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: ‘Down To Earth’ by Flight Facilities (Sean Glass remix)

Sean Glass comes in with a little beat here, but as the synths appear soon the tone starts to become apparent. The synths are relatively slow, relatively melancholic, which gets relatively counterbalanced by the sound that comes out from underneath. At about the minute mark you can hear the build-up nearing it’s climax, but instead of a major beat being dropped they shift up the synths. And for the second possibly climactic moment at about 1:30, again, they don’t go in all-out party mode, but instead they kind of strip the synths away for the percussion to take center stage, and with them Glass gives us the first taste of vocals. In the mean time he keeps working those big synth sounds, adding some layers underneath to give the track its rhythm. I love that strip down cue-the-bass moment at about 3:30, though the deep bass is quickly traded in for two layers of synths again (the big bold synth, and the happier, quicker one). The vocals now really start to enter the equation, logically being followed by the full fledged sound of the track, combining both of them. That’s a nice build-up, as you’ve already heard the big sounds before, and now they come back in again, but this time they get paired up with these soulful vocals. I like that he does return to that bass sound that got a brief moment of fame a couple of minutes before, I find it quite soothing when things go neatly round like that. It’s like all is well in the world when that happens, innit? It’s just a nice, accomplished track that does have some big sounds, but still has some restraint in its tone, instead of being just another full-on party track.

‘Make U Mine’ by Late Nite Tuff Guy

LNTG will try to get you on the dancefloor again, this time taking on ‘Gonna Make You Mine’, an Eighties track by Loose Ends. So he gets all those funky rhythm sounds in there, including that bass sound at about the 40 second mark, to make sure that the dancefloor certainly is an option. At the 1:30 mark you get some lighter instrumentals that come in, and just before the two minute mark those nice R&B vocals enter the fray as well. Those female vocals are getting some help from the boys at the back, before the honeyed male vocals come in to make it a duet, two people circling each other trying to make the other theirs (some people are going to feel lucky tonight!). I like the vocal shift at about 3:40, with the male vocals going deep, cheekily whispering “I’m gonna, gonna make you mine”, and I swear I already hear someone panting in the background (some people just cannot behave!). In the mean time, LNTG keeps this one throdding forward with, especially, the bass, which gets its moment in the spotlight around 4:40. Some nice R&B and soul flavors in this track to do some of that love dancing to.

‘Friends Of Mine’ by Ben Browning

You know that when any of the Cut Copy guys take the stage, it’s going to be catchy and fun. This one starts nice and light, then you get some of that percussion in, after which a deeper, lazier synth balances the track out. But when the bass enters at about the fifty second mark and the happier synthesizer line is the second main sound, that is the point where the track really shifts it’s focus to having fun and getting some dancing done. The vocals come in shortly after, singing about when he takes a step back instead of going gung-ho forward, he will find Friends of Mine (well, his, obviously) still there. And that’s worth some celebrating, I reckon. Again, the happy synth line and the bass make this so catchy and easy to have a little party to, and it is one of those tracks where I can see myself at some sort of beach party dancing as the sun goes down.

‘Celeste’ by Bicep

The duo of Bicep starts this one off with some percussion (and some ominous, dark sounds in the background. Don’t think I don’t notice you, shadows of the damned! *waves fist in the air*). Shortly after this deep beat comes in, really taking the tone into the depths of middle earth. Then an equally deep bass comes in, but also these atmospherical, haunted vocals arrive, which gives it this ethereal quality. So these vocals are moved more up front, and start to transmorph into genuine female vocals, whilst all these deep rhythm sounds keep going at it in the background. They get counterbalanced at one point by a lighter piano sound, though that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one to play at 04:00 at a Berlin club somewhere, one of those where you need to descent a stair to get there. The piano does, at one point, move more up front in the mix, making a nice combo with the distant vocals. In the mean time, the percussion has never lead up, and will guide you towards the end of this nice deep dance track with some of that atmosphere to boot.

‘Ain’t No Mountain’ by LeSale

LeSale goes for the homerun here, editing one of those iconic songs that everyone can sing along to. His intent is clear right from the start, with the drums, percussion, and the synths that swell up to epic proportions even before the first minute is over. The minute mark sees the addition of even more booming sounds, including a bass, and he keeps building it to, obviously, the point that the vocals are going to come in. This happens just after the second minute mark, in as dramatic a fashion as you’d expect. The track has attitude and flair, and LeSale makes sure that doesn’t go lost when the girls enter the stage. He reels them back in, going for a stretch of percussion and bass before the synths start to swell up again to build towards the second round of vocals, which arrive just before four minutes are over. I love the transition from the chorus to the “ohh-hoo-ho-hoo-ho” vocal lines that have the bass and beat under it (and later, the percussion), it gives the chorus a nice bit of extra padding that he didn’t bring the first time around, making sure it isn’t just the same thing twice. This is the kind of thing that is go bold or go home, and LeSale keeps it fun and knows to enter the vocal parts with a punch, because everyone wants to scream along with that at the top of their lungs. Because, you know, There ain’t no mountain high enough! Ain’t no valley low enough! Ain’t no river wide enough! To keep me from getting to you babe! So you better know I’m coming sweet cheeks.

‘Listen To My Music’ by DJ Pupo

How about some of those tribal drums to get this one deep and going? I love the big, bad beat just throbbing forward, but the small percussion elements to keep it on its toes. At the 45 second mark you get some of those African rhythms in, helped also by a vocal line. The bell starts ringing as the male vocals do their talking in a language I’ve got no idea about (and this time, I’m fairly confident a reasonable bunch of you won’t either, so no blaming my education here!). Then both male and female vocals implore you to Listen, though probably you will be feeling all those drums and percussion elements as well, as the track really lays down this nice rhythm you’ve just got to be jacking your body to. At about the three minute mark he dials it down for just a moment, taking the big beat away, obviously building back to another strong rhythm element to take over again. That’s probably the greatest thing about this one, it’s got the big rhythm element he knows to ride, but he has all these amazing auxiliary sounds to give it some edge and to keep it fresh. Especially since they really add and not distract to the feel of the track. Which is, by the way, very body oriented. Its just got all those rhythm vibes that are there to feel, so no wonder it gets a release via the Boiler Room.

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:  ‘Coastal Love’ by HONNE

The lads of HONNE will be releasing a new EP in May, and this is a cut off of that. I like the start, catchy enough, but not obtrusive. And that is a good quality here, as the melancholic vocals talk about him being a dreamer, and he is convinced (oh the foolishness of youth!) that this long distance thing is going to work with his loved one. And the synths and percussion, as said, it does have a slight catchiness to it, but it is exactly the right tone to go with the vocals and subject matter. And I do love the vocals, and in the chorus it even gets some help from a little guitar riff that they put in, which is a nice touch. The synths lay down the right atmosphere as well, and this is one of those dream-away thing whilst road tripping and the sun shines through that car window and lets you bathe in its light. Something to look forward to in May, I reckon.

‘Love Myself’ by Ebony vs. Bicep

Ebony and Bicep cross the continents to do some work together, and apparently that should mean we have to "Be happy", as the female vocals repeat those two words at the start, even before the song gets going. Then the synths build it up and up and up, and then it’s just waiting for that bubble to burst. That, it does at about 1:30, when the house beat comes in, with some fast talking vocals, and some strong synth lines. The track definitely has some attitude to it, with the pace of the beat, but especially the way the synths are used. That deep, short little synth line just pounces through, it definitely gives the thing some oomph. At about 2:45 we get some drums in, for the people who know how to dance to that fast percussion kind of thing. The vocals have returned to the “be happy” singing of the start, though it is a layer below the percussion, though still pretty much audible. Then those starting synths come back as well, building it up once more before the collaborative group of Ebony vs. Bicep brings back the beat to ride the last few minutes out. Definitely a punchy affair, for if you’re not in that soft kind of mood.

‘Falling In Love With A Memory’ by Monarchy

The boys from Monarchy are back, and the start with the synth and piano already indicates this sort of pop bigness. The track gets a little extra oomph from the drums and the vocals, which then slides into a more soft synth-pop sound when the vocals pace it up a bit. At this point, you just get this happy dancing vibe from the instrumentals, really catchy and fun, and the vocals are a slight counterweight to that as you do have the idea that the narrative story isn’t quite as happy-dancey as the track itself. It’s been a while since I interviewed them for this site when they were getting ready to release their first album, and this song is a good example of why we did that. It’s just got this lovely pop vibe to it, giving you some strong vocals and some catchy synths, but then there is also, for instance, that more subdued piano to end it with. Their new album is, I believe, almost ready to go, so if you like those synths that make you dance (and who doesn’t), this is one to have a listen to when it arrives.

‘System 90’ by Holy Ghost!

So what do you get when you put two hardware nuts in a room with two synthesizers (new System 55 and System 35 modulars, apparently), and you give them roughly five hours to play with them? Apparently, this synth ditty-jam. First you put the kind of bass rhythm in, and then you start piling layer upon layer. It is just fun to hear all the different synth sounds, and how they are floating ideas around on top of the base rhythm After the two minute mark they do seem to mix that base layer up a bit as well, even getting rid of it completely for a moment to get some of that jazz improvisation going (but, synth style, obviously), and then it is cool to see how they fizzle this thing out. It is definitely a jam, and not a perfect piece of song that they always do manage to get when creating an album. But it is cool to see two guys trying new stuff out and finding a way to create a four minute piece that, surprisingly, actually has quite a bit of structure (In just a few hours yours truly probably wouldn’t have stumbled upon such a thing, I’m sure).

‘Believe in Me’ by Jamie Lidell

I must admit that I do have a soft spot for that voice that Jamie Lidell has. In this track you’ve got the understated, slightly haunting synth line that is on loop, and then you immediately get his vocals in there. And these are so powerful that it adds some instant strength and emotion to the track, and he does know how to play with them a bit as well. In the mean time, the synth is still going, and it gets some help from both a bit of percussion as well as some aerial sounds, as they relieve each other from duty every once in a while. As said, the vocals, he does know how to make them work. Sometimes they’re bolstered a bit, sometimes you’ve got some overlapping layers, and sometimes he adds a little humming there for good measure. And then, suddenly, something like after the three minute mark, where the main vocals really go for it comes in, even to the point they can ditch the synth line as, really, the vocals are near enough to hold the track afloat. I saw him live once when he was doing his ‘Multiply’ thing (guess my age now, eh), and although I do have to admit that I haven’t religiously followed his every step, I am always happily surprised when I get the chance to hear that voice doing something again.

‘It Looks Like Love’ (Rayko Super Extended Love Re-Work)

Because there’s always a need for your dosis of disco eh, and you know you can get it here weekly, right? This time thought I’d slide some Rayko in for you, doing his thing by putting the disco and the dancefloor in this old son-of-a-tune. You’ve got all those original sounds right in there from the get go, really laying down the vibe from it’s very moment of birth. But, obviously, you’ve got some beats to bolster the whole thing up as well. Add the little guitar riff, the violins at about 2:20, and you know the vocals are going to be coming in at any minute now. He’s a big tease though, and he rides those sounds out for a while, even doing one more change-up before getting there. And then, he gets there, the whispery vocals first, and the rest later. In the mean time, the disco groove is still going full throttle, as the vocals, by this time, are telling you that, yes, It looks like love. At this point, we’re just halfway of this nine minute disco monster, by the way, so better get your dancing shoes out for this one (and always, really). Just happy he did ditch that flute-from-Marocco thingy of the otherwise superb original.