Aristophanes
Boucher’s boyfriend, James Brooks (Default Genders), got her hooked on Aristophanes, the MC who appears on Art Angels track Scream. Based in Taiwan, Aristophanes raps in Mandarin over glitchy, harsh beats with a ferocious swagger wholly her own. As Boucher says, it’s “insane.”
She-Devils
She-Devils are the Montreal-based electronic duo of Audrey Boucher (no relation to Grimes) and Kyle Bennett. A new addition to the underground loft scene that birthed Grimes, the band opened for Majical Cloudz at their release shows this past fall and are currently working on their debut EP.
Nicole Dollanganger
Dollanganger’s bedroom, where she recorded some of her first music ever, is overflowing with stare-into-your-soul antique dolls. Somehow, it feels symbolic of her music: an unsettling mix of ethereal, heavy-eyed vocals over dark guitar tones. Her new LP, Natural Born Losers, is the first release on Grimes’s new label.
Tei Shi
Earlier this year, the Argentina-born, Vancouver-raised, Brooklyn-based Tei Shi’s Verde EP was NOW’s album of the week. On it, she gracefully mixes alt-R&B and shoegaze atmospherics. She just wrapped up a tour with the cerebral electro trio Years & Years.
N-Qia
Hailing from Tokyo, N-Qia are an alt-electronic pair equally skilled at making epic experimental soundscapes and subtle, warm melodies. It’s this diversity that appealed to Boucher, who calls them “crazy, trippy and gorgeous.”
