“Shortwave Love Affair” is a fun and spirited new release from the Canadian pop act known as Hip Culture. This up-tempo, high energy track features a synth heavy arrangement, pulsating bass, and a driving four-on-the-floor rhythm that deserves a spot on any club DJ’s playlist. Veteran songwriter Iggy Natoli’s lyrics about finding love on the dance floor are executed to perfection by vocalists Dela Cibrian and Aline, with the latter delivering a stunning rap performance in the song’s bridge section. A majestic and grandiose 80s style guitar solo follows said bridge, setting up a triumphant final chorus. Dance-pop and synth-pop fans of all ages will surely revel in Hip Culture’s “Shortwave Love Affair”, thanks to its exceptional vitality and high level of production.
Strongest Point(s): Outstanding production, excellent mix. Incredible energy. Nice little intro. Great synth choices across the board. Fantastic hook in the chorus, reminiscent of late 70’s-early 80’s dance pop hits. The rapped bridge was an excellent choice, breaks up the arrangement nicely. Guitar adds a wonderful rock element. Terrific track all around, should have broad appeal due to the diversity in the arrangement, the classic vocal stylings, and the thoroughly modern production techniques that were used. Tremendous effort, by all involved!
Michelle Rose is a 2021 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, where her studies emphasized vocal performance, song writing and music production. She has been co-writing and recording songs since age 12. She loves planning and directing music videos for her original songs, many of which have won top awards at film and music festivals. From Minneapolis, MN, she has been honoured to collaborate on many of her songs with Dr. Fink, from Prince’s band, The Revolution. She records Pop/Alternative music, but also sings Opera for fun. She has spent over 2,500 hours of her life volunteering for charities that are close to her heart, and also enjoys acting, modelling, and traveling.
Q: Can you please tell our readers your real name as well as your stage name? A: My name is Jasmina Frank, while my two partners in crime are Marko Gacina and Slaven Bolanca. Together we are “Jas Frank & the Intoits”
Q: Where are you from and Where were you based? A: We are from Croatia, Europe. I am originally from Rijeka and the guys are from Zagreb and Primosten, respectively. But, we all met and are based in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
Q: At What age did you start making music? A: I think I wrote my first song when I was 4 or 5 and it still serves as an entertainment piece at family gatherings, because it is ridiculous, of course. I wrote my first serious song when I was 13 and attending the local music school.
Q: What genre of music do you love? Or what genre would you consider yourself? A: The three of us have a very different taste in music, but what we have in common is that we all live and breath music. I am mostly into alternative and indie rock. However, I generally tend to like anything with a great melody and vocal harmonies, as that is what I enjoy the most. Marko is an accomplished reggae musician and plays in the popular Croatian reggae band “Brain Holidays”, while Slaven is a “klapa” musician, “klapa” being a form of traditional a cappella singing in Dalmatia, Croatia, sometimes accompanied by classical guitar and mandolin. Now, the songs on our album are a different story. It is really hard for me to place them in any given genre. If I had to pick one, I would say indie pop, even though some songs cross into alternative or even avant-garde.
Q: Tell us about your latest track or Video ( what is it all about)Please explain the concept or message behind it: A: To support our debut album “The Girl from Cherry Valley”, which recently came out, a couple of days ago we published a music video for our song “All the Highs All the Lows” on YouTube. Lyrically, the motive of the song is acceptance of yourself and of the world around you – accepting that we are both crucial and unimportant at the same time, and that sometimes we have to go through the mud to be able to find a sense of calm and meaning. Basically, the message behind the song is that you should never give up no matter how hard you have it and that we should keep showing up in each others lives when it matters. The video tries to reflect that message. Of course, it is for the viewers to judge whether it succeeds or not.
Q: Who wrote it? A: I wrote “All the Highs All the Lows”, as well as the other songs on the album, with my friend Dino Pitoski pitching in as a co-songwriter on two of them. Marko and Slaven did a great job in producing and arranging the songs.
Q: What inspired you to write this new track A: I wanted to write an optimistic song or an “everything will be ok” song. It was a challenge for me, because I do have a tendency to drift into darkness when I’m writing songs.
Q: Where do you get your musical inspiration? A: I don’t really write many songs because I don’t force it. I guess I usually write when I need an outlet or when I really need to process something that happened to me or to someone close to me. It is usually a very intuitive process. It is like the song is buried somewhere deep inside and it suddenly comes to the surface when something touches me emotionally, whether it concerns me or others.
Q: If you were given a chance, which Artist would you love to perform with? A: There are so many great artists, so it is really hard to narrow it down. It is even harder because many of the artists that left the greatest impression on me are unfortunately gone, and a lot of them before their time. But I’ll say PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke, even though it seems almost blasphemous to say it.
Q: Where can fans find you? List all your social media links I am personally mostly on Twitter and I tweet about music in general quite a lot. My Twitter account is @jasmfrank. The Intoits’ website is www.theintoits.com and the social media accounts and streaming platform accounts are as follows:
