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: ‘Rollergirl’ by JP Source

At about the thirty second mark basically what you kind of were expecting comes in, namely this deep bass that will lead this girl down the rollertrack. A bit gritty, a bit sleazy, and abruptly stopping for a moment at about 1:10 to build up the anticipation for the moment at 1:30 when that bass comes back, having brought some friends along. And the one entering at 1:40 is most welcome of all, nicely juxtaposing the deeper rhythm sounds. The vocals, slightly in the back of the mix, do this as well, so it is no wonder these two sounds are basically relieving each other of duty throughout. The vocals are being looped like a son-of-a-gun, and behind them JP Source does a good job of weaving some of the elements in and out to give you a slice of freshness throughout the long stretch of vocal loops. That’s what is so nice about the track, he seems to be able to find the right times to add or subtract especially the bigger instruments, which you can play with a bit as the looping of the vocals provide the consistency for the song. Around the five minute mark we get some extra disco sounds, with the vocals being cut loose a little bit, and with a mini slice of horns rearing their brassy heads. It is a nice, seven minute affair for a night out.

‘World Gone Crazy’ by The Reverend Cleve Freckleton & The Sinners (Greg Wilson & Peza Club Dub)

How about some of that gospel, eh? Let’s not forget that house music and the church are quite linked together, if only because one takes place Saturday night and all of them all needed to be back in the church choir again on Sunday morning. Greg Wilson and Peza first get the bass going, providing a perfect layer for some dancing. Add to that a bit of that strumming guitar, and you’ve got the two main ingredients to support those growling vocals, singing that The world, has gone, craaaiizzyyy. Naturally, there are a host of other instruments in there as well, as well as some auxiliary sounds, for instance one that sounds like coins falling down. The main attraction of this track though is the preacher and his choir doing their thing over both the bass as well as the electric guitar, providing the right core to link the Saturday midnight to the Sunday service.

‘Beggin For Thread’ by BANKS (Aeroplane remix)

I love the lightness this one starts out with, it is a good tone to balance out the rather heavy handed beat Aeroplane throws in there. The vocals are somewhere in the middle of that, with an air of dreaminess, and helping out in the middle ground are the synth-pop like synths that come in to help her out a bit. The delivery of the vocals, too, have this nice poppy edge, and especially in the beat-less part starting at about 1:25 Aeroplane builds this up as a summer jam. The beat, obviously, comes back in, just to make sure that even the most dimwitted person in the room gets cued in that, Yes, you’re here to dance. In the mean time, the female vocals say that, surely, you should have known what you were getting yourself in to. If you don’t mind the heaviness of the beat (and I’m not a fan of that per se), then the other elements make a lovely summer tune out of this, including some cheesy synth lines to really get that vibe going.

‘Half Full’ by B-Jam vs Enos

This one starts like a stroboscope going haywire, but after about 20 seconds you get a whole batch of soul loveliness in there as if you’re eating that sweet chicken by the bucketload. That is what makes this track intriguing, on one hand the soulful smoothness in the vocals, which gets contrasted by the more contemporary backing sounds, which have this loopy, fragmented electronical feel to them. Like a deconstructed soul/old school hip hop track, which features both the classical elements of those genres, but which has been taking to town and let themselves be measured up for a new jacket. I am always intrigued, in any kind of art form, by that combo, and in a sense most of the edits in this column are that in a mild version. Something like this widens the chasm between the two parts, which makes the classic sounds pop out more, really singling out those characteristics that causes us to listen to these things in the first place.

‘Take A Chance’ by Moullinex (Satin Jackets remix)

This one starts with a bit of percussion, the bass is quickly added, and then you get some of those synths and that bit of guitar as well, all culminating into this slow, lazy, summer jam kind of vibe. The summer is definitely put in by the percussion, and that guitar and those synths just give you that lazy, staring-over-the-water-while-the-sun-is-shining kind of feel. The vocals help out a bit with that as well, by the way. Just before the two minute mark you get this lovely little bass to do some shoulder and/or hip action to. The aforementioned vocals are nice and high, having a certain lightness to them which make them very easy on the ear as they are asking Won’t you take a chance? Love how Satin Jackets slides that guitar back in at about 3:50, and then have most of what’s around it stripped away to really get this on-the-beach-with-guitar vibe out there. Super sweet and easy on the ear remix of a track on Moullinex’s new album Elsewhere.

‘No Sleeep’ by Janet Jackson

Pop diva Janet Jackson is back, this time with the sultry ‘No Sleeep’. She starts by singing that you are missing her, and that she is missing you. And that when you guys finally meet, there’ll surely be little sleeping going on (you go for it, honey!). Despite the scene just illustrated, this is, like I said, more a low key, sultry affair instead of a power pop sex track. It has a nice R&B vibe, and they glossed it over with a bit of class, making it one of those old school love songs. Including a dash of organ, a subtle bass line, and a nice little kick drum to keep it moving forward a bit. Definitely a welcome return from la Jackson, and returns can always be soooo terrible, but this one surely isn’t that.

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: ‘Don’t Take it the Wrong Way’ by B-Jam vs Enos

Let’s get the funky in with B-Jam, who is a sure bet to get that funk ‘n hop vibe going on in his tracks. Just love how the track slides to the soulful, emotional vocals around the fifty second mark, then moves back to that talky, deep Barry White-ish voice in this mash-up that works. I especially love the combination between those soulful vocals and the music that is put underneath it, with the beat, the bass, the lighter instruments as well: that all just gels so perfectly, with the voice giving it the emotion and repetition it needs as he repeats that There are no words to express how I feel. Again, at about 3:25, that lovely transition, also in terms of just the vibe, which completely changes and makes your mind go Whoaa!. Just another creation coming out of that B-Jam corner that just does it.

‘Power Station’ by Riccio

Riccio immediately gets the vibe going with the handclaps, the deep rhythm, and the electro sounds that come in shortly after the start. To contrast those you get some ol’ school percussion in there, which is then followed by a deep little bassline that sounds as authentic as the percussion does. Through those two sounds, which have now taken over a tad, you get the electro again to juxtapose them, but by this time you’re already doing that Caribbean boogie. Riccio rides the bass for all it’s worth, which makes it nice and hypnotic, and even the horns won’t snap you out of that one. Those horns get a more prominent role as time goes by, sliding on top of the bassline, and the combination of it all makes for this festive sounding tune to do some dancing to. After about five minutes of going with that bass, Riccio takes it away for a moment, going with a beat and a wavering television signal (or something eerily similar to it). Not too long after though, that bass comes back, the horns quickly follow, and it’s all happy, festive, and party again.

‘Naomi’ by Citizen

This one starts with that thuddy, banging sound that I am never truly enamoured with, but those mysterious vocals tease me in, and the drums do the rest. That thuddy sound, after a minute, is left behind, and now we’re just getting the deep techno vibes with those electronical, industrial sounds. Citizen throws some extra punch in there at about 1:30 to get you feeling, and shortly after we get the talky vocals that mention that she can make you feel better, after which this one slides back into that deep beat with those mechanical sounds on top of them. At about 2:50 he ups the pace, though a minute later he dials it back down again as those vocals come in once more. This time they’re accompanied by those horn like sounds that are used very effectively for the build-up, leading you back into the moment the beat comes in again. If you like it deep ‘n 03AM sounding, this is one for the after-midnight crowd.

‘Dippin’ in’ by Ron Basejam feat. Danielle Moore

This is not the first track in my library that features both Ron Basejam and Danielle Moore, but the first time Basejam did a remix of a track featuring Moore on vocals. That track, ‘Just Be Good To Me’, is completely awesome, and well worth a listen if you have never had the pleasure. This one uses those R&B vocals effectively again, with Ron going for the slow jam, with the pace being dictated by that lovely, lazy bass. Sometimes Basejam varies a bit with the pace by dropping or adding the bass, though the mood he is aiming for stays the same. Moore really features prominently, with around the three minute mark being about the first time she takes a back seat to the instruments. Still, the main attraction to this catchy, Sunday sounding R&B crossover is that bass and those vocals, to which Basejam adds plenty of other instruments to provide a nice whole. This is a snippet, but can’t wait to be listening to the whole track, definitely easy on the ear this one.

‘I Want You’ by Huxley

This one starts with the atmospherics, going with the mood sounds and the vocals at the start. Only after the vibe is set he slides in the deep beat, though that one definitely stays a layer underneath the vocals, which keep their prominent position. Behind her, though, the space fills up, with more and more (semi)deep rhythm elements being moved in. In the mean time, the vocals aren’t letting up, and even when all words have gone, there are still enough sounds that can be made vocally, no problem. About three minutes in the deep gets ditched again, and a wall of synth takes over, with a smattering of piano squeaking through, and eventually outlasting that wall-o to softly, vulnerably end the track.

‘Sargas’ by Lehar (Mario Basanov remix)

Starts with the piano and the choir this one, but it just takes about 15 seconds to get the beat in there to up the pace. And immediatley it becomes one of those dancefloor bangers that just has the right vibe to get the whole crowd dancing. Accessible, up-tempo enough, but with those angelic sounds in the back and the patience in the down tempo bits even the snotty know-it-alls won’t be stuck complaining at the back for too long. There’s just too much vibe in there, and the build-ups are too nice for that I reckon. Then again, with that steady beat in the background for most of the time, plenty to hold on to for the nightly ravers as well. The second break in the track features a nice, deeper piano sound that gives it some extra atmosphere, though Basanov gives it a quick helping from the beat not too long in. As said, it’s just got this nice mixture of party scope together with this house, basement club blend that might just work both ways, even though the basement club vibe takes a hold of the song as it nears its end (not that you’ll be hearing me complain about that anytime soon...).

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