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 Want You’ by Marvin Gaye (DJ Snatch rework)

I love how this one starts, so easy on the ear with just that understated beat, some percussion, and that little smooth synth line. The pace is on the slower side of the dancefloor, but all the vibes more than make up for it. Just before the minute mark two good things come in, namely some horns, and we get our first little taster of the vocals. And who doesn’t want to hear some Marvin Gaye just about always? In the mean time DJ Snatch has upped the auxiliary sounds, getting some piano in there as well, so the track becomes more layered without it starting to sound convoluted. At about the three minute mark he kicks the track in a slightly higher gear, with Gaye at this point preaching as all get out, getting some emotions in there, for example at the four minute mark. Also love how the vocals are being played off of the horns, that’s nicely done. But Gaye is feeling it, singing that you shouldn’t Play with something that you should cherish for life (oh baby). Take that greener-pastures-people! This track keeps slow jamming it up for a good ten minutes, and as said, it’s got all the goods you want from a track like this. It’s got the horns, it’s got the vocals, it’s got multiple-yet-changing layers, but also there’s the percussion and the beat to give you something to nod your head to. Apparently based on an earlier edit by none other than Mr. John Morales, who knows how to do it right. Nice work out of the Get Down Edits corner yet again.

‘Call Girl’ by The Right Now (JKriv remix)

Wow, that dirty bass sound that comes in after a few seconds, so fitting. And does set the tone for a song called ‘Call Girl’, that’s for sure. Got to love that bit of sleaze. JKriv also adds some of that Caribbean percussion though, and a slightly melancholic sounding synth, just to make sure that it doesn’t go down that black hole of nightclubs and smokey back rooms completely. That synth line just before the second minute mark is quite a lovely thing, especially if you combine that with some of those horns like he does. In the mean time the base is still being formed by a bit of that bass and beat, just to make sure you can keep on shaking that boot-ey a tad. There’s this bit at the three minute mark where he uses predominantly deeper rhythm sounds, and the way he then slides this lighter, melancholic synth in, that’s pretty awesome right there. The female vocals fit that synth line in terms of tone, so they form a nice team to make sure the track doesn’t veer to one side too much. There are also some cameo performances in this track, some instruments that pop up for a little stint, and those are always a nice surprise, and fitting to boot. JKriv delivering some quality again, and as a Free Download too!

‘Jackie’ by Woolfy vs. Projections

The third album of these Permanent Vacation stalwarts is coming up in August, and here’s a slice to see just why you want to be eyeing that release. It starts with some synths, but soon they slide some beat and bass in there. Nice and deep, of course, because it is Permanent Vacation stuff, though it doesn’t veer into deep house too much by any means. Also thanks to the vocals, which narrate a tale of love lost, and the synths and auxiliary sounds they add, which are lighter than the deeper rhythm instruments used. Not that you cannot dance to this though, as the base is constant and keeps prodding along (sometimes together, sometimes bass and beat separately). Meanwhile the boys are pondering to leave everything and just walk away, and there’s this tinge of sadness in their vocals, which suits the way they set up the tone instrumentally just fine. At one point, the rhythm sounds are stripped away for a moment, with haunting synths forming the backdrop for the words My heart’s breaking. After that they make sure the track returns to dancing though, with all kinds of lovely layers that either help out with the rhythm or with the atmosphere they want to create. The bass, then, rides out this nice preview to their upcoming third LP.

‘Hold On’ by Roosevelt

This one starts off with a bit of that grainy, garage-y guitar sound, but you already hear the funky rhythm in there. No place to hide funk, no need for hiding it either. Not even in this track, with the dreamily blase-produced vocals. Don’t let that fool you though, as the rhythm of the guitar is nice and funky, and there are horns in there as well. Don’t think I won’t notice any of those good, disco vibed things! There’s even a kind of dancefloor-party-build-up just after the two minute mark, where he even adds a quite thuddy beat to it as he sings that you need to Hold on to your lover, as you need to Make it work. After that bridge he adds a light piano to add the fun in the party, ending it with a little boogie bass to make sure to remind you that, yes, this is secretly a dance track disguised as some of that attic-diy-dreampop music.

‘Hot As You Want’ by Lane 8 feat. Solomon Grey

Almost from the start I know I’m going to get a nice slice of summer, and Lane 8 definitely delivers in that department. There’s quite a pace-y beat there, with the vocals already doing their thing in the background, as multiple vocal layers overlap each other. After the minute mark you again have this thudding, euphoric beat to dance to on some rooftop as the sun is setting. The second go around sees the vocals, courtesy of Solomon Grey, in verse mode, being more up front in the mix. He’s singing about how you are all he needs, All he sees. In his mind, that is, as she is Far from here, so there’s this sadness in his voice. And we all know you got to dance the blues away, and that’s what Lane 8 makes sure you can do to this little party number, upping the beat and the pace at the right moments to give the dancers some momentum at points to get the hands up and the feet off (and on) the floor.

‘Now is Tomorrow’ (Superbreak Disco Edit)

How about the drums to start off this one? Add to that the percussion, and after thirty seconds the bass, and you’re boogying down your front lawn in no time. At about the fifty second mark the track starts to take the shape of the song, and you even get a first taster of the vocals, going “ooooh” in a nice, high pitched disco way. Soon there’s a bit of that ol’ disco guitar, some of those funky horns, and shortly after the first singing appears, saying that “tomorrow is now”, which apparently the horns then verify. I love the kind of chorus part, where the vocals rapid fire their way through the lines Gotta boogie, gotta do it, gotta say it, gotta do it right now (or close to that), after which the bass lays down a bit of that slow boogie style to give you the opportunity to do just that. At 3:30 you get some loveboat horns, some of that ol’ disco cheese that we all love, though on the whole this is primarily a boogilicious track to get funky to at whatever party you happen to be.

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: ‘Down To Earth’ by Flight Facilities (Sean Glass remix)

Sean Glass comes in with a little beat here, but as the synths appear soon the tone starts to become apparent. The synths are relatively slow, relatively melancholic, which gets relatively counterbalanced by the sound that comes out from underneath. At about the minute mark you can hear the build-up nearing it’s climax, but instead of a major beat being dropped they shift up the synths. And for the second possibly climactic moment at about 1:30, again, they don’t go in all-out party mode, but instead they kind of strip the synths away for the percussion to take center stage, and with them Glass gives us the first taste of vocals. In the mean time he keeps working those big synth sounds, adding some layers underneath to give the track its rhythm. I love that strip down cue-the-bass moment at about 3:30, though the deep bass is quickly traded in for two layers of synths again (the big bold synth, and the happier, quicker one). The vocals now really start to enter the equation, logically being followed by the full fledged sound of the track, combining both of them. That’s a nice build-up, as you’ve already heard the big sounds before, and now they come back in again, but this time they get paired up with these soulful vocals. I like that he does return to that bass sound that got a brief moment of fame a couple of minutes before, I find it quite soothing when things go neatly round like that. It’s like all is well in the world when that happens, innit? It’s just a nice, accomplished track that does have some big sounds, but still has some restraint in its tone, instead of being just another full-on party track.

‘Make U Mine’ by Late Nite Tuff Guy

LNTG will try to get you on the dancefloor again, this time taking on ‘Gonna Make You Mine’, an Eighties track by Loose Ends. So he gets all those funky rhythm sounds in there, including that bass sound at about the 40 second mark, to make sure that the dancefloor certainly is an option. At the 1:30 mark you get some lighter instrumentals that come in, and just before the two minute mark those nice R&B vocals enter the fray as well. Those female vocals are getting some help from the boys at the back, before the honeyed male vocals come in to make it a duet, two people circling each other trying to make the other theirs (some people are going to feel lucky tonight!). I like the vocal shift at about 3:40, with the male vocals going deep, cheekily whispering “I’m gonna, gonna make you mine”, and I swear I already hear someone panting in the background (some people just cannot behave!). In the mean time, LNTG keeps this one throdding forward with, especially, the bass, which gets its moment in the spotlight around 4:40. Some nice R&B and soul flavors in this track to do some of that love dancing to.

‘Friends Of Mine’ by Ben Browning

You know that when any of the Cut Copy guys take the stage, it’s going to be catchy and fun. This one starts nice and light, then you get some of that percussion in, after which a deeper, lazier synth balances the track out. But when the bass enters at about the fifty second mark and the happier synthesizer line is the second main sound, that is the point where the track really shifts it’s focus to having fun and getting some dancing done. The vocals come in shortly after, singing about when he takes a step back instead of going gung-ho forward, he will find Friends of Mine (well, his, obviously) still there. And that’s worth some celebrating, I reckon. Again, the happy synth line and the bass make this so catchy and easy to have a little party to, and it is one of those tracks where I can see myself at some sort of beach party dancing as the sun goes down.

‘Celeste’ by Bicep

The duo of Bicep starts this one off with some percussion (and some ominous, dark sounds in the background. Don’t think I don’t notice you, shadows of the damned! *waves fist in the air*). Shortly after this deep beat comes in, really taking the tone into the depths of middle earth. Then an equally deep bass comes in, but also these atmospherical, haunted vocals arrive, which gives it this ethereal quality. So these vocals are moved more up front, and start to transmorph into genuine female vocals, whilst all these deep rhythm sounds keep going at it in the background. They get counterbalanced at one point by a lighter piano sound, though that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one to play at 04:00 at a Berlin club somewhere, one of those where you need to descent a stair to get there. The piano does, at one point, move more up front in the mix, making a nice combo with the distant vocals. In the mean time, the percussion has never lead up, and will guide you towards the end of this nice deep dance track with some of that atmosphere to boot.

‘Ain’t No Mountain’ by LeSale

LeSale goes for the homerun here, editing one of those iconic songs that everyone can sing along to. His intent is clear right from the start, with the drums, percussion, and the synths that swell up to epic proportions even before the first minute is over. The minute mark sees the addition of even more booming sounds, including a bass, and he keeps building it to, obviously, the point that the vocals are going to come in. This happens just after the second minute mark, in as dramatic a fashion as you’d expect. The track has attitude and flair, and LeSale makes sure that doesn’t go lost when the girls enter the stage. He reels them back in, going for a stretch of percussion and bass before the synths start to swell up again to build towards the second round of vocals, which arrive just before four minutes are over. I love the transition from the chorus to the “ohh-hoo-ho-hoo-ho” vocal lines that have the bass and beat under it (and later, the percussion), it gives the chorus a nice bit of extra padding that he didn’t bring the first time around, making sure it isn’t just the same thing twice. This is the kind of thing that is go bold or go home, and LeSale keeps it fun and knows to enter the vocal parts with a punch, because everyone wants to scream along with that at the top of their lungs. Because, you know, There ain’t no mountain high enough! Ain’t no valley low enough! Ain’t no river wide enough! To keep me from getting to you babe! So you better know I’m coming sweet cheeks.

‘Listen To My Music’ by DJ Pupo

How about some of those tribal drums to get this one deep and going? I love the big, bad beat just throbbing forward, but the small percussion elements to keep it on its toes. At the 45 second mark you get some of those African rhythms in, helped also by a vocal line. The bell starts ringing as the male vocals do their talking in a language I’ve got no idea about (and this time, I’m fairly confident a reasonable bunch of you won’t either, so no blaming my education here!). Then both male and female vocals implore you to Listen, though probably you will be feeling all those drums and percussion elements as well, as the track really lays down this nice rhythm you’ve just got to be jacking your body to. At about the three minute mark he dials it down for just a moment, taking the big beat away, obviously building back to another strong rhythm element to take over again. That’s probably the greatest thing about this one, it’s got the big rhythm element he knows to ride, but he has all these amazing auxiliary sounds to give it some edge and to keep it fresh. Especially since they really add and not distract to the feel of the track. Which is, by the way, very body oriented. Its just got all those rhythm vibes that are there to feel, so no wonder it gets a release via the Boiler Room.

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: ‘Odds Are Good’ by Anoraak

This is a track from a compilation disc curated by Eskimo Recordings revolving around the colour Orange. Just saying, in case you get that quintessential Orange-y vibe and don’t know why. I love this track. It starts with a bit of noise, but then it slides into this melancholic slow burner, throwing in so much atmosphere there with such ease. That combination of the slow beat and the synth is just lovely, and shortly after you get these detached-yet-warm vocals singing that he dreams that he falls for you. At this time there’s a quicker, lighter synth that has come in, which is the cue for the track to kind of move towards a sort of chorus with a more “band like” sound. As in, not just the beat and the synth, but as if an indie-rock band is playing the track. For the verses they move back to the slow beat and synth combo, with the vocals on top. The mixture of both is nice, and these two elements get tied together effectively by this dreamy feel, parts in thanks to the vocals as well. Just another good Anoraak tune, like they manage to do so regularly.

‘The Don’ by Michael The Lion

The always fabulous Razor ‘N Tape label comes with a Michael The Lion edits EP, giving you four tracks to do some dancing to. One of those is ‘The Don’, a take on the 1984 Magazine 60 song ‘Don Quichotte’. And if you, like me, love some of that cheesy, cheeky Italo Disco, than this will get you smiling whilst dancing (and vice versa). First you get some of that bass action going, that cheeky, Italian stallion bass for some over-the-top posturing, and Michael The Lion knows to ride that thing. If that sound doesn’t make you wish you have that kind of mustache and some weird, leathery cap on from those '80s vids, then I’m not sure what will (or if you’d want to, anyway). After about 1 1/2 minute you get some lighter sounds in there to increase the party vibe, and then you get those crazy vocals. First the male talking, asking if he can speak to Mr. Don Quichotte please, after which the girls reply "No no no no no signor", with Michael The Lion sliding in some guitar action before the girls start singing about Don Quichotte in a language I’m not fluent in (but, probably, you won’t gain much of an emotional impact from the lyrics if are. Just guessing). The rest of the track, again, still geared towards having fun on the dancefloor, and I’m a big believer in that theory (shocking and wild, I know, I know).

‘Shutters’ by Citizenn

Citizenn is inching towards releasing his debut record (out in June), and this is a nice taster off of that. It is packed with atmosphere, starting not with the beat, but with some vocals and surrounding sounds. After that some rhythm elements are brought in before moving towards the beat and a nice atmospheric synth. It is warm-yet-deep, especially when the bass comes in around the minute mark. At the 1:35 mark the beat is taken out for a brief moment, that moment introduced by one of those male “yeah’s” that you so often hear in house music. This moment, though, gets its gravitas from the female “vocals” and the kind of Eastern-sounding flute sound. After that, he picks up the pace a tad on the front side, but with the bass as its core the actual pace of the track stays grounded, with the deepness still giving it this atmosphere. And that feel of the track, deep-yet-warm, and with a hint of gravitas floating around, combined with the more exotic sounds makes it a track that is definitely intriguing me for a full album listen.

‘Words Gone’ by POPOF feat. Arno Joey (Jamie Jones remix)

I like that starting sound, this nice, deep bassy synth, that immediately sets the tone for this one. Then those vocals come in, which fit the sound in terms of production, and in the mean time the kick drum enters to get this one on the road and moving forward. After the minute mark the track doesn’t explode, instead it opts for this singular synth tone to be added, a bit later coming with a kind of fiddling piano underneath. At the 1:50 mark the starting sound gets sidelined for a moment, to give it this dancefloor feel a bit, though soon it comes back in to dictate the atmosphere. I like the variety, though I won’t lie and say that the track shines when that sound is there, so good thing that they don’t go prolonged lengths without it (aside from at the end, but you’ll just mix a new track in early, who’ll know?). It is the driving force behind the song, especially when combined with those lighter sounds that they sometimes bring in and which counterbalance the deeper sounds a bit. The track is created by Popof from Paris, who is gearing up to release an album. On remix duties there’s the always strong Jamie Jones, who again delivers here. Out on Hot Creations, a superb label.

 ‘1 2 3 4’ by Samantha Urbani

Samantha Urbani is a singer who is part of Blood Orange, with Dev Hynes at the helm. On this funky R&B tune Hynes is helping Urbani out a bit, though apparently from vocals to synths there’s a ton of Samantha herself in there as well. The track has a nice pace to it, also thanks to the bassline which keeps a nice little riff going in the background. But also the vocal delivery really puts a stamp on the track, mixing it up between verses and the chorus. At 2:12 there’s a nice instrumental intermezzo started, with plenty of nice flavours including some of that hand percussion. At 3:20 the instrumental passage is still going, but takes a turn into something a bit more darker, which is a nice switch in tone. It also is kind of fitting, as even though there’s a nice funk and dancey pace to this, it is Urbani’s punch-and-blow to cheaters, singing that “The cheater never wins”, adding that despite the “fun” (quotation marks mine, not quoting) you might be having, “The liar never knows love”. So honey, in the end, you’ll be a miserable old sod when you can’t get it up no more, and I ain’t there to love you. And how do you feel about cheaters dear viewers, post your reactions in the comments below, and don’t forget to like this video if you want to see more videos about love and other, nastier things.

 ‘Rugburn’ by Quell (Palace remix)

How about some of these party sounds? The Greek producer Quell gets it going on this one, with beats and even heftier beats from the get go (aided by Palace on remix duties). Just after the minute mark they strip the beat for a minute, giving us our first taste of the female vocals. After a quick soundbite from her, though, we immediately get back to the dancefloor vibe, with people able to jack it up on these quintessential house sounds. At about the 2:10 mark they opt for just the bass beat, with the one-line soundbites of the female vocals having being upped in frequency. The track has a few clearly identifiable elements, and they add or subtract them to keep some variety going. The clarity is it’s strength though, giving it a real clean feel for the dancefloor. At times a new element is added, sometimes to indicate a brief change of pace, but don’t expect anything too wacky for this clean-cut dance track. It’s being released on Waze & Odyssey’s label, and based on the tunes of those fella’s this track is right at home there.

So, normally The Weekly Froth! is a collection of six house/disco/electronic tracks that are kind of new (including edits, remixes, singles, etc.). This week though, with Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival coming up, and yours truly going there, it is a quick burst of six acts in those genres (or thereabouts) that you might want to catch if you’re going as well, or you might want to listen to anyway because they’ll spice up your… whatever-hour-you-need-to-spice-up.

The Juan MacLean [Pitchfork Stage – Friday, 01:40]

Last year The Juan MacLean released their second album, In a Dream, which happened to be my favourite album of the year. It’s the urban cold mixed with the emotional warmth (and hotness) of house music, which is a mixture that works perfectly. And if you think this second album doesn’t feature enough hits to keep you dancing all night long, they still have super-duper tunes like ‘Feel So Good’, ‘Feel Like Moving’, ‘Give Me Every Little Thing’, and the impeccable ‘Happy House’ to keep that party going until the morning light. I saw them twice when they were touring their first album, and both gigs were amazing, not in the least because of these 23-minute versions of ‘Happy House’ they pulled out of their hats. There’s no doubt in my mind they’ll be equally as good when playing Barcelona in two weeks.

Mike Simonetti [Pitchfork Stage – Saturday, 04:00]

To be honest, I’ve got no idea what this guy is going to do. Is he going to DJ? Is he going to do some stuff from his Pale Blue side project? Is he going to play his Capricorn Rising EP? Or is it going to be like his Albuterol tape he did with Johnny Jewel? Whatever it is going to be (and truth be told, the kind of music does vary pretty wildly, so watch out), this guy knows music, so it’s going to be an interesting adventure with undoubtedly some excellent synthesizer action. Sure, I wouldn’t complain if he’d bust out that ‘Million Dollar Bill’ edit he did and went disco crazy, but if I’m even alive at that point (last day, last band), I’ll be happy with anything that will take my last legs from under me. Do check that ‘Disconet Dilemma’ one (starts at about the 45 minute mark), it’s gold. Pure GOLD!

Rebeka [H&M Pro – Thursday, 23:00]

I like telling this story. When I was visiting Porto with friends, we happened to chance upon a club where, later that night, Moullinex would be playing. Me, being pretty big on that album, stayed even after my friends headed for the hotel, and so I witnessed Rebeka warming the place up with their melancholia and synth-pop action. Their debut album, Hellada, is definitely worth a spin if you have never heard that one yet, and it has some ace tracks on it. A bit more recently they’ve released a new single called ‘Breath’, which does give a good indication of what they do well. Nice, haunting atmosphere, but still danceable with the drum as its base and all the synths. The only thing that they’ve got going against them is that they’re playing at the same time as Antony & the Johnsons, who will have a whole orchestra behind them. I’ve seen them both live already (even Antony WITH an orchestra), so might let the company decide where we’ll go. But if Antony isn’t your thing and dancing and a bit of melancholia is, you can’t go wrong here. I am fond of a small stage, though.

Caribou [Ray-Ban – Saturday, 03:00]

Now, miraculously enough, I have never seen Caribou live, so there you go. Even despite feverishly loving that opening track of his new album. I did see a live stream online once of this lad, though, and that looked pretty good, so definitely looking forward to finally seeing this act live if all goes well. Our Love was released last year, but perhaps even better known is his 2010 release Swim, which I remember real well because it got all this amazing praise. In between he also was Daphni for a while, but now back under his animal moniker he’ll hopefully be giving the crowd that jolt of energy that we will all probably need at 03:00 on the last day of the event.

Tuff City Kids [Bowers & Wilkins Sound System – Thursday, 04:00]

Now, there is actually some real DJing going on at Primavera! For the second time straight Primavera comes with a DJ stage, with the people at Resident Advisor curating the whole thing on Thursday. The closers are Tuff City Kids, who will try to get some of that club vibe into the Barcelona festival. Tuff City Kids are Gerd Janson and Lauer, who know how to handle the dancing department on their own as well, so let alone what they can do in unison. Now, last year, I wanted to get into the dome like structure that was the DJ stage, but I couldn’t because there were just that many people dancing their socks off. So no promises that I can actually tell you all about my experiences from a good night out about town dancing to these fellas. But if you do find a spot on the dancefloor that’s not occupied yet, I’m sure you and your dancing shoes might just have a bit of fun on these beats and all.

OMD [ATP Stage – Wednesday, 22:25]

What?! There’s a Wednesday?! Erm, yes, almost every week actually, but also as part of the Primavera Sound Festival. Not only that, it’s free to enter! Yoinks! So yeah, there’s only one stage, and last year there was quite a delay before kick-off because, you know, showers and rainfall and all that jazz, but attending is a fun way to kick off a good bit of festival weekend. Last year I was able to see Stromae and was dancing furiously to a tight Holy Ghost! performance, and this year I’ll probably be enjoying myself quite a bit with OMD. Because, it is OMD. And it is free of charge. And who doesn’t like a good slice of that ‘80s pop?