Facebook Slider

The Weekly Froth!

  • Written by  Stef Siepel

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: ‘LifeIssin’ by Carmen Villain (Prins Thomas remix)

This one certainly starts out a little deeper than I had expected for some reason. But soon you can hear the handclaps come in, some angelical voices, and it all gets a somewhat lighter feel to it. After a minute or so I can hardly imagine I ever thought this might go off the deep end of it all, as it is one of those things I just imagine being played at a beach party, everyone with their sunglasses on and sporting the shorts look. I like those little change-ups that you can find, for example, at 2:30, they give this sense of euphoria. A little later the vocals come in, which are surprisingly restraint and dreamy, which does mean that when those sounds come back, it gives it this little kick up. I think those two complement each other very well, the more dreamy vocals and the more “happy”, celebratory music. Clocking in at almost nine minutes, I like that around six there is a vocals only bit after which the whole thing gets build up again layer for layer, with which they cleverly evade people feeling the track is running on too long. Very easy on the ear, just a fun mix by Prins Thomas.

 
 

‘Please’ by Mano Le Tough

Mano le Tough has an EP out later this month, and this is a track off of that. It’ll be released on Permanent Vacation, a label I personally connote to mainly the deeper stuff. It starts drum heavy, quickly going for this military march idea that he botches up with both (synth) sounds and by a little glitch in there, as if he holds the record for a moment on the player. I love those maracas that come in around 1.10, that is a nice rhythm part to contrast that deeper sound. The vocals almost chant “Don’t leave me. Don’t let me go”, which despite being worked, still evoke a slight melancholy as far as that is possible. He cleverly plays with that connotation by putting a piano in at certain points. Around the three minute mark he is clearly building up to something, and I certainly hadn’t expected that what he was building up to was a release of some unaltered vocals, which really give the track some atmosphere, putting those “chants” back to the rhythm section for a moment. It is a lovely soul-filled voice, which contrasts with the rest of the more mechanical sounding track perfectly, breaking through that main sound like sun through clouds. Has me curious to see what the rest of that album is going to sound like.

 

‘Hurts Just a Little’ by JKriv

Just wanted to put everyone’s attention to this rework of a Donna Summer tune by JKriv (there's a trend developing here of late - Ed), which happens to be a free download that’s been doing the rounds for a while. I love that aesthetic JKriv has, and here he doesn’t disappoint either. Lovely danceable disco with a contemporary twang, but enough room for those old school elements and, especially, vocals here as well. “Come on baby, come on sugar, come on darling” the dancefloor will sing along when they’re ready to get flirty or whatever, after which Donna soon takes over and, especially after the two minute mark, steals the show along with all the percussion work. Got to love when the horn section comes in at around 3:40, which is always welcome, especially if it is followed by an almost vocal only section where the boys can give it a go. If you like to dance, and especially if you like to dance to Donna Summer, this is a nice one to whip out every once in a while.

 
 

‘Perfect Target’ by Ganymede feat. Paul Parker (Hard Ton remix)

Hard Ton isn’t one to pull punches, so this one gets off swinging and hitting hard. Frantic pace, smacking some cymbals around, and then a nice, raunchy house vibe before some spacey elements come in (and the troops of darkness, it sounds like that a bit, doesn’t it?). After this real club break suddenly the lovely vocals of Paul Parker come in, and he gets some space to strut his stuff. Really like the contrast that comes afterwards between the pacey beat and the more aerial sound that just slides right through it. I really love those vocals, especially in the context of this song it just makes it house up and down. Hard Ton, perhaps luckily, dials it down a bit from that frantic start ever since the vocals come in, which is good, because it suits the voice. Nice house build up with Parker singing “It’s gotta be too late”, then those troops-from-Mars sound comes in and over it, and then there’s the change to vocals only again. Then he sneaks a beat in there before switching up the pace again. Good for a house night at the disco, especially with the way Hard Ton works those vocals.

 
 

‘California Analog Dream’ by Vondelpark

Not sure what Vondelpark think to find in California, but apparently it includes someone playing a harmonica. Then again, it’s their dream, so why not? I love the vibes on this one, the gentle way it moves forward, and the vocal delivery that definitely fits the sound they’re going for. Something you’d find yourself listening to when on the bus for the midnight ride to San Diego (or wherever they are heading). Probably with some Beat prose in one hand. With the harmonica and the finger picking it starts of real Bob Dylan or whatever, but soon it gets more of this drum vibe with, occassionally that harmonica thrown in there, which actually at that point starts to sound oddly out of place as it is such a niche instrument you don’t generally see young blokes mix it with their guitar and drums in a song like this. Nice dreamy track though this, will be interesting to see what that album sounds like that will be coming out April the 1st (not joking, unless they are).

 
 

‘I’m Tired’ by Sleazy McQueen (Pete Herbert remix)

If you want a bit of disco, this is the way to go. Sleazy McQueen always manages to put out this kind of stuff, and it is always nothing short of fun. It’s definitely a remix that was made for the dancefloor this one, with a nice little beat thrown in there to keep everyone dancing. Same thing goes for some of those dancefloor tricks that you don’t hear in most other songs aside from those that are made for the boogie on the floor. So it’s not just disco, but there’s also a contemporary dance twang in there. But still, those vocals and these sounds; it’s all vintage and indicative of the genre it takes its cue from. The fade in and fade out give away that this SoundCloud thing is an excerpt of the entire track, which, if you like this, obviously is worth seeking out if you want your dancefloor to get into a bit of that disco action.

 

 

Rate this item
(0 votes)
Login to post comments
back to top