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: ‘RockMeLoveMe’ by Tiger & Woods

I love the loopin Louie’s that are Tiger & Woods, chaining all those loops together just right to get that whole dancefloor momentum going, giving it the hypnotic movement thing one can’t sit still to. Here, too, they get it going with this kind of spacey synth sound, which they, at one point, start riding, and not letting off. Which is, really, what we’ve come to expect. Especially as, continuously, things are added and subtracted, like the piano at the two minute mark, immediately changing the feel of the track a bit as the tone of the instrument is unlike other things that are making up the track at that point. There are also some vocals, not surprisingly repeating the same words over and over, which give it a nice funky vibe. With that and the piano it does get a funk tinge, which balances the inherently more mechanical feel of the way they build the track together. The piano is, naturally, not the only instrument that does it’s thing, with a clear and distinct percussion line moving through there as well to get that extra rhythm in. Apparently they are gearing up to release a new album, which is only something I can get excited about! As you quickly come to understand by the way, it is a preview, and the hammering home of it is really the only annoying thing about the stream of this track, but all the more reason to strengthen patience and just wait for the minty freshness of a newly released LP.

‘Tranquillo (Melt My Heart)’ by Carly Simon (Young Pulse edit)

This one starts out pretty minimal with a steady beat and just some synths to build mood. After that, a piano riff comes in, the vocals are already apparent in the background, and then the bass arrives to give a bit of boogie to it. Add the horns, a little guitar riff, and a minute in the track has fleshed out to a nice disco edit asking you to Melt my heart (why don’t ya?). At 1:40 a short break before all the rhythm elements return with, this time, Carly Simon singing the verse. It’s a real disco kind of tune here with all the horns and other disco touches, with Young Pulse doing all them things to make it just this sweet and smooth ride. At the four minute mark he even works the instruments a bit, though he always returns to the chorus and its horns. And that’s the way we like it, really, don’t we?

‘Mediator’ by AlunaGeorge

AlunaGeorge starts this one out with the orchestra, before breaking with the drum and her sweet vocals arriving on top, singing that she doesn’t think This is fixable. There’s a little guitar riff in this slow burning R&B track, that adds some synths when the chorus comes in, with AlunaGeorge upping the emotions a bit. After the chorus there is a short instrumental interlude, after which she continues to lay out her role as Mediator, upping the pace in delivery slightly as she asks to let Me talk to him, let me be your friend, he’s no good to you, he don’t need your help. It has this lovely, slow old school R&B vibe, with a bit of class and a bit of sass.

‘Building A Beginning’ by Jamie Lidell

My goodness, I remember seeing Jamie Lidell just after releasing ‘Multiply’, which skyrocketed him up in the popularity rankings. Soon, the soulful singer is coming back, with this being the opening track, a sad sounding soul turn that talks about Building a beginning (with you). It’s a slow burner, with the band in the back laying down the groundwork with the drum and that little guitar that lets out a short solo every now and again. It really sounds as one of those bands in a Jazz cafe doing their ditty, a bit of rhythm, a bit of straying and improvisation, as the singer croons on top of it, with plenty of oeeh-hoo’s, improv lines, and the like. Some old fashioned craftsmanship at work here. Lidell showcases his impeccable voice again here, and the band vibe gives it a nice vibe that probably announces the sound of the album pretty clearly I reckon.

‘Remember Red’ by Chris Malinchak

I was turning on a stream of a festival this weekend, and luckily dived in there just in time to witness the set of Chris Malinchak. The comments on SoundCloud confirm what I already was thinking, huge sampling by Madonna, and who can blame anyone for going that route? But, understated. The start, too, just a bit of that rhythm, some vibe sounds are used to get that dreamy, floaty thing going, but no hard beat, no punches. And just before the minute mark, a little bass that gives you the idea you’re being seduced at some beach in the Caribbean somewhere. The track has a lovely flow to it, some enticing Ahh-ha-ha-haas in the vocal background, luring you like the sirens just offshore. Near the end we get some spoken word, telling us to remember that these are Maybe the best of times. And certainly, when listening to this, good vibes all around.

‘Somebody’ by Whitney Houston (Rayko Super Disco Rework)

It is always a good time to get back to that ol’ Whitney Houston powerhouse, and really, what is a better dancefloor filler than a good edit of her amazing vocal turn in ‘I Wan’t To Dance with Somebody’? Rayko, over some hand percussion, first goes for Whitney repeating the Don’t you want to dance line, after which he moves her a bit to the background in favor of the percussion and rhythm, putting the emphasis on that instead of just throwing Houston’s vocal prowess out there. This change in balance gives it a refreshing feel, as the vocals don’t overpower the track, you are still steered by the rhythm percussion that Rayko provides in there (along with some of those synths), but it is still very much clearly THAT Whitney song which basically means you just have to dance (coppers will come out and arrest you for not doing it, ya know?). Rayko also chooses for the repetition in the vocals, picking up mostly the same words to repeat, and all other lines then Don’t you want to dance seem even more de-emphasized. Fun edit by a real master of it, with as source material just one of those darling things.