The Weekly Froth! - 20160408

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: ‘Steppin’ by Sandy Barber (John Morales mix)

Another Morales mix taking it to the disco town. Sandy Barber starts out, saying that You think you’re so smart, but you’re mistaking (you tell him, hon!). And, as she does so, she puts on those nice diva disco vocals, announcing that She’s going to do some steppin’ of her own, at which point the bass comes in to get all the dancefloor people aflutter. There’s also a bit of cymbal in there, some a capella moments, chosen at the exact moment that she says he’s a Cheat and a lier. And that’s something Morales does so well, giving Sandy Barber all the room to do her thing, and with that, making sure that disco love story of empowerment comes through loud and clear. Then, the percussion and bass to make sure there’s the dancefloor as well as the attitude. Also some attitude in that bass though, getting some action at 3:50 before some riffs come and help it out along with Mrs. Barber herself. Just one of those bulls-eye disco edits with plenty of vocals and bass to sing and dance along to.

‘Beat the Heat’ by Turbotito & Daniel T

Turbotito & Daniel T get the booty shakin’ right from the get go. It’s got a steady beat working, but also plenty of bass and synth sounds that make sure it’s a hip thing. Then, the vocals, announcing that they Just can’t seem to sleep, can’t make it through the heat. The vocals are accompanied primarily by the bass sound, which, a go around later, get some woodwork percussion for a helping hand. The vocals, by the way, nice and deep, and contrast with the lighter key sounds that are used as a substitute for the vocals. Slowly but surely it changes into this sultry mid-paced burner with techno elements, giving off some of that body heat. Around 2:30 there’s an instrumental interlude started, after which they slowly build it up again, also helped out by multiple vocal layers that start overlapping and synth work that moves to a crescendo. That happens at about 4:20, when bass and percussion help the track towards its ending. Nice slice of deepness to be found here.

‘Good Inside’ by Al Kent

How about some of that slappin’ bass action from Al Kent? The girl in question invites you by saying Come on, baby, and surely there’s plenty of bass to get in action to. After the minute mark we get some of that guitar riffin’ their way through, and then, at 1:30, the girl gets workin’ herself, forcefully belting out that I need you. And she doesn’t stop turning out some of that powerful vocal work, and the bass keeps working it as well to get that dancing going on. You make me feel, Whoo!, good inside, she also gleefully yells out, so no wonder she wants you to Come on, baby. There’s definitely no letting up in this big tune of a House song, and even when the vocals go a bit more low key, there’s always the bass to keep this one going forward. A strong power house, this performance right here I’d say.

‘Mom and Dad’ by Xinobi (Richie Hell Clean remix)

Richie Hell takes on the Discotexas stalwarts Xinobi with this catchy remix, where the bass comes in at the twenty second mark and basically takes this one all over. The other instruments give it this quirky, synth-pop feel, bringing some freshness to the proceedings (you always need to keep it fresh y’all). At the two minute mark the Texas drawled female vocals come in, giving it a nice drawn out quality to balance the bass and rhythm elements. Halfway through Richie dials it down a bit, and at 3:20 the beat and the vocals both come back to aid the bass in getting it on.  I love how that Discotexas vibe is still there, but perhaps this Clean remix takes the synth-pop more into the house dancefloor as well, with enough bass and beat to hang on your hat to. 

‘Do the Right Thing’ by The Revenge (Nachtbraker remix)

After a few seconds in the percussion gets some help from a rather deep beat, which then gets juxtaposed by some keys in the background before, at the fifty second mark, we really go deep house with this one. Not to say the lighter sounds disappear, they stay, but all the rhythm sounds just take a dive into the nightclub. A tad in front of the two minute mark we get some cowbell action in there, also providing a somewhat higher pitched key sound. This turns out to be a prelude to a slight shift in tone, even though the beat that remains a staple underneath to keep it all grounded. And so Nachtbraker doesn’t only add or subtract sounds, but also shifts in tone and (at for example 3:30) pace for this hypnotic, 7:30 minute dance tune. Smack down in the middle there’s a rather lengthy part where all the rhythm parts are tuned out, though around 4:30 there’s a quick turn around, after which this one gets a bit more bombastic with the bass in there. So if you weren’t feeling party before, from now until the end there really aren’t any excuses anymore.

‘Yes We Can Can’ by the Pointer Sisters (Dazzle Drums Block Party edit)

How about a slow burning bass sound to get this one in motion, doing the sexy strut right there. There’s some slight guitar strumming to help out, doing that blues thang, and then they come in, singing that they Try to find peaceful things, and telling all them young girls to Remember you all had mothers. But, they conclude, Yes we can can, as in, We can make it work. In the mean time that bass is still giving that slow funk pace, having a bit of that percussion to help out. The double guitar and vocals, meanwhile, give it all the right vibes and even come together all at the same time. And with the minimal set up it’s all about those two and the bass rhythm for them bunch of hip cats to do a little dancing together to.