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The Weekly Froth! - 20160527

  • Published in Columns

 

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks (five this week), 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: ‘Save Their Souls’ by Bohannon (Poolside edit)

Poolside start this edit with a slow moving beat and some higher pitched percussion to keep the balance right. After that, some lovely, deep atmospheric sounds to get that feel right on in there. Especially that horn-like sound that blows in from way underneath is lovely. Then, at the minute mark, the vocals, almost chanting Save their souls. After that the track moves into the groove, anchored by a nice little guitar riff, and it brings that funk with them. The way those vocals are used, and that being balanced by those deep rhythm and atmospheric sounds; it gets the hypnotic beat of the African jungle right in there. And then, the Jazzy horns, giving it that NY slant. It’s really a tremendous track this one, the '70s done right I reckon, and put out there so that we, too, can do some grooving to Mr. Bohannon himself.

 

 ‘It’s The Being In Love’ by Michael Jackson (Late Nite Tuff Guy edit)

I actually just got this one on vinyl, a release from the Midnight Riot label (though the edit itself isn’t that new I believe). As we have come to expect from LNTG he brings the smooth disco edit, first giving you the beat, and then the synths and the chopped up vocals, which break out of the loop at exactly the one minute mark to say that it Is the being in love. LNTG does use the whole loop thing with this one, and after the first part is over he slides in a second part that comes from underneath to then take over with the It’s the falling in love that’s making me hot (You go for it, you!), then diving into a similar loop with a little guitar riff, the beat and drums, and the vocals doing part of the sentence before bookending it with a complete lyric. Around the three minute mark he breaks out of the loop, with the new vocals appearing on the scene and doing a whole verse worth of that sexy. Then, in unison, double layers of vocals, and then back to it with, this time around, the horns as well. It’s just another lovely, smooth, clean edit by LNTG, exactly the way I like them (hence, the vinyl acquisition ya know).

 

‘Firecracker’ by Todd Terje & The Olsens (radio edit)

Todd Terje is at it again, upping the pace and the weirdness with this firecracker (…) of a tune, definitely going all out in terms of those sounds that are not overused by any other artists. Which makes it a peculiar sounding one indeed. He doesn’t throw every convention overboard though, giving us some nice bass action at 1:20 for instance. There’s always a groove underneath the oriental to make sure to keep it at least as grounded as he wants it to be, which is just enough for those who actually want to dance to it in any case. Love some of the switches, those are nice, and there is a fun-ness and a tempo to the track that will get anyone out of their sleep-induced days at the midnight club. Though to say I’ll be listening to this track on repeat, it might be too far out for that button right there.

 

‘I Feel Numb’ by Classixx feat. A. Frankel

Classixx team up with A. Frankel from Holy Ghost! to get the dancefloor going with some throwback synth-pop. A steady drumline is given, when the vocals come in for the first time a bass is added in the background, and next to that there is plenty of synth action until the actual singing starts. The upbeat demeanour, apparently, belies trouble, as he will Take you by the arm, saying you need to slow down, as he feels numb. Again, the vocals without the synths, which then get added later in the verse. The chorus sees a padded vocal line, some backing vocals, and a little rhythm synth chugging along. Just before the three minute mark the bass and beat are dropped in favor of just the vocals, and obviously the boys then slowly build it back up for the dancers on the dancefloor. And all them all get a lovely slice of catchy synth-pop to do some dancing to, including the instrumental outro where we even get some cowbell to do that little shimmy to.

‘Not Coming Down’ by Cleopold

I love how, from the get go, the slow pace is created, and then (equally from the get go) the soulful vocals come in. And those vocals are up, front, and center, especially during the verses. The chorus sees a bit more punch from the instrumentals, especially the bass and percussion, and it even includes backing vocals. From that point on the pace is slightly upped, giving it a bit more of a pop feel, with the bass providing some funk & rhythm. Before the two minute mark the track comes down (…) a bit, with just the vocals. Slowly Cleopold adds some percussion, and obviously a short while later the catchy starts again. It’s a track from their debut EP, called Altitude & Oxygen, so if you fancy this soulful-yet-poppy turn, be sure to have a listen to that one.

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The Weekly Froth! - 20160506

  • 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: ‘Sunny Side Up’ by Junktion

Junktion starts with a beat, but definitely also with a deep bass, which is the main rhythm going, providing some backbone to this whole thing. After about half a minute they do turn it up though, giving the bass some help, including with a bit of that guitar that they start riffing about on. And that definitely brings in the funk, brings in that sunny side that they’re talking about. At the 1:30 mark, a different guitar, a little change of pace, even though the bass keeps rolling in the background and the beat keeps working it. But the different guitars also shift the tone a bit, adding some variety to this high paced party affair. At the 2:40 mark they bring the sun back in, doing that funky thing with that guitar. And especially those parts are darn catchy, let me tell ya, though the bass makes sure you can shake your booty even in the segment after. I always feel the guitar is under-utilised in tracks for dancing, but luckily Junktion shows it’s got a place in there.

 

‘Compass Point’ by Holy Ghost!

First come the retro synths, they build up a bit, after which the drums give it a go to give us dat rhythm for dancing. The boys keep working the synthesizers, until they stop at about the 45 second mark, when the vocals are introduced. Obviously, the vocals then start working together with all of the above. The main vocals in the verses are almost talky, more rhythmic, with the multiple vocal layers in the choruses doing some actual chorus singing, trying to convince you to fall in love and Make the same mistakes. And, apparently, they like it When it hurts, so there you go. After the three minute mark we get a rather restrained synthesizer interlude, after which more things are added, including a nice little guitar riff as the track starts jamming its way to the end. I love the band, thought their Dynamics record was ace, and this EP again shows they can mix the disco with the 80s retro vibe for some new school NY dancing.

Scroll down to the bandcamp embed at the foot of this article to hear 'Compass Point'.

‘If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind’ by Sally Shapiro

Johan Agebjorn released a lovely album called Notes last year, but he also has a more dancey side, that’s when he teams up with Shally Shapiro, doing that chanteuse thing on top of some dreamy disco beats. That is, until the 12th of May, when the duo will release their last single, calling it quits after a run that lasted years and years. The main rhythm is a restrained bass sound in the background, obviously helped by some drum and synth rhythm elements. Then Shapiro comes in, with those far away, dreamland vocals, to which the instruments adapt perfectly. Lots of lovely piano work as well, and as the chorus comes in the pace bumps up slightly, as Sally Shapiro says If you ever wanna change your mind, in such a lovelorn fashion it seems like a fitting way for a band to say goodbye. And for us a good moment to say thanks for the music, and so long.

 

‘Don’t You Want My Love’ by Vera (SanFranDisko mix)

SanFranDisko always knows how to bring the party in, and here they really get it going at about the 16 second mark, bringing a nice little beat to go with those retro electro synths. At one point, the vocals come in, asking you Don’t you want my love tonight (and who could say no, really)? In the mean time these euro synths keep it working, all the while with the drum beat as a constant to hold on to. In the mean time, Vera has turned more bold, as she just tells you to Try me, try me, try me. There are some lovely corny bits in there, like how the instrumentals work up to the chorus, that’s some super 80 vibes right there. And when she goes diva a bit, that’s some disco karaoke waiting to happen on the dancefloor. And that’s what an edit like this is all about, getting the good vibes in, and preferably in a bit of a cheeky, sexy manner. So, lets get it on, really.

 

‘Your Name Is’ by Demuir & AntLaRock

From the start, this is House music, with the beat getting it on and the vocals already belting it out with its Baby, baaaby. Then, those familiar old school house sounds are added to it, getting the groovy in and having everybody jacking it up on the dancefloor. Around the minute mark the beat is stripped for just a moment, but soon it obviously comes back, with the soulful vocal turn still singing the same two words. The second time they strip it down they keep the vocals going, add some piano work, and then get that groove back in. So they make sure to play with pace a bit, keep some variety in, but also they know to ultimately return to the core again, which is something nightclubbers always appreciate. At the 3:30 mark, surprise, we get a synonym for Baby in the form of Girl, which I believe is done by a different vocalist. It does indicate a more percussion heavy part after, though soon the synths are back in as well. Just a good House tune for all them niteclubbin’ maniacs not banned by an Argentinian judge.

 

‘Baby Do You Want To Bump’ by Todd Terje & The Olsens (Daniel Maloso remix)

This week the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona announced their DJ line-up, which includes Todd Terje. And here’s something to look forward to, with the girls in the back doing a “du-du-du-du-duuhuu” line before some deep male vocals come in, asking Baby baby, do you want to bump. Even, at one point, spelling it out for you (as if ya needed that, eh, we all know what business he’s talking about). In the mean time the synth is doing the dance rhythm in the background, along with some percussion elements. Just before the two minute mark it goes a bit space, and throughout the song we get all kinds of rhythm synths thrown at us to keep us moving as the girls, in different pitches, are still going Du-du-du-du-duuhuu. It’s a high paced ride that doesn’t let up, so for those still able to dance after a festival day, Primavera Sound at least gives you a reason to get them dancing shoes on.

 

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