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:  ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ by Denie Corbett (Jesse Rudoy remix)

The always amazing Let’s Play House label is back in business again with a free download, this time a Jesse Rudoy edit of the old school disco tune ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ by Denie Corbett. It starts out with a dancefloor beat, there are some bell-like sounds there in the mix, but the real going on starts after the minute mark, when the bass comes in. After about 1:30 you get the quintessential disco moan (because it’s all about that ol’ love making, ain’t it?), as in the mean time the bass and the beat keep this one danceable. At about 2:15 you get the horns in, which is always a good sign as usually that indicates the vocals are about half a minute away. After those 30 seconds, first, he kicks the pace up with a fast drum, and the vocals come in half a minute after that one. And they are those sassy, disco vocals you remember from the genre, singing that She gets down on her knees, with the chorus girls singing “What you won’t do for love”, which is lovely cheeky and so fitting for that ol’ disco. From this point on monsieur Rudoy just keeps this one moving, with the vocals, the fast-paced drum, the strings, just the whole thing really. At about 5:20 he returns to the bass, letting that one grind it out, finishing this lovely edit that makes any old disco song into a modern day dancefloor tune with how danceable it is combined with the vocals and sass you want on a night out.

‘Undercover’ by Lane 8 feat. Matthew Dear

Lane 8 is readying the release of his upcoming album Rise, and on this track he has enlisted Matthew Dear and his deep, melancholic vocals to do the singing over the more summery synth lines he himself churns out. Though especially the secondary synth and the drums form a nice bridge between the main synth and the vocals. At 1:28 Lane 8 picks up the pace with a fast drum, giving the song its uplifting party feel to counterbalance the sense of blues eminating from the vocals of Dear, asking whomever to Let it feel, that it is real. So even in those lines there’s this sense of hope, that goes with the way Lane 8 has constructed the instrumentals for the song. Lane 8 really builds this track up nicely, from the synths to the drums, and how he structures those throughout the song, that’s why you get this sense of momentum. For the ending he dials it down a bit, going with just the vocals and a piano to round it all out. The album is shaping up to be well-worth giving a go, and if you have never seen Matthew Dear live, be sure to catch him the next time he’s coming to a town near you.

‘Turn Off The Lights (Who’s Afraid Of The Ark)’ by Kerri Chandler

Kerri Chandler wastes no time laying down the works with that fast paced, hard hitting beat, accompanying them with some of those classic house synth sounds. In the mean time you’ve got those deep, talky male vocals asking (nay, demanding to know) Whose afraid of the lights?. At 1:20 you get this lighter synth entering, making sure no one is mistaking this for anything else than that sweet ol’ house music. Just before the 2:30 mark Chandler throws a little bass in there as well to get things really cooking, mixing it with some percussion to sweeten the deal. In the mean time the vocals are still of the opinion that we should Turn off the lights, because, well, who knows what will happen then, eh? Chandler makes sure you have bits like at 3:20, where he dials down the beat for a moment to then let it back in again, at which points all y’all on the dancefloor can pull out your fiercest move/look/pose out of the bag to get back in it again. I mean, this is house for the dancefloor, a tune to be pulling out DJing at the club during the wee hours of the night to let them all get down to. Chandler knows a thing or to about that, and it’s on display again here, just old school night clubbing.

‘Our Muzic’ by Glenn Crocker feat. Harold Big Ed Matthews

In this track Harold Big Ed Matthews says that it is a Celebration of a nation, and the fun bassline sure makes there’s a celebratory vibe in this danceable jazz tune from Chicago’s Glenn Crocker. The bass and drums take care of the rhythm part, with some piano free roaming on top as the spoken word is poetically giving an ode to, especially, music, saying that people are living to blend in with the music, and that this is Our music. In the mean time the bass and drums keep the song rolling on, giving the people out there something to shake their shoulders to. At one point Glenn Crocker slides this thing into an instrumental part with primarily the drums, but soon he brings that bass back to add a bit of oomph to it. After that, roaming on top, first some piano, then some lovely floating sounds I can’t quite recognize the instrument of (do help my ailing mind in the comments). It is just a fun track, with especially the bass giving it this party line, and with all the jazz sounds and the spoken word giving it some (musical) poeticness.

‘Rays’ by Telespazio (Harvey Sutherland remix)

Wow, how about those light, sunny synths that Sutherland starts out with. As if Apollo 26 is counting down for lift off during sunrise. You hear the kickpad in the background doing some work as well, though it are those synthesizers that lay down the atmosphere. That is, before the actual lift off commences, with Sutherland getting the rhythm in there with a bassy synth line and some percussion sounds to add some sugar to the bowl. After about a minute of just rhythm, those atmospheric synth sounds come back in again, just to remind you what you were getting in to in the first place. Later on in the track he strips the rhythm instruments for a minute, but obviously he gets them back in there again with some extra auxiliary sounds to give it this sense of oomph. What Sutherland has created here kind of works twofold, with the bass rhythm doing it’s thing so you can do a little shuffle dance to it, but what he’s created around it gives it this sense of beauty (on which he builds on in the second part of the track). Telespazio released an album with this song on it earlier in the year, so if you liked this one you might want to give that one a spin as well.

‘Gloria’ by Santa Esmeralda (Future Feelings edit)

Sure, we know ‘Gloria’ from Patti Smith’s iconic album Horses, but in essence it’s a Van Morrison (Them) tune that was also covered (and perhaps more closely so) by Santa Esmeralda for Santa’s also relatively-but-not-quite-so iconic Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood album. Future Feelings take on that one to edit, having a nice kick drum there as bass to move it forward alongside that well-known guitar line. At about the fifty second mark the party kind of comes in with some extra instruments, giving it this uplifting vibe that’s always good for dancing. Soon enough we get the vocals, singing that She makes me feel so good, which gets looped for a moment before the traditional spelling of the title name comes in. In the mean time the bass in the background keeps it going along with the drums, giving all those dancers something to hang their hat on. At 3:33 they slide the song into this nice bit of guitar soloing, still with the rhythm section doing their thing, putting together a nice little combo there. They smartly bring back the vocals after a prolonged instrumental passage, primarily focussing on those two lines + chorus that they did earlier as well. As said, the track (and especially its chorus) have this nice uplifting feel, and with the rhythm and the occassional guitar solo in there it is a fun little take on a much covered tune.

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: ‘Nevermind’ by Leonard Cohen (PillowTalk Re-Rub)

How about we start with some of that bass, these lads must’ve thought. I also love that the second sound is this sort of amplified snapping-of-the-fingers. Leonard Cohen is doing his ultimate low voiced, spoken-word growl, which has something ominous about it. It gets balanced out a bit by the female vocals, though Cohen’s voice sure puts a stamp on this one. It goes lovely with that bass though, which keeps on rolling to make sure the boogie vibe is staying right there in the song. As said, PillowTalk makes sure there are some balancing elements, like the strings, like the female vocals, to make sure this one doesn’t slant too much over to the dark side (especially since, with Cohen’s vocals, you’re almost halfway there anyway, not to mention lines like “I could not kill, the way you kill”). I also like the cleanliness of the track. The bass and Cohen’s vocals are the mainstay, one taking care of the narrative, the other taking care of the boogie, and then there are a few elements thrown in there to take care of the balance, but which do not overcrowd it. A sweet combination it surely makes.

‘Combination’ by Woolfy vs. Projections

On the label of Permanent Vacation the people of Woolfy vs. Projections have a go at a slice of Deep House, which PV is kind of a quality stamp for. So here, too, it starts with a nice beat, but soon the rest of the percussion sounds come in, and that’s where the track starts to become fun. There’s this grainy, deep bass sound that gets thrown in there, just to be juxtaposed a little while later with a lighter synth sound. Around 1:40 there’s the space whirl, giving the track some atmosphere on top of the beat and that aforementioned bass. And so the guys add multiple instruments until they dial it down around 2:40, where they turn down the rhythm sounds for a moment, building up non-beat percussion elements up to the point where they slide the beat back in for the dancing crowd. There’s this nice change-up at around 3:45, where one synth sound is swapped for another, which does the trick in altering the tone somewhat. And these changes make sure the track doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, whilst in the mean time keeping the club side of it up so all y’all can do some dancing after midnight.

‘U Make Me Feel’ by Unique (Ilya Santana edit)

Around the mid Eighties there came Unique saying that she feels so good. And Ilya Santana recently felt good too, grabbing this one and putting his own spin on it. Which includes a kick, a nice bassline, and some high-pitched synthesizers to help out Unique, who comes in at about 1:10 to give it this emotional Eighties Funk & R&B slant. Then leave it to Santana to keep mixing all those aforementioned instruments and turn it into something that not only resembles the original, but even moreso resembles his own sound, which usually veers a bit towards the space disco side of the spectrum. This time, though, he freely twists that up a bit because of the main bass sound and the vocals, whilst also having some fun with those crazy synths in there. It’s got some nice Eighties flavour, a nice, funky bassline, and it exhumes some fun because it is, at times, a bit all over, as if someone was smiling when making this, transporting that to the dancefloor a bit with this Unique and Ilya Santana crossover.

‘In Infancy’ by Museum Of Love (Bottin remix)

Bottin really wastes no time laying down the feel of this one with some really specific sounds that he uses, this strumming guitar and this deep, bass like sound. Add another, more tingly, guitar sound, and you really have a particular feel out there which then gets trumped by the tropicana club feel after about forty seconds in, when the track starts to put in the rhythm sounds to give the audience some opportunity to do some dancing. Boy, those starting sounds had me blindsided there pretty good, as this tropical piano I had never seen coming. And it is that feel that really dominates the tone, so you get this cocktail-in-hand feel, but with some grit to it, to make sure no one is taking to the lounge chairs or anything. At about 2:40 the vocals come in, again giving a different flavor to the proceedings. After the vocals Bottin adds a bass to take over balancing duties, making sure the track never becomes just this or just that. At the five minute mark you get this lovely moment where the vocals go in chanting mode and you just have the bass, I really like that, and it is a nice set up for the final run of the track, which mood is a bit lighter again thanks to the guitar sound he throws in there.

‘The Bottle’ by Gil Scott Heron (Mike Simonetti 10:30 Bootleg)

How about a near 11 minute edit of a Gil Scott Heron track eh? One by Mike Simonetti no less, a sir who knows how to get people dancing in front of his DJ booth. With this one he is certain to put a nice bass in the background to make sure there’s something to hang your dance moves on, and other than that there’s loads of Gil Scott Heron and flutes and things. Really making sure that the rack is packed with plenty of vibes connected to the original. And yet, it is strangely party-ish, good natured, very let’s-be-dancing. Not in the least because of that quick bass in the back, which is dialed down around 3:30 where Simonetti lets the vocals and the percussion have a swing at it for a moment (or an afternoon, having a quite lengthy run up towards the moment the beat gets back in again, which is at about 5:24 after a percussion and rhythm solo of proper length). The bass rears its nose back in at about 6:10, and a good twenty seconds later you get the whole band back together, coming around again to this uplifting party feel that this track manages to exhume. Apparently Simonetti sometimes ends his sets with this and I, for one, would not be complaining if that would be bestowed upon to me.

‘Spirit Talkin’ by Dan Beaumont (Spencer Parker workmix)

The pace is set right from the start, going frantic with the beat and the additional percussion elements. So no slouching on this one, that’s for sure. Then again, the title already indicates that you should be working it, so nothing lied about that one there. Just after the minute mark you hear the first additional sound creeping up from behind the curtain of beats and percussion, and at 1:30 we start seeing where this is going. At about 2:10 we also hear the female vocals for the first time, indeed sounding like the Spirit is talking through her, giving it this gospel vibe that, somehow, goes nicely with the fast-paced beat that this track still has going on. A feel, by the way, which gets amplified by some additional piano Spencer Parker throws in there as well. And those two elements (vocals and piano) get their little moment in the sunshine around the halfway mark, where it becomes even more clear that it sure gets its inspiration from the Sunday morning sessions under the Lord’s guidance. After that little moment it also feels more and more like the beat is there to uplift, and not just to go at it hard. And because of how it turns from just hard clubbing at the start to this, it makes sure the track gives you a good nine minutes of feeling it.

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: ‘Stop’ by Nicholas feat. Madafi Pierre

Nicholas knows how to do a bit of that house thing, and here he gets the rhythm going with a nice, dulled out beat, a slightly less dulled-out synth, and then a clear sounding percussion; all to get the Detroit on. Then you get these lovely senses-being-dulled vocals, pleading to Stop stop stop playing with my heart. Nicholas turns the cymbals on to give the track a bit of a kick, and they really light up the Christmas tree because it is a pretty clear sound compared to the beat. The vocals also do some spoken word, which is a nice bit of variety, and it always lends this bit of gravitas I find. It really says, All right, listen up, let me tell you something. He dials down the sound a bit around the three minute mark, obviously coming back in with all the rhythm & house sounds shortly after to get the dancing going again. If you, for instance, just look at the sounds at 4:22, this delicious combination of that beat, the more up-front percussion, and this auxiliary sound that so delicately weaves its way through the two rhythm aspects. Then, shortly after, the spoken word again, then the singing comes back, and you’ve got the cymbals delivering the punch again. It’s a super nice bit of house music from the man who has so consistently been churning these out in the past few years.

‘Why’ by Tim K & Honey Dijon feat. Nomi Ruiz

A team consisting of Tim K, Honey Dijon and vocalist Nomi Ruiz take on the old Nile Rodgers track ‘Why’. So you know there’s a little guitar riff in there, along with some almost Jamaica influenced percussion. After about a minute in the vocals come in, first with a la-di-da-di-da, then wondering Why does your love hurt so much, a lyric which fits right in the Ruiz oeuvre. At 1:40 the percussion stops for a moment, and then it’s just a piano and vocals combo, which brings in a nice bit of variety. I like how one of the instruments basically doubles Ruiz’ her vocal line of la-di-da-di-da, and everything does seem to gel really well. It’s got a nice, laidback atmosphere to it through all the wondering of the way love works (and other assorted mysteries of life). As the track draws to its close you get a bit where the bass gets a moment in the spotlight, which is a nice way to draw this one to its ending. Lovely cover from this team of musicians.

‘Talk System’ by Jacques Renault

I’m a complete sucker for Jacques Renault’s dancing tunes, so always looking forward to new work from this guy. The synths come in at about the thirty second mark, the vocals say a thing or two, and in the mean time you just feel he’s building up to the beat, which comes in just after a minute with a kind of military step rhythm. There are like three different layers of rhythm at work there, which is pretty awesome. The speedier, lighter one, the more bass-like sound, and just a regular ol’ beat to take time. Just before the three minute mark he dials most of that down, letting the vocals go on for a slight bit before all that rhythm goodness comes back in again. Which gets an additional kick around 3:28 to make sure that all those lovely dancers get this little jolt of energy again to keep on working it. Renault just knows how to keep that house feel in there, later on the track going for a prolonged stop of the rhythm sounds to then dial it back up one more time with that little bit more pazazz, ending it with that military step percussion. Just some of that good ol’ house music, y’all.

‘Heartbreak Reputation’ by Zimmer ft. Polina

Zimmer is readying his new release, the EP Coming Of Age, which will be out later this month. I love how he starts with those vocals, so dreamy and sweet, and then you slowly get the synths under there. Though it is the percussion element that dictates the (slow) pace at first, which nicely complements the vocals. The synths build and build though, and after about a minute you get the beat & synth combo for a slow synth-pop jam, accompanied by the vocals. After basically a vocal-led chorus the synths come in with a nice hop in their step, with a positive, feel-good vibe, which gets some extra flavour from the aaaaahhh-ing female voice which is a nice bit of extra to have in there. One of those summerday tracks, which is good listening in the heatwave that is happening as I’m writing this one at the moment. Maybe going to see him in a couple of weeks when he’s playing Buiten Westen in Amsterdam, something which I hope will fit in our rigerous schedule of dancing, shimmying, and all-out working it.

‘Coule’Ba’ by Analog Players Society (JKriv version)

JKriv takes on the Analog Players Society’s ‘Coule’Ba’, throwing in some of his strutting guitar play in there to go with all the percussion, beat, and African vocals they’ve already got going there. As well as a nice bass synth to add some of that boogie rhythm to it all. The vocals, though obviously not understanding a word of it, have a nice immediacy to the delivery, and I like how JKriv sometimes stops the proceedings for a bit of that guitar riff goodness, to then slide it back to the boogie again. Which sees the addition of some new instruments in the second go around, including a piano and some less identifiable sounds. Throughout the whole song the immediate vocals put a stamp on things, and the percussion and assorted accompaniments that weave in and out make sure there’s a little boogie there as well. As always, JKriv manages to mesh everything together nicely, so it is all sounding nice and smooth, bringing this little boogie-of-a-tune together nicely.

‘Is This It’ by Kenny Loggins (KB’s SChrebergarten Edit)

This time it is Kim Brown’s turn to get some of that lovely old stuff out there on the dancefloor, bringing the classic Kenny Loggins’ song ‘This Is It’ to a discotheque near you. She carefully builds up to the beat, which jumps in there at about thirty seconds with a nice, soft percussion vibe to it. On top of that there’s the original sound on loop, with just after a minute another one of those sounds which is used as a tease, as she doesn’t quite go to vocals just yet, instead turning back to the rhythm aspects to let all of them people dance some more. And she is in no hurry to get there, too, even doing a bit of playing around with that guitar riff before she turns to Loggins at 2:30. Now that she’s there though, she lets him go at it, with the vocals clear and up front in the mix, doing the whole first verse before she goes back to the guitar loop and rhythm beat combo to dance to. And it is like the chocolate equivalent of the dancefloor, just nice and tasty and filled with a flavor everyone knows. Plus, there are just some of those guys like Loggins, like Michael McDonald, that are just shoe-ins for a disco treatment like this. McDonald who, by the way, rears his head a bit later for the ultimate recognition moment when the chorus is used. The kind of thing I always love, and done in a nice, patient, catchy manner, but with the cheesy chorus pay-off at the end with Loggins doing the works. Which, for me, is a good thing, just to make that clear. Who doesn’t like a repeat of the chorus after having been patient for a good five minutes or so?

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: ‘Rollergirl’ by JP Source

At about the thirty second mark basically what you kind of were expecting comes in, namely this deep bass that will lead this girl down the rollertrack. A bit gritty, a bit sleazy, and abruptly stopping for a moment at about 1:10 to build up the anticipation for the moment at 1:30 when that bass comes back, having brought some friends along. And the one entering at 1:40 is most welcome of all, nicely juxtaposing the deeper rhythm sounds. The vocals, slightly in the back of the mix, do this as well, so it is no wonder these two sounds are basically relieving each other of duty throughout. The vocals are being looped like a son-of-a-gun, and behind them JP Source does a good job of weaving some of the elements in and out to give you a slice of freshness throughout the long stretch of vocal loops. That’s what is so nice about the track, he seems to be able to find the right times to add or subtract especially the bigger instruments, which you can play with a bit as the looping of the vocals provide the consistency for the song. Around the five minute mark we get some extra disco sounds, with the vocals being cut loose a little bit, and with a mini slice of horns rearing their brassy heads. It is a nice, seven minute affair for a night out.

‘World Gone Crazy’ by The Reverend Cleve Freckleton & The Sinners (Greg Wilson & Peza Club Dub)

How about some of that gospel, eh? Let’s not forget that house music and the church are quite linked together, if only because one takes place Saturday night and all of them all needed to be back in the church choir again on Sunday morning. Greg Wilson and Peza first get the bass going, providing a perfect layer for some dancing. Add to that a bit of that strumming guitar, and you’ve got the two main ingredients to support those growling vocals, singing that The world, has gone, craaaiizzyyy. Naturally, there are a host of other instruments in there as well, as well as some auxiliary sounds, for instance one that sounds like coins falling down. The main attraction of this track though is the preacher and his choir doing their thing over both the bass as well as the electric guitar, providing the right core to link the Saturday midnight to the Sunday service.

‘Beggin For Thread’ by BANKS (Aeroplane remix)

I love the lightness this one starts out with, it is a good tone to balance out the rather heavy handed beat Aeroplane throws in there. The vocals are somewhere in the middle of that, with an air of dreaminess, and helping out in the middle ground are the synth-pop like synths that come in to help her out a bit. The delivery of the vocals, too, have this nice poppy edge, and especially in the beat-less part starting at about 1:25 Aeroplane builds this up as a summer jam. The beat, obviously, comes back in, just to make sure that even the most dimwitted person in the room gets cued in that, Yes, you’re here to dance. In the mean time, the female vocals say that, surely, you should have known what you were getting yourself in to. If you don’t mind the heaviness of the beat (and I’m not a fan of that per se), then the other elements make a lovely summer tune out of this, including some cheesy synth lines to really get that vibe going.

‘Half Full’ by B-Jam vs Enos

This one starts like a stroboscope going haywire, but after about 20 seconds you get a whole batch of soul loveliness in there as if you’re eating that sweet chicken by the bucketload. That is what makes this track intriguing, on one hand the soulful smoothness in the vocals, which gets contrasted by the more contemporary backing sounds, which have this loopy, fragmented electronical feel to them. Like a deconstructed soul/old school hip hop track, which features both the classical elements of those genres, but which has been taking to town and let themselves be measured up for a new jacket. I am always intrigued, in any kind of art form, by that combo, and in a sense most of the edits in this column are that in a mild version. Something like this widens the chasm between the two parts, which makes the classic sounds pop out more, really singling out those characteristics that causes us to listen to these things in the first place.

‘Take A Chance’ by Moullinex (Satin Jackets remix)

This one starts with a bit of percussion, the bass is quickly added, and then you get some of those synths and that bit of guitar as well, all culminating into this slow, lazy, summer jam kind of vibe. The summer is definitely put in by the percussion, and that guitar and those synths just give you that lazy, staring-over-the-water-while-the-sun-is-shining kind of feel. The vocals help out a bit with that as well, by the way. Just before the two minute mark you get this lovely little bass to do some shoulder and/or hip action to. The aforementioned vocals are nice and high, having a certain lightness to them which make them very easy on the ear as they are asking Won’t you take a chance? Love how Satin Jackets slides that guitar back in at about 3:50, and then have most of what’s around it stripped away to really get this on-the-beach-with-guitar vibe out there. Super sweet and easy on the ear remix of a track on Moullinex’s new album Elsewhere.

‘No Sleeep’ by Janet Jackson

Pop diva Janet Jackson is back, this time with the sultry ‘No Sleeep’. She starts by singing that you are missing her, and that she is missing you. And that when you guys finally meet, there’ll surely be little sleeping going on (you go for it, honey!). Despite the scene just illustrated, this is, like I said, more a low key, sultry affair instead of a power pop sex track. It has a nice R&B vibe, and they glossed it over with a bit of class, making it one of those old school love songs. Including a dash of organ, a subtle bass line, and a nice little kick drum to keep it moving forward a bit. Definitely a welcome return from la Jackson, and returns can always be soooo terrible, but this one surely isn’t that.