So, normally The Weekly Froth! is a collection of six house/disco/electronic tracks that are kind of new (including edits, remixes, singles, etc.). This week though, with Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival coming up, and yours truly going there, it is a quick burst of six acts in those genres (or thereabouts) that you might want to catch if you’re going as well, or you might want to listen to anyway because they’ll spice up your… whatever-hour-you-need-to-spice-up.

The Juan MacLean [Pitchfork Stage – Friday, 01:40]

Last year The Juan MacLean released their second album, In a Dream, which happened to be my favourite album of the year. It’s the urban cold mixed with the emotional warmth (and hotness) of house music, which is a mixture that works perfectly. And if you think this second album doesn’t feature enough hits to keep you dancing all night long, they still have super-duper tunes like ‘Feel So Good’, ‘Feel Like Moving’, ‘Give Me Every Little Thing’, and the impeccable ‘Happy House’ to keep that party going until the morning light. I saw them twice when they were touring their first album, and both gigs were amazing, not in the least because of these 23-minute versions of ‘Happy House’ they pulled out of their hats. There’s no doubt in my mind they’ll be equally as good when playing Barcelona in two weeks.

Mike Simonetti [Pitchfork Stage – Saturday, 04:00]

To be honest, I’ve got no idea what this guy is going to do. Is he going to DJ? Is he going to do some stuff from his Pale Blue side project? Is he going to play his Capricorn Rising EP? Or is it going to be like his Albuterol tape he did with Johnny Jewel? Whatever it is going to be (and truth be told, the kind of music does vary pretty wildly, so watch out), this guy knows music, so it’s going to be an interesting adventure with undoubtedly some excellent synthesizer action. Sure, I wouldn’t complain if he’d bust out that ‘Million Dollar Bill’ edit he did and went disco crazy, but if I’m even alive at that point (last day, last band), I’ll be happy with anything that will take my last legs from under me. Do check that ‘Disconet Dilemma’ one (starts at about the 45 minute mark), it’s gold. Pure GOLD!

Rebeka [H&M Pro – Thursday, 23:00]

I like telling this story. When I was visiting Porto with friends, we happened to chance upon a club where, later that night, Moullinex would be playing. Me, being pretty big on that album, stayed even after my friends headed for the hotel, and so I witnessed Rebeka warming the place up with their melancholia and synth-pop action. Their debut album, Hellada, is definitely worth a spin if you have never heard that one yet, and it has some ace tracks on it. A bit more recently they’ve released a new single called ‘Breath’, which does give a good indication of what they do well. Nice, haunting atmosphere, but still danceable with the drum as its base and all the synths. The only thing that they’ve got going against them is that they’re playing at the same time as Antony & the Johnsons, who will have a whole orchestra behind them. I’ve seen them both live already (even Antony WITH an orchestra), so might let the company decide where we’ll go. But if Antony isn’t your thing and dancing and a bit of melancholia is, you can’t go wrong here. I am fond of a small stage, though.

Caribou [Ray-Ban – Saturday, 03:00]

Now, miraculously enough, I have never seen Caribou live, so there you go. Even despite feverishly loving that opening track of his new album. I did see a live stream online once of this lad, though, and that looked pretty good, so definitely looking forward to finally seeing this act live if all goes well. Our Love was released last year, but perhaps even better known is his 2010 release Swim, which I remember real well because it got all this amazing praise. In between he also was Daphni for a while, but now back under his animal moniker he’ll hopefully be giving the crowd that jolt of energy that we will all probably need at 03:00 on the last day of the event.

Tuff City Kids [Bowers & Wilkins Sound System – Thursday, 04:00]

Now, there is actually some real DJing going on at Primavera! For the second time straight Primavera comes with a DJ stage, with the people at Resident Advisor curating the whole thing on Thursday. The closers are Tuff City Kids, who will try to get some of that club vibe into the Barcelona festival. Tuff City Kids are Gerd Janson and Lauer, who know how to handle the dancing department on their own as well, so let alone what they can do in unison. Now, last year, I wanted to get into the dome like structure that was the DJ stage, but I couldn’t because there were just that many people dancing their socks off. So no promises that I can actually tell you all about my experiences from a good night out about town dancing to these fellas. But if you do find a spot on the dancefloor that’s not occupied yet, I’m sure you and your dancing shoes might just have a bit of fun on these beats and all.

OMD [ATP Stage – Wednesday, 22:25]

What?! There’s a Wednesday?! Erm, yes, almost every week actually, but also as part of the Primavera Sound Festival. Not only that, it’s free to enter! Yoinks! So yeah, there’s only one stage, and last year there was quite a delay before kick-off because, you know, showers and rainfall and all that jazz, but attending is a fun way to kick off a good bit of festival weekend. Last year I was able to see Stromae and was dancing furiously to a tight Holy Ghost! performance, and this year I’ll probably be enjoying myself quite a bit with OMD. Because, it is OMD. And it is free of charge. And who doesn’t like a good slice of that ‘80s pop?

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 year:  ‘Hissmusik’ by Shakarchi & Straneus (HNNY edit)

How about that start, eh? That is seriously old school right there, with that bass doing some of that jazz ditty. You won’t mistake it for the original of yore though, as you can hear some of that modern programming and cutting and slicing. I always kind of enjoy if something uses old school sounds, but does make clear that it’s not actually that old school sound, that it isn’t merely copying that. The vocals are punchy, and the delivery is fast-talking. After about a minute, just after the first round of vocals, the track really gets going, upping the pace and taking it to the dancefloor. At about 1:45 he dials it down for just a moment to give the vocals some room, who are telling you that she Will be coming around again, and she most certainly will be remembering what you said. The secondary sound on top of the bass counteracts that rather ominous statement actually, with it’s light-hearted demeanor. This one has just so much flavour, which gets highlighted when the bass stops for a moment, with just the secondary sounds and the vocals taking center stage. The bass does come back one more time to ride this one out, and I just love how this track is build up and structured, and those sounds and that vibe is just delightful indeed.

‘Shine on You’ by Satin Jackets feat. Esser

Some synth and handclaps are never a bad way to start it all off, in my opinion. As are using those lovely vocals of Esser who, apparently, just wants to Shine on you (ok, sure...). I like the way the vocals go up around the minute mark, which is also the cue for Satin Jackets to increase the tempo a bit and really get into catchy synth-pop mode. It is definitely an easy-on-the-ear track, with the instrumentals really giving off this dance-and-be-happy vibe. They use the vocals very well, manipulating them a bit here and there, and it’s got this pop sense of when to tone it down and when to get it up and running. Esser’s vocals definitely help with laying down the right mood for this one, and the instrumentals give you plenty of variation to make this one not too straight forward to avoid the risk of it becoming grating after a while. Actually, it is one of those catchy ones that you might find yourself hitting the repeat button for.

‘Highlights’ by Tuff City Kids feat. Shan

The way this one starts you just can’t help but be transported to the dancefloor. It’s just got this house vibe going on from the get go, definitely making it easy to envision this one in a set as you’re clubbing or whatever. After a minute in Tuff City Kids change it up a bit, adding an extra sound to the mix, and thirty seconds later adding another percussion element as well. Love the organ-like synth sound at about 2:10, that’s a nice touch, juxtaposing all the rhythm elements nicely. Tuff City Kids do a nice job of adding and subtracting elements, changing the tempo and changing the feel of it on occassion to keep it varied and interesting. And, of course, danceable, which is their prime goal from the sound of it. Working up to the 5:15 mark they, for instance, go for some extra noise and momentum, just to slide to a more low key beat and slowly work their way to the ending credits. A lovely slice of house, with plenty in there to keep the dancefloor occupied, I reckon.

‘Fractals’ by Keep Shelly in Athens (Tomas Barfod remix)

Keep Shelly in Athens sure have made some nice sounding tunes in the past years, and here again you hear these lovely, dreamy vocals as a key part of the track. Barfod, who released both a solo album and a WhoMadeWho one last year, is on remix duties, adding some big drums as a template, taking the track into a very theatrical, dramatical arena because of that. It’s actually quite nice that, when listening, I heard some elements that I thought, Yeah, that’s a sound Barfod uses more often. It’s nice when artists bring a bit of character to their work, I find. It’s very nice to see that, even though the instrumentals are pretty powerful, the vocals are still very much up front in the mix, and that this dreamy voice isn’t getting drowned out by the fireworks of Barfod. He adds a little moment of tranquility just before the three minute mark, returning with a nice drum line with some wood percussion to bring this one to a close.

‘Kong’ by Julio Bashmore feat. Bixby

How about some of that woodwork percussion to start this one, eh? Soon the beat comes in though, with some synth sounds to top it all off. The male vocals soon take center stage, with Bashmore working the momentum in the background, certainly not leaving the vocals all by their lonesome. In that sense it is really more of a power song this, sliding to the more chart side of the dance spectrum, as Bashmore makes sure there are plenty of booming sounds in there so there’s no time to zone out. The way the vocals are just so up front and in-yr-face, that works well in that system. At about 2:50 you get some kind of craziness, but the core sound in the back still has a solid rhythm to it so you don’t have to dance that funny if you don’t want to. There’s actually some melancholy in the vocals near the end, which is a nice touch, especially in such a booming track.

‘Make It Now’ by Thatmanmonkz

Thatmanmonkz starts out with this nice loop that’s got quite a jazzy vibe to it I find, though obviously with the bass in there it’s dancefloor friendly as well. There are some auxiliary sounds that are quite fun and unexpected, stuff you don’t hear too often. The muffled sense of the beginning vanishes at around the one minute mark, when the track opens up completely, and adds some percussion in to give you more rhythm next to the bass. Some female vocals walk onto the set as well, as dashing as a diva can with a stylish “oooooohhhhh, don’t hesitate”. In the mean time Thatmanmonkz is still doing some of that mean looping business to keep the crowd dancing, dialling it down a little around the three minute mark, bringing the punch back in about a minute later. At 4:50 you get a nasty piece of bass in there for just a little while when he turns away the percussion for a moment, and so there are different elements that take center stage and that you can latch on to. The ending, for instance, is more beat and vocal heavy, as the whispery female vocals ask you to not hesitate, echoing their way to the song’s end. Lovely little piece of looping house with lots of little elements, some making you work that dancefloor, others making it just a bit more colorful.