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The Weekly Froth! - 20161216

  • 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: ‘Absence Of Rhythm’ by This Soft Machine

If ya like it rough, with that nice, strong bass pushing this one forward, then this one might just be for you. These main sounds get counterbalanced by some lighter, playful synth sounds, and provided with some extra rhythm through some of that percussion action. In the mean time there is a kind of rhythmic spoken word vocal, almost hoarse, saying that You gotta drop out when you feel it spin. Which, then, is followed by a batch of percussion, which lasts even when the bass and beat are tuned out before coming back for a bit of that dancing action. A short time later there’s again a stop and go moment, this time riddled with spacey synths, before that bass and cowbell return to get dat riddim right. Just released, so instantly possible to pick up.

 

‘Lost Your Mind’ by Zimmer feat. Fhin

This one starts lovely understated, and then the melancholic vocals come in, which, in tone, are helped out by the piano. A slow tick can be heard in the background, before a more playful rhythm takes over, which is aided and abetted by the guitar. These two things, the verse versus the more chorus like feel of the aforementioned rhythm and guitar, balance each other out nicely, with the vocals the glue that keeps it all together. The vocals which, by the way, get a moment in the spotlight around the three minute mark, where all the rhythm elements (including the drums) are stripped, and only when the bass sound comes in do we slowly start returning to the chorus like structure. This is a cut off of a new EP that will arrive in stores later this month, if one still is in the business of late Christmas gifts, keep an eye out for this one right here.

 

‘Voices’ by John Talabot

John Talabot is back out with a release on Permanent Vacation, again coming at you with a hypnotically deep track, working the rhythms and, later in the track, some amazing chopped up female vocals to counter the bass sounds that he has put in there. A transition like at around 4:54 is just so nice, just slightly altering the pitch, giving you just that change in pace to give it this feel of moving forward, instead of making it drown in repetitiveness. It gives you the good thing of looping, but not the negative effects. And he does these kind of things throughout the track, sometimes as subtle as an extra instrument that only can be heard in intervals, and sometimes he goes into a different direction with a bigger tug at the steering wheel. Talbot is one of the main men out there for this kind of music, and something like this just probes me to put that vinyl copy of Fin on and give it a whirl.

 

‘Another Night’ by JKriv feat. Adeline Michele (Thatmanmonkz remix)

Thatmanmonkz is at the reigns for this one, taking the JKriv disco tune and giving it some deep & underground vibes at the start, bringing it back up with the bouncy bass and the vocals, courtesy of Adeline Michele. She is saying that it’s Just another night without your love, before hitting the verse around 1:05 after a little line by the bass. It seems a bit sped up compared to the original, which really was a love lorn disco song, with this one having a bit more punch, a bit more of that club vibe. But still it’s with Michele’s vocals and that tale of love gone by, even though she is admitting that When it’s good, it’s soooo good. And that’s why she’s still going out there to live and fight another day. At 3:20, that’s the moment, that’s when Thatmanmonkz gets out a bit of that nasty deep bass, ending it’s reign with a vocal turn before everything comes back in again. If you haven’t listened to it yet, the man released a killer album this year, just sayin’.

 

‘Love Me Tonight’ by Fern Kinney (SanFranDisko Digital Mix)

How about some of that old school, getting the energy up with this glittery disco ball of a tune. First you get the beat setting the pace, and then the guitar riff, the bass, and, finally, the vocals. Those vocals, and the build-up that you are hearing right on through, it’s just one of those hands in the air disco things that is just a dancefloor filler with everyone singing along with the "Hooooold mee clooose" lines of the chorus. After which they dive into the guitar riff again before Fern Kinney comes back in, explaining in even more words the one thing that disco sometimes simply is about, namely finding that person to Love me tonight. One of those euphoric sounding disco songs with a dash of longing that would work as close out to the night as well. Just in case you were still working out your New Year’s set.

 

‘Winter In America’ by Gil Scott-Heron (Moullinex Edit)

Moullinex immediately brings the percussion in, giving us those lovely wooden sounds before putting the beat and click in after the half minute mark or so. In the mean time we hear the jazzy sounds to set the tone, anchoring this track’s mood to balance the smoothness of the boogie. At the 1:39, that boogie becomes a blues, as the rhythm is dialled all but out for Gil Scott-Heron’s poetry, singing that it is Winter in America. A declaration after which Moullinex returns with the rhythm alongside, a bit later on, a new main sound that rides on top of it. The jazzy vibes persists though, don’t you worry about a thing darling. At about 3:25 again the rhythm is switched off again, first for the instrumentals, then for another storytelling tale by Heron, indicating that Nobody is fighting ‘cause nobody knows what to say. And if you don’t know what to say, you just dance the blues away, and with the rhythm back in that’s a pretty appealing prospect all in all.

 

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The Weekly Froth! - 20160325

  • 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: ‘Take U 2 My House’ by Thatmanmonkz (feat. Khalil Anthony)

Thatmanmonkz recently released his album Columbusing, which can be heard in full on his SoundCloud. This is one of those tracks, doing the deep house, with the deep talking male vocals, and this nice, funky bass coming in at about the fifty second mark. Khalil Anthony, over that groovin’ and moovin’ bass, talks about how he saw this gal at the club, not knowing whether to talk to her or not, and then realising that Tonight was my… opportunity. That’s the point the bass gets stripped, the beat and drum take over for a moment, and just after the two minute mark the bass re-enters to help out a bit in the rhythm department. Then, a lovely tete-a-deux with singing and talking vocals, with the singing vocals being removed from the doubt that the talking vocals had earlier, pondering What do you want me to do to you, now that we are alone (Oh that’s what we all know too well there, now don’t we?). The beat is relieved of duty for a moment when the talking vocals come back in, which is a nice touch, playing with the pace like that. The whole album is definitely worth a listen, with this one being one of my personal favorites, also because of that whole atmosphere it creates with the story and all.

 

‘Across The Sea’ by Falqo

Obviously this one starts with the sounds of the sea (you knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?), but soon enough some finger snapping and a bit of pop piano come in. Then, a cutting guitar of yore, which is super nice, though it gets ditched when the pop comes in just before the minute mark with the drums and the vocals. And, okay, still the guitar riff, though not as present. When the chorus comes around Falqo dials it down almost completely, letting the vocals run the show for a while, before hitting the pace again just before the two minute mark (conveniently on the line “People are moving”). It’s really a nice, happy sounding slice of catchy disco pop this one, with some nice touches that we don’t always see that often anymore. That keeps the balance between that and the conventions all right, giving us the ease of what we know and some tinges of otherness to keep it fun as well.

 

‘Love Is A Lonely Dancer’ by Antony & Cleopatra

How about that bassy sound to start this one off, soon being helped out by the vocals singing about those times When you walk the line like there’s a razorblade. Then, some vintage synth house sounds come in, giving it this vocal house sound with not one, but two sets of vocals! Dear lord, what madness! The female vocals come in at the chorus, singing the title line that Love is a lonely dancer. After that, more out-and-out house sounds. The song, at one point, goes into a short stretch without vocals, but soon turns back to the chorus again. After that it pumps it up a bit, adding some extra oomph by seemingly upping the pace some, but especially by adding more sounds to also give this idea of increased volume. This is three minutes of that ol’ school housin’ going on I’d say.

 

‘Midnight Plane’ by Trujillo

Starting with the beat, Trujillo is about to take us for a little disco slow burner there. After about 30 seconds this nice and lazy atmospheric synth sound comes in, which gets juxtaposed by a more rhythmic bass sound. To boost that part, Trujillo adds a bit of hand percussion in there as well, though he strips some of that for higher pitched piano sounds. At 2:20 the two come together, getting the groove going and riding that one for a while before a little piano solo is added there on top of the bass rhythm. Almost got that jazzy quality right there. Suddenly some vocals can be heard, just for a short “whoo-oh-oh”, which is the cue for a slight change-up, though really the main groove remains for that Rio-at-the-beach disco party feel to shake those hips to. Midnight plane we’d like to take there indeed.

 

‘Many Lovers’ by Judge Funk (Yam Who? re-edit)

Yeah baby, let’s get going with this one! High on pace, this one starts with a beat and space synth combo, providing some up-tempo rhythm for all those many lovers to get riding into the midnight to. At 1:25 that all gets dialled down in favor of some piano and the first meeting with the vocals, stuttering their way to the “g” there. That is, up until the 1:55 mark, when the soulful male vocals enter, announcing that they Can’t stop. The stutter gives it a nice 80s vibe, with the returning remark of being unable to stop fitting the high energy that the track exhumes. And that with some piano to boot, as witnessed around the three minute mark, even going a bit of solo there. And no, he just Can’t stop, giving you my love, though at 3:30 there is about ten seconds of a break before the rhythm gets back in and the piano now really gets a good crack at it. This really is one for the party that is a-going and for the dancers who somehow (and we won’t ask exactly how, honey, I promise) managed to get some extra juice in those dancing legs after midnight. For babe, the pace is up, and not about to stop, that’s for sure.

 

‘U Betta’ by Girl Ultra

Oh lord, you know some yearning of the heart is gonna come with those notes being hit at the start. Then, the R&B beat to go with those keys, with the bass adding a bit of funk as well. Then the vocals come in, super smooth, singing that, Boy, u betta take me into outer space (We all want one of those babe, no doubt). This one is one for the couples to get close and sexy to on the dancefloor, even with some full stops to really slow it down, and with the vocals giving you some reason to do that something something together to, ending with Whenever I get cold, baby come to me, turn me into gold, this before ending this one with a couple of repeats of the chorus. Some nice contemporary R&B, slowing it way down, especially near the finish line, with the just the piano giving this one its fitting end.

 

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