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:  ‘Sur Une Chanson En Francais’ by Paradis

I always like me my Paradis, and this one is again such a good example why. It’s got a nice little drum beat at the start, but that’s not the main attraction as far as I’m concerned. The main thing that lures me in is that dreamy synth and those ditto vocals. They just give it this terribly fantastic(al) atmosphere, and the French narrative kind of transports it into the Nouvelle Vague realm of it all. After the first round of vocals they add a little, understated bass in there to juxtapose the higher sounding synth a bit, and they keep that one running even as the vocals return. They just manage to keep that atmosphere up so very elegantly, and it really has this wearing-your-trenchcoat-walking-through-Paris-in-graytones kind of vibe, and now who doesn’t love that? There’s this nice little transition around 3:30, where they up the pace slightly. And then, those horns that are added, my goodness! Aside from the tone of it all the track is also so very cleverly and delicately constructed. Paradis definitely hit the mark again as far as I’m concerned.

‘Loop De Li’ by Bryan Ferry (Leo Zero remix)

Bryan Ferry is the singer of Roxy Music, and I do believe a favorite for guys who like to remix, as both his band and he himself always seem to pop up at certain times. This remix is not a dancefloor killer, but rather a nicely forward-trodding affair with that slow pace. It’s the atmosphere that’s key, with the horns, the guitar, and the narrative vocals of Bryan Ferry who tell you that there is No place to hide. It’s a bit of a loungey affair, with the bass being the main rhythm proponent. The horns and guitar are other staples here, though there are definitely enough sounds in there to not make it a stale affair. ‘Loop De Li’ is the opening track of Ferry’s new album Avonmore, and at the very least this remix showcases Ferry’s voice once more. Not in terms of Whitney Houston-like note hitting, but in that theatrical telling voice he sometimes puts on display, and definitely does so here. Leo Zero’s understated remix definitely supports the vocals, with him nailing the tone. There are some nice transitions to be found here as well, and some very smooth introductions of new sounds, so if you don’t mind a track with a lounge vibe, definitely have a look at this one, apparently also coming out on vinyl.

‘Running’ by Blende feat. Gustaph

I like the start with that typical sound, it kind of fits the cover image with all the colours. It’s just got a joie-de-vivre to it I find, though the synth that follows it has a slight melancholic feel to it. Underneath you’ve got percussion to keep this one going forward, with additional percussion being added for some extra rhythm. The next synth has more of a club sound to it, and it kind of is the introduction to the powerful voice of Gustaph that comes in moments after. He’s got this big, gospel like voice which he already put on display with Hercules And Love Affair in the shows they did in the past year. After the two minute mark the track dials it down a bit, and at about 2:55 you get that nice sound from the start back in, which is definitely a fun transition in my opinion. It gives this track a sort of quirky quality which is nice, and that along with the solid execution and the powerful vocals you’ve got yourself a nice track indeed. Though I’m not the biggest fan of those “glitches”, as in, they seem to at points put a sort of one second delay in there that disrupts the flow of the beat. Very modern probably, but not my cup of tea. Enough here to make up for that though, so no real complaining here.

 ‘See Through You’ by Mighty Mouse feat. Ronika

Mighty Mouse immediately puts the beat in this one, so no wasting time here. The real love comes when the woodwork percussion and the bass come in though, those are the things we’re waiting for. Then they add Ronika’s vocals, and the essence of the track is off and running. She’s got this nice, rhythmic delivery which Mighty Mouse makes good use of, for example in the chorus, where they up the bass a bit to give it this funky dancing vibe. Ronika is saying that She’s got 20/20 vision, and can see right through, which gives a bit of attitude to this as well. There’s a nice change-up at about 3:20, where they seem to bring out the violins and, for a minute, lose the bass and percussion. First the latter, then the former find their way back in again pretty quickly though, after which they make sure they ride it out to (almost) the end. It’s a lovely little funker with some nice moments and a little attitude because of the vocals, so definitely worth a little dance to I reckon.

‘Romeo’ by Dan Bodan (CFCF groove remix)

From the get go you already get these pop vibes, and then you get the Dan Bodan vocals along with some finger snapping. Those soulful vocals are really up front in the mix, so they’re really the focus of this thing, which I think is lovely. It’s like CFCF  created an aura around them that kind of keeps the instruments relatively at bay. Until after the minute mark that is, when CFCF turns the groove on by adding that bass line, which he expands on a bit later to get the full groove effect out. CFCF is just one of those guys that has an amazing ear for sound, so you kind of know it is going to be something slightly different (how he uses the vocals), but he’s also going to manage to set out what he is saying he’s going to do (make it a groover). So there come the drums, the rhythm synths, and then the bass again to top it off and get people dancing. So if you’ve been waiting to hear a nice, bass-led groove with some soulful vocals that is pretty easy-on-the-ear to boot, there you go.

‘Keep on Lying’ by Jessie Ware (Pional remix)

I once saw Jessie Ware live, which kind of underwhelmed me, so yeah. But I do love Pional and his piano house tracks, so there’s that. This isn’t a piano house tune, unfortunately. It’s more of a trippy beat thing with an overload of percussion. Now, even though that concert underwhelmed me at the time, Ware’s vocals are still lovely and Sade like, so in that sense there’s no complaining here, as they are clear and audible and aren’t waylayed by the instruments. Some instrumental things are pretty nifty as well, with that percussion bit that starts a bit before the two minute mark, for instance. At 2:45 you kind of get the highlight of this remix, with Pional practically dialling down everything and Ware almost Christmas-Carrolling the line “If this isn’t love, I don’t wanna know”. So still some good stuff in here, though truth be told, it is kind of a one-time listen for me.

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: I’m A Cliche edit service 44 by Marcello Giordani

Can I just say that I love that cheeky synth sound at the start? That’s just awesome, just like those first additions to the song are at about 30 seconds in, those are lovely too. A minute in, again, he manages to throw a great synth line out there. In the mean time, in the background, you do have the percussion line going along with a rhythmic synth, but these are so secondary to all the loveliness that is up front you hardly hear them. Not to say they’re not needed though, always good to have a backbone for the dancing, but all those synthlines, these atmospheric sounds, and just that whole Italian flavor: it’s just there in all it’s awesomeness. It’s basically a master class in how to use synths, that’s all I’ve got to say about it. And who doesn't like a good master class that’s fun for the dancefloor to boot?

‘The Who’s Who Of Who Cares’ by Museum Of Love

Museum of Love is a band from the DFA roster, and that is pretty evident. It’s got the catchy that most on the label have, but it also has a certain aloofness as well. The synths and those talky vocals examplify want I want to describe pretty well, though at about 1:40 you get the horns in there, which kind of break through that magnificently. Those horns do give it kind of a jazzy vibe, which does give it a slightly different feel compared to the other bands that are working these sounds. At about the four minute mark that jazzy vibe kind of takes over from the more calculated, clinical synth driven first part, kind of making this track a cross between labelmates The Juan MacLean and ‘Golden Years’ Bowie I would say. It’s a lovely track, and with the album out now it’s well worth a listen I’d say.

‘Two Bodies’ by Flight Facilities feat. Emma Louise (HNNY remix)

These two names together, that can only mean something good is about to happen. Flight Facilities have made some deliciously catchy synth-pop tracks in recent years, and HNNY really knows how to get in some R&B flavors and how to work repetition and patience. So, in essence, these are guys that know how to create tunes, and they have different qualities. Combine them together, and apparently, you get this. It starts with some African drums, and then it slides into this chilled out synth vibe that HNNY uses to build up this track. So that’s the patience right there. After about a minute the dreamy vocals of Emma Louise come in, and HNNY keeps the sound behind her chilled out, which fits nicely. My guess would be that the original track went more for the dancey, and you can still hear the catchy qualities and the more pop-ness in there, but that’s been overtaken by the overall vibe. There are some nice drops in here, where the rhythm synths and the drums are stripped away, and you get some atmospheric synths supporting the dreamy vocals of Emma Louise. After the first drop the track comes back in with a bit more focus on the rhythm to make sure that people know that they should be dancing to this. And after the second drop, HNNY does this again, but even more so. So you get a catchy tune, with a bit of a chilled out vibe, but with the percussion still giving you that boogie feeling. Add some dreamy vocals to it, et voila, a very nice track indeed.

‘Water Come Down’ by Rosie Lowe (Pional remix)

This one starts out with just the vocals, which work nicely in unison. After that you get a little piano, but slowly a slow, deep beat comes in that already indicates that those vocals will get some body underneath to buff the track up a bit. After that slow beat you both get a light piano as well as a synth line in there, with Rosie Lowe’s vocals coming in shortly after. It is more of an atmospheric piece than anything else, a bit of electro experimental that works really well. Pional uses the combination of different synth and piano sounds to perfection, and together with the other elements he manages to craft an intriguing piece which has a slight air of mystique to it, also thanks to the (multiple layers of) vocals. Pional ends it with a bit of punch, working the asymmetrical beats and with the final beat being a quite deep and forceful one. A piece not so much for the dancefloor, but definitely one to have a listen to and be captivated by.

‘I Love Video’ by New Paradise (Gilbert Cohen & Vidal Benjamin edit)

This one starts out in such a way that just screams Dancing to me. It wastes no time with like, say, slowly introducing the track, it just starts out with all the pace it has and then hopes you get swept along by it. As a matter of fact, the pace seems to steady a bit with the introduction of some of the other sounds, which kind of tone down the illusion of full-on-speed. This includes all the disco vibes they throw in there, but also the talky vocals that you get. In the mean time, sure, the backbone of the track still keeps chugging along so it definitely doesn’t come to a grinding halt or anything. I like that slow down just after the two minute mark, with the track going back to its roots thanks to a very happy sounding little sound. Which, arguably, might sound too peppy for some, but I kind of like it in this kind of track. In the second part of the song you get the actual singing vocals, pleading to save the video, and this argument is given an extra boost by the horns that they manage to get in there. So if you either love video, or you just love dancing on happy sounding disco tunes, this might just do the trick for you.

‘How About It’ by MDMC (JMMSTR Italo Edit)

There’s no time that’s a bad time for an all-out '80s edit, and not many tracks sound more Eighties than this song by the Dutch group MDMC. Add to that Jam Master’s italo synths, giving you just enough of that ol’ school Moroder flavour, and you’ll be expecting Falkor to swoop by any time soon. All the 80s vibe not withstanding, it also is just a fun, catchy edit that works to do some dancing to. The synths are catchy, and he throws in enough variety to keep the dancefloor going. The fun also comes from the talky vocals, which are just so fun and retro that it just adds an element of having a blast on the dancefloor. As said, in the mean time, the synths keep on coming, but there’s also plenty of other stuff going on, like for instance that little guitar that you can hear in there pretty well. If you’re not allergic to the 80s and don’t mind some played up corny, this should be a fun 7 1/2 minutes for you. Free download as well, by the way.