Release Radar: ‘Two Stroke’ EP from Elle E and ‘Electric Sun’ the debut album from Thee Smøgs are both out on all major streaming platforms today!
The debut album from Thee Smøgs captures the isolation, wonder, bugs, glitches and more of a post-apocalyptic world.
Released on December 10th through The Good Times Co imprint Godstar Records, Electric Sun is an avant-garde, electro-pop expression of disillusionment that was created in a bedroom bunker in South Africa.
Thee Smøgs is the wonderfully strange and imaginative solo work of Lucy Crowley who captures the vibrant imaginings of the would-be survivors of a world that is void of human civilization. On Electric Sun listeners follow the journey of Prometheus to reignite life on a barren planet - with the album’s title expressing Prometheus' tireless efforts, anxieties and fears in birthing a brave new world.
“This album was written in the midst of the pandemic, and it definitely came from a place of isolation and dread for me, but from it also came a sense of solace,” says Crowley of the nine-track release.
“After playing with the ideas of what stories could be told after the end of humanity, I came to appreciate all the simplicities, it became an album of reinvention and rebirth for me. And I think it definitely shows in this work, to tell simple stories of small aspects of life we barely notice, and drawing similarities to myself as a person has been enlightening and exciting.”
Two Stroke is the name Elle E gave herself as a “one woman band” that saw her playing guitar as well as bass drum and hi hats (with her feet). “The only reason I did this was because Worcester wasn’t really overflowing with musicians, so the only way to get a real drum sound was to use my feet,” says Elle E of Two Stroke.
After playing a few solo shows in and around Cape Town, Two Stroke became a three piece with a brothers Marcel & Louis Christie joining in on drums and bass to fire the sound further and bring the songs to life. Originally recorded in the Red Bull Studios, Cape Town and released as a physical product on CD. Two Stroke’s self-titled EP is finally available digitally for the first time, bringing fans of Elle E’s musical output - which also includes Catwalk Trash and her work under Elle E - “ a sweet little nostalgic surprise”.
