The Weekly Froth!

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: ‘Crash the Box’ by Mang Dynasty

This one starts with a bit of wood percussion and, ehrm, bird sounds. But soon the actual beat comes in, and it gets all those jungle drums going to lay down the rhythm for the people to get down to. After the minute mark there comes the synth and the handclap sounds, and the synth definitely has this hypnotic vibe going on. And if you weren’t dancing yet, then the bass comes in as well, so if all that percussion wasn’t enough for you, well, there you go. Love the slice of horns (or horn-like-synths, or whatever) that come in, just gives this one some character, especially if they add another section not that long after they’ve introduced the first one. Add some vocals as well, and you just have this thing that keeps on building and building the rhythm and momentum, which is what you want on the dancefloor. Who doesn’t like those moments that some new element comes in, or there’s a change-up that makes you dance even harder? Naturally, you want to balance that out, hence that Mang Dynasty takes it down a notch after the vocals are done, obviously building up from the basics again shortly after. So this thing just keeps on rolling and going and making you loving the dancefloor, as he knows how to make use of that elusive thing called momentum. I always love myself some Ray Mang, and this outing certainly is another thing from his oeuvre that makes me go.

‘He’s The Man’ by African Disco Special (Squeeze Me tight edit)

Let’s get the boogie in with this one. You’ve got that bass rolling like there’s no tomorrow, and that one gets a bit of help from a bit of piano, some horns, and of course a bit of that percussion to keep that rhythm going on. Then the chorus girls come in, singing that He’s the man, he’s the man, he’s the man. Consequently, the man comes in, telling her to squeeze him tight, with the chorus then telling the audience that He will do anything to please her, as She’s so sexy. So that lovey-dovey is going on right there on the dancefloor. It just has that vibe of getting it all hot and sweaty down where the people are doing their thang. And that bass certainly has a part in that, making people able to groove to that rhythm as the girls and the man talk about pleasing each other as they’re both sexy mothersomethings. All those rhythm elements sure keep up the pace, and there’s plenty of auxiliary sounds to bring that funky vibe onto the dancefloor. Just one of those epic ones that’ll get people all hot and bothered in the discotheque.

‘If You Break It’ by Jonjo Jury

Via the always lovely DiscoTexas label you get this catchy little number by Jonjo Jury, who both has the catchy and the immediacy going on. The catchy with that lovely understated rhythm, and the immediacy with the clear and bold production for the drums and percussion. That is juxtaposed nicely, as said, by the understatedness of the rhyhm part, which runs away with it like nothing else, especially after that little change-up around 1:22. Just love that moment and how he slides the rhythm in there. The lad also makes sure to add some auxiliary sounds to keep this one fresh to the ear, just to make sure that it’s not all just that rhythm part and those blasting drum sounds. Again a lovely change-up around 2:45, after which we also get the robotic vocals for the first time, which do say something to the effect that they love someone or the other, which is a nice bit of contrast. After that bit, you get in this amazing pop feel of the strings, which I totally didn’t see coming and which is really nice. I love the production on the drums, because they’re so blasting you get this big contrast when they’re turned away in favor of just the rhythm. That, combined with the strings after the vocals and the fact that the rhythm side of it is catchy enough to make you go, has me definitely intrigued for future output from this guy (as well as having me enjoying this one on its own!).

‘Pala’ by Roland Tings

This one transports us into the jungle with the animal sounds, but also those percussion sounds that he adds there. The whistling is a slice of the Caribbean I reckon, but in the mean time he has already put down this ground layer that is getting the boogie out there, especially with that low bass. Which is nicely juxtaposed by all these lighter auxiliary sounds on top. So the rhythm sounds are all pretty deep, but because of that lightness it doesn’t necessarily feel like this is a deep house thing only. There is this lovely upping of the pace around 1:50 to get all those hips shaking a bit more, though a short minute after he’s going for the strip down, from which he comes back with a totally different percussion element. It is a completely new sound, but still one in tune with the feel of the first part, maybe perhaps mostly thanks to the auxiliary elements that kind of stay the same. Again a change-up just after the four minute mark, including an increase of pace, and still in keeping with the feel that he’s chosen for this track. So it’s, in that sense, quite an eight minute journey of all sorts of percussion and rhythms within the same world, which is a fun one, and one to which you can do some dancing to as well. His debut will be released on Prins Thomas’s label this year.

‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Giorgio Moroder feat. Kylie Minogue

That back catalogue of this guy called Giorgio Moroder though. I mean, darn it, such a king of pop he is, and unabashedly so. And that’s what this track sounds like too. Enlisting the vocal prowess of Kylie Minogue (for whom time goes by... so slowly), this is a slice of three minute synth pop that maybe sounds most like some of the stuff Daft Punk did last year. You’ve got the vocal chorus with Minogue’s vocals taking center stage, after which beat and synth come in to get the dancefloor going again. Naturally, there’s more going on. There’s layer upon layer of Minogue’s vocals, there are robotic voices, there’s a bit of guitar action going on as well, and it all culminates into one of those four minute slices of radio goodness. As said, it is unabashedly pop from head-to-toe-and-back-again. But it is Moroder pop, so yeah, gotta pay the dude some reverence, always. Gotta make him feel the love (as it feels so good, so good, so good, soooo gooood, and it takes my breath awaaaaayyy).

‘You Might Need Somebody’ by Shola Ama (Mousse T’s Soul Train remix)

Oh, do you remember this one? This 1997 version of ‘You Might Need Somebody’, that classic ballad, which gets some additional bass from Mousse T to add some extra groove to the mix. There’s also a bit of emphasis on that kick, so that it keeps the soul, but you can slow dance a bit better to this one in the club. Loads of stuff to like, obviously, one of them being the nostalgia factor. But also that piano, that little guitar that occassionally crops up, and naturally that sad tale song soulfully by Shola Ama, as we all need somebody in our lives, don’t we? Again, the bass in the background, that’s what primarily gives this one that extra groove, though obviously you’re staying for those vocals.