The Weekly Froth - November #2

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:  ‘Changing Of The Guard’ by Holy Ghost! (Andre Bratten remix)

If you know the original (off of that awesome sophomore album by the lads from Holy Ghost!), then you know it certainly wasn’t a deep house slow grind. Which, obviously, this one very much is. You have the deep bass beat going on, there are even some of those industrial sounds haunting around in there, and at 1:07 Andre Bratten ups the pace just a tiny tad before adding a bit more of those original synths. I like the change up at 1:40, where he brings in a melancholic piano (which I assume is from the original, but it’s used so out of context here I can’t quite remember if that’s actually the case). I mean, as far as a remix doing something different goes, this one ticks all the boxes for sure. The original basically has to fight its way through all the deep house layers, which gives it this interesting interplay between an original and that what it then becomes. So for that alone I’d recommend people to actually listen to both tracks. As a stand alone, this is a nice deep house track that especially gets its kicks from the fact that you’ve got those lighter elements that now and again try and rear their heads. The build-up after the break is a nice addition as well.

‘One Night Only’ by Krystal Klear feat. Yasmin

This one starts out with some percussion, but when Yasmin and the synths come in you get the full feel that this track wants to convey. It’s got this kind of R&B vibe, also thanks to that vocals style, with the backing vocals topping that off. You’ve got this bassy, deeper synth dictating the rhythm, with the percussion underneath also helping out in that R&B department. It’s got this catchy pop vibe going on, with that sensual club vibe which gets an extra oomph as Yasmin pleads “give me love”. That interlude at 2:30 followed by the backing vocals is also very genre I think, and Krystal Klear really managed to get this smooth track out there that ticks all those boxes. Yasmin’s vocals fit that atmosphere really well, and it’s lovely easy on the ear. For all those players out there!

‘In Command’ by LeSale feat. Mavin (Jacques Renault remix)

Oh man, just love the percussion groove this one starts with, are you kidding me? Immediately makes you want to take a stab at it on the dancefloor. After about thirty seconds in you get a nifty little bass line as, in the mean time, you can also hear some of those sultry, talky vocals as well. Jacques Renault is definitely riding that bass, adding some percussion to get the rhythm nice and tight, and at the 1:20 mark he adds the synth to inject the track with some extra atmosphere. After that you get multiple synth lines in there, all with a different function and purpose, but also all adding to the track because of that. And because he keeps on adding one line after another it does give you this feel of momentum building, which gets capped off by the vocals coming in just before the three minute mark. And as they whisper in your ear that you’re In command, Renault moves it back to the more beat and percussion heavy side, taking away those synths. The atmospherics are now being added by first the vocals, than the piano. It’s just a delicious track this one, with all those different elements being added and subtracted at exactly the same time. And with those vocals he’s got this little ace up his sleeve which he uses just enough to satisfy us without going for the overkill. Another doozy from Renault.

‘A Simple Design’ by The Juan MacLean (Magic Touch remix)

‘A Simple Design’, in it’s original form, is a behemoth of a track, the dancey, catchy single on the new (and quite fantastic) album of The Juan MacLean. Here, Magic Touch dials it down a notch or two in terms of pace. He seems focus on some of the more organic elements and moves them a bit to the front, which is especially notable at the start. Still, there’s plenty of room for the original, with those sounds still at the core and with Nancy Whang still in a prominent role. But if you take the change-up at about 1:40 for instance, that’s where you see the difference, and in the stretch thereafter you have this combination of the original track and a layer underneath which has been added. The original is still very much recognizable, but tweaks like that give it a different kind of twang. The major change is set in at about 2:50, where you get this bass synth sound that runs away with it at first, and after that some tingly piano that reins it in a tad. So Magic Touch kind of keeps the core of the track intact, but with the pace slightly dialled down and with these new elements smoothly being mixed in he does offer a different perspective on that awesome original dancefloor extravaganza.

‘Do It Do It Disco’  by Myron & E (Tom Noble remix)

Welcome says that funky little bass sound that dictates the rhythm at the start. I like that, especially when those higher and lighter piano sounds come over the top of it. Combine this with those funky vocals and you have this old school boogie track to get some of that thing going on on that dancefloor. It’s one for the dancing together, with the pace being on the lower side, and the vocals do add to that, definitely indicating some kind of Getting it on. It’s a lovely boogie of a track, with plenty of those old school vibes. That ohh-hoo-ahhhh vocal line for example, as well as the backing vocals singing “dance the night away” in that silky smooth kind of manner, with the boogie bass coming in just after them so the ladies can indeed strut their stuff and showcase what it’s all about. Keep on dancing indeed.

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‘Love In C Minor’ by Cerrone (Dimitri From Paris remix)

How about some of that woodwork percussion to get things going, eh? Leave that to Dimitri From Paris, who knows how to get the disco and the funk into things. Add to the rhythm a bit of moaning and other sounds and whispers that have a certain sexual connotation, and you know we’ve got some of that naughty disco going on here. But, also, some of that deliciously catchy bass after about a minute or so. The good man even adds some strings for the full effect, after which the horns soon make their entree as well. So it’s got all those genre sounds that you know, and it definitely has that sexy dancefloor vibe as well. There’s a lovely stop-and-go moment at about 2:35, just to make sure you’re not coasting out there on the dancefloor, though that only lasts for a second or two after which he turns it all on again. At about 3:20 you get some piano in there, after which a lot of horns come in. This all over a parade of sexual innuendo with the lady on vocals saying things like “Don’t stop” and “Go on”, though when she starts singing it kind of sounds like the theme of Love Boat as she simply sings “Loooovve innnn...”. Sure, it may be a fairly bit of kitsch at times, but personally I like that on the dancefloor, it adds to the fun for me. As long as, obviously, it keeps you dancing, and that’s something Dimitri from Paris never has a problem with achieving.