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:  ‘Cheer Up, My Brother’ by HNNY

Gosh, I guess I can just fill up an entire column with A) my adoration for HNNY and his music, and B) bad puns on his name (all in good jest, of course). Here he puts that soul in the midst of all those modern electronics again, and of course he nails it (like, you were doubting that?). Just one for that chilling out when the sun is rising, it’s got a lovely, lazy beat, though he is not afraid to turn that one down in favor of the flavor, with those vocals providing a good bunch of that. Just those warm, old school soul vocals, and you can just almost feel the sound of the old vinyls of yore being used. She is singing the title of the track over those lovely, understated drums to which one can still do a little shuffling to. Add some piano in there as well, which is stripped away at about 4:20 for some of that percussion and what sounds to me like a bit of violin/string action, which combines with a soft little bass to bring it all down to a close. Again, he’s got the atmosphere down pat, and he’s so good at mixing the modern sounds and fusing and injecting them with the warmth and feel of either the jazzy/soulful sounds of yesteryear, or the R&B of the 90s. This one is an example of the former, and an ace one at that.

‘The Chase’ by Future Islands

Everyone and their mothers, sisters, and husband’s lovers fancy a bit of Future Islands nowadays, and with good reason. That last album was pretty amazing, and if you haven’t seen them live yet, you’re missing out (and really really not trying, because these guys have been everywhere! Touring animals, rawwrr). Here, again, you have those lovely synths and that kick to give it this catchy, '80s feel, but those vocals are so emotionally charged that it blows the sockets off of the walls, giving it this emotional load that gives this band the edge over those more plastic-y bands from the '80s. With the main question here being, Is this love? (don’t we all wanna know?). Made with Record Store Day in mind, hopefully some lucky people managed to pick this one up, as this is one that would not have been out of place on their last album. And have I already mentioned how ace that album is?

‘Let’s Get Slow’ by Aeroplane feat. Benjamin Diamond

Aeroplane pulls a fast one on us here, because this certainly isn’t one to get slow to. It is, however, a summery, bouncy synth track to do some dancing on. It’s got a cheery, almost retro demeanor to it, with some relatively cheesy chorus action. But, in a good way, as sometimes it helps to get the fun in the party, and this one is definitely made to have some fun to. It’s easy on the ear, with Benjamin Diamond doing the vocals, singing Let it go, we know, that I know, let’s get slow, or something close to it. There are also some female vocals in there, trying to enthuse the crowd like a cheerleader does during the basketball play-offs (Go insert-fav-team). And sure enough, some fun can be had with this one, though it won’t be winning a Pulitzer anytime soon.

‘In the Street’ by Chocki Hookon (Jacques Renault BK Club Mix)

Released earlier this month, Jacques Renault takes it to the club with some percussion action in this one. I love that sound that comes in at about the thirty second mark, gives it this grainy & raw club vibe. Which, shortly after, gets juxtaposed by some of that piano action. In the mean time the percussion is still rolling as the vocals start to come in. The talky female vocals are telling you to Get down on the funky beat, if you happen to be in the street. When the vocals die down, Renault gets the engine running (funnier if you follow Formula 1, I swear) to make sure you get that jolt for dancing, half a minute later coming back with the piano (which is then, again, followed by the vocals). This really is one for the house club, Renault going full throttle here, making this one a track to drop in the middle of the set when the party is going, just to make sure that people keep jacking it up and doing their thing. Some of that nifty house fare by Mr. Renault.

‘Keep on Talking’ by Tensnake

When Tensnake releases something, you know you’ll be dancing, don’t you? This is his new single, and he’s got the beat going first, and then this deep synth comes in, after which he throws some of those drumpad percussion sounds your way. The real deal comes at the minute mark, as he throws out some of those club vibes to go a little bit more soulful, making sure this tune hits on the house-party cylinders. That rhythm sound that comes in at 1:45 is nice and catchy as well, and Tensnake sure knows how to bring new things in to keep the crowd on their feet. At 2:18 he gives them a bit of a rest though, dialling down the rhythm parts, but adding some really high pitched vocals, getting them more and more to the fore of the track before returning to party mode a bit later on. Though a short while later he’s combining both for the full effect, getting there at about the halfway mark. I love that synth line at about 3:45 onwards, that’s a nice little rhythm thing again. Then he goes full on with a big, bad build-up, and when the full-fledged party core gets started again, that synth line is still there, but a bit bulkier to contest all the other party sounds. And those are just those smart little things that make a club tune by Tensnake something to always be watching out for (and, when it’s there, to be dancing to).

‘Be Love’ by Natty Fensie (The Supermen Lovers remix)

When you’re called Supermen Lovers I do expect some attitude and cheekiness in there, and this one certainly starts with some of that sexy action. It’s just got some of that naughtiness, not in the least in the bass. At the 1:20 mark they get the synths involved, upping the pace a bit, throwing in some of those atmosphere sounds for good measure. The real things about this one are the way they use the vocals and the drums/bass, which just make you wanna get sexy with it. Those sounds are nicely contrasted by the synth sections, which give you a bit more of that party atmosphere while keeping the fun in place. Just before the four minute mark they turn it down a bit, slowing it to a crawl with drums/bass/beat all stripped away, obviously coming back with it after a good half minute or so. Brings out the fun and the cheeky, this one, and that’s something I always like on the dancefloor. That ending, also quite cheeky, but definitely not for the same reason as the tone of the bass was in the five minutes prior.

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:  ‘Montgomery Clift’ by Ajello feat. Jyoti

This one starts lovely with that beat and those drums, that gets the shoulders swinging no doubt. Then you get this lovely synth sound in there, and you’re in party mode from the get go. Leave that to the Italians of Ajello, who know how to do this. After the minute mark you get both the bass in as well as the vocals, courtesy of Jyoti, though the synths keep the pace up as well. Add some light percussion in there too, and you know you can get freaky with this. After some more rhythmic delivery, at 2:10 the actual singing starts, giving it some nice diva disco element as well, singing that she thinks that she’s Done it again. It’s got this nice Italian-dance-it-better feel, with a bit of that attitude and fun. At about 3:20 you have basically this percussion-shoot-out with some bass groove thrown in there, with later a guitar coming up as well. And so they just throw it all in there like a big bowl of Jambalaya for that festive, colour-popping party feel. But they also know when to change the pace a bit, like they do at about 4:20, half a minute later coming back with primarily drums and percussion. It’s just this crazy mixture of all these things that somehow come together and that somehow all add to the party. Now, Montgomery Clift, for those not in the know, is one of those Hollywood actors who changed the face of masculinity around the James Dean era. Like James Dean he was method, like James Dean he was good friends with Elizabeth Taylor, and like James Dean he slept with men. Unlike Dean, he actually survived his car crash. And, just to return to the track, those whispery vocals in the seventh minute add just that little bit of cheekiness to it to round it all off.

‘So Good’ by Tuxedo (Dimitri In Paris remix)

I love me some Dimitri In Paris. The guy knows how to get the disco and funk in, and his edits are always build around dancing and fun. This one has got some soulful vocals by Mayer Hawthorne, who is one part of Tuxedo. The more hipperdy-hop vocals  are by Jack One, which give you some of that slick '90s feel. They sing that it all Feels so good to me, it’s where I want to be. The track is perhaps a bit less full-on disco than you’d normally encounter in a Dimitri in Paris set, veering more to the catchy pop side of the spectrum. Let me put it this way, it’s one of those things that I feel I’d could be hearing on primetime radio alongside all those major artists doing that funk-dance-pop thing in the past years. Also helped by the vocals, which are less 70s and more a nu/90sR&B hybrid. This track is enormously easy on the ear, and has got this sitting-at-the-beach-with-a-boombox-in-summer characteristic to it.

‘In Films’ by Chromatics

Chromatics are one of those bands that I just adore. All these tracks just have so much atmosphere, and an atmosphere that I tremendously love at that. This one has a nice, throbbing beat that keeps the pace up on this one (as much as it gets up on a Chromatics album), and of course you have these dreamy, lovelorn vocals that come in on top of it. Naturally, there are the synths that are so key to the Chromatics’ sound, and here some synth sounds also double as a vocals substitute (as in, when she stops singing, those synths come in). These have a nice, euphoric feel to them, kind of contrasting the voice a bit. Next to those, obviously, you’ve got the rhythm synths that double track the drums. This really sounds like a lead single to me. Because of the pace, the catchiness it kind of has, and the euphoric chorus synth that Johnny Jewel uses. New album coming, and everyone in the world’s stoked about that (at least, the part that knows of this band’s existence). Also, the following two things: A) Free download, and B) lyrics posted in the info section on SoundCloud.

‘Mouth’ by Ghost Culture (Shan & Gerd Janson club mix)

Let’s jack it up with this one, immediately starting out with those house sounds for those midnight-clubbin’-freaks. You’ve got the beat, the bass synth, and a lighter synth sound as the core sounds, on top of which the vocals come in after the one minute mark. The vocals are rhythmic and talky, providing even more structure to dance to. I love the beat on this one, and how it just kind of spurs the track at those moments where the vocals stop for a minute. The vocals sound a bit absent-minded, which lend a nice vibe to this track. I’m always a pretty big fan of Gerd Janson and his house sounds, and here, again, he shows along with Shan that he knows how to get that house sound in the club. It’s a four minute clip, but definitely something I’d be dancing to when played in it’s entirety in the discotheque.

‘X’ by TB (Italo Deviance Disco Version)

The start has quite the kick in it, and when the vocals come in you immediately hear this kind of space-like feel. Not long after you get the bass to go with the space, and this track is starting to warm up, building and building some momentum with those core sounds. After about 1:30 you get a bit of a rest, with the space sounds and vocals taking over, but at the 1:50 mark they come back with a vengeance, this time fronted by some punk-like vocal delivery as the beat returns. The narrative is about voices from outer space I do believe, and it gets this kind of '70s feel meets the Berlin underground clubs. Lots of black make-up and strobes, that’s what I’m seeing here. Naturally, this Italo Deviance Disco Version knows how to use a beat to get some dancing done, and that nifty bass (just listen around 4:30 for a good example of that) helps out a bit as well.

‘The Seed’ by The Revenge

The Revenge starts this one with a man saying “Here we go”, then applause, and in the mean time the beat and drums are moving it forward, though the real house sounds come in at about 35 seconds with that typical bass jack-it-up sound. There’s a certain deepness in the beat as well, which gets juxtaposed by some of the almost jazzy ditty lines that you can hear in the background to keep this one from becoming just a mechanical club thing. Just after the two minute mark you get a synth sound that slowly starts moving to the front, arriving there around 2:20 to become a major player in this one. Halfway through you get a voice saying “here we go”, though that is about the only vocal thing that is happening in this track. The Revenge almost always delivers a quality piece, and this one is another one of those with a nice, deep house sound with a few change-ups and a few auxiliary sounds in there that all make it worth your while.

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:  ‘Two Brothers’ by Hanni El Khatib (Holy Ghost! remix)

Slap that bass, baby! How about that one to get this on the road, eh? Add to that some synths and some '80s soundtrack sounds to big it all up, and you are off to the races with this one. High paced disco for those long summer nights where you can use that extra jolt of hgh nrgy. To make it even more disco-ish you get some horns in too, and there’s also a nice bit of piano to go on top of the beat to keep this one going. A little while after, the vocals come in for the first time, telling us that our brothers, mothers, and children love us, and crazy uncle Randall down in the basement probably loves us a little bit too. More horns after the first run of vocals, and you can never go wrong with those. Then you get this nice little build-up with primarily beat, synths, and vocals, with a dash of guitar thrown in there for good measure, after which around 3:50 the bass takes off with the loot and makes a grooving dash for it. These lads know how to make a catchy, groovy tune, with this one sounding especially disco compared to some of their other work (blame it on the horns and the way they use some of the synths). Again, lovely high paced, and sure to get the people dancing as if on a cocktail of a couple of energy drinks and some lovin’.

‘Rock Steady’ by The Whispers (JKriv edit)

I’m not one to say no to a good seven minutes of disco. JKriv starts out with the beat to get this edit of The Whispers ‘Rock Steady’ on the road. Soon enough, you get some of that bass guitar in, along with the vocals, after which more and more of the original sounds enter the vincinity. And just after the minute mark you get the full back-to-the-disco vibe, with the beat sliding down to the background to get the full The Whispers experience going. Which means some Steady rocking all night long (rocking ‘till the break of dawn). JKriv makes sure to herald the stars of the show here, giving it this lovely slower-to-mid disco pace where the vocals keep going and going. Until the four minute mark that is, when you get some piano solo first, and then a little bit more emphasis on the bass. Soon after though, you get those soulful vocals in there again, talking about how he almost gave up on courting her, before they started to rock, steady! A lovely edit that keeps all of that old school magic right there in the spotlight.

‘Another Way’ by Crooked Colours (Mickey Kojak’s Soundtrack edition)

I love the drums that this one has, gives it some punch from the get go I reckon. Add some dreamy vocals to that, a dash of those space sounds, and you have quite the beginning for this Soundtrack edition. After a couple of seconds in Mickey Kojak dials down the drums for a bit, to bring them back later along with some additional synths firing their sounds off to help them out. I love the added synths around the two minute mark, they give it this nice, little touch that I really like. This carefree line of sound that floats its way in between the heavier weaponry. At the three minute mark it’s a moment of vocals-and-synth only to calm everyone the fuck down for a moment or so, after which you get the drums back, but not before you have this lovely dramatic, theatrical moment of vocals in there, which does kind of gets me smiling. The combination of all these things makes it definitely worthwhile to have a listen to, I’d reckon.

‘Make It Easy’ by Ben Browning

Ben Browning wants us to feel good this summer, and with ‘Make It Easy’ he sure keeps it light and fresh like a nice, cool salad you’re enjoying at the beach to secure yourself that bathing suit/speedo figure. Where Cut Copy - the band he is in - tends to veer towards the all-out dance side of synth-pop these days, this one slides into the jammy, lets-have-fun-together end of it all. He advises to "Make no money, make it easy" (how, exactly, that makes it easy is up for debate), and obviously there is a nifty bassline hidden down there somewhere to keep this one moving forward, along with plenty of auxiliary sounds, most eye-catching of which the guitar riffs that he has put in. This one is the first single off of his debut album called Turns, which will be in shops this summer.

‘All U Writers’ by !!!

Again with the bass, wow, that one immediately lays down the rules of the land I’d say. Nic Offer comes in with a deeeep voice to get that nightclub dirty out there, which gets juxtaposed by that light-pitched synth sound that they float around. Later on we get some more singing vocals, which are decidedly higher pitched, though the bass still keeps it on the down low and grooving forward. There are some nifty auxiliary sounds thrown in there, though none more lovely than the guitar stand-off that starts just before the three minute mark. In the mean time, the heavily worked vocals keep on coming at you from all sides, and at the 3:40 mark you get the bass back in to do some of that down-to-the-ground dancing to. I loved the most recent !!! album quite a bit, and this again is just a great track to be shaking some hips on, with Offer leading it from right up front, no doubt.

‘Heard It’ by Marvin Gaye (Late Nite Tuff Guy edit)

You know you need this in your life, don’t you? Starts out with a flurry of, ehrm, strings? On top of which, soon enough, you get that soulful voice of Marvin Gaye (which, soon enough, you’ll get in stereo, no less). After the initial, theatrical start LNTG gets the groove on with some bass and percussion, some original sounds, and some new, auxiliary sounds to help out as well. And, of course, quite a bit of Marvin Gaye and his backing gals singing that, yes, I’ve heard it through the grapevine (that no longer you will be mine). Love the use of that guitar just before the two minute mark, and about half an hour later you get some of those strings from the start reappearing again. LNTG does a good job pacing this, not going full party mode, but he knows when to take it down a notch for a moment to let this catch its breath before hitting the run+sprint button again. Not that this is fast paced, mind you, it’s got a nice little groove to it, led by that bass. Gaye can be heard a plenty, so fans definitely don’t need to feel short-changed here.

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 Got Your Number’ by La Bionda (Rulefinns lravstor gitarist edit)

La Bionda is one of those groups that, in the '70s, was tagged with that label of Italo Disco (Pitchfork, fairly recently, did a nice little piece on the genre’s history, if you’ve got some time on a lazy Sunday afternoon). Now, Rulefinns must have thought, what if I make the guitar the hero of this one, and just add a shitload of that in? So, next to the synths, the drumbeat, and all the stringwork that give this one its dancefloor pace and its disco vibe, you have this electric guitar in there as well, just to roughen them up a bit, those disco dancers. A second before the three minute mark you get the high pitched vocals in there, saying that Aiiiiiii’ve got your numberr, so no surprise what you’ll be doing tonight then, eh? In the mean time, you’re still dancing, with that beat and all those disco sounds persuading your body to do some moving and grooving. Deliciously fast paced as well, and the contrast between that guitar and basically the rest of the song-- which is baby-skin-soft-- that is just a nice little example of brains at work.

‘From The Basement To The Roof’ by Club Cheval

This one starts slow and easy, with just some piano and female vocals. Soon enough though, the beat comes in, and slowly it reveals itself as a nice little club track with a little pizzazz, not in the least because of the rhythmic vocals and the way the beat unfolds itself. In the main line “running from the basement to the roof” there, too, is a sense of movement, which this track just breathes, exhales, and does all kinds of other things with. Club Cheval also knows when to dial it down for just a moment, making sure that the poppy beat doesn’t outstay its welcome. And they also make sure when to make it the track’s main sound and when to help it out a bit with other instruments as well. Also enjoyable is the way they kind of play with the vocals, for example making the last two words of a line seemingly coming from somewhere/someone/someplace/else/somehow. The track has a nice vibrancy to it, which is contained by the piano bits that bookmark this song from Club Cheval’s yet-to-be-released debut album.

‘Ember’ by WhoMadeWho

WhoMadeWho is one of my personal favorites. I just like the deep sound, this melancholic mood, but always with a little fun and dance mixed in there as well. This one starts with a slightly-deep-near-Western guitar line, followed by some percussion and then those lovely vocals, singing that If you feel like having fun, you can’t say no until you’ve done time with me. Followed by that nice and deep guitar line and the drums courtesy of Barfod, who keeps this one moving forward. Just after the two minute mark there is a vocals only moment (as in, really, just vocals. Honestly), and after that the lads ride it out instrumentally. This one will be the title track of their new EP, to be released in May, so that is something to look forward to as far as I’m concerned.

‘Long Train Running’ by The Doobie Brothers (Disco Syndicate Version)

How about some of that dad-rock guitar to start this one off, with a fairly well-known riff I’d say. Then add the bass, some bongo’s (?!), and then the vocals of the Doobie Brothers, as it is their track ‘Long Train Running’ that gets the edit treatment here. And it is really a version geared to the dancefloor, with loads of moments where the instrumentals get turned down, just to get all that rhythm back in there again for that momentum building that you need. It’s not just about the rhythm though, with plenty of guitar being available for consuming, and plenty of vocals to go around. Around 2:38 you get a change-up in guitar (and with that, in mood, as the guitars are here a-plenty), though after another moment of primarily vocals-sans-drums you get the main sound again. Tom Johnston was the man behind this track, and he’s responsible for both vocals and that lead guitar riff, so if you’re a fan of him in particular amongst all the other Doobie Brothers, then you’ll be over the moon with this one.

‘Glass Grinder’ by Antoni Maiovvi

I always like me some Antoni Maiovvi. Nothing says cult b-horror-flick quite as much as some of this man’s output. You get the atmospheric sounds right there from the start, then the tougher strumming of that guitar-like sound, and all this before the beat comes in. Because vibe is always what sells me on his stuff, but with the hard hitting beat he does make sure that he keeps driving this one forward and that one can dance to it as well, for those freaks doing that crazy dancing after midnight. In the mean time he keeps coming with all these sounds that just fit the bill, that make sure there is this consistency in terms of mood that is so important if you want to do something like this right. So it’s lovely and dark (I mean, the track is called ‘Glass Grinder’ after all), and when those human yelps are put in you can’t help but smile and go at it a little bit harder. There’s also plenty of variety in there, hitting the drum computers and the synths hard, though always coming back to the main beat and slasher synths. Can I also just say that I love that he puts his set-up below the SoundCloud track? I’m always interested in what creates these sounds.

‘Redo’ by Adeline Michele

On production duties here is JKriv, who has made some amazing (nu-)disco in the past few years, some of them for which Adeline Michele was on vocal duties for. So you know it’s going to have this catchy-yet-lovelorn vibe with some silky smooth vocals on top of them. You’ve got the bass and the drums dictating the rhythm, and some sweet synth and guitar to round it all off. That little guitar line in the chorus, that is a lovely thing right there. At about 2:30 you get a bridge build on some percussion, before the synth comes back in again and you get some of the drum rhythm elements returning as well. Michele sings that she cannot rewind or redo her life, and she really cuts loose after the three minute mark. The track, anyway, has a big role in mind for the vocals, which get a bit of help from some retro synths at the end. It is a lovely track, with a nice disco & '90s soul + R&B vibe. Released on JKriv’s delicious DeepandDisco label.