POPSHOP012: XYLOS + XAPHOON JONES

And just like that, our first year of Popshop NYC is coming to a close. While 2012 will see Popshop spreading its wings overseas with regular events in London and Paris, our first love will always be New York. And to say thanks for such an amazing inaugural year, we're doing POPSHOP012 as a FREE ENTRY end-of-the-year blowout, bringing you four amazing live acts and the almighty Xaphoon Jones as the main event on the decks. Headlining live are the brilliant Xylos, fresh off a sold out US tour supporting Trentemoller, with main support coming from our beloved Emil & Friends, whose brand new Lo & Behold LP shines as one of the year's most exciting debuts. Then opening things up we've got Ben Bronfman's massive new project TEACHERS and the international live debut of new Brooklyn pop sensation Ghost Beach. EXCITING TIMES AHOY.

It's all going down Thursday, December 1st at our home away from home Tammany Hall, and as we may or may not have mentioned before, it's 1000% FREE ENTRY, you just need to shoot an RSVP over to RSVP@neongoldrecords.com and you'll be all sorted. And as if that wasn't enough, we've got our usual hour of open bar magic in the mix courtesy of Absolut, so come one, come all, and let's ring out the year in style.

09:00pm: Ghost Beach // STREAM: "Empty Streets"

10:00pm: TEACHERS // DOWNLOAD: "GOLD"

11:00pm: Emil & Friends // STREAM: "Crystal Ball"

12:00am: Xylos // STREAM: "X-Ray"

01:00am: Xaphoon Jones // DOWNLOAD: "Lights" (Xaphoon Jones Remix)


FREE ENTRY WITH RSVP: RSVP@neongoldrecords.com

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IT'S ONLY JUST BEGUN.

Word of our latest Neon Golden girl has been spreading like wildfire of late, so it's high time we introduce you to Loui Rose Allen, set to join our family tree with the release of her debut single in the new year. Known as Foxes on the streets, this 22-year old superstar in waiting writes leftfield pop anthems with the kind of infectious ambition that has desk-strapped A&Rs foaming at the checkbook. Nowhere is this more evident than on her uplifting debut single "Youth", an endlessly unique and massively anthemic debut offering that takes us back to the special days of Marina's "Obsessions". Vocally, we might call it a bittersweet fusion of Ellie Goulding and Clare Maguire if we weren't ourselves sick of the never-ending carousel of comparisons that befalls every new female vocalist these days, but the songwriting puts Foxes well and truly in a league of her own here.

Riding high on the wings of some of the most dynamic pop production we've heard in ages, Foxes delivers each verse like a tiny bombshell sliding down to explode silently in your chest and wreak havoc on your heartstrings. Grinding industrial percussion and resplendent synths cross paths before your very eyes, emotion flowing like sonic teardrops and mounting steadily to create a veritable waterfall of unrelenting pop brilliance. Things die down for a spell halfway through, but by the time the floodgates open and those soaring synths take to the skies in the bridge, it's game, set, and match - this round's gone to Foxes.

DOWNLOAD: "Youth" - Foxes [exclusive]

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SING IT WITH ME ONE MORE TIME.

In a massively overdue but endlessly glorious meeting of the minds, our favorite pop duos from both sides of the Atlantic have come together on a Neon Gold dream come true of a remix, as The Sound of Arrows help us make it to the brightside and beyond with this exclusive remix of The Knocks debut single proper. Chipping away at the original key line and replacing it with cloud nine synths that whip-pan across the universe and back at the speed of light, the Arrows sound like they were literally born for this, their remix destiny. It's as if the two superhuman duos entered a Power Rangers montage sequence and combined to form some kind of invincible Neon Gold Megazord, like our childhood dreams coming true some 15 years late.

Speaking of dreams come true, we announced our next 12" release with The Sound of Arrows last week, currently available for preorder in the Neon Gold Shop ahead of it's official release December 19th. And for those lucky enough to be in London tomorrow, don't forget to catch them opening up for Niki & The Dove at our FREE Popshop UK launch party at Cargo, which incidentally now also doubles as an unofficial pre-release party. Come on down and let's make it to the brightside together.

MP3: "Brightside" (The Sound of Arrows Remix) - The Knocks [exclusive]

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YOU CAME LIKE A HURRICANE.

Niki & The Dove are basically our new favorites. Malin Dahlström has the frostbitten Scandinavian looks to kill with the icy vocal chops of Lykke Li and Alex Winston, while her partner in crime Gustaf Karlöf crafts the kind of electronic opuses you just want to live inside of forever. "The Drummer" is currently on repeat as one of our favorite singles of the year, but supporting it on EP of the same name is stellar past single "Mother Protect", which gets a new lease on life with this oven fresh remix from LA's Goldroom. Fresh off sun-baked remixes for Penguin Prison and Poolside, Goldroom zooms in on the glittering arpeggios of the original and adds an uplifting key progression that takes the original to warmer shores, where its icy disposition melts away under the sunny beats of the beating sun. It all goes double-time in the breakdown as you start to get lost in her atmospheric vocals, until the determined keys return to lead you exactly where you need to go. Consider it the perfect track to whet your appetite before the duo headlines our introductory POPSHOP UK event with The Sound of Arrows this tomorrow at Cargo. Not that we need to remind you, but it's completely FREE ENTRY, so get involved if you're into living the dream without regrets.

DOWNLOAD: "Mother Protect" (Goldroom Remix) - Niki & The Dove

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GOLD029: THE SOUND OF ARROWS

Over the years, we've gotten real familiar with Swedish pop heroes The Sound of Arrows. They were the face of our first widescreen 12" release back in 2009, and now two years later they've readied their debut full-length, Voyages, for launch. As true auteurs of the pop music medium, Stefan Storm and Oskar Gullstrand have crafted a flawless aesthetic, from the cinematic grandeur of their music to their visually stunning music videos. The Swedish maestros have their euphoric formula down to a science, and Voyages sits comfortably among our absolute favorite albums of the year. In our opinion The Sound of Arrows are simultaneously the most impressive and exciting thing to happen to pop music in recent memory, so it's with great pleasure that we announce our next release, a special edition AA-side 12" celebrating our two favorite cuts from the album, "Wonders" and Conquest".

All pulsing, skyscraping synths and bittersweet vocals, "Wonders" simmers in a magic cauldron of nostalgia, as Stefan Storm's heart-piercing refrain lights up the mic and stardust showers from the ceiling like confetti. Then it's time for "Conquest" to shine, turning in the performance of a lifetime in the record's best supporting single role. Coming off like Royksopp on a sugar high, "Conquest" churns along as red velvet synths course through your veins and the duo rally around a triumphant chorus for the ages on what might just be our favorite track of theirs yet. Together, they'll make you feel like the last child emperor in the galaxy, like anything is possible, and it's a wonderful sense of omnipotence. The "Wonders" / "Conquest" double A-side will close out our release year on December 19th, but is available for preorder in the Neon Gold Shop now. Own the magic for yourself.

MP3: "Conquest" - The Sound of Arrows

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WATCH IT TUMBLE DOWN.

We've been waxing poetic on our undying love for Savoir Adore's "Dreamers" since first announcing it last month, but the B-side - a rightfully ambitious Xaphoon Jones remix - plays in a completely different ballpark, one where there's no such thing as gravity or limits. This re-imagination is "Dreamers" on steroids, starting with the crescendoing whirr of interstellar rocket engines powering up and Paul Hammer's swooning vocals setting the scene for a 2011: A Space Horn Odyssey. Then, just as you're bracing yourself for the laser beam synths of the original to drop in, Xaph drops those motherfucking SPACE HORNS on you and the rest is history. So cop your 7" here, get your download on below and celebrate the "Dreamers" release day in style. It's 11.11.11 y'all, the dream is real.

MP3: "Dreamers" (Xaphoon Jones Space Horn Remix) - Savoir Adore [exclusive]

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SUCH A COLD WAY TO PART.

Some 18 months ago, we wrote about an explosive new talent by the name of Yadi and her unspeakably massive debut offering, "Guillotine", a track already approaching the heights of La Roux and Marina even in demo form. A long winter and cruel summer of silence out of the Yadi camp has passed in the time since, but at long last she's back with her debut single proper, plunging into the desert cold with "Sahara Heart". Picking up where the epic choruses and primal beats of "Guillotine" left off, it's an immense comeback single that snarls with a visceral shock-and-awe ferocity to be reckoned with, firmly establishing her as the next great hope for empowered female pop in the UK. The Yadi ship is about to set sail in a big way, and you can consider us fully on board. Next stop: the stars.

MP3: "Sahara Heart" - Yadi

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