Cocoa Futures: London Pop Experimenters Return w/ Infectious New Single, ‘The Blue’

Pop experimenters Cocoa Futures release their latest single, ‘The Blue’; a jubilant slice of electro-infused pop that manages to explore the often troublesome relationship between happiness and sadness, whilst lodging itself firmly in your mind and giving rise to the uncontrollable urge to dance.

Built around a looped ice cream van siren and a big, dumb bass riff,  ‘The Blue’ is, at its core, a fantastically upbeat pop track, the kind that has been sorely missing from the charts in recent years. It is also, slightly unexpectedly, the perfect soundtrack to consider the often odd but necessary relationship between joy and despair as the descending guitars, off kilter mid-tempo groove and looped cartoon-esque sample swirl together below lead singer Greg’s refrain of ,”Catch up.”  As Greg explains, “It is a good idea to feel sad sometimes but the things you can do to avoid feeling down can be really, really fun,” and this track seems designed to soundtrack those efforts.

‘The Blue’ sees the Scotland-bred and London-based band – completed by Dave (drums), Zoe (keys) and Jack (guitar) – continue to establish their brand of pristine pop harmonies set to often surprising soundscapes, their work bringing to mind Bowie, Prince and more recently, Big Kids. It’s also the lead single to their new EP, Blue; produced by Marc Withasee (Micachu & the Shapes) – who is credited with encouraging the band to experiment with tempos, arrangements and for bringing out their penchant for building tracks around loops and effects – mixed by Mike Taylor and mastered by Jason Mitchell. The EP is due for release on 2 December on Lost in the Manor Records and promises more of the same.

‘The Blue’ is released this Friday, 16 September, with a launch party at Ryan’s Bar in London. There are more opportunities to catch the band live in the capital later this year, details below.

Upcoming Live Dates

September
16 – Ryan’s Bar, London (‘The Blue’ single launch)

October
07 – Blogtober Festival, The Finsbury London

December
03 – Sebright Arms, London (Blue EP launch)

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Words: William Sutton
Photo: Sara Amroussi-Gilissen