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: ‘Full Circle’ by George FitzGerald ft. Boxed In (Bonobo remix)

I must say that I’ve really been liking that George FitzGerald album that he released this year. Definitely one I’ve been returning to quite regularly. Bonobo is taking one of the tracks on that album on, first keeping it slow and on the downlow, and at about the fifty second mark adding a bit of percussion, and twenty seconds after that you get the rhyhtm synths as well. The actual beat arrives at about 1:25. I love the piano that accompanies whenever the vocals come in, which sound a bit dreamy and removed, and a bit sad as well, as he sings about what, to me, sounds like the end of a relationship. Just after the three minute mark Bonobo dials it down for a moment, at one point having just the vocals and the piano there. Slowly he starts adding things back in (percussion is first to return), with the beat back as it inches to the four minute mark. Nice remix, in keeping with the tone of the original, but with some extra drums and things to make it slightly longer and add a dash of oomph to it.

‘Off World Lover’ by Hot Natured

I like the contrast between the deeper bass sound and Ali Love’s vocals, which are higher pitched. In the mean time there’s also a beat doing the rounds and some space sounds, as Ali Love is asking you to tell him When you’re coming home. The space sounds, I guess, fitting if one looks at the title. There’s a nice, catchy swagger to this one, keeping the midst between a house tune and a synth-pop song. Around the 2:30 mark you get a little intermezzo where the synths are allowed to do the work, with the beat keeping it moving forward at the same pace. After that the vocals move back in again. Even near the end they don’t phone it in, with at 4:10 (which is a mere 15 seconds before the end) you see them doing a slight change-up before they fade the song out. Again a catchy, danceable outing by Hot Nature, with a nice, yearning vocal effort by Love.


‘Midnight On Rainbow Road’ by Leon Vynehall

Does it date me as growing up in the Nineties when I say that the title primarily reminds me of Mario Kart more than anything else? The highway sounds start this one (I believe it are like cars roaring past), with some heavy, deep synths adding to the atmosphere, with a Blade Runner kind of horn-synth helping out as well. The percussion slides into the track at about 1:40, as the synths seem to turn more and more to jazz for inspiration. At 2:20 we get some more rhythm in there, though it are still the atmosphere synths that reign supreme to get the vibes onto the dancefloor. At 4:10 additional atmospheric sounds are introduced, as the percussion is there, though this one is more about setting up the feel that you want out there than to already get the crowd turning into dancing maniacs (maniacs, oh-oh-oh). Nice atmospheric piece by Leon Vynehall, definitely getting the midnight vibe for this one. It’s been released on a compilation by Gerd Janson called Musik for Autobahns, if you’re interested.

‘Letter’ by Jaakko Eino Kalevi

Jaakko Eino Kalevi takes it on himself to promote the apparently legendary Finnish band Kukka (or, perhaps, the band Kukka, legends for Finns). I like the mix of the darker, deeper tones with the lighter synth and the female vocals doing a mystic aaaaaaahhh line. On top of that the male vocals come in, in a fairly low key. Around the minute mark there’s a big atmospheric synth coming in, layering the tune like a fog coming up. In the mean time, apparently what the Finnish band did is putting on their worst clothes, but that definitely isn’t the darkest thought that is being purged in this song, which is definitely moving towards the edge of the sane and living. In the mean time the mulitple synths work in unison perfectly, adding higher pitched ones to alleviate the deeper sounds. Definitely high on atmosphere this one.

‘Fool’ by Rayko

Freddie Mercury had been suffering the effects of HIV Aids for a while before eventually succumbing to it, making the amount of songs recorded after the Innuendo sessions scarce. One of those, though, is ‘You Don’t Feel Me’, which appeared on the Made In Heaven album that Queen put out in 1995. This one starts with the vocals, a bit of guitar, and some piano, with a little rhythm ditty underneath. After thirty seconds in Rayko turns it up a notch, perhaps slightly abruptly so with the snares, though when the bass sound comes in it starts to fall in its place. Especially with the vocals going Naaa-nah-nah-nah-naaa, and then with the guitar in there, that bit is pretty awesome, and from that point on it’s all good as Freddie Mercury sings You don’t fool me, those pretty eyes, that sexy smile. In the mean time Rayko knows when to subtract and add some rhythm sounds, playing around with pace and momentum a bit, all to make sure that the dancefloor can do their best little dance on Mercury’s forever golden vocals. That piano, how that cuts in at, for example, 4:18, that’s pretty cool, and Rayko keeps work like that up for about eight minutes long (with piano, guitar, vocal layers, etc.). And, lets face it, who doesn’t want to dance to some late Queen?



‘Because You’ by Bosq feat. Danielle Moore

This one starts out with a bit of that tropical percussion going on (or is that the sleeve of the YouTube clip tainting my ears there?). Count on Danielle Moore to turn into a good vocal outing, she is prime material as far as I’m concerned. You’ve got the vocals helping out the rhythm going pam-pam-pa-da-dam before the actual vocals coming in. There’s some layering going on there, with one layer singing “because you”, with the other layer answering the call-out. In the mean time the percussion isn’t doing it alone in terms of the instrumental rhythm department, with both a synth and bass doing their thing. They are definitely there to support the vocals though, with all else seemingly slightly further back in the mix. At about 2:40 they dial it down a notch, with the deep rhythm elements stripped out, just going for the synth line and some handclap/fingersnap like sounds (oddly enough I thought it was somewhere in between, maybe hitting a woodwork perc or something). It’s a light sounding, fun tropical tune from Bosqb, so if you’re looking for that, look no further.

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.