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 seems to be a good moment to look back at some of the tracks that, at the start of 2015, rocked the Casbah.

Track of the Week: ‘Shelter Me’ by Sade (Late Nite Tuff Guy remix)

Sure, this was posted late December last year, but around the Holidays, so 2014 was about all but shut down by that time, eh? So I think we can still count this one for 2015, and anyway, do I really need reasons to post a super nice, super lush edit of a classic Sade track? Late Nite Tuff Guy knows what to do with it, keeping it soft and smooth, with a bit of percussion to help the tender beat out, but it are the synth sounds that lay down the mood of this one. And something like at 1:55, the transition to the bass, that’s lovely. Then some more percussion again, and soon, those impeccable vocals come in, with LNTG knowing that these are the star and giving them plenty of room. They say that they could see it in Your restless eyes, the truth that she was hiding and you could not disguise. LNTG knows when to add the piano in, appearing at all the right moments, as she is coming to the understanding that she needs A miracle to make you stay. A slow groover with exactly the right pace, mood, and amount of heartbreak. And when she yearningly says she wishes that You could shelter me, and LNTG brings in the horns, that’s the ball game folks.

‘The Man Inside Me’ by Thodoris Triantafillou feat. Nomi Ruiz

This track by Thodoris Triantafillou combines a strong back beat, atmospheric sounds, and the ever longing vocals of Nomi Ruiz. After the first batch of vocals you get a nifty synth sound, and when Ruiz goes to a higher pitch we see Triantafillou follow suit with sounds to match that. At one point the vocals get doubled near the end, providing even extra punch as she sings she is Left alone to fight another storm, not being sure why she still loves you. The track is off of an album that came out in January of this year, and it manages to superbly marry those vocals and melancholic lyrics with sounds that both keep this one moving forward, but also add to the feel of the track. Lovely song from the Greek and the former singer of Hercules and Love Affair.

‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton (Todd Terje remix)

The thing the world was waiting for probably. One of the more gut wrenching country tracks of mainstay Dolly Parton gets the makeover treatment by the disco king Todd Terje to produce a lovely dancefloor killer. Everyone can now finally dance to the country guitar and the desperate vocals of Parton as she sings, nay, pleads, Jolene, please don’t take my man (and only just because you can, girl! What the heck!). The percussion underneath provides the dance rhythm, and the guitar is the thing that gives it both its vibe, its recognisable sound, and it helps along with the pacing as well. At the 2:30 mark the drums make way for a minute as, for the first time, the vocals come in, after which a happy, slappy bass starts to run along with the track. The combination is just magical, with Parton crooning that He talks about you in his sleep, whilst in the mean time the track keeping the dancing going.

‘Just Give Me Joy’ by Elvin Tibideaux

Way at the start of the year one of my favorite House labels, Let’s Play House, released this doozy by Elvin Tibideaux, who lets the bass get it on and who keeps the pace nice and high. After the minute mark we get a little guitar strumming as well in the background as, in the mean time, the speed is still up and away. At the 1:50 mark there’s a bit of room for a breather, but you know that, soon enough, it is going to come back in its full glory. One of those dancefloor speed freaks with deceptive depth with all the sounds that help out underneath the surface. And, you know, the bass, you gotta slap it people, and that certainly is what Tibideaux does here. Before the 3:30 mark it again takes it down a notch, but after that, Oh glory, there come the vocals! And the guitar is a bit more up front. The vocals are screaming it out, yelling that she needs You!, saying a minute later that she gets what she wants (and If I don’t get it, I don’t want it! You tell them girl). In the mean time the bass keeps this one rolling, only taking it down a minute when she insists that you Stay right there. LPH definitely a label you want to keep an eye on if you love this kind of thing (and who doesn’t, really, now).

‘Be Love’ by Natty Fensie (The Supermen Lovers remix)

In March The Supermen Lovers posted their edit of Natty Fensie’s ‘Be Love’, giving it the cheeky dancefloor treatment. It just has this lovely Lets have fun vibe written all over its face, with a lovely pace gotten through a variety of percussion and bass in most stretches, and in some there’s a little piano and guitar going on. Natty Fensie, in the mean time, is telling you to Give it, and the Supermen Lovers do, at 3:20 by going all out on the synth for example, with the bass providing the boogie underneath. It’s just a lovely fun romp, with enough pace to get down and flirty to on the dancefloor. And, at the end, even giving you a little surprise with some of that cosmic jivin’ guitar as it slows it down for its final minute or so.

‘All U Writers’ by !!!

!!! released an amazingly fun dance album with loads of catchy tunes to get all your dancing moves out, and this bass heavy little number they released at the very start of April, already laying down the groundwork for what was to come. The vocals turn deep at first, but then go up a notch as also the female vocals come in. The bass, meanwhile, is still doing all that ridin’, with some guitar strumming getting in there for good measure. And, at about 2:45, it is that guitar that gets a bit of working room before the bass comes back in to claim its domain and to get all the dancers dancing again. First, though, some vocals, some working up to the inevitable fall, and then, at 3:40, there it is, for all y’all to get that boogie on again. Nice and deep in terms of sound, yet surprisingly upbeat and fun in terms of feel, just one slice of the joy !!! brought with their latest LP outing.

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: ‘Down To Earth’ by Flight Facilities (Sean Glass remix)

Sean Glass comes in with a little beat here, but as the synths appear soon the tone starts to become apparent. The synths are relatively slow, relatively melancholic, which gets relatively counterbalanced by the sound that comes out from underneath. At about the minute mark you can hear the build-up nearing it’s climax, but instead of a major beat being dropped they shift up the synths. And for the second possibly climactic moment at about 1:30, again, they don’t go in all-out party mode, but instead they kind of strip the synths away for the percussion to take center stage, and with them Glass gives us the first taste of vocals. In the mean time he keeps working those big synth sounds, adding some layers underneath to give the track its rhythm. I love that strip down cue-the-bass moment at about 3:30, though the deep bass is quickly traded in for two layers of synths again (the big bold synth, and the happier, quicker one). The vocals now really start to enter the equation, logically being followed by the full fledged sound of the track, combining both of them. That’s a nice build-up, as you’ve already heard the big sounds before, and now they come back in again, but this time they get paired up with these soulful vocals. I like that he does return to that bass sound that got a brief moment of fame a couple of minutes before, I find it quite soothing when things go neatly round like that. It’s like all is well in the world when that happens, innit? It’s just a nice, accomplished track that does have some big sounds, but still has some restraint in its tone, instead of being just another full-on party track.

‘Make U Mine’ by Late Nite Tuff Guy

LNTG will try to get you on the dancefloor again, this time taking on ‘Gonna Make You Mine’, an Eighties track by Loose Ends. So he gets all those funky rhythm sounds in there, including that bass sound at about the 40 second mark, to make sure that the dancefloor certainly is an option. At the 1:30 mark you get some lighter instrumentals that come in, and just before the two minute mark those nice R&B vocals enter the fray as well. Those female vocals are getting some help from the boys at the back, before the honeyed male vocals come in to make it a duet, two people circling each other trying to make the other theirs (some people are going to feel lucky tonight!). I like the vocal shift at about 3:40, with the male vocals going deep, cheekily whispering “I’m gonna, gonna make you mine”, and I swear I already hear someone panting in the background (some people just cannot behave!). In the mean time, LNTG keeps this one throdding forward with, especially, the bass, which gets its moment in the spotlight around 4:40. Some nice R&B and soul flavors in this track to do some of that love dancing to.

‘Friends Of Mine’ by Ben Browning

You know that when any of the Cut Copy guys take the stage, it’s going to be catchy and fun. This one starts nice and light, then you get some of that percussion in, after which a deeper, lazier synth balances the track out. But when the bass enters at about the fifty second mark and the happier synthesizer line is the second main sound, that is the point where the track really shifts it’s focus to having fun and getting some dancing done. The vocals come in shortly after, singing about when he takes a step back instead of going gung-ho forward, he will find Friends of Mine (well, his, obviously) still there. And that’s worth some celebrating, I reckon. Again, the happy synth line and the bass make this so catchy and easy to have a little party to, and it is one of those tracks where I can see myself at some sort of beach party dancing as the sun goes down.

‘Celeste’ by Bicep

The duo of Bicep starts this one off with some percussion (and some ominous, dark sounds in the background. Don’t think I don’t notice you, shadows of the damned! *waves fist in the air*). Shortly after this deep beat comes in, really taking the tone into the depths of middle earth. Then an equally deep bass comes in, but also these atmospherical, haunted vocals arrive, which gives it this ethereal quality. So these vocals are moved more up front, and start to transmorph into genuine female vocals, whilst all these deep rhythm sounds keep going at it in the background. They get counterbalanced at one point by a lighter piano sound, though that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one to play at 04:00 at a Berlin club somewhere, one of those where you need to descent a stair to get there. The piano does, at one point, move more up front in the mix, making a nice combo with the distant vocals. In the mean time, the percussion has never lead up, and will guide you towards the end of this nice deep dance track with some of that atmosphere to boot.

‘Ain’t No Mountain’ by LeSale

LeSale goes for the homerun here, editing one of those iconic songs that everyone can sing along to. His intent is clear right from the start, with the drums, percussion, and the synths that swell up to epic proportions even before the first minute is over. The minute mark sees the addition of even more booming sounds, including a bass, and he keeps building it to, obviously, the point that the vocals are going to come in. This happens just after the second minute mark, in as dramatic a fashion as you’d expect. The track has attitude and flair, and LeSale makes sure that doesn’t go lost when the girls enter the stage. He reels them back in, going for a stretch of percussion and bass before the synths start to swell up again to build towards the second round of vocals, which arrive just before four minutes are over. I love the transition from the chorus to the “ohh-hoo-ho-hoo-ho” vocal lines that have the bass and beat under it (and later, the percussion), it gives the chorus a nice bit of extra padding that he didn’t bring the first time around, making sure it isn’t just the same thing twice. This is the kind of thing that is go bold or go home, and LeSale keeps it fun and knows to enter the vocal parts with a punch, because everyone wants to scream along with that at the top of their lungs. Because, you know, There ain’t no mountain high enough! Ain’t no valley low enough! Ain’t no river wide enough! To keep me from getting to you babe! So you better know I’m coming sweet cheeks.

‘Listen To My Music’ by DJ Pupo

How about some of those tribal drums to get this one deep and going? I love the big, bad beat just throbbing forward, but the small percussion elements to keep it on its toes. At the 45 second mark you get some of those African rhythms in, helped also by a vocal line. The bell starts ringing as the male vocals do their talking in a language I’ve got no idea about (and this time, I’m fairly confident a reasonable bunch of you won’t either, so no blaming my education here!). Then both male and female vocals implore you to Listen, though probably you will be feeling all those drums and percussion elements as well, as the track really lays down this nice rhythm you’ve just got to be jacking your body to. At about the three minute mark he dials it down for just a moment, taking the big beat away, obviously building back to another strong rhythm element to take over again. That’s probably the greatest thing about this one, it’s got the big rhythm element he knows to ride, but he has all these amazing auxiliary sounds to give it some edge and to keep it fresh. Especially since they really add and not distract to the feel of the track. Which is, by the way, very body oriented. Its just got all those rhythm vibes that are there to feel, so no wonder it gets a release via the Boiler Room.