RIVRS

Few things match the brattish, all-guns-blazing charm of Charli XCX’s ‘Famous’. But the ‘Sucker’ highlight just picked up a serious rival in the form of this new remix from RIVRS.

RIVRS are a fast-rising London trio signed to Atlantic. They’ve been in the studio with Years & Years producer Mark Ralph, and in-between those sessions, they’ve put together a giddy, bleep-centric edit of Charli’s new single.

Together, they’ve reduced the harsh guitars, thrown in some more cutting beats and kept every last speck of Charli’s original vocal line. DIY’s got the first play of the new ‘Famous’ remix below.

‘Famous’ is out 1st June on Asylum Records. This summer, Charli XCX plays T in the Park (11th July) and Bestival (11th September). - Jamie Milton- DIY

The deal hasn't changed: the world's best known couture indie label is still releasing everything from pop to polo shirts, having unearthed the likes of Years & Years, TDCC, Citizens! and, most recently, BeatauCue as they mix style with Gallic substance.

'New Faces 2' is one of their periodic compilations which has a says-it-on-the-tin vibe: 14 tracks (plus a bonus extra on the CD) all released by acts which should - unless you've been hanging out in all the right Shoreditch bars - be new to you. By way of setting expectations, if their previous collections were anything to go by, they confirmed that label supremo Gildas Loaëc is a man with a musical vision that sits somewhere between Europhile gloss and the preppy, Ivy League jangle of American outfits like Vampire Weekend and, perhaps less obviously, 'Kids'-era MGMT.

If that sounds like an odd combination, much of 'New Faces' is determined by these slightly narrow operating parameters and, by extension, a frisson of orthodoxy. Opener 'One Wing' by New Yorkers Beau is a sixties-indebted torch song in the mould of Lucius, whilst Suisfine's 'Heat' is glorious slacker rock, but, largely, the texture of most of the songs here is pristine and synthetic. This doesn't mean that, in series tradition, the odd gem isn't unfurled: RIVRS' 'Last love' is naked, almost prone R&B, with singer Charlotte delivering the band's dark pop in crystalline words; Danglo's 'Catch My Eye' is as sludgy as the Thames by which it was made; whilst Jai Wolf's mix of Mocki's 'Weekend' re-frames its New Jack feel with beeps and bleeps, giving it the authentic je né sais quoi of the week's best two days.

In between those high points, there's a slew of mildly diverting stuff - To Be Frank's 'Shot', the cherubic revenge synth pop of 'Turnaround' by Pawws and Marian Hill's soulful, ass-shaking 'Got It' - but, inevitably, there are also things which are not. Leading this category is the bland EDM of One Bit's Chicane-esque 'Won't Hold Back', the over-programmed and under-tuned 'Minerals' by Monogram and, least but not last, New Park's worthy but ineffectual 'Look In Vain'.

Loaëc has talked in the build up to this release about the label "Regularly escaping its comfort zone", but everything's relative. Being critical, those familiar with the Kitsune sound in recent years will be pleased or bored with nearly everything here, depending on their point of view. Only right at the end does the promised stylistic breakout seem even remotely possible; Mura Masa's dappled trip hop via 'Shibuya' mining Teebs in a mash up with Susumu Yokota, and the pinched afro-beat of Savoir's 'Malala' bending, if not breaking, the mould. It's these final two shots that could pave the way forward; brave and against the tide, they still don't explain why people who sell expensive jumpers want to bring out music, but they do point to a redefinition in musical scope that Kitsune badly need. - Andy Peterson- Contact Music

Signed by Charli XCX to her imprint Vroom Vroom, this London duo work a deliciously dark post-Disclosure groove with just the right amount of R&B-pop.


RIVRS (pronounced Rivers, like the Mississippi, and the Danube and—my personal favorite—the Volga) have a brand new song, video, and EP coming, and it's called "Falling." Crawling out from the shadows of Camden in London, where they outgrew the scene of dirty indie bands and rock 'n' roll tearaways, Charlotte and Finn who initially met at university stayed indoors, and cooked up some post-Disclosure UK electro in their bedrooms, inspired by Years & Years, Hudson Mohawke, SBTRKT, The xx, ie, everything Finn didn't get chance to play at a student club night he ran called Bad Sex. The demos they'd pass back and forth to each other (all focused on melody, simple keys and guitar parts and bass-y beats) found their way to Charli XCX, who signed them to her own label Vroom Vroom Records, an announcement that came in February this year. Charli 's grand opening of the latest branch of her empire came via a black Lamborghini and an EP featuring her SOPHIE-produced song "Trophy," plus RIVRS' 2015 single "Friend Lover," and "Beating Myself Up" by Cuckoolander (Charli's other signee; we premiered her recent, most excllent video here).

Now, however, RIVRS are readying their own big break via the Falling' EP: four tracks (including "Friend Lover") that explore loneliness, longing and, simply, all the relationship feels. The "Falling'" video—premiering below—features Charlotte channeling Madonna "Vogue" movements, with bangs and eye shadow that would send BANKS into a mascara-streaming meltdown. There are lots of mirrors, a tunnel with a massive light prism (and a nimble dancer pulling some X Men:Apocalypse style acrobatics). Then there's Finn intensely lurking behind every reflection. His face is spliced with Charlotte's as if to further impress that these guys are two halves of a very democratic creative whole. Shot by director Bison (Florence & The Machine, Bastille) the clean, glacial, stark tones perfectly complement the track's vibrating rhythms and dancing synths. “Maybe I could have loved you, maybe I tried too hard… but I don't know what you want from me,” sings Charlotte, frustrated that she's crushing on a dude who's a bit of a mystery. Just as well this track isn't as complicated. We got Finn and Charlotte to tell us why you should start falling for it now…

Noisey: What's so great about your EP, 'Falling'?
RIVRS: It's almost naive in its honesty—it depicts lust, obsession, and love.”

You've played Bristol's Dot-To-Dot festival this year and Live At Leeds… What's the most fun you've had onstage?
The launch of our club night Strangelove’(at Red Gallery in London with Majik and Ekkah). I wore a black rubber bra and skirt, which was fun to dance in but very sweaty! Our next one is September 15th at Red Gallery again—we’re be playing alongside Cuckoolander and more TBC.”

Tell us a secret about Charli XCX? Is she a tough boss?
She’s incredible at trampolining—backflips and everything. She's not a tough boss though, she’s very level headed.

Finn, in the video you give major serious lurking face. Did you put time in in front of the mirror?
Yes…

Charlotte, who is your dance inspiration?
At the moment I’m admiring 80s-style Axl Rose.

Of all the RIVRS, what's your favorite RIVR?
The Thames. When it's low tide it's muddy and you can find some weird stuff in there.

What have you got coming up aside from the EP that you can tell us about?
We’re playing Secret Garden Party at midnight this Saturday, which is a perfect time for us! We couldn’t be happier. We’re also playing Festival No. 6 (Portmeirion) and Lodestar (Cambridgeshire). Come to our next Strangelove on September 15! - Noisey

London based project RIVRS – led by Charlotte Mallory and Finn Munro – talk to FM about their new 5 track EP ‘Falling’ (out now via Atlantic Records). A collection of slickly sultry, electro-pop pearls, “about the first stage of a relationship – lust and obsession developing into love and Trust…” Here’s the aptly lush video for the EP’s standout track ‘Falling’.

First up…Can you reveal the reason why you decided to call your project RIVRS?

We love the imagery it evokes. Then we removed the letter ‘e’ to give the word some symmetry.

Tell us everything we should know about your track ‘Falling’.

It’s about the “should I, shouldn’t I” feeling you get at the beginning of a relationship. It’s about allowing yourself ‘fall’ and how scary that is – giving yourself emotionally to someone.

And your rather hot video….Any behind the scenes stories for us?

We tried to make it sexy, but in reality it’s not that sexy dancing in front of a camera and loads of people in a cold room.

Can you present your new track ‘Something About You’?

It’s about how a loved one can make even the hardest days worth it.

What were your influences and vibes whilst writing it?

I had the phrase ‘something about you’ in my head for a while and the mood felt right for it. We started with the piano riff and it took us three days to write it cause we wanted the lyrics to be as meaningful as possible.

How did you form?

We met at a house party and started making music together three years after meeting. Listening to Grimes got me [Charlotte] into songwriting and I shared the songs with Fin and we produced them up and started writing together.

What are your dreams and goals?

To be happy and never satisfied.

Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

Musically we’re inspired by The Cure, Depeche Mode, Everything But The Girl, Banks and Purity Ring. Artistically we’re inspired by Bob Carlos Clarke, Anthony Gormley, And Tim Burton.

Are you planning any live shows and what will they be like?

We’re playing our night ‘Strangelove’ on the 15th September at the Red Gallery in East London. We’ve also just confirmed CuckooLander and D/C to play and a DJ set by Oscar with more to come. - Fame Magazine

The U.K. artist will release an EP this Friday through Vroom Vroom Recordings. Stream new music from her signees RIVRS and CuckooLander.

For Charli XCX, more is always more. In the past couple of years, the U.K. pop singer's credits have run the gamut of genre, from pop smashes with Icona Pop and Iggy Azalea, collabs with electropop legends like Giorgio Moroder and Simon Le Bon, as well as an unexpected, pum pum-patting feature with Ty Dolla $ign. XCX brings a bratty power-pop style to her collabs, where lyrics are shouted as much as sung, as if with a don’t-fuck-with-me lip curl.
As well as recently making a documentary about sexism in the music industry, XCX has also been working to start her own label, Vroom Vroom Recordings, which is announced today. She’ll release a new 4-track EP, Vroom Vroom, through the imprint this Friday, with the title track produced by SOPHIE. Listen to it below, alongside tracks from London-based duo RIVRS and U.K. singer Cuckoolander (both of which are coming soon on the label).

Charli XCX explained more over email about her new venture:
"Vroom Vroom Recordings is my new, experimental pop label and it will combine my love for bubblegum pop with mystery and darkness. The artists coming up through it will be sharp, potent, deadly, and ultimately, will leave their mark on pop music. RIVRS and CuckooLander are two artists who have so much intelligence, pop sensibility and potential - they know what they want and both have great vision. That inspires me and it's why I want to work with them. I've always been fascinated by shy and introverted people—something that I am mostly not—and I feel both acts are in different ways. It captivates me and sucks me in, and I think their music will do the same for others. I've worked with SOPHIE on the new EP and what we create together speaks for itself. Sometimes we get aggressive, sometimes we get beautiful; he pushes me and I push him. I'm making beautiful party songs right now and this is just the start. The album goes to other places and I can't wait for people to hear it. I feel the most creative I have in a long time and I couldn't be more excited for the next chapter."

Label signees RIVRS have also shared the video for "Friend Lover" (dir. Hannah Marshall) below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sLYwpAdSc

Vroom Vroom EP is out on February 26 via Vroom Vroom Recordings. - The Fader