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: ‘We Know How To Work It’ by Ron Basejam feat. Danielle Moore

Ron Basejam gets the rhythm working from the get go with the percussion, and a bit later you get a nice rhythm synth in there to complete this dancefloor feel. Shortly after the male vocals come in, telling us that they know How to work it. And a bit of bass, like that one that comes in a bit later, sure helps with working it on the dancefloor. At about 1:40 we hear Danielle Moore for the first time, a singer that Basejam has worked with before and who kind of fits the R&B kind of style this slow burning house tune has. There’s a nice little change of pace at about 2:30, seeing a nice little beat come in along with Moore actually doing some singing this time around. She gets some help from the male backing vocals, still telling us that they know how to work it, and I’m sure people on the dancefloor will eagerly follow their lead. Especially when, as a finishing touch, there’s also a little bit of guitar thrown in there as well. It’s easy on the ear, catchy, and just the right pace to get the dancefloor shaking their hips to with this R&B flavoured house track.

‘White Light’ by Shura

This one starts real urban cold like, with what I gather to be some city street noises (or perhaps it is just noise, but that is the connotation I get from it) accompanying a lonely piano. Don’t be fooled though, about a minute in the track shows its true colours (they come shining through), with a disco-lite R&B rhythm keeping this one danceable and rhythmic, as Shura does her thing on top of it. The chorus is pretty big, with Shura’s dreamy vocals being juxtaposed by the almost pop brashness of it. At about 3:20 the track slides from the chorus into a percussion heavy kind of bridge that eventually leads up to another chorus. The track lets us get our breath back a bit around the five minute mark, where it dials it all down to let some of the instruments create some atmosphere before it goes back to the catchy, dancey popness of before, this time in the shape of a proper jam out with guitars, drums, and all that jazz. A lovely, seven minute behemoth that combines quite silent moments with those that make you want to dance in the sunlight.

‘Reach’ by Jasper Street Company (Kenny Carpenter & Dimitri From Paris remix)

Dimitri From Paris takes us to church, starting with some organ and major gospel singing as he takes an older Kenny Carpenter edit of this tune and makes it this slice of Dimitri disco that I, for one, love. The first minute introduces us to the gospel, and after that the piano and horns come in first, and then the aforementioned piano gets its little moment after the break to slide this one into a verse, with the female vocals singing that you have to Use what you’ve got, to get what you want. Though, admittedly, the line after (that His light is shining through) makes that way less sexual than any disco connotation I usually can come up with for a line like that. No denying the major vocal work that this company/choir is laying out there though, with some nifty piano playing and handclap sounds to keep this one flowing (and the organ to keep this one in the church). Just before the five minute mark the spirit enters the building, with Dimitri upping the pace with a drumkick and handclaps to keep up with the male vocals doing the works. After that he eases it back down a bit again with the piano. If you like yourself a bit of gospel house, this is an all-out, no bars hold example of that.

‘I Can’t Dance’ by Wayward

The image accompanying this track on soundcloud shows some serious diva vogueness, so that sure heightens the expectations here. And, with some piano and deep vocals, it delivers a short, fast-paced burst of it. The male vocals say that You broke my heart, because I couldn’t dance, and you didn’t even want me around. But the man apparently took some classes, practiced some in front of the mirror, and now is back to proof them all wrong. The drum certainly makes this an easy track to show them how wrong they were, having this house vibe going on. The piano certainly helps to create the right mood as well, and some of the auxiliary sounds round it all out. Near the end the bass comes in too for that extra bit of oomph just before closing time. The track is taken from the lads second EP called Embroider, which will be released in not too long.

‘The Ruined Map’ by CFCF

If you like yourself a bit of atmospherical music that is expertly crafted, than young fella CFCF and his next album is the place to be. He’s got a real good ear for tone, and in this little, very minimal track he once again manages to display this quality. It has perhaps a singer-songwriter feel to it, moreso than his previous output I find. It leans heavily on the dreamy vocals and the acoustic guitar, but the way it distances itself from the crowd is the piano and other assorted sounds that lie beneath that surface. That is what really creates this sense of mood (just listen to how the song subtly shifts between 2:10 and 2:30), and what makes it such a joy to listen to. Again, it’s a short one this, but despite its short lifespan certainly manages to get me excited for that summer album that’s coming up.

‘Backchat’ by The Revenge

The Revenge makes sure this one hits home from the start, coming up with this hard beat to make himself perfectly clear. It takes a while, about up to the minute mark, for the song to break lose from the iron grip of the beat, and it does so with a bit of bass action. The way he slides this track into what it eventually becomes is pretty stellar, it is so natural how this one progresses, and not with the “here’s another instrument half a minute later” that is so often used (or maybe he uses it here as well, but then he hides it better). He makes good use of volume to build momentum, and there are some moments that he uses to add a bit of oomph. Repetition and the way he slowly adds a low volume new sound to the main element he is repeating, that’s one of the keys here. Plus how he glides some disco/jazzy sounds in there after the three minute mark, turning this one from a deep-ish house track with primarily dance sounds to something that exhumes a bit more fun. Which is epitomized by the sudden vocal outburst around 4:15, which makes the transformation complete. And just before the five minute mark we even get some strings to juxtapose the more loop-like structure of the dance elements of this track. The first and last minutes of this one belie what it actually becomes and was, and the middle part is quite the thing to listen to.

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: ‘Don’t Take it the Wrong Way’ by B-Jam vs Enos

Let’s get the funky in with B-Jam, who is a sure bet to get that funk ‘n hop vibe going on in his tracks. Just love how the track slides to the soulful, emotional vocals around the fifty second mark, then moves back to that talky, deep Barry White-ish voice in this mash-up that works. I especially love the combination between those soulful vocals and the music that is put underneath it, with the beat, the bass, the lighter instruments as well: that all just gels so perfectly, with the voice giving it the emotion and repetition it needs as he repeats that There are no words to express how I feel. Again, at about 3:25, that lovely transition, also in terms of just the vibe, which completely changes and makes your mind go Whoaa!. Just another creation coming out of that B-Jam corner that just does it.

‘Power Station’ by Riccio

Riccio immediately gets the vibe going with the handclaps, the deep rhythm, and the electro sounds that come in shortly after the start. To contrast those you get some ol’ school percussion in there, which is then followed by a deep little bassline that sounds as authentic as the percussion does. Through those two sounds, which have now taken over a tad, you get the electro again to juxtapose them, but by this time you’re already doing that Caribbean boogie. Riccio rides the bass for all it’s worth, which makes it nice and hypnotic, and even the horns won’t snap you out of that one. Those horns get a more prominent role as time goes by, sliding on top of the bassline, and the combination of it all makes for this festive sounding tune to do some dancing to. After about five minutes of going with that bass, Riccio takes it away for a moment, going with a beat and a wavering television signal (or something eerily similar to it). Not too long after though, that bass comes back, the horns quickly follow, and it’s all happy, festive, and party again.

‘Naomi’ by Citizen

This one starts with that thuddy, banging sound that I am never truly enamoured with, but those mysterious vocals tease me in, and the drums do the rest. That thuddy sound, after a minute, is left behind, and now we’re just getting the deep techno vibes with those electronical, industrial sounds. Citizen throws some extra punch in there at about 1:30 to get you feeling, and shortly after we get the talky vocals that mention that she can make you feel better, after which this one slides back into that deep beat with those mechanical sounds on top of them. At about 2:50 he ups the pace, though a minute later he dials it back down again as those vocals come in once more. This time they’re accompanied by those horn like sounds that are used very effectively for the build-up, leading you back into the moment the beat comes in again. If you like it deep ‘n 03AM sounding, this is one for the after-midnight crowd.

‘Dippin’ in’ by Ron Basejam feat. Danielle Moore

This is not the first track in my library that features both Ron Basejam and Danielle Moore, but the first time Basejam did a remix of a track featuring Moore on vocals. That track, ‘Just Be Good To Me’, is completely awesome, and well worth a listen if you have never had the pleasure. This one uses those R&B vocals effectively again, with Ron going for the slow jam, with the pace being dictated by that lovely, lazy bass. Sometimes Basejam varies a bit with the pace by dropping or adding the bass, though the mood he is aiming for stays the same. Moore really features prominently, with around the three minute mark being about the first time she takes a back seat to the instruments. Still, the main attraction to this catchy, Sunday sounding R&B crossover is that bass and those vocals, to which Basejam adds plenty of other instruments to provide a nice whole. This is a snippet, but can’t wait to be listening to the whole track, definitely easy on the ear this one.

‘I Want You’ by Huxley

This one starts with the atmospherics, going with the mood sounds and the vocals at the start. Only after the vibe is set he slides in the deep beat, though that one definitely stays a layer underneath the vocals, which keep their prominent position. Behind her, though, the space fills up, with more and more (semi)deep rhythm elements being moved in. In the mean time, the vocals aren’t letting up, and even when all words have gone, there are still enough sounds that can be made vocally, no problem. About three minutes in the deep gets ditched again, and a wall of synth takes over, with a smattering of piano squeaking through, and eventually outlasting that wall-o to softly, vulnerably end the track.

‘Sargas’ by Lehar (Mario Basanov remix)

Starts with the piano and the choir this one, but it just takes about 15 seconds to get the beat in there to up the pace. And immediatley it becomes one of those dancefloor bangers that just has the right vibe to get the whole crowd dancing. Accessible, up-tempo enough, but with those angelic sounds in the back and the patience in the down tempo bits even the snotty know-it-alls won’t be stuck complaining at the back for too long. There’s just too much vibe in there, and the build-ups are too nice for that I reckon. Then again, with that steady beat in the background for most of the time, plenty to hold on to for the nightly ravers as well. The second break in the track features a nice, deeper piano sound that gives it some extra atmosphere, though Basanov gives it a quick helping from the beat not too long in. As said, it’s just got this nice mixture of party scope together with this house, basement club blend that might just work both ways, even though the basement club vibe takes a hold of the song as it nears its end (not that you’ll be hearing me complain about that anytime soon...).

{soundcloud}https://soundcloud.com/mario-basanov/lehar-sargas-mario-basanov-remix{/soundcloud}