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: ‘Girl I Know It’ by Thatmanmonkz

I just love the drums this one starts with, they immediately want to make your body move, don’t they? Thirty seconds in Thatmanmonkz brings out the big sounds to make sure that this track is not going to be denied. The thing is basically put on loop for about a minute, and he certainly knows not to let a good thing go to waste, riding that main sound into the sunset and putting everything he deems worthy on repeat. Just before the two minute mark he goes with a new, deep bass as the only instrumental sound, and soon that bass proves to be the canvas for the soulful vocals that come in. After that, again, the drums and all the other things return to get some additional richness back into this thing. Just before the four minute mark he again pairs up the vocals with a different main sound (this time a beat), but soon the rest of the sounds return, with obviously that bass providing everyone with plenty of dance opportunities. I love the vibe to this one, and it really makes me want to get off my seat and find a club to play this in and have a dance to. Surely, that’s what this column is about, ain’t it?

‘A Place Called Space’ by The Juan MacLean

I love The Juan MacLean, I really do. Those epic 23 minute versions of ‘Happy House’ are awesome, and they’ve got some other happy-vibes dancefloor killers in their arsenal. This one, as you might have assumed from the title, is all about space disco. Their previous album seemed sci-fi infused mostly by lyrics and the robotic feel it exhumed, but this one is a space travel to Mars, Moroder-meets-Bowie type of thing. The synth is the thing that drives this one forward, and that prominent guitar is something we haven’t seen from them before (or, well, at all since the Seventies, really). Just before the three minute mark they strip away the synth for a moment, and when the break ends the vocals come in for the first time. I believe they are John’s vocals at first, and after that Nancy Whang comes in. By this time, the track has turned down its Moroderness a touch to veer into a territory a bit more familiar to them. Not to say that the grandiose glam rock guitar isn’t still popping up from time to time. The singles they’ve released between their last (and great) album and this one certainly prepared absolutely no one for this, and though Nancy Whang sings that it is “too late late late”, it certainly isn’t too late for them to come back with an album again. There’s always room for the experts at House that are The Juan MacLean.

‘Raw Cuts’ by Motor City Drum Ensemble (Marcellus Pittman remix)

Starts nice and “raw” this one, with that grainy beat that gets offset by the cymbals that then appear on the track. I just love the vocals that come in, they’re so warm and emotional and they balance out the more mechanical sounds of the beat perfectly. It’s that combination that makes both work. Even the additional percussion that comes in sound slightly industrial, but, as said, it all gets countered by that voice (and, a little bit, that synth). All that percussion and the beat, by the way, do make you want to move a bit, preferably in this kind of cold, underground club environment I would say. Just after the three minute mark he mixes it up a bit, as he strips the more mechanical sounds for a moment in favor of some African percussion, and after another short round of vocals he goes back to his original vibe again. Just before the five minute mark the two lads again throw a curveball out there, going left where you’d expected them to go right, and that makes the track so interesting. Raw cuts is an apt name for this one, as it certainly doesn’t provide a smooth (deep) house ride, but the more intriguing it is for it. And it does, in the end, after all, go back to a version of the original percussion and beat sound.

‘Your Darkness’ by Benoit & Sergio

Certainly starts with a big and banging beat this one, but the interesting sounds come after about 35 seconds in, where you get these nice and light synth sounds that totally even this one out. You’ve got that big, thudding beat in the background, but I just like the playfulness of those lighter sounds. The boys add some altered vocals to the mix to bring the amount of different feels to three, as those have a more mechanical sound to them. The big, thuddy beat is ditched at one point, and a more nuanced backbeat takes over. Though, by now, it are primarily the synths and the vocals that are at the heart of this one. Apparently the guys are working hard to complete their debut album (produced by Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington of the Darkside project), so it will be interesting to see what Benoit & Sergio can do with a full LP. This groover is on an upcoming EP though, so at the very least you can snatch that one up if you like some lovely synth work.

‘Sunlight’ by The Magician feat. Years & Years

Obviously, The Magician is a big draw at the box office, though he starts this one out with a not-so-nuanced beat as far as I’m concerned. The more mood injected synths are better though, and for me, I’m waiting for the vocals of Olly, the singer of the up and coming band Years & Years, whose singles so far I’m pretty into. Sure enough, from out under the synths and the African percussion sounds here they come, those vocals, asking you to “bring the sunlight”. By this time, thankfully, that beat has been done away with, and what remains is this happy sounding festival pleaser that’ll get people grinning and dancing on those late night beach parties this is made for. Just after the third minute mark there’s a major break, and there’s only a little bit of piano to assist Olly in his singing. Obviously, the synth gets louder and louder, and when it hits its top that is the key for all the rhythm sounds to be thrown in there again. It’s a straight up party track with a bucketful of happy vibes and some good vocals to boot.

‘Uptight Downtown’ by La Roux (Midnight Magic remix)

I love the people of Midnight Magic, they sure know how to give everything this lovely, NYC disco vibe. Here, too, they manage to do that with those typical synth sounds and that bouncy bass on which you just have to get down to. They don’t speed this one up too much, keeping it a slow burner, which is a lovely and sexy pace for this one. Especially around the two minute mark you get the La Roux vocals in, though they seem to be made a bit more dreamy and distant to fit this remix. They are a nice complement to that bass though, with their high pitch and dreamy demeanour. That’s so disco, really, isn’t it? Naturally you’ve got those punchy and gutsy divas (like the frontwoman of Midnight Magic herself, really), but you also have this dreamy side to it, but there’s still this physical reaction it elicits with the bass (which, really, is the main thing on this one). There’s this lovely transition around 5:15 where they kick the pace up a notch with the beat and the vocals, though about a minute later they return to the main sounds again to push this one to its ending. Not only do I love it, but it’s a free download too! Madness!

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: ‘Grace’ by Bob Moses

Love the deep bass sound this one starts off with. This duo is signed to Domino Records, so that is nothing to sneeze at, really. After that deep bass sound you get some percussion in there to round out the rhythm part of it all, and then the synth comes in for the atmospherics. That synth lays the groundwork for the vocals, which are pretty deep and melancholic in the verses, and then get a bit of a boost with some less deep sounds in the chorus as he sings “why would you want to say I’m not the one you need”. By this time it kind of veers into more of a song than purely one for the dancefloor, though they make sure that (if they would play this live) you can still get some dancing done, even in the chorus. I do really like the melancholic feel to this one, which gets reinforced by that deep bass. They put plenty of other things in (like some guitar for instance) to not overload you with that deepness, especially during the choruses. Definitely a sound to watch.

‘Meet Me In The House Of Love’ by Cut Copy (Nile Delta remix)

Finally saw these lads live again when they played Primavera, and these boys sure know how to throw a party. Cut Copy have been veering more to the dancefloor, house side with their latest release, and these are all out dancey affairs. Nile Delta takes away some of the straightforward dance smoothness of the original, and throws in some extra sounds for the people in the club rather than at the gig. A transition to a percussion bit around 1:20, those moments are pretty nice additions (though I would be lying if I said I am equally enamoured with some other transitions in there). At 2:10 Nile Delta bring the track down a bit, strip the beat and go for just some synths. Then they build it up, both in terms of volume and by adding some percussion, after which they slide in a deeper rhythm sound and some vocals to start dancing to again. At this point they almost go a bit psychedelic with it, as said, taking some of the straightforward synth-house stuff off of the original. Definitely more instrument focussed this one.

‘I Never Thought I’d See The Day’ by Sade (L-Vis 1990 Sunrise Edit)

Everyone who had a working brain in the 1980s must know Sade, if only from that ‘Smooth Operator’ track. L-Vis 1990 takes a song from a later '80s album of theirs, the tragic ‘Never Thought I’d See The Day’, where she sings about a love that has gone. I love the bass that is working underneath it all, which gives it a bit of a deepness for the vocals and the synths to work over. Add some nice percussion and additional sounds, and you’ve got a nice complement going on there for the vocals. And blimey, Sade, she’s just got one of those voices, hasn’t she? Just one of those ones that sticks, and L-Vis 1990 isn’t throwing things on top of those vocals to make their presence felt. They know better than that, luckily. So the voice is still there in full force, you get some nice 80s piano in there, and then you also have the atmospheric synths, the deeper bass, and the bits of percussion to all add a little something something to it all. Add that easy listening sax on top of that (and as long as the percussion underneath keeps the track moving forward like it does after the three minute mark, then that sax is a good one to have in there), and you just have this lovely, low paced edit with the voice still as the centrepiece of it all.

‘Love Magnetic’ by Moullinex

I really like the guys from Moullinex, flying a bit under the radar I always think. They just make fun, synth-pop tunes with a dancey bend, and this one is no different. There’s a clear drum in there, but obviously the synths are really giving this one its boost and flavour. The vocals are singing that they can’t quite get this feeling out of their head, and whilst the drums are kicking on, the different synth sounds do quite a bit of the work here. From about the two minute mark there’s this big build up with the vocals continuously repeating the same line as the synth sound gets bigger and bigger, after which obviously this one goes back into full dancing-pop mode again. They constantly change up those synths, keeping the track fresh and fun enough to enjoy. If they’re playing this live, surely, the entire room should be dancing, no?

‘Whistle Time’ by Ooft!

Just the start alone makes me happy, with those cheerful party sounds and that guitar! After about twenty seconds not only are you happy, you can start dancing as well, with the bass sound, the cymbals, the beat, and the whole rhythm shebang you expect in a dancing tune. I am hoping for a return of those fresh sounds at the start, and slowly I already hear a bit of that vibe coming through the deeper dancing sounds again. At the two minute mark you get a nice change up for a minute, with the lighter piano that returns on occassion. At 2:45, that lighter piano gets a bit of help, shedding some more lightness in the deeper, darker base sounds of the track. The latter sounds get stripped away completely for a moment before, obviously, returning to get the whole club dancing again. It’s just a lovely dancing tune with plenty going for it, especially that contrast with the deep base sounds and the lighter auxiliary sounds, that really keeps the track alive for me. Wouldn’t even have minded for the track to go even lighter and more into disco mode, but the handclap sounds near the end are good enough for me.

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‘Nite After Nite’ by Music Go Music

This one starts really ominous with those wall of synths, after which almost everything gets stripped and there’s just vocals for a moment. Then the track slides into dancey pop territory, with a dash of '70s but also a dash of pop&disco to keep all kinds of people happy and moving their feet. I love those moments where they turn the pace up a notch, those moments are the ones that make me happy. Obviously, in order to be able to do that, you also need some downcast moments, and those work nicely too. The vocals are lovely, and the drum and the guitar keep things relatively on the down low but still give the track enough vibe to bridge the gap to the more up-tempo moments. They’ll be coming with a new album this year I believe, and if you like this '70s tinged dancing-in-the-forest-at-this-summer-festival kind of vibe, these guys are so your thing probably.