THERE IS NO ONE LIKE ME.

We just can’t hide our unabashed and undying love for the regal pop bliss of Icona Pop. We’ve been peddling their debut offering “Manners” - a single so perfect it's already inspired a bounty of incredible remixes and scored the starring role in the new Chiddy Bang single "Mind Your Manners" - since we released it last March, so when the duo finally sent through the neon daydream of a music video they’ve put together for the track, we were drooling out of dropped jaws. Cue quick cuts, kaleidoscopic acid trips, and mouths overglowing with emotion. We were already truly, madly, deeply in love with everything about the Icona girls and their creative output, but now they’ve gone and taken everything to another level with the kind of video Neon Gold dreams are made of.

Cue then, Step Brother (a production team so mysterious they lack so much as a URL to attach to their name), who hit the scene with impeccable timing on this new gloriously lush new remix of the track. Keeping it in the Neon Gold family, Step Brother use “Manners” as the perfect synth-fueled vehicle to lure you in like quicksand, when time is visibly relevant, and captures the precise moment when icy stares melt away in the heat of the night. We didn’t think it was possible, but this re-imagining in itself is even more a siren song likely to make men weak at the knees, so honestly don’t feel bad when you’re won over within seconds.

MP3: "Manners" (Step Brother Remix) - Icona Pop [exclusive]

NEON GOLD AT THE GREAT ESCAPE.

So Monday night was a fucking blast, but if you missed out on the fun worry not, as we'll be going harder, better, faster, stronger Friday night in Brighton at our official Great Escape showcase with Walk The Moon, Post War Years and Wolf Gang at The Loft in central Brighton. Together with our bros-in-arms Chess Club, we'll be bringing you three of the best bands the festival has to offer late night from 11pm to 3am, plus DJ sets from our beloved ANR running things on the decks the first half of the night and the brilliant and beautiful Icona Pop girls killing it into the early hours. Set times and streams ahoy, see y'all in Brighton.

11:30pm: Walk The Moon // STREAM: "Lisa Baby"

12:30am: Post War Years // STREAM: "The Whole World On Its Head"

01:30am: Wolf Gang // STREAM: "The King and All of His Men" (LP Version)

TEARING LOVE APART.

Icona Pop's "Manners" has seen some remixing in its day but none quite like this. Moody British new wave types The Kill Van Kulls give it a go and reinvent it in an entirely new light, stripping away the layers of textured electronics that defined original and replacing them with organic keys and moments of reverb drenched, borderline Jeff Buckley-esque guitar riffs. The result is a beyond beautiful, a sophisticated and ambient remix that sounds like a long lost Cocteau Twins or even Portishead B-side - to put it simply, this one's a headphones track, y'all. The KVK crew turn the electro power ballad into a more introspective affair and reveal the amazing versatility of the track - this song is just a gift that keeps on giving. Seriously, we could not love this remix more.

The Kill Van Kulls are currently prepping their new single "Lost & Found" for release later this month (catch the video above) and will take to the stage at our next Neon Gold UK event Monday supporting Walk The Moon and Polarsets, so get out early as these guys are definitely ones to watch.

MP3: "Manners" (The Kill Van Kulls Remix) - Icona Pop

POPSHOP RADIO 004

Did we mention Popshop was coming up this Thursday? Well it is, and to ring it in we've got another Popshop Radio minimix from The Knocks featuring some seriously hot exclusives in the form of unreleased new remixes from Lightwaves and The Knocks themselves, both of whom take it to another level with shit-hot reworks of Strange Talk and Foster The People respectively. We've also got another amazing Popshop clip from our friends at Jackpot In The West, who've truly outdone themselves this time with their latest video recap of Popshop featuring Icona Pop and Oh Land. Check the video above, cop the minimix below and get ready for the glory on Thursday. Going to be a LARGE evening, friends.

1. "Pumped Up Kicks" (The Knocks Remix) - Foster The People
2. "Sister Wife" (Starslinger Remix) - Alex Winston
3. "Big Problem" - ANR
4. "Anna Sun" - Walk The Moon
5. "The Jackson Pit" - Xaphoon Jones
6. "Sparrow" - Savoir Adore
7. "Eskimo Boy" (Lightwaves Remix) - Strange Talk

TAKE A SECOND LOOK AND YOU'LL SEE.

Captain Cuts exploded onto the scene earlier this year with their 1000% gamechanging remix of Grouplove's "Colours", and now we're thrilled to have them back with their sophomore effort on our latest Neon Gold release with Icona Pop (available here at the Neon Gold Shop). We've already made our feelings known about "Manners" (basically that it's pop music perfected), but now here's the Captain Cuts remix coming over the hill, ready to pound your town to hell with a fire in its eyes and an insatiable appetite for destruction. It starts off innocently enough, pristine synth tones drawing the listener in before the Captains rain down a metric ton of synths and percussion on an out-of-nowhere haymaker of a chorus that hits harder than Mike Tyson on PCP. Even caps lock can't do the unrelenting MASSIVENESS of the track justice, just turn the speakers up to 11 and hope you make it through. Hide your children. Hide your spouse. Shit just got REAL.

MP3: "Manners" (Captain Cuts Remix) - Icona Pop [exclusive]

TOO MUCH NOISE IN MY HEAD.

This went up with our official SXSW showcase announcement earlier this week, but it's so brilliant it really deserves it's own feature. Elof is one of the hottest up-and-coming producers in Sweden at the moment, having already worked wonders with Erik Hassle, Niki & The Dove and Icona Pop (have you heard his production on "Top Rated"? It's INSANE.) and his remix work doesn't disappoint either. Penguin Prison's "The Worse It Gets" was already a masterstroke of dark, brooding pop at it's most paranoid, but the Elof remix is even more destabilizing, dramatic piano chords and ominous bass laid bare over a sonic tapestry literally falling apart at the seams as we listen.

While Elof continues to tear it up across the pond in Sweden, Penguin will be down at SXSW next week, where he'll be playing our official showcase with his full band set up on Wednesday night, before going unplugged to headline the Acoustic Stage at our unofficial New Shapes day party at 4:40pm on Saturday. Enjoy the black magic of Elof's Penguin remix below, and keep checking back throughout the weekend as we continue to leak the lineup of our Saturday New Shapes party (which will be FREE to all with RSVP) before the full announcement on Monday.

MP3: "The Worse It Gets" (Elof Remix) - Penguin Prison [exclusive]

GOLD024: ICONA POP

Last month we introduced you to our favorite new band, the lovely and talented ladies of Icona Pop. Next week they bring their amazing sounds to our stage at Popshop (tickets going fast here), and shortly thereafter we'll be bringing their dangerously amazing AA-side debut single "Manners"/"Top Rated" into the world on Neon Gold. It's easily one of the most special singles we've ever worked with, a truly spectacular double drop of Swedish pop majesty.

On the lead side is the triumphant "Manners", an anthemic call to arms for jilted lovers everywhere that has been owning our hearts and minds since the day it first graced our ears. It's absolutely immense... cascading drums and oscillating synths give the track it's backbone while the singalong "ba ba baaa" chorus will stick with you for months. Not to be outdone, "Top Rated" picks up where "Manners" left off with another round of synth-drenched ex-lover vitriol that might actually end up the bigger single of the two. For now though enjoy a free download of the new and improved single version of "Manners", available below.

MP3: "Manners" (Single Version) - Icona Pop [exclusive]

This amazing package comes featuring artwork from Slobodan Zivic and is out March 21st, available for preorder now from the Neon Gold Shop and our friends at Puregroove in the UK.

POPSHOP RADIO 003

Another Popshop is upon us this Thursday, which means another round of Popshop Radio courtesy of The Knocks. This time we're back with even more oven fresh exclusives, including the world premier of Icona Pop's massive "Top Rated" and a brand new Starsmith single, a summery slice of French disco called "Lesson One" co-produced by Alan Braxe and the first Starsmith track featuring lead vox from the man himself. It's all available for download from the Soundcloud player below, so get your download on and make sure to get your tickets HERE so you don't get left out on the cold on what's sure to be a night to remember.

1. "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" - The Knocks
2. "Top Rated" - Icona Pop
3. "Need You Now" - Cut Copy
4. "Lesson One" - Starsmith
5. "Sun of a Gun" - Oh Land
6. "Cold Dust Girl" (Gemini Club Remix) - Hey Champ!
7. "I Follow Rivers" (The Magician Remix) - Lykke Li
8. "Friend Crush" - Friends
9. "Under Cover of Darkness" - The Strokes

POPSHOP003: OH LAND + ICONA POP + FRIENDS

Popshop 003. It's on. After selling out January and February we're back with a very special March lineup featuring some of the best up-and-coming talent from both sides of the Atlantic. But first a look back at February's Popshop, in which The Knocks and Penguin Prison had Tammany Hall going off unlike anything we've ever seen from a Manhattan crowd in a small LES venue, courtesy of our friends Jackpot In The West who were on the front lines once again documenting the mayhem first hand.

Moving on then to bold new frontiers with the March edition, we've got what just might be our most exciting lineup yet. Opening up the night is Brooklyn's hottest new band Friends - currently wrapping up a national tour with Darwin Deez supporting their brilliant debut single "Friend Crush" (stream below) - followed by our beloved Icona Pop's first ever show outside of their native Sweden and capped off by a headlining set from Denmark's inimitable Oh Land. And rounding out the lineup is a truly special DJ guest in the amazing Starsmith, the icing on the cake on what's already a very special lineup. As usual, it's popping off the first Thursday of the month - March 3rd - at Tammany Hall, with doors at 8pm and lasting until the early hours. $10 advance tickets available HERE, with $13 tickets available on the door if any remain. The first two Popshops sold out in advance though, so we'd recommend you to book now to ensure you don't get shut out. Set times and downloads/streams below:

09:00pm: Friends // STREAM: "Friend Crush"


10:00pm: Icona Pop // STREAM: "Manners" (Extended)

11:00pm: Oh Land // DOWNLOAD: "Sun of a Gun"

12:00am: Starsmith (DJ) // DOWNLOAD: "Give Me A Break" (Starsmith Remix)

BREAKING MY BODY.

Icona Pop just might be our favorite new band. Like the perfect combination of Passion Pit and Robyn, the Swedish duo of Caroline Hjelt and Aino Neheh Jawo have been owning our hearts and minds since first gracing our radar last summer. Making their debut on the most recent Kitsune compilation with the INCREDIBLE "Manners" - honestly one of our absolute favorite songs of the past few years - they're back with a second helping of their charming Swedish pop in the form of "Still Don't Know", an effervescent joyride of buoyant percussion and off the wall synths. It doesn't quite top "Manners" (see above) - although let's be real, that's a tall order - but between this and a few other tracks the band have passed our way, we're extremely excited to be working with these girls in 2011. Watch this space...

MP3: "Still Don't Know" - Icona Pop