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:  ‘Ace Of India’ by Masters At Work feat. India (JKriv edit)

JKriv gets the beat out for this one, starting in hard hitting fashion before the little guitar riff comes in after a few seconds. We hear the hustle and bustle of the crowd in the background, letting us know that the Australian is getting ready for a night about town. After about 1:10 he leaves the beat behind, going just for some percussion and guitar sounds as the vocals slowly let their presence be felt, singing To be in loooovvee (as the girls then admit that, yes, they are). JKriv then lets the female vocalist go at it for a moment, singing that Every night is filled with fun and play (oh, they call it, puppy love). At about the 2:30 mark the percussion already finds its way back, and a few seconds later it transmorphs into an actual beat to get this one on the road again. In the mean time there’s plenty to help out with the pace, with at the four minute mark a nifty little bass coming in to shake that booty to. At about the 4:20 mark he strips the rhythm parts out, going with some guitar and handclap percussion, but soon adding some rhythm percussion and the vocals, singing that they are Falling more in love with you. Another stomper from JKriv.

‘Rinse And Repeat’ by Riton feat. Kahio

How about some of that club? Riton gets the club vibe going, with Kahio singing that it is time to make the club go up. And if you leave with her, apparently you’ll be getting it on until the morning, so she’s definitely on the prowl, she is. At the minute mark Riton takes it back a minute, but soon enough he gets the beat going again, with Kahio’s vocals adding to the sex vibe this exudes. So it definitely is time to get your game on with this fast paced mother-of-a-tune, only having one thing on its mind from the get go. Riton sometimes changes the sounds up, like at about 2:25, but Kahio keeps the message consistent, so the main vibe is never in danger. Which also means that we know, whatever  Riton does, he’s ready to drop it down again after whatever interlude he was using. If you want to bring the party to the floor, this definitely is a no-holds-barred way to get it all going on.

Edit Service nr. 61 by Front De Cadeaux

I must admit I do love that I’m A Cliche edit service, providing us with some lovely edits of old tracks, put together by a number of people. This time it’s Front De Cadeaux’s turn, taking on Max Berlin’s ‘Elle Et Moi’. And they do so by starting with some dramatic percussion, which adds a lovely cinematic feel to the whole proceedings. Slowly they build it up, getting this slow grind going, which they both work and expand for a while. That new sound that comes in at about 2:26, love that, and just the combination of that consistent drum along with the bass to provide the rhythm of the grind, that’s pretty lovely. At the 3:50 mark you get some of that film noir saxophone in there, as if the track wasn’t filled to the brim with cinematic atmosphere already. After that they give it a little, subtle punch up, also courtesy of the guitar that is brought in, as in the mean time the percussion is still doing their thing. Lovely, intricate nine-minute addition to the Edit Service.

‘Can’t Figure Out’ by (Dr Packer edit)

Dr. Packer takes to the dancefloor on his new EP, where he takes on four tracks and gives them the ol’ make over. This one gets riding on the bass he puts on, which gets a little bit of help from the percussion and, after about a minute or so, a somewhat harder drum. A few seconds later he gets a nice little riff going, adding some piano to boot. In the mean time we have already heard the girls a few times, though it takes until about 1:40 to hear the gang leader taking a stab at it. Horns have come in as well by this time, giving you the whole disco shebang from top to bottom, left to right. From about the two minute mark he starts to work up to a new segment, going almost tropical at 2:20 with that specific guitar sound as the girls sing I can’t stop thinking about you (that’s right). The main vocalist then goes for it, saying that you are even in her dreams, so she’s having the hots for you for sure (you go get ‘m tiger!). So it’s a disco song about that yearning for love again. At the four minute mark Dr. Packer dials it down a bit, letting the bass run almost solo for a little while, but soon enough all those other elements like that guitar, like the drums, and like the vocals come in again (though later, too, he will return to that bass). It’s one of those uplifting disco dancefloor fillers that will have the house a rockin’ no doubt.

‘Can’t You See Me’ (Krystal Klear Shout To Alex Nut EDIT)

Krystal Klear gets the percussion going at the start, throwing all kinds in there for some rhythm ‘n soul. After a minute he clears it up, sliding from all sets of percussion to a fast-paced bass line and a relatively clear sound, on top of which the vocals soon come in, singing that he knows Our love is real. Love the auxiliary sounds, giving it this tropical feel, especially when those tom-tom percussions come in again. What I really love is the clarity of the track, how that bass functions as the backbone, somehow kicking up enough pace to drag the rest of the track along with it and allowing all those extra sounds to freeflow right on over it to give the track its particular vibe and setting the geographic influences on this one. And how he always manages to slide from the percussion bits back to that clear bass sound, that’s pretty nifty right there. For all those things I can forgive the not so subtle fade-out near the end (even though the actual ending is pretty natural, making it even more bewildering to me. Oh well.).

‘Can’t Keep Us’ by Saine

Let’s get a bit deeper with Saine, having this almost horn-like sound to double the beat, giving it some warmth as we also already hear the vocals coming through a little bit. There’s a bit of guitar strumming to add a lighter element to the proceedings, definitely adding a nice touch as the beat then goes solo without the doubling, soon after which they reverse parts, to then go at it in combination again. In the mean time, the vocals, though their narrative barely audible, definitely fit the tone. Just before the three minute mark they briefly stop it all, just to slide back into this lovely, jazzy deep house sound. Because of the doubling of the beat they can switch between the two sounds, with one having a higher atmosphere rating, but when they then go back to the actual beat, it provides a little bit of a punch. The track is released on the Fools & Fables label, which name is, strangely, pretty apt for this track.

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:  ‘Thinking About You’ by TCTS feat. Leo Kalyan

Lets jack it up with this one, as it immediately comes out of the gates full throttle with it’s dancing shoes on. Fast paced beat, nice synth riff, extra percussion, and quite the vocals from Leo Kalyan who says that oh my, she certainly got the best of him. In the mean time TCTS is working that thing, keeping the beat going and making sure that extra synths and percussion either add to the rhythm or the sense of pace. Kalyan, in the mean time, narrates his tale of woe, saying that You hit me like a hurricane. I love the rhythm in this one, it is so dancey and catchy, and he adds the synth at the exact right time to get some oomph going. That 2:40 backtrack moment is some nice little trickery (though I could’ve done without, to be honest) that then allows for the illusion of pace when all the main elements come back in. TCTS throws in some piano as well, and this is just one of those vocal house tracks that just does it for me. If you know my column, I’m a vocal house kind of guy, and this is right up my alley.

‘Gone Fishing’ by Roisin Murphy

How about some Roisin Murphy, eh? She is back, and will be releasing her new album Hairless Toys later this year. This track doesn’t see her in all smooth and belt-out pop mode, far from it. Actually, am I the only one thinking it a bit Bjork-y? With those more experimental percussion and auxiliary sounds, but also the way she uses her voice, way more whispery than I’ve ever heard before. And then, at about 1:30, she goes a pitch higher, and that’s just so beautiful right there. Murphy herself has said this song was inspired by the indeed quite inspiring documentary Paris Is Burning, which tells the story about the ballroom/vogue scene in NY in the '80s. “So beautifully dressed”, Murphy sings, after which she says “My mother’s mistake / my father’s heartbreak”. The tune itself is not so much inspired by the music these boys were vogueing to though, mind you. Murphy said the song is more of a Broadway soundtrack to that documentary, which I can kind of see, though a wicked Broadway show that would be. It’s more out there, I reckon, than just about anything on her Overpowered album, so it will be intriguing to see what kind of listen her Hairless Toys is going to become.

Edit Service 52 by Marvin & Guy

I’m A Cliche is back again with the next in their Edit Service, which is all free for you to download. This time it’s Marvin & Guy’s turn to set the dancefloor alight, and they come with a nice bassy synth sound to keep this track rolling, throwing a dash of funk on top of it all. About a minute in you get the kind of robotic vocals, and the auxiliary sounds take a turn for the futuristic as well. Which is, I think, in nice contrast with that distorted bass sound with that funky feel in it. There is an element of fun here, in the sound, in the vocals, in the mixing of all these different things, so as you’re grooving on the dancefloor (it is a slow burner, this one) you might find yourself with a little smile on your face as well. Something like that sequence from 3:25 though, that’s just brilliant, the way they use that bass sound, the added padding in terms of the percussion, and then the auxiliary sounds followed by the vocals: that build-up and flow is pretty awesome. A slice of fun for the boogie on the dancefloor, in Italian, no less.

‘Pleasure Principle’ by Janet Jackson (Classixx Recovery mix)

Now, you know you want to be dancing to Janet Jackson, don’t you? And she comes in at the eighteen second mark practically by her lonesome, just aided by some percussion and, later, some aerial synth sound. But at about 50 second in you already hear a bit of the funky synthesizer that’s going to give you that 80s dancefloor filler vibe, though the main dance element is the beat that comes in after the minute mark. Classixx make sure that it’s Janet’s show, with her vocals front and center in this one. The beat is a soft thud, there enough to dance to, but not enough to distract or take over in a danceclub anthem kind of way. A little bit later that synth gets a bit more prominent a role, but even that is subdued into this summer beach party kind of feel. It’s more a slice of soft synth-pop (more Zoot Woman than Cut Copy even) with Janet explaining the principle of pleasure. Oh I’m sorry, you needed something more than that?

‘Just Like You’ by Chromatics

Oh Chromatics, how I love thee. I still fondly remember that Glass Candy and Chromatics gig I went to a few years back, so awesome. Here, the vibe, again, exactly right in that cinematic kind of way, and then those vocals, so dreamy and melancholic and just a tad removed. Those backing vocals at about the 50 second mark, amazing, such a nice contrast with the main vocals. Again, you’ve got that Italians-Do-It-Better synth going on with that slow drum to give it some body and something to latch on to. This tale ends with a pathetic He looks just like you / He even loves like we used to...” on repeat, which is quite heart wrenching indeed. Again, no one does this kind of atmosphere better than Johnny Jewel and his Chromatics, with those beautiful synths working to perfection, and then that lazy beat and those vocals topping it all off like cherry on the best cake ever. New album Dear Tommy is gearing up for release, and I know for a fact that people are excited for that one.

‘Like A Thief In The Night’ Night Bandit (Superprince Edit)

Yeah baby, lets get that funk going. Superprince edit this ol’ Night Bandit play-that-funky-music Eighties tune. So you’ve got a beat in the background to keep it dancefloor friendly, you’ve got the funk-a-delic sounds going on from the original, and then those female vocalists come in singing that, Like a thief in the night, you took her lovin’ (oh, behave!). I mean, this is just that funky disco that I just love to hear on the dancefloor. It’s got all those characteristic elements, it’s got quite a bit of pace to it, and it’s got those female vocals that just belong in this genre. And, of course, it’s about love and loving and love making, and that’s what you want to hear about if you’re on a night about town. Just super fun, no weirdo sequences to halt the momentum, this one just keeps rolling out all the good stuff from that era in such a way we can dance to it in the discotheque on a Saturday-night-going-on-Sunday. Have fun kiddo’s!