Canal Pop Q&A

Your name:

Emiliano Canal.

Where are you from?

Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America.

Name of band:

Canal Pop.

Who else is in your band?

Canal Pop is a solo project but I collaborate with cool, talented singers. I'm currently working with Josefina Aufranc who's also a part-time model.

How would you describe yourselves and your music?

Catchy electropop with elaborated vocals and somehow ironic lyrics. The sound is a mix of classic electropop and modern sounds. A critic once said Canal Pop was Daft Punk meeting ABBA, and I liked that.

Who are your main influences musically?

Lots of things, but mainly classic 80's synthpop/ electropop (Depeche Mode, Gary Numan, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, New Order, Human League) combined with modern electronic music, a bit of the current top 40 sound, and a bit of classic rock and pop (Beatles, Bee Gees, Bowie, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, ABBA, Montown, disco, whatever). I'm also very interested in what was called Hi NRG/ Italo disco, late 70s/ early 80s disco/ dance music made with synthesizers in home studios. This was considered cheap, second class music and nobody took it very seriously, but they pretty much layered the foundations for electronic dance music. Giorgio Moroder was the pioneer of this style and he's one of my heroes. Canal Pop covered Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" in his honour.

What do you hope to achieve in music?

I'm from Argentina and for several reasons no Argentinean act has been successful in the international pop music scene (singing in English), which is a shame because Argentina has a great musical tradition (we created tango). I would like to help change this.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?

I've won the Gardel award (the Argentinean equivalent of the Grammy/ Brit Award) for the best electronic music album in 2012, but not as Canal Pop but because of a compilation album I've released (I also own and direct a label, Eternal Sunday). As Canal Pop, in 2005 I remixed a track by electropop pioneers Heaven 17 for the legendary indie label Ninthwave records (USA). They made a good promotion campaign among DJs and the single reached #24 on the Billboard dance charts, which is the only way I've charted in a major market as far as I know.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?

I've made hundreds of mistakes, but that's how you learn this job and this business. You find the right door by opening the wrong ones and realizing that's not the way.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?

Maybe Canal Pop's last single featuring Josefina Aufranc, Come To My World.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G363q-AoW_I

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Website: www.canalpop.com.ar

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Canal-Pop-22237411264

Twitter: www.twitter.com/canalpopar

Bandcamp: www.canalpop.bandcamp.com

Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/canalpop

YouTube: www.youtube.com/canalpop

iTunes: www.itunes.apple.com/us/artist/canal-pop/id256527905

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EVS0N3W1mfGgL79S6z1Se

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?

Some random facts:

* I also direct the Eternal Sunday label, check it! www.eternalsunday.com.ar

* I wear leather trousers on stage.

* Josefina Aufranc is currently in Mexico doing some singing and working as a model.

* I rarely add guitars to my arrangements.

* Canal Pop recorded an album called An Electro Tribute To Oasis with singer Lara Sambert, featuring versions of the Gallagher Brothers' hits. People either loved it or hated it.

* Our version of Stand By Me was chosen in 2010 as "song of the day" at Popjustice.com, UK's most influential pop music blog, among songs by artists like Kesha and Lady Gaga.  That was nice.

* Songs by Canal Pop have been featured in compilations by labels like Section44 (USA) and Alfa Matrix (Belgium) and by music blogs like Side-Line (Belgium) and Electrozombie (Germany).

* One of the singers I worked with, Polette, is an amazing session singer who sung hundreds of commercial jingles and shared stages with Shakira and Deep Purple among many others.

* I'm very interesting in pop culture in general, some of my influences are Andy Warhol and the whole pop art movement (especially the experimental film stuff), cartoonish bubblegum music from the '70s and Japanese and Asian young culture and aesthetics. I'm also a huge fan of vintage technology, like old computers, reel-to-reel tape decks, old video formats, that kind of things.

Belly Of Paris Q&A

Your name: 

Daniel Cochran.

Where are you from? 

Originally from the North East of England although I spent last year in Saudi Arabia and now live in Bahrain in the Middle East.

Name of band: 

The Belly of Paris (I'm also the singer in UK art-rock band By Toutatis, who are on hiatus while I'm here).

Who else is in your band?

The Belly of Paris has managed to get musicians from all over the world. There are currently six of us: myself, guitarist Robert Prest (UK), organist and vocalist Yasmin Sharabi (US/Bahrain), drummer Sumit Sharma from India, Argentine bassist Carlos Villarroel and Szabolcs Nigo, a trumpeter and bassoon player from Hungary. Bahrain's a very small island so the musicians huddle together. It was easy to meet people.

How would you describe yourselves and your music? 

Originally it wasn't a million miles away from the baroque art-rock stuff I was doing in the UK, but working with people from around the world changes the way things sound. We're recording our debut album at the moment and it's still got a smoky barfly element but is a bit more rhythmic and unusual. 

Who are your main influences musically? 

I come at it from a folky background, I started over here doing that kind of thing. Saltburn-by-the-Sea is where the old band were based so there's a maritime/folklore edge to it, but also PJ Harvey, Shilpa Ray (we play similar instruments so it has a bit of that in there), Tindersticks...etc. Plus the rest of the guys bring their own influences. Sumit was in a post-punk band, Szabi is more classical. It's an interesting mix.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

We love to play, opportunities in the Middle East are limited so we aim to branch out to the UK and India from time to time. At the moment it's Bahrain, Dubai. The debut album is written and recording is under way; I'd like to see where it takes us.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

We're just beginning but we had one of our songs featured on a BBC radio documentary recently. Before this band I had music featured in the Sound it Out documentary and at mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art). I've been lucky enough to play shows with a lot of my favourite artists: RM Hubbert, Eliza Carthy, Richard Dawson, The Lake Poets, but the topper was playing on the same stage as Public Enemy at a festival last summer.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

Leaving the UK just as the By Toutatis debut album came out was a sterling piece of timing. We couldn't promote it properly and I felt really bad for the rest of the band. We managed to turn a profit for the label - a really cool independent called Tiny Lights, but it could've done a lot more I suppose. I wasn't really thinking clearly at the time.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

We've only released a couple as we're currently recording The Belly of Paris debut album. That's due in summer. That said There Was No Snake is a good early summation of what we do.

Where can we listen to it?

It's at soundcloud.com/bellyofparis

Where can we find out more about your music?

Our Facebook is facebook.com/bellyofparis / twitter is @thebellyofparis and Instagram is @bellyofparis 

Saint and The Queens Q&A

Your name: 

I'm Ivo Vieytes.

Where are you from? 

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Name of band: 

Saint And The Queens

Who else is in your band? 

It's actually a pop solo act, so it's just me.

How would you describe yourself?  
A broken heart that sings to ease the pain, and at the same time, tries to take the listener on a journey with background music. 

Who are your main influences musically?  
Right now my main influences are Lana Del Rey, Marina And The Diamonds and some old school Charli XCX. But I'm already working on some lyrics for my second album and the influences are actually different, and that is what I plan to do, always change the style from album to album without leaving the essence of Saint And The Queens. 

What do you hope to achieve in music?  
I want to be heard. Not famous, I just want to know that people listened or are listening to me. And if they can relate to my songs, then that makes it so much better. You know, my songs are all about experiences and feelings, and I'm sure we've all experienced them sometime in our lives, and to know that someone actually relates to any of them, that would make me happy.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?  
Well, I've just started (kind of), and I'm actually gladly surprised by the amount of support I have received from different people, not just my friends and family, but from completely strangers, and I'm really thankful for that.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?  
Hmm... I don't know if I want to forget any moment, or at least not musically. I've had different stage names before being Saint And The Queens, and though I look at the past and don't like some of them, I think that without them I wouldn't be here right now. I remember that when I first started, my songs were actually horrible and had no sense at all. But looking at my progress right now, it's kind of impressive. I don't really want to forget that. The past shapes us, but it doesn't define us.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?  
I think right now, that song would be Paradise. It's maybe the most important song in my album and it's exactly what I wanted to say and how I wanted it to sound. Paradise is Saint And The Queens. 

Where can we listen to it? 

https://saintandthequeens.bandcamp.com/track/paradise

Where can we find out more about your music? 

Well you can follow me on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintandthequeens

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivovieytes

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZxhpax6Bot0iPhHot7P1Bg

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/saintandthequeens

Anything else you’d like to say about your music that I forgot to ask?  
The official video for "Die, Darling", the first single of my album, is out now and my debut album "Is This Paradise?" will be out on January 23rd. I'm pretty excited for it, so I hope you all like it!

Ella M Q&A

Your name: 

Ella M.

Where are you from? 

I was born in Argentina, but started travelling since the age of 19.

How would you describe yourself? 

I would describe my music as eurovision, electro-pop sound.

Who are your main influences musically? 

My main influences are Zedd, Avicci, Chrisitina Aguilera, Aloe Blacc.

What do you hope to achieve in music? 

Well, I have lots of plans, but I hope I can make a living out of it, and be happy.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 

I think there are still too many things to come, and the most important things haven't happened yet, but if I had to choose, I would say singing in front of 2,000 people and being selected to be one of the main vocalists for the Ibiza World Tour.

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 

Funny question. I don't really want to forget anything. Each thing that I've done, and each thing that has ever happened to me, made me who I am. There is always a leason in anything that happens to us, and we shouldn't forget to learn them.

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why? 

Well, I only released one song, so I have to choose it. Anyway, I am working on several songs right now, that are going to be realeased later during the year.

Where can we listen to it? 

https://soundcloud.com/ellam_music/be-what-im-not

Where can we find out more about your music? 

www.facebook.com/IamEllaM

www.twitter.com/ellam_music

www.soundcloud.com/ellam_music

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EllaMmusic

https://www.youtube.com/user/Ella92M

http://www.beatport.com/release/be-what-im-not/1261171

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask? 

Just say that this is a very difficult path to walk through. On my way, I've learned patience, confidence, perseverance, dedication and hard work. Now I know who I am and where I want to go, and wanted to encourage others to go for what they want. It is not easy, but it is worth it.

New song from Ella M

SINGER-songwriter Ella M has released her new song Be What I'm Not.

The pop dance track features Alem Sanchez and is already garnering radio play in Europe and the US.

Ella - orginally from Argentina but now based in London - is planning a tour in Ibiza as well as working on new songs.

Visit soundcloud.com/ellam_music to listen to the single and for more on the artist visit facebook.com/iamellam or twitter.com/ellam_music