Soundscape Sirens feature three female artists with quite different musical approaches. Vanessa Tottle Trip Hop avatar, MxDicey soulful Pop, and Talmar atmospheric Darkwave.
We crowd into the boutique Cupid Bar, a bordello or a bedroom in design. Where many musical careers start in this current millennium. On the Net you can learn instruments, write songs, get tools to record and mix, all from a bedroom.
Become a small to large sensation through the alchemy of social media. Like any effective weapon it has its dangers.
Vanessa Tottle is a New Zealander who has suddenly exploded on to the scene barely three years ago.
She has a host of Spotify singles dating from 2022. A most prolific music producer and singer-songwriter.
Always her passion and dream from childhood days, but what was the impetus?
She says it was a comment made by a friend about what sort of a role model she is to her daughter regards following your passion.
I suspect it was also the time of monstruous crime and chaos ushered in in 2020. Year Zero of the viral mania.
Stepping into a studio to record a Lady Gaga favourite was the starting gun she needed.
A time of devastation for the Arts industry worldwide. Of the many cruel and inhumane aspects of the last five years, who knew we needed the human touch. Just as we need oxygen. (We need lots of carbon in the air too).
Tottle is a Trip Hop artist. What is that? Let’s just say that all the elements are familiar as blends of popular music.
Hip Hop beats with a maximalisation of Minimalism. Philip Glass and Steve Reich can claim ancestry. The production of Brian Eno over his work and many others. Like Devo with their synth-driven early classics like Mongoloid Song and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.
The beats slowed down. Ear worms of Psychedelia and neo-Soul. A trance-dance.
More direct influence would be Massive Attack and Dido
Tottle has a debut album out, Take Control, released in February this year, and worthy of a review soon on Red Raven.
When Stars Align is one of the highlights. Lots of space for the music to flow without clutter. Liquid tones around the drone progression. Has some connection to the Suicide duo of Martin Rev and Alan Vega.
Especially check out the second Ric Ocasek-produced album which is a dance club sensation. Tottle tends to slow the tempo down in comparison.
Underground takes it to minimalist extremes and creates a great dance groove consequently.
City Life is busier with mother popcorn electronic percussion as the heat is turned up.
Good Till It’s Not. Tottle adds a great Pop Soul vocal to this, amidst some nice scratch percussion.
MxDicey is Marissa Holder. She can boast Trinidad, English and Indian in her heritage, and she was raised in Essex, England.
The backing tracks are pulled back in volume which exposes a glorious voice.
I’m so lonely she sings with a nice Pop vocal and high harmonies on the background vocals.
Following song gets serious with Old Skool Disco in the Giorgio Moroder style and a nice drifting tempo.
Warmed up now and generally unleashes her voice which has great control and tone in the upper register.
This verges on classic Northern Soul and the sirens of early Motown.
Talmar is Hannah Berry, and her atmospheric mood pieces contrast with the others as she opens the show tonight.
She is playing a keyboard synth. Dreamy folk textures and spacious Gothic tones.
At times the music is slower tempo Joe Meek. At other times we hear the ominous creep of disturbing David Lynch.
The main problem is that the voice is too low and mute in the mix.
Eventually it does rise above the ambient and she can sound like a thinner (vocally) Donna Summer.
She does a mesmerising snake dance throughout. Her final tune adds some fuzz and dissonance. With prominent drums it becomes a zombie dance.
Vanessa Tottle, Talmar and MxDicey. Three quite contrasting artists which made for an exciting evening of avant-garde progressive Pop music.
Rev. Orange Peel
