In early November 2011, Gossip tweeted about being at Xenomania, so it is expected that their new album will include some sort of collaboration with the team.
JBAG (Jerry Bouthier & Andrea Gorgerino, from Kitsuné/Ponystep) are also working with Xenomania on new songs for Gossip's new album.
Gossip are an American dance-rock/blues-punk trio led by Beth Ditto. Their latest release as a group was the album Music For Men, back in 2009. Beth Ditto released her debut solo EP this year, produced by the electro-house production team Simian Mobile Disco.
THE GOOD NATURED
This English pop noir trio has been in the studio with Xenomania working on their debut album, which is expected to be released in 2012.
The Good Natured consists of 20-year-old Sarah McIntosh (vocals and keyboards), her brother Hamish McIntosh (bass) and George Hinton (drums).
They have an electro-pop sound with a dark/gothic twist and have already released three EPs: Warriors (2008), Your Body Is a Machine (2009) and Skeleton (2011).
According to her Facebook, Annie has been spending quite a lot of time at the Xenomania studios.
She might be writing for other artists (let's not forget she co-wrote Mini Viva's "Left My Heart in Tokyo"), but she's probably also working on her new album, the follow-up to Don't Stop.
She has also had sessions with Timo Kaukolampi, German techno producers ND Baumecker and Sam Barker and Norwegian DJ and producer Skatebård.
Annie has been working on music for a film called The Night Within, in which she is also set to act and sing. That is also the title of her new EP, set to be released in early 2012.
Not only did she release her second EP Experiments (which received rave reviews), but she also spent the year travelling around the world doing live shows, writing and modelling.
She is still working on her new EP, which will probably be out next year, but meanwhile there will be a little surprise released before Christmas.
ALEX GARDNER
During the past few months Alex Gardner has been updating his fans via Twitter/Facebook saying that he's working at Xenomania, possibly on his debut album.
Besides Xenomania, Alex has also been recording with people such as James Fauntleroy (who co-wrote "No Air" by Jordin Sparks, Ciara's "Love Sex Magic" and "Shades" by Diddy-Dirty Money) and the 1500 or Nothin' collective.
TRES B Tres B has worked with Xenomania on a new release set for 2012.
Together they have created what has been described as a "soulful floor filler", inspired by his childhood idols including Congolese legends Papa Wemba. Drawing influence from his Congolese heritage, Tres B's music mixes central African folk, hip-hop and soul.
Tres B's new single, "Lonely Man", a song about being young and lonely in London after leaving the Congo due to threat of political violence, will be released in February 2012.
He was signed to Roundhouse Records in June 2010 and has since supported The Black Keys and been nominated for Best Male UK based Afro/Caribbean Act of 2010 at the BEFFTA Awards. His debut EP Best Friend was released in February last year.
SARAH HARDING (or Girls Aloud?!)
It is known that Sarah Harding has been spending time at the Xenomania studios, we just don't know what for. Feeding the ducks? Working on solo tracks? Working on *gasp* new Girls Aloud songs?
In 2009 she recorded three Xenomania-produced songs for the St. Trinian's 2 film soundtrack. Last year, Sarah apparently said that she was working on a solo album, but nothing's been heard ever since.
And Girls Aloud will definitely do "something" in 2012, to mark their 10th anniversary since "Sound of the Underground" was released. It will probably be a tour, but it could also be a new single/album, hopefully with Xenomania.
Florrie's new EP is now available to pre-order on her website. You can get it on 12'' vinyl (£6.99, despatched end of July) or on CD (£3.99, despatched from the start of July). Click here to buy them - you'll get a free badge set with every order.
There are plenty more things you can get from Florrie's shop:
For the past few months, Strangers In Stereo has been selecting DJs, artists and producers alike to create mix tapes as part of the Strange Sounds series. This month it was Hard Candy's turn to take the reigns, and they decided upon Florrie to create a mix for their Strange Sounds instalment.
Tracklist:
The Rapture – No Sex For Ben
Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand
Cee Lo Green – Forget You
Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden
Annie – My Love Is Better
Delphic – Doubt
Florence And The Machine – You Got the Love (Jamie xx Rework ft. The xx)
Alex Gaudino – Destination Calabria (ft. Crystal Waters)
Burns and Fred Falke – You Stopped Loving Me
Florrie:
«Here are ten of my favorite tunes at the moment; some are old, some new, but they all make me wanna dance around like a crazy person with a mean bass player expression on my face. I used Ableton Live to put the mix together. I’ve opened the mix with a song called “No Sex for Ben” by the Rapture. It’s an older track but I love the way they’ve created the beat out of bits of his vocal, and it was the soundtrack of my last trip to New York. It lasted about 24 hours and I played this song a hundred of times! I’ve put some Two Door Cinema Club in there; I’m touring with them at the moment and they are preeetty damn cool. There’s some Annie too. We’ve written together recently and I think she’s awesome.
Two words: Barbra Streisand. I asked my fans what song they would choose for this mix and this Duck Sauce tune was one of the most popular. After a long awaited release it’s finally out this week in the UK and has gotta be heading for number one. It. is. brilliant. I get properly excited when I hear it!. Who next? Ah yes, Monsieur Fred Falke! He’s just done a new track with Burns and I think it’s gonna be BIG (check out the video, it’s tres jolie). I write a lot with Fred and he’s working on my album too…I love him! I won’t give away any more, you’ll have to listen for yourself…enjoy! *BARBRA STREISAND*»
Florrie will be a busy girl in the coming months. Besides touring with Two Door Cinema Club in November in France, she will stop by Barcelona for a gig at Razzmatazz Club.
She has also just announced a new set of live dates throughout the UK in February 2011. The tickets will go on sale tomorrow, 15th October - for full information on tickets for all live shows, events and concerts, go to Florrie's Gigs & Tickets page.
Supporting Two Door Cinema Club (France):
15 Nov - Lille @ Aeronef (info)
16 Nov - Strasbourg (info)
17 Nov - Lyon @ Transbordeur (info)
18 Nov - Toulouse @ Le Bikini (info)
25 Nov - Paris @ Olympia (info)
2011 dates, UK:
3 Feb 2011 - Glasgow @ King Tuts (info)
4 Feb 2011 - Manchester @ The Ruby Lounge (info)
5 Feb 2011 - Nottingham UK @ Stealth vs Rescue Rooms(info)
7 Feb 2011 - Bristol @ Thekla (info)
9 Feb 2011 - Leeds @ Cockpit 3 (info)
10 Feb 2011 - Sheffield @ The Forum (info)
11 Feb 2011 - Stockton @ Shine Like Stars (info)
12 Feb 2011 - Birmingham @ HMV Institute (info)
15 Feb 2011 - Brighton @ Coalition (info)
16 Feb 2011 - London @ Hoxton Bar & Kitchen (info)
18 Feb 2011 - Tunbridge Wells @ Forum (info)
19 Feb 2011 - Southampton @ UNIT (info)
This is Florrie's version of the Blondie classic "Sunday Girl". Production by Xenomania and drumming by Florrie. If you're in France, you can buy this right now on iTunes.
Mike Chapman has began working with Xenomania this week. In the photo above (tweeted by Florrie) you can see the man during a writing session at Xenomania HQ. That's Florrie, Mike Chapman, Fred Falke, Toby Scott, Kieran Jones and Jason Resch's head. Brian Higgins is either taking the picture or simply hiding from the camera.
Mike Chapman is an Australian-born producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including Sweet and Suzi Quatro with co-writer and co-producer Nicky Chinn. He later produced breakthrough albums for Blondie and The Knack.
Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman - the "Chinnichap"
In collaboration with Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman was among the most successful songwriters of the 1970s. He was in the group Tangerine Peel when he first teamed with Chinn. Under the supervision of RAK Records' chief Mickie Most, the duo quickly composed a series of smashes for acts including Sweet ("Ballroom Blitz"), Suzi Quatro ("Stumblin' In"), New World ("Living Next Door to Alice"), and Mud ("Tiger Feet"), in all scoring over 40 U.K. hits during the 1970s.
Mike Chapman with Debbie Harry and Ronnie Spector. Pop royalty.
As a solo producer, Chapman enjoyed his first hit with Nick Gilder's City Nights (1978). But his real breakthrough was Blondie's classic Parallel Lines, which launched the blockbuster "Heart of Glass". The album also includes "Sunday Girl", which Florrie recently covered for the Nina L'Elixir campaign.
Florrie with Jason, Kieran & George at the Nina L'Elixir launch. Any similarity with Parallel Lines is not a coincidence.
The partnership between Blondie and Mike Chapman catapulted the group from the underground to mainstream chart success. He produced three more Blondie albums -- Eat to the Beat (1979), Autoamerican (1980) and The Hunter (1982) -- and most of Def, Dumb and Blonde (1989), a Deborah Harry solo album. Chapman also teamed with The Knack, whose Get the Knack yielded "My Sharona" (quite possibly influencing Girls Aloud's "No Good Advice"). In 1979, Chapman and Chinn formed their own label, Dreamland, and created hits like Exile's "Kiss You All Over" and Toni Basil's "Mickey".
Chapman remained in demand through the 1980s and 1990s as a songwriter and producer. His compositions have included Tina Turner's "Simply The Best" and Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield", while he has produced albums for Altered Images, Australian Crawl, ABBA's Agnetha Fältskog, Divinyls, Rod Stewart, Lita Ford, Baby Animals, Material Issue and Bow Wow Wow.
"Sunday Girl" is now available to download from iTunes France - click here to buy. It was produced by Xenomania and recorded by Florrie, who also plays drums on the track. "Sunday Girl" is a new version of the original 1970s song by Blondie, written by Chris Stein. Florrie has slightly tweaked the lyrics to fit in with the ad.
Florrie is the face and voice of Nina Ricci's new advertising campaign for the Nina L'Elixir fragrance. The song is played on the TV advert:
Lyrics: Florrie - Sunday Girl
I know a girl from a fantasy
A world of rainbows and mystery
Close your eyes, Sunday Girl
Hey, I saw your guy under the apple tree
He said hold tight and come with me
Run and fly, Sunday Girl
Hurry up, hurry up and wait
Until the sun comes up and breaks the day
Cherry trees and honey bees
Won't you come and hide with me
She can catch up with the fireflies
Dance across the blueberry skies
Live in dreams, Sunday Girl
Baby, meet me under the stars tonight
Think I've got something you might like
Come with me, Sunday Girl
Hey, I saw your guy under the apple tree
He said hold tight and come with me
Run and fly, Sunday Girl
Hurry up, hurry up and wait
Until the sun comes up and breaks the day
Cherry trees and honey bees
In our world of make believe
My sky is blue
Please please please come see
What you do to me
My sky is blue
My Sunday Girl, my Sunday Girl
Fred Falke has sprayed some more magic on Florrie's "You Wanna Start Something". You can see the man at work in the picture above (taken by Alistair Strong) and download his new Club Edit below:
After all those remixes by Fred Falke, d.Franklyn, Bart B More, Beataucue, His Majesty André and even Florrie herself, "Call 911" can now be remixed by anyone.
Yes, even you. Visit the Remix Florrie page to download the "Call 911" acapella. The original BPM is 127.
If you use an acappella or a part in a work, don't forget to give Florrie credit and also link to http://florrie.com. If you complete a remix track:
1. Post the link to your own remix on Florrie's Facebook page;
2. Tweet the track link mentioning @florriemusic;
3. Link to Florrie.com from your website.
Every remix is guaranteed to get a listen and Florrie's favourites will be posted on her website so... get busy!
On Florrie's first ever Australian interview, she talks about her upcoming EP (and limited edition vinyls), working with Xenomania, the Annie comparisons and her favourite Girls Aloud song. Things you'll learn from the interview:
• Florrie will release a free-download EP in October with new songs. It will also be issued on vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Some of those new songs were done with Fred Falke.
• There probably won’t be an album until August/September next year.
• Her sound is still developing: "I’m on a musical journey, if you like. I’ve done lots of work with Fred Falke – who has had a big influence on my sound at this early stage – so it’s quite electro. And I do love that but because I am a musician, I like to keep a live element in there as well. So I think it’s likely to be a mix."
• There are three different original versions of "Call 911", she's just "figuring out a way to mash it all together".
• She's been doing a "little thing" with Annie, "possibly" a duet.
• It's "lazy" to compare her with Annie: "I think if you listen to us side-by-side, we’re not actually that similar. I think a lot of people make their judgement based on hair colour".
• She's done a track with Benny Benassi, but she's not sure "what's happening with that". She'd love to do more collaborations, one of them being playing drums with Prince.
• Working with a team (Xenomania) is "great": "You just bounce [ideas] off everyone and I think that’s the best way to do things. (...) The good thing about the freedom we have here is that you can do two versions, one with my idea for example, and one with Jason (Resch)’s. There’s no boundaries". In the end, the final take is decided by Brian Higgins - "he's the top boss".
• The best Girls Aloud song is "Biology". As for the worst, "if there was one, we wouldn't have heard it".
Popjustice: We're not entirely sure where Florrie's 'give a load of songs away for free and see what happens' plan is heading but that is for someone else to worry about, and while the tunes given away are like 'You Wanna Start Something' we're not complaining. Now you might say, "hang on, this sounds a bit like something off the fourth Girls Aloud album". And we would say, "yes. Yes it does. And that is why it is amazing.
Wears The Trousers: ‘You Wanna Start Something’ is, on the surface, a straight up dancefloor filler with a taut beat, driving guitars and some sultry vox, but a flirtatious speak-sing interlude and a Balearic breakdown in the middle keep things interesting.
Radio ClubFoot: This is a bit of a thrashier, rockier song juxtaposed against her somewhat innocent voice.
Sheena Beaston: It's got that Edge of Seventeen guitar rumble riff coupled with a slightly more rock-tinged tone from the singer, and yep, it's amazing as expected.
Coffee and Bars: I wanted to hear her, and the music she would be making, not what others were turning her into. So I am very happy that she has let loose on the world two of her own songs, un-remixed and in their original glory. I am also quite happy with the results, ‘You Wanna Start Something’ is right up my electro-rock alley, its a bit of Annie meets the pure pop sound Xenomania is known for. Truly great, dancey, energy filled pop.
Pop That Rocks: “you wanna start something” shows a little more of her xenomania roots than tracks past. in fact, it doesn’t sound too far removed from their work on annie’s don’t stop last year.
POP From The Block: Like Fascinate Me, it sounds like a Girls Aloud track circa Tangled Up. It resembles a lot of the sounds on that album, which is a compliment in itself. The pacing is quite upbeat (typical Florrie) and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. AGAIN with the amazing guitar riffs!
The Prophet Blog: “You Wanna Start Something”, begins with a funky guitar riff, before exploding into a Girls Aloud-esque blaze of glory on the chorus.
Electroqueer: “You Wanna Start Something” reveals a different side to Florrie. This one see’s her indulge in electro rock chic mode, that our one time disco dancefloor diva pulls off with convincing confidence.
Too Shy To Buy Lollipops: Two new quality tracks in the same week! You just gotta love her for that. “You Wanna Start Something” is a completely fun slice of electro-dance-pop.
Varnfiesh: The latest is You Wanna Start Something, which everyone is currently going crazy about and its a bit like Annie singing Rihanna’s Shut Up And Drive, only better.
It's Pop!: Give Me Your Love and You Wanna Start Something are two delicious slices electro-pop served that are catchy as hell, the latter being an absolute favourite of mine. I could see both songs on a Girls Aloud album and of course high on the charts.
About.com: "Give Me Your Love" marks a track that embraces less of a remixed sound and something more earthy and real. If the percussion on "Give Me Your Love" doesn't convince you of this girl's aptitude for rhythm, then nothing will.
The track still has Falke on production which allows us to have excellent guitar and piano fluttering around the track but break down what really attracts you, and it's Florrie's captivating voice and the constant roll of her own personal drum line. Florrie's previous claim to fame was as a drummer in Xenomania's house band. This is the type of music the world should embrace, and can do so via free downloads from Florrie's website.
Coffee and Bars: Again it shows her rock tinged electro-pop goodness. Her sound is full, energetic and very hard to resist.
Wears The Trousers: ‘Give Me Your Love’, meanwhile, blossoms from drums and piano into a dreamy disco plea.
Pop From The Block: Give Me Your Love features fast-paced drumming and is probably the most "organic" Florrie song yet (Am I making any sense?). The guitar riff gives a lovely touch to it, and the piano brushes throughout the track adds a certain depth that bodes well for Florrie's cool vocals.
MuuMuse: “Give Me Your Love” is as much of a solid disco smash as it is an indie-rock track in disguise. It’s even conjuring some comparisons to Tegan & Sara‘s latest efforts in my mind. I swear, these are such sweet treats. Fred Falke songs performed by Xenomania house members–and all for free? GIMME MOAH.
holeytonal: Her first two tracks have gone far more down the house route, but with Give Me Your Love you can tell she’s put a lot of love into the drums and seems to have steered towards a stronger pop. (...) Florrie is extremely talented. If she sticks to her drumsticks and Fred Falke and gets signed to a good record company that treats her as a musician – she’ll rasp the crown off the tyrant GaGa and become the rightful queen of pop.
ArjanWrites: Emerging British pop sensation Florrie is making all the rights moves. Not only is Xenomania's latest darling cranking out premium class pop, she also giving it away for free. Let the goodness spread and the love will follow, must be her way of thinking. (...) If you're new to Florrie this is your moment to give it a lick and got hooked on her pop sweetness.
Neon Enlightenment: There’s been remix upon remix released these past few months but now we can finally hear an original track from her which showcases just how much of a talent she is. Very reminiscent of older Kylie material, in my opinion. And that is a GOOD thing.
Like Hot Cakes: Like Ladyhawke or label-mates Friendly Fires, Florrie produces music that appeals as much to chart lovers as indie hipsters; a combination which is sure to bring success. The new track, Give Me Your Love continues in this vein and represents the good side of pop; it’s fun, catchy and, most importantly, original.
XO's Middle Eight: I am going to be honest about Florrie: I am not convinced there is anything remotely unique about her. What we know: She looks like and she sings like a bit like Annie, works with Xenomania and Fred Falke, drums, is kind to her fans and is building a web community. About the latter though, there is a tendency now in the Twitter/blog world to avoid applying criticism to artists you communicate with. Everything they release becomes brilliant and amazing, when it's clearly not. Obviously this is all subjective, but sometimes you need to distinguish the between the person and their work. This could apply to any artist - it's not unique to Florrie. All of that said, Give Me Your Love is an elegant groove. It subtle and cool with a little bit of hipster cool and a lot of Florrie's drumming. The album could still be amazing, but I am not giving away the love easily. Yet.
She promised, she delivered. Here is "You Wanna Start Something", the second track that Florrie is releasing for free this week. If you've signed up to Florrie's mailing list, you got it before anyone else - join now!
"You Wanna Start Something" is today's Song Of The Day on Popjustice:
«We're not entirely sure where Florrie's 'give a load of songs away for free and see what happens' plan is heading but that is for someone else to worry about, and while the tunes given away are like 'You Wanna Start Something' we're not complaining.
Now you might say, "hang on, this sounds a bit like something off the fourth Girls Aloud album". And we would say, "yes. Yes it does. And that is why it is amazing. 'Amazingness' and 'sounding like something off the fourth Girls Aloud album' are not mutually exclusive".»
Xenomania is a songwriting and production house based in Kent, England. It was founded by songwriter and producer Brian Higgins.
Since 1996, Xenomania have written, produced and remixed tracks for a string of successful artists including Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, Dannii and Kylie Minogue, Saint Etienne, Cher, Gabriella Cilmi and many others.
GOSSIP
Tres B has worked with Xenomania on a new release set for 2012.
