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: ‘Outstanding’ by Ziggy Phunk
Ziggy Phunk gets the outstanding (…) boogie going here, first starting with some of that woodwork percussion before getting the slow beat in and, then, the bass sound and the lighter piano to juxtapose it, giving it its jazzy, slick vibe. At the 1:30 mark there’s, first, some extra oomph added, which is a prelude to the smooth vocals coming in, saying how the girl is looking Sweet (if I’m hearing it correctly). In the mean time, in the background, the track rolls on, getting into the groove right there. At the 3:50 mark the background vocals arrive at the scene, singing “Outstanding” in a high pitch as they help the main vocalist out a bit. For a moment the rhythm takes a back seat, but then the familiar boogie gets going again so that all them lovers on the dancefloor can resume their movin’ and groovin’ until the end of time.
‘Monday Blues’ by Dr. Packer
Peter Hook was in town here not too long ago, playing some of that old New Order catalogue. The most famous song from them probably is ‘Blue Monday’, which disco edit king Dr. Packer takes a stab at here. So we’ve got plenty of throbbing synths, the well-known rhythm line of the original, and a steady beat as the core running through it. Especially at the 1:50 mark the original sounds come beaming through, with after the two minute point that guitar that, soon after, gets followed by that aaaaaahhh monkish sound. Just before we enter the third minute mark, a teaser, with just the line How does it feel uttered, with a major gap to To treat me like you do. With, to fill the gap, the beat and all those original sounds. The next go around, the vocals are normalized in terms of pace, but get a bit of that vocoder treatment (as if it wasn’t sung in an apathetic manner already). Near the end of this preview we even get a taster of a build-up, before the inevitable fade-out. Wouldn’t mind hearing that full version on the dancefloor.
‘Breathe’ by Luxxury
After the first few seconds this one gets going with a festive percussion vibe, soon followed by a nice little bass line to get that booty shakin’ to on the beach. At about the 30 second mark we get the synths, which give it kind of a dreamy atmosphere. Also added to that is a little guitar riff, and all these different instruments help this one to trod forward. Just before the two minute mark there’s a change up, going for a lighter sound and with vocals that are actually somewhat audible, though still in the far away sphere. Then Luxxury dives back to the bass before going more pop with the synth, finding that line between the more disco sounds and the synth-pop accessibility to get a nice summery, dreamy vibe going with this one.
‘What That All’ by Lady Jane (James Rod re-work)
From the bass sound we already know this is a re-work of that beloved disco edit classic ‘Was That All it Was’ by Jean Carne, where she’s going to point blank ask you if she was just a prop to occupy your time (Was that all it was? A way to pass the time? Just a momentary thing, not worth remembering). Next to the bass we’ve got plenty of percussion, so the rhythm part is taken care of. Which is a good thing, because with the rhythm parts and some auxiliary sounds James Rod rides this one for a good 3 1/2 minutes before, for the first time, Lady Jane herself gets in there, with the vocals slightly to the background as the rhythm is still very much the main part here (even as the ol’ disco sounds of the original start rearing their heads). And that’s the mix James Rod keeps working, though after that initial drought he isn’t letting up on Carne’s vocals, from actual singing to all the other sounds she’s making throughout the track. A rhythm & percussion heavy re-work of the ol’ classic tune (and a nine minute one at that).
‘7, 8 E1’ by Fatnotronic
We get the bells and whistles first, sending us to the tropics for a slow jam. The beat comes in dictating that pace, and then the groovy bass arrives. Those deep sounds get juxtaposed by some of that tropical to give you the flavor to go with the rhythm. At about the 1:25 mark we get the group vocals in a language I don’t quite understand (either that or I’m getting really old apparently), and at the two minute mark the track opens up a bit, doing some horns, putting a bit more emphasis on the lighter sounds. Then, a singular vocal layer on top of all that went before, with the group vocals more a rhythm line at this point. The track ends with just a singular beat, though that belies the vibe that Fatnotronic put in there basically the entire five minutes prior.
‘Take Me I’m Yours’ by Mary Clark (iMFROMULL edit)
How about starting with that bass to get the boogie going, eh? That and the wobbly synth sound form the core at the start, though at the forty second mark we hear the horns for the first time, knowing that we’re still in that disco territory. At the 1:30 mark that becomes even more evident, when the disco sounds get in there before they dial it down, waaaay down, with first just the bass, and then the vocals coming in. Soon, the volume gets kicked back up, coinciding with the re-emergence of the horns. At the 2:45 mark, there the vocals are for real for the first time. Both the girls in the back, and the headliner, singing Take me, I’m yours as she wants to be held close to you (You go babe!). The vocals are lovely disco, just as the sounds in the background, including obviously the horns, doing their thing as she sings that You’ve got the power over me. The vocals do that whole takeover business that works so well with these kind of tracks, and the rhythm in the mean time makes sure you can also still dance while you’re singing along with this one edit right here.
