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The Weekly Froth!

  • Published in Columns

 

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: ‘Gold Rush’ by Miguel Campbell feat. Benjamin Diamond

This one gets the '80s R&B and club vibe going with that beat, the moanin’ and groanin’, and the synthesizer action. When the vocals come in the song really gets smooth, super catchy with the beat and the bass sound. So this one really makes sure to get it on. The vocals sing that they are In trouble, for, apparently, they’ve got a Crush again. At for example the 2:20 mark Miguel Campbell removes the percussion, getting piano and vocal performances only, after which the funky beat comes in again. Benjamin Diamond sings that It’s such a rush, really feeling the loving there I reckon. Late in the track you also hear a little bit of a riff in there, not up front, but just underneath the smooth top layers to just get a bit of that guitar action in. It’s a super smooth and catchy ride, and part of the new Miguel Campbell album that will be released, well, today I suppose.

 

‘By Your Side’ by NTEIBINT feat.

This one starts with some percussion, but soon the lush synths come in. At about the 25 second mark it settles down with a slower tempo beat, the synths slightly more to the background, and the detached vocals that become more rhythmic at what I assume is the chorus. They sing they’re Holding on, just for tonight. The combo between the rhythmic delivery and the percussion is pretty sweet, and the way it’s all mixed gives a nice hazy vibe. At certain moments NTEIBINT puts a break in, like at about 2:50, after which he first builds it up with vocals and synths before adding the actual percussion (though there is a slow, far away beat to be found in those moments as well). At about 3:30 the percussion, rhythm vocals, and nifty bassline return for a bit of that R&B vibe of rubbin’ and luvin’. A nice mellow groover to get sweet with your lover to.

 

‘Uptown Celebration’ by P-SOL

Gil Scott-Heron is one of those guys that always inspires people to do something, and here P-Sol take on some of his music to make a celebratory groover. The bassline works together with the percussion to lay down the ground layer, with the high pitched synths making sure that there’s some pace here and that the track, in tone, indeed has a somewhat celebratory feel to it. At about the 1:35 mark we get some nice, quick firing percussion there as well, with still the deep bass tones in to keep the balance right. When they’re  finally there they ride that sound for a while, until they strip most sounds and give the vocals a moment there. Slowly but surely the reinforcements come in, and when we hear the high synth sound we know the beat and bass aren’t too far away to get back to the main groove of this track. This is one side of a 2-part double-header by P-Sol doing the Gil Scott-Heron thing, which was released late last month.

 

‘The Lady In My Life’ by Alan Mooney

Alan Mooney puts on the breaks with this slow burner of a song. The bass sound is nice and lazy, and slowly more sounds attach themselves to that huffin’ and puffin’ train that is moving over the mountains of Switzerland at a benign pace. In the mean time there is percussion, there are vocals, and there are some other auxiliary sounds as well, though the big beat comes in at 1:35. And it gives time, but time doesn’t go fast around here. At about the 2:20 mark Mooney gets that beat out of there, though another percussion elements soon comes in to make sure that it does keep trotting forward until the beat comes back at about 3:10. In the mean time the vocals are chopped up, giving us one line at a time, with those lines being repeated and coming back seemingly randomly. It is especially the yearn of the female voice that stays with us. At about the five minute mark Mooney plays around a bit with the guitar, and when the vocals come in a bit louder that is the cue for the beat to start rearing its head again. A super sweet super slow burner, that is all about the vibe.

 

‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ by Captain & Tennille (Sleazy McQueen edit)

Sleazy McQueen leaves no moment untouched to get the percussion and beat in to turn this old Captain & Tennillle track into something for the club. At the thirty second mark we, for the first time, hear a semblance of vocals to go along with the guitar and, some seconds later, the bass. McQueen has, for the first minute, really deconstructed this one. But after the minute mark we get the bass, the piano, and also the vocals that we know so well. Singing, obviously, that Love, love will keep us together (until it’s going to tear us apart again, but that’s a story for another day). McQueen kind of mixes and matches the bass and the piano with the vocals, making sure it sounds nothing like the original, but still has all those characteristic elements of said song. Add to that a bucketload of auxiliary sounds and some extra percussion, and you’ve got a fun romp significantly removed to not be a smack-on-a-beat-and-there-it-is edit. And still with enough of the vocals, which is perhaps always the thing people can cling most to, and which is welcome if only to deliver the message that, Yes, love keeps us together. Add to that a bass that, especially in the second part of the track, grooves it forward, and you’ve got a nice and quirky little edit of a super classic track that, if not done right, always has the danger of cliche lurking there.

 

 ‘Love Is The Answer’ by Bob Sinclar & Dimitri From Paris feat. Byron Stingily (Club edit)

Lets get those funky drums rolling, along with a nice, steady beat. Soon enough though the piano and horns come in to turn those disco vibes on, with after the thirty second point it having all the marks of one of those fun, soulful funky tunes with all them all singing that Love is the answer. At the minute mark the main vocalist gets his turn, singing his stuff on top of the bass and drum combo as he sings that he Comes to one conclusion, which is the cue for the choir to come in to sing that, yes, Love is the answer (and don’t ya forget it!). In the mean time the lads make sure the pace is kept high, and the morale too, with the good vibes running all over on this dancefloor certainty. It’s just got all the hallmarks for that, with the rhythm delivering at breakneck speed, with the soulful vocals, and all the disco goodness with the horns and piano. There is the big stop at the 3:45 point, with first just the vocals, then a bit of guitar to mix with the piano, and then there’s a drum and piano combo where the piano is allowed to strut its stuff, first rhythmically, and then as a solo when the bass takes over the rhythm. After that, the horns, and the vocals, and we’re banging it all out again. Just one of those edits that can light up a club with its feel good demeanour and the pace to pull it all off.

 

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The Weekly Froth!

  • Published in Columns

 

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:  ‘You Got Me Under’ by Kutiman (La Dame Noir Nightfall remix)

How about some of those atmospherics eh? Nightfall is aptly chosen for this remix, as it has this nice, nocturnal feel to it, which base is provided by this nice combination of drums and the bass. The drums are stripped down around 2:20, leaving the bass and the synths, after which this lovely sound comes in at around the three minute mark, picking up the pace a bit along with the drums again. Also added are the female vocals, which sound like they’re trapped in a '30s jazzy nightclub in one film noir or another. She whispers that You might wonder, how he got her under, so easily.  It is just so high on atmosphere, with La Dame Noir hitting the exact right tone for this remix. It is so jazzy and sultry, and so free to download to boot, that I would say it is very hard to resist this one.

 

‘Back Of The Car’ by RAC (Moullinex remix)

RAC is one of those artists that always manages to add a nice bit of pop and accessibility to a track, and with Moullinex you have someone who is just coming off an album, so completely ready to go. The start is very tropical, summery, and the vocals give it this nice looking-out-over-the-beach-at-sunrise vibe. It has this dreamy aesthetic, perhaps aided by the fact there aren’t really any real rhythm parts until about the two minute mark, with just the tropical percussion doing their thing. The vocals turn into a little growl (courtesy of Nate Hendrix) for the chorus as they narrate that, Sure, people might think we’re crazy for going our own way, but I wouldn’t want to change a thing. At about the three minute mark, for really the first time, there is a beat element to give it a clear backbone, adding a bit to the danceability of it. As said before, it doesn’t surprise me that this track is really easy-on-the-ear, has a certain catchiness, and is perfect to do some shuffling to at that beach cocktail party in summer time.

 

‘Which Way To Go’ by Rubberlips feat. Brandon Bennet (George Kelly remix)

This one starts with a slow churning beat & cymbals combo, putting a lazy burner of a bass in as well before a little guitar action comes to provide the higher pitched sound. So by now you’ve got a nice little groove going in the back, and the guitar and cymbals make sure there’s a dash of lightness in there. At about 1:30 the super smooth vocals come in, courtesy of Brandon Bennet, singing that he Still doesn’t know which way to go. I love the softness with which Kelly comes back around the three minute mark, after this moment where he stripped down the main sounds. And after that he adds that lovely bass there as well, having build that up very smoothly. It’s a lovely, slow burning disco tune with some nice guitar work (certainly at the end as well) and some soft rhythm elements to keep moving it forward.  Sweet little tune here.

 

‘Witness’ by Rayko

Lets get the horns in! Sure, the track also starts with a bass and some power 80s drums, but really, it’s the saxophone solo that takes the crown, cake, and all other things starting with “c”. Shortly after the half minute mark we already get the vocals, which I always love as I’m quite the vocal guy. And the vocals are hollering that, Since you changed my life, I want to be a witness for you. In the mean time Rayko keeps that groove going with a lovely synth line topping the drum & beat. It assures the pace is kept high (certainly high enough for dancing) and the energy up. In the mean time there are plenty of opportunities for the saxophone, the vocals, and the piano to shine, with Rayko sometimes dialling the rhythm elements up or down. Which also creates these little, subtle momentum spurts like at around 4:28. I love how the saxophone comes back at 6:08, that’s the exact right moment for it to get prominent again, as he started the track with it, then went full throttle dance mode with loads of vocals, and then to get back to the horns after a good five minutes of punching is quite nice. After that he does get the vocals back in, but he does slowly bring it all down, ending this lovely power 80s rework after about eight minutes of dancefloor action.

 

‘Stay’ by Les Loups feat. Marie Dahlstrom

This song starts really delicate, with some subtle sounds accompanying the vocals. After that they put in this lovely, dreamy beat which fit the vocals of Marie Dahlstrom nicely. For the chorus they change the beat up, steering away from the rhythmic, steady beat for a more dub-like approach. After the chorus they return with the former main sound, adding some synths for good measure. This ensures the ability to dance to it for the most part, whilst making people hyper aware of when the chorus (and I’m guessing, the emotional height) of the song comes in. At about the three minute mark they go away from the beat completely for a minute, opting for a nice little bass to provide the rhythm. The vocals ask you to Promise that you’ll never forget me, in this nice slice of disco pop

 

‘I Can’t Get Along Without You’ by Vance & Suzzanne (Alan Mooney edit)

Alan Mooney starts his edit with a little bit of that bass action, slowly letting the beat and percussion come in, along with all kinds of other auxiliary sounds. It already sounds lovely high energy, this take on the disco tune ‘I Can’t Get Along Without You’, a track from 1980. At around 1:30 you get a nice build-up to a little beat that he slides under it, which gets juxtaposed with some lighter sounds that are floating through the song. At the 2:20 mark we get the vocals, a duet, both singing the line from the title, adding that You’re the best thing for me (I’ve told ya, babe!). The female vocals take over after that, doing the verses by herself before the male voice comes in again for the chorus. In the mean time Mooney makes sure he keeps the disco and dancefloor on the go with the rhythm parts accompanied by those lighter disco sounds. Around 3:30 he gets the bass going pretty good for all them dancing people out there, making sure it has all those things one needs for a nice disco edit to get some dancing done to.

 

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