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The Weekly Froth! - 20160527

  • Published in Columns

 

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks (five this week), 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: ‘Save Their Souls’ by Bohannon (Poolside edit)

Poolside start this edit with a slow moving beat and some higher pitched percussion to keep the balance right. After that, some lovely, deep atmospheric sounds to get that feel right on in there. Especially that horn-like sound that blows in from way underneath is lovely. Then, at the minute mark, the vocals, almost chanting Save their souls. After that the track moves into the groove, anchored by a nice little guitar riff, and it brings that funk with them. The way those vocals are used, and that being balanced by those deep rhythm and atmospheric sounds; it gets the hypnotic beat of the African jungle right in there. And then, the Jazzy horns, giving it that NY slant. It’s really a tremendous track this one, the '70s done right I reckon, and put out there so that we, too, can do some grooving to Mr. Bohannon himself.

 

 ‘It’s The Being In Love’ by Michael Jackson (Late Nite Tuff Guy edit)

I actually just got this one on vinyl, a release from the Midnight Riot label (though the edit itself isn’t that new I believe). As we have come to expect from LNTG he brings the smooth disco edit, first giving you the beat, and then the synths and the chopped up vocals, which break out of the loop at exactly the one minute mark to say that it Is the being in love. LNTG does use the whole loop thing with this one, and after the first part is over he slides in a second part that comes from underneath to then take over with the It’s the falling in love that’s making me hot (You go for it, you!), then diving into a similar loop with a little guitar riff, the beat and drums, and the vocals doing part of the sentence before bookending it with a complete lyric. Around the three minute mark he breaks out of the loop, with the new vocals appearing on the scene and doing a whole verse worth of that sexy. Then, in unison, double layers of vocals, and then back to it with, this time around, the horns as well. It’s just another lovely, smooth, clean edit by LNTG, exactly the way I like them (hence, the vinyl acquisition ya know).

 

‘Firecracker’ by Todd Terje & The Olsens (radio edit)

Todd Terje is at it again, upping the pace and the weirdness with this firecracker (…) of a tune, definitely going all out in terms of those sounds that are not overused by any other artists. Which makes it a peculiar sounding one indeed. He doesn’t throw every convention overboard though, giving us some nice bass action at 1:20 for instance. There’s always a groove underneath the oriental to make sure to keep it at least as grounded as he wants it to be, which is just enough for those who actually want to dance to it in any case. Love some of the switches, those are nice, and there is a fun-ness and a tempo to the track that will get anyone out of their sleep-induced days at the midnight club. Though to say I’ll be listening to this track on repeat, it might be too far out for that button right there.

 

‘I Feel Numb’ by Classixx feat. A. Frankel

Classixx team up with A. Frankel from Holy Ghost! to get the dancefloor going with some throwback synth-pop. A steady drumline is given, when the vocals come in for the first time a bass is added in the background, and next to that there is plenty of synth action until the actual singing starts. The upbeat demeanour, apparently, belies trouble, as he will Take you by the arm, saying you need to slow down, as he feels numb. Again, the vocals without the synths, which then get added later in the verse. The chorus sees a padded vocal line, some backing vocals, and a little rhythm synth chugging along. Just before the three minute mark the bass and beat are dropped in favor of just the vocals, and obviously the boys then slowly build it back up for the dancers on the dancefloor. And all them all get a lovely slice of catchy synth-pop to do some dancing to, including the instrumental outro where we even get some cowbell to do that little shimmy to.

‘Not Coming Down’ by Cleopold

I love how, from the get go, the slow pace is created, and then (equally from the get go) the soulful vocals come in. And those vocals are up, front, and center, especially during the verses. The chorus sees a bit more punch from the instrumentals, especially the bass and percussion, and it even includes backing vocals. From that point on the pace is slightly upped, giving it a bit more of a pop feel, with the bass providing some funk & rhythm. Before the two minute mark the track comes down (…) a bit, with just the vocals. Slowly Cleopold adds some percussion, and obviously a short while later the catchy starts again. It’s a track from their debut EP, called Altitude & Oxygen, so if you fancy this soulful-yet-poppy turn, be sure to have a listen to that one.

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The Weekly Froth!

  • Published in Columns

 

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:  ‘Thinking About You’ by TCTS feat. Leo Kalyan

Lets jack it up with this one, as it immediately comes out of the gates full throttle with it’s dancing shoes on. Fast paced beat, nice synth riff, extra percussion, and quite the vocals from Leo Kalyan who says that oh my, she certainly got the best of him. In the mean time TCTS is working that thing, keeping the beat going and making sure that extra synths and percussion either add to the rhythm or the sense of pace. Kalyan, in the mean time, narrates his tale of woe, saying that You hit me like a hurricane. I love the rhythm in this one, it is so dancey and catchy, and he adds the synth at the exact right time to get some oomph going. That 2:40 backtrack moment is some nice little trickery (though I could’ve done without, to be honest) that then allows for the illusion of pace when all the main elements come back in. TCTS throws in some piano as well, and this is just one of those vocal house tracks that just does it for me. If you know my column, I’m a vocal house kind of guy, and this is right up my alley.

 

‘Gone Fishing’ by Roisin Murphy

How about some Roisin Murphy, eh? She is back, and will be releasing her new album Hairless Toys later this year. This track doesn’t see her in all smooth and belt-out pop mode, far from it. Actually, am I the only one thinking it a bit Bjork-y? With those more experimental percussion and auxiliary sounds, but also the way she uses her voice, way more whispery than I’ve ever heard before. And then, at about 1:30, she goes a pitch higher, and that’s just so beautiful right there. Murphy herself has said this song was inspired by the indeed quite inspiring documentary Paris Is Burning, which tells the story about the ballroom/vogue scene in NY in the '80s. “So beautifully dressed”, Murphy sings, after which she says “My mother’s mistake / my father’s heartbreak”. The tune itself is not so much inspired by the music these boys were vogueing to though, mind you. Murphy said the song is more of a Broadway soundtrack to that documentary, which I can kind of see, though a wicked Broadway show that would be. It’s more out there, I reckon, than just about anything on her Overpowered album, so it will be intriguing to see what kind of listen her Hairless Toys is going to become.

 

Edit Service 52 by Marvin & Guy

I’m A Cliche is back again with the next in their Edit Service, which is all free for you to download. This time it’s Marvin & Guy’s turn to set the dancefloor alight, and they come with a nice bassy synth sound to keep this track rolling, throwing a dash of funk on top of it all. About a minute in you get the kind of robotic vocals, and the auxiliary sounds take a turn for the futuristic as well. Which is, I think, in nice contrast with that distorted bass sound with that funky feel in it. There is an element of fun here, in the sound, in the vocals, in the mixing of all these different things, so as you’re grooving on the dancefloor (it is a slow burner, this one) you might find yourself with a little smile on your face as well. Something like that sequence from 3:25 though, that’s just brilliant, the way they use that bass sound, the added padding in terms of the percussion, and then the auxiliary sounds followed by the vocals: that build-up and flow is pretty awesome. A slice of fun for the boogie on the dancefloor, in Italian, no less.

 

‘Pleasure Principle’ by Janet Jackson (Classixx Recovery mix)

Now, you know you want to be dancing to Janet Jackson, don’t you? And she comes in at the eighteen second mark practically by her lonesome, just aided by some percussion and, later, some aerial synth sound. But at about 50 second in you already hear a bit of the funky synthesizer that’s going to give you that 80s dancefloor filler vibe, though the main dance element is the beat that comes in after the minute mark. Classixx make sure that it’s Janet’s show, with her vocals front and center in this one. The beat is a soft thud, there enough to dance to, but not enough to distract or take over in a danceclub anthem kind of way. A little bit later that synth gets a bit more prominent a role, but even that is subdued into this summer beach party kind of feel. It’s more a slice of soft synth-pop (more Zoot Woman than Cut Copy even) with Janet explaining the principle of pleasure. Oh I’m sorry, you needed something more than that?

 

‘Just Like You’ by Chromatics

Oh Chromatics, how I love thee. I still fondly remember that Glass Candy and Chromatics gig I went to a few years back, so awesome. Here, the vibe, again, exactly right in that cinematic kind of way, and then those vocals, so dreamy and melancholic and just a tad removed. Those backing vocals at about the 50 second mark, amazing, such a nice contrast with the main vocals. Again, you’ve got that Italians-Do-It-Better synth going on with that slow drum to give it some body and something to latch on to. This tale ends with a pathetic He looks just like you / He even loves like we used to...” on repeat, which is quite heart wrenching indeed. Again, no one does this kind of atmosphere better than Johnny Jewel and his Chromatics, with those beautiful synths working to perfection, and then that lazy beat and those vocals topping it all off like cherry on the best cake ever. New album Dear Tommy is gearing up for release, and I know for a fact that people are excited for that one.

 

‘Like A Thief In The Night’ Night Bandit (Superprince Edit)

Yeah baby, lets get that funk going. Superprince edit this ol’ Night Bandit play-that-funky-music Eighties tune. So you’ve got a beat in the background to keep it dancefloor friendly, you’ve got the funk-a-delic sounds going on from the original, and then those female vocalists come in singing that, Like a thief in the night, you took her lovin’ (oh, behave!). I mean, this is just that funky disco that I just love to hear on the dancefloor. It’s got all those characteristic elements, it’s got quite a bit of pace to it, and it’s got those female vocals that just belong in this genre. And, of course, it’s about love and loving and love making, and that’s what you want to hear about if you’re on a night about town. Just super fun, no weirdo sequences to halt the momentum, this one just keeps rolling out all the good stuff from that era in such a way we can dance to it in the discotheque on a Saturday-night-going-on-Sunday. Have fun kiddo’s!

 
 

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