The dapper gentlemen above are going by the name of Milano Sun, do not let the formal attire lure you in though. The Swedish pop quartet has its systems running in full steam today, with heir stellar single Eldorado being released as we speak on the great Vårø Records – a pure and dreamy piece of good vibes, some might say golden even.

The really wonderful single is attached below, and word on the street has it that a full length album is in production for a Spring release date. Team Poule says, don’t leave em hanging.

Photo credits go to the amazing Petorovsky in Stockholm, dashing.

Some fine Swedish tunes to get you up and running into this challenging month of November. Here come Pallecco, a charming ensemble out of Stockholm that released a very fine five track EP titled Jumbodank earlier this year. Find the groovy jazzy number Rullblakes attached below, a dreamer. Team Poule says, so pleasing.

Do you know about the Bechdel test? Let me bring you up to speed then. The Bechdel test asks whether a movie, or any work of fiction really, features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man. Surprisingly, just about half of all films pass the Bechdel test, according to wikipedia, user-edited databases and the industry press. The test serves as an indicator for the active presence of women in films and other fiction calling attention to gender inequality.

So, how about the music business then. Enter, We Make Waves. A three day music festival and conference in Berlin next week November 9–11 for women, trans, and non-binary people determined to bring disruption to the music industry, and possibly beyond. The conference program shows a whole range of TED-like panels and talks, from ‘Parenthood and Music’ and ‘Gender in Journalism’ to ‘Feminist perspectives on music criticism’.

On the musical ticket then are household names like Julianna Barwick, JD Samson, The Chicks, Meredith Graves, Vaginal Davis and many more. Attached below is a very personal and still uplifting poppy track by Oakland’s Ah-Mer-Ah-Su entitled Klonopin, fully carried by the lush melody and her smooth vocals. The piece is off her self-released EP Rebecca that came out earlier this year. She plays ACUD on Friday.

We Make Waves finds its shoreline on and around East Invalidenstraße, at St. Elisabeth church, Elisabeth villa and ACUD. Day tickets run at a reasonable 20 euro face value with the 3-day festival and conference bundle competitively priced at 40 euros. Team Poule says, surely a lot of bang for your buck.

Mark this one in your notebooks, Sampa The Great is a very exciting new name out of Melbourne. Her music is her poetry, wrapped in a warm melange of jazzy saxophones, on-point beats and her driving voice both singing and rapping. She already has a great mixtape under her name from 2015 and this month will see the release of her very personal new mixtape Birds And The BEE9 via the infamous Big Dada, Nov 10th.

Her latest single Bye River is attached below and the good news don’t end there. Team Sampa is on tour in relevant parts of Europe this month, playing Cologne’s Yuca this Friday, Nov. 3rd, Hamburg’s Häkken on Saturday 4th, and then Berlin’s Cassiopeia on Sunday 5th. Next up are stops in Paris on Monday Nov 6th, London Nov 8th, find them all nicely listed here. Team Poule says, right on the spot.

Photo credits above go to Priit Siimon.

A period of unseasonably warm days, a period of unseasonably hot new music: enter Cliffhanger, a playlist to give you that tickle of a hot summer night, once more. The playlist is part of Team Poule’s larger series frivolously entitled Bright Clouds. Each playlist is a selection of new songs, made available on Soundcloud and Spotify, for those interested. Here now, goes a new one for the late October days of the year.

#1 Delsbo Beach Club – All The Way Home. Debut single by the curly quartet, a dreamy tune with a great warm lo fi feel to it. Out now on the charming Rama Lama, and premiered on CLASH. Stockholm, Sweden.

#2 BRAUN – Gardens. Healthy new single and vintage 80s summer day vibe that is hard to find elsewhere. Off his debut album that is out now on Diving Bell. Portland, Oregon.

#3 Honeymilk – Havslåten. Lovely light guitar pop jam that lifts you right up and leaves you with a kiss. Off their second album to be released in January 2018 on Birds Records. Stockholm, Sweden.

#4 Pastel Coast – Araignée. Brilliantly fuzzy indie pop jam from this duo, no wonder they recently played with Beach Fossils. This piece comes off their EP Vague Noire, out now. Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.

#5 Stina Stjern – New Explorers. Somewhat dark pop song with a driving guitar and hypnotizing vocals on top, beaut. Her debut album is set for release in November on Sellout. Oslo, Norway.

#6 JW Ridley – Jaguar Spring. Marvelous driver song apparently produced in his bedroom. Stiff guitars, and healthy dose of reverb. Off his debut EP that is out now on Some Kinda Love / PIAS. London, UK.

#7 Vilde – Just Visiting. Another jam of his album project Study/Dance which saw him releasing an all new track every month. The hence 12-track album came out last month, check it out, great dreamy electronic pop songs. Stockholm, Sweden.

#8 Safetalk – Gold of the Highest. Dreamy somewhat psychedelic soft pop jam carried by radiant synth and the feel of a 1980s outer space movie, out now on their own label. Paris, France.

#9 Miles Dismond – All to Myself. Super smooth jazzy piece of music, a track of his debut EP to be out soon. Berkeley, California.

#10 Neon June & Verday La Negrita – Spaceships. Star of the playlist this one, an unbelievable funky vibe powered by an overly infectious saxophone and Verday’s smooth vocals in the driver seats, steaming hot and pure groove. Baltimore, Maryland & Los Angeles, California.

#11 Pleasure Systems – Crumbs. Somewhat sad but ultimately uplifting blend of indie pop, some folk and healthy handful of synths. Track comes off his debut album that is out now on Antiquated Future. Olympia, Washington.

And that’s it then, a lovely group of people making music, connected with each other on this shining playlist. Find the list on Soundcloud and Spotify. Team Poule says, …aaaand scene.