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?

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:  ‘Let It Carry You’ by Jose Gonzalez (Holy Ghost! remix)

I always love Holy Ghost!’s disco & synth sound, and here from the get go you get this lovely feel again. It’s got a nice drum beat to it, then you get the rhythm synth, and then a more atmospherical synth sound as the boys show off their hardware. Then the vocals come in, which add a hint of melancholy to the dancey affair. What I also like is how restrained the vocals are, but sometimes at the end of a line there’s this touch of rawness, which is nice. There are also some backing vocals in there at one point, and at 3:20 you have this moment where they’re really building up the sound for a minute just to have it all float back to this understated disco sound. There are multiple moments where you can definitely find them playing around with structure and flow like that. If you like the albums they’ve put out (and you should, gosh darn it!), then this is one to throw in that playlist too. Love the mixture of the tone in combination with this unrelenting drum & synth-for-a-touch-of-dancing action.

‘Holding On’ by Julio Bashmore feat. Sam Dew

The start definitely has this happy vibe to it, like you’re about to have fun. Julio’s got some glitchy looping going on, which is a nice modern contrast to the vocals. Which are, indeed, #broadwalk, as the SoundCloud page indicates. It’s got this old school vibe, but the looping keeps it grounded in the modern. At 1:20 it moves away from that a little bit, with the main sound now being a relatively poppy dance beat, which I can see the whole of America doing these lip dubs to. Also because it has this sense of happiness, and it does have this theatrical flair to it as well (also thanks to the multiple layers of vocals). There are moments where the beat is turned down to go back to those looping bits with the vocals, obviously to shift back to the fast paced pop action again a little bit later. Definitely a catchy tune this, with the different elements nicely keeping this one in balance.

‘Chicken Heads’ by Bobby Rush (Leo Zero edit)

Leo Zero brings the blues back to the dancefloor. He gets a nice little loop going for this edit of a Bobby Rush song, who is one of those blues guitarists from that time when there were still blues guitarists (and ones that were not victims of elder abuse at that). Leo Zero makes sure you get plenty of that blues vibe, bringing in loads of vocals and, more importantly, that nice little guitar riff that he rides and rides as he should. Obviously there’s also plenty of drums and percussion in there, as it is a dancefloor track, and a change-up like at 2:15 makes that abundantly clear (and makes it work, too). Now, I love me some blues, and these fellas know all about bringing some attitude to the mix, and Leo Zero makes sure he doesn’t forget to include that ingredient here. It’s just a really good edit of a blues man that includes the blues guitar, those blues vocals, a bit of spoken word as well, and even something that kind of resembles a chorus with the Let me in, let me in, let me in lines. It’s got the dancefloor rhythm and it’s got plenty of the original as well, and that’s all you want, innit? And for that I’ll forgive some of that production trickery like at 5:35-5:40. Don’t sweat it, just the kind of guy I am.

‘Slip And Do It’ by Betty Wright (Disco Tech Edits)

Got to have some Betty Wright in your life every now and again, don’t ya? And Disco Tech makes sure there’s a bit of a beat as well as a bit of the funk in this edit of Betty’s ‘Slip and Do It’. Just before the minute mark she comes in, with all the attitude she can muster, and the Disco Tech boys make sure she brings a bit of that guitar and some of those horns with her as well. She sings that When it feels so good, will you slip and do it?, which effectively summarizes the age old question of heart over head or not. And, luckily, she doesn’t mind being the other woman, so there you go. At the two minute mark she gets a bit of help from the girls at the back, as Disco Tech makes sure you can do some grooving to the bass that’s getting it on in the background. This is really an edit in that there are so many elements of the original, and Betty gets all the spotlight the world can buy, and that’s what makes it work. But the bass and the beat do make sure you can get funky to it on the dancefloor in your modern discotheque, and that’s all we want on a Saturday night (and whenever we’re at home, alone, with a bottle of whatever at our lips).

‘Once In A Lifetime’ by Talking Heads (Joey Negro edit)

Joey Negro starts this one off with some percussion and big drums, and a big, bushy bass, which seems a bit padded from the original track. That original track being ‘Once in a Lifetime’, from that band that just knows how to bring that city anxiety alive (if you haven’t succumbed to that in real life yet). After the minute mark we hear David Byrne coming out from the back to the front of the stage, with Joey Negro still riding the bass and, now, the line “same as it ever was”. In the mean time he’s having a bit of fun with some anxiety inducing synths as well, but he strips it all down to give Byrne plenty of room to do his verse, bringing the bass back near the end. When they enter the chorus, he introduces the guitar as well, after which we simply get the next verse instead of Joey Negro putting the chorus on repeat. At the three minute mark we get a bit of saxophone thrown in there to go along with the bass and other rhythm elements, which is a nice way to give some extra length to this edit. Not that it ends with that though, as obviously we always need some extra Byrne before the credits roll as the vocals make their encore. By the way, if you have never seen the video clip of the original song, do have a fun time slapping yourself in the face with that one.

‘Alright’ by Church Boy Lou feat. Paul Randolph

Church Boy Lou’s music is deeply rooted in the history of African-American music, both in terms of the piano house it evolves into after about the one minute mark, but also in terms of the humming vocals and the sounds-from-the-audience. I love how the humming seems to multiply, giving it this community feel that has always been a staple in gospel, house, but also blues music. Whilst the vocals and the organ lay down the vibe, the beat and the piano still keep this one rolling for anyone fancying a trip to the club. Near the very end the percussion shifts, which could easily lead one into a new dance track with a new feel to it so that you’re night out will never stop. Now, I don’t know what happens at the two and four minute mark (and there is always the hope that it is an uploading error, however faint), but the rest of the track oozes this atmosphere of hommage and pride whilst still working as something one could be giving a spin at the club.

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:  ‘Baby Let Me Kiss You’ by Get Down Edits

How about a nice little slow burner, eh? Some nice synth and kick action to get this one started, adding a nice, lazy bass sound in there after about 50 seconds as the synth picks it up a little bit. Later on you get all those lovely rhythm & blues horns in there as well, with the vocals of Fern Kinney coming in after about the two minute mark, singing Let me do it to ya, let me kiss ya baby (oh, behave!). In the mean time this track just keeps on rolling on, slightly upping the pace at about 2:50. 3:10 sees the introduction of the backing vocals, adding yet another layer to this one (which has been build-up instrument for instrument, addition for addition). At about the four minute mark you get those synths in again, which just add this little bit of a different sound to the rest, to counterbalance the more downtempo feel all the other things exhume. I just love this slow burning disco sound, with a bit of cheekiness added with the vocals for some dancefloor flirting and fun. And it keeps rolling on for about eight minutes, which is all kinds of fine by me.

‘Nasty’ by Bill & Ted

Jacques Renault teamed up with Slow Hands to create a funky little number, which is pieced together quite nicely. I just love the female vocal lines doing the daya-du-da over that little guitar riff they came up with. In the mean time a female voice is saying that she cannot keep control, after which this one slides into a nice little instrumental bit at about 2:10, which then sees the female vocals coming out from behind to get a bit more front and center. Then, a short moment where they dial it down, after which they come back with the female vocals again, asking if Tonight, are you gonna come with me. Cue, some moaning over the funky base that they have been riding all throughout this song, with the guitar leading the pack and the bass providing the groove. Add some horns in around the five minute mark as the vocals go real old school before the boys get that bass back and working for some of that funky-dancefloor-lovin’. Admittedly, the fakir sounds around the six minute point seem a bit random, but then they slide it back into what can best be described as the chorus part with the female vocals asking if you think she’s a nasty girl, as they pick up the pace slightly. It’s a lovely, nine minute affair with some of that cheeky funk and groove. Not too fast-paced, but ideal for some dancing and having fun, with smiles all around.

‘Let It Carry You’ by Jose Gonzalez (Dino Soccio remix)

This one starts out with this summery, laidback atmosphere. It’s got a nice, slow build-up with a little bass, some handclap-like sounds, some additional percussion thrown in there; and it isn’t until after about a minute that a beat comes in. But, a rather soft, understated beat, one you could dance to, but preferably at a pool party with a cocktail in your hands. Then the vocals come in, aided by a bit of acoustic guitar, and still that little bass to keep things grooving a bit. The vocals, too, pretty laidback. There’s just no immediacy to this track, just this groovy little pace that soundtracks your day in the Bahamas. Even so much so that the vocals at one point sing that There is nothing wrong. Even the build-up and subsequent pay-off is not for big club cheers instigated by massive drops, but it keeps it all tremendously mellow. The choice of instrumentation underlines the feel for this one, so if you just want to be chilling out a bit after a day of clubbing, this one might just do the trick for you.

‘Call It Love (If You Want To)’ by George FitzGerald feat. Lawrence Hart

This start takes you to the heart of Asia (before they get the beat in that is, assuming that this does not constitute as a typically Japanese kick or whatever), with then Lawrence Hart coming in, singing in his deep, reverbed aided voice, that If you want to call it love, you call it love. Which no one has ever said just before sliding on the ring and dropping down on one knee. At 1:45 the track really gets firing on all cylinders, as the vocals are there combined with not just the thuddy beat, but also with the layers of synth that kind of soften that sound. At about 2:15 there’s a break, after which George FitzGerald comes back with some superb piano, putting that one right front of center. Then the Asian sounds are flown in again (see what I did there?), and then the vocals come back with the beat to get this one to its end with a bit of pace to it. His album is currently streaming at different places, so if this takes your fancy, do give that one a spin.

‘Ghost’ by Lane 8 feat. Patrick Baker

I like the combination of the percussion, the melancholic vocals, and the sad piano to get this one started. After that you get the drums in to also give it a bit of a dancey vibe, though the synths keep this in the dancing-the-blues-away kind of realm. He breaks the drum & synth up for a minute, going back to the piano and the vocals combo, singing that Nothing works quite like it is supposed to. After that he slides the drums back in, giving everyone an opportunity to shuffle their feet again, with the ending really finding him in synth-pop realm despite the tone of the vocals and the narrative that goes with it (“Everything just looks so see-through”, which I’m sure is more awesome in puberty than when hitting adulthood). Lane 8 is gearing up to release his new album called Rise, this one being the lead-off single for that.

‘Who Shot Ya?’ by Kon

So probably you have, at one point or another, heard either Bob Marley’s or Eric Clapton’s version of ‘I Shot The Sheriff’ (but hey, at least I didn’t shoot the deputy!). Kon takes on a different version though, using Nile Rodgers' guitar and a more contemporary take on the tune (my brain is not functioning because of a cold, but it somehow reminds me of that N.A.S.A. one of not too pre-historic nature). Now, that version was already a bit more funky and catchy, but leave it to Kon to amplify that by a bunch, making it a nice dancefloor track with a little beat, but also the horns, the vocals, and thus a smithering of guitar as well. Just giving it that dash of funk that will help people shaking their hips a little. Love the bass and how that comes in after the “chorus” at about 2:15, gives it a nice kick, and that guitar just gives it that nice bit of edge that I like. As said, Kon knows how to create something and give it a bit of that funk or disco flavour, so anything by this guy and you know you have something extra to throw in your set and get people doing what they do when in the discotheque. And even the dad-rock enthusiasts among your friends can sing along with this one, claiming both bad-ass shooting skills and a merciful nature.