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: ‘Full Circle’ by George FitzGerald ft. Boxed In (Bonobo remix)

I must say that I’ve really been liking that George FitzGerald album that he released this year. Definitely one I’ve been returning to quite regularly. Bonobo is taking one of the tracks on that album on, first keeping it slow and on the downlow, and at about the fifty second mark adding a bit of percussion, and twenty seconds after that you get the rhyhtm synths as well. The actual beat arrives at about 1:25. I love the piano that accompanies whenever the vocals come in, which sound a bit dreamy and removed, and a bit sad as well, as he sings about what, to me, sounds like the end of a relationship. Just after the three minute mark Bonobo dials it down for a moment, at one point having just the vocals and the piano there. Slowly he starts adding things back in (percussion is first to return), with the beat back as it inches to the four minute mark. Nice remix, in keeping with the tone of the original, but with some extra drums and things to make it slightly longer and add a dash of oomph to it.

‘Off World Lover’ by Hot Natured

I like the contrast between the deeper bass sound and Ali Love’s vocals, which are higher pitched. In the mean time there’s also a beat doing the rounds and some space sounds, as Ali Love is asking you to tell him When you’re coming home. The space sounds, I guess, fitting if one looks at the title. There’s a nice, catchy swagger to this one, keeping the midst between a house tune and a synth-pop song. Around the 2:30 mark you get a little intermezzo where the synths are allowed to do the work, with the beat keeping it moving forward at the same pace. After that the vocals move back in again. Even near the end they don’t phone it in, with at 4:10 (which is a mere 15 seconds before the end) you see them doing a slight change-up before they fade the song out. Again a catchy, danceable outing by Hot Nature, with a nice, yearning vocal effort by Love.


‘Midnight On Rainbow Road’ by Leon Vynehall

Does it date me as growing up in the Nineties when I say that the title primarily reminds me of Mario Kart more than anything else? The highway sounds start this one (I believe it are like cars roaring past), with some heavy, deep synths adding to the atmosphere, with a Blade Runner kind of horn-synth helping out as well. The percussion slides into the track at about 1:40, as the synths seem to turn more and more to jazz for inspiration. At 2:20 we get some more rhythm in there, though it are still the atmosphere synths that reign supreme to get the vibes onto the dancefloor. At 4:10 additional atmospheric sounds are introduced, as the percussion is there, though this one is more about setting up the feel that you want out there than to already get the crowd turning into dancing maniacs (maniacs, oh-oh-oh). Nice atmospheric piece by Leon Vynehall, definitely getting the midnight vibe for this one. It’s been released on a compilation by Gerd Janson called Musik for Autobahns, if you’re interested.

‘Letter’ by Jaakko Eino Kalevi

Jaakko Eino Kalevi takes it on himself to promote the apparently legendary Finnish band Kukka (or, perhaps, the band Kukka, legends for Finns). I like the mix of the darker, deeper tones with the lighter synth and the female vocals doing a mystic aaaaaaahhh line. On top of that the male vocals come in, in a fairly low key. Around the minute mark there’s a big atmospheric synth coming in, layering the tune like a fog coming up. In the mean time, apparently what the Finnish band did is putting on their worst clothes, but that definitely isn’t the darkest thought that is being purged in this song, which is definitely moving towards the edge of the sane and living. In the mean time the mulitple synths work in unison perfectly, adding higher pitched ones to alleviate the deeper sounds. Definitely high on atmosphere this one.

‘Fool’ by Rayko

Freddie Mercury had been suffering the effects of HIV Aids for a while before eventually succumbing to it, making the amount of songs recorded after the Innuendo sessions scarce. One of those, though, is ‘You Don’t Feel Me’, which appeared on the Made In Heaven album that Queen put out in 1995. This one starts with the vocals, a bit of guitar, and some piano, with a little rhythm ditty underneath. After thirty seconds in Rayko turns it up a notch, perhaps slightly abruptly so with the snares, though when the bass sound comes in it starts to fall in its place. Especially with the vocals going Naaa-nah-nah-nah-naaa, and then with the guitar in there, that bit is pretty awesome, and from that point on it’s all good as Freddie Mercury sings You don’t fool me, those pretty eyes, that sexy smile. In the mean time Rayko knows when to subtract and add some rhythm sounds, playing around with pace and momentum a bit, all to make sure that the dancefloor can do their best little dance on Mercury’s forever golden vocals. That piano, how that cuts in at, for example, 4:18, that’s pretty cool, and Rayko keeps work like that up for about eight minutes long (with piano, guitar, vocal layers, etc.). And, lets face it, who doesn’t want to dance to some late Queen?



‘Because You’ by Bosq feat. Danielle Moore

This one starts out with a bit of that tropical percussion going on (or is that the sleeve of the YouTube clip tainting my ears there?). Count on Danielle Moore to turn into a good vocal outing, she is prime material as far as I’m concerned. You’ve got the vocals helping out the rhythm going pam-pam-pa-da-dam before the actual vocals coming in. There’s some layering going on there, with one layer singing “because you”, with the other layer answering the call-out. In the mean time the percussion isn’t doing it alone in terms of the instrumental rhythm department, with both a synth and bass doing their thing. They are definitely there to support the vocals though, with all else seemingly slightly further back in the mix. At about 2:40 they dial it down a notch, with the deep rhythm elements stripped out, just going for the synth line and some handclap/fingersnap like sounds (oddly enough I thought it was somewhere in between, maybe hitting a woodwork perc or something). It’s a light sounding, fun tropical tune from Bosqb, so if you’re looking for that, look no further.

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 Thought The Future Would Be Cooler’ by YACHT

Seriously, that title alone makes this one worth talking about, because that is just friggin’ awesome. Not only that, it’s probably exactly what every semi-nerdish person is thinking at this very moment, because who hadn’t expected the future to be cooler? At least give us that hooverboard man! Google Glass is too 1984 (never mind all the curfews-following-protests and stuff), but the hoverboard is the epitome of futuristic playfulness! Anyway, YACHT, I love YACHT. Not only for their witticisms (there’s an English grad in that band after all), and not only for the fact that there’s an actual ideology-- or at the very least, workplace ethos-- behind it, but also because they know how to create a catchy tune. First Claire sings the title of the track, layered with a bit of roboticism. And then the tune start, with the kickdrum, with the bass, with loads of auxiliary sounds like that catchy piano line that starts at around the fifty second mark. They attack the chorus pretty niftily, dialling it slightly back for the verses. There is a little break with some handclaps around the two minute mark, then they go at it again, and then they bring it down to just a synth line and the vocals, before going all out to the finish line again. Love the double vocal layers, the catchiness, and just this whole track is wickedly fun, to be honest.

‘Stranger In A Room’ by Jamie XX feat. Oliver Sim (Pional’s Room Version)

Last week this column featured a Pional remix that he did together with John Talabot, and this week we’ve got a track where lonesome he takes on Jamie XX’s track ‘Stranger In A Room’, featuring Oliver Sim on vocals. Love the piano at the start, leave it to Pional to herald that instrument, and the drums give it some backbone. A floating synthline is underneath it all, being a constant in the background. Soon the vocals come in, slightly detached. At about 1:14 Pional slows the pace down for a moment, going with a non-rhythm bass sound. I love the atmosphere of the tune, it is slightly dark, moody, but for instance that guitar that comes in at 2:16, or the sudden relative clarity of the vocals: just some things that then suddenly come above the fray and give you a little jolt to the body. The ending, pretty nifty, with a slow guitar sound over the more trippy percussion. Another power offering by Pional.



‘Disappointing’ by John Grant feat. Tracey Thorn

John Grant already went fairly electronic with his quite awesome previous album, veering away from the more singer-songwriter territory of his first solo endeavour. After his Hercules And Love Affair stint it should come as no surprise that this new single really starts rubbing its shoulders with the disco. The electro synth lines give it this bass-y catchiness, with new instruments popping up every now and again. In the mean time John Grant puts on his low voice for the verse, where he names all kinds of things that are Disappointing, compared to you. I like the theatrics of the backing vocals doing a sort of shubby-do-waa near the end of the chorus. The second verse Grant gets some help from Tracey Thorn, who helps him come up with stuff that don’t quite cut it if you put it next to love (or, at least, him). In the chorus they kind of dial the pace back a bit, though they keep a kickdrum behind it all to make sure you can still do a little dance whilst the tune keeps plodding forward. At about three quarters of the way through there is a little instrumental interlude, capped off by a moment of just vocals before it reaches its end. Which it does with a sound that is pretty uplifting, they managed to choose the instruments well to convey that feel. Saw them two years ago in the pouring rain at Primavera Sound in Barcelona (No no, look here, it says it’s not going to rain, so we can leave our raingear at home...), and looking forward to seeing him this Autumn when there’s actually a roof over my head.

‘City’ by Stuart McCallum

Stuart McCallum is gearing up for an album release, of which this is the title track. The start is really electronical, with a simmering synth, a bit of echo on the vocals it seems, bit after about thirty seconds you get the soulful voice and a nice slice of guitar to pierce through this atmosphere of a more industrial (nay, city) vibe that the instruments build behind that. At 1:20 he goes ghostly, having just the vocals at first doing some ooooh, after which you briefly here a soft guitar, before it goes into a sort of dub-steppy drum rhythm. In the mean time McCallum is singing that He fell in love with that city, after which you get a sort of jazz guitar solo, which is pretty wicked. And that makes it the intriguing listen that it is, the theme of it that is enhanced by the more electronical drums and instruments, but the humaneness of the soulful vocals and the jazzy guitar sound that walks right through all that. Album will be released on the 28th of August, if this tickled your fancy.

‘Lost In A Dream’ by Eagles And Butterflies (Larse remix)

Larse knows how to make a good deep house tune for the dancefloor, and here too he starts with a nice bit of rhythm with the percussion and beat setting the pace. At about the fifty second mark he sets the tone in terms of atmosphere, before combining that with the returning beat again after a couple of seconds. At the 1:20 mark he slides in a nice, reasonably paced synth line, which becomes more prominent in the upcoming parts. At 2:30 he starts to sneak in the piano, which will become an actual piano bit when he dials out the synth line. Which is neat, as he already introduced the replacement earlier, and when it comes it’s a smoother transition. At the halfway point he again subtly changes things up, in with some new stuff and out with some old stuff, but the core stays within this realm to help the track keep its continuity, which is no bad thing for the dancefloor. Before the five minute mark he turns down the beat and most of the percussion, starting with basically just a synth before building it up with, as the last addition, the beat coming back at the six minute mark (like, exactly). Another awesome instrumental house tune by Larse, who knows how to get those people down by the underpass dancing.

‘You Can Shine’ by Andy Butler feat. Richard Kennedy (The Carry Nation Remix)


Last month an EP of sorts was released where three people took on Andy Butler’s solo effort ‘Can You Shine’, which has Richard Kennedy on vocals. This is The Carry Nation’s takes on the tune, who starts it out with a bit of that bongo percussion to get that rhythm and jackin’ vibe going. Then the beat comes in, and even more African based percussion come out of the woodworks to get all y’all doing whatever you do on that rhythm thing. Just after the minute mark there comes a bit of Berlin in there too, a bit of that industrial synth, before Richard Kennedy comes in with those crystal clear house vocals that sing that He makes me special. The synth, in the mean time, is doing that bass thing to really get that House vibe going on, with this one transmorphing into an old school House tune with the soulful vocals, all those jackin’ rhythms, and this tale of love that fell apart, with house music and the dancing as the saviour. That change-up at about 4:20, that’s sweet, that’s some bass sound dancefloor goodness right there. Which, incidentally, starts an instrumental house-a-thon with some lovely change-ups to keep the dancing crowd going, and it’s only after 1 1/2 minute that the vocals come back in (though, from the back of the mix). Basically it’s just an 8 1/2 minute long party for all the freaks and geeks who like that House sound.

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: B-Side - Zulu (MPJT edit)

I just love the groove this one starts with! Are you kidding me with all those separate elements. You’ve got the kick, but also the quick wood percussion, the bass sound and synth sound combo, and it just immediately has me hooked. Just before the minute mark another percussion element is added (or two, an extra one a little later), and the two men keep the rhythm high. At the second minute mark you’ve got talking vocals coming in, preaching about one thing or another with a bit of anger. At 3:30 there’s a bit of a change up, breaking up the groove for a minute, just to let it return after about twenty seconds with some more of that bass. When the vocals come in next they do so with an added round of cymbals to add a light sound to the percussion, which can be heard raging in the background. It’s pretty frantic back there, which, when the vocals subside, is dialled back in favor of a cleaner sound. I mean, these guys, let me tell ya, they just know how to do these things. Marc Pinol and John Talabot are experts in this field, and in this remix it shows again. The full-blown change-ups, the subtle alterations, and the mixing and matching of all those percussion elements to keep the rhythm on the go: it is all so fluent, and it certainly works like a madman. Even near the end, at about 6:30, they give the people just another little punch to get themselves in motion again. There’s just so much to love, I mean, really.

‘Gravity’s Angel’ by Laurie Anderson (Bottin Edit)

I love the slight space vibe that Bottin adds to that bass sound which he uses as the canvas for Laurie Anderson to croon over. And crooning it kind of is, with a surpising fragility to it. In the mean time Bottin adds a little bass line, though not as a continuous rhythm element. For that he uses that bass sound plus some synths. At 1:40 Bottin breaks it open with some drums and percussion, which then also form the rhythm elements during the singing, where previously there wasn’t one. So that’s how he adds a bit of pace to it. In the mean time some male vocals come in to help the female vocals out as Bottin adds more and more extra sounds that definitely help to cement the almost alienated feel, which heightens the almost in-the-spotlight loneliness of the singing. Though later she goes for the spoken word, which blends into the sounds quite perfectly. That moment at about 4:07, when she returns to singing, is completely in tune with the change-up in the sound as well. So really cleverly created this, with the kind of vocals that are on display here giving it this bit of extra uniqueness that’s always welcome.

‘Disco Fix’ by YSE Saint Laur’Ant

No points for knowing what this name is a punt on (unless you literally know nothing about fashion. Or pop culture. Or cultural memory. Or, well, life). YSE is not concerned about the pace with this one, just bringing you a cheeky bit of disco and soul, but old school, to do some slow twisting to. Primarily on the little bass line, that sounds more '50s than '70s NY. The vocals, especially, have that jazz club call & response thing with the band behind her going on, which give it this sense of fun. She is singing that you need to play that disco beat (which, ironically, is totally absent here), because she needs to get that disco fix. And if not, she is going to scream (she’s that kind of gal). It has this lovely lounge bass going on that primarily takes care of the rhythm, with some percussion in the back to help it out. The vocals, the backing band dynamic, and just how it leisurely trods on makes this an ideal download for some happy summer walks.

‘Bounce’ by Waze & Odyssey

How about some party house from the fellas of Waze & Odyssey eh? They get right into it with this one. They get the kick going, the little bass, the jittery synth line, and once in a while you get a soulfule male voice doing a “yeahhh-ehh-ehh” to just kick the house vibe up a notch. At the one minute mark they get the rhythm parts out, just having the synth there, which later gets some percussion help, primarily from the cymbals. At the two minute mark it gets the beat and bass back there for the dancefloor crowd to dance to. It uses the male voice nicely, not really to sing, but it gives you a good point to add a new instrument in there for instance. At one such point Waze & Odyssey use it as a cue to get some female vocals in there who, on repeat, say “bounce” whilst Waze & Odyssey slowly build the track down a bit. Obviously to come back with a vengeance at about 4:25. A good dancefloor track to keep the party a-rockin’.

‘Grit’ by Kasper Bjorke (Bryan Kessler remix)

Bryan Kessler is just a pitch away from starting this like a slasher B-movie (though the horse galloping in the background helps steer it away from that as well, to be fair, or does that only make it more Victorian Jack-the-Ripper like?). One thing is for sure though, it is a pretty deep&dark take on the Kasper Bjorke song, which is reinforced by all the atmospheric synths that enter the scene. Kessler takes his sweet time to get to the beat in this one, but after a complete break at the two minute mark he puts it in, adding a bass-y synth a bit later on. Still it is pretty deep, those rhythm elements don’t take away from that vibe. I love that sound that comes in at abou 3:02 or something, which unfortunately doesn’t stay for very long, just to come back at 3:38 as the main sound on top of the beat. That, too, gives it this immediacy, as if you are trying to run away from the Hack-n-Slash murderer on the loose somewhere (on horseback, probably). The whole of Kasper Bjorke’s After Forever album gets the remix treatment, with this one getting the deep and grind one. That original album, by the way, has some beautiful tracks on there, with my favorite being ‘Lies’, so if you haven’t had the chance to listen to that one, be sure to give it a whirl.

‘The Owner’ by NTEIBINT feat. Stella (Anoraak remix)

Love the claps at the start, that ‘s a good combination with the synths. The percussion comes in around the twenty second mark, and the piano that comes in at about thirty is absolutely lovely. All the rhythm and synth elements keep the pace up, and because Anoraak strips some down it seemingly lowers its speed when the nice, deep female vocals come in. Though halfway the vocal part the bass comes in to give it a bit of bounce. And slowly but surely more instruments come in again, and when the vocals subside a lovely, slightly aggressive piano enters to give it some punch before the vocals come back with a bit more emotion than before. It is quite amazing how all these layers work together and how smoothly they are being woven in and out of the line-up, with the vocals forming the anchor to an otherwise fairly fast paced affair. Around 3:40 he starts a patient break, where he strips most elements except for the vocals and one synthesizer, but slowly he starts piecing everything back together again, with around 4:50 putting it all in again for one more go around. Pretty nifty stuff again from Anoraak.

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: ‘Who Do You Believe In?’ by E-Work feat. Trudie Dawn Smith (Vocal Mix)

E-Work, alias Mark E, gets the slow bass rolling in this one, with the drum dictating the pace. Soon enough Trudie Dawn Smith comes in on vocals, singing If I gave you, Could you take it?, with some piano for extra dramatic effect. She puts in the drama ballad performance, with the slow bass rolling the sadness forward. It gets a slight kick in the pace at about 1:45 with the lighter, faster element, though it are still the beat and bass that are the providers of rhythm here. At about the 2:30 mark he dials it down a notch, with the vocals asking Could you handle it?. If the answer is yes, lets slowly build it back up through some synths to get the beat back in. Mind you, it is all really supportive of the feel that the vocals also exhume, with this lovely, slow trud to go with the drama of it all. Sometimes he builds up a wall of synths or drums, which he then strips to slide in another round of that bass. Got to love a good, slow burnin’ house tune, especially with those lovely, battle-worn vocals that keep asking you the same heartfelt question over and over, like a ghost roaming around the premise where only a positive answer will warrant its release.

‘Freedom! ’15’ by !!!

How about that funky start, with that wobbly (synth) bass that they start the proceedings with. I kind of like the decision to put the vocals so up front in the mix, and the music so far back. So you do feel the funk and disco, but they just make sure you hear her out, singing that You’ve got your freedom, which is the cue for the music to burst out, and thus also for the audience to really start dancing. Which coincides with the words sung, so that’s a nice theater lesson they put to use there. From that point on the bass is put a bit more to the front, though they sure don’t obscure the rhythmically delivered vocals. Which, whenever they sing “freedom”, get some help from some relatively booming instrumentals. At the three minute mark, there comes this lovely, catchy synth line, soon aided a little bit by the bass, which is this dance-daddy-dance moment in the middle of the track which is kind of fun. Soon the vocals come back, asking how that freedom is Working for you babe?, which incidentally puts the House music phrase “working” in there. After that, again, a little musical interlude with all sorts of catchy rhythm lines to make sure you’re not standing still on this one. I, personally, loved their last album a great deal, which, for my money’s worth, seemed a bit underappreciated. Or at least, I had great fun with it, and this track sure seems to build on that blueprint, so that’s one happy customer right here. Also, live, good fun.

‘Marzipan’ by Amateur Best (Ray Mang remix)

Certainly starts out with a bit of that wooden percussion, though soon you get plenty of other sounds in, which definitely fall into the weird-yet-surprisingly-wonderful category. Obviously, also, a beat comes in, at about 45 seconds, doubling the wood percussion. The song definitely is set in the rhythm department, and at 1:30 it gives you a little bass to go alongside this heavenly brass-like sound which then leads to some jungle rhythm again, on top of which the vocals come in for the first time. They sing that It was always you, careful with the careful lies, so it seems like someone had an achy-breaky-heart. Somehow, Ray Mang manages to mix the very rhythmic, very percussion heavy with this bayou laidback sound, this softness that he shows during, especially, the verses. I love Ray Mang, and on some records I have of him he really struts his stuff, and not sure I’ve seen this eye for combination from him before. Which takes on yet another dimension when he brings the lead piano in later in the track. Pretty nifty stuff from a definite talented guy.

‘Let the Music Play’ by Charles Earland (Kon remix)

Kon gets the party going again, doing a high speed, 125bpm take on the old Charles Earland song. You’ve got all the disco good times there, with the piano, the drum beat, the electric synth sound, and then some sort of deformed horns or vocals that enter the scene as well. It immediately flows over with good vibes and '70s party flashbacks, with all the retro instruments that they could muster (probably even retro for when this song was made, I reckon). At 2:10 you get this amazing horn solo, whilst in the background it’s a colourful cacophony of all manners of sounds, rhythm and otherwise. Even that horn solo makes sure the pace is kept up up up, setting in stone that this is one to just have some fun to (if that wasn’t clear already). Love the fact of how they keep the party going in the background and continuously put some instrument or another in the spotlight to just do their thing. Like the grandest ol’ jam session in funky Harlem town or wherever.  It certainly lives true to its title, with the addition “and let the people party” secretly put on the flip side.

‘Come Together’ by Cassio Kohl

Cassio Kohl starts this one with the atmospheric sounds, and just a little bit of those cymbals to at least get some of the percussion in. The rest of the percussion, along with the beat and, slightly later, the bass, follow soon enough, turning this one into a deep house slow burner. The track gets some spoken word, which is pretty well done seeing how fast-talking it needs to be (and how easily that can sound sooo wrong. The faster you go, the more risk you’re taking, I feel). I love some of those auxiliary sounds from at about 1:40 on. Those give some nice flavour, add a bit of jazziness to it as well. Plus it combines well with the floating synth line the track puts in there. In the mean time, still the percussion and the kick beat taking care of the rhythm aspects, and the synths keep it from going too deep in there. Those synths for a moment get teamed up with just the beat, the rest of the percussion having to take a backseat. Over this minimal structure the vocals come back, during which the rest of the track slowly reassembles. Definitely one for dancing with your eyes closed, it’s got a sense of hypnotism to it that adds to this drug fuelled industrial party feel it has, undoubtedly being thrown somewhere in a former atom-bomb basement in Berlin (just to add a slight And-this-week-in-history thing to it, ya know?).

‘Endless Rhythm’ by Baio

Okay, confession time, when I saw Vampire Weekend live at a festival, that was about the slowest ten minutes of my lifetime before I walked out (which surely has more to do with me than the immensely popular band). Baio, the bass player of the said band (you didn’t really think I held such a grudge that I just randomly put the above anecdote in just about wherever, did you?), gets a little bit of that surf pop going here, there’s a little Seventies vibe combined with a bit of contemporary retro. As in, it does kind of tell you it isn’t an original from back in the day, but it sure feels as something celebrating those things that were fun in the golden olden days. So what you get is this nice slice of catchiness, with especially that synth adding the feel it’s aiming for. Though the chorus sings I can wait, I can wait for you, which sounds really romantic, there are also lines in there like Every lyric that I’ve written, is a lyric I despise, Oh I despise, so make of that what you will. Again, just loving the synths and the feel they put into the track, in the end producing something that just sounds like fun.