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The Weekly Froth! - 20160506

  • Published in Columns

 

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: ‘Sunny Side Up’ by Junktion

Junktion starts with a beat, but definitely also with a deep bass, which is the main rhythm going, providing some backbone to this whole thing. After about half a minute they do turn it up though, giving the bass some help, including with a bit of that guitar that they start riffing about on. And that definitely brings in the funk, brings in that sunny side that they’re talking about. At the 1:30 mark, a different guitar, a little change of pace, even though the bass keeps rolling in the background and the beat keeps working it. But the different guitars also shift the tone a bit, adding some variety to this high paced party affair. At the 2:40 mark they bring the sun back in, doing that funky thing with that guitar. And especially those parts are darn catchy, let me tell ya, though the bass makes sure you can shake your booty even in the segment after. I always feel the guitar is under-utilised in tracks for dancing, but luckily Junktion shows it’s got a place in there.

 

‘Compass Point’ by Holy Ghost!

First come the retro synths, they build up a bit, after which the drums give it a go to give us dat rhythm for dancing. The boys keep working the synthesizers, until they stop at about the 45 second mark, when the vocals are introduced. Obviously, the vocals then start working together with all of the above. The main vocals in the verses are almost talky, more rhythmic, with the multiple vocal layers in the choruses doing some actual chorus singing, trying to convince you to fall in love and Make the same mistakes. And, apparently, they like it When it hurts, so there you go. After the three minute mark we get a rather restrained synthesizer interlude, after which more things are added, including a nice little guitar riff as the track starts jamming its way to the end. I love the band, thought their Dynamics record was ace, and this EP again shows they can mix the disco with the 80s retro vibe for some new school NY dancing.

Scroll down to the bandcamp embed at the foot of this article to hear 'Compass Point'.

‘If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind’ by Sally Shapiro

Johan Agebjorn released a lovely album called Notes last year, but he also has a more dancey side, that’s when he teams up with Shally Shapiro, doing that chanteuse thing on top of some dreamy disco beats. That is, until the 12th of May, when the duo will release their last single, calling it quits after a run that lasted years and years. The main rhythm is a restrained bass sound in the background, obviously helped by some drum and synth rhythm elements. Then Shapiro comes in, with those far away, dreamland vocals, to which the instruments adapt perfectly. Lots of lovely piano work as well, and as the chorus comes in the pace bumps up slightly, as Sally Shapiro says If you ever wanna change your mind, in such a lovelorn fashion it seems like a fitting way for a band to say goodbye. And for us a good moment to say thanks for the music, and so long.

 

‘Don’t You Want My Love’ by Vera (SanFranDisko mix)

SanFranDisko always knows how to bring the party in, and here they really get it going at about the 16 second mark, bringing a nice little beat to go with those retro electro synths. At one point, the vocals come in, asking you Don’t you want my love tonight (and who could say no, really)? In the mean time these euro synths keep it working, all the while with the drum beat as a constant to hold on to. In the mean time, Vera has turned more bold, as she just tells you to Try me, try me, try me. There are some lovely corny bits in there, like how the instrumentals work up to the chorus, that’s some super 80 vibes right there. And when she goes diva a bit, that’s some disco karaoke waiting to happen on the dancefloor. And that’s what an edit like this is all about, getting the good vibes in, and preferably in a bit of a cheeky, sexy manner. So, lets get it on, really.

 

‘Your Name Is’ by Demuir & AntLaRock

From the start, this is House music, with the beat getting it on and the vocals already belting it out with its Baby, baaaby. Then, those familiar old school house sounds are added to it, getting the groovy in and having everybody jacking it up on the dancefloor. Around the minute mark the beat is stripped for just a moment, but soon it obviously comes back, with the soulful vocal turn still singing the same two words. The second time they strip it down they keep the vocals going, add some piano work, and then get that groove back in. So they make sure to play with pace a bit, keep some variety in, but also they know to ultimately return to the core again, which is something nightclubbers always appreciate. At the 3:30 mark, surprise, we get a synonym for Baby in the form of Girl, which I believe is done by a different vocalist. It does indicate a more percussion heavy part after, though soon the synths are back in as well. Just a good House tune for all them niteclubbin’ maniacs not banned by an Argentinian judge.

 

‘Baby Do You Want To Bump’ by Todd Terje & The Olsens (Daniel Maloso remix)

This week the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona announced their DJ line-up, which includes Todd Terje. And here’s something to look forward to, with the girls in the back doing a “du-du-du-du-duuhuu” line before some deep male vocals come in, asking Baby baby, do you want to bump. Even, at one point, spelling it out for you (as if ya needed that, eh, we all know what business he’s talking about). In the mean time the synth is doing the dance rhythm in the background, along with some percussion elements. Just before the two minute mark it goes a bit space, and throughout the song we get all kinds of rhythm synths thrown at us to keep us moving as the girls, in different pitches, are still going Du-du-du-du-duuhuu. It’s a high paced ride that doesn’t let up, so for those still able to dance after a festival day, Primavera Sound at least gives you a reason to get them dancing shoes on.

 

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The Weekly Froth!

  • Published in Columns

 

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: ‘Shelter Me’ by Late Nite Tuff Guy

Oh honey, are you kidding me? Late Nite Tuff Guy comes out with a free download to thank people for their support, and surely there are not many better ways to have ended 2014 with. All your Christmas presents be damned, who doesn’t want this lounge tearjerker of Sade turned into this melancholic, heart-broken disco track to dance your sorrows away to? LNTG gets the vibe right from the get go, especially when that hit of piano comes in at about 30 seconds (the end of the track will see that smooth jazz saxophone sound of the original come in as well). So you’re dancing now (not too fast, mind you, this is not that kind of dancefloor killer), on the beat, on the percussion, and so forth, and then, at one point, she comes in. Sade, with her smooth voice and lovelorny singing that "you’ve shed a shadow on my life, shed a shadow on my love, took the shelter out of my life, took the shelter of a lie". And when she then sings she could "see it in your restless eyes (the truth that I was hiding and you could not disguise)", LNTG slides that beat underneath to support her exclamation, and that works so well. He does that a number of times to perfection, having this slight change in his sounds to aid Sade’s singing, which enhances the emotional punch of this track. And, at one point, she will pathetically admit that I wish you could shelter me, and then that saxophone comes in from the original 1988 track, and that’s the ball game.

 

‘Same Town, Same Story’ by Interpol (The Field remix)

I’m not going to lie, I just haven’t been on the return-to-form bandwagon that some have been riding concerning Interpol last year. I loved their first two, I think ‘Pioneer To The Falls’ was the most fab thing they’ve ever done, and everything after that track was just downhill for me. The last album, to my ears, didn’t have the peace, the moments of quiet, the spaciness of that debut of theirs that I fell so in love with. Enter The Field though, Mr. Loop knows how to create his minimal, Scandinavian beat that he then expertely rides into oblivion. Here, too, you’ve just got this rhythm line, sounding a bit like a heavily distorted bass sound, which gets help from some light percussion elements and a tingly piano to contrast the heavy vibe with the light. Somewhere in the middle of the mix you have Paul Banks' vocals, which do fit (and provide some of) the melancholic vibe of this atmospheric behemoth. Don’t expect them to be the focal point though, as the vocals kind of are entrapped somewhere in between the layers that The Field expertedly both keeps sounding the same, yet deviates from slighlty. He is always so in control and patient. At the five minute mark, for instance, he keeps he main elements, but adds this kind of military drum percussion and that does shake the track up, but because the main sounds are still there you do get that hypnotic vibe The Field always brings to the table. So if you were disappointed with the Interpol album just like I was, then be comforted that this sounds more like The Field doing his thing, aided by some Interpol elements that do fit the cold Scandinavian air.

 

‘Noth’ by HNNY

HNNY always knows how to get some of that funk and some of that more contemporary R&B vibe in there. Here, no different, it’s already playing that funk from the get go with that beat, and that secondary sound is awesomely fun. Just before the minute mark you get the first female yelp in the vocals, and he always knows which vocals to use. They’re nice and soulful, and even get some room to strut their stuff as HNNY dials down the beat for a minute. And thus we can hear her sing that "Nothing can keep me, keep me from youuuuu", after which he slides the beat back in (along with some additional percussion). It’s a 3:18 snippet of a thingy, so cannot enjoy it too long, but the repeated beat and secondary sound are just lovely, along with the repetition of the resilient/pathethic/however-you-want-to interpret it line she sings over and over, making it stronger/less believable with each utterance. So how do you like your one-sided 12” releases, eh?

 

‘Oil’ by CFCF

If you like your atmospheric pieces, CFCF is definitely one guy doing it right in my opinion. He has just got this knack for finding the right sounds to go together, and here the start is pretty immediate, with some momentum building sounds that promise more to come. He builds on that for a good while before he adds the beat at about 1:15, which immediately makes it this thing suitable for the dancefloor. And even though the big, bad bass is heavily throbbing away, there’s still so much atmosphere there which keeps on taking the cake until about 2:30, after which he switches it up again, ditching the main sound and adding some more traditional beat sounds to go with a beautiful little bit of piano that does keep that whole vibe intact. The whole track is layered, littered with switch-ups, and constantly there are instruments there that make this one stand out above the fray. It are all those semi-classical components combined with that heavy base layer that makes this one so intriguing to listen to.

 

‘The Boy Who Thought it Was A Good Idea To Cry” by Johan Agebjorn feat. Shally Shapiro

How about that one for a title, eh? Agebjorn and Shapiro are no strangers to each other, and usually they collaborate on the italo-disco sounds Shapiro is known for. Not on this one though, with Agebjorn going all cinematic on us with this beautiful piece of work. It's just one of those things that manages to conjure up all these visual images as if soundtracking a montage in a film or something. Definitely high on atmospherics, though obviously you shouldn’t be expecting the dancey Shapiro & Agebjorn stuff. Shapiro does make an appearance though, but she sounds more ghostly/angelic than ever, with her whispery vocals doing some ah-haaaa lines over the layers of piano that Agebjorn has filled the track with (though not to worry, there are some strings and a bass as well). Don’t go in here with the wrong expectations, but if you know about Agebjorn’s upcoming album Notes and are intrigued by the style he’s going for, this is well worth the listen.

 

‘Dare Me’ by Gorillaz (Rayko Dirty Discoteca Edit)

My goodness, I do remember dancing to this in the indie disco in my teenage years (might be smuggling a year or two there, but whatever). The original by the Gorillaz that is, not this Rayko edit, which makes this dancefloor-ready for the dance crowd, as opposed to the gangly indie kids who are more professed at jumping (don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of how your body works later on lovies!). It still keeps that “daring” aspect of the original, that energetic punch that made so many people fall in love with it in the first place. Naturally Rayko also plays around with the stripping away of layers, the beat, and what not, to really make use of all that dancefloor expertise he has. Just listen to from about 2:30 to like the three minute mark, and everything that happens in between there before he slides it back to the main sound at the latter end of that spectrum. It’s just one of those amazingly fun things that makes you jump up in recognition when it’s played, but that keeps the vibe of the disco/house set going so you can keep moving your body whilst singing along with this cheeky little bugger.

 

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