Greek electro: Marsheaux

When someone tells you something about Greek music you either don't know anything about it or think of Antique, Despina Vandi or in the best case of Vangelis. Guess what - Greek music doesn't end up with their modern laïka, it actually goes even deeper and these days I discovered this criminally under-heard group called Marsheaux. Although the name of the group sounds French they are 100% Greek. Marsheaux comes from combining the duo's first names: Marianthi and Sophie.

Stylistically they are somewhere between electropop, playful synthpop and melancholic electroclash. Their music efforts resemble the sound of such groups as Client, Ladytron and Chicks on Speed, but still not leaving the listener with the impression that Marsheaux is just another copycat with no actual presence in the music business. Although they are not among the popular in the electro genre they still maintain a high level and manage to sound good without selling themselves to the teeny pop MTV commercialism and the shake-your-hips bimbo style.

As inspirations they cite Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Human League and after a thorough listen to at least one of their albums one can be sure that Marianthi and Sophie have been good students and know their lessons pretty well. No need to worry where you can find their music. On Last.fm their debut "E-Bay Queen" is to be found with fully streamable tracks - http://www.last.fm/music/Marsheaux/E-Bay+Queen. Unfortunately their sophomore effort "Peek A Boo" is not available for a full prelisten, but if you have enjoyed their debut you can always purchase it and support this wonderful Greek group.

Discoveries: Kent

It's funny how much time can pass before you actually find a group. It's even funnier when this group has been active for almost two decades and are one of the biggest names in their home country. It's hilarious when this band has been recommended to you like millions of times, but you've ignored them for one or another reason. Such is the case with Swedish rock band Kent.

First of all I am not a big fan of rock music. I find it a bit annoying from time to time, which is why I tend to be avoiding it. But Sweden is one of my biggest all time favourite countries, as well as Swedish music so I decided to give Kent a try. I rely on Last.fm and download one's most popular album, hoping that if has been liked by that many people there is the slight chance that I might find something for myself in it. So I got my hands on their last album "Tillbaka till samtiden" (in English Back In the Present) and gave it a try. And to my surprise it was good (still is). Stylistically the album is electro-rock, which is very unusual for a group like Kent. Most comments on the album were negative as many of their fans considered "Tillbaka till samtiden" of poor quality, because of it's more electro orientated sound.

Afterward I decided to spend some more time with Kent's music and I listened to the albums "Hagnesta Hill" and "Vapen & Ammunition", which are among their most popular releases. Well, to me they didn't sound as good as their last release, but after a second thorough listen I started finding some excellent tracks in these albums too. I guess they will grow on me and who knows one day I might be a real Kent fan. Now I just find them nice and for the record I'd like to visit their live concert. Until then I will broaden my knowledge on this excellent Swedish group, which is another proof that Swedes make music over the top.