This one’s a quickie but a goody. Ronika is a singer, producer and remixer from Nottingham, England, who records from her bedroom. No crummy, lo-fi production values here though: her sound is as crisp as her look is fabulous, best demonstrated by “Forget Yourself”, an 80s synth-pop throwback with a satisfying funk vibe. Each layer of the mix is a hook in itself, and together the bassline, call-out vocals and multitude of synths make for a gloriously catchy tune.
While the music doesn’t betray its home made roots, the video definitely does, and deliberately so. Footage of Ronika, run through a selection of malfunctioning VHS players to get that washed-out look, is interspersed with wonderfully camp clips from an old robotics convention. The video for “Wyoo”, the other half of this EP release, also uses old footage, this time of contestants in a disco dance-off [number 25 is my hero]. It’s not as immediately danceable as “Forget Yourself”, and owes a more obvious debt to its influences, but it’s still a catchy little number.
Obviously Ronika’s not a pioneer: Kylie Minogue’s whole career post-2000 has been built on a retro-future aesthetic, and Gwen Stefani tried her hand at the throwback shtick with tracks like “Serious”, albeit with much more production muscle and, I’d say, less success. The energy with which Ronika revels in the most delicious elements of what we already know, though, elevates her from mere mimicry. Shamelessly derivative, yes, but shamelessly fun too. Stream the brilliant “Forget Yourself” below.
Connect with Ronika: Myspace | Facebook | Twitter
