The Weekly Froth! - 20160325

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: ‘Take U 2 My House’ by Thatmanmonkz (feat. Khalil Anthony)

Thatmanmonkz recently released his album Columbusing, which can be heard in full on his SoundCloud. This is one of those tracks, doing the deep house, with the deep talking male vocals, and this nice, funky bass coming in at about the fifty second mark. Khalil Anthony, over that groovin’ and moovin’ bass, talks about how he saw this gal at the club, not knowing whether to talk to her or not, and then realising that Tonight was my… opportunity. That’s the point the bass gets stripped, the beat and drum take over for a moment, and just after the two minute mark the bass re-enters to help out a bit in the rhythm department. Then, a lovely tete-a-deux with singing and talking vocals, with the singing vocals being removed from the doubt that the talking vocals had earlier, pondering What do you want me to do to you, now that we are alone (Oh that’s what we all know too well there, now don’t we?). The beat is relieved of duty for a moment when the talking vocals come back in, which is a nice touch, playing with the pace like that. The whole album is definitely worth a listen, with this one being one of my personal favorites, also because of that whole atmosphere it creates with the story and all.

‘Across The Sea’ by Falqo

Obviously this one starts with the sounds of the sea (you knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?), but soon enough some finger snapping and a bit of pop piano come in. Then, a cutting guitar of yore, which is super nice, though it gets ditched when the pop comes in just before the minute mark with the drums and the vocals. And, okay, still the guitar riff, though not as present. When the chorus comes around Falqo dials it down almost completely, letting the vocals run the show for a while, before hitting the pace again just before the two minute mark (conveniently on the line “People are moving”). It’s really a nice, happy sounding slice of catchy disco pop this one, with some nice touches that we don’t always see that often anymore. That keeps the balance between that and the conventions all right, giving us the ease of what we know and some tinges of otherness to keep it fun as well.

‘Love Is A Lonely Dancer’ by Antony & Cleopatra

How about that bassy sound to start this one off, soon being helped out by the vocals singing about those times When you walk the line like there’s a razorblade. Then, some vintage synth house sounds come in, giving it this vocal house sound with not one, but two sets of vocals! Dear lord, what madness! The female vocals come in at the chorus, singing the title line that Love is a lonely dancer. After that, more out-and-out house sounds. The song, at one point, goes into a short stretch without vocals, but soon turns back to the chorus again. After that it pumps it up a bit, adding some extra oomph by seemingly upping the pace some, but especially by adding more sounds to also give this idea of increased volume. This is three minutes of that ol’ school housin’ going on I’d say.

‘Midnight Plane’ by Trujillo

Starting with the beat, Trujillo is about to take us for a little disco slow burner there. After about 30 seconds this nice and lazy atmospheric synth sound comes in, which gets juxtaposed by a more rhythmic bass sound. To boost that part, Trujillo adds a bit of hand percussion in there as well, though he strips some of that for higher pitched piano sounds. At 2:20 the two come together, getting the groove going and riding that one for a while before a little piano solo is added there on top of the bass rhythm. Almost got that jazzy quality right there. Suddenly some vocals can be heard, just for a short “whoo-oh-oh”, which is the cue for a slight change-up, though really the main groove remains for that Rio-at-the-beach disco party feel to shake those hips to. Midnight plane we’d like to take there indeed.

‘Many Lovers’ by Judge Funk (Yam Who? re-edit)

Yeah baby, let’s get going with this one! High on pace, this one starts with a beat and space synth combo, providing some up-tempo rhythm for all those many lovers to get riding into the midnight to. At 1:25 that all gets dialled down in favor of some piano and the first meeting with the vocals, stuttering their way to the “g” there. That is, up until the 1:55 mark, when the soulful male vocals enter, announcing that they Can’t stop. The stutter gives it a nice 80s vibe, with the returning remark of being unable to stop fitting the high energy that the track exhumes. And that with some piano to boot, as witnessed around the three minute mark, even going a bit of solo there. And no, he just Can’t stop, giving you my love, though at 3:30 there is about ten seconds of a break before the rhythm gets back in and the piano now really gets a good crack at it. This really is one for the party that is a-going and for the dancers who somehow (and we won’t ask exactly how, honey, I promise) managed to get some extra juice in those dancing legs after midnight. For babe, the pace is up, and not about to stop, that’s for sure.

‘U Betta’ by Girl Ultra

Oh lord, you know some yearning of the heart is gonna come with those notes being hit at the start. Then, the R&B beat to go with those keys, with the bass adding a bit of funk as well. Then the vocals come in, super smooth, singing that, Boy, u betta take me into outer space (We all want one of those babe, no doubt). This one is one for the couples to get close and sexy to on the dancefloor, even with some full stops to really slow it down, and with the vocals giving you some reason to do that something something together to, ending with Whenever I get cold, baby come to me, turn me into gold, this before ending this one with a couple of repeats of the chorus. Some nice contemporary R&B, slowing it way down, especially near the finish line, with the just the piano giving this one its fitting end.