Welcome to the latest in our series of SoundPosts where we showcase some of the more interesting, noteworthy, or just plain great-sounding music that has come through the doors of our mastering studio in recent times. We try to keep these loosely themed and on this occasion we’re in the vicinity of Pop and Electronica.

Alison Moyet – Love Reign Supreme

“Love Reign Supreme” is the second single to be released from Alison’s acclaimed Top 5 album “the minutes“; an album which marked her return to electronica in the company of producer Guy Sigsworth (who was previously the other half of Frou Frou with Imogen Heap – check out their 2002 album “Details” – as well as having worked with Seal, Björk and Madonna).

The album has a richly textured sound; totally electronic but never cold, with Sigsworth’s signature surges and swells in full effect along with tight percussion and fulsome bass. The treatments suit the songs perfectly, and the record manages to sound entirely contemporary whilst at the same time reminding the listener of the first time most of us encountered Alison’s soulful and velvety vocals back when she was one half of Yazoo.

“the minutes” was released by Cooking Vinyl, and was mastered at Fluid Mastering by Tim Debney. You can order the minutes here or find out more at Alison Moyet’s website.

Bo Bruce – Alive

Bo was the runner-up in last year’s series of The Voice (UK), but has been the most successful finalist outside the program itself.

“Alive” is the second single to be taken from Bo’s debut LP “Before I Sleep” and was produced by Henry Binns (Zero 7) & Jodi Milliner.

“Before I Sleep” was mastered by Tim Debney and is out now on Mercury Records. You can find out more or order the album from the Bo Bruce website.

2forJoy – Michaela

2forJoy is the musical manifestation of singer and performance artist Ruth Ivo, who’s downbeat and atmospheric releases thus far have been co-produced with Paul Ressel of Vuvuvultures (of whom more soon). This beguiling video is the second collaboration between 2forJoy and director Annick Wolfers and once again demonstrates the wonderful synergy between these two artists.

“Michaela” was mastered from stems by Nick Watson. Visit the 2forJoy website for more info.

Hiatus – We Can Be Ghosts Now (featuring Shura)

This was the first single from the new Hiatus album “Parklands”, and here the understated electronica is beautifully complimented by this inventive and surprisingly romantic stop-motion animated video by director Tom Jobbins.

“Parklands” was mastered by Tim Debney and is available from iTunes, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Niki And The Dove – Hot Summer

“Hot Summer” is taken from “Mixtape #1” which was released last year on Mercury Records, just ahead of the debut album “Instinct”. The mixtape consists of a combination of exclusive material alongside reworkings of some of the singles to date; “Hot Summer” itself being an alternative take on album track “The Drummer”.

“Mixtape #1” was mastered by Nick Watson and is available from all good retailers, and also from Amazon.

The Correspondents – Well Measured Vice

Another animated video; this time made by Correspondents’ singer Mr Bruce, who also did a hand drawing on the back of each of the limited 500 copies of the 10″ vinyl release of “Well Measured Vice” and photographed each one to create this animation.

“Well Measured Vice” was the first track to be mastered using the Culture Vulture Mastering Plus (by Thermionic Culture) at Fluid Mastering, as engineer Nick Watson explains:

We had the Culture Vulture on loan to us at the time as a demo, but “Well Measured Vice” was mastered in an unattended session, and I think it’s fair to say that when the customer’s not around one is perhaps a bit less likely to experiment with new tools. However I felt that this track benefited from the extra definition, warmth and ever-so-slight crunch that the Vulture brought, so I printed a version through it, and then another where it was bypassed but I compensated with EQ etc to get as close as possible to the Vultured version. I sent both to the band and they got back to me with a clear preference for the version mastered through the Culture Vulture.

“Well Measured Vice” is available via the Correspondents’ website. For more information about the Culture Vulture and the other equipment we use at Fluid Mastering, check out our mastering studio page.