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Weekly Column - The Froth!

  • Written by  Stef Siepel

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: ‘Prophecy’ by Jon Charnis

Jon Charnis goes deep with this house tune, which aside from a deep beat bathes in atmosphere. It is one of those things that when you listen, you just feel when a track has got that extra bit of something-something, and for me this definitely falls into the “has” category. Nice beat for your deep house set, but the real kingmaker are all those other elements that create this amazing feel without going overboard and overcomplicating it. Around the three minute mark he has stripped everything all gone, but slowly and surely sounds are reaching the surface again, more and more, and with more and more rhythm, until finally the deep beat returns as well. The thing that makes it so good is that all those sounds, which all fit together beautifully, make it more than just some I’ve-got-a-beat-lets-play-this kind of dancefloor soundtrack. It’s a whole soundscape narrative, pictures in your head and everything if you want to, and that is what makes it worth listening even with your headphones on.

 

Around You’ by Roosevelt

Starts feathery light this one, especially before the beat comes in after about twenty seconds. But even then the auxiliary sounds are nice and breezy. The vocals got a good edit over them, and they kind of have that alienated feel. I like that combination of the beat, those sounds, and then the vocals; all different layers with different sounds, somehow complementing each other. Not sure I’m a fan of that sound after two minutes with that frantic buzzy feel that he gets going on, but luckily he soon exchanges that for the vocals, which I find to better fit with the rest of the song. After the three minute mark you get one of those build-ups, after which the beat comes in again, accompanied with the same sound that was there after the two minute mark. Overall, I really like the feel of it, and I’m curious to see what the full album will bring. Not sure this particular track will be on heavy rotation at my house, but I like the way he combines certain aspects for sure.

 

 ‘The Get Down’  by JC Gavri

You know that Jean Claude Gavri can get some of that boogie going on, and from the get go that’s what is happening here. Loads of great boogie sounds and percussion (and guitar and...) which can get that dancefloor filled up in no time. Nice little riff going on there, and then those disco sounds come in with the horn section, which is awesome. Gavri has the patience to ride the instrumental side of this out into oblivion, though he squeezes some of those vocals in at 2:30, first male, then female, then major synth action which almost goes over the top (and may for some). After that he brings the rhythm section with that guitar riff into the spotlight as the male vocals implore “Come on people”. Would have loved for a minor piece of vocal belting, but Gavri makes great use of the instrumental sounds to have the people do the boogie and get down, which probably is the main goal for this track anyway.

 

‘Things of the Past’ by Nicholas feat. Stee Downes

I just love Nicholas’s output, love how he always combines these big vocals (or voices) with those great house beats. Here he goes for a deep beat, and with Stee Downes he manages to get some good vocals in that fit his style. He also always makes sure that those vocals can shine, sometimes with the beat so the dancefloor can dance to them, but he also manages to always give them a bit of room so people know what voice they’re dealing with. For me, this is just house, and there isn’t a set I would play where I couldn’t slide in a Nicholas tune effortlessly. Fits my style, and this is just so something that I would want to dance to in the club at night. This again, because of the vocals on the one hand (with the handclaps!) and the beat on the other, so many ways to get that in there. And that strange sound between the three and four minute mark (and around the 5) is so easily forgiven in that case.

 

‘Girls’ by French Horn Rebellion (Rogue Vogue remix)

I think I actually saw French Horn Rebellion live once, and what I remember was more this pop kind of synth sound, which kind of ties in with the start of this tune. Soon enough Rogue Vogue puts in the beat for the people to dance to, but no mistaken about it, this still has pop tune written all over it, far more than club banger or anything. So know what you’re getting yourself in to, because it has a bit of that sugar that won’t fit on every bill probably. Do love that strip down after the first minute though, that sounds sweet, class right there. That second strip down is nothing to sneeze at either, with those scattershot vocals in there. Other then that it is just this major feel good kind of a tune for people cheery people who want to do some cheerful things.

 

‘The Stranger’ by Motor City Drum Ensemble

Not sure why he goes glitchy at the start, not something I had high on my wishlist, and he manages to keep that sound going for oh so long. The deepness of the beat probably has you hypnotized soon enough though, especially with that tribal drum feel MCDE gets going on. Sometimes the beat is stripped back and you get that whiioe-oeehee sound thingy in its place, and I much prefer the beat to be honest (though if that was the only thing you would have going on for about 6 minutes, that would be boring as heck). Around the four minute mark he goes for that the-engine-is-running-and-is-going-off-in-5-4-3... thing, after which obviously the beat makes a return. It’s a nice enough deep house record with some dancefloor jacking elements in there. With that said, not my favorite of MCDE, who is absolutely amazing (as DJ as well), but perhaps trumping your own brilliance is the hardest thing to do. Just glad he’s back and ready to go again, and on the EP this is from there are some gems to be found for sure.

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