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:  ‘Let It Carry You’ by Jose Gonzalez (Holy Ghost! remix)

I always love Holy Ghost!’s disco & synth sound, and here from the get go you get this lovely feel again. It’s got a nice drum beat to it, then you get the rhythm synth, and then a more atmospherical synth sound as the boys show off their hardware. Then the vocals come in, which add a hint of melancholy to the dancey affair. What I also like is how restrained the vocals are, but sometimes at the end of a line there’s this touch of rawness, which is nice. There are also some backing vocals in there at one point, and at 3:20 you have this moment where they’re really building up the sound for a minute just to have it all float back to this understated disco sound. There are multiple moments where you can definitely find them playing around with structure and flow like that. If you like the albums they’ve put out (and you should, gosh darn it!), then this is one to throw in that playlist too. Love the mixture of the tone in combination with this unrelenting drum & synth-for-a-touch-of-dancing action.

‘Holding On’ by Julio Bashmore feat. Sam Dew

The start definitely has this happy vibe to it, like you’re about to have fun. Julio’s got some glitchy looping going on, which is a nice modern contrast to the vocals. Which are, indeed, #broadwalk, as the SoundCloud page indicates. It’s got this old school vibe, but the looping keeps it grounded in the modern. At 1:20 it moves away from that a little bit, with the main sound now being a relatively poppy dance beat, which I can see the whole of America doing these lip dubs to. Also because it has this sense of happiness, and it does have this theatrical flair to it as well (also thanks to the multiple layers of vocals). There are moments where the beat is turned down to go back to those looping bits with the vocals, obviously to shift back to the fast paced pop action again a little bit later. Definitely a catchy tune this, with the different elements nicely keeping this one in balance.

‘Chicken Heads’ by Bobby Rush (Leo Zero edit)

Leo Zero brings the blues back to the dancefloor. He gets a nice little loop going for this edit of a Bobby Rush song, who is one of those blues guitarists from that time when there were still blues guitarists (and ones that were not victims of elder abuse at that). Leo Zero makes sure you get plenty of that blues vibe, bringing in loads of vocals and, more importantly, that nice little guitar riff that he rides and rides as he should. Obviously there’s also plenty of drums and percussion in there, as it is a dancefloor track, and a change-up like at 2:15 makes that abundantly clear (and makes it work, too). Now, I love me some blues, and these fellas know all about bringing some attitude to the mix, and Leo Zero makes sure he doesn’t forget to include that ingredient here. It’s just a really good edit of a blues man that includes the blues guitar, those blues vocals, a bit of spoken word as well, and even something that kind of resembles a chorus with the Let me in, let me in, let me in lines. It’s got the dancefloor rhythm and it’s got plenty of the original as well, and that’s all you want, innit? And for that I’ll forgive some of that production trickery like at 5:35-5:40. Don’t sweat it, just the kind of guy I am.

‘Slip And Do It’ by Betty Wright (Disco Tech Edits)

Got to have some Betty Wright in your life every now and again, don’t ya? And Disco Tech makes sure there’s a bit of a beat as well as a bit of the funk in this edit of Betty’s ‘Slip and Do It’. Just before the minute mark she comes in, with all the attitude she can muster, and the Disco Tech boys make sure she brings a bit of that guitar and some of those horns with her as well. She sings that When it feels so good, will you slip and do it?, which effectively summarizes the age old question of heart over head or not. And, luckily, she doesn’t mind being the other woman, so there you go. At the two minute mark she gets a bit of help from the girls at the back, as Disco Tech makes sure you can do some grooving to the bass that’s getting it on in the background. This is really an edit in that there are so many elements of the original, and Betty gets all the spotlight the world can buy, and that’s what makes it work. But the bass and the beat do make sure you can get funky to it on the dancefloor in your modern discotheque, and that’s all we want on a Saturday night (and whenever we’re at home, alone, with a bottle of whatever at our lips).

‘Once In A Lifetime’ by Talking Heads (Joey Negro edit)

Joey Negro starts this one off with some percussion and big drums, and a big, bushy bass, which seems a bit padded from the original track. That original track being ‘Once in a Lifetime’, from that band that just knows how to bring that city anxiety alive (if you haven’t succumbed to that in real life yet). After the minute mark we hear David Byrne coming out from the back to the front of the stage, with Joey Negro still riding the bass and, now, the line “same as it ever was”. In the mean time he’s having a bit of fun with some anxiety inducing synths as well, but he strips it all down to give Byrne plenty of room to do his verse, bringing the bass back near the end. When they enter the chorus, he introduces the guitar as well, after which we simply get the next verse instead of Joey Negro putting the chorus on repeat. At the three minute mark we get a bit of saxophone thrown in there to go along with the bass and other rhythm elements, which is a nice way to give some extra length to this edit. Not that it ends with that though, as obviously we always need some extra Byrne before the credits roll as the vocals make their encore. By the way, if you have never seen the video clip of the original song, do have a fun time slapping yourself in the face with that one.

‘Alright’ by Church Boy Lou feat. Paul Randolph

Church Boy Lou’s music is deeply rooted in the history of African-American music, both in terms of the piano house it evolves into after about the one minute mark, but also in terms of the humming vocals and the sounds-from-the-audience. I love how the humming seems to multiply, giving it this community feel that has always been a staple in gospel, house, but also blues music. Whilst the vocals and the organ lay down the vibe, the beat and the piano still keep this one rolling for anyone fancying a trip to the club. Near the very end the percussion shifts, which could easily lead one into a new dance track with a new feel to it so that you’re night out will never stop. Now, I don’t know what happens at the two and four minute mark (and there is always the hope that it is an uploading error, however faint), but the rest of the track oozes this atmosphere of hommage and pride whilst still working as something one could be giving a spin at the club.

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:  ‘Sur Une Chanson En Francais’ by Paradis

I always like me my Paradis, and this one is again such a good example why. It’s got a nice little drum beat at the start, but that’s not the main attraction as far as I’m concerned. The main thing that lures me in is that dreamy synth and those ditto vocals. They just give it this terribly fantastic(al) atmosphere, and the French narrative kind of transports it into the Nouvelle Vague realm of it all. After the first round of vocals they add a little, understated bass in there to juxtapose the higher sounding synth a bit, and they keep that one running even as the vocals return. They just manage to keep that atmosphere up so very elegantly, and it really has this wearing-your-trenchcoat-walking-through-Paris-in-graytones kind of vibe, and now who doesn’t love that? There’s this nice little transition around 3:30, where they up the pace slightly. And then, those horns that are added, my goodness! Aside from the tone of it all the track is also so very cleverly and delicately constructed. Paradis definitely hit the mark again as far as I’m concerned.

‘Loop De Li’ by Bryan Ferry (Leo Zero remix)

Bryan Ferry is the singer of Roxy Music, and I do believe a favorite for guys who like to remix, as both his band and he himself always seem to pop up at certain times. This remix is not a dancefloor killer, but rather a nicely forward-trodding affair with that slow pace. It’s the atmosphere that’s key, with the horns, the guitar, and the narrative vocals of Bryan Ferry who tell you that there is No place to hide. It’s a bit of a loungey affair, with the bass being the main rhythm proponent. The horns and guitar are other staples here, though there are definitely enough sounds in there to not make it a stale affair. ‘Loop De Li’ is the opening track of Ferry’s new album Avonmore, and at the very least this remix showcases Ferry’s voice once more. Not in terms of Whitney Houston-like note hitting, but in that theatrical telling voice he sometimes puts on display, and definitely does so here. Leo Zero’s understated remix definitely supports the vocals, with him nailing the tone. There are some nice transitions to be found here as well, and some very smooth introductions of new sounds, so if you don’t mind a track with a lounge vibe, definitely have a look at this one, apparently also coming out on vinyl.

‘Running’ by Blende feat. Gustaph

I like the start with that typical sound, it kind of fits the cover image with all the colours. It’s just got a joie-de-vivre to it I find, though the synth that follows it has a slight melancholic feel to it. Underneath you’ve got percussion to keep this one going forward, with additional percussion being added for some extra rhythm. The next synth has more of a club sound to it, and it kind of is the introduction to the powerful voice of Gustaph that comes in moments after. He’s got this big, gospel like voice which he already put on display with Hercules And Love Affair in the shows they did in the past year. After the two minute mark the track dials it down a bit, and at about 2:55 you get that nice sound from the start back in, which is definitely a fun transition in my opinion. It gives this track a sort of quirky quality which is nice, and that along with the solid execution and the powerful vocals you’ve got yourself a nice track indeed. Though I’m not the biggest fan of those “glitches”, as in, they seem to at points put a sort of one second delay in there that disrupts the flow of the beat. Very modern probably, but not my cup of tea. Enough here to make up for that though, so no real complaining here.

 ‘See Through You’ by Mighty Mouse feat. Ronika

Mighty Mouse immediately puts the beat in this one, so no wasting time here. The real love comes when the woodwork percussion and the bass come in though, those are the things we’re waiting for. Then they add Ronika’s vocals, and the essence of the track is off and running. She’s got this nice, rhythmic delivery which Mighty Mouse makes good use of, for example in the chorus, where they up the bass a bit to give it this funky dancing vibe. Ronika is saying that She’s got 20/20 vision, and can see right through, which gives a bit of attitude to this as well. There’s a nice change-up at about 3:20, where they seem to bring out the violins and, for a minute, lose the bass and percussion. First the latter, then the former find their way back in again pretty quickly though, after which they make sure they ride it out to (almost) the end. It’s a lovely little funker with some nice moments and a little attitude because of the vocals, so definitely worth a little dance to I reckon.

‘Romeo’ by Dan Bodan (CFCF groove remix)

From the get go you already get these pop vibes, and then you get the Dan Bodan vocals along with some finger snapping. Those soulful vocals are really up front in the mix, so they’re really the focus of this thing, which I think is lovely. It’s like CFCF  created an aura around them that kind of keeps the instruments relatively at bay. Until after the minute mark that is, when CFCF turns the groove on by adding that bass line, which he expands on a bit later to get the full groove effect out. CFCF is just one of those guys that has an amazing ear for sound, so you kind of know it is going to be something slightly different (how he uses the vocals), but he’s also going to manage to set out what he is saying he’s going to do (make it a groover). So there come the drums, the rhythm synths, and then the bass again to top it off and get people dancing. So if you’ve been waiting to hear a nice, bass-led groove with some soulful vocals that is pretty easy-on-the-ear to boot, there you go.

‘Keep on Lying’ by Jessie Ware (Pional remix)

I once saw Jessie Ware live, which kind of underwhelmed me, so yeah. But I do love Pional and his piano house tracks, so there’s that. This isn’t a piano house tune, unfortunately. It’s more of a trippy beat thing with an overload of percussion. Now, even though that concert underwhelmed me at the time, Ware’s vocals are still lovely and Sade like, so in that sense there’s no complaining here, as they are clear and audible and aren’t waylayed by the instruments. Some instrumental things are pretty nifty as well, with that percussion bit that starts a bit before the two minute mark, for instance. At 2:45 you kind of get the highlight of this remix, with Pional practically dialling down everything and Ware almost Christmas-Carrolling the line “If this isn’t love, I don’t wanna know”. So still some good stuff in here, though truth be told, it is kind of a one-time listen for me.