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: 'Northern Merry’ by Dan Shake

Lets get into the groove with Dan Shake, first putting in the blues organ before diving headlong into the deep, dark beat of the underground club. In the background we get the soul of the church coming through, with them really coming to the fore when the beat is stripped for a moment around the minute mark, singing that she sees Your face around, with that beautiful raspy voice that brings the flavor out full throttle. In the meantime Dan Shake keeps the track rolling, with the beat, with the percussion, and by shifting the vocals front and back, sometimes putting emphasis on that emotional punch, and at other times letting it slide down in the mix to make sure we reload on the rhythm of the tune. At about the 3:30 we get some idiosyncratic drums in there, taking over momentarily, but soon it gets shooed back down again by the main beat and the vocals. Love the ending as well, it’s like an outtake reel at the end of a film.

‘La Rumba Experimental’ by Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura Band (MCDE remix)

Gilles Peterson puts the rumba in with this Latin vibed track, including lots of those characteristic sounds and loads of percussion. But also, a beat, which enters around 35 seconds in. Sure, one that fits the vibe, with the drums and the toms helping out there, but it definitely also makes sure it is in tune with the dancefloor. And you can leave that in the safe hands of Motor City Drum Ensemble, who is pretty awesome and knows how to get something out of this material (or, like, anything). So the percussion makes sure the rhythm keeps going, with on top of that some nice auxiliary sounds. The deeper percussion elements are dialled down a bit before the three minute mark, just to let the flavor come to the fore some, slowing it way (waaay) down for a near two minutes or so. Slowly, you can already hear some percussion elements with the cymbals and stuff, which is the prelude to the beat and rhythm to come back in. At the end you even get some soft vocal work (and sinister laughing) on top of mainly the beat. The mix is super smooth, super organic, and will let you get some of that hip action in.

‘OB-8’ by Shit Robot

Shit Robot is back in action, immediately doing that menacing thing with a dark synth sound and a deep beat, just to make sure that you know that you better start moving or he’s coming for ya. Love the percussion added at about the thirty second mark, a bit lighter than the main beat sound, giving it a nice balance. At the minute mark the bass sound comes in, providing some extra deep rhythm to hang your hat onto. The song really opens up with the keys coming in at 1:30, aided by an extra auxiliary sound. Still there is plenty of that hypnotic dance rhythm going on (so don’t you worry my sweetie!), but the lighter keys balance it out without having to hand in some of the rhythm for that. So this one keeps on grooving just so you can keep on moving, with that deep sound and quick pace. Shit Robot keeps the synths working for atmosphere though, upping them just before the fourth minute mark as a prelude to dial it all down in terms of the rhythm, though all of it comes back shortly after, including some “uh”s being yelped by some guy or another. A nice banger of a dance tune from the DFA label.

‘Fast Hercules’ by Aaron Neville (Dr. Packer’s Uptempo Rework)

How about some of that nice disco & funk eh? Aaron Neville’s track ‘Hercules’ gets a Dr. Packer rework, upping the pace but keeping the funk, for all your dancing pleasure. So there’s a nice beat going on, some extra percussion to give it an additional boost, and the bass that runs right on through it to give you all that dancing. After the minute mark you get the piano, already giving it a bit of that disco party feel. And on that score Dr. Packer holds no punches, making sure there’s plenty of stuff to work with as a disco dancer. He turns it all down for a few seconds to introduce the vocals, which then get to work with the rhythm and all the other things there. Bit of organ, bit of guitar, and what seems like the girls in the back doing some “doo-do-doo-do” lines. He plays around with pace a bit, like the transition just before the three minute mark, which is quite splendid. The vocals have a nice funky rhythm to it, singing that, well, It must be Hercules (who else?). Add some horns in there as well, and you’ve got the whole dancefloor disco bonanza, which Dr. Packer knows how to bring like no other.

‘Swim’ by Cape Cub (YSE Saint Laur’Ant extended DJ edit)

Super lush start for this one, with YSE making sure the start is super mellow before the soft paced beat comes in on top of some tropical percussion and the main sound that he makes sure to keep right there. Then the deep vocals arrive, contrasting the somewhat lighter main sound. Second time ‘round that the voice tells his tale some extra percussion is added back in there as well, another way to contrast that deep male storyline, which gets some echo and less rhythm accompaniment during the chorus, singing that he will Give myself to you. In the mean time the tropical percussion, beat, and that core riff keep it working, making sure that, Yes, it is not at a breakneck pace but, also Yes, you can still do a little dance to it. YSE manages to keep that feel from the start there for the entirety of the track, whilst also making sure to at least get some rhythm in up until the very end, where the percussion helps the main sound to ride it out until the last half minute or so, where it closes the song out all on its own.

‘Paradis’ by Alain Chamfort (Paradis reprise)

Paradis always manages to make something sound so effortlessly good (and with a suave French New Wave vibe as well). Here they take on a track by Alain Chamfort, a track which happens to also be called ‘Paradis’, just to get some of that optimal confusion running in there. The first synth sounds around the 15 second mark that come on top of the percussion, that is just magic, and then the vocals of Chamfort slide in, singing something I don’t quite understand (because, French). At about the minute mark they turn up the volume a bit and get a beat going for your dancing pleasure, being helped out by some extra rhythm riffs. The synth, meanwhile, still helps the vocals out with creating the atmosphere. The tone of the vocals provide a nice contrast with the more paced beat that keeps the track moving forward, and that beat in itself is laced with loads of sounds to wrap it all in. At about the halfway mark the vocals are allowed to rest for a minute, with Paradis coming up with a nice little sound as placeholder. It is one of those dance-with-your-eyes-closed-while-dreaming-away tracks, and just of that impeccable Paradis quality again.

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: B-Side - Zulu (MPJT edit)

I just love the groove this one starts with! Are you kidding me with all those separate elements. You’ve got the kick, but also the quick wood percussion, the bass sound and synth sound combo, and it just immediately has me hooked. Just before the minute mark another percussion element is added (or two, an extra one a little later), and the two men keep the rhythm high. At the second minute mark you’ve got talking vocals coming in, preaching about one thing or another with a bit of anger. At 3:30 there’s a bit of a change up, breaking up the groove for a minute, just to let it return after about twenty seconds with some more of that bass. When the vocals come in next they do so with an added round of cymbals to add a light sound to the percussion, which can be heard raging in the background. It’s pretty frantic back there, which, when the vocals subside, is dialled back in favor of a cleaner sound. I mean, these guys, let me tell ya, they just know how to do these things. Marc Pinol and John Talabot are experts in this field, and in this remix it shows again. The full-blown change-ups, the subtle alterations, and the mixing and matching of all those percussion elements to keep the rhythm on the go: it is all so fluent, and it certainly works like a madman. Even near the end, at about 6:30, they give the people just another little punch to get themselves in motion again. There’s just so much to love, I mean, really.

‘Gravity’s Angel’ by Laurie Anderson (Bottin Edit)

I love the slight space vibe that Bottin adds to that bass sound which he uses as the canvas for Laurie Anderson to croon over. And crooning it kind of is, with a surpising fragility to it. In the mean time Bottin adds a little bass line, though not as a continuous rhythm element. For that he uses that bass sound plus some synths. At 1:40 Bottin breaks it open with some drums and percussion, which then also form the rhythm elements during the singing, where previously there wasn’t one. So that’s how he adds a bit of pace to it. In the mean time some male vocals come in to help the female vocals out as Bottin adds more and more extra sounds that definitely help to cement the almost alienated feel, which heightens the almost in-the-spotlight loneliness of the singing. Though later she goes for the spoken word, which blends into the sounds quite perfectly. That moment at about 4:07, when she returns to singing, is completely in tune with the change-up in the sound as well. So really cleverly created this, with the kind of vocals that are on display here giving it this bit of extra uniqueness that’s always welcome.

‘Disco Fix’ by YSE Saint Laur’Ant

No points for knowing what this name is a punt on (unless you literally know nothing about fashion. Or pop culture. Or cultural memory. Or, well, life). YSE is not concerned about the pace with this one, just bringing you a cheeky bit of disco and soul, but old school, to do some slow twisting to. Primarily on the little bass line, that sounds more '50s than '70s NY. The vocals, especially, have that jazz club call & response thing with the band behind her going on, which give it this sense of fun. She is singing that you need to play that disco beat (which, ironically, is totally absent here), because she needs to get that disco fix. And if not, she is going to scream (she’s that kind of gal). It has this lovely lounge bass going on that primarily takes care of the rhythm, with some percussion in the back to help it out. The vocals, the backing band dynamic, and just how it leisurely trods on makes this an ideal download for some happy summer walks.

‘Bounce’ by Waze & Odyssey

How about some party house from the fellas of Waze & Odyssey eh? They get right into it with this one. They get the kick going, the little bass, the jittery synth line, and once in a while you get a soulfule male voice doing a “yeahhh-ehh-ehh” to just kick the house vibe up a notch. At the one minute mark they get the rhythm parts out, just having the synth there, which later gets some percussion help, primarily from the cymbals. At the two minute mark it gets the beat and bass back there for the dancefloor crowd to dance to. It uses the male voice nicely, not really to sing, but it gives you a good point to add a new instrument in there for instance. At one such point Waze & Odyssey use it as a cue to get some female vocals in there who, on repeat, say “bounce” whilst Waze & Odyssey slowly build the track down a bit. Obviously to come back with a vengeance at about 4:25. A good dancefloor track to keep the party a-rockin’.

‘Grit’ by Kasper Bjorke (Bryan Kessler remix)

Bryan Kessler is just a pitch away from starting this like a slasher B-movie (though the horse galloping in the background helps steer it away from that as well, to be fair, or does that only make it more Victorian Jack-the-Ripper like?). One thing is for sure though, it is a pretty deep&dark take on the Kasper Bjorke song, which is reinforced by all the atmospheric synths that enter the scene. Kessler takes his sweet time to get to the beat in this one, but after a complete break at the two minute mark he puts it in, adding a bass-y synth a bit later on. Still it is pretty deep, those rhythm elements don’t take away from that vibe. I love that sound that comes in at abou 3:02 or something, which unfortunately doesn’t stay for very long, just to come back at 3:38 as the main sound on top of the beat. That, too, gives it this immediacy, as if you are trying to run away from the Hack-n-Slash murderer on the loose somewhere (on horseback, probably). The whole of Kasper Bjorke’s After Forever album gets the remix treatment, with this one getting the deep and grind one. That original album, by the way, has some beautiful tracks on there, with my favorite being ‘Lies’, so if you haven’t had the chance to listen to that one, be sure to give it a whirl.

‘The Owner’ by NTEIBINT feat. Stella (Anoraak remix)

Love the claps at the start, that ‘s a good combination with the synths. The percussion comes in around the twenty second mark, and the piano that comes in at about thirty is absolutely lovely. All the rhythm and synth elements keep the pace up, and because Anoraak strips some down it seemingly lowers its speed when the nice, deep female vocals come in. Though halfway the vocal part the bass comes in to give it a bit of bounce. And slowly but surely more instruments come in again, and when the vocals subside a lovely, slightly aggressive piano enters to give it some punch before the vocals come back with a bit more emotion than before. It is quite amazing how all these layers work together and how smoothly they are being woven in and out of the line-up, with the vocals forming the anchor to an otherwise fairly fast paced affair. Around 3:40 he starts a patient break, where he strips most elements except for the vocals and one synthesizer, but slowly he starts piecing everything back together again, with around 4:50 putting it all in again for one more go around. Pretty nifty stuff again from Anoraak.