NÉONHÈART

King of feels and all that is melodic bass is producer Jeff Montalvo, better known as the striking talent of Seven Lions. In the last few months, Seven Lions has teamed up with the upcoming imprint Seeking Blue, to unveil stunningly poignant electronic tunage to tug at your heart strings. Seven Lions continues to move forward as an innovative pioneer in electronic music, braiding together the unique elements of trance, dubstep, progressive house and more. What ties his sound together ultimately, is the fantastical components in his cinematic melodies, collecting the rawest of emotions from listeners. Seven Lions music has consistently provided an outlet for listeners, taking his audience into complex and euphoric sonic dimensions like no other.

In his latest unveiling “Where I Won’t Be Found” he collaborates with vocalist NÉONHÈART, who’s wispy vocals perfectly compliment the track. The track begins with a whimsical layering of warm atmospheres and bright and grandiose synths. This leads up to an enchanting drop that gradually pounds with it’s enigmatic percussions. The palpitating drop embraces NÉONHÈART’s winding vocals and brings “Where I Won’t Be Found” forward as an electronic ballad that will properly grace stages this upcoming festival season. Watch out for Seven Lions upcoming EP also titled Where I Won't Be Found set for release June 26th. - Ear Milk

Seven Lions most definitely has the right idea on starting summer off right: release new music. The release comes shortly after Seven Lions wrapped up his There & Back Again international tour. Out now on Seeking Blue, “Where I Won’t Be Found” (ft. NÉONHÈART) is the perfect summer melody for relaxing underneath the stars in an open field on beautiful evening with your special someone.

“Where I Won’t Be Found” is most definitely the sound of Seven Lions. It starts with NÉONHÈART’s cunning vocals and is jam packed with gorgeous melodies, euphoric chord progressions, eloquent vocals, and alluring bass throughout. The song comes as a pre-requisite for Seven Lions’ forthcoming EP, which is set to be released on June 26th. This can’t come soon enough!

Seven Lions has some pretty amazing performances coming up this year, too. He’s performing at Paradiso on June 23rd and 24th; Tomorrowland on July 21st; Electric Zoo on September 1st; and with Above and Beyond at Red Rocks on September 14th. - Noise Porn

When 2016 began, 3LAU set out to do everything he could to raise $200,000 for Pencils of Promise. PoP is a non-profit that builds schools and expands educational opportunities in the developing world, and astoundingly, 3LAU has come real close to meeting his goal. Now, he needs your help.

3LAU Launches Charity Label BLUME, Aims to Raise $100K in 2016: Exclusive

To date, 3LAU has raised $105,000 in ticket sales, as well as $90,000 in revenue from his previous single “Is It Love.” Today, 3LAU released “Fire,” a dream-like and emotional collaboration with buddy Said The Sky and singer Christina.

The track is released via 3LAU's not-for-profit label Blume, which means all the money from sales and streams of “Fire” will go directly to PoP's efforts. If all his fans band together, it should be enough to cover the $5,000 left toward his goal. Stream it via Spotify below, and make the easiest difference of your life. - BILLBOARD

As of lately, it seems producers are using an infinite amount of soft female vocals in their tracks. The monotony of another Daya knockoff is just plain boring. 3LAU and Said The Sky’s “Fire” is outside the box; NÉONHÈART’s Christina O’Connor lights up the song with her harmonious vocals.

O’Connor is intoxicating. Her voice inflection invokes comforting memories such as birds chirping on a crisp fall day or your first sip of a freshly brewed Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. She longingly sings “I’m on the edge, and I’m here starving for love. You’re my one desire,” with complete conviction. This elegant track is used as a catalyst for a cause so much greater to 3LAU than radio success: philanthropy.

3LAU’s Justin David Blau created, BLUME, a not-for-profit dance music label and philanthropic movement two years in the making. The organization’s mission is to unite dance music listeners world-wide around philanthropic causes, raising thousands of dollars for community building charities. Now, that’s what I call PLUR! - Noise Porn

With a lavish, contemplative style comparable to Ellie Goulding and London Grammar, Los Angeles-based electronic duo Néonhèart is set to release their debut EP Awakening. Canadian singer Christina O’Connor and Chinese songwriter/producer HAOO create an intoxicating sound on the shimmering first single “Comatose”, but the beauty of the track is amplified in the gorgeous new video, which we’re very pleased to premiere.


“The video for ‘Comatose’ is a conversation between the protagonist and herself, intimately capturing the inside of a young girl’s psyche and the inner struggle she faces within herself; bearing light on the two faces that we wear,” the band says. “With a heartfelt performance by actress Alexandria Jade, director Marta M. Dymek flawlessly mixes regular live action footage along with frozen images captured by the Lytro Illum to add to the surreal nature of the context.” - Pop Matters

Neonheart Press Photo

Sometimes people find each other, a spark is lit, and they make beautiful music together. In the case of Los Angeles synth-pop duo NÉONHÈART, thanks to a meeting via a mutual friend, what originally started as a producer-for-hire arrangement quickly turned into a full-fledged band. The duo comprised of songwriter/composer HAOO and singer-songwriter Christina O’Connor have just self-released their rich, debut EP Awakening which features four irresistible and bittersweet tracks, ripe for listening. You can download the EP from iTunes.

“Comatose” evokes a heightened sense of sadness with its breathy, pleading vocals (“Won’t you stay one more night“) and textured synths. The tone of the song is haunting, yet beautiful with a slow-rising build of energy and by the time we reach the song’s final moments, it exhales with a deep sense of relief and freedom. It is a satisfying resolution, no doubt, to an otherwise melancholic track – a great reminder that joy can be found and explored in sadness.

“Nothing Left” is an intimate number, lush with resonant piano and driven by sparse, clean drumbeats – a sound that feels polished, but never falling prey to over-produced cheese.

“Road” is a rollicking electro-pop jam that will have you choreographing dance moves in your bedroom and it may very well find its way onto your playlist, nestled between Kylie Minogue and Ellie Goulding.

“You” is a musically playful, fist-pumping dance anthem that gets you moving but steers clear of feeling like the button pushing fanfare we are often inundated with in electronic music.

NÉONHÈART kindly took the time to chat with us about finding themselves as a band, their favorite tearjerker jams, and what it was like piecing together the Awakening EP. Read on!

GG: What was the writing/recording process like on the Awakening EP?

HAOO: Talking about the process of making the EP I have to talk about the title “Awakening.” We were constantly experimenting and the whole process was kind of us realizing who we are as a band.

Christina: Yeah, it was pretty organic. I mean we wrote and recorded everything out of HAOO’s bedroom studio and we were just kind of having fun writing a ton of songs until we found we had four strong ones that we felt represented us as a band.

GG: Some of your songs have a ballad feel to them, “Comatose,” and “When We’re Not Young,” in particular. What’s a ballad or tearjerker song that you love?

HAOO: Our music is overall more on the melancholy side, we try to write happy songs but they always come out cheesy to us so we gave up, haha. Actually “When We’re Not Young” isn’t on the EP but it’ll be available for free download. So stay tuned! But I guess my favorite tearjerker song would be “Fix You” by Coldplay, it gets me every time, I think it’s one of the best written songs ever!

Christina: Ah there are so many! But I’d have to say “The Ballad of Love and Hate” by The Avett Brothers and “The Blower’s Daughter” by Damien Rice. I’ve always said “The Blower’s Daughter” is going to be my wedding song.

GG: There’s mention that you guys draw influences from a folk background (Christina) and a heavy alternative background (HAOO). Who are your favorite artists from those genres and how did you discover them?

Christina: Well, I guess I first got into folk music when I was in high school, more on the singer-songwriter side. I listen to a lot of Damien Rice and Jeff Buckley which are huge influences of mine and throughout college I started joining a lot of singer-songwriter circles and started paying a lot more attention to lyrics and got into Dylan, Bright Eyes, Avett Brothers, to name a few. I guess, a good lyric just makes or breaks a song for me; when an artist can poetically express a feeling being vulnerable and honest, just kills me.

HAOO: I actually listen to all kinds of music and I believe that genre shouldn’t be a boundary of limiting yourself when you listen to music. Ever since high school I got myself into a lot of British bands like Coldplay, Radiohead, Muse, Keane and later I got into Passion Pit, MGMT, M83. I actually had a band when I was studying at Berklee in Boston, and we were doing some rock stuff. I can just connect to this kind of music instantly. Yeah. - Grimy Goods

With haunting ethereal vocals that sounds like Ellie Goulding meets Daughter, NÉONHÈART incorporates heavy synth textures and electronic drum beats to create their own unique sound. The duo formed when Canadian singer/songwriter, Christina O’Connor met Chinese songwriter/producer HAOO in Los Angeles, CA.
The duo has a variety of influences, with that of a more folk background from O’Connor, and HAOO with heavy Alt Rock influences, coming together with a modern spin to create a fresh new sound. The band is gearing up to release the debut EP entitled Awakening (now available on iTunes here) comprised of 4 songs, each varying in sound and feel, but are a collection of the band’s journey to find their unique sound. The album is set to be released June 30th, 2015.

Hi Christina and Haoo! How are you today? What’s on the agenda today besides our interview?
Christina: Hi Nicole! We’re doing well, thank you for having us. We’re constantly in the studio these days just working on new material.
How did you get your start in music? Who or what was the catalyst for you to want to be a musician, songwriter and performer?
Christina: Well that’s a loaded question, but music has been a passion of mine since a very young age. I’ve been singing since I can remember, and took up guitar when I was about 13. I started an all girl band in junior high called “Artificial Flavour” and we were absolutely terrible but I guess that was the catalyst for me to pick up the guitar, and then I started writing more folk singer/songwriter type stuff in high school, and after graduating I just decided I wanted to take it more seriously, and really try and make a career out of it.
HAOO: My life has always been surrounded by music. All my dad’s friends are musicians. I started to learn piano at age of 5. But I decided to pursue music as a career when I was 18. I wouldn’t say there’s one particular artist that inspired me to be a musician, it just seemed natural to me through the years.
How would you describe your music to those that are not as familiar with you and your sound? How did NÉONHÈART form?
Christina: Overall, our music has a more melancholy feel. We listen to a lot of different artists that we draw influences from, but generally we gravitate towards a more electronicy and synthy vibe. Experimenting with different sound and vocal samples.
We met through a mutual friend and actually I had hired HAOO to produce an EP for me prior, which I never ended up releasing but from there we just vibed well and started writing more together and we just decided to form NÉONHÈART.
HAOO: Great story. Haha
What did you learn between collaborations and playing live, that you felt you wanted to infuse into your latest EP, Awakening and soon to be released album?
HAOO: I think we learned working in the studio and playing live are two totally different things. We’re pretty new to the live thing so prior to releasing the EP we didn’t have much live experience, but Awakening is very much a collective of our experience coming together as a band and “awakening” to what NÉONHÈART really is.

What was the inspiration for your new single, “Comatose”?
Christina: We wrote the song in the studio together and I guess we were just really feeling it that day and it just came out very fluidly. The lyrics took on a more personal meaning for me. I wrote them about a time in my life when my sister had been in the hospital for cancer, so for me, it’s about that feeling of being completely helpless to another person’s circumstance, in that exposed vulnerable state.
I love the video. It is quite moving to say the least. Can you tell me about it more? Did you help come up with the treatment for the video as well?
Christina: For the music video we met up the director Marta and just talked to her about the meaning of the song, the lyrics are very vague and abstract that we just wanted to give her the freedom to come up with her own interpretation of the song, so she came up with the treatment for it.
Who have been your musical inspirations growing up?
Christina: For me, I’ve gone through a variety of different phases. But I think I found myself more as an artist during high school. Jeff Buckley and Damien Rice are huge influences of mine. The way that they’re able to be vulnerable in their music just inspired me to try and write from a truly honest place without restriction.
HAOO: Well, I’ve been playing classical music on piano since I was a kid. There is definitely a lot of influence from it. Chopin, Beethoven accompanied my whole childhood. I started to listen to pop music when I went to high school, there was this Chinese-American singer Coco Lee who opened a door for me to the western pop music world, cause back in the day there weren’t too many options for us to listen to in China.
Because of Coco I started to listen to every English song that I could find. Later, I developed an insanely affection towards British bands, like Coldplay, Keane, Radiohead and Muse. They are the reason I eventually came to America to study music and pursue my music career here.
What is your songwriting process like? How to do capture inspiration as it comes to you? Do you and HAOO collaborate on the lyrics?
Christina: Each song is always different, sometimes we start a song from scratch in the studio or one of us will have an idea and we’ll work on it together. Generally it will start with HAOO playing something on piano and I just sing on top of the chords until we come up with something we both really like, and the whole process is recorded on mine or HAOOs phone. It’s a very glamorous process haha…We do write the some of the lyrics together, it just depends song to song, but I think on this EP we wrote the lyrics for Road and Nothing Left together.
Do you remember the first song you fell in love with and why? How about the first album you ever purchased for yourself?
Christina: Oh my gosh, I don’t, is that bad? I know my mom listened to a lot of reggae so probably something like that. First album was probably Backstreet Boys or Spice Girls haha
HAOO: Uhhh, yeah.
Who is in your current playlist? What artists or bands are in current rotation for you?
Christina: We just saw Mike Posner play a show and I’ve been listening to his new EP non-stop the past few days, but other than that the new Madeon album, Purity Ring, Chet Faker, and Banks.
HAOO: Well um, I discovered this guy Son Lux and I think he’s super cool and I’ve been listening to him non stop, but in general, my playlist consist of music from Ellie Goulding, Chet Faker, Passion Pit, and Purity Ring.
What’s on tap next for you? What are you most excited about for this year?
Christina: Well we’re really excited that our EP is finally out as of June 30th. We’re playing a show at Los Globos on July 9th to celebrate our EP release. And yeah, just staying busy working on more new music.
HAOO: We already have the concept for our first full length album. So we’re excited about that! But you can keep in touch with us on our social media:
Soundcloud: soundcloud/weareneonheart
Twitter: twitter.com/weareneonheart
Facebook: facebook.com/neonheartbandofficial
Instagram: @weareneonheart - All Access Music

NÉONHÈART is the collaborative project of singer-songwriter Christina O’Connor and producer HAOO. Working out of a bedroom studio in Hollywood, the coed duo recently leaked their first single, “Comatose,” off their forthcoming debut EP Awakening. The track is a steady indie pop track with O’Connor’s breathy, ethereal vox gliding over electrifying synths and driving digi-beats. - Free Bike Valet

While the accents in NeonHeart’s band name confuse me, their song Comatose does not. The vocals are haunting but also sugary sweet and it blends quite nicely with the electro beat. To be perfectly honest I’m not quite sure what the lyrics are, but when you hear a singing voice that pretty you don’t really care. It’s like that plot line in Love Actually with Colin Firth and his sassy housekeeper. They didn’t understand each other, but they learned just in cases and it was rad none the less. - Kick Kick Snare

From right here in California comes a duo named NÉONHÈART, who will tug at your heart strings with their emotionally charged debut Comatose. The Los Angeles based act wax saccharine and delicate on the slow burner of an electronic pop offering. Its ethereal, wispy atmosphere evokes Odesza, but turned down into a stirring, rousing ballad, with the elegant fragility of A Fine Frenzy. - I Heart Moosiq

Today’s track is a slow burner from the new electro pop duo, NÉONHÈART. It starts out with soft Ellie Goulding-esque vocals from Canadian singer/songwriter Christina O’Connor along with playful electronics from Chinese producer HAOO, and then builds into an orchestra of haunting beats. Be sure “Comatose” makes it onto your Summer campfire playlist.

Sounds like: Ellie Goulding meets Blue Hawaii

Good for: Those bonfire summatime nights - I DIG THIS TRACK

I love that feeling when I know someone is about to hear something for the first time, and, having already heard it, I know that their mind is about to be curled into a ball in the closed fist of a magician. With a simultaneous exhalation and flourish, the hand will open, but what escapes will be nothing but solid air.

NÉONHÈART are a two piece electronic group from Los Angeles, formed when Canadian singer/songwriter, Christina O’Connor and Chinese songwriter/producer HAOO. Their debut single is called "Comatose". It's a brief, delicate but emphatically bold three minutes of slow-rising synthpop. You don't know it yet, you're about to fall deeply in love. - Record Rewind Play

Singer-songwriter Christina O’Connor and producer HAOO embarked on an odyssey to find their sound, transcending both space and time on their own musical terms. It was one of those rare occurrences when hired producer meets artist and decide to fuse into one united project, dubbed NÉONHÈART. The myth goes from opener track “Comatose,” to the entire EP Awakening, which debuts exclusively on BlackBook today. To call it “electro-pop” would be too simple and while O’Connor’s vocals have been compared to Ellie Goulding’s, there are shades of original goddess Björk in the euphoric highs and lows.

In the band’s own words, Awakening “really just represents the journey of us forming this band, finding our sound, and spending months writing until we had four strong songs that we felt represented us accurately.”

We treat Awakening the way we’d read four chapters of a short novel, each song telling its own introspective tale in a steady beat, with gentle piano strokes and dual-sided light and dark synths that refuse to be branded. Listen to “Comatose,” “Nothing Left,” “Road,” and “You” below to embark on a winding journey—if you’re a listener who craves the stories behind the music, then you’ll find this captivating four-track EP to hold the potential to evolve into so much more. - BlackBook

Ok. So. The dream vibrations are 100% amazing on the latest NÉONHÈART single. 80's synths as big as the sky, romping arpeggiator lines, and smooth vocals strewn across the top. Wavy beats tail the latter half of this beat and cascade into a chorus that totally soars. If we're talking synth pop, you won't want to miss Calling. Check out what NÉONHÈART has to say about this tune and put it at the tippy top of your weekend playlists.

"Calling came as a pleasant surprise, it’s really quite different than anything we’ve ever written. We had been writing for a while to the point were we got stuck in a bit of a repetitive circle. During this time, HAOO's visa expired but ended up giving us an opportunity to relocate to Beijing for a couple months, and get re-inspired. There was something so magical about Beijing. It might've been something about the city's vibrate culture, but, when I first heard the track for Calling it was an immediate connection. We we're both so excited that we wrote the whole song in a matter of 10 minutes. It just came out so easily, and it was so refreshing to write a fun uptempo song! Usually our songs lend themselves to a more melancholy feel, and while creating that type of music can be very therapeutic, I think it gets to a point as a human and as an artist where you can get stuck in your own misery. Calling was our light, almost like a mantra in a sense to stay steadfast and headstrong in whatever you believe in." - NÉONHÈART - Kick Kick Snare