Exploring, once again, the limits between electronic basslines with catchy pop choruses, the band is able to create another “alien synth-pop” gem, as they self-described their own sound. While remaining extremely confident and high-energy, the track explores a more sentimental and low-fi aspect of the band. Chris Zane, who is behind some of the best productions of Passion Pit and Friendly Fires, added some additional production to it as in “Similarities”, alongside brothers Simon and Pieter-Jan Nyutten. It is not a surprise then that the track doesn’t come actually as bad news to us.

You can follow Felix Pallas over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Every week, Free scours through hundreds of SoundCloud tracks to find the best new gems by artists that are flying under the radar.

Each week our Brussels-based fellow overwhelms you with a variety of songs that make your head go nuts. This week, he offers us a playlist with a summer vibe! Here are a few of his favorites:

Doro & Buga – Overdue:

Midlife is the thread through this playlist. The label run by Belgian progressive electronic producers Kassett, Samuelspaniel and doro might be the best the Belgian music scene offers at the moment. Its sound is challenging, measurable with international level (Lee Gamble, Lorenzo Senni, Rabit, Lexxi,…) and together with Hiele, Sky H1 and Ssalivva they’re putting Belgium on the avant-garde electronica world card.

Doldrums – PERV:

As one of my all time faves I’ve been looking forward to Airick Asher Woodhead’s 3rd record since he released “The Air Conditioned Nightmare” in 2015. His first and second LP were released by Arbutus Record and Sub Pop respectively, so you’d expect Esc to go for at least as big. Following other recent indie releases by Washed Out, Molly Nilsson & Still Corners (and probably a lot more), the Canadian choose for the smaller label. What does that mean for his sound? It’s still rough (ruw), industrial, catchy IDM-ish though more atmospheric without losing its edge and dancey aggressiveness.

Washed Out – Get Lost:

In similarity of shoegaze, that other laidback indie genre called chillwave has got three pioneers: Toro y Moi, Neon Indian and Washed Out. After the chillwave wave (2009-2011), the first showed the most creativity on “Anything In Return” (2013) and “For What” (2015), but disappointed big time on his new “Boo Boo”, released last week. Neon Indian really got me with his “Polish Girl” on “Era Extrana”, but wasn’t really able to captivate me until his surprisingly good, funky and catchy “Vega Intl. Night School“, released in 2015. Washed Out seems the one ‘stuck’ the most in the chillwave style, though on his new album “Mister Mellow Ernest Greene” he gives the genre a twist turning it more funky, almost sounding like Bonobo (I’ve Been Daydreaming My entire Life) or Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Another week of fresh tracks by breaking artists around the world — brought to you by FREE. Check the full playlist below!

Check on Free‘s playlist every Thursday on HighClouds and follow our curator on Soundcloud.

One year after grabbing international attention with their first songs ‘RAKATA‘ and ‘Curse‘, the Antwerp-based band return with a third single which manifests their inclination towards funky production and powerful choruses surfing on the wave set by leading Flemish acts such as Oscar and the Wolf, Warhola and Bazart.

Perfectly encapsulating their special sound, yet, with a rooted sense of accessibility; Felix Pallas self-described “alien synth pop” packs a punch with its groovy basselines and polished beats while also supplying some smoothness with funky guitar licks and shining synths culminating in a remarkably powerful chorus that allows Simon Nuytten‘s compelling falsetto to soar.

Managed by Disco Naïveté, the boys of Felix Pallas (brothers Simon and Pieter-Jan Nyutten with best friends Xavier and Ziggy) created quite an imposing track highlighting their epic sound. Indeed, it is actually the result of a high-profile collaboration with Chris Zane in the studio. The New Yorker is the man behind numerous quality acts in the genre including Passion Pit and Friendly Fires.

About the superlative combo with Zane, Felix Pallas told Billboard:

[su_quote]We loved his work on Passion Pit – very edgy and a lot of soaring synths – and in particular the EP he did with WILLS. We sent him some demos and he was quickly convinced our collaboration could work out well. We really dig what he did to ‘Similarities’. It’s in your face, yet smooth[/su_quote]

Needless to say, the track is a very well-rounded one which reminds me of a more modern and electronic-oriented effort from Tame Impala. In the same vein, no thirty seconds of the song sound exactly the same, and, with each listen, you’ll catch something you hadn’t heard before while also being a perfect track for singalongs thanks to its single-worded chorus and lofty synths. We can already see this one make a strong impression at Pukkelpop this summer.

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Felix Pallas‘ ‘Similiraties‘ is out via Disco Naïveté. Their debut EP is coming later on this year.