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The Weekly Froth! - 20161216

  • 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: ‘Absence Of Rhythm’ by This Soft Machine

If ya like it rough, with that nice, strong bass pushing this one forward, then this one might just be for you. These main sounds get counterbalanced by some lighter, playful synth sounds, and provided with some extra rhythm through some of that percussion action. In the mean time there is a kind of rhythmic spoken word vocal, almost hoarse, saying that You gotta drop out when you feel it spin. Which, then, is followed by a batch of percussion, which lasts even when the bass and beat are tuned out before coming back for a bit of that dancing action. A short time later there’s again a stop and go moment, this time riddled with spacey synths, before that bass and cowbell return to get dat riddim right. Just released, so instantly possible to pick up.

 

‘Lost Your Mind’ by Zimmer feat. Fhin

This one starts lovely understated, and then the melancholic vocals come in, which, in tone, are helped out by the piano. A slow tick can be heard in the background, before a more playful rhythm takes over, which is aided and abetted by the guitar. These two things, the verse versus the more chorus like feel of the aforementioned rhythm and guitar, balance each other out nicely, with the vocals the glue that keeps it all together. The vocals which, by the way, get a moment in the spotlight around the three minute mark, where all the rhythm elements (including the drums) are stripped, and only when the bass sound comes in do we slowly start returning to the chorus like structure. This is a cut off of a new EP that will arrive in stores later this month, if one still is in the business of late Christmas gifts, keep an eye out for this one right here.

 

‘Voices’ by John Talabot

John Talabot is back out with a release on Permanent Vacation, again coming at you with a hypnotically deep track, working the rhythms and, later in the track, some amazing chopped up female vocals to counter the bass sounds that he has put in there. A transition like at around 4:54 is just so nice, just slightly altering the pitch, giving you just that change in pace to give it this feel of moving forward, instead of making it drown in repetitiveness. It gives you the good thing of looping, but not the negative effects. And he does these kind of things throughout the track, sometimes as subtle as an extra instrument that only can be heard in intervals, and sometimes he goes into a different direction with a bigger tug at the steering wheel. Talbot is one of the main men out there for this kind of music, and something like this just probes me to put that vinyl copy of Fin on and give it a whirl.

 

‘Another Night’ by JKriv feat. Adeline Michele (Thatmanmonkz remix)

Thatmanmonkz is at the reigns for this one, taking the JKriv disco tune and giving it some deep & underground vibes at the start, bringing it back up with the bouncy bass and the vocals, courtesy of Adeline Michele. She is saying that it’s Just another night without your love, before hitting the verse around 1:05 after a little line by the bass. It seems a bit sped up compared to the original, which really was a love lorn disco song, with this one having a bit more punch, a bit more of that club vibe. But still it’s with Michele’s vocals and that tale of love gone by, even though she is admitting that When it’s good, it’s soooo good. And that’s why she’s still going out there to live and fight another day. At 3:20, that’s the moment, that’s when Thatmanmonkz gets out a bit of that nasty deep bass, ending it’s reign with a vocal turn before everything comes back in again. If you haven’t listened to it yet, the man released a killer album this year, just sayin’.

 

‘Love Me Tonight’ by Fern Kinney (SanFranDisko Digital Mix)

How about some of that old school, getting the energy up with this glittery disco ball of a tune. First you get the beat setting the pace, and then the guitar riff, the bass, and, finally, the vocals. Those vocals, and the build-up that you are hearing right on through, it’s just one of those hands in the air disco things that is just a dancefloor filler with everyone singing along with the "Hooooold mee clooose" lines of the chorus. After which they dive into the guitar riff again before Fern Kinney comes back in, explaining in even more words the one thing that disco sometimes simply is about, namely finding that person to Love me tonight. One of those euphoric sounding disco songs with a dash of longing that would work as close out to the night as well. Just in case you were still working out your New Year’s set.

 

‘Winter In America’ by Gil Scott-Heron (Moullinex Edit)

Moullinex immediately brings the percussion in, giving us those lovely wooden sounds before putting the beat and click in after the half minute mark or so. In the mean time we hear the jazzy sounds to set the tone, anchoring this track’s mood to balance the smoothness of the boogie. At the 1:39, that boogie becomes a blues, as the rhythm is dialled all but out for Gil Scott-Heron’s poetry, singing that it is Winter in America. A declaration after which Moullinex returns with the rhythm alongside, a bit later on, a new main sound that rides on top of it. The jazzy vibes persists though, don’t you worry about a thing darling. At about 3:25 again the rhythm is switched off again, first for the instrumentals, then for another storytelling tale by Heron, indicating that Nobody is fighting ‘cause nobody knows what to say. And if you don’t know what to say, you just dance the blues away, and with the rhythm back in that’s a pretty appealing prospect all in all.

 

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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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