Top Pops! Emil & Friends, Cocolixe’s Electronic Dance Grooves

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“Pop music shouldn’t always get a bad rap,” says Top Pops!, a recurring selection of pop music highlights across a selection of styles. Emil & Friends return with their signature indie electro sound and Spain’s Cocolixe groove.

SEE ALSO +++ FULL POST + ALL TOP POP COLUMNS + ALL MUSIC COLUMNS

 

Emil & Friends

Emil & Friends’ last two releases, 2011’s Lo & Behold and 2010’s Downed Economy EP, have been reliable releases year after year. This year’s short five-track EP (with two tracks and three remixes) does not pack quite the same punch, but the track below, “Internal Affairs” is veritably Emil & Friends, in the best of groovy and swaggery ways. You can also hear a minimix of the rest of the release on Kitsune’s Website. It features “Internal Affairs” along with another original track, “Royal Oats”, and three remixes of “Royal Oats” by Dubka, Radial, and DVNO.

 

Cocolixe

Spain’s Cocolixe now have a second EP entitled Doméstico, out now on the Boston netlabel No-Source. The four tracks of playful electropop contain everything from Prince-like funkiness to old film score homages — but whether or not you’ll jive with the EP basically boils down to whether or not you can get into the lethargic vocal stylings. Those who approve will find below them some bonafied grooves, with the repetitive and guitar-driven “Mai” being the major highlight.

 

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Written by
Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and artist who splits their time between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Seattle, Washington. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Editor-in-Chief of International Examiner, and an Environmental Justice reporter at South Seattle Emerald. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in 2026. In 2025, they premiere their documentary short film, Hunt's Trading Post, set just outside of the Navajo and Ute Nations.

In 2017, Vee released the narrative short film, Searching Skies — which touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States — and co-organized The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!. They have a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota and are pursuing a certificate in Incidencias en Problemas Socioambientales at the Universidad del Medio Ambiente in Mexico.

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Written by Vee Hua 華婷婷

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