The Weekly Froth - October #3

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: I’m A Cliche edit service 44 by Marcello Giordani

Can I just say that I love that cheeky synth sound at the start? That’s just awesome, just like those first additions to the song are at about 30 seconds in, those are lovely too. A minute in, again, he manages to throw a great synth line out there. In the mean time, in the background, you do have the percussion line going along with a rhythmic synth, but these are so secondary to all the loveliness that is up front you hardly hear them. Not to say they’re not needed though, always good to have a backbone for the dancing, but all those synthlines, these atmospheric sounds, and just that whole Italian flavor: it’s just there in all it’s awesomeness. It’s basically a master class in how to use synths, that’s all I’ve got to say about it. And who doesn't like a good master class that’s fun for the dancefloor to boot?

‘The Who’s Who Of Who Cares’ by Museum Of Love

Museum of Love is a band from the DFA roster, and that is pretty evident. It’s got the catchy that most on the label have, but it also has a certain aloofness as well. The synths and those talky vocals examplify want I want to describe pretty well, though at about 1:40 you get the horns in there, which kind of break through that magnificently. Those horns do give it kind of a jazzy vibe, which does give it a slightly different feel compared to the other bands that are working these sounds. At about the four minute mark that jazzy vibe kind of takes over from the more calculated, clinical synth driven first part, kind of making this track a cross between labelmates The Juan MacLean and ‘Golden Years’ Bowie I would say. It’s a lovely track, and with the album out now it’s well worth a listen I’d say.

‘Two Bodies’ by Flight Facilities feat. Emma Louise (HNNY remix)

These two names together, that can only mean something good is about to happen. Flight Facilities have made some deliciously catchy synth-pop tracks in recent years, and HNNY really knows how to get in some R&B flavors and how to work repetition and patience. So, in essence, these are guys that know how to create tunes, and they have different qualities. Combine them together, and apparently, you get this. It starts with some African drums, and then it slides into this chilled out synth vibe that HNNY uses to build up this track. So that’s the patience right there. After about a minute the dreamy vocals of Emma Louise come in, and HNNY keeps the sound behind her chilled out, which fits nicely. My guess would be that the original track went more for the dancey, and you can still hear the catchy qualities and the more pop-ness in there, but that’s been overtaken by the overall vibe. There are some nice drops in here, where the rhythm synths and the drums are stripped away, and you get some atmospheric synths supporting the dreamy vocals of Emma Louise. After the first drop the track comes back in with a bit more focus on the rhythm to make sure that people know that they should be dancing to this. And after the second drop, HNNY does this again, but even more so. So you get a catchy tune, with a bit of a chilled out vibe, but with the percussion still giving you that boogie feeling. Add some dreamy vocals to it, et voila, a very nice track indeed.

‘Water Come Down’ by Rosie Lowe (Pional remix)

This one starts out with just the vocals, which work nicely in unison. After that you get a little piano, but slowly a slow, deep beat comes in that already indicates that those vocals will get some body underneath to buff the track up a bit. After that slow beat you both get a light piano as well as a synth line in there, with Rosie Lowe’s vocals coming in shortly after. It is more of an atmospheric piece than anything else, a bit of electro experimental that works really well. Pional uses the combination of different synth and piano sounds to perfection, and together with the other elements he manages to craft an intriguing piece which has a slight air of mystique to it, also thanks to the (multiple layers of) vocals. Pional ends it with a bit of punch, working the asymmetrical beats and with the final beat being a quite deep and forceful one. A piece not so much for the dancefloor, but definitely one to have a listen to and be captivated by.

‘I Love Video’ by New Paradise (Gilbert Cohen & Vidal Benjamin edit)

This one starts out in such a way that just screams Dancing to me. It wastes no time with like, say, slowly introducing the track, it just starts out with all the pace it has and then hopes you get swept along by it. As a matter of fact, the pace seems to steady a bit with the introduction of some of the other sounds, which kind of tone down the illusion of full-on-speed. This includes all the disco vibes they throw in there, but also the talky vocals that you get. In the mean time, sure, the backbone of the track still keeps chugging along so it definitely doesn’t come to a grinding halt or anything. I like that slow down just after the two minute mark, with the track going back to its roots thanks to a very happy sounding little sound. Which, arguably, might sound too peppy for some, but I kind of like it in this kind of track. In the second part of the song you get the actual singing vocals, pleading to save the video, and this argument is given an extra boost by the horns that they manage to get in there. So if you either love video, or you just love dancing on happy sounding disco tunes, this might just do the trick for you.

‘How About It’ by MDMC (JMMSTR Italo Edit)

There’s no time that’s a bad time for an all-out '80s edit, and not many tracks sound more Eighties than this song by the Dutch group MDMC. Add to that Jam Master’s italo synths, giving you just enough of that ol’ school Moroder flavour, and you’ll be expecting Falkor to swoop by any time soon. All the 80s vibe not withstanding, it also is just a fun, catchy edit that works to do some dancing to. The synths are catchy, and he throws in enough variety to keep the dancefloor going. The fun also comes from the talky vocals, which are just so fun and retro that it just adds an element of having a blast on the dancefloor. As said, in the mean time, the synths keep on coming, but there’s also plenty of other stuff going on, like for instance that little guitar that you can hear in there pretty well. If you’re not allergic to the 80s and don’t mind some played up corny, this should be a fun 7 1/2 minutes for you. Free download as well, by the way.