,

Listen: DEKADE - Fire
Posted at 8:31 PM, 04 May 2010 - 0 Comments


"Fire" was recorded with Xenomania when Andy Taylor Jr. and James Taylor were still known as NiteVisions. They are now called DEKADE and have recently played two live shows (read some reactions).

The Flood-produced "Haunt You" has been released on the Camden Crawl 2010 compilation, which was available for Camden Crawl ticket-holders - you can also buy it here.

Labels: ,

Xenomania news bits
Posted at 5:58 PM, 02 May 2010 - 2 Comments

  • The Daily Record published an article about "the chart-toppers you've never heard of.. the songwriters" where they mention Xenomania, Cathy Dennis & Ryan Tedder. Read it here.
  • There's a thread on the Popjustice forums about Xenomania that was set off by the question "Xenomania: past their prime?". The answer to that is obviously a big "NO" but it still makes an interesting read.
  • A bunch of unreleased Shayne Ward songs leaked last week. A couple of them sound like they might have been produced by Xenomania.
  • We've posted about the Almighty cover of "Jump Off" by The Banned of St Trinian's but we forgot to mention that they previously recorded a version of another Xenomania song: Gabriella Cilmi's "Sweet About Me". Visit Almighty's website to listen and buy.
  • Dekade (previous incarnations: NiteVisions + The Electric City; have worked with Xenomania, are now working with Flood) are receiving rave reviews from Popjustice, Daily Star, Yahoo! Music and Disco Potential. They will be performing tonight at Camden Crawl. Listen to the track "Haunt You".
  • Jessie Malakouti has been working with Scott Storch, Richard Vission, Howie D. and Lil' Eddie. Follow her on Twitter to see what she's up to.
  • Alex Vargas, previously the lead singer from Vagabond, is working on new music. Listen to a few demos on his MySpace and follow him on Twitter.

Labels: , , ,

D E K A D E  live debut
Posted at 8:55 PM, 19 April 2010 - 3 Comments

DEKADE, the group formerly known as NiteVisions (who were formerly known as The Electric City), will play their first show on Wednesday (April 21st) at Gold Dust.

DEKADE play their first London show since emerging from the pop incubators Xenomania. Andy Taylor Jr. and James Taylor proffer dark synths and heavy beats, sounding like "classic early electronic pop soaring over the Berlin Wall in 1984".

The London electronic noise duo is currently sculpting their debut album DECODE with Flood - producer of the Depeche Mode classic Violator.

Listen to the track "Haunt You":



Gold Dust:
WEDNESDAY 21st APRIL
HOXTON BAR & KITCHEN
8PM - 1AM
£6 Click here for advance tickets.

Labels: , ,

Older posts: May 2008 . June 2008 . July 2008 . August 2008 . September 2008 . October 2008 . January 2009 . February 2009 . March 2009 . April 2009 . May 2009 . June 2009 . July 2009 . August 2009 . September 2009 . October 2009 . November 2009 . December 2009 . January 2010 . February 2010 . March 2010 . April 2010 . May 2010 . June 2010 . July 2010 . August 2010 . September 2010 . October 2010 . June 2011 . July 2011 . August 2011 . December 2011 .