I am a patient person—except when it comes to music. Songs that delay the entry of sensible structure or noticeable melody tend to annoy me, if I may be blunt. So I’m not sure how I managed even to listen to “Rivers”—with its 30 opening seconds of ambient electronic sounds and 30 additional seconds of […]

Parallels è l’EP di esordio dei Black City Lights, duo (producer e cantante) neozelandese che fa un ambient-pop che viene presentato con una formula azzardata quanto indovinata come “M83′s Anthony Gonzalez and Zola Jesus had a baby” – si tratta della prima pubblicazione di Stars & Letters, nuova promettente etichetta con base a New York. […]

Hinting at Florence and the Machine, New Zealand duo Black City Lights never really want to reach the top of that mountain to scream their voices off. They are happier dwelling in a cave halfway up the mountain, chanting along with the xx songs. Calum Robb and Julia Catherine Parr comprise Black City Lights. Apparently, […]

Thanks to Kirsten Johnstone for inviting them to be part of her show, Music 101.

En dan nu een duo uit Nieuw Zeeland. Calum Robb en Julia Catherine Parr maken heel aardige elektronische muziek. Voor hun eerste EP, Parallels, hebben ze de synthezisers onder gebonden om zes nummers eens lekker te spacen. Goeie beat eronder, verlichte zangpartijen en vooral een prima sfeer. Zelf omschrijven ze hun muziek als volgt: “Wave after wave of […]

“Fans of Teen Daze, Zola Jesus, Balam Acab should check out the debut EP from Black City Lights. The Wellington natives have released ‘Parallels’ via fresh New York imprint Stars & Letters. Black City Lights keep it dark, progressive and cinematic – take a listen to the EP cut ‘Get Away’.” Check out Sounds Better With Reverb […]

“Introducing Black City Lights! Stars & Letters is a boutique, New York record label, dedicated to releasing great music by emerging artists. Their newest artist Black City Lights is a New Zealand duo who released their Parallels EP last week. Their sound is kind of a, Beach House meets M83. Purchase or check out the rest of […]

“New Zealand duo Black City Lights, comprising of Calum Robb and Julia Catherine Parr, are simply captivating. Their recently released EP Parallels is, from start to finish, a joy to listen to, with title track and album opener “Parallels” immediately creating an alluring atmosphere that is impossible not to get drawn into. Elegant synth work […]

“[A] liquid take on the whole Kiwi Super8 video footage DIY rock vibe, taking it into a place driven by decaying synth drones, subtle digital rhythms and clear voiced vocals, which while upwards in aspiration, have a bit of a darker, haunted edge to their euphoria.” Check out VanguardRed Mag and see the original post…

Chillgaze, Chillwave, wer soll sich da noch auskennen? Jedenfalls schwappen die entspannt sphärischen Töne, die sich entfernt an Slowdive und andere Shoegaze-Bands der 90er anlehnen, vermehrt durch die Indiestuben – spätestens mit den neuen Werken von Beach House und Memoryhouse. Das Duo Black City Lights aus Neuseeland bietet aber eine deutlich interessantere Variante an, denn […]

So pumped the Swedish blog, Klubb Ace, posted the song “Get Away” by Black City Lights. Their post has hardly been up 48 hours and already it’s racked up almost a thousand plays for the song on SoundCloud! Den nystartade New York-labeln Stars & Letters släppte sin första release i form av Nyzeeländska duon Black […]

“Vocally lead and produced by New Zealand’s Calum Robb and Julia Catherine Parr, Black City Lightstake us on an expedition that’s more carefully laid out than a football stadium covered by a 10,000-strong domino exhibit – waiting to have its first domino pushed and then savoured intently as the rest of the audience watches the […]