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 You Won’t Do For Love’ by Denie Corbett (Jesse Rudoy remix)

The always amazing Let’s Play House label is back in business again with a free download, this time a Jesse Rudoy edit of the old school disco tune ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ by Denie Corbett. It starts out with a dancefloor beat, there are some bell-like sounds there in the mix, but the real going on starts after the minute mark, when the bass comes in. After about 1:30 you get the quintessential disco moan (because it’s all about that ol’ love making, ain’t it?), as in the mean time the bass and the beat keep this one danceable. At about 2:15 you get the horns in, which is always a good sign as usually that indicates the vocals are about half a minute away. After those 30 seconds, first, he kicks the pace up with a fast drum, and the vocals come in half a minute after that one. And they are those sassy, disco vocals you remember from the genre, singing that She gets down on her knees, with the chorus girls singing “What you won’t do for love”, which is lovely cheeky and so fitting for that ol’ disco. From this point on monsieur Rudoy just keeps this one moving, with the vocals, the fast-paced drum, the strings, just the whole thing really. At about 5:20 he returns to the bass, letting that one grind it out, finishing this lovely edit that makes any old disco song into a modern day dancefloor tune with how danceable it is combined with the vocals and sass you want on a night out.

‘Undercover’ by Lane 8 feat. Matthew Dear

Lane 8 is readying the release of his upcoming album Rise, and on this track he has enlisted Matthew Dear and his deep, melancholic vocals to do the singing over the more summery synth lines he himself churns out. Though especially the secondary synth and the drums form a nice bridge between the main synth and the vocals. At 1:28 Lane 8 picks up the pace with a fast drum, giving the song its uplifting party feel to counterbalance the sense of blues eminating from the vocals of Dear, asking whomever to Let it feel, that it is real. So even in those lines there’s this sense of hope, that goes with the way Lane 8 has constructed the instrumentals for the song. Lane 8 really builds this track up nicely, from the synths to the drums, and how he structures those throughout the song, that’s why you get this sense of momentum. For the ending he dials it down a bit, going with just the vocals and a piano to round it all out. The album is shaping up to be well-worth giving a go, and if you have never seen Matthew Dear live, be sure to catch him the next time he’s coming to a town near you.

‘Turn Off The Lights (Who’s Afraid Of The Ark)’ by Kerri Chandler

Kerri Chandler wastes no time laying down the works with that fast paced, hard hitting beat, accompanying them with some of those classic house synth sounds. In the mean time you’ve got those deep, talky male vocals asking (nay, demanding to know) Whose afraid of the lights?. At 1:20 you get this lighter synth entering, making sure no one is mistaking this for anything else than that sweet ol’ house music. Just before the 2:30 mark Chandler throws a little bass in there as well to get things really cooking, mixing it with some percussion to sweeten the deal. In the mean time the vocals are still of the opinion that we should Turn off the lights, because, well, who knows what will happen then, eh? Chandler makes sure you have bits like at 3:20, where he dials down the beat for a moment to then let it back in again, at which points all y’all on the dancefloor can pull out your fiercest move/look/pose out of the bag to get back in it again. I mean, this is house for the dancefloor, a tune to be pulling out DJing at the club during the wee hours of the night to let them all get down to. Chandler knows a thing or to about that, and it’s on display again here, just old school night clubbing.

‘Our Muzic’ by Glenn Crocker feat. Harold Big Ed Matthews

In this track Harold Big Ed Matthews says that it is a Celebration of a nation, and the fun bassline sure makes there’s a celebratory vibe in this danceable jazz tune from Chicago’s Glenn Crocker. The bass and drums take care of the rhythm part, with some piano free roaming on top as the spoken word is poetically giving an ode to, especially, music, saying that people are living to blend in with the music, and that this is Our music. In the mean time the bass and drums keep the song rolling on, giving the people out there something to shake their shoulders to. At one point Glenn Crocker slides this thing into an instrumental part with primarily the drums, but soon he brings that bass back to add a bit of oomph to it. After that, roaming on top, first some piano, then some lovely floating sounds I can’t quite recognize the instrument of (do help my ailing mind in the comments). It is just a fun track, with especially the bass giving it this party line, and with all the jazz sounds and the spoken word giving it some (musical) poeticness.

‘Rays’ by Telespazio (Harvey Sutherland remix)

Wow, how about those light, sunny synths that Sutherland starts out with. As if Apollo 26 is counting down for lift off during sunrise. You hear the kickpad in the background doing some work as well, though it are those synthesizers that lay down the atmosphere. That is, before the actual lift off commences, with Sutherland getting the rhythm in there with a bassy synth line and some percussion sounds to add some sugar to the bowl. After about a minute of just rhythm, those atmospheric synth sounds come back in again, just to remind you what you were getting in to in the first place. Later on in the track he strips the rhythm instruments for a minute, but obviously he gets them back in there again with some extra auxiliary sounds to give it this sense of oomph. What Sutherland has created here kind of works twofold, with the bass rhythm doing it’s thing so you can do a little shuffle dance to it, but what he’s created around it gives it this sense of beauty (on which he builds on in the second part of the track). Telespazio released an album with this song on it earlier in the year, so if you liked this one you might want to give that one a spin as well.

‘Gloria’ by Santa Esmeralda (Future Feelings edit)

Sure, we know ‘Gloria’ from Patti Smith’s iconic album Horses, but in essence it’s a Van Morrison (Them) tune that was also covered (and perhaps more closely so) by Santa Esmeralda for Santa’s also relatively-but-not-quite-so iconic Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood album. Future Feelings take on that one to edit, having a nice kick drum there as bass to move it forward alongside that well-known guitar line. At about the fifty second mark the party kind of comes in with some extra instruments, giving it this uplifting vibe that’s always good for dancing. Soon enough we get the vocals, singing that She makes me feel so good, which gets looped for a moment before the traditional spelling of the title name comes in. In the mean time the bass in the background keeps it going along with the drums, giving all those dancers something to hang their hat on. At 3:33 they slide the song into this nice bit of guitar soloing, still with the rhythm section doing their thing, putting together a nice little combo there. They smartly bring back the vocals after a prolonged instrumental passage, primarily focussing on those two lines + chorus that they did earlier as well. As said, the track (and especially its chorus) have this nice uplifting feel, and with the rhythm and the occassional guitar solo in there it is a fun little take on a much covered tune.

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: ‘The Way That You Do It’ by Caserta

There’s no mistaking its dancefloor intent with the harsh, sharp beat at the start. Never a big fan of those, but slowly it starts veering away from that, and at about the three quarter minute mark you get into the disco groove with all those characteristic sounds, especially that guitar that is thrown in there. So suddenly we’ve got ourselves a funky little number here, especially when those vocals come in, which assure us that It is not what you do, but it’s just the way that you do it. I love the moment at about 2:45 when the kind of multiple vocal chorus comes in, that’s just so old school right there, and then he slides the track into this all out funk phase before he starts the vocals up again. If, at this point, you’re not dancing yet, you’re probably not in a funky kind of mood. Though, with that beat in the back to hold onto, you don’t necessarily have to be in order to be staying on the dancefloor. But Caserta has got the mood down pat, making this a pleasurable one for some dancing, especially if, like me, you don’t mind a bit of old school popping up every now and again (at about 4:45 that chorus comes in again, and again it’s just bliss). That piano at about 5:45 is another fine example of that.

‘Private Practice’ by Nick Monaco

The start certainly is an attention grabber, with two ways of vocals coming your way (one heavily distorted and seemingly munching). After that you get the drums, and then yet another vocal layer, which I just love. I love vocals, and this certainly has got it in abundance. And it does still have some rhythm, also with the drums. Still needs to be made into a track though, and you get a deep synth sound that for a minute glues the layers together before, at about 1:40, the munchy vocals run away with the track, and its runaway bride is a deep bass sound that gives it some nasty. At 2:20 the nastiness is replaced by higher pitched vocals and a smithering of piano, and about half a minute later these parts get reunited with the drums and the munchy vocal line. At 3:25 though the deep bass returns. So it is a track of layers and of switch-ups, giving it this experimental feel that definitely puts it left field of what you’ll normally be hearing. Not to mention that it ends with a bit of classic house percussion, so it’s all good.

‘Aller Vers Le Soleil’ by Sebastien Tellier (Hercules And Love Affair remix)

Last week the Hercules and Love Affair gang had the track of the week slot, and here they come with another remix (also, they came with a new, conceptual clip for the brilliant ‘My Offence’ of off their latest album, so check that out as well). In last week’s write-up I already mentioned that in many of their remixes they tend to veer to the colder beats, and here too that’s certainly how it starts until that bass sound comes in. It’s quite a mid-to-slow paced affair this, and at 1:44 you get some lovely synths in there working against a simple kick drum. Soon the bass makes its entry again, and at this point the track has this kind of lush vibe, to which the vocals of Sebastien Tellier (singing in French) only add to. I love the airy synths that are put behind the vocals, they give it a nice atmosphere. After the four minute mark it goes a bit deeper with that bass sound, which they nicely contrast with a tu-de-du-doo vocal line of Tellier, along with some piano. At the end Andy Butler throws in some tech-y sounds that, personally, I could have done without, but overall a nice, lush, lower paced remix by the talented house performers.

‘Enter the Dragon’ by Ooft!

Just love those deep sounds at the start, if that doesn’t tell you that you have arrived at a party where you just need to put your head down and dance I don’t know what does. Also enjoy all the percussion elements they throw in there, and they excellently change that main sound up through the first minute to build some momentum. In the mean time, to keep the variety up, they keep changing and adding to that percussion layer to make sure the track keeps going somewhere. Something which they also achieve by playing around with that synth sound. It’s got a nice immediacy to it I feel, definitely one for the late night crowd this. At about 2:40 it goes a bit arena on you, maybe expanding the sound a bit too much (at least for my personal liking), but especially with the drop they sure cater to the crowd who want to party heartily.

‘Return Of The Mac’ by Jesse Rudoy

I just love the title for some reason, it just tells you something I find. Now, if you like dancing, the Let’s Play House label is where it’s at, so no wonder this cheeky little number is released on there. It’s about a fun night out, no question. So you’ve got all those house instrumentals that make you want to dance, and in the mean time you are just thinking No, honey, they wouldn’t, as the Mac in the title is certainly not Mack the Knife or something. In the mean time Jesse Rudoy just keeps on plugging along with all those traditional house elements that keep people dancing and on the dancefloor. All transitions are so smooth, as are all references to the “original”, they are mixed in there surprisingly well, as if they actually belong in a house track. Certainly, by doing this, he shows more guts than I would ever have, and I like to work with some corny stuff, let me tell ya. And, you know, it works, and try repressing a smile during this one (or to not dance as well, by the way).

‘Two For One’ by Will Saul & Komon

Last month Will Saul released a DJ KICKS mix, and as is customary for these things the “curator” himself adds one or two originals from his own back catalogue. Will Saul decided to add one where he worked together with Komon, providing a deep, spacey cut that relies more on atmospherics than pace. There’s a huge dial down followed by a prolonged build-up around the middle of the track, which furthermore reiterates that the focus is on the deep space vibes to groove to (even more so than dance to I’d say). Though at about 2:48 there’s the big bass sound that, when played in a set, will give the crowd enough to be moving to. At first a bit more introverted, but to those deep drums that at one point come in I’m sure some beautiful people can strike some immaculate poses (really like those drums, by the way, gives it some attitude after the atmospherics of the first part).