Our girl D E N A is taking control of the decks next week at Dark Paradise - she dropped a tasty mixtape yesterday that you can warm up your feet to in advance, but the real thing is this video for her new jam Thin Rope. We already know all lyrics and beats of this thing because we heard it in original demo form over a year ago, but this re-vamped version is a lot more playful and wobbly.

Beyond proud to present you an (unofficial) SXSW day party along with our friends from Crack In The Road in the form of Dark Paradise, an afternoon showcase featuring acts we strongly believe in with the help from Mailchimp.

It all takes place on March 13 at B D Riley’s, the entire thing is free and no wristband or badge is required. We expect the venue to be packed in no time though considering the - even if we say so ourselves - ace line-up, so come early and stay late. Besides, this line-up is definitely worth you spending the entire afternoon there.

GEMS - 12-12:30 
NO - 12:45-1:15 
Mozart’s Sister - 1:30-2 
Young Dreams - 2:15-2:45 
Pacific Air - 3-3:30 
Eddi Front - 3:45-4:15 
S O H N - 4:30-5

D E N A - dj

RSVP here or on Facebook. Warning: RSVP’ing does not guarantee entry: as soon as the venue reaches maximum capacity, it will be one out/one in.

Women have always been the more intriguing race when it comes to music (in our humble opinion), so it was very hard to narrow down our list to just five acts. Because of it being so hard we decided to make a small exception for this list and tip six acts instead of five. We present you our Sound of 2013: The Girls.

PS: Solange and Sky Ferreira are obviously going to be huge (HUGE) but we left them out this list because a) it would be stating the obvious b) they both released a lot of things already and we focus on acts that have barely anything out.

PPS: This was our last Sound of 2013 post - you can find all of them right here.

Lorine Chia

Cameroon-born R&B-singer Lorine Chia surprised us earlier this year with one hell of a mixtape titled Lorine which has been on repeat ever since we first heard it. It’s classic R&B mixtape with classic R&B influences - she doesn’t need any gimmick to shine, something we admire in this 19 year old girl. We really do hope more people recognise the talent of Lorine Chia; 2013 might just become her year.

Laura Mvula

As soon as we heard the first note of Laura Mvula’s debut single She, we were sold. A soothing voice, beautiful harmonies and touching lyrics - it was hard not to fell in love with this lady. Her four track EP was more of the same overwhelming beauty; a full-length will probably definitely break our hearts.

Laura Welsh

The second we heard Laura Welsh sing, we fell in love with her. It’s pretty obvious she has lots of potential (yes, we can tell that from yes a handful of songs) and is destined to become quite big in 2013. She reminds us of Florence + The Machine in a way, but her music is far more intimate and romantic. “It’s the sound of her hearts getting louder” sings the 20-something in Hollow Drum - we think that basically says it all.

D E N A

D E N A made us dance all throughout the year. When we first heard her ages ago she got us moving already thanks to Boyfriend and Games, but Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools made us climb on that bar for sure. Our personal summer hit of 2012, we’re eager to find out what she does to our body in 2013 (in a non-sexual way, of course).

MØ

MØ conquered the blogosphere in a rush with her infectious Pilgrim, which eventually led to a bidding war (and Sony winning it). This Copenhagen-born singer is being called “the Danish Grimes” but is far more rhythm-oriented and a lot less blips and bleeps than the latter. We’re eager to hear what MØ has up her sleeve but confident we’ll be dancing as soon as we hear it.

Lulu James

Lulu James is a London singer with tunes that dabble inbetween pop and dubstep without sounding too much like either of them - the result is an energetic, soulful sound. She sure has the voice to sing on such heavy tracks, plus the production is this well done it’s a great balance of, eh, everything.

Disco Naïveté protégée D E N A is conquering the world day by day, hit by hit. Her latest output, which is premiering right here at Disco Naïveté, is the perfect follow-up to earlier jams Boyfriend, Thin Rope and Games. (DIY) Pop isn’t getting any better than this, believe me. In her new single Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools she sings about women’s three favorite things (apart from men, of course): cash, diamond rings and swimming pools. And if you ever wanted to see Erlend Øye get down to a sexy beat: this is your chance! I have just listened to this 28 times in a row and I’m about to press play again. Cash, Diamond Rings, Swimming Pools for life.

Berlin’s best kept secret D E N A returns with another in-your-face pop-anthem that will get your ass on the dancefloor within just seconds: the groovy and  s e x y Games. Out on a 7” soon, via Aerobic International, backed by Boyfriend, that other sexy jam of hers.

Footage of people dancing in the video for D E N A’s Boyfriend; it has that same effect on me.

Apart from the fact she did vocals for The Whitest Boy Alive’s Gravity and Don’t Give Up, I know absolutely nothing about D E N A. Her music sounds like early-LCMDF mixed with some 80’s disco, which results into something that infects your brain and gets you dancing in no time. Here are the two first songs she put out: Boyfriend and Thin Rope. (via)