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The Weekly Froth! - 20160923

  • 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: ‘Slow Motion Cowboy’ Hot Toddy vs. IPG

The percussion gets this one started, putting the rhythm in tight before the wobbly industrial sounds come in, including the emotionless robotic voice. But at the minute mark he moves away from that, putting in a big bass to get that boogie going, helped out by some horn sounds and a bit of that woodwork percussion rhythm. The voice comes back though, including the other computer sounds, but again, Hot Toddy dives back in there with some solo blues and jazz sounds moving on top of the horn and bass that bring you the bounce. So he is really marrying those two feels, but above all the base of the track is just really danceable, really is a hip mover for sure. And on top of that, taking from both worlds, he brings in a core set of sound from which he adds and subtracts, and adding plenty of new stuff in there on occasion (like around the 4:15 mark with that change-up to move to the more mechanical again before returning to the bass). A near 8 minute corker from the Nottingham man.

 

‘Wonderland’ by Earth Wind & Fire (Late Nite Tuff Guy muscle mix)

The label Midnight Records offers a chance for a “free” download (for a tune and a whistle) of a LNTG muscle mix of that ol’ Earth, Wind & Fire classic. Just one that all y’all know, all them dancers in the club know, and which moves along so smooth and tightly that how anyone can not start doing their disco thang is beyond me. LNTG brings the vocals from the get go, telling you to Dance, and Boogie, falling short of adding the “wonderland”, but you know that is coming. You know it is coming for sure when the track starts building it up with the horns, and there it is, at about 2:30, long and drawn out, followed by more horns and piano. In the mean time the track keeps the disco dancing at full throttle as they add the male verse after the three minute mark, doubling the line with the female vocals before they dive into the chorus again. The bass is amazing, the edit super smooth, and the recognition factor is through the roof. A great mixture of the original and the current dancefloor, not losing either one’s essence in the process. The spectral of the NY sweat clubs reigns supreme in the current discotheque right here.

 

‘The Look Of Love’ by ABC (Moonlight Matters Rework)

Moonlight Matters always know how to get that party going, and they start this one no holds barred. There’s the galloping rhythm, and then the string section giving you the feisty as well. At the 48 second mark they turn it around slightly, taking the beat out of there, but even without it there’s still a sense of up speed manic right up until the 1:22, when they strip almost everything aside from the synths and the disco horns that they allow to enter the fray. At 1:50, bam, there come the old school vocals singing the title line supported by an incessant beat, but also the percussion rhythm, the strings, and all those sounds that link the early Eighties with that disco sound from them NY clubs. A change-up like at about 3:30 gives it a playfulness, a cheekiness that fits (in my mind) in that Eighties aesthetic, before going a bit more darker and New Wave at the end to hit this one home.

 

‘I Can Never Be Myself When You’re Around’ by The Chromatics

The audio of this one has been floating around for ages now, but really gearing up for their release The Chromatics thought they’d throw a video out there as well. Good thing for me, because I’ve been just about obsessive with this track the past few weeks again. You’ve got the stabbing, high tempo synths, then the beat and drums come in to give it the tempo, and the vocals juxtapose it with their wispy, dreamy, alienated voice singing that Baby, it’s not that easy, I can never be myself when you’re around. Which, precisely, is that whole The Chromatics vibe that you love and that hits home straight through the heart. There’s the guitar in there as well, primarily adding to the atmosphere. It’s pretty much up tempo, and, moving through that, the emotional coming to terms as they tried To reach so hard, but still we hit the ground. There’s a sense of resignation, the smile to each other that you love and tried all to get to that perfect place, and the tear that, as if fatalistically, you just don’t quite manage to get there. It’s an absolute gem, and I can’t wait for the album to drop (and I need to restrain myself to write the rest of this column and not just hit repeat over and over again).

‘A1’ by Prins Thomas (Gerd Janson Prinspersonation mix)

Both Prins Thomas as well as Gerd Janson are veterans on the scene, so they won’t be holding back for sure. The track starts out peppy and weird, with the space synth coming in at about the forty second mark, relatively deep to announce the arrival of the dark forces. Next to all the synth stuff there’s a beat in the background, which is relatively deep as well. At about the 1:35 mark the track gets a kick in its rear end, speeding up a bit also thanks to the lighter percussion sounds that arrive. Throughout the track it hits patches where the weird and cosmic take over, but always, like at 3:45, sliding back to the dancefloor by a change of pace or focussing more on the rhythm again. 4:20, again, has a nice change-up waiting for you as well. The track has a nice flow to it, a bit of a spacey vibe, and it’s just what you’d expect really from a team up like this one.

 

‘Jazzy Days’ by Cisco Cisco

Cisco Cisco bring it down, especially at the start, bringing a bit of that Jazzy nightclub vibe in there. Then they bring a little rhythm in with the cymbals, though it takes until the 35 second mark before the actual beat arrives. Even that one, though, is lower paced, giving this a drug fuelled slowed down vibe for the after hours with a martini somewhere. On top of the bass sounds there is an instrument continuously solo-ing it up, and then around the two minute mark we get some vocal work from ‘Born This Way’ (the old disco classic rather than the Lady GaGa one, just sayin’). The edited vocals sing they are Happy, I’m carefree, as in the mean time the hypnotic rhythm keeps moving on. Around 3:30 they get the beat out there for a minute, but soon it comes back with a slight bounce in its step. This track will be released later this month and includes a remix by Ron Basejam, which I’m sure will be well worth your time also.

 

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The Weekly Froth! - 20160624

  • 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: ‘Rise’ by Herb Alpert (Late Nite Tuff Guy Remix)

It’s been a while since Late Nite Tuff Guy uploaded something to his SoundCloud, and his first in months is a remix of Jazz great Herb Alpert. LNTG is really good at delivering a smooth disco ride, and here, too, he sets the rhythm immediately, giving you that delicious dancing feel. He throws in a little riff, and at 1:20 he dials it down a bit to get the piano and the jazzy horns in. Then the percussion, to come back to the bass and the riff again for those on the dancefloor. The next segment sees those melancholic horns again, conjuring up the image of Bogart and Bergman saying goodbye at the airport. It’s a lovely mixture of a smooth disco ride with the rhythm, and the jazzy sounds of Herb Alpert giving you all the mood and vibe you want for a lovelorn night of disco dancing.

 

‘Just A Lover’ by Hayden James

Hayden James doesn’t waste any time, immediately coming in with the vocals, the beat, percussion, and bass. The vocals are nice and deep, fitting for this kind of sound. The rhythm sounds, too, are relatively deep, though at about the 50 second mark he adds some lighter sounds to shift. Just before the 1:30 mark he strips the real deep sounds, even adds some piano, before bringing those rhythm instruments back (though having put the brakes on the pace a tad compared to the beginning). The vocals let you know that You were temporary, you were just a lover (just a prop to occupy your time?). It’s a nice, catchy tune that takes the deep road with the rhythm, at the end switching it up and finishing it all off on some higher piano notes.

 

‘Thrills’ by JMII (John Talabot’s Early Edit)

John Talabot gets the pace going from the start, using the beat to provide the steadiness of a dance track before adding a relatively deep sound on top of it to balance the lighter sounds he had already put in before and the one coming in after. About ten seconds before the two minute mark he changes the track up, even adding some warped vocals (which say a whole lot of nothing) on top of this synth heavy part. Obviously, one expects him to return to the deep rhythms of before, though he does take his sweet time to build up the suspense. The drop comes at the three minute mark, though he keeps the sounds of the previous part as well, making sure that it’s a completely new chapter in the track. It’s another quality tune by the man, exactly the kind of thing one has come to expect from his hand.

 

‘Boipeba’ by Joakim

Joakim starts this one with a bit of percussion, adds some sounds of the sea, but above all keeps the feel exotic, also by the choice of instruments. A bass beat is added just after the minute mark, sliding underneath the sounds he introduced some moments before. There are some ethereal sounds in the background, which kind of get juxtaposed (if not replaced) by a slow, deeper rhythm sound that is put in. Joakim is going for a lovely deep cut here, providing us with a hypnotic, slow rhythm but also plenty of mood to keep this one on your mind. After some thunder, he moves to a deep beat again, adding a sort of military drum to move it a bit more to the old school house vibe. Then he adds that slow, deep bass sound again, just to let you know you’re not out of the woods yet. It’s a lovely, deep mood piece that shows the ear Joakim has, being able to compose a thing like this.

‘Phreeky’ by Eli Escobar feat. Vanessa Daou & Nomi Ruiz

Eli Escobar knows how to get the most out of his tracks, surrounding himself with Vanessa Daou and Nomi Ruiz for this up tempo house cracker. It’s got the beat going, the percussion on top, and then he yells out that he needs a Phreek as the track stays true to its house vibe. Then he slides more to the disco side of the equation with the piano and bass, introduced by a female voice saying Aaaaah, come on (le phreek). After a moment without he puts the beat back in, and at 2:12 he ups the pace again, adding some soulful vocals to the whole proceeding as well. Just before the three minute mark we get a du-du-du-du line from the female vocals, first without anything else, and then the percussion steps in to get dat rhythm right. The track is really easy on the ear, and I love the different segments and the transitions to them. He keeps the pace up high, making sure there’s no one there regretting bringing their dancing shoes.

‘Tresor’ by Flavien Berger (Paradis Shuffle Mix)

I always love Paradis’ stuff, here starting it off with some jazz horns in tranquility, with the synths providing a subtle backdrop for them to shine on. Then, after about forty seconds, they add a sharp beat, a little piano riff, and then the spoken word. It is a voice with some gravitas in it, though in a foreign language you can have me believe anything I suppose. In the mean time, underneath, some dancefloor elements come in, before transitioning to a rather trippy synth track. Even with the trippier moments there are still the tranquil synth sounds that add a bit of sanity to it to balance it all out. And then, at about the halfway mark, the horns again, this time on top of the trippier sounds, but because of that providing it with perhaps a more important function. And I do love that combination, giving you the Paradis feel with a bit of an edge this time around.

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