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The Weekly Froth! - 20161202

  • 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: ‘Used to Hold Me So Tight (Dr. Packer rework)

This starts out as something that you’ll be wanting to dance to, giving you the kick, the drum, and, a tad later, some of that bass to kick up that pace. Then, shortly after, the vocals, singing the title words, reminiscing about those good times when you Used to hold me so tight. And then, at 1:50, there comes la lady Houston, giving you some of that vocal prowess right there, letting you know who is the lady in our midst. Quickly in, the horns, giving her to work something off against. Then the verse, laying it out, laying it down, before coming back to the title words again, with Houston herself riffing up some magic as the backing singers mention again that there used to be a time where You used to hold me so tight. It’s just one of those beautiful disco mixes for a good night out on the dancefloor, and add those kind of vocals in there (and use them, like Dr. Packer does) and you know it’s all going to be quite all right.

 
 
‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ by Prince (Rayko Super Disco Lover re-edit)

Now, who can get enough of Prince, really? This one starts with a booming, slow bass, but the little guitar riff gives you the balance, with the drums kicking in at about the thirty second mark. Rayko rides those sounds for a while, occasionally crashing a cymbal, adding something else in, before smoothing it out until changing it up again at 1:40. And he does that a few times, keeping the bass at its core around which the rest give you a little bit of that slow down funk right up until all the deep sounds are booted out and the high pitched vocals of Prince come in, saying that he needs your lovin’, That’s all I’m living for. And then, obviously, it works up again for the rhythm section to barge in, with the bass and the drums giving you that dancing thing again to ride this one out.

 
 
‘Pacify’ by Kauf

Kauf starts this one oh so quiet, oh so still (kind of in keeping with the title then perhaps), bringing you something that, in a way, resembles bird sounds to me. Then the heavier, somewhat grainy deep instrumentation comes in, providing the canvas for all the lighter instruments to appear and shine on (white works better on black after all). At about the 1:20 mark you get some of that tropical vibe going, with the vocals coming in as well, singing that You forced me into the sun, with the vocals being a bit more slowed down, contrasting the instruments nicely in that. Those vocals get a bit of room to work, with just the smattering synths, after which the rhythm and tropical come back in for a bit, for some of that closed eye dancing with a drink in the hand.

 
 
‘Canyons’ by Clubfeet

They build up a bit of that wall of synth to start, but soon the drums break through it, giving you the dancing rhythm and the slightly detached male vocals. The other vocals, heavily worked, are a bit more immediate, a bit more punchy, giving you that different kind of feel. When the male vocals come in we get some extra percussion, making sure there is a clear thing to dance to there, a base of the track they are sure to not let up on. Although, for a few seconds, around 2:20, it’s just vocals, but quickly the bass is put in there, but it’s the only deep sound against the lighter vocals and instrumentation surrounding it. The band is releasing an EP late January, including this track, so that’s a 2017 thing already ready and rearing to go (with a pick-me-upper in terms of pace at 3:20 again to do the same to you when listening to this).

 
 
‘1 Of These Nites’ (LNTG remix)

Someone’s musical taste, surely, one way or another, is influenced by their mum and dad (whether it stays and remains or heads fleeing out the door), and the Eagles are certainly something I remember from my growing up days. LNTG gives you all the high pitched marvels in that track, and boosts a bit of that bass in there, bit of that rhythm, especially at the two minute mark, where he runs with it, powered by the guitars as the beacons through which the ships pass. Then we really get into the track, with the verse, with the the plurality of guitars, and then the high pitched chorus again, doing the Oooooh, coming right behind you, swear I’m going to find you one of these nights. After which he quickly returns to the ruggedness of the verse. I mean, it’s not a nostalgic dancefloor thing, but it is a nostalgia thing, and LNTG makes it a dancefloor thing, and growing up listening to this track I’m sure getting a kick out of this (especially when that screaming guitar comes in at about 4:20).

 
 
‘I Still Reach Out’ by Lenny Williams (Alkalino rework)

Four seconds in you already hear the former Tower Of Power frontman working it, with one of the better voices this side of the atmosphere. In the mean time the bass is getting da rhythm right, with the little guitar riff coming in at the forty second mark to finish off that funk thing they’ve got going on. The ladies in the back also rear their heads not too long in, helping out the man in the middle who is taking a backseat to the rhythms of the night. He himself only returns after 2:30, yelping out some Ahh babies, but, with that voice, so that makes a difference probably. Alkalino then briefly dials it down before he gets all the bass and the drums running again with the girls in the back leading the way. Short but sassy funk number, with some drippings of Mr. Williams vocals as the icing on the cake.

 
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The Weekly Froth! - 20160219

  • 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: ‘I Still Reach Out To You’ by Lenny Williams (Underdog’s Breakdown edit)

Getting the disco going from the start with that nifty bass line, and then those era-defining strings coming in to really set the feel for this one. Then the boogie with the rhythm bass and percussion, followed by the unique vocals of Lenny Williams, whose voice I adore. Some nifty guitar work comes in at 1:30 to help the subdued set-up, and then the girls come on in from the back to lure you into the song as they want you to tell them what to do (a dangerous proposition in whatever context I’d say). In the mean time Underdog slowly raises the funk level in the back with the instruments, and then, at 3:06, the big reveal, including Williams doing some of that thang. He goes full throttle, yelling out he’s Reaching out, and announcing, Here’s my love, take it baby! In the mean time that disco boogie is still going on, with some funky rhythms in the back, with Underdog also knowing when to slow it down for a minute to not have any overkill here, going all in on that main groove. It’s a superb disco dancefloor edit with lovely bits (bass, guitar riff), but most of all those fab vocals from the old Tower Of Power frontman. Definitely one to get it on to under those discotheque lights.

 

‘Vendetta’ by Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra (Al Kent remix)

There’s a bit of that African percussion to get your rhythm vibes working, some string work to remind you of the disco dancefloor in front of you, and then at about the fifty second mark the beat comes in to help you get on there and do some grooving. Especially with the percussion that comes in just after, that helps with that I’m sure. And Al Kent really goes the distance with the rhythm here, providing you with plenty of it, only giving you strings for the disco atmospherics. The rest is all about the shakin’ and the bakin’ for a long while. At the 2:30 mark we get a bit of a change-up, but the main idea stays the same there. The 4:40 change sees some bass action entering though, so that is a pretty huge thing, with it still even more rhythm entering the equation, which is being highlighted beyond believe in this Al Kent groover. At 5:40 that bass and the earliest form of percussion get some time at center stage, with at the six minute mark a more steady rhythm bass entering to give those hips something to do some damage to. It is a super rhythm heavy turn for the floor, understated-yet-bouncy. The singular disco sound does get back in there for some extra euphoria, which is a good way to draw this one to a close I reckon.

 

‘Pusherman’ by Curtis Mayfield (Pied Piper Regroove)

I love the slick, on-the-down-low-Jazz-club start of this Pied Piper regroove of a Curtis Mayfield tune. Very sultry, very percussion funk, and it sets the tone for the track. After about half a minute the track gets a bit more of a backbone to it, and with the guitar riff at about the sixty second mark the funk really gets in. Just before we get to the two minute mark we get the vocals, singing that he’s Your pusherman. It’s really got the cocaine jazz feel to it, and the non-straight percussion really helps out there. The vocals and the lines, too, do this, giving it this at-night-in-fright vibe where all that hazy shit is going down. The guitar, as said, that’s really a great addition, it gives it something to hang on to as well and, by doing that, help keep the percussion at ease. At 4:30 we get a momentary stop, which gets kicked back into gear soon enough with all the smokey bass and percussion that have been putting their stamp on the entire track for the entire duration. Put on those funky, round glasses, the black turtleneck, smoke something, and do that difficult Jazz dancing Beat poets do.

 

‘Prayer To St. Therese’ by Johnny Jewel feat. Chloe Sevigny

Johnny Jewel teams up with actress and poetess Chloe Sevigny for a campaign for the perfume company Regime des Fleurs. As always, Jewel manages to get all the vibes in there, providing just the right sounds floating around, slowly adding some rhythm elements there to help out Sevigny’s delivery of the poem. I love the spoken word vocals, she does that well, and in the background the midnight approaching menacingly with some rays of sunlight or some form of the divine glowing through all that. It’s a short little thing, but it is just another one of those by Jewel that just takes into account tone, audience, and the narrator delivering the odorous tale that needs to be soundtracked. Apparently at an event of the company the entirety of this will be on display, but in the mean time, this will do just fine I reckon.

 

‘Horizonte’ JKriv Rework

Starting with some beach sounds, then a little bit of acoustic guitar; you’d almost think you’re at some sort of beach with palm trees there. Then he fades that all out and comes back with some similarly vibed sounds, though this batch does include a bit of a beat to have a little beach party to. The sparkly sounds still give it this light-hearted holiday air. At about 1:20 you get an extra percussion in there that gives the track a bit more punch, though they trade that in for some Miami sounds around the two minute mark. And so this track keeps moving on, with the beat as a bit of a backbone, but especially the Hawaii feel which dominates the tone of the track. The vocals doing a du-du-dup line only add to that. Some of the sounds do have their origins in the disco, and all of them can soundtrack those holiday dreams you have around 16:00 of every day at the office you’ve ever had. Chillin’ the day away with that in a coconut served cocktail, right here.

 

‘Qwazars’ by Mr. Fingers

Any time you get a slice of house by Mr. Fingers it’s worthy of a listen. Here he rides those old school house sounds into the middle of the night, with a nice deep beat in the back, and some lovely synthesiser action up front. He adds a second one around 1:40, giving it a lighter vibe before adding those deep, dark vocals. He doesn’t forget the rhythm though, adding a bit of extra percussion in there before coming with some additional drums. The pace, though, is still dictated by the starting beat and synth, and emphasised by the secondary synthesizer. It is one of those groovers for your drug riddled mind (high on love, obviously, nothing else), a deep house slow ride that pushes all those buttons a track like that is supposed to. I mean, this year, there’s a new EP from this guy, what is there to further want, really?

 

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