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The Weekly Froth!

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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:  ‘Double Talk’ by Jaakko Eino Kalevi

Jaakko Eino Kalevi is back, and here he starts with a little bit of guitar, some forward moving drums, and some melancholic snare instrumentals to accompany the ditto vocals. Which, by the way, get a bit help from some female vocals as well, doubling the lyrics. In the mean time the rhythm lines keep throdding this one forward, giving the thing a nice sense of pace. The synths take care of the atmosphere part, with the vocals singing that I like the words you use, and You think you’re in control. The funny thing is, that when he starts using “we”, the female vocals come in to do the Double Talk (getting that title now, eh?), which is a smart touch. It’s really the kind of track I like, with the dreamy, somewhat distant vocals, but still this sense of pace because of that bass and all that. Definitely a release to keep an eye on, I reckon.

 

‘Yes It Is’ by B-Jam

All that drums sure lay down the funk, especially when the guitar line comes in, that immediately lays down the law. Add to that those vocals, which sound lovely dancey and soulful, and you’ve got a nice dancefloor track going on. The fragmented, loop-y feel gives it this nice discotheque vibe, with the vocals doing that '80s pop-funk thing a la Janet Jackson. Not that it is her, mind you, as this is a rework of ‘Cest Toi (It’s You)’  by Angela Winbush, which was released in 1987. And B-Jam sure knows how to handle that one, giving it some extra attitude whilst keeping those vocals doing their thing. I love a good rework like this, and I love how he handles that combination of the repetition of the instrumentals and the layered continuity of the vocals. B-Jam also knows how to keep that soul alive in a rework, definitely showcasing that ability here yet again.

 

‘Solsidan’ by HNNY

HNNY immediately tries to build in some vibe by flipping the channels at the start, eventually settling for some of that percussion to get the funky going. The way he slides into this new sound, with the airy vocals doing a day-dreaming “tu-du-du-du-de” line, that’s awesome. Especially if, moments later, he does the old switcheroo, adding an understated little bassline to it all when the vocals are taken away for a moment. In the mean time, still, the percussion doing its thing, making sure this one keeps moving forward. The great thing about HNNY is that he always manages to infuse his tracks with some of that soft, warm flavour, and here he definitely does that as well. There are some jazz vibes in there too, and I just love how it has this breezy quality, but still with this funky undertone. Did I already mention that this has been released on one of my fav labels, Let’s Play House? That’s two marks of quality, right there.

 

‘Lights Down’ by The New Sins (Waze & Odyssey Remix)

Certainly, nothing breathes club music more than this cut. It already starts with the robotic, female vocals saying “Me and you, in the club”, you’ve got some old school house synth sounds coming in at about the 45 second mark, and the title is “Lights Down”. I mean, really. Something like at 1:10, when it strips away all the instrumentals and you only have those vocals saying “lights down” in ever more robotic fashion, that’s dance music 101 as well. Not so much that, as the fact that obviously you need to get back to the beat and bass and stuff, and that’s a momentum moment right there. Living alongside the robotic hypnotic vocals is a more soulful male voice, though even that has some production on top of it. It’s easy on the ear this one, very accessible, and if you want to make a wider kind of crowd do some dancing, this has all the tools to achieve just that.

 

‘Heartbeat Speed’ by Cyclist feat. Jocelyn Alice

Cyclist has enlisted Jocelyn Alice to do some of that talking, feeling that her beau has a lover that she wants to be. That is established before Cyclist contrasts all those emotions by doing a nice, bouncy synth and beat combo that has a bit of that piano house vibe to it. At 1:45 he ups the volume a bit, adding some guitar in for the punch-and-a-half. When the guitar fades, Jocelyn comes back in with her rhythmic vocals, though also featuring a hint of emotional heartbreak. Just before the big three:00 mark Cyclist kills the percussion for a minute, using a short synth stint to work its way back to the beat. Cyclist then combines the guitar and the vocals, giving the end this sense of going-all-out, which he has build up to nicely. Lovely track, and very easy-on-the-ear to boot.

 

‘Baby I Just Wanna Love You’ by Jonelle Allen (Alan Mooney’s Edit)

How about some of that slow burning disco, eh? This one starts with a nice & slow bassline to get that groove going, with Mooney upping the pace a bit after the minute mark as he brings the vocals in first, and the beat in second. The lines of the vocals succeed each other in rapid succession, singing that they Wanna love ya, over and over, with no time being spared. Alan slows it down a tad  againat about the three minute mark, dialing the vocals down so you’ve only got those slow grooving elements again, though he does add some of them drum beats in there to give it a bit of a body, and to make sure the people can do a little slow dance to it. Obviously he works his way up again, and give it a minute or two (and enjoy that little guitar line while you’re at it), and sure enough those vocals come right back in. If you like that old school disco feel and you love a sloooow burning groove, this is one to bring some of that lovin’ to the discotheque.

 

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