You wait for the sun to make the sky.

St. Lucia, the nom-de-tune of electropop artist Jean-Philip Grobler, is known throughout the blogosphere for his sunshine-laced synths and breeze-laden bass lines. Born and bred in South Africa, Grobler grew up singing in a traveling choir and spending his free time singing along to MJ.

The self-titled debut EP made waves with the single "All Eyes On You," which became nationally known by being featured in campaigns for both Victoria's Secret and Taco Bell.



With his first full length record, When The Night, on its way in October from Neon Gold Records, St. Lucia is poised to make a splash on the big stage with the release of his first single "Elevate". The song absolutely oozes summer and should take its rightful place on your seasonal playlist.

Your thoughts surrounding me

Honestly, I don't know how Dan Croll hasn't taken over the world. The Liverpudlian has charm out the wazoo, he's good looking, and he had the skills to be a professional rugby player until an injury forced his early retirement. On top of all that, he writes, plays, and sings music that toes the line between electropop and folk.

He first surfaced in September of last year with his single "From Nowhere", which leans more to the pop side of things, and then putting out the "From Nowhere" - EP.



Since then he's come storming back with the single and video for the much more folky "Compliment Your Soul". The video features him and his band jamming out in a museum while the horns and happiness kick in around them.



Just this week he dropped another tune, "In/Out", which hits much more on the electropop side of things. It's more than worth a listen. Get your ears on this before everybody catches on.

Cocaine 80's

Cocaine 80's, a hip-hop collective, was started by No I.D. and regularly features the awesomeness of Common, James Fauntleroy, Rob Kinelski, Kevin Randolph, Steve Wyreman, and Makeba. It's understandable that this isn't a super recognizable list of names, but you really should familiarize yourself with this group because of the following reasons:

1. All of their EP's (there's four) are available as free downloads. That particular link has all of the downloads bundled.

 2. They make feel-good chilled out alt-R&B when led by James Fauntleroy. Check out "Unchain Me/Love 3x".



3. Do I have to say that everything they've ever released is free again?

While there was still sense in my mind.

Smallpools has finally released a second song. And it's doozy. It's called "Mason Jar" and it completely recaptures the original magic of "Dreaming".



These LA dudes conjure up comparisons to the likes of Passion Pit and Two Door Cinema Club, with vocals that sound a little like fun. These guys have nigh on infinite pop potential and their upcoming debut EP release (JULY 16TH!!!) is marked on my calendar in red.

Also, I'll be seeing them on their first ever live tour which happens to actually stop within reasonable driving distance of me. So...you could say I'm a little psyched.

Introducing: How Sad

The name How Sad doesn't really fit a band that's just so damn happy sounding. These Montreal peoples got together in early 2012, made a name for themselves in Canada, then set about touring with awesome peeps like Darwin Deez (OMG LOVE) and Purity Ring (SWOON). Their shrink-wrapped synth pop is summer-ready, or at least the one song they've released to the interwebs is. That song is called "Indian Summer" and it does not disappoint. It's sunny as all get out, so you should probably put on AT LEAST some SPF 30 to avoid a burn.



"Indian Summer" is the first single and title track off their upcoming debut EP which will be coming out in August. These guys will be popping up on your radar soon enough, why not get a head start?

California Feeling

Tomorrow, I'm going to California to work for the GRAMMY Foundation as a counselor at their GRAMMY Camp for two weeks. It's going to be a crazy experience for sure. I have no clue what my downtime will be like, or if there will be much of it at all. So this could very well be my last post for two weeks. I decided to be cheesy.

 It's A B & The Sea with "California Feeling". The lyrics are awesome. The sound is summer.  Their debut album, Constant Vacation, that came out last year is incredibly awesome and highly recommended. It's beach pop for indie ears.

We're all dying young and dreaming. 

Give 'em a name that they'll remember. 

That California feeling that we could live forever. 

This California feeling: running from the sunrise. 

I'm here with you believing that each kiss could be the last kiss of our lives. 

 

If I don't get to post over the next two weeks, expect a slew of new stuff when I get back. I have some great ideas for new features and stuff. Just no time to implement them right now. Catch you later, sports fans.

Everything I do I do in slow motion.

PHOX is a seven-piece folk-pop group coming out of Madison, WI. Powered by the stellar vocals of Monica Martin, PHOX has found a way to somehow mix the magic of the cup scene from Pitch Perfect with all of your favorite indie pop in their song "Slow Motion." It's catchy, mysterious, quirky, and curiously inviting.



That song, "Slow Motion," is off their Confetti - EP, which is available as a free download on their bandcamp (HERE). They also released the EP as a full 30-minute video (HERE).

The rest of their EP flutters in between smoky and soulful numbers like "Barside" and adorable piano-fueled pop ("Noble Heart"). No matter what your taste, you should definitely download this EP. It's amazing.