On January 17th, Nneka previewed a few of her new songs in New York’s tiny club, Cielo. The line was long to get in when the doors opened for the free show since the bouncers were strict about checking coats. It even creating some difficulty for Nneka and her friends but it wasn’t long after that she began her short, intimate performance.

Shortly after, she announced a proper US tour to support the US release of her latest album, Soul is Heavy out at the end of February.

The Danish pop collective, the Asteroids Galaxy Tour, specialize in a super poppy and dancey form of simultaneously retro and futuristic soul. You can hear the Stax (check the glorious horns on “Major” below) , Motown and ‘70s funk DNA in their tunes, but those remain influences and reference points while the band takes soul pop forward with electronic flourishes and contemporary dance beats. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour returns with their latest album Out of Frequency this week and today we present the Cosmic Kids remix of album tune “Heart Attack”, following a previous remix by CSS. The Cosmic Kids version is mellower than the original tune, with a muted spacey vibe and early Depeche Mode-esque synth beats. Great stuff that should light up the hipper dance floors this year.

Soso is a rising Swedish singer with true pop star potential and if she plays her cards right, she could be the next heartthrob diva. She’s already drawing praise from Interview Magazine and RCRD LBL, who said “Soso is Swedish superpower composed of Monica Belluci’s face, Robyn’s voice and Adele’s heartbreak.” Her debut album, That Time I Dug So Deep I Ended Up in China will release this coming May 1st and “Who’s Gonna Love Me” is the catchy first single, which you can check out below. The first remix of the tune was produced by Ghost and today we present the premiere of the second remix by Helium Robots, which presents a more mellow vibe with a dreamy and cloudy haze over the song.

Here’s the original track and an additional remix…

Dana Falconberry’s new EP Though I Didn’t Call It Came is quietly epic and ripe with wonder. This Austin based indie darling has been called on of the city’s “most promising singer-songwriters” and has starred in the documentary Echotone, a film focusing on the Austin music scene that has been awarded the a New York Times Critics’ Pick. The purity of her vocals and engaging presence make her live shows as captivating as a summer evening.

Though I Didn’t Call It Came was recorded in an old church and possesses the kind of space and calm reflection that perfectly accompany a morning cup of coffee or a late night afterglow. The rich orchestration and harmonies are just a taste to wet our appetite for a full-length release that was recorded during the same session and will be released later in 2012.

This track premiered as a stream earlier this week at MTV Hive and now as a free download here at PopMatters.

Download the track “Petoskey Stone” off of the new EP here:

When PopMatters last caught up with Jon Lindsay, the power pop aficionado was prepping the follow-up to his debut LP, Escape from Plaza-Midwood, one of 2010’s hidden gems. The Charlotte-based singer-songwriter worked at a breakneck pace this past year, putting finishing touches on his new album Summer Wilderness Program (which is set for a spring release) when he wasn’t on tour, and releasing a new album with his side project The Catch Fire. Lindsay also dropped a mostly holiday-themed EP, Could It Be Christmas?, on November 29. You can download “Partner”, a track off the EP, here.