Kristen Sinclair

Dua does Disco (Source: sharinapro.com) When we think of disco, we think Sister Sledge, the Village People and Michael Jackson, groovy basslines and shimmering synths – a call to dance with no regard for tomorrow, in the words of Martha Reeves. Its heyday may seem confined to the faded neon-emblazoned LPs of the late 70s and early 80s, but the enduring influence and appeal of this genre resurges every decade, be it through innovative sampling or retro-tinged production. Dua Lipa’s latest release Future Nostalgia is an essay in majestic disco pop and is spearheading its most recent revival; similarly, The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ resounds with polished 80s disco glamour. A decade ago, Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories gave a nod to the classic disco sound with a modern twist (and the latter with Nile Rodgers’ Midas touch). Back at the turn of the millennium, Kylie Minogue dabbled in nu disco on Fever , whilst the crate-digging DJs of t...

This piece also featured in The Indiependent  here . Lou Reads! Source: blogspot.com Lou Reed has always been something of a fascination and an enigma to me. The Velvet Underground are one of my favourite bands, and a handful of Lou’s solo albums are among my most treasured. Whilst reading Mick Wall’s hastily penned biography Lou Reed: The Life , the stories behind two of his most famous songs, 'Venus in Furs' (from the Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut The Velvet Underground & Nico ) and 'Walk On the Wild Side' (from Bowie-produced 1972 solo album Transformer ) sparked my interest. Even the band’s name was inspired by a book! I had a lot of reading to do, it seemed. Legend has it that Lou Reed and John Cale found a copy of journalist Michael Leigh’s 1963 paperback Velvet Underground on the streets of New York and liked its title so much they decided to name their band after it. However, it was the book’s title that caught their attention, not so mu...