Last Friday, the 19th century home-turned-venue Historical Monument 157 (hm157) was host to several eclectic electronic acts including Litronix, Geneva Jacuzzi, and Future Shoxxx — our attention was focused on the haloes emanating from CELLARS, the synthpop project of singer/keyboardist Allene Norton.

Despite technical difficulties that plagued the first several minutes, Norton worked quickly with hm157 staff to reroute her signal chain through a DI box. She was not shaken; Norton traded banter as she worked, even quipped about her debut as a noise artist. At once, dense synth waves flooded the monitors and stirred the audience back to life as Norton lit a quick cigarette. And she tore through the cold with songs from her 2015 debut Lovesick like "Computer Simulation" and "Beat Of Our Love". Glowing from the backdrop of Wes Johannsen’s visuals, she stepped down from the stage for a brief moment to connect with her friends. Norton’s electric youth had bested a performer’s worst nightmare, and primed us for the release of her sophomore album Phases. – Ryan Mo 

Full of youthful energy and a lot of fun, Fadest is the new grungy, melodic outfit to watch for in the Baltimore-DC area. The rich, jarring vocals will get your attention and you’ll be hooked on the perfectly synced bass lines and drumming. Integrating plenty of cymbal action and catchy guitar riffs, Fadest has a lot of stage presence and really understands how to interact with an audience, even if they’re sweating gallons. Their sound captures some of the post-grunge grunginess of the early aughts and incorporate some melodic and indie undertones to give it some pizzazz. Keep an eye on this band as they line up more gigs because they put on some really captivating shows. -Jonathan Goodwin

The churning out of local artists qualifying for our Best of NYC  Emerging Artist 2015 Poll continues with the ELECTRONIC category. In case you missed the previous announcements, we’ve already published results for Indie, Hip Hop + Other, and Rootsy Pop/Songwriters. This is a rather exciting category, considering the exponential growth of the electronic NYC scene in recent years.

Total submissions in this category: 18

Jurors: Jonathan Goodwill (The Deli DC), Quang Tran (The Deli Philly), PDG (The Deli NYC).

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.25):

1. CAFUNÉ – (7.66 out of 10)

Sedona Schat and Noah Yoo’s music exists in a perpetual spring (as in the season), so 2015, with its mild summer and incredibly warm winter, might have as well been their year. Sedona’s breezy melodies are complemented by Noah’s peppy, dancy electronic arrangements. Their single "Warm Body" found lots of love on the internet, and so did their 2015 debut EP "Originals." 

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2. BORN CAGES (7.6)

With their anthemic songs and polished but edgy production, NYC’s Born Cages make music that belongs in arenas – in particular their first single "Rolling Down the Hill." Their stand out track "I Just Want the Truth, Baby" (streaming) blends electronic quirkyness with sophisticated crooning a la’ Bryan Ferry, showcasing a versitile and talented band with more than one trick up its sleeve. The trio had an exciting 2015, culminated in a fall US tour supporting The Lighthouse and the Whaler and Family Force 5.

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3. Teenage Love (7.5)

Bicontinental duo Katy Gunn (Brooklyn) and Anna Lidell (Copenhagen) charmed us right away with their band Teenage Love’s debut EP "Gold." Their tracks balance elegant, jazz informed melodies with an unconventional approach partly reminiscent of some of the most approachable material by NYC electronic experimenteur Laurie Anderson. Hopefully in 2016,  to cultivate this promising project, the two ladies will find themselves on the same side of the ocean more often than not.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS – (Score above 7):

St. Lenox, Nola Wren, Loving You, NEW MYTHS, Syvia, Secret Weapons.

See you soon with another category!

The Deli Folks

2015 has been good to Brooklyn LVL UP (pictured), the umpteenth band to prove that – nothingstanding what your teacher and parents said – you can be somewhat successful by either slacking or playing rock’n’roll music – they actually do both at once! The quartet is still riding on the heels of their "Three Songs" 7", which is available now via Run For Cover/Double Double Whammy, and have announced a February tour that includes dates with two other Brooklyn bands we dig: Florist and Stove. They’ll be all playing Shea Stadium on 02.25. What a wonderful opportunity to stream a song per band! It looks like Florist is actually about to release a new album – preview single below.

Founded in El Paso, TX, around 2008, and featuring a revolving cast of musicians collaborating with singer songwriter Greg Gonzalez, Cigarettes After Sex released debut EP "I" back in 2012. The record took the notion of "mellow pop" to extremes of slowness, melancholy and sparseness unheard since the days when Cowboy Junkies were hot (that was 1988). After building cult status notwithstanding being largely unnoticed by the "mainstream indie blogs," in 2015, Greg made the move to Brooklyn, with plans to release the band’s debut album "Affection," scheduled for 2016. Two preview singles from the LP were released in the last few months; we are streaming below the first one, which also functions as title-track. The second one, "Keep On Loving You," can be heard here. If oyu are in the mood for been lulled to sleep in a music venue (maybe between the arm of your loved one!) you shouldn’t miss Cigarettes After Sex’s upcoming live show at Baby’s All Right on January 31st. – Photo courtesy of the Sophie’s Floorboard blog

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best mellow songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

We blogged about South American music infused EDM duo Sofi Tukker in early December, and things have been moving fast for them since them. Their single Drinkee (soon gone viral after appearing in an Apple Watch commercial) and a couple of live appearances in late 2015 were enough to open the door of a winter tour supporting The Knocks. The tour will begin on January 14th at Baby’s Allright – on the bill also Cardiknox. The band has just released new single "Matadora" (streaming below), announcing it will be featured in the upcoming debut EP, entitled "Soft Animals." 

While we were complaining about 50 degree weather in Los Angeles, Santa Ana’s Media Jeweler reportedly spent the last few weeks in Arizona while also helping to raise money for a friend’s stolen projector, which definitely made us feel like sloths. Sam Farzin (guitar) had this to say about the band’s foray into the wilderness:

"After a winter’s hibernation traveling between yurts along the floor of the Grand Canyon, we are four souls more aligned than ever before. We are excited to present our escapist song cycle in the flesh for the first time in almost two months."

The rock band (full stop) plays a DIY show with DOCKS, who are on the last stop of their EP Release Tour— their six-track album Misdirected comes out January 15th via Open Door (CDs) and Bad Break (cassette). Media Jeweler’s 2015 debut album $99 R/T Hawaii is expected to release in vinyl early next February. Check the Facebook event page for location details; act set times below. – Ryan Mo 

hit me, Harold – 8:30 PM

Media Jeweler – 9:10 PM

DOCKS – 9:50 PM

Winter Break – 10:30 PM

Hillary Chillton – 11:10 PM