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The Weekly Froth! - 20161216

  • 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: ‘Absence Of Rhythm’ by This Soft Machine

If ya like it rough, with that nice, strong bass pushing this one forward, then this one might just be for you. These main sounds get counterbalanced by some lighter, playful synth sounds, and provided with some extra rhythm through some of that percussion action. In the mean time there is a kind of rhythmic spoken word vocal, almost hoarse, saying that You gotta drop out when you feel it spin. Which, then, is followed by a batch of percussion, which lasts even when the bass and beat are tuned out before coming back for a bit of that dancing action. A short time later there’s again a stop and go moment, this time riddled with spacey synths, before that bass and cowbell return to get dat riddim right. Just released, so instantly possible to pick up.

 

‘Lost Your Mind’ by Zimmer feat. Fhin

This one starts lovely understated, and then the melancholic vocals come in, which, in tone, are helped out by the piano. A slow tick can be heard in the background, before a more playful rhythm takes over, which is aided and abetted by the guitar. These two things, the verse versus the more chorus like feel of the aforementioned rhythm and guitar, balance each other out nicely, with the vocals the glue that keeps it all together. The vocals which, by the way, get a moment in the spotlight around the three minute mark, where all the rhythm elements (including the drums) are stripped, and only when the bass sound comes in do we slowly start returning to the chorus like structure. This is a cut off of a new EP that will arrive in stores later this month, if one still is in the business of late Christmas gifts, keep an eye out for this one right here.

 

‘Voices’ by John Talabot

John Talabot is back out with a release on Permanent Vacation, again coming at you with a hypnotically deep track, working the rhythms and, later in the track, some amazing chopped up female vocals to counter the bass sounds that he has put in there. A transition like at around 4:54 is just so nice, just slightly altering the pitch, giving you just that change in pace to give it this feel of moving forward, instead of making it drown in repetitiveness. It gives you the good thing of looping, but not the negative effects. And he does these kind of things throughout the track, sometimes as subtle as an extra instrument that only can be heard in intervals, and sometimes he goes into a different direction with a bigger tug at the steering wheel. Talbot is one of the main men out there for this kind of music, and something like this just probes me to put that vinyl copy of Fin on and give it a whirl.

 

‘Another Night’ by JKriv feat. Adeline Michele (Thatmanmonkz remix)

Thatmanmonkz is at the reigns for this one, taking the JKriv disco tune and giving it some deep & underground vibes at the start, bringing it back up with the bouncy bass and the vocals, courtesy of Adeline Michele. She is saying that it’s Just another night without your love, before hitting the verse around 1:05 after a little line by the bass. It seems a bit sped up compared to the original, which really was a love lorn disco song, with this one having a bit more punch, a bit more of that club vibe. But still it’s with Michele’s vocals and that tale of love gone by, even though she is admitting that When it’s good, it’s soooo good. And that’s why she’s still going out there to live and fight another day. At 3:20, that’s the moment, that’s when Thatmanmonkz gets out a bit of that nasty deep bass, ending it’s reign with a vocal turn before everything comes back in again. If you haven’t listened to it yet, the man released a killer album this year, just sayin’.

 

‘Love Me Tonight’ by Fern Kinney (SanFranDisko Digital Mix)

How about some of that old school, getting the energy up with this glittery disco ball of a tune. First you get the beat setting the pace, and then the guitar riff, the bass, and, finally, the vocals. Those vocals, and the build-up that you are hearing right on through, it’s just one of those hands in the air disco things that is just a dancefloor filler with everyone singing along with the "Hooooold mee clooose" lines of the chorus. After which they dive into the guitar riff again before Fern Kinney comes back in, explaining in even more words the one thing that disco sometimes simply is about, namely finding that person to Love me tonight. One of those euphoric sounding disco songs with a dash of longing that would work as close out to the night as well. Just in case you were still working out your New Year’s set.

 

‘Winter In America’ by Gil Scott-Heron (Moullinex Edit)

Moullinex immediately brings the percussion in, giving us those lovely wooden sounds before putting the beat and click in after the half minute mark or so. In the mean time we hear the jazzy sounds to set the tone, anchoring this track’s mood to balance the smoothness of the boogie. At the 1:39, that boogie becomes a blues, as the rhythm is dialled all but out for Gil Scott-Heron’s poetry, singing that it is Winter in America. A declaration after which Moullinex returns with the rhythm alongside, a bit later on, a new main sound that rides on top of it. The jazzy vibes persists though, don’t you worry about a thing darling. At about 3:25 again the rhythm is switched off again, first for the instrumentals, then for another storytelling tale by Heron, indicating that Nobody is fighting ‘cause nobody knows what to say. And if you don’t know what to say, you just dance the blues away, and with the rhythm back in that’s a pretty appealing prospect all in all.

 

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The Weekly Froth! - 20160902

  • 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: ‘Casualty’ by Pional

First we hear sirens, the sounds of the urban city, and then a drum to dictate the pace. And, almost church like singing, but not necessarily the angelic kind. We get more percussion sounds, going slightly tribal even, to intersperse that with both the vocals and some synth play. Then, in the background, more piano and synth sounds, though the rhythm is all percussion based. The vocals are singing Welcome to the paradise, before Pional again finds that balance between the darker rhythm sounds and the more heavenly atmospherics. I love the layering of the vocals, that definitely adds something to the proceedings here. Near the end the main rhythm is still there, but the synths have slowly taken over to draw this one to a close. Apparently a cut from an upcoming album, to be released near the end of this month, and if this is anything to go by then that’s going to be one well worth checking out.

 

‘Sfire3’ by Sfire (John Talabot’s Tribalist rework)

That tribal vibe is what you get from the get go, with that typical percussion rhythm that marks it like that. In the background you hear this real atmospheric, a bit ominous, a bit melancholic sound just floating on through, giving this track a certain load that sets it apart from your every day fare. Then, the police sirens as well, in keeping with the mood created as those synths get more and more up front. Around the two minute mark Talabot dials the beat down a bit, adding the vocals, sliding the beat underneath them a few seconds later. The vocals are ghostly, definitely in keeping with the vibe of the instruments playing. At 3:40, the synth is moved away for a minute, putting more emphasis on the sirens wailing and the rhythm synth that has joined the percussion in the mean time. The structure for this track is lovely, and the way they create the mood but all the while keep the momentum for the dancefloor going as well is just ace. Yet more evidence Talabot is just one of the better players out there for my money’s worth.

 

‘Shine (This is It)’ by Soul Clap feat. Nona Hendryx (Dimitri From Paris & DJ Rocca Erodiscomix)

Dimitri from Paris & DJ Rocca know how to get that discotheque a rockin’, taking on new Soul Clap release with the piano, the bird sounds (…), but most of all that disco bass and beat to shake them hips to.  The piano gets a bit of solo time after the minute mark, soon helped out by a bass sound before the percussion comes in to provide some extra rhythm before the drum beat gets back. I don’t know how they always do it, but it just sound so festive and joyous, giving you that entire party mood with all those sounds that make it feel just fun. Plus they know how to keep it going, for instance with the second break with mainly the piano, this time there is a secondary sound that wasn’t there the first time. Just changing it up a little, you know? Then there is a period with primarily bass, but soon the piano rhythm is back for that lighter party touch. And, just a moment later, everything is thrown back in there, for that full discotheque delight. If you want to get that party vibe going, this is one of those Erodisco things that you can’t go wrong with for fun times to be had by all. And especially when nearing that end, when the horns come in, as who can resist, really?

 

‘You’ve Got A Hard Head’ by Johnny Guitar Watson (Ronny Hammond Break-A-Leg Edit)

I love the funky way this one starts, immediately getting that little riff going before we get a male voice saying Wait a minute, wait a minute, but of course we will not as the boogie is already well on its way with the guitar riffing it up. The male voice then starts to talk about the origins of the track, the species, and everything, though it’s that electric gui-tar that does most of the talking with, underneath, the rhythm pushing this one forward with exactly the right amount of pace. At 1:40, that pace gets a slight bump, and at 2:14 the horns came in to add some more funk flavourings in there. At 3:20 they’re called in for a minute, the track going back to its starting roots with a minimal beat and the guitar riff looped on top of it, though that guitar is let loose a little while later, bringing us that blues solo stuff right there. Ronny Hammond has delivered a fab track build around that guitar, but giving it slightly different slants with, for instance, the horns coming in, or the occasional vocals. 7 1/2 minute to love that guitar baby.

 

‘Oh What A Night’ by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons (Alkalino rework)

Alkalino brings in some insistent drums to help out this classic cut from the years of yore. That instantly recognisably piano (slightly sped up I reckon) soon comes in, so you know what you’re in for. First though, we get some wobbly instruments taking a stab at the main riff of the track, but quickly Frankie Valli comes in with the piano backing him up. The next time through the guitar rears his head as well, as Frankie Valli sings Oh what a lady, what a night. Sometimes the boys in the back come in to repeat the title track as well, as in the mean time the main instruments get looped until about 2:30, where we get the horns interlude. Alkalino brings what you want here, with all the goodness of the original, and plenty of it, but in the mean time also suited to get some dancing done in the modern times. Just lovely fun, this edit of one of those tracks.

 

‘Dear Tommy’ by The Chromatics

This one starts with some sad piano stabs and a pretty deep drum sound, over which the autotune vocals come in, saying Dear Tommy, if I could hold you in my arms, an expression of longing for something that has, ostensibly, sailed by. Then the synths and bass sound come in, picking up the pace, though the slow, deep drum still is the one that anchors the defense here. It is, by all accounts, more menacing than dreamy, more anger hiding in sadness than the dreams that can come out the longing. And, as always, perfectly soundtracked by the instrumentals that the band comes up with. I was binge watching Twin Peaks the other night, and had to think of The Chromatics and their sound while watching. Nothing in this track has done anything to untie that connection in my mind. Can’t wait for a new album from their hand, though going off this track we might be talking to the ghosts that haunt instead of those showing a future that might be.

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