Paperwhite: "Unstoppable" Synth Pop from Brooklyn
February 12, 2016
One of this week’s featured artists is Brooklyn based synth pop duo Paperwhite, made up of brother and sister team, Katie and Ben Marshall. Katie is the vocalist and songwriter while Ben is co-songwriter and producer, having also experienced success as the drummer for Savoir Adore. Over the past week, Paperwhite saw an increase of 81% on the A&R Moneyball chart, specifically focused around their latest release, “Unstoppable.”
Music:
“Unstoppable” is loaded with synth, coming at the listener from all directions, starting out softer with a buildup that explodes into a high energy, equally synth laden, chorus in front of a driving four on the floor beat. The vocals of the track follow the same pattern as the
instrumentals, being more subdued during the verse but blasting into a short but incredibly catchy chorus. The manipulation of the vocals also adds a unique value to their songs. Whether adding light reverb and echo or doubling and even tripling the vocals, there is great detail in the production giving Paperwhite’s songs a quality that earns them a spot competing among mainstream pop acts.
Future:
Paperwhite is already seeing significant success for being so early in their career. With only 5 songs released, they already have around 1.5 million streams on Spotify and are getting noticed by blogs and online tastemakers. One thing to keep an eye on is the success of Savoir Adore, which is currently a more widely known group. Sharing a member with a larger band serves a great cross-promotional opportunity at this early stage and we hope Ben Marshall will be able to continue as both groups grow, since he brings something different to each. Paperwhite’s early, distinctly indie pop, work is quite enjoyable to listen to and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Audience Gender Breakdown
47% Female
53% Male
