The Weekly Froth! - 20160129

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: ‘Can’t’ by Mall Grab

Mall Grab gets the beat going, but also the jazzy vibes with some nifty guitar work. A lethal combination, as the beat, and the extra percussion that is added, give it its hypnosis and rhythm, with the guitar and, later, the vocals giving it its heart and tone. The vocals sing that they have had a long conversation on the phone with you, and she Can’t get you out of my mind. The beat is the backbone here, keeping it ready for the dancefloor with a reasonably deep flavor, especially when at the two minute mark you get a bit of that deep grain as effect. In the meantime, the vocalist keeps repeating her conversation to us, clearly not able to let it go, with only the guitar able to clear it out of her head for just a minute. Though the bluesy overtones might just be a decent representation of her state of mind anyway. I just love that sound, with the beat keeping it from stalling, and the vocals almost resigned, beaten. One of four tracks on Mall Grab’s upcoming Sun Ra EP.

‘Fashion’ by Joey Negro & the Sunburst Band feat. Pete Simpson

Perhaps the sole good thing about a star passing is that we get some of all those old works back out there (for free downloading, no less). This is an older remake of Joey Negro doing that David Bowie thing, taking on the funky ‘Fashion’, which here, too, gets plenty of that bass. Though the little guitar riff is not forgotten, as the girls in the back sing that they are the Goon squad and we’re coming to town (beep-beep!). Different vocal turns are used, both male and female, going all out. It makes it more of a funky disco sound than the more apathetic turn of Bowie. At about the three minute mark we get some serious horn work, with shortly after the vocals coming in, all singing together Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, before steering away again for a bit of that sax solo they manage to work in. Just another Bowie inspired thing to boogie to-till-you-can-boogie-no-more.

‘Just A Little Love’ (Dr. Packer rework)

How about 'Just A Little Love' from Dr. Packer, going all Teena Marie on us with this funky little something. You’ve got the quintessential disco sounds already, and with the twenty second mark he puts in the boogie-woogie with the eloping bass. Around the fifty second mark we get some string action, and just after the minute mark we first get the women in the back, though Teena Marie herself soon walks out on stage as well. After doing her thang, quickly, the bass is put back in to get back into that funky little dance y’all were doing. The bass takes a backseat for a minute, coming back together with the vocals at about 2:10, as Teena Marie says you should ask her what she needs, to which she will reply that oh, how she needs Your lovin’ (just a little bit of it will do, babe). Dr. Packer knows how to get the disco and funk to the dancefloor, heralding the bass and vocals, with flurries of horns and strings and what not. He sure manages to make everything sound like something you want to dance to.

‘Bless Her Soul’ by Man Without A Clue feat. Meleka

BBC Radio went for a bit of that dance and house when they played Man Without A Clue’s ‘Bless Her Soul’, with a serious vocal take from Meleka. There’s a fast paced beat in there, which gets its help from a rhythm sound, some extra percussion, and, on occasion, something of a horn-like persuasion that comes in. And, as said, Meleka, who goes full throttle in blessing this woman’s poor soul, with, after done so, that horn sound coming in. It’s a fast paced tune for the dancefloor, not letting up, and the big, bold, vocal turn makes sure it keeps the pedal to the metal. Will be out early next month through Defected Records, if you fancy this one.

‘Don’t Go Lose It Baby’ by Hugh Masekela (Vito & Druzzi rework)

Vito & Druzzi waste no time getting those characteristic percussion sounds in, soon adding a beat to that to give it a clear backbone. After that, a deeper drum sound enters as well, though lighter, more African sounding percussion balance it out again. At the 1:30 mark the girls briefly come in with the vocals, though at all times it are the multiple layers of percussion and rhythm sounds that bring the best out of all the dancers with this one. And they keep pushing that sound relentlessly, making sure you get all the drums, toms, and hums to move your body to. At the 2:30 mark we almost, nearly, get the famous Oh noooooo (before he dives into the "don’t go lose it baby"), but it stops short of moving into the chorus, instead focusing on the percussion once more. Just before the four minute mark, a similar set-up, with a similar result, moving to the lighter percussion before adding the deeper sounds in, though these are in the background. If you’re craving some percussion, then this might just scratch that itch.

‘808 Beauty’ by Dam-Funk

Dam-Funk released kind of a beast of an album last year, with loads and loads of tracks, and this is apparently an unreleased one that wasn’t on there. It is a lush, funky slow groover, with a big, grainy bass sound which gets juxtaposed by the light, clear piano and synth sounds that are woven through there. To help the bass out, there are also the drums in the back, just  to give this instrumental piece a bit of extra backbone. Just after the two minute mark the bass gets a short bit of rest, with just those padded drums and the synths giving everyone a bit of a peace of mind. Shortly after though, the main sound (aka, the bass) gets in there to groove this slow burner forward a bit. It’s for the lovin’, and the making of it, at night.