Dreamy dutch all stars Donna Blue are all set and ready to get on their little tour bus to cruise across Germany this week, playing Documenta’s Kassel on Friday and Berlin on Saturday. Next week then, a stop at Hamburg’s prestigious Reeperbahn Festival – presented by Poule d’Or and our dear colleagues and friends. The crisp riffs and gleaming vibes will fit right into the shiny halls of Uwe, on Saturday night, 00:30.
Their smooth debut album titled Dark Roses came out in May via Snowstar Records in Utrecht, and features some of the most romantic and dark yet uplifting tunes you will find this side of the pond. See exhibit A attached below, in A Lover In Disguise off their debut LP. Check all their tour dates, right here.
Photo credits above go to Philine van den Hul, and her only.
Hamburg’s ever growing Reeperbahn Festival is set to make a post-pandemic comeback this month, with four action and culture packed days of music, films and talks from September 21 to 24. Taking place per usual all around the former, and in some areas still quite red-lighty red light district of Reeperbahn street, just a quick walk from the Elbe river and harbour if you’re arriving by boat.
Team Poule is more than excited and eager to share some hand picked recommendations from the line-up of more than 900 shows in 80 venues. First on the list should be La Festa, an evening at Nochtwache on Wednesday, Sept 21, dedicated to the blossoming music scene of Italy. On the ticket for the night are singer-songwriter Her Skin from Modena, post-punk quartet Qlowski and lo-fi psych-popper KOKO, all part of indie label We Were Never Being Boring. The whole sera starts at 20:00 and gently guides you into the wilderness of Reeperbahn Festival like a bowl of Aperol Sprtiz on the buzzing banks of the Navigli di Milano.
Los Angeles troublemakers Dummy here have two rather exciting cassette EPs under their little belts and used the pandemic to strap them together for a nice vinyl release on Chicago’s Trouble in Mind Records and Born Yesterday Records, remastered by none other than Slowdive’s Simon Scott.
The piece just came out September 2nd and is already sold out, so that’s that. However, they saved some of those rare copies for their upcoming tour, when the group travels across relevant parts of Europe. They kick things off at Hamburg’s slick Aalhaus, Sept 8 and them stream on through Denmark, Sweden, the UK, France, the Netherlands and also Switzerland and Italy – all dates, nicely listed here.
Find Nuages attached below, a dreamy showcase of their unique sense for melodies and putting together different styles, effortlessly creating new and driving rhythms, really making music. Should be a brilliant one to watch on a stage near you. They also have a brand new single out on SubPop as well as a full album that came out last year. For Nuages and all the latest Poule d’Or approved tunes, follow our weekly updated Spotify playlist Journal.
While Europe is bowing under the growing pressures of a proper summer heatwave, this enchanting duo above is offering lush hazy tunes that go along quite perfectly with the washed out aesthetics of palmy air and holiday Kodak films. Donna Blue here out the Netherlands call home to the many shorelines across this continent and have just announced an extended Germany tour for September, bringing along those warm riffs and a healthy dose of orange sunset romance to the grainy prospects of autumn.
They just released a full length album titled Dark Roses, via Utrecht’s brilliant indie outlet Snowstar. Find the jangly single Solitaire attached below. The album showcases a remarkable sense for melodies and setting the mood as well as a clear instinct for twists and turns and when to put the foot down. Dark Roses is a real treat and in times of Spotify and playlists comes as a good old fashioned album in the sense of a coherent track listing and arch, too. It will be a delightful breeze in the September evenings of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and many more cities.
Full list of dates below – presented by Byte.fm, Musikblog, pøjpøj, Belmont Bookings, Snowstar Records, and yours truly!
[continue reading…]
Attia Taylor here is a writer, musician and founder based in Brooklyn and here at Poule headquarters we are beyond excited that she took the time for this extra special edition of a photo-interview.
On the musical end of it, she produces a very fine blend of lo-fi dream pop that effortlessly pulls you through life and times like a fast train on coast side tracks. Gliding. She will release her debut album Space Ghost on July 8th via Lame-O Records.
In addition to her work as a musician, she is the founder of Womanly, a community and magazine empowering women and non-binary individuals to take charge of their health through art and creativity, as well as of The Dorothy, a Creative Agency & Production House, both based in Brooklyn.
Find the dreamy title track of her upcoming record firmly attached below. Hit play and scroll on.
[continue reading…]
At Poule headquarters, we value the quality of a well themed mixtape and compilation above all else and this one here is right up there. Québec This #4 features nothing but artists from Canada’s Québec province, most prominently from Montreal but also from other cities like Quebec City. Québec of course is home to artists like Arcade Fire and Céline Dion as well as likely the biggest international jazz festival.
The compilation has been put out by Factory92, the German office promoting music from Québec, and local agency Sodec Quebec. It is out as a shiny Spotify playlist, feating a neat range of styles from Martha Wainwright, Men I Trust, SUUNS, Mitch Davis and Radiant Baby to Sophia Bel.
Find the anthem’y La Vie Attend Pas by Quebec City’s Valence attached below, for some goût. After a fine line of EPs, he released a dreamy album last fall through Montreal’s Chivi Chivi, titled Pêle-mêle.
For the latest Poule d’Or approved tunes, follow our weekly updated Spotify playlist Journal.
