Music
Press
Amazing Mexican pop here today for this week’s SUNDAY MORNING SUBLIME.
You already know we LOVE our Mexican Cumbia and here’s something that almost equals that phenomenal Mexican feel that I love so much in their music.
I’m just very surprised that this band, Sweet Electra are on their third album, “When We Abondoned Earth”, and I’d never heard of them before! I’m sure this album is going to open up a lot of ears over here in Europe.
It has some GORGEOUS spacey orchestral pop soundscapes of the highest order subdued with an earthy melancholy that I’m personally so fond of. The fact that tracks are sung also in Spanish and not just in English appeals to me too as I love foreign languages provided it does not sound EUROVISION and this does not man, not one bit…some of it sounds like Sonic Youth turning Spanish!
Not everything on the album works but in the main it’s a worthy addition to your collection. When it does work, it soars and inspires with emotion and makes you feel like flying in the sky!
- dj umb
From the moment Mexican Electronica band Sweet Electra blasts you into the universe with its album When We Abandoned Earth, you feel a disturbing twinge of envy. How do some artists manage to turn all that vocal and musical talent into something so spacey yet sultry, sweet but surreal? On the number "Backyard," lead singer Nardiz Cooke hits you with an earthly, violin-infused melancholy by crooning the haunting question: "is anybody out there who'll help me understand myself again?"
She quickly loosens the spirit and lets you float away with jazzy, rockish, and danceable songs like "A Feeling" and "Give Up." Her co-founder, composer/producer Giovanni Escalara, has a way of layering orchestral electronics and beats to keep the sugary tracks like "I Am" at a truly indie pop level. By the album's end, you won't feel like coming back to this planet anytime soon. Take Sweet Electra to the office, the house party, and to the discoteca! - -- J. Gage
The duo behind Sweet Electra is in a New York state of mind lately. Vocalist Nardiz Cooke and producer Giovanni Escalera recently left Guadalajara for the Big Apple with the hopes of bringing their electronica-tinged pop to a wider audience. Their upcoming album When We Abandoned Earth (out April 6), sung in Spanish and English, was inspired by this change in atmosphere.
The CD is a dreamy celestial exploration that should appeal to listeners looking for an inter-planetary respite from the daily grind. Cooke, who grew up performing in traditional mariachi groups, has a haunting voice that stays with you long after the music has stopped playing. And Escalera is a multi-talented performer who not only composed all the material but also manned the keyboards, guitars and programming. - Latina
Right off the bat, the first thing you will notice is the intricate and very detailed drum programming Mr. Escalera has crafted in every song. There is so much variation and dimension to the drums that it never gets boring and always makes you want to here what’s next. Besides his drum programming, his well-tuned production style shines through with the sounds and instruments he used to craft this album. The songs are composed in a sample based style where he uses short samples and layers them over each other to create a thick multi-layered sound that never gets too complicated nor messy. He makes good use of both electronic and acoustical instruments, including the violin and trumpet, to give the listener something they have never heard before. Another thing I liked about their sound is that a lot of songs have this Latin feel/groove to them, but yet does not make use of the typical instruments found in that style of music. - boomboomchik
“From trip-hop to acid cabaret, everything fits in the musical spectrum of this group, which even dares to incorporate the sound of the violin into electronic music, giving it a unique texture and depth.” - grupo reforma
“Producer Giovanni Escalera’s signature sound of feminine voices singing in Spanish, Portuguese, French and English over electronic bass and beats makes for calmly intense music.” - LBE
“I can imagine Giovanni Escalera as he pays close attention to the smallest of details even as he plays keyboards, guitar, and programming. Guest vocals by Ceci Bastida (Ex-Tijuana NO!), and Japanese singer Sakiko Yocko round up the album nicely and I think CAMA is a stylish electro-rock album for exuberant souls!” - NY REMEZCLA
Discography
Singles
- Firefly:airplay at, Radio UdG 104.3 fm Guadalajara, 102.7fm Guadalajara, 100.9fm Mexico City, Radio Ibero 90.9fm Mexico City, MTV (video clip) Latin America, VH1 Latin America (video clip), Disney Channel (live performance), Telehit (video clip).
- Love you More: (Top 1 charts in Mexico City at Beat 100.9FM in 2009)
-Duos Corpos :(Airplay at Radio UdG 104.3fm in Guadalajara, Mex)
-Kira Kira:(Airplay at Beat 100.9FM Mexico City Top 6 in 2007)
-A feeling:(Airplay at NPR Soundcheck with John Shaefer 2009)
-Shadow (airplau
REMIXES by SWEET ELECTRA
-LIFE (Original by Polka Madre)
-NO ME CONOCERAS (Original by Cecilia Bastida)
-NUNCA ESTAS A LA ALTURA (Original by Cecilia Bastida)
-SEPTIEMBRE NO ESTA TAN LEJOS (Original by Nadadora)
LP Albums:
- Cama.Independent 2007
- Lying to be sweet. EMI music 2003
- Eros una vez María Movie Soundtrack. Alliance México 2007
- When we abandoned Earth 2009 Electra Rcds
- When we remixed earth. Mapamondo 2010
Remixed Albums:
- Firefly EP (remixes). EMI music.
- David Alvarado Firefly remix (Vinyl) Unique Distribution UK.
Compilations:
- Francezco Diaz “An exciting house mix for a lovely springwalk”. Cala D’ Hort , Sweden
- DJ Lani “ First class house Vol 2”. Gallo Rcds., South Africa
- Latin Lounge EMI Music, U.S.
- Acid Cabaret. EMI Capitol, Spain
- Ida y Vuelta. La Corporación Muzic. U.S. 2007 NEW
Photos
Bio
Sweet electra’s debut album “Lying To Be Sweet,” released in 2002 by Nopal Beat and EMI Records, has earned international success with its blend of acid cabaret, deep house, and trip-hop beats with elements of jazz and bossa nova. The album is full of Mexican rhythms from the 1950’s, with lyrics in Portuguese, French, English, and Spanish. It was nominated for best New Alternative Artist for LBE Music Awards.
The group’s second album, “CAMA,” reveals a stronger indie-rock influence than their previous record. The album’s hit single, “Shadow,” is also part of the soundtrack of the Mexican film “Eros Una Vez María,” directed by Jesus Magaña. Giovanni Escalera of sweet electra also scored the film.
Sweet electra is just about ready to release their third album, “When We Abandoned Earth.” Nardiz and Giovanni have been crafting the songs for a year now—a year full of emotional, memorable experiences. The album is nostalgic. It's dramatic. It's spacey dreamy orchestral pop.
When We Abandoned the Earth by Sweet Electra? (groovemine.com)
There seem to only remain nostalgic reminders to me now of when the term “pop,” or “Top 40” (if you want to get a little anachronistic), was used to describe a sound as opposed to a desire to be sold in Best Buy and on magazine covers. Beyond that, we live in an era where “pop” has to be synonymous with bad music. Although touted as many different things, from indie to rock to electronica, When We Abandoned the Earth stands as an exception in the current: a good pop record.??While there aren’t enough rough edges to the record to make it stand out remarkably as a progressive work, its evenness and consistency carry Sweet Electra’s new offering beyond typical expectations. It’s short, sweet, strong, and postureless; it is what it is without too much concern of fitting in, happily solitary as opposed to angsty reject.??
Most of the sounds on the record are either synths or drum machines, but the arrangements are too tight and solid to really be considered “electronic.” Nardiz Cooke’s dreamy, reverb-washed vocals tie everything together perfectly and the album is nothing if not solid. Though fairly distant from genre signposts, When We Abandoned the Earth sounds like a mixture of The Cure’s Head on the Door (and about as varied, emotionally) with The Cranberries’ lighter moments liberally applied and a faint helping of DnB.??There’s a reckless innocence in Sweet Electra’s sound that’s charmingly attractive, even to the staunchly anti-pop curmudgeons like me, and perhaps that’s what is so strong about the album: it’s accessible without sacrificing any of its integrity. While not the usual sound I tend to lean towards, and while not being a mind-blowing piece of art, this is an album that most should take notice of and give a listen. You might be surprised by what you find.???
REVIEWED BY NEIL LEVENS?
FAVORITES OF 2006
“I can imagine Giovanni Escalera as he pays close attention to the smallest of details even as he plays keyboards, guitar, and programming. Guest vocals by Ceci Bastida (Ex-Tijuana NO!), and Japanese singer Sakiko Yocko round up the album nicely and I think CAMA is a stylish electro-rock album for exuberant souls!”
? (Oscar León Bernal, Music editor NYRemezcla, New York)
Links
