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: ‘Absence Of Rhythm’ by This Soft Machine

If ya like it rough, with that nice, strong bass pushing this one forward, then this one might just be for you. These main sounds get counterbalanced by some lighter, playful synth sounds, and provided with some extra rhythm through some of that percussion action. In the mean time there is a kind of rhythmic spoken word vocal, almost hoarse, saying that You gotta drop out when you feel it spin. Which, then, is followed by a batch of percussion, which lasts even when the bass and beat are tuned out before coming back for a bit of that dancing action. A short time later there’s again a stop and go moment, this time riddled with spacey synths, before that bass and cowbell return to get dat riddim right. Just released, so instantly possible to pick up.

‘Lost Your Mind’ by Zimmer feat. Fhin

This one starts lovely understated, and then the melancholic vocals come in, which, in tone, are helped out by the piano. A slow tick can be heard in the background, before a more playful rhythm takes over, which is aided and abetted by the guitar. These two things, the verse versus the more chorus like feel of the aforementioned rhythm and guitar, balance each other out nicely, with the vocals the glue that keeps it all together. The vocals which, by the way, get a moment in the spotlight around the three minute mark, where all the rhythm elements (including the drums) are stripped, and only when the bass sound comes in do we slowly start returning to the chorus like structure. This is a cut off of a new EP that will arrive in stores later this month, if one still is in the business of late Christmas gifts, keep an eye out for this one right here.

‘Voices’ by John Talabot

John Talabot is back out with a release on Permanent Vacation, again coming at you with a hypnotically deep track, working the rhythms and, later in the track, some amazing chopped up female vocals to counter the bass sounds that he has put in there. A transition like at around 4:54 is just so nice, just slightly altering the pitch, giving you just that change in pace to give it this feel of moving forward, instead of making it drown in repetitiveness. It gives you the good thing of looping, but not the negative effects. And he does these kind of things throughout the track, sometimes as subtle as an extra instrument that only can be heard in intervals, and sometimes he goes into a different direction with a bigger tug at the steering wheel. Talbot is one of the main men out there for this kind of music, and something like this just probes me to put that vinyl copy of Fin on and give it a whirl.

‘Another Night’ by JKriv feat. Adeline Michele (Thatmanmonkz remix)

Thatmanmonkz is at the reigns for this one, taking the JKriv disco tune and giving it some deep & underground vibes at the start, bringing it back up with the bouncy bass and the vocals, courtesy of Adeline Michele. She is saying that it’s Just another night without your love, before hitting the verse around 1:05 after a little line by the bass. It seems a bit sped up compared to the original, which really was a love lorn disco song, with this one having a bit more punch, a bit more of that club vibe. But still it’s with Michele’s vocals and that tale of love gone by, even though she is admitting that When it’s good, it’s soooo good. And that’s why she’s still going out there to live and fight another day. At 3:20, that’s the moment, that’s when Thatmanmonkz gets out a bit of that nasty deep bass, ending it’s reign with a vocal turn before everything comes back in again. If you haven’t listened to it yet, the man released a killer album this year, just sayin’.

‘Love Me Tonight’ by Fern Kinney (SanFranDisko Digital Mix)

How about some of that old school, getting the energy up with this glittery disco ball of a tune. First you get the beat setting the pace, and then the guitar riff, the bass, and, finally, the vocals. Those vocals, and the build-up that you are hearing right on through, it’s just one of those hands in the air disco things that is just a dancefloor filler with everyone singing along with the "Hooooold mee clooose" lines of the chorus. After which they dive into the guitar riff again before Fern Kinney comes back in, explaining in even more words the one thing that disco sometimes simply is about, namely finding that person to Love me tonight. One of those euphoric sounding disco songs with a dash of longing that would work as close out to the night as well. Just in case you were still working out your New Year’s set.

‘Winter In America’ by Gil Scott-Heron (Moullinex Edit)

Moullinex immediately brings the percussion in, giving us those lovely wooden sounds before putting the beat and click in after the half minute mark or so. In the mean time we hear the jazzy sounds to set the tone, anchoring this track’s mood to balance the smoothness of the boogie. At the 1:39, that boogie becomes a blues, as the rhythm is dialled all but out for Gil Scott-Heron’s poetry, singing that it is Winter in America. A declaration after which Moullinex returns with the rhythm alongside, a bit later on, a new main sound that rides on top of it. The jazzy vibes persists though, don’t you worry about a thing darling. At about 3:25 again the rhythm is switched off again, first for the instrumentals, then for another storytelling tale by Heron, indicating that Nobody is fighting ‘cause nobody knows what to say. And if you don’t know what to say, you just dance the blues away, and with the rhythm back in that’s a pretty appealing prospect all in all.

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: ‘Cloud 9' by Kasper Bjorke

From the get go, there is this warmth in the synths that reminds me of why I love Kasper Bjorke so. At 49 seconds, another reminder, adding again to the whole atmosphere, diving into a sort of beautiful melancholia strengthened by the slower, deeper sounds he uses. Just before the two minute mark he adds a bit of extra percussion for rhythm purposes, and a good 20 seconds after he again infuses it with that typical synth sound. Bjorke really is an expert in creating and sustaining that feel. Even at 3:15, when he stops and just lets the ethereal synths take over for a moment, returning to slow and deep at about 3:45. This track has vocals (by Urdur), but this is the instrumental version of it. Since my favorite Bjorke tracks all do have vocals (think of the wonderful ‘Young Again’ or ‘Efficient Machine’ for example) I can’t wait to hear the upcoming mini LP this guy is releasing, because even sans the vocals this is a mesmerising piece of work.

'What U Do' by Moullinex & Lorenz Rhode

Apparently, a love for Stevie Wonder was the base for this house stomper, with Lorenz Rhode on vocal duties and Moullinex making sure the beat, the rhythm, and all the synth sounds are there for the dancefloor. First it’s primarily the beat that gives the dancers something to dance to, but after a good minute there’s a more pronounced bass, and then the synths start coming in as well. Soon though, the bass takes over again, with the synths moving away from rhythm duties. At 3:30 it gets a moment to its own though, with the beat and bass stripped completely. Then vocals come in, singing that You’re the only one, as the synths start building up and up, working towards a return of the B&B brothers for rhythm. Rhode implores you to Never stop, and with the rhythm provided by Moullinex there’s really no reason to.

‘Emmanuel' by JKriv & Free Magic

JKriv and Free Magic waste no time in getting the bass rolling in a mid-tempo kind of pace, bringing the loungy horns and piano in for some jazz vibes. And the write-up below the track isn’t lying when it talks about that jazz feel, because this certainly does transport you to a nightclub where people smoke with a smoke holder and do some jivin’ to the band on the stage. I love the piano that gets in there and gets increasingly more prominent, just to get some rhythm with that soft and sultry bass just before the two minute mark. The low key transitions are real nice, shifting its allegiances, small motion in the pace, and sometimes adding a bit of this, a bit of that. Apparently the A-side to this release is a party dance track, something which we’ve seen JKriv work often, but this one takes it back to NY '30s with the dresses and the lasses doing that slow dive jive late at night.

‘Don’t Tempt Me’ by Adam Chini

At about twenty seconds in the bass rears its head providing a nice dancing groove in just the right pace. Then, the super smooth vocals, asking Girl, don’t talk, don’t talk tonight, adding shortly after that She’s looking so fine. It really has that right pace with the bass to get close and do some of that love dancing to with the one you’re having your eye on. I like the instrumental interlude that follows. It is lengthy, but the bass keeps moving it forward, so you’re protecting that bit of funk to keep people dancing with each other. After the next batch of vocals, again, the instrumentals, adding some new ones but also returning to the sounds of the instrumental period before. It’s got this nice vibe of lovin’ in there to cozy up on the dancefloor to. The Soundcloud link is a teaser, for the full track go to the Bandcamp page.

‘U & Me’ by Alkalino

How about some of that House by Alkalino? The synths set the rhythm, but soon the bass and drums come in to give you the whole shebang. In the mean time, the soulful vocals are singing U and me, ohhhh! Alluding to some of that sumthing going on. In the mean time, Akalino is not stingy with the pace, giving us that good house speed with the rhythm, and providing all that for the right house vibes. Including the vocals, giving you that one line on repeat, and when it rests, the instrumentals are sure to pick up the slack. The full track gives you the whopping seven minutes worth of this, but it probably only takes these three minutes to hear the house in this one (so get those dancing shoes shined babes, we’re gonna go clubbin’ tonight!).

'1999' by Prince (Nightfunk remix)

Playing the tunes of those that have passed on does keep them alive a little bit, doesn’t it? Nightfunk takes on Prince, bringing in the dancefloor house beat, though he dials that back even before the track hits the minute mark. No worries though, an even more house like rhythm is brought back in (as in, old school house vibes there), with at 1:30 the high pitched vocals of Prince coming through the deeper beats. Around the two minute mark he dives into Prince a bit more, as he sings that we are Going to party like its 1999. Though the beat that re-enters definitely has its roots way before the millennium mark. Which isn’t a bad thing, as it allows for some old school jackin’. At 3:40 he starts working the original riff a bit, which definitely provides a touch of funk. Just another one of those Prince remixes that will help with the good vibes on the dancefloor.