The Bobo got her stage name from a book written by political and cultural commentator David Brooks titled Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. The titular “Bobos” refer to the French equivalent of “champagne socialists” and stand for “bourgeois-bohemian”. However, it’s also a popular interlinguistic term for a baby.

“I am still learning and pretty much a baby in the music industry,” the Oxford-based artist tells HighClouds ahead of the release of “Will You” tomorrow.

Although The Bobo exercises a refreshing sense of humility and self-awareness that is very rare in an industry which usually favours the “fake it till you make it” approach, this modest attitude about her talent is a massive understatement. There is nothing baby-like about a beautiful voice paired with incredible songwriting and stellar ethereal production. In fact, being able to write fetching, poignant lyrics is difficult enough on its own – now try doing that in two very different languages. “Will You” was originally written in Polish, which The Bobo is fluent in along with English.

Although the two languages seem to have absolutely nothing in common, she somehow managed to deliver two versions of the same song which we took the time to examine ourselves. The verdict? Both are pretty damn great. “I usually write in English so it was a real challenge to write good, not cliche lyrics,” says The Bobo, whose decision to write “Will You” in Polish was inspired by a friend.

“To be able to release the song in the UK I decided to translate it and keep the same meaning,” she adds. However, that didn’t come without its challenges.

“I did have to change a few words as they did not have their equivalent in English. I was struggling to find a good replacement for the word “czule”, which could be translated as tender but still does not carry the same emotion (at least for me),” says The Bobo, and she is right. The Polish word “czule” doesn’t come with the ridiculous connotations with chicken tenders as it does in English.

In general, The Bobo finds writing in English much easier, likely due to “the amount of music I was listening to when I was younger and the artists I look up to”.

“Polish for me is a beautiful language but I find it much harder to find the right balance with words so they wouldn’t be too simple or too pretentious,” she says, citing Daughter frontwoman Elena Tonra as her biggest inspiration.

The Bobo is quite unique in the ability to get this balance – between “simple” and “pretentious” – just right. And it is important to add here that, apparently, this isn’t even her final form. We couldn’t be more excited to watch her grow and, with The Bobo announcing that a new EP is in the works, we cannot wait to hear it.

Almost five months since the release of their EP, Belgian act Promis3 are back with a new track and accompanying video. “Don’t Wanna Fall in Luv” is the latest release from the aesthetically-pleasing electronic music duo, which is composed of singer Brent Dielen and producer Andras Vleminckx.

“Don’t Wanna Fall in Luv” tells the story of the decline of a relationship, while also acknowledging that every ending is an opportunity for a new beginning – or is it? Asked whether “Don’t Wanna Fall in Luv” was inspired by any particular event in their lives, Dielen and Vleminckx say: “definitely”.

“The subject is common ground for most people. The thing is that we always write about personal stuff, avoiding too much personal detail tho, to make it as relatable as possible to our audience. We sketch the rough lines, or give a suggestive sense of a feeling/moment/situation for the listener to interpret as their own story,” they explain.

The music video is the perfect combination of a renaissance painting (the duo list Botticelli, Bosch, Bruegel, and Titian as their inspirations) within an early-2000s video game main menu page (the ones which let you zoom into the different options).

“We wanted to create a surrealistic fantasy escapism dimension to convey the idea of being “on another planet” with this new person. Everything is new, everything is shiny and bright but nothing is always what it seems at the beginning. So surrealism was a great way to embody that atmosphere. We got inspired by these painters who are masters in creating symbolic imagery,” Dielen and Vleminckx told HighClouds.

The visuals portray the duo in an almost-biblical scene ripe with religious symbolism, such as the apples and a snake, and contrast them with Y2K references, such as the iconic Nokia brick phone. What might be seen as a full circle moment, Promis3’s visual interpretation of the Garden of Eden coincides perfectly with the title of their previous absolute banger – “Simulated Paradise”.

However, “Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” could not be more alike from its predecessor. With its heightened drama and a hint of despondency, the track is the perfect soundtrack for your next heartbreak. Watch and get the track via Bandcamp below.

Camp-gothic artist Tyler Matthew Oyer first released the original version of “Voluptuous” in July of this year, as part of their NO TEMPLE EP. However, the track did not have to wait long to earn itself a powerful new electro-dance remix, which we are proud to be premiering today.

At first listen, “Voluptuous” sounds like it might have been inspired by pure (yet shallow) physical attraction. However, upon further inspection (and some mild interrogation over email), we find out that first impressions can be, in fact, misleading. The track is actually dedicated to a much more sincere and lasting relationship – Oyer’s longtime friendship with performance artist and frontwoman of The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Kembra Pfahler, whom Oyer describes as a cherished mentor.

“I’ve admired Kembra’s work since I was a teenager, and we have been friends for nearly 10 years. I perform in her band sometimes, and she is featured on my first record (RELEASE DELUXE) and in a few video works I’ve made. I wanted to make a song that was inspired by our intergenerational friendship and love,” the artist tells HighClouds.

Oyer, who has a decade of experience in the music and visual arts industry, pays homage to their mentor by referencing their band’s name but doesn’t forget to add a little bit of their own interpretation of the word in question.

“The world voluptuous feels so big – inflated with references, almost overflowing,” they explain. “I started writing and realized this song would be about everything voluptuous! To me the word conjures thoughts of confidence, body positivity, a robustness against all the social standards and practices that can keep us from feeling good, feeling ourselves, feeling each other.”

Although the original version of “Voluptuous” is anything but pared-back, the Glasser remix definitely provides the track with some bells (literally) and whistles with an added vigor and flare. Oyer’s favourite part of the remix? “When the bells come in, unexpectedly, and the beat opens into a full electro-dance beat,” they tell us.

Another difference between the original version and Glasser’s remix is the timing of the release. Although the summer of 2020 was anything but calm, the newly-released, ballroom-ready remix comes as the Oyer’s home country of the US is headed for yet another political battle.

Oyer themselves does not shy away from political references in their art. Their debut EP NO TEMPLE is inspired by the work and ideas of an array of political artists and writers, from Bell Hooks and David Wojnarowicz, to Jose Esteban Muñoz and Silvia Federici.

“This moment, specifically this month, in the US is hyper-charged,” they say. “I hope this song can give some moments of release as we prepare for what could be some difficult weeks and months ahead.”

2020 is a weird year to put out new music, there is no doubt about it. Yes, recent releases from pop powerhouses such as Lady Gaga or Dua Lipa have enjoyed some success. However, their potential was undoubtedly thwarted by the fact that we can’t show up to the club and unabashedly show off our dance routine to “Sour Candy” while a group of drunk straight girls cheer us on until at least 2021. However, maybe the current climate is the reason we needed for pop music to fully reinvent itself? With July in full swing, this time of the year usually calls for a pop summer anthem – and Gregory Dillon might have delivered just what we’ve been looking for.

“Plastic Ferrari” is the latest release from the Brooklyn-based musician who seeks inspiration from the 80s pop sounds of his youth, from a-ha and Duran Duran to Depeche Mode and Bronski Beat.

“I can’t describe exactly why but 80’s music and driving during my youth holds so many strong emotions for me,” says Gregory Dillon. “It makes me feel like I’m in one of those films that make you just see life as this big and beautiful mystery. Now more than ever, we’re nostalgic for those simple comforts we had before the pandemic, and facing the fact we need to let some of them go knowing things won’t be the same again. Even if you weren’t alive in the 80s, that pop sound still invokes childhood nostalgia, teenage romance, and longing for the past. It’s also an escape. I really really hope that my music is either a recharge or escape for those who need it. The ability to contribute to someone’s life in that way, is a concept that I never take for granted.”

Dillon is a public advocate for LGBTQ rights and is not afraid to touch upon taboos within the gay community. Between pining for hot jocks, bad driving, and making out with trees, the music video for “Plastic Ferrari” heavily features the motif of dolls. Just like Barbie is considered the female image of perfection, her male counterpart, Ken, is just as guilty in fuelling unattainable beauty standards.

Gregory Dillon, who grew up with “a distant obsession with Barbies as a kid”, describes the music video as “a unique way to explore the pressure of perfection”.

“I can’t describe how transcending it was to use this campy acting to work through a concept I’ve been struggling with since I can remember,” he says. “I am blessed to have director Joe Fusco as a bff who, after directing the “Love Again” music video, rose to the challenge for this vision I had. Because we were limited by the quarantine, Joe and I devised a trip to the suburbs to meet our friend/actor Bryan Hartlett (the Life Size Ken Doll) to shoot over the course of an afternoon. It truly felt like making a home video for an eighth-grade school project.”

Overall, “Plastic Ferrari” is the sad pop euphoria reminiscent of Marina and the Diamond’s “Primadonna Girl” or Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”-era from exactly a decade ago – which is, coincidentally, probably the last time many of us felt real happiness.

Dillon himself credits the awkwardness of young love as the inspiration behind the track:

“I can say there are a handful of moments that fueled this car pop song and they honestly all revolve around my crushes on the handsome nice boys of my youth… who I saw as my “everything”…. but they had no clue I liked them… yet I was clearly having an internal breakdown,” he says. “The more I think about it, “Plastic Ferrari” is a bake-off between: a fabulous kid at ten, a fourteen-year-old that is facing closeted teenage bro-mance, and the late teen that just got a car and is about to cry off into the sunset. Someone get into the passenger seat and hold my hand through this meltdown!”

Same, Gregory. Same.

Days after releasing their latest LP, Ride Lonesome, Young Ejecta have blessed us with another music video, this time for the penultimate track from the album – “Cheese”.

“‘Cheese’ is about the little gestures that go unnoticed in a relationship,” says one-half of the synth-pop duo, Leanne Macomber. “One day you’re in love and the next you realize the fancy cheese you bought symbolically for your partner went uneaten-and you unseen. You might bitterly, or even ardently, try to morph into the person you believe they want. You could experiment with exotic cheeses, but it’s too late…”

While “Cheese” carefully balances on the line between chill and upbeat, radiating with a sense of confidence and sincerity, watching the accompanying video, shot by Michael Hili (of Kalliope), is a very different experience.

In fact, what better way to portray the toxicity of an ending relationship than being walked all over – literally – by a dominatrix in sky-high stilettos? The scenes of heels digging into flesh will definitely make you wince, but you will also be too hooked to look away.

It’s not that the visuals don’t match the song – in fact, the video reveals the true meaning of the lyrics and emphasises the real, more despondent meaning of the song, unveiling what really goes on behind closed doors in a seemingly picture-perfect relationship.

“We wanted to portray the conflict of knowing it’s time to leave with no clear way out. For me, both the song and video are where sensuality and sorrow meet. They critique the eroticism we glibly insert into the bleakness of our mundane lives,” says Macomber.

The parts of Macomber’s unaccompanied solos, weaved in between the beat and guitar twangs, convey a certain sorrow that is as disguised as it is apparent. As she describes it herself: “The music is unself-conscious and tender. The words are hateful and vulnerable. It starts off like a diss ballad, but a little further in, you begin to see that the narrator is held captive.”

Although Macomber credits her discussions about domesticity and grief with the other half of Young Ejecta, Joel Ford, as the inspiration behind “Cheese”, she adds that the duo “had fun with this track”.

“Ultimately, we began to think weaving in a wild psychedelic cheese commercial might uplift the morose tone and give way to some warped unsexy nostalgic American nightmare. Eric Epstein [who also directed Young Ejecta’s recent video “Crayon Cactus“] did an amazing job of making the little cheese critter party to the depths of despair only lovers know,” she says.

Watch the premiere of the “Cheese” video below.

Being isolated from your friends, family, even coworkers – for weeks on end – can bring anyone down. Although the main health issue during the ongoing pandemic is obviously the coronavirus itself, the consequences of the lockdown are not always strictly physical.

With their brand new release, titled “Simulated Paradise”, Belgian act Promis3 explore the pandemic’s negative effect on mental health.

“The underlying message is about depression and the weight that daily life brings upon us. It’s something we think is also relatable right now for so many people in lockdown all over the world,” explain singer Brent Dielen and pop producer Andras Vleminckx, the masterminds behind Promis3.

“Simulated Paradise”, which also features a remix from Berlin-based producer Chambray, combines all the best elements of synth-pop and house to bring you a euphoric track which, if released a decade or two ago, could have been the perfect soundtrack to the iconic racing games of our youth. Turns out, the video game references are not accidental:

“‘Simulated Paradise’ is about a virtual world to which you can escape,” explain Dielen and Vleminckx. “A world where everything is simulated to your desires and ideals. Rules do not apply, grids are not repetitive, there is no ranking in class, gender, culture,… It is a lifelike virtualization of ‘the holy place’ as we only read about it in books.”

Explaining the origins of the concept, Promis3 credit the desire to “escape from the daily grind and linger in your digital utopia, evade the continuous duty of real-life”.

“You could say that for so many people life is simply an imposed structure that should protect them as a society, but also damages so many of them,” they say. “Burnouts are peaking in numbers and this doesn’t just come out of the blue. Socially and financially, the pressure is increasing, so that large groups can no longer lift this weight, and then break. Leave this all behind by starting up your Simulated Paradise console and let yourself drift away into arcadia.”

To celebrate the release of “Simulated Paradise”, Promis3 are also launching a T-shirt campaign, available on Everpress. All proceeds of the T-shirt sales will be donated to various Black Lives Matter fundraisers. Watch the lyric video below.

As we approach the third (fourth? Has anyone been counting?) month of self-isolation, many have already experienced being thrown into the virtual whirlwind of long-distance dating, or even full-on relationships. From one week to the next, humanity had entered an exclusively digital age of socialising, and it will be interesting to see whether the online dynamics will survive the “real”, post-lockdown world.

DOLLY BING BING’s latest explosive pop track, “Kusje”, explores the “extremely tough and harsh” realities of cyberlove. The song is based on DOLLY’s “own real experience of taking a plane across the world to reach a lover” – something that we might be able to do very soon.

“‘Kusje’ is about online love and how to make the fantasies on the screen and the pleasures in the phone come true,” explains DOLLY.

“It is absolutely wonderful that you can find soulmates or lovers from an entirely different part of the world and deeply connect with them through online media,” the artist tells HighClouds. “Yet the limits of the screen and the boundaries of the digital are frustrating; when you notice that real love is blossoming, you have to break the distance and the virtual and you have to see each other in real life.”

DOLLY BING BING describes the corona-lockdown as “just a reinforcement or a repetition of that frustration”.

“[It] made me realize all the more how extremely valuable physical contact, hugs, real sex (no cybersex), caresses, real-life encounters, intimate touch and immediate interactions are and how vital the ‘aura of closeness’ is in order to feel happy as a human being and to make a relationship work.”

“Kusje” was written by DOLLY in collaboration with New York producer ABSRDST, who has already worked for the likes of Dorian Electra, GIMI and Diveo. Just like a long-distance relationship, the collaboration was conducted mostly online.

“I was noticed by ABSRDST through Instagram, so our initial point of contact also happened online,” DOLLY BING BING tells HighClouds. “The collaboration grew naturally and (even pre-Corona) through Zoom, video chats and online exchange, a format making international cross-pollination possible that couldn’t exist before the internet and – even though I love working live in the more slow-paced tempo of the physical studio – a contemporary style of creation the fast-forward me truly believes in. I felt ABSRDST’s and my own taste and affinities were in line and on point so the way the track took shape was swift and fresh.”

Luckily for DOLLY fans, the duo “already have another track finished and are working on a whole set of new songs.”

The video for “Kusje”, which we are honoured to premiere today, compliments the track perfectly. It depicts DOLLY BING BING in an apocalyptic scenery, training with a bodybuilder, riding dirt bikes, and throwing an end-of-the-world party which we would love to have attended ourselves (we’re sure our invitation got lost in the mail).

To help create the choreography, DOLLY enlisted her live show background dancers, voguers Tine Van de Looverbosch and Michael De Geyter, who form the aptly-named BING BING CLUB. The visuals, which were directed by Kyky Kong Kong, take place on a dumpsite in the industrial harbour of the city of Ghent, Belgium.

“It was very challenging and even dangerous to film this video as the dumpsite activities were still going on and all the staff there was at work while we were doing our shoot and filming our stunts,” DOLLY tells HighClouds. “Clouds of metal dust were non-stop flying around and on top of that I had to perform my own stunts: like dancing on top of a driving Hummer, sword fighting, climbing up on piles of metal trash and, the most terrifying stunt I have ever done in my entire life, driving around between the dumpsite trucks on the back of a motorbike driven by a world champion dirt bike rider (a tough lady!) at 200km/h speed, unprotected, in my lingerie outfit. It felt like all the air was pushed out of my lungs and my adrenaline levels rose to max capacity. I never wish to repeat a stunt like that! But: everything for the arts!”

Coming with this release, DOLLY has launched a limited-edition collection which includes a T-shirt and mask scarf, which are modelled by DOLLY and her friend, the Belgian visual artist Rinus Van de Velde. Watch the video below and don’t forget to add “Kusje” to your playlists tomorrow.

“Above the tower / sometimes a skull / everything collides with everything,” proclaims a voice at the beginning of Ai fen’s new track and accompanying video “MYŚLIWY”, which is the Polish word for a hunter. The male voice belongs to the Polish poet uroruro, an important influence in Ai fen’s creative life. It was uroruro’s encouragement which prompted Ai fen to create music in her native language, Polish. The beginning of the track features a sample out of uroruro’s series of performative poems “cykl/on/forAI-fen”, inspired by but not explicitly about Ai fen herself.

Ewelina Vlcek-Chiu is the creative power and voice behind Ai fen. Or actually – she is Ai fen.

“Ai fen is my Chinese name,” she explains. “It has always been with me but as a kind of second thought. For me, it represents my Other as well as being Other-ed. Of course, I’m referencing Lacanian psychology here, but probably Lacan would disagree with my referring to it with a capital O, since in Lacanian psychology the big Other is another subject.”

Ai fen comes from a Catholic Polish-Chinese family. She arrived in Prague “on a whim”, at the age of 21, inspired by her love for Czech writer Milan Kundera. She holds degrees in cognitive neuroscience as well as literary theory and culture, has so far lived in at least five countries across the world, and manages to combine elements of classical, techno, darkwave, screamo and ambient in her music.

“MYŚLIWY” is a perfect example. Balancing between serenity and mayhem, it showcases Ai fen’s stellar production, lyricism, and vocals. Ranging from tranquil whispers to high notes, she pronounces each word with an elaborate intonation, engraving the words in the listener’s brain. One does not have to know Polish to feel the magic.

The music video, by Prague-based filmmaker Jan Vont, features Ai fen standing in front of one of Prague’s biggest tourist attractions, the Astronomical Clock. Filmed in December 2019 by Jana Hojdová, the original footage shows jostling tourists on their way to see the attraction, so self-absorbed with their mission that they almost knock Ai fen over.

“When Jan and I were discussing making the visuals for the show at St. Agnes’ Convent, I told him I didn’t want to be identifiable,” she explains. “I wanted to have visuals that were abstract, mimicking the movement of waves, communicating a fluidity that was both calming and menacing. But this is a track that came out of isolation and is now being crystallized further in visual form by a forced isolation, so I wanted to represent the anxiety I’m feeling. Things are oscillating fast now between the surreal and beautiful and overwhelming and all-consuming. Appearing and disappearing in glitches and snatches in this video is a way to express that.”

The halo around Ai fen’s head is not accidental, but a reference to the cult of the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Poland.

“The text sampled out of uroruro‘s poetry series is a play on parts of speech recited during Catholic mass. When I told this to Jan Vont (…), he said: ‘Well then it really fits because you’ve got that halo around your head!’ So we decided also to make the video blue to reference that aspect of my upbringing,” she explains. Blue is considered the shade of the Virgin Mary, and she is often represented wearing the colour.

“The cult of the Virgin Mary and her role as the Queen of Poland is both beautiful and dangerous,” says Ai fen. “It’s beautiful because it assigns a symbolic figure to an official role, which theoretically should create an environment of enhanced spirituality. For me spirituality is about openness, letting go for assigned borders, becoming porous and accepting. Although many Christian religions preach love towards the other, the reality when twisted by people can be very different. I see this happening in Poland and it’s terrifying. The ruling party, Law and Justice (PIS) is not only very right-wing, but it’s also Christian democratic, and I see them manipulating the people with supposed Christian/Catholic values that they incorporate into their propaganda.”

Will we ever hear a song referencing Ai fen’s current home?

“I’m still detangling the core of my identity working with my childhood, growing up biracial, Polish and Chinese cultures and how it all references to me now. But to be honest I never thought I’d write a track in Polish because the language was always a family thing for me, not something I could express myself as intricately as I could in English. But I was wrong, and I’m now working with the language more despite the challenges…so maybe a track in Czech is not too far off in the future!”