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: ‘Steppin’ by Sandy Barber (John Morales mix)

Another Morales mix taking it to the disco town. Sandy Barber starts out, saying that You think you’re so smart, but you’re mistaking (you tell him, hon!). And, as she does so, she puts on those nice diva disco vocals, announcing that She’s going to do some steppin’ of her own, at which point the bass comes in to get all the dancefloor people aflutter. There’s also a bit of cymbal in there, some a capella moments, chosen at the exact moment that she says he’s a Cheat and a lier. And that’s something Morales does so well, giving Sandy Barber all the room to do her thing, and with that, making sure that disco love story of empowerment comes through loud and clear. Then, the percussion and bass to make sure there’s the dancefloor as well as the attitude. Also some attitude in that bass though, getting some action at 3:50 before some riffs come and help it out along with Mrs. Barber herself. Just one of those bulls-eye disco edits with plenty of vocals and bass to sing and dance along to.

‘Beat the Heat’ by Turbotito & Daniel T

Turbotito & Daniel T get the booty shakin’ right from the get go. It’s got a steady beat working, but also plenty of bass and synth sounds that make sure it’s a hip thing. Then, the vocals, announcing that they Just can’t seem to sleep, can’t make it through the heat. The vocals are accompanied primarily by the bass sound, which, a go around later, get some woodwork percussion for a helping hand. The vocals, by the way, nice and deep, and contrast with the lighter key sounds that are used as a substitute for the vocals. Slowly but surely it changes into this sultry mid-paced burner with techno elements, giving off some of that body heat. Around 2:30 there’s an instrumental interlude started, after which they slowly build it up again, also helped out by multiple vocal layers that start overlapping and synth work that moves to a crescendo. That happens at about 4:20, when bass and percussion help the track towards its ending. Nice slice of deepness to be found here.

‘Good Inside’ by Al Kent

How about some of that slappin’ bass action from Al Kent? The girl in question invites you by saying Come on, baby, and surely there’s plenty of bass to get in action to. After the minute mark we get some of that guitar riffin’ their way through, and then, at 1:30, the girl gets workin’ herself, forcefully belting out that I need you. And she doesn’t stop turning out some of that powerful vocal work, and the bass keeps working it as well to get that dancing going on. You make me feel, Whoo!, good inside, she also gleefully yells out, so no wonder she wants you to Come on, baby. There’s definitely no letting up in this big tune of a House song, and even when the vocals go a bit more low key, there’s always the bass to keep this one going forward. A strong power house, this performance right here I’d say.

‘Mom and Dad’ by Xinobi (Richie Hell Clean remix)

Richie Hell takes on the Discotexas stalwarts Xinobi with this catchy remix, where the bass comes in at the twenty second mark and basically takes this one all over. The other instruments give it this quirky, synth-pop feel, bringing some freshness to the proceedings (you always need to keep it fresh y’all). At the two minute mark the Texas drawled female vocals come in, giving it a nice drawn out quality to balance the bass and rhythm elements. Halfway through Richie dials it down a bit, and at 3:20 the beat and the vocals both come back to aid the bass in getting it on.  I love how that Discotexas vibe is still there, but perhaps this Clean remix takes the synth-pop more into the house dancefloor as well, with enough bass and beat to hang on your hat to. 

‘Do the Right Thing’ by The Revenge (Nachtbraker remix)

After a few seconds in the percussion gets some help from a rather deep beat, which then gets juxtaposed by some keys in the background before, at the fifty second mark, we really go deep house with this one. Not to say the lighter sounds disappear, they stay, but all the rhythm sounds just take a dive into the nightclub. A tad in front of the two minute mark we get some cowbell action in there, also providing a somewhat higher pitched key sound. This turns out to be a prelude to a slight shift in tone, even though the beat that remains a staple underneath to keep it all grounded. And so Nachtbraker doesn’t only add or subtract sounds, but also shifts in tone and (at for example 3:30) pace for this hypnotic, 7:30 minute dance tune. Smack down in the middle there’s a rather lengthy part where all the rhythm parts are tuned out, though around 4:30 there’s a quick turn around, after which this one gets a bit more bombastic with the bass in there. So if you weren’t feeling party before, from now until the end there really aren’t any excuses anymore.

‘Yes We Can Can’ by the Pointer Sisters (Dazzle Drums Block Party edit)

How about a slow burning bass sound to get this one in motion, doing the sexy strut right there. There’s some slight guitar strumming to help out, doing that blues thang, and then they come in, singing that they Try to find peaceful things, and telling all them young girls to Remember you all had mothers. But, they conclude, Yes we can can, as in, We can make it work. In the mean time that bass is still giving that slow funk pace, having a bit of that percussion to help out. The double guitar and vocals, meanwhile, give it all the right vibes and even come together all at the same time. And with the minimal set up it’s all about those two and the bass rhythm for them bunch of hip cats to do a little dancing together to.

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: ‘We Know How To Work It’ by Ron Basejam feat. Danielle Moore

Ron Basejam gets the rhythm working from the get go with the percussion, and a bit later you get a nice rhythm synth in there to complete this dancefloor feel. Shortly after the male vocals come in, telling us that they know How to work it. And a bit of bass, like that one that comes in a bit later, sure helps with working it on the dancefloor. At about 1:40 we hear Danielle Moore for the first time, a singer that Basejam has worked with before and who kind of fits the R&B kind of style this slow burning house tune has. There’s a nice little change of pace at about 2:30, seeing a nice little beat come in along with Moore actually doing some singing this time around. She gets some help from the male backing vocals, still telling us that they know how to work it, and I’m sure people on the dancefloor will eagerly follow their lead. Especially when, as a finishing touch, there’s also a little bit of guitar thrown in there as well. It’s easy on the ear, catchy, and just the right pace to get the dancefloor shaking their hips to with this R&B flavoured house track.

‘White Light’ by Shura

This one starts real urban cold like, with what I gather to be some city street noises (or perhaps it is just noise, but that is the connotation I get from it) accompanying a lonely piano. Don’t be fooled though, about a minute in the track shows its true colours (they come shining through), with a disco-lite R&B rhythm keeping this one danceable and rhythmic, as Shura does her thing on top of it. The chorus is pretty big, with Shura’s dreamy vocals being juxtaposed by the almost pop brashness of it. At about 3:20 the track slides from the chorus into a percussion heavy kind of bridge that eventually leads up to another chorus. The track lets us get our breath back a bit around the five minute mark, where it dials it all down to let some of the instruments create some atmosphere before it goes back to the catchy, dancey popness of before, this time in the shape of a proper jam out with guitars, drums, and all that jazz. A lovely, seven minute behemoth that combines quite silent moments with those that make you want to dance in the sunlight.

‘Reach’ by Jasper Street Company (Kenny Carpenter & Dimitri From Paris remix)

Dimitri From Paris takes us to church, starting with some organ and major gospel singing as he takes an older Kenny Carpenter edit of this tune and makes it this slice of Dimitri disco that I, for one, love. The first minute introduces us to the gospel, and after that the piano and horns come in first, and then the aforementioned piano gets its little moment after the break to slide this one into a verse, with the female vocals singing that you have to Use what you’ve got, to get what you want. Though, admittedly, the line after (that His light is shining through) makes that way less sexual than any disco connotation I usually can come up with for a line like that. No denying the major vocal work that this company/choir is laying out there though, with some nifty piano playing and handclap sounds to keep this one flowing (and the organ to keep this one in the church). Just before the five minute mark the spirit enters the building, with Dimitri upping the pace with a drumkick and handclaps to keep up with the male vocals doing the works. After that he eases it back down a bit again with the piano. If you like yourself a bit of gospel house, this is an all-out, no bars hold example of that.

‘I Can’t Dance’ by Wayward

The image accompanying this track on soundcloud shows some serious diva vogueness, so that sure heightens the expectations here. And, with some piano and deep vocals, it delivers a short, fast-paced burst of it. The male vocals say that You broke my heart, because I couldn’t dance, and you didn’t even want me around. But the man apparently took some classes, practiced some in front of the mirror, and now is back to proof them all wrong. The drum certainly makes this an easy track to show them how wrong they were, having this house vibe going on. The piano certainly helps to create the right mood as well, and some of the auxiliary sounds round it all out. Near the end the bass comes in too for that extra bit of oomph just before closing time. The track is taken from the lads second EP called Embroider, which will be released in not too long.

‘The Ruined Map’ by CFCF

If you like yourself a bit of atmospherical music that is expertly crafted, than young fella CFCF and his next album is the place to be. He’s got a real good ear for tone, and in this little, very minimal track he once again manages to display this quality. It has perhaps a singer-songwriter feel to it, moreso than his previous output I find. It leans heavily on the dreamy vocals and the acoustic guitar, but the way it distances itself from the crowd is the piano and other assorted sounds that lie beneath that surface. That is what really creates this sense of mood (just listen to how the song subtly shifts between 2:10 and 2:30), and what makes it such a joy to listen to. Again, it’s a short one this, but despite its short lifespan certainly manages to get me excited for that summer album that’s coming up.

‘Backchat’ by The Revenge

The Revenge makes sure this one hits home from the start, coming up with this hard beat to make himself perfectly clear. It takes a while, about up to the minute mark, for the song to break lose from the iron grip of the beat, and it does so with a bit of bass action. The way he slides this track into what it eventually becomes is pretty stellar, it is so natural how this one progresses, and not with the “here’s another instrument half a minute later” that is so often used (or maybe he uses it here as well, but then he hides it better). He makes good use of volume to build momentum, and there are some moments that he uses to add a bit of oomph. Repetition and the way he slowly adds a low volume new sound to the main element he is repeating, that’s one of the keys here. Plus how he glides some disco/jazzy sounds in there after the three minute mark, turning this one from a deep-ish house track with primarily dance sounds to something that exhumes a bit more fun. Which is epitomized by the sudden vocal outburst around 4:15, which makes the transformation complete. And just before the five minute mark we even get some strings to juxtapose the more loop-like structure of the dance elements of this track. The first and last minutes of this one belie what it actually becomes and was, and the middle part is quite the thing to listen to.