The Teenagers

This was nabbed from The Teenagers twitter and stolen from Hipster Runoff (thaaanks Carles) that The Teenagers have remixed ‘Shadows’ by the Au Revoir Simone girls.

It's a pretty sweet deal; more purposeful and less melancholic than the original, juxtaposing Au Revoir Simone's swirling airy synths and floaty femme girl vocals with a driving, dry and echoey 90s drum that gives a nod to Phil Collins and The Teenagers usual solid bass in support.

The Girlzzz

The original concentrates on the top and bass, but the remix focuses in on the mid-range, and is a much lighter pop affair. At around the 3mins 35seconds mark, keys and bass collide discordantly, as it also does in the original track; but The Teenagers don't manage to pull it off with as much flair and finesse.

For y'all, here is another of my most favourite remixes from The Teenagers: Britney’s ‘Womaniser’. Pure. Genius. It was stuck on repeat for months (poor Ja’Maie and Daneequa had to listen to it so many, many times) - and I daresay that was one remix that was better than the original.

The Girls

Illustration by Christel Escosa

Everyone seems to have a bit of a crush on all-girl keyboard trio Au Revoir Simone; consisting of pretty girls that epitomise geek and their self-proclaimed ‘sandbox’ chic. 

They're like a perfectly whipped pavlova: light, fluffy and crunchy, topped with some smooth cream and a bit of tangy fruit. As leggy and willowy as their music are Annie, Erika and Heather. With 5 keyboards, an omni-chord, a drum machine and a glockenspiel amongst other miscellaneous electronic paraphernalia, their synth-driven compositions are quite delectable.

After meeting on a train home to New York City, Annie (keys and vox) and Erika (ditto) bonded over keyboards. Whilst previously in a band called ‘Dirty On Purpose’, Heather (on the drum machine, keyboards and vocals) bought her first synth and it apparently changed her life. Their combined ambition for triple keyboard action culminated in a regular bedroom bash around on the keys that inevitably progressed from the girls just jamming together, to a more concerted effort.

For some reason, despite being from America - whatever you might define ‘American’ female indie-pop as sounding like – Au Revoir Simone don’t come across as ‘American’. Daydreamy and romantic in both music and appearance, listening to them gets one feeling rather sentimental. Their songs are strangely conflicting; with melancholic lyrics yet warm and airy melodies, twirled gracefully into wistful Casio concoctions.

Often minimal and lo-fi, Au Revoir Simone somehow comes across as quite orchestral, with delicately woven soundscapes that are both ponderous and playful. This ménage a trois of keyboards will warm the cockles of every Casio-tone aficionado’s heart with their speculative and candy-coloured music. Blushingly flirtatious, Au Revoir Simone is a winsome trio producing lucid and luminous pop.

Photography by Richard Kelly

Here's the interview we did with Annie after the jump!