This is a new discovery I’ve happened upon from an anonymous source. The Little Ones, as they are so affectionately known, are an L.A. based indie-pop band who have as of right now released only one EP, named Sing Song. The reason they came to my attention is for their song, “Lovers Who Uncover.” I found the story of the band’s formation to be adorable.

Apparently, the bandmates came together in a studio nicknamed “Uncle Lee’s” in an attempt to create a form of escapist, care-free music. They ran into issues trying to contruct the music, and were about to abandon the project until they decided upon a single gauge for excellence, called “Uncle Lee’s Rule of Feet,” which proclaimed that a song was acceptable once it caused all group members to shuffle their feet upon hearing it. Using this rule of thumb, the group successfully produced their EP. In 2006, Matt Costa asked the band to open for him, and the rest is (will be?) history. Their music is a wonderful combination of the Beach Boys, Paris, and other happy-go-lucky summertime music. It’s escapism at it’s best, and I’m sure that was the point in the first place. Their full length album, Morning Tide, is expected to be released April of 2008.

DL: The Little Ones – Lovers Who Uncover
DL: The Little Ones – Cha Cha Cha

And here’s the video for their latest single, “Ordinary Song.”

Picture Source: BrooklynVegan

If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering what Émilie Simon is up to lately. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be anything new. And so, I guess I’ll do some sort of summarization of who she is for those who don’t know.

Émilie Simon is sort of like the more electronic-focused Björk of France. Like Imogen Heap, Émilie’s music is organic; built from unique, crawling beats and unusual sounds found in the most remote areas of nature. As the daughter of a sound engineer and a studious little bee, she learned the in’s and out’s of music production and slowly grew as an artist. I love the fact that she is responsible for the production of her music. Despite what my most avid readers may think, I respect artists from either realm: self-produced or manufactured. Émilie sings in both French and English, and her “Greatest Hits” of sorts was released in America in 2006. Since then, not much has happened, though she did the scoring for the March of the Penguins in France which is rather exhilirating.

Her work is absolute eclecticism. It’s difficult to describe. I suppose I could throw some names in that come to mind, but they’ve already been mentioned. So try some tidbits, instead. “Flowers” is short but to the point, it’s a blink-and-you-miss-it photograph of a sweet little crush built up and destroyed within two minutes. With a bit of a stalker vibe. So essential. Then there’s “Fleur De Saison,” the moody electro-rocker filled with delicious beats. And finally, “Dame De Lotus,” the undeniably infectious minimalist electro.

DL: Émilie Simon – Flowers
DL: Émilie Simon – Fleur De Saison
DL: Émilie Simon – Dame De Lotus

If you liked what you heard, make sure to Buy Émilie Simon’s album The Flower Book at Amazon.

Introducing something you’ve probably seen before but in many different pieces: Madita, a singer from Germany.

To begin, I saw her latest single’s video, “Because.” As “Strawberry” noted on the PopJustice! forums, she is a blend of Feist on the verses and Rachel Stevens on the chorus of the song. It’s the music Feist wouldn’t dare spill from her lips; the complexity that Rachel Stevens could never properly pull off. Not that it’s the most complex song structure, but the core piano chords are literally the same as “My Moon, My Man,” minus one bright note at the end. You’ll notice this as soon as you play the track. But the track turns jazzy and significantly lighter. In fact, it’s eventually riddled with bright pianos and heaving sighs, blocking out the seemingly daunting atmosphere from the harsh piano sounds below. Please note: The song is still a bit far away from her actual sound after analyzing her Myspace, so take note before viewing. Anywho, I don’t know if she’ll be sued down the line for copyright infringement, but if she’s not taken away in shackles, then hopefully she’ll continue to wrap herself around brightly colored linen.

I visited Madita’s website after seeing the new single to find out her “deal,” and it seems she was born in Vienna in 1978, making her 30 as of this year. She’s already had a debut album, and that too, the upcoming album due January 25th, is her second. (Get it? Ha!) She reminds me of Shakira during the era in which she first broke out in the United States. I say this because of the absolutely absurd usage of language she possesses, including her allusion to energy being sucked out of her to a baby and breasts.

And then I decided to explore her music. That’s when I got genuinely excited. Her featured music on Myspace is as interesting as she appears, the songs diverse and intriguing. I was getting a sense of Bitter:Sweet (essential jazz-lounge-electronica that you’ve heard everywhere before). With a sound that is smothered in lounge-like vocal tricks with a hint of sexuality and a significant amount of an older allure, it seems like Madita possesses exciting potential to unite smooth classic jazz with fresh vitality. I’m highly looking forward to exploring her work in detail later tonight!

Give it a go, let me know how it works for you.

Watch “Because.” Please don’t take it as a representation of her work…it’s rather poppy compared to what she actually does.
Then, listen to this remix of it by Edgar Tones, which sounds a bit closer to her sound.
Finally, go to her Myspace and hear some more from the upcoming album.

Now introducing the debut album, Pain Disappears, from electronic musicians Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia. Mlle is the French abbreviation for the word “mademoiselle.” I forget the exact translation of that word, but roughly it means “made in moiselle.” The collaboration produces unquestionably hypnotic music. The typical song off of their upcoming album features complex mash-ups of thumping electronic blips, melancholic guitar strumming, and unadulterated synth-rock. The song production is reminiscent to that of Cut Copy, Royksopp, and New Order. Each track’s echoey vocals are pulled straight from the pages of classic 80′s dark electro-pop. “Dead Souls” offers a dark Junkie XL-ish, thickly-French accented reflection of memories from the past. Give this fresh collaboration a shot…It’s one of those CD’s that can be brought out in the middle of the dance floor, or listened to while drifting into slumber. I found myself really enjoying the diverse tunes on the album. The tracks can be monotonous (they tend to last around six minutes), but the melodies are individually infectious and reflective.

Included in this post is a MuuMuse Excluusive for you all, the Ben Watt radio edit of the track, “Dead Souls.” Dig in!

DL: Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia – Dead Souls (Ben Watt Radio Edit)

Please enjoy, and if you like what you hear, make sure you buy their album, Pain Disappears, on March 4th from BuzzinFly Records.
And you, what do you think?