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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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.

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: ‘Free (From Social Narcotics)’ by VinylAddicted and Sleazy McQueen

VinylAddicted and Sleazy McQueen get the rhythm moving, first arriving with some all too familiar beats and drums, and then throwing in a deliriously delicious bass sound that will get the house a rockin’. The piano enters the fray too, giving you the light next to all the rhythm sounds. At the 1:50 mark we hear a male voice say Free, which is also the cue to go back to the bass and drum sounds that were running the campaign earlier. Then, more vocals, dialling down the volume on all the other sounds so they can be loudly heard exclaiming that, yessir, the most dangerous narcotics are the Social narcotics. In the mean time, this tune is moving like a motherflipper, giving you a lovely smooth rhythm base to keep you riding that horsey. The talking male vocals are a nice counterweight, adding a bit of gritty, a bit of an edge. I’d throw this in a set any time, really, such a smooth ride with plenty of momentum in there to have everyone gobbling it all up for the entire meal.

 ‘Fever’ by Roosevelt

Roosevelt gets the summery synths out, before moving to the steady beat a few minutes in. After that, even more summery synths, giving you that festival vibe. All those good vibrations are shared by the percussion sounds. Roosevelt takes it down just before the minute mark, as he puts the vocals in, giving it this more dreamy air. Funnily enough, the chorus is all about the instrumentals, and not even so much about Roosevelt singing Bring back the fever again. But it’s the uptick in pace and festive tones that really leave an imprint on it all. The song clocks in a little over the four minute mark, giving you a lovely slice of pop for the beach festivals this summer, even giving you a bit of that guitar at the end.

‘Sly’ by Polographia feat. Winston Surfshirt

I love that gentle guitar riff that comes in right at the start, at the same moment the band introduces the drum kick in the back. It’s got a bit of that dream gazer feel to it, though at the minute mark they give it a little bit of an oomph. The vocals remind me a bit of MGMT, singing that they want To funk. Some of the instrumentals give it a slight exotic vibe, whilst the bass and beat keep the song on the straight and narrow. When they dial it down they focus on the vocals, with some beach-y synth sounds in the back. I like the laidback feel of the track, all the while making sure the rhythm doesn’t let up or gets too loose. Naturally, you could’ve known that, if a track features someone called Surfshirt, you’re going to get that Dude kind of vibe going on, on a little bed of rhythm.

‘Don’t Play Games’ by Nite-Funk

I, personally, had loads of fun at the Dam-Funk gig at the Primavera Sound festival this year, and that Nite Jewel record is none too shabby either (definitely have a listen to that one if you haven’t yet). This track, though, goes a bit darker, a bit choppier, and a bit more night-time-in-the-back-alley, turning slightly away from their Soul, House, Synth-Pop type bands to a more dark R&B heavy turn. Especially thanks to the aggressive feel of the drums, contrasting nicely the more soft-spoken vocals by Nite Jewel, whose delivery follows the drum, rubbing some of its aggressiveness off on it. In the mean time there are some synths in the background, giving it a slight spacey feel, though it’s primarily the bass that is doing the works back there. I love the spunk that this track has, and it shows that sometimes when people come together they can really come up with stuff different from their own works.

‘Heavy Danse' by Tom Of Brooklyn

I love how it first gets the percussion going, and then the rhythm, giving you that African flavor with the drums. Then the female vocals come in, singing that they Like it, with the bass then providing some extra rhythm for good measure. Around the minute mark they dial that part down just a tad, just to come back with a little more oomph. Next to all the rhythm elements the percussion plays a big part in the feel of the track as well, not only there to guide the dancers’ motions. At one point other female vocals come in, singing the ooh-hoo-hooo lines even sans the rhythm, though quickly a deeper base drum enters the scene, after a little while accompanied by the whole percussion works. It’s a hypnotic rhythm tune, giving you all the percussion you can handle next to the core dance base that it keeps on handing you as well.

‘People On The High Line’ by New Order (LNTG Can’t Get Any Higher remix)

New Order’s people called Late Nite Tuff Guy asking if he could do a remix of ‘People On The High Line’, the new single by the iconic band. It takes LNTG about sixteen seconds to get the main beat in, adding the bass at about the half minute mark. This combines with the lighter percussion sounds, that are there from the get go and get more and more company from deeper rhythm sounds as time goes by. At about the minute mark we hear the vocals for the first time, courtesy of Elly Jackson of La Roux fame. At 1:40 LNTG ticks the track more to his signature sound, and at the two minute mark he goes for that festive dance feel that he always does so well. At 2:40 we go a bit piano house, letting the keys do most of the work on top of a minimal beat, with the deeper sounds (including the bass) coming back shortly after to accompany that piano sound (that will be ditched moments later). Like LNTG is prone to do, it’s super smooth, with a lovely rhythm, and if I have one minor thingamajig, then it’s the addition of the male vocals. I mean, I know it’s New Order, but this track would’ve been served better with just Elly’s vocals in my opinion. Other then that, lovely jam to do some dancing to for sure.