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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! - 20161028

  • 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 Gotta Feeling’ by Midnight Magic (Jacques Renault remix)

Jacques Renault and Midnight Magic team up again. Renault already has a beautiful remix to his name of this band’s ‘Beam Me Up’, and this time around he puts the bass and Roth’s vocals to good use for this disco/house stomper. In the background there are all kinds of other elements as well, though it takes up until 1:22 before they even come close to being on the same level as the two aforementioned parts of this track (just to subside in a matter of moments again). It’s definitely the bass providing the dancefloor rhythm, providing the background to the vocals and to the horns that come in after the two minute mark, finally helping out that powerful voice that she’s got, singing that she Feels it coming, coming on. Which must be the horns she’s speaking of (obviously…), or that little bit of extra oomph in the rhythm at about the four minute mark, giving you that final nudge onto the dancefloor if you weren’t there yet (which is unthinkable, surely).

 

‘I Am A Joker’ by BEA1991 (Nick Monaco retouch)

Nick Monaco gets that piano riff in there from the get go, with the drum providing the rhythm line, though he’s even keeping that one light. Shortly after that, the female vocals come in, and after their first verse there is a short oomph, which continues when the vocals return. In the mean time the piano is still the one strutting its stuff, though it gets taken out and, after a minute, gets replaced by a more bass sound. Though, as main sounds tend to do, it comes back after a short minute or so, getting multiple layers in as well. Then Monaco returns the favor, showcasing that piano in a short solo bid before the kick comes in again to guide this one to its end. The combination of the dreamy vocals, the light percussion, and the piano give it a sort of elegance for the dancefloor.

 

 

 ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ by Bob Dylan (Slow Hands cover)

So what happens when you win the Nobel Prize (whether you want to or not, apparently)? Why, you get covered by Slow Hands of course. They start it out in a very understated manner, giving it a bit of that jazzy class next to some electro fiddling. Then, the vocals come in, slightly hazy, with the clear and clean guitar sound cutting right through that. At 1:50 the song gets a little push, a little pace, through bass and drums, with the guitar still the main attraction right there. In the mean time, the vocals sing that You can go back any time that you want to (so how can he haunt you?), after which, again, that guitar comes back in for a little solo. Slow Hands show their musicality here once again, this time giving you a little bit of that Nobel class for all y’all to enjoy.

 

 

 ‘Peace And Love’ by Tall Black Guy feat. Masego & Rommel Donald

May there be peace and love, that’s the plea this one starts with (and surely, there can’t be enough people spreading that message around). After that, we get that slow jam beat going, with some female vocals and a bit of that gui-tar to bring that Let’s all love each other vibe right on in there. Just before the two minute mark the instrumentals are brought way back, with the male vocals coming in repeating that he wishes you Peace and love. Then, when the female voice comes in to repeat that wish right up until it gets granted, first that little beat comes back in, soon followed by that guitar yet again. The three minute mark is the cue for some of those horns to arrive, which are always a welcome sight. For the final minute and a half they bring it way down, going for a bit of spoken word starting a train analogy that gets mimicked in both word and sound, ending the journey with a bit of that gospel to bring that peace message back on home.

 

 

 ‘In Love With’ by Funkformer x Starving Yet Full (DBNN acoustic interpretation)

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of that acoustic sound going on, and from the get go it’s obvious that’s what you’re in for. Then, the half-speaking-half-singing vocals come in, giving you that Shakespearian ode to love talking about that Beautiful scar on your chest. Eventually coming to the conclusion that, yes, I’m in love with you, a line that gets continued into the chorus where some additional vocals are brought in to make sure the message comes through loud and clear. The second time the chorus comes around the extra vocals sing you the lines, with the main voice giving you that soul rendition of it. An acoustic ode to the one you love (or to the one that you left behind), we can never really have enough of those, can we?

 

 

 ‘Love Machine’ by Tempst Trio (SanFranDisko re-edit)

SanFranDisko gets the percussion to work, putting that pace in from the get go. Then, the bass, providing a slightly more steady rhythm. Soon after, the guitar riff, a very festive sounding one at that, with the strings only adding to this. The vocals soon come in, with them asking Let me be your love machine, turn me on, see what I mean (you go girl!). Just before the two minute mark the verse comes in as well, accompanied by a nice bass to make sure you can boogie down to this not only in the bedroom, but on that disco dancefloor as well. And it’s got all that Seventies goodness to make those dancers get down, with a handclap interlude around 3:20 to boot. After that he ups the funk, with the strings bringing you back to that disco sound. Put on this tune if you want to bring some sexy into your night out (and really, who doesn’t want a bit of that, let’s be honest now).

 

 

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