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Tag: Charli XCX

  • Apollo Monroe is ready to rule Dublin’s hyperpop scene

    Apollo Monroe is ready to rule Dublin’s hyperpop scene

    “Pull up, pull up to the party” – after restrictions have been lifted of course. Image courtesy of Apollo Monroe

    One day while procrastinating and scrolling through TikTok, I came across this invasive, glitchy, pixelated sound that both irritated and confused me – but it was also catchy as hell.

    Hyperpop was one of the most talked about new genres of music in 2020. It dominated TikTok and enthralled gen Z with its surreal futuristic sound – giving the generic pop we all know a makeover for the modern age.

    I’d be lying if I said Elyotto’s SugarCrash! hasn’t been playing on repeat in my head for months now.  A blend of old and new, hyperpop grew on me as artists like 100 gecs layered emo vocals over distorted beats, making me nostalgic for my early teens.

    It’s pretty much what it says on the tin – imagine hyped-up, jittery pop music on pixie sticks and skittles: excessive, exaggerated and excited.

    Every decade has its defining sound. The 80s brings to mind synth pop, the 90s conjures alt rock and Cobain’s grunge, and in the future, when we look back, the 2020s might just sound like hyperpop.

    In the UK, hyperpop rose to popularity alongside A. G. Cook’s PC Collective, pioneered by artists such as Charli XCX and SOPHIE. But despite its popularity, it is yet to have its moment on the Irish music scene. Could this be the new sound for a post-pandemic Ireland?

    Dublin based artist Apollo Monroe, aka Dale Malone, is one of the few (if not the only) exploring the genre here. The singer songwriter, who previously performed with electro-pop band Apollo 6 during his undergrad at BIMM, has his sights set on pushing the boundaries within the Dublin music scene.

    “I find queer artists in mainstream pop tend to be apologetic about their queerness”

    Apollo Monroe

    Monroe notes artists such as Charli XCX and 100 gecs as some of his biggest influences, as well as the late SOPHIE, who he describes as always sounding “like the future of music while everyone else was just trying to catch up”. 

    Explaining what drew him to the genre, Monroe says: “I really was enthralled by the balance of commercial pop and experimental elements. It pretty much was everything I loved about pop music – with an extra edge and extra attitude. I also really appreciated how queer artists are able express themselves freely within the genre as I find queer artists in mainstream pop tend to be apologetic about their queerness.”

    Hyperpop, in many ways, is a genre that acts as a voice for queer culture. Largely shaped and pioneered by queer artists, it offers creative freedom while embracing the unique and celebrating the different. Monroe cites Dorian Electra’s My Agenda as an example of this creative freedom; a track that sarcastically pokes fun at the alt-right gay agenda conspiracy theories.

    We can attribute the appeal of hyperpop to a generation of digital natives, born and bred on iPhones, tablets and laptops.

    “Hyperpop has this rowdy energy to it that I think is super appealing to gen  Z. The songs are short, sometimes finishing between 2 and 3 minutes. Kind of perfect for a generation brought up on TikTok.

    “Not to mention, hyperpop is a product of internet culture, which resonates with a lot of Gen Z and younger millennials,” Monroe says.

    His stunning debut single Soda Pop, which debuted back in February, mixes elements of dance pop, bubblegum bass, EDM, and trap. With such an explosive introduction, he’s undoubtedly made his mark.

    “It has this bouncy, bright bubblegum pop chorus that contrasts these heavier, distorted trap beats in the verse. I was really focused on having a sound that constantly keeps you guessing where it’ll go next. 

    “Lyrically, it tackles the subject of pop artistry and its mass produced and highly processed nature, all wrapped in a soda metaphor. Given that I think there’s many parallels there, with them both ultimately being products built or created to bring in cash,” explains Monroe.

     The latest Covid restrictions mean no live music for the foreseeable future, but Monroe is eager to keep growing his presence from his home production studio – ready to set ablaze the post-pandemic hyperpop scene in Dublin. 

    “I want to keep making music. I’m already focused on the next single. I feel Soda Pop has made people pay attention, so I’m excited to see what I can do with that attention. Plus, I want to prove Soda Pop wasn’t a fluke, and that I’m an artist with some real substance here,” he says.

     Stream Soda Pop here on Spotify

  • Immaterial Girl: How SOPHIE expanded the horizons of pop music

    Immaterial Girl: How SOPHIE expanded the horizons of pop music

    The iconic producer on the Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides cover. Cover Art Credit to Soapworld

    The music industry and trans community lost a pioneer on 30 January. The 34-year-old critically acclaimed producer SOPHIE died following an accidental fall in Athens, Greece – leaving behind a legacy of adoration from fans, friends and collaborators. 

    It’s difficult to forget hearing SOPHIE’s music for the first time. When BIPP first appeared on the radar of music listeners in 2013, it sounded like a dystopian future filtered through a nostalgic past, garnering widespread acclaim and speculation as to the identity of the reclusive artist. Rising to prominence alongside London’s PC Music collective, the acclaim would only grow more unanimous as SOPHIE’s elevated artistic and sonic vision cemented the Scottish producer’s place as one of the most forward-thinking musicians of the 2010s.

    For Dublin based experimental-electronic producer Dark Mavis, the unforgettable introduction into the world of SOPHIE came initially through the song Hard, as it played in the Boiler Room set of label mate GFOTY and subsequently in the unlikeliest of places, the stockroom at his former workplace. 

    “After I heard that SOPHIE track at work, I became obsessed. I listened to every release, every set, everything I could get my hands on,” says Dark Mavis. “I think that was back in 2017 so I was a bit late getting into the music, but I’ve been a huge fan ever since,” he continues.

    “It’s something that’s so difficult to emulate because SOPHIE had a truly unique talent for manipulating sound”

    Dark Mavis

    Kilkenny’s self-described purveyor of ‘occult digital hardcore’ Fomorian Vein too recalls a memorable first encounter with SOPHIE’s track Lemonade whilst reading a blog article in 2014. 

    “The overt influences from Eurodance, hardcore techno and noise music stood out immediately along with SOPHIE’s own distinct production, tracks like this were unheard of at the time and it was a much-needed breath of fresh air,” says Vein.

    An uncompromisingly singular beatmaker, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact influences from which SOPHIE crafted the sound.

    Where genre descriptors fall short, SOPHIE’s music is most often likened jokingly or otherwise, to the physical materials such as metal and elastic that the producer meticulously sought to recreate through software synthesis and digital manipulation. 

    For Dark Mavis, this was a particular source of inspiration: “Both the found sound element of the music and how SOPHIE imagined and designed sounds that may not necessarily be real is hugely inspirational,” he says. “It’s something that’s so difficult to emulate because SOPHIE had a truly unique talent for manipulating sound in that way, but it’s something I would love to incorporate into my own music.”

    SOPHIE was also adept at expanding the sonic world of collaborators, pushing them into realms they may have been initially reluctant to explore. SOPHIE played a crucial role in the musical development of close collaborator Charli XCX, who traded in the radio-friendly pop-rock of 2014’s Sucker for the ambitious soundscapes of the Vroom Vroom EP. 

    “The kicks, the snares and the acid bassline come together with Charli’s vocals to make perfect pop music,” says Mavis. “You hadn’t really seen anything like it in mainstream pop music, I still don’t think people are ready for it to cross over into the charts,” Mavis continues.

    On Yeah Right, SOPHIE adorned the voices of west coast rapper Vince Staples and superstar feature Kendrick Lamar with booming bass and harsh percussion.

    SOPHIE even collaborated with personal hero Madonna on the critically divisive but endlessly memed 2015 track Bitch I’m Madonna.

    With the release of official debut Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, the once reclusive SOPHIE (who preferred not to be addressed by any pronouns when discussed by media outlets) presented extremely personal and deeply emotive work which revealed and explored the artist’s trans identity. 

    SOPHIE presented an extremely personal and deeply emotive work which revealed and explored the artist’s trans identity

    The success of the record and its accompanying videos secured SOPHIE a well-deserved spot in the pantheon of queer icons and its exploration of gender identity remains a major inspiration for LGBTQ+ artists across a variety of mediums. 

    “Oil as an album is a massively empowering statement on personal identity and sincerity that shakes a lot of people’s perceptions on what even seems possible within music,” says Fomorian Vein.

    “The opening track It’s Okay To Cry had such an immediate, enormous and much needed impact on not just electronic music or pop music, but also how musicians in the public eye could learn to present themselves,” Vein continues.

    SOPHIE’s life and career as a hugely innovative transgender music producer stands as testament to the empowerment and liberation of casting off restrictive gender and sonic constraints. The refrain of one of SOPHIE’s most beloved songs Immaterial reassures the listener that “you can be anything you want” – a fitting chorus for a song that will continue to soundtrack the self-discovery of young queer people for decades to come.