Facebook Slider

The Weekly Froth! - 20161202

  • 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: ‘Used to Hold Me So Tight (Dr. Packer rework)

This starts out as something that you’ll be wanting to dance to, giving you the kick, the drum, and, a tad later, some of that bass to kick up that pace. Then, shortly after, the vocals, singing the title words, reminiscing about those good times when you Used to hold me so tight. And then, at 1:50, there comes la lady Houston, giving you some of that vocal prowess right there, letting you know who is the lady in our midst. Quickly in, the horns, giving her to work something off against. Then the verse, laying it out, laying it down, before coming back to the title words again, with Houston herself riffing up some magic as the backing singers mention again that there used to be a time where You used to hold me so tight. It’s just one of those beautiful disco mixes for a good night out on the dancefloor, and add those kind of vocals in there (and use them, like Dr. Packer does) and you know it’s all going to be quite all right.

 
 
‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ by Prince (Rayko Super Disco Lover re-edit)

Now, who can get enough of Prince, really? This one starts with a booming, slow bass, but the little guitar riff gives you the balance, with the drums kicking in at about the thirty second mark. Rayko rides those sounds for a while, occasionally crashing a cymbal, adding something else in, before smoothing it out until changing it up again at 1:40. And he does that a few times, keeping the bass at its core around which the rest give you a little bit of that slow down funk right up until all the deep sounds are booted out and the high pitched vocals of Prince come in, saying that he needs your lovin’, That’s all I’m living for. And then, obviously, it works up again for the rhythm section to barge in, with the bass and the drums giving you that dancing thing again to ride this one out.

 
 
‘Pacify’ by Kauf

Kauf starts this one oh so quiet, oh so still (kind of in keeping with the title then perhaps), bringing you something that, in a way, resembles bird sounds to me. Then the heavier, somewhat grainy deep instrumentation comes in, providing the canvas for all the lighter instruments to appear and shine on (white works better on black after all). At about the 1:20 mark you get some of that tropical vibe going, with the vocals coming in as well, singing that You forced me into the sun, with the vocals being a bit more slowed down, contrasting the instruments nicely in that. Those vocals get a bit of room to work, with just the smattering synths, after which the rhythm and tropical come back in for a bit, for some of that closed eye dancing with a drink in the hand.

 
 
‘Canyons’ by Clubfeet

They build up a bit of that wall of synth to start, but soon the drums break through it, giving you the dancing rhythm and the slightly detached male vocals. The other vocals, heavily worked, are a bit more immediate, a bit more punchy, giving you that different kind of feel. When the male vocals come in we get some extra percussion, making sure there is a clear thing to dance to there, a base of the track they are sure to not let up on. Although, for a few seconds, around 2:20, it’s just vocals, but quickly the bass is put in there, but it’s the only deep sound against the lighter vocals and instrumentation surrounding it. The band is releasing an EP late January, including this track, so that’s a 2017 thing already ready and rearing to go (with a pick-me-upper in terms of pace at 3:20 again to do the same to you when listening to this).

 
 
‘1 Of These Nites’ (LNTG remix)

Someone’s musical taste, surely, one way or another, is influenced by their mum and dad (whether it stays and remains or heads fleeing out the door), and the Eagles are certainly something I remember from my growing up days. LNTG gives you all the high pitched marvels in that track, and boosts a bit of that bass in there, bit of that rhythm, especially at the two minute mark, where he runs with it, powered by the guitars as the beacons through which the ships pass. Then we really get into the track, with the verse, with the the plurality of guitars, and then the high pitched chorus again, doing the Oooooh, coming right behind you, swear I’m going to find you one of these nights. After which he quickly returns to the ruggedness of the verse. I mean, it’s not a nostalgic dancefloor thing, but it is a nostalgia thing, and LNTG makes it a dancefloor thing, and growing up listening to this track I’m sure getting a kick out of this (especially when that screaming guitar comes in at about 4:20).

 
 
‘I Still Reach Out’ by Lenny Williams (Alkalino rework)

Four seconds in you already hear the former Tower Of Power frontman working it, with one of the better voices this side of the atmosphere. In the mean time the bass is getting da rhythm right, with the little guitar riff coming in at the forty second mark to finish off that funk thing they’ve got going on. The ladies in the back also rear their heads not too long in, helping out the man in the middle who is taking a backseat to the rhythms of the night. He himself only returns after 2:30, yelping out some Ahh babies, but, with that voice, so that makes a difference probably. Alkalino then briefly dials it down before he gets all the bass and the drums running again with the girls in the back leading the way. Short but sassy funk number, with some drippings of Mr. Williams vocals as the icing on the cake.

 
Read more...

The Weekly Froth! - 20160422

  • 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: ‘Outstanding’ by Ziggy Phunk

Ziggy Phunk gets the outstanding (…) boogie going here, first starting with some of that woodwork percussion before getting the slow beat in and, then, the bass sound and the lighter piano to juxtapose it, giving it its jazzy, slick vibe. At the 1:30 mark there’s, first, some extra oomph added, which is a prelude to the smooth vocals coming in, saying how the girl is looking Sweet (if I’m hearing it correctly). In the mean time, in the background, the track rolls on, getting into the groove right there. At the 3:50 mark the background vocals arrive at the scene, singing “Outstanding” in a high pitch as they help the main vocalist out a bit. For a moment the rhythm takes a back seat, but then the familiar boogie gets going again so that all them lovers on the dancefloor can resume their movin’ and groovin’ until the end of time.

 

‘Monday Blues’ by Dr. Packer

Peter Hook was in town here not too long ago, playing some of that old New Order catalogue. The most famous song from them probably is ‘Blue Monday’, which disco edit king Dr. Packer takes a stab at here. So we’ve got plenty of throbbing synths, the well-known rhythm line of the original, and a steady beat as the core running through it. Especially at the 1:50 mark the original sounds come beaming through, with after the two minute point that guitar that, soon after, gets followed by that aaaaaahhh monkish sound. Just before we enter the third minute mark, a teaser, with just the line How does it feel uttered, with a major gap to To treat me like you do. With, to fill the gap, the beat and all those original sounds. The next go around, the vocals are normalized in terms of pace, but get a bit of that vocoder treatment (as if it wasn’t sung in an apathetic manner already). Near the end of this preview we even get a taster of a build-up, before the inevitable fade-out. Wouldn’t mind hearing that full version on the dancefloor.

 

‘Breathe’ by Luxxury

After the first few seconds this one gets going with a festive percussion vibe, soon followed by a nice little bass line to get that booty shakin’ to on the beach. At about the 30 second mark we get the synths, which give it kind of a dreamy atmosphere. Also added to that is a little guitar riff, and all these different instruments help this one to trod forward. Just before the two minute mark there’s a change up, going for a lighter sound and with vocals that are actually somewhat audible, though still in the far away sphere. Then Luxxury dives back to the bass before going more pop with the synth, finding that line between the more disco sounds and the synth-pop accessibility to get a nice summery, dreamy vibe going with this one.

 

‘What That All’ by Lady Jane (James Rod re-work)

From the bass sound we already know this is a re-work of that beloved disco edit classic ‘Was That All it Was’ by Jean Carne, where she’s going to point blank ask you if she was just a prop to occupy your time (Was that all it was? A way to pass the time? Just a momentary thing, not worth remembering). Next to the bass we’ve got plenty of percussion, so the rhythm part is taken care of. Which is a good thing, because with the rhythm parts and some auxiliary sounds James Rod rides this one for a good 3 1/2 minutes before, for the first time, Lady Jane herself gets in there, with the vocals slightly to the background as the rhythm is still very much the main part here (even as the ol’ disco sounds of the original start rearing their heads). And that’s the mix James Rod keeps working, though after that initial drought he isn’t letting up on Carne’s vocals, from actual singing to all the other sounds she’s making throughout the track. A rhythm & percussion heavy re-work of the ol’ classic tune (and a nine minute one at that).

 

‘7, 8 E1’ by Fatnotronic

We get the bells and whistles first, sending us to the tropics for a slow jam. The beat comes in dictating that pace, and then the groovy bass arrives. Those deep sounds get juxtaposed by some of that tropical to give you the flavor to go with the rhythm. At about the 1:25 mark we get the group vocals in a language I don’t quite understand (either that or I’m getting really old apparently), and at the two minute mark the track opens up a bit, doing some horns, putting a bit more emphasis on the lighter sounds. Then, a singular vocal layer on top of all that went before, with the group vocals more a rhythm line at this point. The track ends with just a singular beat, though that belies the vibe that Fatnotronic put in there basically the entire five minutes prior.

 

‘Take Me I’m Yours’ by Mary Clark (iMFROMULL edit)

How about starting with that bass to get the boogie going, eh? That and the wobbly synth sound form the core at the start, though at the forty second mark we hear the horns for the first time, knowing that we’re still in that disco territory. At the 1:30 mark that becomes even more evident, when the disco sounds get in there before they dial it down, waaaay down, with first just the bass, and then the vocals coming in. Soon, the volume gets kicked back up, coinciding with the re-emergence of the horns. At the 2:45 mark, there the vocals are for real for the first time. Both the girls in the back, and the headliner, singing Take me, I’m yours as she wants to be held close to you (You go babe!). The vocals are lovely disco, just as the sounds in the background, including obviously the horns, doing their thing as she sings that You’ve got the power over me. The vocals do that whole takeover business that works so well with these kind of tracks, and the rhythm in the mean time makes sure you can also still dance while you’re singing along with this one edit right here.

 

Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed