Brooklyn’s Lorely Rodriguez (a.k.a. Empress Of) describes her augustan moniker as “a project of sight and sound,” which, last year took the form of 13 one-minute bursts of exhilarating pop uploaded to her YouTube account. Dubbed “colorminutes,” these arresting nuggets of colour-filled background music set the stage for Empress Of’s first single, “Don’t Tell Me,” an aching electro ballad that recently played on The Fader’s “Yours Truly” online TV show. Think Portishead meets Sinead O’Connor at her most breathless and you’ll get the idea. – Brian Chidester
