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: ‘Wash My Chaka’ Jacques Renault’s Adesse Versions (Kon edit)

It is an edit of Jacques Renault (one of my favs) for Local Talk, which Kon thought he’d sprinkle some Chaka vocals over. No complaining here, as after thirty seconds this one gets into gear in style. There’s a lovely house feel to the dance stuff, and Chaka is strutting her stuff right on top over it, singing that she.loves.you. There’s a slight hold at about 1;45, but Renault really wastes no time keeping the energy up with this one, firmly asking the dancefloor people to keep working it as he just goes on. Those vocals, meanwhile, indeed do fit, giving it a high nrg vibe to go with dat house music. At 3:20, then, the beat gets drawn away for a moment, keeping a deep synth sound and some hi-hats before Chaka comes in singing that she thinks she met you Somewhere in my dreams, immediately signalling the return of the beat as well. It’s a dance dance dance thing, with the House music of Renault combined with the disco up vocals by Chaka, giving the dancers this goodie of a track.

‘Believer’ by Dam-Funk (Fingers Deep - Funk remix)

I love the cheeky way the percussion starts. so funky and sexy, it already tells you to huddle up and get down. At about the forty second mark the synths and piano come in, giving it some lounge vibes. It settles the track down a bit, and the lads ride that vibe for a long while. The first major new shift comes at 2:50, where some stabbing synths are introduced, which then get a deeper sound underneath. I love how the soft piano comes floating in at points, providing a nice contrast to the percussion elements that keep on moving down below. At about 5:20 the bass rolls in, giving a bit of that boogie to work up to the next time that piano arrives. Dam-Funk released an excellent album last year, I saw him give an entertaining trip through House music history at Primavera Sound this year, and then there are the tracks he made with Nite Jewel as well. So the man is keeping busy, and busy churning out quality stuff at that. Released by the !K7 label, which knows its good music.

‘Rescue’ (Rayko Boogie Summertime Dancer re-edit)

Rayko, from the get go, gets those summery sounds in for this disco boogie. Soon he adds the percussion and bass as well, and half a minute in it all collides for what really only can be described as good vibes. Then, after a minute, the vocals, lovely cutting through that harsher synth with that honey suckled sweetness. After the first chorus Rayko brings it down, stripping more and more instruments until you basically have a single percussion, the vocals, and a little guitar riff left. At 3:20 the boogie returns, replacing the vocals for a moment before they come back with the chorus line. Everything underneath keeps on rolling as the vocals draw out the plea to Saaaave me longer and longer, before the chorus girls start singing the title line of the track. Just a lovely disco edit, a task which is in safe hands with Rayko for sure.

‘You’re Gonna Love Me’ by B & The Family

Apparently, this is an actual track from the '80s, but never released. The B in the band is Brian Morgan, who recently remembered he had some tracks shelved somewhere and thought, lets give it a whirl. Et voila, here it is, a catchy soul number also thanks to the drums that strut their stuff nicely. Then, the old school R&B vocals, which are helped out by the girls in the back on occasion as she sings that Oeehh, you’re gonna love me. The bass makes sure to be in there to provide some of that base rhythm, and there’s also a bit of that guitar riffing going around (he is, after all, a guitar player, so yeah). But mostly this is a catchy R&B track ol’ style, giving you all those good vibes at that summer cook-out of your dreams.

‘Taking Libz’ by Patrick Topping

Patrick Topping makes sure the beat is understood by all, giving you the marching orders from the get go on this house tune. Then the bass comes in, though it’s the higher pitched sound that dictates this one before it makes way for other fast moving percussion strikes. At the 1:50 mark the beat is taken out for a moment, with the percussion and the frantic synth sounds keeping that punching going on. Then, some deep, male vocals come in to do some talking, though most attention will most likely go out to the return of that beat that immediately follows. Again, at 3:20, a bit of a rest for the beat, and the dancefloor, though there is still the dulled thud of the drum that keeps them hardcore dancers involved. And it is a fast hitting track specifically aimed at that, the 3AM drug infused going of the body, released on the always partying Hot Creations label.

‘Divina’ by Lane 8

Lane 8 starts this one out with a nice main sound which, as the synth atmospherics come in, change to a deeper, more insistent tone (going from an almost guitar sound to a more key heavy feel), basically preluding the beat that is sure to come in. And there it is, after the first minute mark, nice and deep to juxtapose the synths. And this way, a dance feel develops, going for that pandemonium-in-front-of-the-stage feel with this one. A bass sound is added to give it some more rhythm flavor as the drums keep hitting it. Until the third minute mark that is, where only the hi-hats survive to go with the riffing keys and the atmospheric floating sound, which is a bit deeper than the other remaining instruments to provide a nice canvas there. Though that one is an almost tranquil presence, the other sounds keep a certain restlessness in them, signifying that yes, there’s some more dancing to come. And sure enough, at the five minute mark, lets go dancing for one more round.

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: ‘Dusk’ by Mighty Mouse

Half a month or so ago, Mighty Mouse released this stomper called ‘Dusk’, which from the get go sounds like a club track begging to be danced to. The move from the generic comes after about thirty seconds, and after another half a minute the sound gets expanded yet again with, amongst others, a buzzing bass, but also loads of lighter sounds, moving it away from this “club” feel for good (though dancing people might still want to do on this one, as it is definitely designed for that). There is still this little bit of dirty in there, especially when the main synth sound is stripped away, then you can still hear a bit of that gritty industrial back in there as well. At the three minute mark Mighty Mouse opens the sound up a bit more, and the female vocals are yet another thing used to juxtapose the grittier parts in the track. I love the pace and the forward-moving momentum on this one. Plus how it looks in SoundCloud, that’s quite funny I find.

‘Wallflower’ by Maribou State (Lane 8 remix)

Yeah, I must honestly admit that I haven’t been listening to a lot of Maribou State, but I am enjoying Lane 8’s output, who has recently released a pretty nifty album. On that album there’s a range of nice, electronical music, enlisting help from people like Lulu James and Matthew Dear, for instance. This remix wouldn’t be a weird fit for the album. There’s a sort of dancefloor sensibility, especially with the build-up just before the two minute mark and the kick & quick-paced synth combo just after. But there’s also a certain restraint, a certain lightness as well, which one can recognize from on the album. At the start they make sure the drums are there, which are juxtaposed by the synth that is floating around to put some atmosphere in it. Those drums tend to disappear on occassion, especially when the vocals are there to fill that void, but they are there when they need to be to keep the pace up and the track moving forward. So there is something to dance to, but with the same kind of feel for melody and a certain lightness that Lane 8 also managed to put on his LP (which, if you haven’t yet, is well worth the listen).

‘RVLTN’ by Pineapple Pop (Bit Funk remix)

This one comes rearing out of the gates, immediately going for it with that bassy beat. After about half a minute he tones it down for a second, coming back with a catchy, summery synth line. He builds on that sound by adding some other synths and a tropical percussion sound, and when that heavy hitting instrument from the start comes back now it doesn’t take over, but instead merges with the more tropical party sound that Bit Funk put in there a bit earlier. So suddenly, it sounds more festive. Just after the two minute mark he dials it down again, putting the rhythmic synth front and center, though a few seconds later he throws the percussion back in to get back to that party vibe. And that’s the main thing about this remix, this sense of having a fun party somewhere, they certainly succeed in evoking that feel. So if you are throwing an after-summer summer party, then this is one that might do well in the rotation, with those typical percussion that lay down the mood for this one. Certainly puts the Pineapple in Pineapple Pop.

'Younger Than Me' - Craig Bratley (K Edit)

This one starts with a club beat, as we’re getting our acid house hats on to get down and dirty to. Love the percussion that comes in at the 48 second mark, and at the minute mark we hear some vocals for the first time, accompanied by a bubbly, drug-fuelled synth sound. At 1:30 this one slides back to focus on the beat again, though that sound quickly gets some help from the vocals, the synth, and at about 2:05 there’s a dark synth sound added to give some extra beef to this one. At one point the beat is stripped away, even to the point the track runs on the holding of a key and the echoes of the vocals. Naturally, though, after a while the dirty house gets back in there, with the hypnotic and drug infused feel of the underground club. If you want some of that deep stuff you can close your eyes and just dance to, then this is a lovely new addition to all that that’s already out there to get cracking to. Free download as well by the way, so what’s stopping ya?

‘Sunny Bigler’ by Leon Sweets (Sleazy McQueen remix)

How about some of that disco percussion at the start, I always really like that. In the background we already hear some vocals, which will inch closer and closer to the fore, even after there are some additional drums introduced which are not shy in terms of volume and punch. After the minute mark there’s also a bass that comes in, and then we get some male vocals to help along the rhythm section of percussion, drums, and bass. At the two minute mark some of those African influences are put more up front, and all that rhythm makes dancing pretty easy. The vocals are lovely, both the female and male vocals fit pretty well on top of the rhythm and beat that’s going on, and leave it to Sleazy McQueen to make one smooth ride out of it. The vocals get plenty of room to shine, even the brief spoken word vocals around the four minute mark, which he strips all the instrumentals for. After that, the rhythm is put back in, this time with a different bass, and the vocals are allowed to shine again. Smooth rhythm and vocals make this one to a dance to whilst savoring the enjoyment.

‘Right My File’ by Dimitri From Brooklyn

How about starting with some in-yr-face vocals, including some call-and-response with the girls in the back? At the forty second mark some instruments come in, and after a minute you get the full monty, with the piano and all, from the well-known ‘Relight My Fire’ (though, unfortunately, not the Take That version. Now THAT would’ve been something!). Dimitri From Brooklyn is firing on all cylinders, going full throttle, pedal-to-the-metal for this disco tune, wanting to ensure dancefloor mayhem. So you’ve got the bass in the background to keep this one going forward, but it’s especially the clarity and the punchiness of the vocals and the instruments like the piano and horns (and flippin’ all, really) that makes this one hgh-nrgy and just all out going for it. There’s also a bit of church in there, especially at that bit around 3:30 with primarily the female vocals, just the timing of vocals and instruments, that’s well done. If you don’t know the song, it’s all about relighting her fire, as Your love is my only desire. At about the six minute mark you also get a bit of a twist, suddenly going for rhythm over bombast, which is a nice change of pace. Dimitri from Wherever really is king, queen, and ruler of all in terms of party disco remixes, and proves that once again here. If your primary concern is partying until-you-can’t-party-no-more, this is one to blast through the speakers.