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The Weekly Froth - 20160708

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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: ‘Augustine’ by Blood Orange

Blood Orange is back, and we can rejoice. I’ve become a convert ever since seeing him doing an amazing live show at Primavera Sound a while back, and can’t wait to repeat a visit whenever he’s gonna be close by. This track starts slow and like a ballad, but then the quick turn around, the beat and bass combo providing the funk, which then gets the extra flavour from his guitarmanship. Then, after about 1 1/2 minute, the piano and the vocals coming in, first doing the talking, and then, when the chorus comes in, showing off the pretty, higher pitched vocals. Almost choir like here, interspersed with deeper talking. At one point we just get some (ace) vocals, and then the drumpad charges back in to provide us with some rhythm. A real ace track, can’t wait to listen to the entire album.

‘Life is Good’ by Get Down Edits

Get Down Edits start of with the disco sounds, but soon the heavy bass comes in to make it work and to get the whole thing really going on. Then the piano comes in, the little riff, bringing you way back down into that New York scene right there. The heavy bass keeps it modern though, even when the vocals come in for the first time, first doing a Hmmm-hmmm-hm to get acquainted, though slowly but surely they really start coming in with the help of some male vocals there in the background. They make sure you understand that, you know, it’s a Good life, and that Love is shining. And even moreso when you get the jiggy on with this one (As she is doing what you want her to do). At about the four minute mark they dial it down, giving the vocals all the time and all the space to get you on board, and I love that they first bring in the percussion on top of the deeper vocals singing Good life, then the piano, all before they really bring it all back in again. Some tuneage for the dancefloor, bringing the diva vocals, the disco sounds, but also deep bass sound to make sure no one has to miss a beat.

 

‘Oh Honey’ by Delegation (Poolside edit)

This one starts slow and sultry, bringing the warm tones first. Then, just before the minute mark, the slow bass comes in as the synthesizer and horns give you the exotic, really getting that cocktail and Poolside (…) vibe going. Then, the vocals, singing that They know where to go, as she is their Inspiration. It’s got those amazing, old school soul group vocals, those four boys doing that one mic thing. In the mean time the bass keeps the slow-to-mid paced rhythm burning, with the higher key sides giving the holiday vibes. Then, the solo male vocals, making it work for a minute, before bringing it back down with the bass and the group coming in, doing their Ooooooohhhh, honey to great effect. It is a lovely slow burner, ideal for some beach side consumption I reckon.

 

‘Flee’ by Crayon feat. Ann Shirley

You get the irregular beat going, doing that R&B thing over the Ann Shirley vocals, which coincidentally are also doing that R&B thing. So that vibe is set from the get go, for getting up close and dirty around midnight. I love her voice, singing You’re so cold when we are apart, giving it a fitting turn for this kind of track. In the mean time Crayon knows when to dial it down and dial it up, putting in a nice deeper bass sound as well to contrast the harsher ones. It is a nice, three minute piece where Crayon rightfully called in the Ann Shirley help, giving it that little something something that is a good fit for the track.

 

‘Way Back Home’ by Kraak & Smaak feat. Ivar (Tiger & Woods remix)

I love the percussion that comes in at about the ten minute mark, giving it this nice vibe as it contrasts with the more mechanical sounds in the back. Then, more rhythm sounds come in, with at the minute mark the bass barging forward full throttle when it enters the scene. They build it up nicely, always seeming to add one more thing to keep that forward momentum going as they loop the mainstay for a while (like Tiger & Woods always do so masterfully). At the two minute mark the track opens up a bit when the piano sounds come in, taking it away from the more club heavy feel of the rest of the instruments, and the lads make sure that this sound, too, gets some of the rhythm right. At the three minute mark, for the first time, the vocals, nice and soulful, singing that he hopes You understand. And those vocals won’t let up from that point on, even if it sometimes slides back a bit in favor of some of the other instruments. It’s got a real festive tone this one, a track I see doing well in festival sets because it mixes the more club elements with some of the more open, poppy sounds without replacing the former.

 

‘Satin Kimono’ by The Beat Broker

The Beat Broker gets a nice, funky loop going, also courtesy of that guitar sound, adding some disco sounds and the soul vocals even before the clock strikes a minute. In the mean time, in the background, the rhythm keeps rolling on, with some of those drums, a slow bass sound, all culminating in a good canvas for the vocals and that guitar to keep running on. At the two minute mark he dials it down a bit in the loop, letting the vocals do some of the work, but soon the bass comes back in to make sure the rhythm and the funk don’t get completely lost. Against the canvas The Beat Broker starts working some more sounds now, making sure to add some variety as, as far as looping goes, you do have some of that necessary repetition going on, obviously. Next to these new touches, the ongoing vocals (that aren’t repeated in that same vein) make sure you’re never going to find a dull moment. At the 4:20 mark some of that funky business in the solo instrument right there, perhaps providing a perfect summation of what this track is all about.

 

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2014 In Music - The Columnist's View #2

The 5 Most Memorable Gigs I Went To In 2014

Thankfully, this was yet another year in which I saw loads of amazing bands play and where I had loads of great experiences at gigs, festivals, and club nights. This was my first year at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona (which was awesome! Even if it did drown one pair of my shoes), and this was the year two excellent new pop venues opened close to where I live. The new Doornroosje at a stone throw’s distance looks wonderful, and the new Tivoli Vredenburg with all its different rooms on different floors is just perfection. I saw new and upcoming bands like Years & Years and Thomas Azier (2x), people at the top of their game like St. Vincent (3x) and Spoon (2x), and old dogs like Morrissey (almost 2x, you know how that goes...) and Giorgio Moroder. Oh what a year, and the following five gigs were the ones that stuck out of that whole pack of great experiences for me for one reason or another. (vids not from the gigs listed below)

  1. WhoMadeWho @ Ekko

These boys, when they’ve got it on, they’ve got it on. In the small venue Ekko in Utrecht these guys were really doing their thing, with those soulful vocals and those melancholic-yet-dancey sounds they create. Add to that the fact that these guys, whilst playing an instrument, still manage to add some theatrics in there as well, and you’ve got a live show with great music plus some good entertainment to boot. Not to mention that it does seem like they are having fun, which in turn spreads to the audience like a virus. Thus live they both sing and play their instruments expertedly, they add theatrics, and they put the joy in the experience as well. Plus just that little dash of mayhem when they end it in the audience with ‘Satisfaction’. What more do you need, really?

  1. Blood Orange @ Primavera Sound

I vividly remember this young fellow sitting right in front of the mic stand by his lonesome self a good half hour before the show. After the gig, I knew why. Blood Orange, the funk outfit led by the prolific Dev Hynes, really turns up the groove live. The sound at the start of the gig was a tad dodgy, but that ship was righted after about a song and a half or so, and then it’s all fabulosity from there on. You’ve got the funky guitar of Hynes, the female vocals, the horns, the tight rhythm section: it all just works. Add some good, groovy tunes in there, a Solange cover, and Hynes busting a move like he’s Mr. Jackson himself, and you’ve just got this deliciously fun & funky show on the “small” Pitchfork stage at the Spanish Primavera Sound festival.

  1. Darkside @ 05 Days Off

I would remember this show only for the girls trying to squeeze their way through the audience a minute before the start. Getting loads of dirty looks as they push their way up front, one of them agitatedly remarks “why the heck are they looking so angrily at us. It’s not like they reserved these places or something”. Ehrm, yes we did, the moment we arrived at the place an hour before kick-off time to make sure we’re close to where the action is. Oh well. I already loved the album by the duo of Dave Harrington and Nicolas Jaar, and what they do live so well is that they just add a bit more oomph to the beats to get a bit of a dance vibe going. Add that to the fact that they are craftsmen in their respective fields, and that they nail the vibe perfectly, and then this show maybe epitomizes the year 2014, if only because apparently the lads have (at least temporarily) retired the Darkside moniker.

  1. Future Islands @ Melkweg

Next to the fact that I just love the album and the songs, live they do add exactly those things that you want a band to add. Extra emotion, extra theatrics, extra effort, and this whilst still performing the songs as tight as on album. Frontman Samuel Herring really takes over. He looks like a real proper bloke, and sometimes he almost grunts as if in a metal band and nearly charges into the audience aggressively. Moments later though, he is shaking his booty or is doing that leg thing those girls in Western saloons always do (though slightly distorted, slightly more manic). And then he suddenly tries to touch the sky with his finger as he is almost teary-eyed. The guy really knows how to perform. Luckily the lads back him up in as solid a way as possible, so if you just love the songs, you’re not getting short-changed on that either. A must see live band, if only because next to all of this, they also do seem genuinely grateful and humble that they can perform for whatever audience is in front of them.

  1. Slowdive @ Primavera Sound

Two major blokes just fainted during this show! True story, though I’m not sure if that’s because of how much they love Slowdive or whether something else was in play (probably the latter, though it was in the open air, so it wasn’t a shortage of oxygen or whatever). Slowdive have reunited for a string of gigs (and, next year, an album apparently), and they didn’t make a mockery of their former selves, performing as tight as a band with so many guitars can possible perform. Dreamy shoegaze performed to perfection, the band just weave this intricate web of guitars and other sounds, with on top of that these dreamy male and female vocals. From the word go they managed to completely mesmerize me, and as someone who missed them during their first go around I’m happy they’re not only back, but that they have matured rather than aged (not that they were teenagers when they stopped or anything, but you get my drift).

This list is Stef Siepel’s, writer of, amongst others, the Weekly Froth column that goes live every Friday. It does in no way reflect the collective Musos Guide opinion.

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