Italian four-piece Cloud Canyons make music which is absolutely captivating. The line between electronica and post-punk is arbitrary anyway, and what sounds like ambient to one set of ears, sounds a little like industrial to others. Cloud Canyons understand that and make those genres their own here.
Cloud Canyons have recently released a two-track single/EP called Ecstasy/Discipline. It is the discipline side that provides the video we are featuring today. A cheerleader moves in rhythmic slow-motion, the image distorted as if from an old video cassette, and the music maintains an energy and vigor which is a little like acts such as Throbbing Gristle spin-off Chris and Cosey, or even Mogwai. The cut, whether played or watched, is really transfixing and one of the best things I've heard this week. The A-side to this release, "Ecstasy" marries percolating synths with warped vocals. The effect is enticing where the mood of the flip-side is hypnotic.
The four members of Cloud Canyons -- Stella Baraldi, Michelle Cristofori, Laura Storchi, and Nicola Caleffi -- are staking a claim to territory that's familiar and a little disturbing. The pulsing keyboards and repeating rhythms give this a throwback electro-pop feel even as these two selections are enthralling in a really cool, vaguely unsettling way.
"Ecstasy/Discipline by Cloud Canyons is out now. Details below via Bandcamp.
[Photo: Zoe Martorana]