NYC transplants, via Mexico, Sweet Electra, have blasted out of this world and into the cosmos with their latest outing, When We Abandoned Earth. Made up of duo Nardiz Cooke on vocals and Giovanni Escalera on keyboards, guitars and programming, their indie electronica-twinged pop sound is whats doing it for me lately.

The title of the album is very appropriate because when you listen to each one of the songs you can’t help but be transported to some place that isn’t planet Earth. The whole album is very celestial and surreal so much that its like you are somewhere in the great unknown listening to spacey orchestral music that you can’t get enough of. The album is not indie, not pop, but lies somewhere in between.

Right off the bat, the first thing you will notice is the intricate and very detailed drum programming Mr. Escalera has crafted in every song. There is so much variation and dimension to the drums that it never gets boring and always makes you want to here what’s next. Besides his drum programming, his well-tuned production style shines through with the sounds and instruments he used to craft this album. The songs are composed in a sample based style where he uses short samples and layers them over each other to create a thick multi-layered sound that never gets too complicated nor messy. He makes good use of both electronic and acoustical instruments, including the violin and trumpet, to give the listener something they have never heard before. Another thing I liked about their sound is that a lot of songs have this Latin feel/groove to them, but yet does not make use of the typical instruments found in that style of music.

The programming/production is only half the battle because vocalist Nardiz Cooke glues it all together with her delicate, yet haunting voice. The first thing I thought when listening to the vocals is that her tone would fit very well in any of those house/dance tracks that we have come to know and love over the years. The way Escalara has tweaked the vocals, adding some reverb and a light delay really gives the songs that extra oomph and grace. Cooke’s voice is what really takes these song to the stars and with her singing in both English and Spanish there is always variation.

With this album, Sweet Electra has really made something that can be enjoyed anywhere and everywhere in this world and beyond.  The album will drop on April 6th and if your in NYC they are playing a show at The Studio @ Webster Hall on March 11th

enjoY!

Sweet Electra – A Feeling