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: ‘Don’t Worry Baby The Best Is Yet To Come’ by The Reynolds (Greg Wilson & Peza Club Mix)

This one starts out with some dulled drums, on top of which a little bassline starts to play, with both sounds being in the deep end of the spectrum. Soon, though, some horns, and those delightful, old school female vocals come in to first sing oohh-hooo-ooh-hoo, following which this female voice sings Don’t you worry baby, the best is yet to come (otherwise at least a partial refund would be in order I reckon! Don’t be selling me this half-arsed crap now, ya here!). And this they sing in the best '60s soul group manner they can muster, a la The Jones Girls and all those early disco/R&B groups. In the mean time the drum and bass still keep on rolling, but more in the background as the girls (both the one up front as well as the ones at the back) have taken over with their lush delivery, both comforting as well as a bit mesmerizing, a tad seductive. One you could fall for if you happen upon them in a nightclub and you see her sing. All the other things, so lovely within the style, with the horns, with the lovely auxiliary sounds that make up the atmosphere. The rhythm moving it along in exactly the right pace as well, it’s just a joy to be listening to. Throwback as all get out, but golly, if this doesn’t take you to a nightclub, sitting at a table, sipping one thing or another, and then with three of those gals in long, tight dresses singing so smoothly the title of the track, then I don’t know what will.

‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ by Junior Boys

Oh lord, I remember seeing these guys years & years ago, with a friend that has since moved to a different country, in a club that has since ceased to be, and with a hairstyle that thankfully I have since abandoned. My goodness, if only pictures had survived! But the lads of Junior Boys are back, and before dipping their toes in the water they have a swing at an old Bobby Caldwell song, which they tackle in their oh-so familiar fashion. So there’s this whimsical, dreamy air that they always manage to create, using synths and those particular vocals to achieve that what they do so well. So they sing “Some people go around the world for love, maybe never find, what they dream of” in an almost removed fashion. The two minute mark has them whispering What you won’t do, do for love, and he whispers this with a deeper voice and over a deeper synth sound. Funnily enough, though the whispering can be menacing if one chooses so, they don’t quite get there, because it is so anchored in the Junior Boys aesthetic. Which, to me, isn’t something not done quite right, but something done whilst still having the band’s identity shining through. It makes it Junior Boys, and that is exactly all right. When the song picks up after the normal vocals return, the synths come back as well, but you also get a bit of kick and snare action. Good to have these lads back, and it sounds as much like them as ever. And coming from someone who went to a gig of theirs, that’s obviously not a bad thing.



‘Dear Life’ by Claptone (Purple Disco Machine remix)

I like the percussion-and-beat way this one starts, as if to say, All right, let’s bring the party on. And then when that sound comes in at the sixteen second mark, immediately followed by the vocals, then you know for sure you want to be dancing with somebody (and feeling the h... etc.). The vocals get a moment in the sunshine before a wicked bass comes in at about the 1:20 mark to reinforce all the party vibes that you got from the start. Funnily enough, there are like four elements at play in the core (2 percussion bits, a bass, and the vocals), but they all are there to help the rhythm, so it is a lesson in effectivity, really. A bit later in the track the vocals start some actual singing, and more elements come in (don’t want a song too bare, mind you, especially one approaching the six minute mark). I like the little synth line that enters before it enters the fourth minute, which is the cue to turn on the volume and get a bit of momentum going. At 3:30 you get a bit of a bridge that uses the vocals in a lovely House sense, reminding me a bit of Hercules and Love Affair to be honest. The Purple Disco Machine then starts building it all up and up, obviously dropping the bomb (or, erhm, bass) a bit later. Love the rhythm here, making sure the dancing vibes are all over my face.

‘Nights’ by Ilija Rudman (Can’t Communicate mix)

Ilija Rudman is one of those guys who always delivers for me. Slightly edging to the deep, atmospheric side of the dancefloor, something which becomes apparent at the start here as well, using what sounds like wind effects (one blowing near a haunted mansion, at that). He quickly adds a beat though, but then discards it for an equally haunting synth line, before it turns to a ghostly dance session when he suddenly drops all kinds of rhythm and percussion elements in to get even the scrougiest ghost of Christmas past to do a little boogie. He never loses this vibe (both of dancing and of atmosphere), even as new instruments, and even the vocals, enter. The vocals are strong, male house vocals, asking How can we celebrate, when we can’t communicate? In the mean time there is this main synth line up front, but also plenty of percussion in the back to keep this one going. There’s this flute kind of sound that totally fits in as well. If ever Disney wants to do a ramped up version of their Skeleton Dance, well, there you go (Maybe Banksy can put a thing or two together for this one).

‘All I Want Is You’ by Kraak & Smaak feat. Keyhole (Xinobi remix)

Some home service here, with Dutch boys Kraak & Smaak doing their thing on ‘All I Want is You’. Remixed by Xinobi, who knows how to do this stuff. It starts with a soft kick, leaving the auxiliary sounds and the droning synth in the background to form the core. Soon enough extra drums come in to start pushing this one forward, but it are still the extra sounds, like the one entering at the fifty second mark, that kind of make this one. Love the vocals coming in right after one minute’s up, singing that all he wants is you (There is no other!). Both in the vocals as well as in the treatment of the overall track there’s plenty of soul (especially when the vocals go up up up in the bridge section). Xinobi makes sure this one doesn’t get relegated to a thump-the-dancefloor kind of thing, with soft drums and plenty of room for the singing. But, he also knows when to up the pace to get the catchy going, even going to the more tribal drums a bit later on. At about the 3:30 point they dial it down, going for just a kick and some synth sounds, with then the vocals coming in way up front in the mix, telling you to Watch me dance for money, trust me, in my eyes lie the truth (Ha! How many times I’ve fallen for that one!). After some more vocal tomfoolery they don’t come back with a vengeance (would’ve been against the whole style of the track, to be honest), but instead Xinobi goes with a little bit of guitar, which is quite nice. And so they rather slowly build it back up to the more catchy side of the track. As said, plenty of soul to be found here, making this well worth the listen.

‘I Can’t Be Your Superman’ by Skylar Spence

Skylar Spence starts with a rather sharp, indie sounding guitar, but when the bass comes in after about twenty seconds this one gets decidedly disco. More quintessential disco sounds come in, though there is still this guitar that provides a juxtaposition, making sure you don’t quite feel the NY '70s vibe. The vocals, too, indicate that this is a hybrid, a slice of indie pop that borrows a few lines from the disco era. At 1:55, when it goes from almost only vocals back to the regular programming, it slides into an almost The Rapture-esque punchy disco sound (a la the Pieces of the People we Love album) just for a second, though it quickly turns down the in-yr-face knob that The Rapture always managed to put in there. It’s not as pedal-to-the-metal as that band, but it is a rather fun, catchy, up-tempo hybrid that has certainly put his album on my radar.

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:  ‘Possibilities’ by Flip ft. Elou Elan (C90s remix)

The C90s make sure no time is wasted in this remix, getting right into the nitty gritty of things with the beat and that percussion (cowbell?) sound that I totally like. Now, what I really love are not only the handclaps that join in, but that bass and vocals combo that they enter at about the 40 second mark. Those vocals are just ace, they’ve got a nice, full sound that complements that bassline ever so nicely. They keep adding a bit of that cowbell, and this one has got me dancing in no time. At about 1:30 there’s a little change-up, going for a chorus like approach in terms of vocals, and adding some synths in there as well to spice it all up a bit. At 2:17 they come back with another verse, this time with a bit more help from some synths, putting the bass a little bit on the backburner. The chorus sees an invite from Elou Elan, singing that there is a New dawn, filled to the brim with possibilities. And if you aren’t afraid of that, she says, extending her hand, then Come with me. Between the two choruses, she does a little “di-didi-di-te” bridge, and after that the C90s build it all up a bit again, just to make sure the last bit sees them in full party mode, also thanks to the piano they throw in there as well. Lovely track, ace vocals, and you get plenty of nice party sounds with the percussion, the bass, later on the piano, and so forth, with the ending doing a bit of that beat and cowbell so you can slide your next tune under there with ease.

‘On & On’ by This Soft Machine

Apparently everyone and their mothers helped out on this catchy, summer festival dancefloor tune by This Soft Machine. Dave Harrington, who we remember from Darkside, does some instrumentation, and the synths are courtesy of Dan Whitford of Cut Copy fame. The vocals, sultrily singing that "we’ve got it going on", are by Lorraine Nicholson. The percussion gives it this idea of dancing in the outdoors at some summer DJ party or another, though the vocals and auxiliary instruments do give it this at-night-getting-down feel. Around 2:30 you’ve got a bass synth and the vocals doing most of the work, before half a minute later the percussion and some of the other, more summery sounds come in. For the last one and a half minute or so, it kind of veers into this psych-out direction, switching the more summery and catchy vibes with a more gritty, grainy dance sound. Not too bad a debut I reckon, definitely put himself on the radar with this as far as I’m concerned.

‘Without You’ by John Talabot (Mistakes Are OK Midnight version)

Are mistakes okay at midnight? John Talabot seems to think so, and this man might know, as he sure is apt at making some stuff best suited for the wee morning hours. This, too, has this nice, midnight-in-the-city vibe to it, starting it off with primarily some percussion to get the rhythm going, with at about 1:20 putting the beat forward a bit more. There’s this lovely repetition, this looping of some lines that he always does so well, and which creates this really nice flow. But not only do these instrumental lines do that, but their pitch also creates this coherent feel, even as new instruments are being woven in and out of the track. So there’s always something new going on, whether it are auxiliary sounds that are being sidled in to add some extra atmosphere, or whether it is more a rhythm line to add another dancing possibility to the whole thing. I can’t help but feeling that some of the side sounds give it a little bit of this mysterious-feel-in-the-orient vibe, but I am fully aware that I might very well be the only one thinking that. At about 4:20 he dials down the beat and rhythm sounds a bit, leaving most of the work to be done for a little synth line, before he gets the bass sound in there again. Another welcome addition to the library of sounds that is John Talabot.

‘Saturday Love’ by Zimmer X Pallace

How about some collaboration eh? We always need good people working together. The combo here works on a little piece of house, with loads of celebratory piano in there, immediately giving it this sense of euphoria. Enter some handclaps, some high-pitched vocals, and then the beat, and the party will and can get started. It has a little bit more of that summer festival feel to it than midnight-at-the-club, so there’s no reason to not be dancing on the beaches this summer. There’s some serious momentum building going on, with them dialing down the beat sounds on multiple occassions in the short (4 min) running time to then burst the track wide open again. It’s a nice catchy piece for those pool parties with your friends and other sordid party people.

‘The Light’ by SBTRKT ft. Denai Moore (Xinobi remix)

I’m not sure I really have the need to listen to SBTRKT all times of the day, but Xinobi sure brings a smile to my face almost any time I’m listening to something from his hand. Now, Xinobi does love SBTRKT (so who am I, eh?) and tried his hand at a more clubby version for his DJ sets and for dancing at home in his pyjamas, or whatever. So here not so much the synthy catchiness of his own work, but a deeper, more beat heavy cut, though that gets contrasted by this floating flute-y sound that starts about a minute in. Then the beat is turned off, the aforementioned sound stays, and you get some of the vocals to step into the spotlight a bit. After that you already get some drums in before the actual rhythm beat takes over again. Though, not really, as they seem to be a bit further down in the mix, to make sure those vocals stay front and center. And certainly Xinobi makes sure they are not muffled by any of the other sounds. I like how he slides the beat back in at about 3:25, that’s a nice momentum builder right there, and after that you get a bit of a masterclass how you can bring a couple of extra sounds in there in an understated manner. After that you get a little bit of a freak-out bit near the end, going full-fledged party more for the final minute to end this all on a dancing note. Free download, by the way. Just saying.

‘Fooled Around’ by jackLNDN

I love the way this one starts, it’s got this soulful feel to it, especially when the vocals and the backing Ooohhh sounds come in. Then, after about half a minute, you get get the main percussion, the handclap-like sounds, and even more rhythm to keep this one moving forward, though never in a real dance club feel. After about 1:10, all those rhythms are subtracted from the track so you’ve got this lovely voice again for a minute, and then he slides all the drums&stuff back in underneath the vocals to give you the complete package. He’s definitely not married to the beats and sounds, so no marital favors as he turns them down after about half a minute again, letting some piano in for a minute to then build up to the vocals and drums combo for another go. He does this once more, so there is this continuous flow and structure, though he ramps it up slightly for the last time. The ending gives you a bit more catchy synth, taking this lovely tune to its close. It’s from his Summer Never Ends EP- Vol. 1, so if you like this, give that one a whirl.