British songstress Charli XCX (born Charlotte Aitchison in 1992) has had a career path chock full of guest appearances, singles, albums, mixtapes, and songwriting credits for other artists all cobbling together to build the star that she is today. As a mere 14 year old, she began writing songs, and with a loan from her parents, recorded them professionally. After posting the resulting recordings online, she was discovered in 2008 by a local promoter of illegal warehouse raves in east London, and with the blessing of her parents, began to perform at his parties. Again, she was noticed, and in 2011, after guesting on one prominent pop recording, she followed it up with two of her own singles that were lauded by critics as some of the best new songs of the year. She followed the singles up with two mixtapes (self-released albums, not actual tapes, are currently known as "mixtapes") in 2012.
Her first big break came in 2013, when she lent her vocal talents to "I Love You", a song by Swedish group Icona Pop, which went to #1 on the UK singles chart. Two more of her own singles were then released to more critical acclaim, as well as her first album, which was met with moderate reviews from critics. Then, in 2014, Aitchison had her biggest break yet when she sang the chorus of Iggy Azalea's hit single "Fancy". Riding this success, she not only released a second album, she contributed what became a hit single to a film soundtrack and began writing songs for other artists, which she discovered that she really enjoyed. The year saw her as an opener for tours by major acts such as Katy Perry.
The past 3 years have seen Aitchison as busy as ever, dropping singles, EP's, mixtapes, touring, and writing songs for others. She hinted in 2015 that she was beginning work on her third album, which she said would be her most poppy, electronic music of her career. This marked a significant step for Aitchison, as prior to this, despite getting so much joy from writing pop songs for others, she had avoided any overt pop in her own music, wanting to be taken seriously by more alternative and indie audiences. Many believe that this may explain why her first two albums and mixtapes were received with lukewarm reviews - she seemed to be restraining herself.
Interestingly, this third album is still apparently in the works, but in the meantime, Aitchison has been busier than ever, releasing two mixtapes and a single ("Boys")in 2017. While "Boys" was supposedly the first release from the upcoming album, Number 1 Angel and Pop 2 were described by Aitchison as opportunities to collaborate with some of her favorite artists from across the pop world, as well as a way to release a bunch of songs she had been writing (apparently in addition to whatever she is writing for the still forthcoming third LP). These mixtapes are full of fun and quirky pop songs with the help of the bizarre and unique production of AG Cook, the head of England's PC Music label. Cook and his producer collaborators are known for their unique take on pop, creating songs that are undeniably catchy but also full of twists and turns and odd sound effects one would expect from more underground EDM producers. The production is often just plain goofy, which seems to fit Aitchison's songs perfectly, especially on the particularly impressive Pop 2.
It features a slew of high profile and underground international artists such as Swedish artists Tove Lo and Mø, Estonian rapper Tommy Cash, Korean-American rapper Jay Park, Finnish singer Alma, transgender rapper Mykki Blanco and German transgender singer Kim Petras, and more, including high-profile Canadian singer/songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen. Known for her massive #1 hit song "Call Me Maybe" back in 2012, Jepsen has since that time purposely taken a step back from super stardom to pursue other interests and has been featured on a variety of projects that have placed her outside the expectations of a young pop star, such as playing Frenchy on a live TV performance of Grease and Cinderella in the Broadway production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. Her duet with Aitchison on "Backseat", with the synth-laden, glitchy, and heavily stylized musical production of Cook and fellow PC Music producer Easyfun, was therefore not as surprising as it might have been some years ago, but it still represents a definite willingness to reach beyond pop norms.
Producer Easyfun, who was responsible for the majority of the music on "Backseat", is known for his unconventional remixes of famous pop songs and re-workings of other electronic producers' tracks. He is one of the more bizarre artists on Cook's PC Music label.
Cook himself is the man behind PC Music, which started as a "pseudo-label" on SoundCloud back in 2010, but has blossomed into becoming a true record label in partnership with such giants as Columbia. The label is known for its polarizing sound, which is at times dissonant and other times as bubble-gum as any glossy pop, all in the span of one song. The label puts "new" artists out constantly, who are often the same people in different disguises, with pitch shifting technology used to make it difficult to tell a female voice from a male voice. One can hear this influence in "Backseat", where Aitchison and Jepsen's voices take all kinds of stutters and flutters and Easyfun chops their phrasing up along with a slowly building beat that erupts at the end in a barrage of rhythm and synth bursts.
This potent combination of pop, hip-hop, experimental electronic, and dance music has made Pop 2 a unique musical statement that is one of this writer's favorite releases of last year!