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The Weekly Froth - August #1

  • 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: ‘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).

 

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The Weekly Froth! - June #3

  • 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: ‘Grace’ by Bob Moses

Love the deep bass sound this one starts off with. This duo is signed to Domino Records, so that is nothing to sneeze at, really. After that deep bass sound you get some percussion in there to round out the rhythm part of it all, and then the synth comes in for the atmospherics. That synth lays the groundwork for the vocals, which are pretty deep and melancholic in the verses, and then get a bit of a boost with some less deep sounds in the chorus as he sings “why would you want to say I’m not the one you need”. By this time it kind of veers into more of a song than purely one for the dancefloor, though they make sure that (if they would play this live) you can still get some dancing done, even in the chorus. I do really like the melancholic feel to this one, which gets reinforced by that deep bass. They put plenty of other things in (like some guitar for instance) to not overload you with that deepness, especially during the choruses. Definitely a sound to watch.

 

‘Meet Me In The House Of Love’ by Cut Copy (Nile Delta remix)

Finally saw these lads live again when they played Primavera, and these boys sure know how to throw a party. Cut Copy have been veering more to the dancefloor, house side with their latest release, and these are all out dancey affairs. Nile Delta takes away some of the straightforward dance smoothness of the original, and throws in some extra sounds for the people in the club rather than at the gig. A transition to a percussion bit around 1:20, those moments are pretty nice additions (though I would be lying if I said I am equally enamoured with some other transitions in there). At 2:10 Nile Delta bring the track down a bit, strip the beat and go for just some synths. Then they build it up, both in terms of volume and by adding some percussion, after which they slide in a deeper rhythm sound and some vocals to start dancing to again. At this point they almost go a bit psychedelic with it, as said, taking some of the straightforward synth-house stuff off of the original. Definitely more instrument focussed this one.

 

‘I Never Thought I’d See The Day’ by Sade (L-Vis 1990 Sunrise Edit)

Everyone who had a working brain in the 1980s must know Sade, if only from that ‘Smooth Operator’ track. L-Vis 1990 takes a song from a later '80s album of theirs, the tragic ‘Never Thought I’d See The Day’, where she sings about a love that has gone. I love the bass that is working underneath it all, which gives it a bit of a deepness for the vocals and the synths to work over. Add some nice percussion and additional sounds, and you’ve got a nice complement going on there for the vocals. And blimey, Sade, she’s just got one of those voices, hasn’t she? Just one of those ones that sticks, and L-Vis 1990 isn’t throwing things on top of those vocals to make their presence felt. They know better than that, luckily. So the voice is still there in full force, you get some nice 80s piano in there, and then you also have the atmospheric synths, the deeper bass, and the bits of percussion to all add a little something something to it all. Add that easy listening sax on top of that (and as long as the percussion underneath keeps the track moving forward like it does after the three minute mark, then that sax is a good one to have in there), and you just have this lovely, low paced edit with the voice still as the centrepiece of it all.

 

‘Love Magnetic’ by Moullinex

I really like the guys from Moullinex, flying a bit under the radar I always think. They just make fun, synth-pop tunes with a dancey bend, and this one is no different. There’s a clear drum in there, but obviously the synths are really giving this one its boost and flavour. The vocals are singing that they can’t quite get this feeling out of their head, and whilst the drums are kicking on, the different synth sounds do quite a bit of the work here. From about the two minute mark there’s this big build up with the vocals continuously repeating the same line as the synth sound gets bigger and bigger, after which obviously this one goes back into full dancing-pop mode again. They constantly change up those synths, keeping the track fresh and fun enough to enjoy. If they’re playing this live, surely, the entire room should be dancing, no?

 

‘Whistle Time’ by Ooft!

Just the start alone makes me happy, with those cheerful party sounds and that guitar! After about twenty seconds not only are you happy, you can start dancing as well, with the bass sound, the cymbals, the beat, and the whole rhythm shebang you expect in a dancing tune. I am hoping for a return of those fresh sounds at the start, and slowly I already hear a bit of that vibe coming through the deeper dancing sounds again. At the two minute mark you get a nice change up for a minute, with the lighter piano that returns on occassion. At 2:45, that lighter piano gets a bit of help, shedding some more lightness in the deeper, darker base sounds of the track. The latter sounds get stripped away completely for a moment before, obviously, returning to get the whole club dancing again. It’s just a lovely dancing tune with plenty going for it, especially that contrast with the deep base sounds and the lighter auxiliary sounds, that really keeps the track alive for me. Wouldn’t even have minded for the track to go even lighter and more into disco mode, but the handclap sounds near the end are good enough for me.

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‘Nite After Nite’ by Music Go Music

This one starts really ominous with those wall of synths, after which almost everything gets stripped and there’s just vocals for a moment. Then the track slides into dancey pop territory, with a dash of '70s but also a dash of pop&disco to keep all kinds of people happy and moving their feet. I love those moments where they turn the pace up a notch, those moments are the ones that make me happy. Obviously, in order to be able to do that, you also need some downcast moments, and those work nicely too. The vocals are lovely, and the drum and the guitar keep things relatively on the down low but still give the track enough vibe to bridge the gap to the more up-tempo moments. They’ll be coming with a new album this year I believe, and if you like this '70s tinged dancing-in-the-forest-at-this-summer-festival kind of vibe, these guys are so your thing probably.

 

 

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