Ooberfuse

Cherrie Anderson vocal on Summer Skies reaches out of the headphones from bar one and shakes hands with your ears. It’s just gorgeous. If pop music is a broad church, then credibility is a fine line drawn down the middle of the nave, and one that Cherrie and her collaboration partner Hal St John have managed to tread deftly on this track. Music that’s upbeat and accessible, yet quirky and charming with enough grit in the production to counterbalance the occasional hint of saccharin in the chord sequences. Based in Woolwich, the duo are, they tell us, “unafraid to deep-sea dive into the deepest oceans of human emotions to colour-up drab contemporary life.” They also told us a lot of stuff about “dangerous excursions”, “weaving stories”, “narcotic dreams” “Orchestral electronica”, “strange eastern fragrances”, “delicate textures,” “Himalayan foothills” “teak and bamboo rainforests”, “wild exotic spices”, “the advancing thud of war elephants crashing through the borogroves” and the “lilts and tilts of a strange new technicolour”. You get the idea. Classy, well-made pop music, innit. - BBC Introducing - Tom Robinson

There is something special about Ooberfuse. Their music is calming to listen to while you drift off into your own little world where the rythm and beat keep you safe. Maybe it’s the lead singer's soothing voice, perhaps the gentle electro beat in the background; Ooberfuse will draw in thousands to listen to their music.

Ethereal electronic pop with the complex beauty that Oobafuse has will endure.

We can't wait to see where Ooberfuse shines their musical light. Have a listen yourself, you will see what we mean. - St Paul's Lifestyle

I was brought up on Rock. Well, Rock and Motown.

Other than Michael Jackson, Pop didn't play much of a part in my musical education growing up and it's an understatement to say that I haven't enjoyed much Electronic music or EDM in my time. That said, I pride myself on the fact that, as a musician I appreciate anything that's creative, shows musicality or true expression. You can understand my apprehension, therefore, when Ooberfuse - Secret Tattoo landed in my hands to prospectively review.

An EDM/Electronic Pop group with Christian roots is a far cry from the Rage Against The Machine and Queen that sat on my shelf.

However, I sit here now smiling and remembering the goosebumps that shot up both my arms as soon as Secret Tattoo started.

Through the delicate electronic intro, floats a voice that's as wistful as is it soft. It's an absolute joy to listen to and has that unidentifiable quality that just draws you in and doesn't let you go. It's a delightful, caressing melody delivered only a few steps above a whisper and it adds more atmosphere to this track than most manage with an entire string section.

Enter the drum machine and the additional vocals of Hal St John (which perfectly compliment those of our serene siren Cherrie Anderson) and what we have here is a beautifully delicate, ethereal and hugely economical Electronic Pop song.

The track's narrative is that of devotion and dedication to a loved one. An expression of limitless and unconditional love. What's truly lovely about this track is the use of softness, delicacy even fragility to convey the song's message as opposed to the rushing, sweeping grandeur that many artists resort to in order to transmit such expression.

The up-tempo rhythm of the song combined with pulsing bass and a wonderfully simple reoccurring piano riff give the listener enough to keep their foot tapping while an infectiously catchy chorus provides all you need to keep you singing this to yourself all day long.

Secret Tattoo is a simple yet beautiful, atmospheric and tantalisingly delicate love song and it deserves your attention. Considering my broader tastes in music I had no right to enjoy this track but I did. The vocals sent a shiver down my spine and the arrangement and rhythms kept me hooked as I'm sure it will with anyone who hears it. - Reverb Room

Having recently returned from a prestigious Nashville songwriting camp sponsored by the UK government (UK Trade and Industry), the band part of a small number handpicked UK artists working with Nashville’s songwriting royalty, electronic pop duo Ooberfuse unveil their new single in the shape of the magnetically alluring Secret Tattoo. It is a vibrant smile on the senses; a song which bubbles and simmers like a pot of warmed honey as sweet as it is compelling.

Secret tattoo opens with a Yazoo like electro invitation quickly joined by the highly persuasive tones of Anderson. Backed by similarly alluring hues from St John, her voice dances on the senses; offering a warm siren-esque kiss on the ear as elegant and tempting as the weave of melodic synth cast suggestiveness around her. There is also a touch of Depeche Mode to the song as its meanders with purpose and resourceful enterprise across the imagination. Its body is slim, textures uncomplicated on the ear but together they create a pop song which lures the listener into a sultry embrace of emotive and electronic flirtation.

No demands are made by Secret Tattoo, just an invitation from Ooberfuse to immerse in its infectious charm; one easy to accept request. - RingMaster Review

Thankfully now that we are a generation on from those lump-headed days when any talk of synths, samples and anything not seen as “proper instruments” had narrow minded “proper music fans” racing for their moral high ground, bands such as Ooberfuse can be fully appreciated. Their ethereal electronic pop blends and girl-boy vocal deliveries are wonderfully easy on the ear but totally engaging at the same time, the combination being a one way, all expenses paid ticket to Ear Worm Central.



It’s the simplicity that makes it work so well, even with the swath of possibilities that electronic music puts at their finger tips, rather than over texturing the song to create their effect, they head in the opposite way and strip things back to their most simple and create gossamer thin musical threads, subtle washes and spaces filled more by atmosphere than music.



If this is the sound of the future of pop music then I need to start building that time machine so that I can fast forward a few decades and greedily experience it all right now. Right, where did I put my sonic screwdriver? - Dancing About Architecture