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:  ‘Dance’ by Brassica feat. Stuart Warwick

I love the vibe that this one has. This almost alienated, melancholic vibe, something you can definitely see happening on top of a modern dance/ballet performance. Soon that feel gets aided by some percussion, and there’s also a bass line happening, which is hid pretty well to not make it the main element here. There are some stops, like at about 2:10, where those rhythm elements are cast aside for a minute and Brassica just let the vibe happen, though a couple of seconds later the rhythm section comes back with a vengeance, including some extra synths to make it a bit more bombastic. That bombasticness is dialled back when Stuart Warwick comes in again with his beautiful vocals narrating about a love that has ceased to be. The vocals, in terms of feel, fit the sound perfectly. The rhythm makes sure this one doesn’t come to a halt, but there’s plenty of piano and synth to keep the atmosphere high and happening. Brassica recently released an album, so be sure to check that one out if you haven’t already.

‘Seasons’ by Future Islands (Badbadnotgood remix)

It is one of the best tracks of this year, that single by Future Islands that probably propelled them to stardom. The lovely thing about this Badbadnotgood remix is that it sounds nothing like the original, which makes it a surprising and fun thing to listen to. They take the vocals of the album track, but they seemingly score it like you would do a film. As if they’ve put a big band behind it and just let’r rip. So you get this lovely cinematic vibe with plenty of bass, piano, and the whole shebang, and with these delightful transitions to a faster pace during the chorus, which is almost so old school that it becomes pastiche. I just love it, because it turns the track completely upside down and inside out, and they do this in a format that is both far removed from the original as well as far removed from our current day listening experience.

‘White Light’ by Chromatics

Johnny Jewel seems to be clearing out his vaults or something, coming up with some old-but-new tracks like that alternate version of ‘These Streets Will Never Look the Same’ (a track which I just adore). This one (‘White Light’) is a lovely middle-of-the-night affair. A slow burner, with those melancholic, fragile vocals asking for that White light, sing your love to me. “White light, do you still dream of me? I’m so lonely in this world,” she sings. Obviously, those beautifully haunting vocals are set to this typical Chromatics back drop, with just a bucketload full of atmosphere, which they manage to achieve without crowding the whole thing up. I just love that whole feel of not only the Chromatics, but also Glass Candy, and if you do too, then you can be nothing but happy that these things get thrown out there for you to have a free listen to. It’s like a little present for you to have before those Christmas days come, and it certainly gets me in a cheery mood.

‘If I Had a Dollar’ by Tanner Ross

Don’t you just get that old school ballad vibe from the start with that piano? I just love that, definitely puts the mood right in from the get go. Add to that this little, light guitar line, so smooth. Then you get the distorted male vocals that come in singing that If I had a dollar..., and shortly after they put a little wrinkle of funk in there, which a bit later is combined with the starting piano sound. And there a little bit of fun comes in, because Tanner Ross does well to alternate between these two sounds, creating this funky mash-up vibe which is a lovely bit of fun and music. Just this combination of those ballad sounds from yesteryear with those snippets of funky synths; that really makes the track for me. I mean, just take those moments before and after that break at 3:30, the way he plays up that juxtaposition there, that’s really nice. Not your average day thing, that’s for sure!

‘Too Much Love’ by Francisco & Cosmo

From the get go you definitely get the feel this one was made with the club in mind, it has just this vibe of dancing to it. Just has some of those old school house elements going on at the start, though after about a minute they throw in a slight wrinkle with that synth, making it a bit more italo and lighter as well, as even the percussion is lifted out of the realm of the deep. Not that it has any impact on the dancing though, as the synth is catchy enough to carry that load, and there are still enough percussion elements going on to be holding on to. At 2:30 some talky vocals come in, telling you to Not push your love, after which more singing vocals come in. The talking vocals are decidedly male, and with the singing I also here some women coming in and doing their thing, a division which is decidedly house music. And while the synth keeps on going, the girls are singing that the Sound is good, so what more invitation do you need to dance, really? I really like some of the segments where they go really light and then transition to that rhythm synth which is slightly deeper, that’s a lot of fun. At about the six minute mark (this track clocks in just under ten minutes) they have a nice little change-up shortly followed by the re-introduction of the vocals, so that keeps it fresh enough to keep dancing to. And as said, the vibe is surprisingly light, which makes it just that bit more easy on the ear to get to that 10 minute mark.

‘Night Fever’ by The Bee Gees (RLP Re-Fevered)

The real question probably is, do you want to listen to an edit of a song that maybe for some meant the death or height or overkill of disco? If you are not bothered by any such context, and if you relish in the nostalgia factor of it all, then this RLP remix will provide some fun. It is a slick, smooth, edit of the old Bee Gees' classic. There’s not a false note in here, there’s nothing too out there, it just rolls on like a mothersomething. Naturally, he’s put plenty of the lyrics in there, including loads of “night fever, night fe-veher!”, but there’s also the drum beat, all kinds of old school sounds, and even a dashful of strings to help the brothers stretch this one to a 7 minute affair. At about 4:45 there’s even a break, with loads of echo in the vocals, what sounds like an organ, then the strings come in, the percussion, and RLP builds it back to the essence of this remix: a smooth, dancefloor edit of a track that just about everyone knows. Young hipsters and those approaching grandmother status can be dancing side by side to this one.

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.

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:  ‘What’s Your Name’ by David Bowie (LNTG’s Hypnotizin funk remix)

How about a slow funker by mister Late Nite Tuff Guy? He knows how to do a nifty little edit like no other, and here he takes on Bowie’s delightful ‘Fame’. He starts out by slowing it down to a trotting pace, with first just that funky guitar bit, then coming with the bass, and then adding a downpour of ice cold utterances of “fame”, after which the bass and guitar take over again. And you don’t just get that funky guitar line, but he adds some of that solo guitar as well. The way this guy plays with all those guitar sounds is just amazing, using it for all sorts of things, and in the mean time that track just keeps on going in that slow funk. About 2:30 in you get the Bowie vocals like we know them from the original, and they juxtapose the soul that is in the funk so well. The vocals are still from that American soul era, but they still feel like fame has sucked the life out of it and put the mechanical in. After the vocal bits, again, that lovely interplay between the different guitar lines, not to mention the bass, and near the end he throws in another stretch of vocals with Bowie asking if it’s any wonder that he rejected all that fame at first. I always look forward to LNTG’s edits, and this is again a perfect reminder why.

‘TR 707’ by Dabuell feat. Holybrune

Are you kidding me with those vocals? That is just pure genius, right there. It just feels like one of those power R&B ballads from a couple of decades ago. It’s got the male and female vocal interplay, it’s got all kinds of throwback instrumentals, and it’s got this lovely slow pace that gives all of it plenty of time to come through the way it should be coming through. The title, likely, a nod to the TR 707 Roland, which I’m assuming was used to get some of those sounds in (and no wonder it sounds throwback in that case, as the TR 707 is from about the 80s I reckon). I like the fade out ending as well, with some piano thrown in there. It is just a lovely, old-school sounding pop track that hits all the right marks as far as I’m concerned.

‘Invisions’ by Luca C & Brigante feat. Roisin Murphy

The song starts out with a deep beat, but that’s immediately juxtaposed by a very light, bell-like sound. After that the track quickly veers more into dance pop territory, with that catchy, poppy synth that underscores Murphy’s vocals, which just about fit on top of everything. The second verse gets some extra oomph by a new bassline as well, and in the chorus Murphy gets all kinds of help. When the vocals come back in again there’s just this awesome stretch that just epitomizes catchiness to me, and that synth line just doesn’t let up. And rightfully so, if you’ve got something that works, ride it. And if you do need to bench it for just a moment, there’s no better sub to throw in there than that bassline. Which works in two ways, as the bass is deeper, and it gives you some extra variety. It is a nice, catchy track that mixes the dancefloor with a nice topping of pop vibes. Not sure where the entire track has gone to on SoundCloud, but here’s at least a BBC radio rip to get a bit of an idea.

‘Pick You Up’ by Lxury

This is really comes out of the gates with a bang, with the strong vocals immediately singing/shouting that “I’ve come to love you” on top of a house beat. So if that doesn’t get a track going, I don’t know what does. About forty seconds in Lxury reigns it all back a bit, going for an instrumental, synth-based web-o-atmosphere, after which he immediately dives into the dancefloor feel again with the vocals and some snappy, quick percussion dictating the pace. Floating underneath those two elements there’s still a dreamy synth line, though that one soon gets drowned out by the more straight-up house elements. After about two minutes in there’s again a little break in the action, but luckily a totally different one than the way he did it earlier on. So loads going on in the mere four minutes this track runs, and if you do it like this perhaps it’s a good thing that it doesn’t go on longer as that would definitely overdose anyone listening. But it sounds like a very modern approach to take some of the characteristics of house music and condense that into a 4-minute modern tune that can also (will primarily?) work outside of the club.

‘It’s All About You’ by Kim Ann Foxman

Kim Ann Foxman you might know as the jumping-jack on the Hercules And Love Affair stage, touring as a member of that troupe for their first couple of tours. Now she’s doing her own thing, and she is definitely leaning more towards the tech-house side of the spectrum. There are certainly vocals in there, but they are more haunting than soulful, and it’s definitely not vocal driven, with the tech sounds coming through in spades. And the girl knows her dance, that’s for sure, so this is one to get some of that late night clubbing done to. It ticks all the boxes, it’s got a danceable beat, it’s got the percussion, the synth for flavor, the vocals for good measure, and some extra sounds like that one at about 3:25 that adds some ownership to her sound. Not to mention she’s got the structure down pat, adding extra lines when needed, and coming with that quick, momentum building percussion to indicate a change is going to come. Just a well-executed dance track from Foxman, who has just started her own music brand that we will undoubtedly be hearing from in 2015, especially on the club side of things. Not one to water the club sounds down for radio play she is, from all I’ve heard coming from her thus far.

‘Holding On’ by James Fox (The Revenge remix)

I love the way the vocals start this one off, with a female voice saying that she doesn’t want to lose control. A nice, bassy synth line is slid underneath that, and you can already hear some percussion coming through, and after about a minute in you get this lovely beat. I love those drums, I really do, especially combined with that bass, it just has this awesome attitude and flavour. And The Revenge surely does know how to build it all up. The female vocals have moved into actual singing by this time, exclaiming that The love you had before, burns inside of you. The “don’t want to lose control” line is kind of tongue-in-cheek I reckon, as the whole thing about dancing is letting go of any control and rigidness, and they sure do their best to let you dance with those a-typical drums. The second part has some more lighter synth sounds, and I like the different ways the singer is using her vocals, adding something different every time she comes on. A lovely, layered track by The Revenge, which shines in terms of structure.

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:  ‘Changing Of The Guard’ by Holy Ghost! (Andre Bratten remix)

If you know the original (off of that awesome sophomore album by the lads from Holy Ghost!), then you know it certainly wasn’t a deep house slow grind. Which, obviously, this one very much is. You have the deep bass beat going on, there are even some of those industrial sounds haunting around in there, and at 1:07 Andre Bratten ups the pace just a tiny tad before adding a bit more of those original synths. I like the change up at 1:40, where he brings in a melancholic piano (which I assume is from the original, but it’s used so out of context here I can’t quite remember if that’s actually the case). I mean, as far as a remix doing something different goes, this one ticks all the boxes for sure. The original basically has to fight its way through all the deep house layers, which gives it this interesting interplay between an original and that what it then becomes. So for that alone I’d recommend people to actually listen to both tracks. As a stand alone, this is a nice deep house track that especially gets its kicks from the fact that you’ve got those lighter elements that now and again try and rear their heads. The build-up after the break is a nice addition as well.

‘One Night Only’ by Krystal Klear feat. Yasmin

This one starts out with some percussion, but when Yasmin and the synths come in you get the full feel that this track wants to convey. It’s got this kind of R&B vibe, also thanks to that vocals style, with the backing vocals topping that off. You’ve got this bassy, deeper synth dictating the rhythm, with the percussion underneath also helping out in that R&B department. It’s got this catchy pop vibe going on, with that sensual club vibe which gets an extra oomph as Yasmin pleads “give me love”. That interlude at 2:30 followed by the backing vocals is also very genre I think, and Krystal Klear really managed to get this smooth track out there that ticks all those boxes. Yasmin’s vocals fit that atmosphere really well, and it’s lovely easy on the ear. For all those players out there!

‘In Command’ by LeSale feat. Mavin (Jacques Renault remix)

Oh man, just love the percussion groove this one starts with, are you kidding me? Immediately makes you want to take a stab at it on the dancefloor. After about thirty seconds in you get a nifty little bass line as, in the mean time, you can also hear some of those sultry, talky vocals as well. Jacques Renault is definitely riding that bass, adding some percussion to get the rhythm nice and tight, and at the 1:20 mark he adds the synth to inject the track with some extra atmosphere. After that you get multiple synth lines in there, all with a different function and purpose, but also all adding to the track because of that. And because he keeps on adding one line after another it does give you this feel of momentum building, which gets capped off by the vocals coming in just before the three minute mark. And as they whisper in your ear that you’re In command, Renault moves it back to the more beat and percussion heavy side, taking away those synths. The atmospherics are now being added by first the vocals, than the piano. It’s just a delicious track this one, with all those different elements being added and subtracted at exactly the same time. And with those vocals he’s got this little ace up his sleeve which he uses just enough to satisfy us without going for the overkill. Another doozy from Renault.

‘A Simple Design’ by The Juan MacLean (Magic Touch remix)

‘A Simple Design’, in it’s original form, is a behemoth of a track, the dancey, catchy single on the new (and quite fantastic) album of The Juan MacLean. Here, Magic Touch dials it down a notch or two in terms of pace. He seems focus on some of the more organic elements and moves them a bit to the front, which is especially notable at the start. Still, there’s plenty of room for the original, with those sounds still at the core and with Nancy Whang still in a prominent role. But if you take the change-up at about 1:40 for instance, that’s where you see the difference, and in the stretch thereafter you have this combination of the original track and a layer underneath which has been added. The original is still very much recognizable, but tweaks like that give it a different kind of twang. The major change is set in at about 2:50, where you get this bass synth sound that runs away with it at first, and after that some tingly piano that reins it in a tad. So Magic Touch kind of keeps the core of the track intact, but with the pace slightly dialled down and with these new elements smoothly being mixed in he does offer a different perspective on that awesome original dancefloor extravaganza.

‘Do It Do It Disco’  by Myron & E (Tom Noble remix)

Welcome says that funky little bass sound that dictates the rhythm at the start. I like that, especially when those higher and lighter piano sounds come over the top of it. Combine this with those funky vocals and you have this old school boogie track to get some of that thing going on on that dancefloor. It’s one for the dancing together, with the pace being on the lower side, and the vocals do add to that, definitely indicating some kind of Getting it on. It’s a lovely boogie of a track, with plenty of those old school vibes. That ohh-hoo-ahhhh vocal line for example, as well as the backing vocals singing “dance the night away” in that silky smooth kind of manner, with the boogie bass coming in just after them so the ladies can indeed strut their stuff and showcase what it’s all about. Keep on dancing indeed.

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‘Love In C Minor’ by Cerrone (Dimitri From Paris remix)

How about some of that woodwork percussion to get things going, eh? Leave that to Dimitri From Paris, who knows how to get the disco and the funk into things. Add to the rhythm a bit of moaning and other sounds and whispers that have a certain sexual connotation, and you know we’ve got some of that naughty disco going on here. But, also, some of that deliciously catchy bass after about a minute or so. The good man even adds some strings for the full effect, after which the horns soon make their entree as well. So it’s got all those genre sounds that you know, and it definitely has that sexy dancefloor vibe as well. There’s a lovely stop-and-go moment at about 2:35, just to make sure you’re not coasting out there on the dancefloor, though that only lasts for a second or two after which he turns it all on again. At about 3:20 you get some piano in there, after which a lot of horns come in. This all over a parade of sexual innuendo with the lady on vocals saying things like “Don’t stop” and “Go on”, though when she starts singing it kind of sounds like the theme of Love Boat as she simply sings “Loooovve innnn...”. Sure, it may be a fairly bit of kitsch at times, but personally I like that on the dancefloor, it adds to the fun for me. As long as, obviously, it keeps you dancing, and that’s something Dimitri from Paris never has a problem with achieving.