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: ‘Heat You Up, Melt You Down’ by Shirley Lites (Juan Soto edit)

Juan Soto gives us the bass and the beat from almost the get go, making sure there is no mistaken about the disco & funk intentions for the dancefloor with this one. At the minute mark he picks it up a notch, going a bit R&B Outkast-like on us right there. In the mean time the bass is keeping it all working down there as, at 1:40, we for the first time here Shirley Lites, doing that disco thang. Juan Soto lets her work it, belting it out on two occasions, as he first adds some of that funky guitar at 2:20 before inviting her back in at the three minute mark. I love the funky vibe that runs through this, also thanks to the bass obviously, and then the contrast with the female vocals to give it some of that emotional punch. Also a free download by the way, if you are in the mood for some of that dancing (yeah).

‘What Do You Really Want’ by Luxxury

Luxxury goes for a summery slow jam, low burning little bass running underneath the high pitched vocals to dictate the pace along with the drum sound in the back. The vocals sing that Nothing is working without you (believe me, I tried) as it moves like an '80s romance flick soundtrack, even to the What do ya-ha-ha lines in the chorus. There is some fun synth work, and just before the three minute mark we get a nice little solo riff in, which a little while later gets accompanied by the synths and, shortly after, the vocals. The hashtags used in the SoundCloud link are #slowdisco and #yachtfunk, which are surprisingly accurate, one of those to bop your head to at a beach somewhere as the sun slowly is lowering its weary head.

‘Camille 2000’ by Fouk

Fouk gets going with some percussion sounds, at the 18 second mark adding the bass to bring in da funk. More percussion elements are added (even some understated cowbell so it seems), and in the background the female vocals seem to enter the fray slowly but surely, doing that diva Oooohh-hooo-hoo thing. First a full stop at 1:30 though, with the pace upping a bit afterwards as they enter some synths. Then another stop, and another change in sounds thereafter. I love the dial down at 3:40, that is really sweet, getting almost jazzy there. The female vocals, by the way, never really arrived, Fouk instead focussing on that instrumental downtempo funk feel they’re going for. The bass and the aerial synth sound both adding much to that, I reckon.

‘Call It Love’ by Sara Garvey

Sara Garvey is debuting with this downtempo, downtrodden electro track, putting the moody in there. The drum only comes in after around twenty seconds, before which she has already started singing, contrasting the clarity of the vocals nicely against the shimmering synths. Just before the minute mark the vocals are traded in for some deeper synths, only lasting for a few seconds before Garvey herself comes back in. At 1:40 there seems to be a tad of guitar there, which fits really well. That sound is pulled through a bit further on, as the track manages to keep that clear sound despite adding all the previous sounds together later on. She manages to set the tone well, and the clarity of the voice and how everything is minimally build around that is pretty well done I reckon.

‘Choreogragia’ by Youthfaire

The cymbals get some understated work at the start, then the cowbell comes in, before at the thirty second mark we get a piano sound that sounds like it is taken from piano class 101. Doing those notes, eh. Then, with the beat underneath it, suddenly it makes more sense, and then at 1:20 the bass is added and some of those disco vintage sounds really start making it sound like a burner for the dancefloor. And those core sounds keep on running and running as the track somehow manages to mix a sense of the mechanical with some more earthy tones. At 3:20 we get that piano in again, first almost by it lonesome, but then as part of the whole dancing machine that they’ve been building up. Bit of an offbeat dancer this, but all the more welcome.

‘Destroyer’ by Audion (FOLD’s Lean Tape Version)

This one starts as a track in a Berlin dance club, hitting the pads and the cymbals relentlessly, asking that underground crowd to work it like they’ve got a day off the next morning (and who now has that these days, eh?). At the minute mark we get some synths in, giving a slight reprieve from the menacing pace the rhythm sounds dictate, one which gets slightly changed at the 1:30 mark. After two minutes, a real rest, with the beat being shut out in favor of the synths and some pad work. At 2:30 though, it’s back again, in that relentless fashion we’ve come to understand from this track. It’s a real club thing that Matthew Dear has made under his Audion moniker, not pulling any punches, not holding anything back. There are some moments where he withdraws slightly, but just to load up a while later, like when he comes back at 3:55, giving you plenty to work with yet again (albeit on a slightly softer sound than before). As the track goes in, it does move to a more House sound. Apparently the relative softness in some stretches is thanks to FOLD, taking on remix duties of a track by a guy with an ear for music second to none as far as I’m concerned.

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: ‘Outstanding’ by Ziggy Phunk

Ziggy Phunk gets the outstanding (…) boogie going here, first starting with some of that woodwork percussion before getting the slow beat in and, then, the bass sound and the lighter piano to juxtapose it, giving it its jazzy, slick vibe. At the 1:30 mark there’s, first, some extra oomph added, which is a prelude to the smooth vocals coming in, saying how the girl is looking Sweet (if I’m hearing it correctly). In the mean time, in the background, the track rolls on, getting into the groove right there. At the 3:50 mark the background vocals arrive at the scene, singing “Outstanding” in a high pitch as they help the main vocalist out a bit. For a moment the rhythm takes a back seat, but then the familiar boogie gets going again so that all them lovers on the dancefloor can resume their movin’ and groovin’ until the end of time.

‘Monday Blues’ by Dr. Packer

Peter Hook was in town here not too long ago, playing some of that old New Order catalogue. The most famous song from them probably is ‘Blue Monday’, which disco edit king Dr. Packer takes a stab at here. So we’ve got plenty of throbbing synths, the well-known rhythm line of the original, and a steady beat as the core running through it. Especially at the 1:50 mark the original sounds come beaming through, with after the two minute point that guitar that, soon after, gets followed by that aaaaaahhh monkish sound. Just before we enter the third minute mark, a teaser, with just the line How does it feel uttered, with a major gap to To treat me like you do. With, to fill the gap, the beat and all those original sounds. The next go around, the vocals are normalized in terms of pace, but get a bit of that vocoder treatment (as if it wasn’t sung in an apathetic manner already). Near the end of this preview we even get a taster of a build-up, before the inevitable fade-out. Wouldn’t mind hearing that full version on the dancefloor.

‘Breathe’ by Luxxury

After the first few seconds this one gets going with a festive percussion vibe, soon followed by a nice little bass line to get that booty shakin’ to on the beach. At about the 30 second mark we get the synths, which give it kind of a dreamy atmosphere. Also added to that is a little guitar riff, and all these different instruments help this one to trod forward. Just before the two minute mark there’s a change up, going for a lighter sound and with vocals that are actually somewhat audible, though still in the far away sphere. Then Luxxury dives back to the bass before going more pop with the synth, finding that line between the more disco sounds and the synth-pop accessibility to get a nice summery, dreamy vibe going with this one.

‘What That All’ by Lady Jane (James Rod re-work)

From the bass sound we already know this is a re-work of that beloved disco edit classic ‘Was That All it Was’ by Jean Carne, where she’s going to point blank ask you if she was just a prop to occupy your time (Was that all it was? A way to pass the time? Just a momentary thing, not worth remembering). Next to the bass we’ve got plenty of percussion, so the rhythm part is taken care of. Which is a good thing, because with the rhythm parts and some auxiliary sounds James Rod rides this one for a good 3 1/2 minutes before, for the first time, Lady Jane herself gets in there, with the vocals slightly to the background as the rhythm is still very much the main part here (even as the ol’ disco sounds of the original start rearing their heads). And that’s the mix James Rod keeps working, though after that initial drought he isn’t letting up on Carne’s vocals, from actual singing to all the other sounds she’s making throughout the track. A rhythm & percussion heavy re-work of the ol’ classic tune (and a nine minute one at that).

‘7, 8 E1’ by Fatnotronic

We get the bells and whistles first, sending us to the tropics for a slow jam. The beat comes in dictating that pace, and then the groovy bass arrives. Those deep sounds get juxtaposed by some of that tropical to give you the flavor to go with the rhythm. At about the 1:25 mark we get the group vocals in a language I don’t quite understand (either that or I’m getting really old apparently), and at the two minute mark the track opens up a bit, doing some horns, putting a bit more emphasis on the lighter sounds. Then, a singular vocal layer on top of all that went before, with the group vocals more a rhythm line at this point. The track ends with just a singular beat, though that belies the vibe that Fatnotronic put in there basically the entire five minutes prior.

‘Take Me I’m Yours’ by Mary Clark (iMFROMULL edit)

How about starting with that bass to get the boogie going, eh? That and the wobbly synth sound form the core at the start, though at the forty second mark we hear the horns for the first time, knowing that we’re still in that disco territory. At the 1:30 mark that becomes even more evident, when the disco sounds get in there before they dial it down, waaaay down, with first just the bass, and then the vocals coming in. Soon, the volume gets kicked back up, coinciding with the re-emergence of the horns. At the 2:45 mark, there the vocals are for real for the first time. Both the girls in the back, and the headliner, singing Take me, I’m yours as she wants to be held close to you (You go babe!). The vocals are lovely disco, just as the sounds in the background, including obviously the horns, doing their thing as she sings that You’ve got the power over me. The vocals do that whole takeover business that works so well with these kind of tracks, and the rhythm in the mean time makes sure you can also still dance while you’re singing along with this one edit right here.