Weekly Column - The Froth!

Track of the week:  'Edit Service 14' by Remain

Down at I’m a Cliche they are doing this edit thing (and Free Download thing, which is always worth a mention). This time the edit in question is a Tones of Tail song, and it starts off with a nice little bass to move this song forward. Love that little slice of guitar you can occassionally hear, I’m sort of in love with guitar play over the bass&beat section of a dancey song. Not that this is a mega club track, more of a nice boogie this. After a little while those nice vocals come in, fitting the track perfectly. They are woven together quite nicely with the music I must say. Meanwhile the boogie is being kept going as you’re being implored to Twist with tomorrow’s man and me. After the four minute mark the track picks up a little bit with a new instrument. Love the reboot of the guitar around 4:50, just after the vocals got a bit more room as they stripped it all down for a few seconds just before. As said earlier, it all is mixed together really nicely, really sounds as a cohesive unit this. And the end result culminates into this amazingly fun boogie of an edit.

‘Bye Bye Macadam’ by Rone (Juan Atkins remix)

Juan Atkins is quite a familiar name in the scene, one of those classic Detroit guys, and he immediately gives you that jackin’ sound to get going to. Really one that, from the get go, just screams to be played in one of those hot-n-sweaty clubs where the boys are getting down and dirty. After the minute mark he throws some new sounds in, all there to add this really raw and unfinished feel to it. As the two minute mark approaches he tones it down a bit, and when  the clock strikes two he strips everything away and slowly starts building a house of synths and handclaps after which he puts the dirty back into the track. After 3:30 again there is a complete strip down, even balancing on the verge of silence for a moment, and you actually get some zen sounds for a minute over which just the beat comes back. For a while that’s also the only thing you’re getting, the beat (and some minor sounds), though come 4:20 he slowly is getting back to action again. Definitely a club track, one that you play late at night when some off the shirts have already come off and it’s all sweaty and good. 

‘Only You’ by Satin Jackets (Rogue Vogue remix) 

Rogue Vogue  already start this one off very house-y with all those typical house-n-vogue sounds. Kind of what you can expect from an artist with that name I reckon. Then the beat gets in there, and as the song goes along you can definitely see this happening in a house set. Everything fits right into that setting, that funky let-it-loose kind of style all the cats can get dancing and vogueing too. The vocals fit it as well, nice and deep those are. Slight drop after the three minute mark, after which (obviously) the beat and the vocals come back with gusto. The ending is one that I imagine is real easy to mix with only this stripped down beat and some vocals on top. Just this real catchy and house-y number that no one would mind when that one is dropped on the dancefloor.

‘The Face of Another’ by Bot’Ox (Tuff City Kids remix) 

Wow, really dark and atmospheric this one starts, as if the enemy is approaching and you’d better get the guns out (which, incidentally, some guys on the dancefloor might actually attempt when they’re doing that military step on this one). Starts with those auxiliary sounds and the bass, but then the drum sounds come in, along with the toy guns it seems, which I’m never really too much a fan of. This one just keeps rolling on with that deep beat, so especially if a dancefloor flow has already been established, this will gain you some momentum. Just before the two minute mark the synths arrive and, for the first time, the beat gets pushed slightly into the background. Which is good, sometimes a little variation is needed I reckon. After a slight drop around 2:30 the track balances these two sounds for a moment to really get it going, and then for the first time we hear some vocals (though don’t expect some diva delight, it’s more talky and repetition than singing and narrative). Those sounds around the four minute mark, kind of those monkish Oooohhhhs, that’s brilliant. As said, just one that keeps it rolling, and it has some atmosphere to boot. If you don’t mind the occassional glitchy, toy-like sounds, this really is one to have a dance to.

‘Cha (Sparkling, With Diamonds)’ by Douze 

At the start this one is pretty high on some dizzying effects, a bit too much for my personal liking. The beat comes in soon enough though, yet every secondary sound that is put in seems to have a bit too much make-up on for my personal taste. For me that doesn’t always make it easy to listen to. After you’re in forty seconds though, that’s where you get a little treat I reckon, this lovely and recognizable sound makes its way through, fighting off all the glitches and stuff. It’s like this beauty underneath a layer of moss you actually might want to get rid off, but obviously as soon as you do that the song’s kind of gone because then what makes it new and fresh has disappeared. So bit of a dilemma here I reckon. I like what they’ve done, without really having the urge to listen to this again just for the fun of it. Imagine if you, unlike me, actually think the top sounds are beautiful though, you’ll cuddle this tracks to bits probably.

‘Be Without U’ by Late Nite Tuff Guy

If you read this column at least on occassion, then you know I’ve got a soft spot for this guy. Such fun edits he does, taking old or semi-old (for surely, these vocals were released in most of our lifetimes still I reckon) songs to infuse them with this disco sensibility for a night out. This time he takes on Mary J. Blige. Or at least, it is an original song, but it has got her vocals (which you might remember from one of her own songs). Vocals, as you might expect from this powerhouse, are ace, and LNTG does not disappoint in the sound department. Dancey, but not like overtly so. As in, you can dance to it, but it was not made solely for the club. It’s got some warmth to it, and some humility I guess, letting Mary strut her stuff without feeling the urge to start and hog that spotlight=. Underneath those vocals there’s enough going on though, including some subtle change-ups. Just before the five minute mark he takes it down a notch for a moment, after which naturally he puts the beat back in as Mary is imploring that she can’t be without you, baby. At the six minute mark she gets the chance to let go as the song is drawing to a close. Lovely stuff again.