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:  ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ by Denie Corbett (Jesse Rudoy remix)

The always amazing Let’s Play House label is back in business again with a free download, this time a Jesse Rudoy edit of the old school disco tune ‘What You Won’t Do For Love’ by Denie Corbett. It starts out with a dancefloor beat, there are some bell-like sounds there in the mix, but the real going on starts after the minute mark, when the bass comes in. After about 1:30 you get the quintessential disco moan (because it’s all about that ol’ love making, ain’t it?), as in the mean time the bass and the beat keep this one danceable. At about 2:15 you get the horns in, which is always a good sign as usually that indicates the vocals are about half a minute away. After those 30 seconds, first, he kicks the pace up with a fast drum, and the vocals come in half a minute after that one. And they are those sassy, disco vocals you remember from the genre, singing that She gets down on her knees, with the chorus girls singing “What you won’t do for love”, which is lovely cheeky and so fitting for that ol’ disco. From this point on monsieur Rudoy just keeps this one moving, with the vocals, the fast-paced drum, the strings, just the whole thing really. At about 5:20 he returns to the bass, letting that one grind it out, finishing this lovely edit that makes any old disco song into a modern day dancefloor tune with how danceable it is combined with the vocals and sass you want on a night out.

‘Undercover’ by Lane 8 feat. Matthew Dear

Lane 8 is readying the release of his upcoming album Rise, and on this track he has enlisted Matthew Dear and his deep, melancholic vocals to do the singing over the more summery synth lines he himself churns out. Though especially the secondary synth and the drums form a nice bridge between the main synth and the vocals. At 1:28 Lane 8 picks up the pace with a fast drum, giving the song its uplifting party feel to counterbalance the sense of blues eminating from the vocals of Dear, asking whomever to Let it feel, that it is real. So even in those lines there’s this sense of hope, that goes with the way Lane 8 has constructed the instrumentals for the song. Lane 8 really builds this track up nicely, from the synths to the drums, and how he structures those throughout the song, that’s why you get this sense of momentum. For the ending he dials it down a bit, going with just the vocals and a piano to round it all out. The album is shaping up to be well-worth giving a go, and if you have never seen Matthew Dear live, be sure to catch him the next time he’s coming to a town near you.

‘Turn Off The Lights (Who’s Afraid Of The Ark)’ by Kerri Chandler

Kerri Chandler wastes no time laying down the works with that fast paced, hard hitting beat, accompanying them with some of those classic house synth sounds. In the mean time you’ve got those deep, talky male vocals asking (nay, demanding to know) Whose afraid of the lights?. At 1:20 you get this lighter synth entering, making sure no one is mistaking this for anything else than that sweet ol’ house music. Just before the 2:30 mark Chandler throws a little bass in there as well to get things really cooking, mixing it with some percussion to sweeten the deal. In the mean time the vocals are still of the opinion that we should Turn off the lights, because, well, who knows what will happen then, eh? Chandler makes sure you have bits like at 3:20, where he dials down the beat for a moment to then let it back in again, at which points all y’all on the dancefloor can pull out your fiercest move/look/pose out of the bag to get back in it again. I mean, this is house for the dancefloor, a tune to be pulling out DJing at the club during the wee hours of the night to let them all get down to. Chandler knows a thing or to about that, and it’s on display again here, just old school night clubbing.

‘Our Muzic’ by Glenn Crocker feat. Harold Big Ed Matthews

In this track Harold Big Ed Matthews says that it is a Celebration of a nation, and the fun bassline sure makes there’s a celebratory vibe in this danceable jazz tune from Chicago’s Glenn Crocker. The bass and drums take care of the rhythm part, with some piano free roaming on top as the spoken word is poetically giving an ode to, especially, music, saying that people are living to blend in with the music, and that this is Our music. In the mean time the bass and drums keep the song rolling on, giving the people out there something to shake their shoulders to. At one point Glenn Crocker slides this thing into an instrumental part with primarily the drums, but soon he brings that bass back to add a bit of oomph to it. After that, roaming on top, first some piano, then some lovely floating sounds I can’t quite recognize the instrument of (do help my ailing mind in the comments). It is just a fun track, with especially the bass giving it this party line, and with all the jazz sounds and the spoken word giving it some (musical) poeticness.

‘Rays’ by Telespazio (Harvey Sutherland remix)

Wow, how about those light, sunny synths that Sutherland starts out with. As if Apollo 26 is counting down for lift off during sunrise. You hear the kickpad in the background doing some work as well, though it are those synthesizers that lay down the atmosphere. That is, before the actual lift off commences, with Sutherland getting the rhythm in there with a bassy synth line and some percussion sounds to add some sugar to the bowl. After about a minute of just rhythm, those atmospheric synth sounds come back in again, just to remind you what you were getting in to in the first place. Later on in the track he strips the rhythm instruments for a minute, but obviously he gets them back in there again with some extra auxiliary sounds to give it this sense of oomph. What Sutherland has created here kind of works twofold, with the bass rhythm doing it’s thing so you can do a little shuffle dance to it, but what he’s created around it gives it this sense of beauty (on which he builds on in the second part of the track). Telespazio released an album with this song on it earlier in the year, so if you liked this one you might want to give that one a spin as well.

‘Gloria’ by Santa Esmeralda (Future Feelings edit)

Sure, we know ‘Gloria’ from Patti Smith’s iconic album Horses, but in essence it’s a Van Morrison (Them) tune that was also covered (and perhaps more closely so) by Santa Esmeralda for Santa’s also relatively-but-not-quite-so iconic Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood album. Future Feelings take on that one to edit, having a nice kick drum there as bass to move it forward alongside that well-known guitar line. At about the fifty second mark the party kind of comes in with some extra instruments, giving it this uplifting vibe that’s always good for dancing. Soon enough we get the vocals, singing that She makes me feel so good, which gets looped for a moment before the traditional spelling of the title name comes in. In the mean time the bass in the background keeps it going along with the drums, giving all those dancers something to hang their hat on. At 3:33 they slide the song into this nice bit of guitar soloing, still with the rhythm section doing their thing, putting together a nice little combo there. They smartly bring back the vocals after a prolonged instrumental passage, primarily focussing on those two lines + chorus that they did earlier as well. As said, the track (and especially its chorus) have this nice uplifting feel, and with the rhythm and the occassional guitar solo in there it is a fun little take on a much covered tune.

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: ‘I Want You’ by Marvin Gaye (DJ Snatch rework)

I love how this one starts, so easy on the ear with just that understated beat, some percussion, and that little smooth synth line. The pace is on the slower side of the dancefloor, but all the vibes more than make up for it. Just before the minute mark two good things come in, namely some horns, and we get our first little taster of the vocals. And who doesn’t want to hear some Marvin Gaye just about always? In the mean time DJ Snatch has upped the auxiliary sounds, getting some piano in there as well, so the track becomes more layered without it starting to sound convoluted. At about the three minute mark he kicks the track in a slightly higher gear, with Gaye at this point preaching as all get out, getting some emotions in there, for example at the four minute mark. Also love how the vocals are being played off of the horns, that’s nicely done. But Gaye is feeling it, singing that you shouldn’t Play with something that you should cherish for life (oh baby). Take that greener-pastures-people! This track keeps slow jamming it up for a good ten minutes, and as said, it’s got all the goods you want from a track like this. It’s got the horns, it’s got the vocals, it’s got multiple-yet-changing layers, but also there’s the percussion and the beat to give you something to nod your head to. Apparently based on an earlier edit by none other than Mr. John Morales, who knows how to do it right. Nice work out of the Get Down Edits corner yet again.

‘Call Girl’ by The Right Now (JKriv remix)

Wow, that dirty bass sound that comes in after a few seconds, so fitting. And does set the tone for a song called ‘Call Girl’, that’s for sure. Got to love that bit of sleaze. JKriv also adds some of that Caribbean percussion though, and a slightly melancholic sounding synth, just to make sure that it doesn’t go down that black hole of nightclubs and smokey back rooms completely. That synth line just before the second minute mark is quite a lovely thing, especially if you combine that with some of those horns like he does. In the mean time the base is still being formed by a bit of that bass and beat, just to make sure you can keep on shaking that boot-ey a tad. There’s this bit at the three minute mark where he uses predominantly deeper rhythm sounds, and the way he then slides this lighter, melancholic synth in, that’s pretty awesome right there. The female vocals fit that synth line in terms of tone, so they form a nice team to make sure the track doesn’t veer to one side too much. There are also some cameo performances in this track, some instruments that pop up for a little stint, and those are always a nice surprise, and fitting to boot. JKriv delivering some quality again, and as a Free Download too!

‘Jackie’ by Woolfy vs. Projections

The third album of these Permanent Vacation stalwarts is coming up in August, and here’s a slice to see just why you want to be eyeing that release. It starts with some synths, but soon they slide some beat and bass in there. Nice and deep, of course, because it is Permanent Vacation stuff, though it doesn’t veer into deep house too much by any means. Also thanks to the vocals, which narrate a tale of love lost, and the synths and auxiliary sounds they add, which are lighter than the deeper rhythm instruments used. Not that you cannot dance to this though, as the base is constant and keeps prodding along (sometimes together, sometimes bass and beat separately). Meanwhile the boys are pondering to leave everything and just walk away, and there’s this tinge of sadness in their vocals, which suits the way they set up the tone instrumentally just fine. At one point, the rhythm sounds are stripped away for a moment, with haunting synths forming the backdrop for the words My heart’s breaking. After that they make sure the track returns to dancing though, with all kinds of lovely layers that either help out with the rhythm or with the atmosphere they want to create. The bass, then, rides out this nice preview to their upcoming third LP.

‘Hold On’ by Roosevelt

This one starts off with a bit of that grainy, garage-y guitar sound, but you already hear the funky rhythm in there. No place to hide funk, no need for hiding it either. Not even in this track, with the dreamily blase-produced vocals. Don’t let that fool you though, as the rhythm of the guitar is nice and funky, and there are horns in there as well. Don’t think I won’t notice any of those good, disco vibed things! There’s even a kind of dancefloor-party-build-up just after the two minute mark, where he even adds a quite thuddy beat to it as he sings that you need to Hold on to your lover, as you need to Make it work. After that bridge he adds a light piano to add the fun in the party, ending it with a little boogie bass to make sure to remind you that, yes, this is secretly a dance track disguised as some of that attic-diy-dreampop music.

‘Hot As You Want’ by Lane 8 feat. Solomon Grey

Almost from the start I know I’m going to get a nice slice of summer, and Lane 8 definitely delivers in that department. There’s quite a pace-y beat there, with the vocals already doing their thing in the background, as multiple vocal layers overlap each other. After the minute mark you again have this thudding, euphoric beat to dance to on some rooftop as the sun is setting. The second go around sees the vocals, courtesy of Solomon Grey, in verse mode, being more up front in the mix. He’s singing about how you are all he needs, All he sees. In his mind, that is, as she is Far from here, so there’s this sadness in his voice. And we all know you got to dance the blues away, and that’s what Lane 8 makes sure you can do to this little party number, upping the beat and the pace at the right moments to give the dancers some momentum at points to get the hands up and the feet off (and on) the floor.

‘Now is Tomorrow’ (Superbreak Disco Edit)

How about the drums to start off this one? Add to that the percussion, and after thirty seconds the bass, and you’re boogying down your front lawn in no time. At about the fifty second mark the track starts to take the shape of the song, and you even get a first taster of the vocals, going “ooooh” in a nice, high pitched disco way. Soon there’s a bit of that ol’ disco guitar, some of those funky horns, and shortly after the first singing appears, saying that “tomorrow is now”, which apparently the horns then verify. I love the kind of chorus part, where the vocals rapid fire their way through the lines Gotta boogie, gotta do it, gotta say it, gotta do it right now (or close to that), after which the bass lays down a bit of that slow boogie style to give you the opportunity to do just that. At 3:30 you get some loveboat horns, some of that ol’ disco cheese that we all love, though on the whole this is primarily a boogilicious track to get funky to at whatever party you happen to be.