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 Gotta Feeling’ by Midnight Magic (Jacques Renault remix)

Jacques Renault and Midnight Magic team up again. Renault already has a beautiful remix to his name of this band’s ‘Beam Me Up’, and this time around he puts the bass and Roth’s vocals to good use for this disco/house stomper. In the background there are all kinds of other elements as well, though it takes up until 1:22 before they even come close to being on the same level as the two aforementioned parts of this track (just to subside in a matter of moments again). It’s definitely the bass providing the dancefloor rhythm, providing the background to the vocals and to the horns that come in after the two minute mark, finally helping out that powerful voice that she’s got, singing that she Feels it coming, coming on. Which must be the horns she’s speaking of (obviously…), or that little bit of extra oomph in the rhythm at about the four minute mark, giving you that final nudge onto the dancefloor if you weren’t there yet (which is unthinkable, surely).

‘I Am A Joker’ by BEA1991 (Nick Monaco retouch)

Nick Monaco gets that piano riff in there from the get go, with the drum providing the rhythm line, though he’s even keeping that one light. Shortly after that, the female vocals come in, and after their first verse there is a short oomph, which continues when the vocals return. In the mean time the piano is still the one strutting its stuff, though it gets taken out and, after a minute, gets replaced by a more bass sound. Though, as main sounds tend to do, it comes back after a short minute or so, getting multiple layers in as well. Then Monaco returns the favor, showcasing that piano in a short solo bid before the kick comes in again to guide this one to its end. The combination of the dreamy vocals, the light percussion, and the piano give it a sort of elegance for the dancefloor.

 ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ by Bob Dylan (Slow Hands cover)

So what happens when you win the Nobel Prize (whether you want to or not, apparently)? Why, you get covered by Slow Hands of course. They start it out in a very understated manner, giving it a bit of that jazzy class next to some electro fiddling. Then, the vocals come in, slightly hazy, with the clear and clean guitar sound cutting right through that. At 1:50 the song gets a little push, a little pace, through bass and drums, with the guitar still the main attraction right there. In the mean time, the vocals sing that You can go back any time that you want to (so how can he haunt you?), after which, again, that guitar comes back in for a little solo. Slow Hands show their musicality here once again, this time giving you a little bit of that Nobel class for all y’all to enjoy.

 ‘Peace And Love’ by Tall Black Guy feat. Masego & Rommel Donald

May there be peace and love, that’s the plea this one starts with (and surely, there can’t be enough people spreading that message around). After that, we get that slow jam beat going, with some female vocals and a bit of that gui-tar to bring that Let’s all love each other vibe right on in there. Just before the two minute mark the instrumentals are brought way back, with the male vocals coming in repeating that he wishes you Peace and love. Then, when the female voice comes in to repeat that wish right up until it gets granted, first that little beat comes back in, soon followed by that guitar yet again. The three minute mark is the cue for some of those horns to arrive, which are always a welcome sight. For the final minute and a half they bring it way down, going for a bit of spoken word starting a train analogy that gets mimicked in both word and sound, ending the journey with a bit of that gospel to bring that peace message back on home.

 ‘In Love With’ by Funkformer x Starving Yet Full (DBNN acoustic interpretation)

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of that acoustic sound going on, and from the get go it’s obvious that’s what you’re in for. Then, the half-speaking-half-singing vocals come in, giving you that Shakespearian ode to love talking about that Beautiful scar on your chest. Eventually coming to the conclusion that, yes, I’m in love with you, a line that gets continued into the chorus where some additional vocals are brought in to make sure the message comes through loud and clear. The second time the chorus comes around the extra vocals sing you the lines, with the main voice giving you that soul rendition of it. An acoustic ode to the one you love (or to the one that you left behind), we can never really have enough of those, can we?

 ‘Love Machine’ by Tempst Trio (SanFranDisko re-edit)

SanFranDisko gets the percussion to work, putting that pace in from the get go. Then, the bass, providing a slightly more steady rhythm. Soon after, the guitar riff, a very festive sounding one at that, with the strings only adding to this. The vocals soon come in, with them asking Let me be your love machine, turn me on, see what I mean (you go girl!). Just before the two minute mark the verse comes in as well, accompanied by a nice bass to make sure you can boogie down to this not only in the bedroom, but on that disco dancefloor as well. And it’s got all that Seventies goodness to make those dancers get down, with a handclap interlude around 3:20 to boot. After that he ups the funk, with the strings bringing you back to that disco sound. Put on this tune if you want to bring some sexy into your night out (and really, who doesn’t want a bit of that, let’s be honest now).

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: ‘Raised In The Ghetto’ by George Kelly

Like in the ghetto this one starts with no punches pulled (…) before sliding into the funky bass after fifteen seconds or so. Then a build-up, culminating into the beat pushing through and getting things rolling along with that slappin’-of-that-bass. At 1:20, the vocals, strong and female and singing that she was Born and raised in the ghetto, accounting for the feisty performance. Helping her out are the girls in the back, doing a dang-de-dang-de-dang little vocal line, up-tempo and making sure the attitude doesn’t drop when the leading lady isn’t doing her thing. In the mean time, the drums are still pounding, the bass still sounding, so the rhythm keeps it up and beyond for this one. A track off George Kelly’s The Big McGee EP, which was released last month. And if this track is anything to go by, well worth the pick up.

‘Find Our Love’ by Boney vs. London Fields ft. Joel Edwards

Joel Edwards starts this one jazzy, but after a full stop the beat comes in and you’ve got some of those dancing sounds to indicate this is festival fare. To contrast those, you get a bit of percussion, bit of sounds that make sure it veers quickly away from the everyday mundane. After another full stop you soon get some vocals, slick and smooth, singing that If you lose your way, we can run away, we can find our love. After that, some slick synths add the atmosphere, the piano adds a bit of funk, and you’ve got the beat and the deep synth for the rhythm. Second time the vocals come in, this time we know them, so no worries about keeping the rhythm part running underneath. A minute later that one still gets a moments of rest, with just the piano for a little while, and a low, soft beat running way in the back to make sure there’s some sort of backbone there. Then, everything including the vocals come back, still assuring us that, no matter what, We can find our love. Hopeful or delusional, anyone’s guess really, but that’s truth for quite a few emotional decisions in life I suppose.

‘Juicy Lucy’ by Loz Goddard (Razor-N-Tape Reserve)

From  Manchester we get a slice of disco by the hands of Loz Goddard. The label, Razor-N-Tape, is always a safe, reliable bet, and this is no different. Starts lovely, with some of those classic dancing sounds, and after the minute mark you get this strange, wobbly sound on top of the regular disco music that always manages to get people dance. There’s a reasonably firm beat in there (on occasion a tad irregular just to make sure you’re not getting too comfortably there), someone humming, some piano, horns, and the whole works. At times, like around 2:40, you have a little change-up in terms of pace, though there’s a full stop at about 3:10, where it’s just the wobbly sound and the piano sans any form of rhythm. Slowly Goddard starts to build that up though, with various new percussion sounds coming in. This first leads to a bit of nifty drumming at about 3:50, after which the rhythm come back in to ride it back out. It is this nice mixture of old school backdrop on the one hand, and some curveballs on the other, culminating in a nice piece of action from the Razor-N-Tape people again.

‘Neverwood (It’s Okay)’ by Slow Hands

I love the dreamy, almost fairytale start, with the uplifting, airy synth sounds, and with the soft hand percussion in there as well. The real rhythm starts at about 35 seconds, forming the canvas to not only that synth, but also the piano that runs through it. After that, a galloping rhythm changes that part up slightly, riding us towards the vocals, which are put smack in the middle of the mix and not on top of it. So it’s still very much the rhythm and the atmospheric synths that provide the main feel of the track. I love the bassline in there, giving it this nice bouncy feel. That is done really well, it gives you enough rhythm, but doesn’t punch you in the face with it, keeping it fairly breezy, putting plenty of air in the track, doing wonders for the feel they’re trying to give it. There are some moments in there where they change it up a little bit, though the main feel and most of the sounds run through it fairly consistently. It has this breezy nature that I just love, which is very well done I find.

‘Crime Cutz’ by Holy Ghost! (Eli Escobar remix)

Eli Escobar takes on the fairly recently revealed Holy Ghost! tune ‘Crime Cutz’, looking to turn it into a little dancefloor stomper. And from the get go, it is more geared towards a consistent dance vibe than the original was, with the multiple synth sounds working the room nicely over the main drum & beat sounds. At the 1:45 mark we get the vocals, high-pitched and echoing, leading us to a new synth line. Those layers, they are pretty awesome, and Eli Escobar makes sure there is also plenty of that rhythm-n-percussion in there for the dancefloor people. He dials those elements down around 2:40 though, with the chorus-like vocal turn accompanied by one synth turning into another, after which the drum sounds come back in again to provide you with that dancing line right there. I like the contrast between the higher pitched vocals and the deeper drum sounds, which Escobar highlights around 3:30 for a while. He then rides the percussion before going for a sparse beat, one synth, and the vocals repeating the same line until they don’t, which also is the cue for some new instruments to come in again. It really takes the lovely stuff from the original and channels it into a dancefloor tune, with plenty of variety and deft synth work to love it some more.

‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’ by Roman Rauch

Apparently an edit he did a few years ago, revisited it, and now he has uploaded it again. He starts it out contrasting a deeper wobbly sound with a high-pitched original sound, then going for a deep beat on top of which the vocals sing the oh-so familiar story of love having left the premises, as it literally doesn’t live here anymore. Love the strings at 1:30, actually don’t remember them being so pronounced in the original, very nice touch there. In the mean time the deep beat, along with some other rhythm elements on occasion, chugs along slowly, with a percussion sound arriving at 2:30 as the vocals rear their heads again, repeating the core of the song, namely that You abandoned me, love don’t live here anymore. The more this one nears the end, the more the vocals come in, which isn’t a bad thing, with at 4:30 THAT moment where she breaks out a bit. It’s such a classic tune, and this is a nice re-touch, leaving the real emotions to the end, and giving some emphasis to the strings as the beat makes it trod along slow-yet-assuredly.