i had the jim skreech remix of delerium's "underwater" and mj coles remix of carmen mcrae's "how long has this been going on" in my head a while ago and was pleasantly surprised when i viewing the dashboard of my soundcloud and saw this one from mj cole.
it was in that sound of garage where the focus was more up top than in the lower end, even if the drums are with mj cole's usual sharp standards. the vocals aren't effected with timestretching artefacts but uses reverbs and short stutters. the thing that made me link this to the two examples i mentioned was because of the cellos & violins that come in when cole drops delilahs first real sung vocal.
after that the stringwork is cut up and worked within the groove and it's well done by mj cole. the bassline sounds like midrangey stabs that work with the rhythms of the kick and the snare. another thing that is very mj cole is the switch to four on the floor right at the tail end of the track. i really don't know why he decides to change it there. it is however a clever tool for dj's to go into 4x4 or just provide a little bump into the incoming track. anyhow, mj coles mastery of this type of garage is why i keep falling in love with it.
buy here (itunes)
Friday 31 August 2012
Thursday 30 August 2012
gnučči - oh my goodness
i heard "oh my goodness" on radio and was in love but to be honest i am already a fan of gnučči (formerly known as gnucci banana). her quick tongue and flow is only matched by the rhythms she choose to ride over and i thought nothing would be as outrageous as her and mash up internationals version of animal but here they do it again.
i had heard she was releasing an ep as she was putting out a few singles and i thought the really banging cristian dinamarca produced "360 donna" was to be tune that defined gnučči's mastery of her craft to a t and she reupped it. "oh my goodness" is fire from start to end, especially the first verse when she delivers a flow and sharp punchlines that sound like rye rye, leshurr, m.i.a., missy and chip fu all in one.
the common comparison here in sweden is to the previous chanteuse leila k as the both voice & flow is similar. but while i can understand the comparison and it's flattering to an extent, she does perform better lyrically. leila k had the problem of having flow, rhythm and understood how to use to beats to her advantage but she said nothing substantial, even in the context of club tracks where lyrics are secondary.
i understand that there are a ton of male rappers that have the exact problem but there is a really good reason i'll never mention waka flocka flame, gucci mane or whatnot. i don't listen to them and i don't plan to either in any manner of time. now you can turn on me say, then why did you listen to leila k then... a reason. she had actual talent and didn't let the beats do all the work. same goes for gnučči, she is a real talent and does the work with her voice and pull it off well.
buy here (itunes)
i had heard she was releasing an ep as she was putting out a few singles and i thought the really banging cristian dinamarca produced "360 donna" was to be tune that defined gnučči's mastery of her craft to a t and she reupped it. "oh my goodness" is fire from start to end, especially the first verse when she delivers a flow and sharp punchlines that sound like rye rye, leshurr, m.i.a., missy and chip fu all in one.
the common comparison here in sweden is to the previous chanteuse leila k as the both voice & flow is similar. but while i can understand the comparison and it's flattering to an extent, she does perform better lyrically. leila k had the problem of having flow, rhythm and understood how to use to beats to her advantage but she said nothing substantial, even in the context of club tracks where lyrics are secondary.
i understand that there are a ton of male rappers that have the exact problem but there is a really good reason i'll never mention waka flocka flame, gucci mane or whatnot. i don't listen to them and i don't plan to either in any manner of time. now you can turn on me say, then why did you listen to leila k then... a reason. she had actual talent and didn't let the beats do all the work. same goes for gnučči, she is a real talent and does the work with her voice and pull it off well.
buy here (itunes)
Wednesday 29 August 2012
holden & thompson - nothing (silver city dub)
"nothing" was a track that most tranceheads knew of and then mostly the more progressive sounding "'93 returning mix" with it's big reverbed out sound, effected vocals and transfixing melody. dj's like paul van dyk played it in his set consistently for two years and it became holdens big break commercially. fact was the original leaned more toward house than the deeper trance the "'93 returning mix" was played with.it was still rooted within that quirky progressive sound with legato bass but it wasn't anything trancy with it.
as "nothing" was released on loaded records which was a housier label the remixes ordered up by the label came courtesy of m.y.n.c. project and silver city. i hadn't really paid attention to any of these until a mate of mine played the silver city dub in a set a couple of years ago and i was blown away by it's awesome. much like i, he hadn't known about it really before he played it.it was in the loaded 2x12" that he owned for the "'93 returning mix" and the original but as he was putting together a set with housier sounds, this was a perfect match.
silver city took the funky house route with this one and the biggest change was in the bottom end where the legato bassline was replaced a more rhythmic bassline. it still contained the longer bassnotes but there was a certain groove to it. the drumtrack was changed for a steadier drive instead of holden's more random hihat groove, which is a part of the charm but fits more with the rest of his percussion. silver city also uses a couple of keyboard riffs instead of the xylophone lead and reverbed pads and it's much more a sparkly and bubbly arpeggio.
the vocals are worked in loops where "dying, trying" is worked throughout the track along with "it's a long way down / there's no one in this crowd". in the main vocal mix julie thompsons vocal is played straight on top of the loops and it works well. both version also include some vocal sample in the middle of the track that sounds like excerpts from the news but it's more audible in the dub as thompsons vocal isn't on top of it.
i really love this version of the song and i rate it higher than the "'93 returning mix" and on par with the original mix which is the best version of the song.
buy here (junodownload)
note: for some reason juno and other sites have the vocal & dub mix mixed up but the linked to version is the dub and nothing else.
as "nothing" was released on loaded records which was a housier label the remixes ordered up by the label came courtesy of m.y.n.c. project and silver city. i hadn't really paid attention to any of these until a mate of mine played the silver city dub in a set a couple of years ago and i was blown away by it's awesome. much like i, he hadn't known about it really before he played it.it was in the loaded 2x12" that he owned for the "'93 returning mix" and the original but as he was putting together a set with housier sounds, this was a perfect match.
silver city took the funky house route with this one and the biggest change was in the bottom end where the legato bassline was replaced a more rhythmic bassline. it still contained the longer bassnotes but there was a certain groove to it. the drumtrack was changed for a steadier drive instead of holden's more random hihat groove, which is a part of the charm but fits more with the rest of his percussion. silver city also uses a couple of keyboard riffs instead of the xylophone lead and reverbed pads and it's much more a sparkly and bubbly arpeggio.
the vocals are worked in loops where "dying, trying" is worked throughout the track along with "it's a long way down / there's no one in this crowd". in the main vocal mix julie thompsons vocal is played straight on top of the loops and it works well. both version also include some vocal sample in the middle of the track that sounds like excerpts from the news but it's more audible in the dub as thompsons vocal isn't on top of it.
i really love this version of the song and i rate it higher than the "'93 returning mix" and on par with the original mix which is the best version of the song.
buy here (junodownload)
note: for some reason juno and other sites have the vocal & dub mix mixed up but the linked to version is the dub and nothing else.
Tuesday 28 August 2012
pete tha zouk vs. di simmon - enchantments (original chus & cheballos re-work)
i heard this in either a nick warren set or a deep dish set and it came from the era when dj chus and his stereo productions label (and sublabels) had a lockdown on tribal house leaning on the progressive side. it was all about long tracks with really heavy grooves where the drums dictated the bottom end and not the bassline.
this one became popular with many and me included and it had to do with the combination of those drums and the almost wholesale use of sheila chandra's "the dreaming". chandra's chanting and the sitar strums on top of a punching kick and a multitude of congas, timbales, shakers and all sorts of percussion is a perfect match.
"enchantments" in particular is structually built with one long build and two drops where the first one is purely for tension building and is chandra's infamous vocal/wailing riff and some loose percussion. anyone that has heard the prodigy's "smack my bitch up" will recognize the wailing as liam howlett had shahin badar resing the particular wailngs.
the second drop has a speech and is with a typical deep male vocal talking about how deep the music and how you feel it on your soul or whatever. it is kind of pointless in the context of this version as the second drop is not adding anything to the track. marcello castelli who also did a remix has the vocal in a shorter drop and while his track is actually more clever both rhythmically, aurally and structurally i don't like how he used the sheila chandra sample.
i know that shouldn't make sense in writing but it does to these ears.
buy here (junodownload)
this one became popular with many and me included and it had to do with the combination of those drums and the almost wholesale use of sheila chandra's "the dreaming". chandra's chanting and the sitar strums on top of a punching kick and a multitude of congas, timbales, shakers and all sorts of percussion is a perfect match.
"enchantments" in particular is structually built with one long build and two drops where the first one is purely for tension building and is chandra's infamous vocal/wailing riff and some loose percussion. anyone that has heard the prodigy's "smack my bitch up" will recognize the wailing as liam howlett had shahin badar resing the particular wailngs.
the second drop has a speech and is with a typical deep male vocal talking about how deep the music and how you feel it on your soul or whatever. it is kind of pointless in the context of this version as the second drop is not adding anything to the track. marcello castelli who also did a remix has the vocal in a shorter drop and while his track is actually more clever both rhythmically, aurally and structurally i don't like how he used the sheila chandra sample.
i know that shouldn't make sense in writing but it does to these ears.
buy here (junodownload)
Monday 27 August 2012
ruxpin - in the form of a bird i met my creator
this one was introduced to me by my good friend jan henrik, he played it on the morning after a house party shindig. parts of the party was shot on video and it was a real serene moment when he played the track. i heard a short clip of it and it just pressed all the right button for me.
i didn't know anything about ruxpin but i was told that he was icelandic and specialised in very floaty and atmospheric type of music. the drumtracks are both four on the floor and breakbeats but they tend to be very subdued and fit in that microhouse mold. they are punchy enough to be played and to be beatmixed with but it doesn't work on the main room unless it's at the end of the night.
it it very much afterhours stuff or something in those grungy side rooms where weird music is eaten up like that. there is that notion of how it would sound if kaito/hiroshi watanabe would sound on the city centre offices label.
this track sounds with metallic drum sounds but swiftly goes into some lovely long pads that float away and bring the chords progression that is prevalent in this track. ruxpin knows his way around these sounds and soon as the main melody hits it is all so serene and beautiful. it really rides on the perfect blend of ambience and bite as the drum track is very fitting for the top.
but the real strength of this track is how the sounds progress within the chord progression and it isn't just one type of floaty pad but it has so much variation within the general theme. it's a masterful track and a track that often pops up in my head when ever i choose to walk late at nights.
buy here (junodownload)
i didn't know anything about ruxpin but i was told that he was icelandic and specialised in very floaty and atmospheric type of music. the drumtracks are both four on the floor and breakbeats but they tend to be very subdued and fit in that microhouse mold. they are punchy enough to be played and to be beatmixed with but it doesn't work on the main room unless it's at the end of the night.
it it very much afterhours stuff or something in those grungy side rooms where weird music is eaten up like that. there is that notion of how it would sound if kaito/hiroshi watanabe would sound on the city centre offices label.
this track sounds with metallic drum sounds but swiftly goes into some lovely long pads that float away and bring the chords progression that is prevalent in this track. ruxpin knows his way around these sounds and soon as the main melody hits it is all so serene and beautiful. it really rides on the perfect blend of ambience and bite as the drum track is very fitting for the top.
but the real strength of this track is how the sounds progress within the chord progression and it isn't just one type of floaty pad but it has so much variation within the general theme. it's a masterful track and a track that often pops up in my head when ever i choose to walk late at nights.
buy here (junodownload)
Sunday 26 August 2012
nancy sinatra - these boots are made for walkin'
usually when i talk about a certain song i start with the first time i heard said track, but since this is about "these boots are made for walkin'" i am not.doing that. it's a song that is part of the consciousness of popculture since it was released as it's a really great song. i love it to death and i really don't know many who dislike it, well apart from dave mustaine and jessica simpson. the former did that parody which didn't fly with lee hazlewood (who wrote the song) and the latter did the worst cover of it so she has to hate it...
anyhow the reason i am writing about the song is mainly because of amanda jenssen, who ended her concert with this song and did an immense interpretation. i'm a big fan of jenssen and she's been on a concert tour during the summer as a build up for her upcoming album and for me it can't be released fast enough. i've been listening to her previous record and the first single that came out this spring. i love "dry my soul" and i really don't know why i haven't done an entry on that song.
the strength of "these boots are made for walkin'" is the way it builds with the verses and choruses until the last part where it goes into doubletime. from that intro lick which gets revisited in the transitions between chorus & verses and it verse by verse it becomes that power pop torch song and it's over in less than three minutes. the horns that break out during the last part is slowly teased in during the second verse.
this dynamic was explained in a really good way when i was watching "the mexican" a few years ago and listened to the commentary track. there it was played in the scene when julia roberts goes to las vegas on her own. verbinski, hyman and wood talk about how the doubletime at end of the song made the transition perfectly into the action sequence where the two leroys are after her. basically as the song is one big tension builder, the release has to pay off well and it does.
amandas cover live in gothenburg (youtube)
jenssen & her band's version of the song digs deeper into the rockabilly influence of the song and beefs up the power pop of the song. a boogiewoogie piano, a bluesriffing guitar and really tight drums is carrying the pace for the first part of the song as jensen and the band set the pace at high speeds. jenssen also takes advantage of the live setting and stretches the song and in between the second chorus and third verse, she breaks it down and introduces her band.
they are introduced one by one and all do their tiny solobit and when i saw her play she took it down for her for the final verse but on the clip i linked you to she doesn't. but what happened afterwards was the same, pure musical chaos in the best way as the band just let loose and saying it went into the doubletime bit doesn't do it justice. it was just madness and amanda danced in her own special way and i've never seen anyone have the balls, or vagina to do that kind of dancing on a big stage and pull it off so well.
i love nancy sinatra's original song but amanda jenssen one upped her in my mind.
buy here (7digital)
anyhow the reason i am writing about the song is mainly because of amanda jenssen, who ended her concert with this song and did an immense interpretation. i'm a big fan of jenssen and she's been on a concert tour during the summer as a build up for her upcoming album and for me it can't be released fast enough. i've been listening to her previous record and the first single that came out this spring. i love "dry my soul" and i really don't know why i haven't done an entry on that song.
the strength of "these boots are made for walkin'" is the way it builds with the verses and choruses until the last part where it goes into doubletime. from that intro lick which gets revisited in the transitions between chorus & verses and it verse by verse it becomes that power pop torch song and it's over in less than three minutes. the horns that break out during the last part is slowly teased in during the second verse.
this dynamic was explained in a really good way when i was watching "the mexican" a few years ago and listened to the commentary track. there it was played in the scene when julia roberts goes to las vegas on her own. verbinski, hyman and wood talk about how the doubletime at end of the song made the transition perfectly into the action sequence where the two leroys are after her. basically as the song is one big tension builder, the release has to pay off well and it does.
amandas cover live in gothenburg (youtube)
jenssen & her band's version of the song digs deeper into the rockabilly influence of the song and beefs up the power pop of the song. a boogiewoogie piano, a bluesriffing guitar and really tight drums is carrying the pace for the first part of the song as jensen and the band set the pace at high speeds. jenssen also takes advantage of the live setting and stretches the song and in between the second chorus and third verse, she breaks it down and introduces her band.
they are introduced one by one and all do their tiny solobit and when i saw her play she took it down for her for the final verse but on the clip i linked you to she doesn't. but what happened afterwards was the same, pure musical chaos in the best way as the band just let loose and saying it went into the doubletime bit doesn't do it justice. it was just madness and amanda danced in her own special way and i've never seen anyone have the balls, or vagina to do that kind of dancing on a big stage and pull it off so well.
i love nancy sinatra's original song but amanda jenssen one upped her in my mind.
buy here (7digital)
Saturday 25 August 2012
mini reviews #11
eleventh edition now and for this one i decided to ask someone i don't really know much about. i've never actually talked to this person (apart from fake threats back and forth) or know anything about this person. i know that his name is matt, he's canadian and is of korean descent. only reason i know of him is because he is/was quite a character at the musicrelated forum i've posted on.
normally when i asked someone for this thing i'm either a friend or a fan of their work or like their taste in music. both me & him have questioned their respective taste in music many of times and this is why i asked him to do the selecting. so on with the show then.
01. the crystal method - trip like I do | youtube
it's nice and usually i really go for bigbeat like this on later years but it doesn't go outside of "nice"
02. linkin park - papercut | youtube
off an album that i've listened to a lot in my teens that i can't listen to anymore besides "points of authority"
03. dmx - slippin' | youtube
i have problems with dmxs voice and the tracks i like from him is because of the beats. this is one those but wiith good lyrical content.
04. shades of love - keep in touch (body to body) (mental mix) | youtube
typical new york mid 90's garage, i like it.
05. the chemical brothers - block rockin beats | youtube
i heard this first as a 13year old, still love it to this day.
06. dastrix - dude in the moon (luna mix) | youtube
it's nice and kind of funky and i like those filtered hoovers but that's about it
07. gary clail - who pays the piper (perfecto mix) | youtube
never heard this before but i like it, but i'll take the lemon remix or grace's orange over it any day
08. leftfield - original | youtube
that bassline. i love this track.
09. chuckie akenz - that's the way it goes | youtube
good lyrical content but it's let down by horrible singing & being really uninteresting musically.
10. dumonde - never look back | youtube
as far as overblown epic trance goes, dumonde were excellent at it. i still like this one but it has to be the "just talking" version.
thanks for those ten mar. and as always i asked if he wanted to anything extra about his picks and the response was:
normally when i asked someone for this thing i'm either a friend or a fan of their work or like their taste in music. both me & him have questioned their respective taste in music many of times and this is why i asked him to do the selecting. so on with the show then.
01. the crystal method - trip like I do | youtube
it's nice and usually i really go for bigbeat like this on later years but it doesn't go outside of "nice"
02. linkin park - papercut | youtube
off an album that i've listened to a lot in my teens that i can't listen to anymore besides "points of authority"
03. dmx - slippin' | youtube
i have problems with dmxs voice and the tracks i like from him is because of the beats. this is one those but wiith good lyrical content.
04. shades of love - keep in touch (body to body) (mental mix) | youtube
typical new york mid 90's garage, i like it.
05. the chemical brothers - block rockin beats | youtube
i heard this first as a 13year old, still love it to this day.
06. dastrix - dude in the moon (luna mix) | youtube
it's nice and kind of funky and i like those filtered hoovers but that's about it
07. gary clail - who pays the piper (perfecto mix) | youtube
never heard this before but i like it, but i'll take the lemon remix or grace's orange over it any day
08. leftfield - original | youtube
that bassline. i love this track.
09. chuckie akenz - that's the way it goes | youtube
good lyrical content but it's let down by horrible singing & being really uninteresting musically.
10. dumonde - never look back | youtube
as far as overblown epic trance goes, dumonde were excellent at it. i still like this one but it has to be the "just talking" version.
thanks for those ten mar. and as always i asked if he wanted to anything extra about his picks and the response was:
aside from my lord jesus christ, these tracks really bring meaning to my life.right on.
Thursday 23 August 2012
karin krog - new spring
i got in touch with krog's music when i first heard the matthew herbert remix of "meaning of love" and fell in love with it. i quickly wanted to hear the original and liked what herbert did when he tweaked it but thought the krogs version was far superior. this led me to want to hear more of krog's music and want to know more about her.
her voice resonated perfectly as she had that smoky or husky tone and it rode perfectly on top of the rhythms. i heard a multitude of songs and albums and found her material from the mid 70's and forward to be the best as i was into that kind of jazz but nothing hit me so hard when i heard this track.
"new spring" comes from the album "cloud line blue" and was a collaboration with john surman. i could easily copypaste some information from wikipedia or all that jazz.com but i really have no clue who that is. but he's a fellow that's well credited and played on a lot of records. on this one his saxophone opens the track and it's with long delayed notes.
the mood is set to be out there and it establishes that well and along with the driving moog bass it's a intoxicating rhythm. the drums are a bit staccato and stays in the background but i don't really mind it as it plays it's position well.karin krogs delivers her vocals in a very rhythmic way and she is firmly locked to the tempo of the moog bass and it's really good. she stays on point for a few bars and then goes off with longer phrasings and is accompanied by surmans saxophone.
her presence on the track stands out even when it's treated with reverbs and echo along with most of the elements on the track. this is one of those tracks that looks ahead of it's time and there is that element of futurism with the textures of the track. but it's that 70's futurism that gives the images of flying cars and the jetsons rather than what is actually happening today.i can't help thinking that this is something that could be adapted to techno and that there is a detroit track to be made, possibly by stacey pullen or juan atkins.
either how this track is amazing and i keep going back to it for it's sound. it's well recommended, much like the most of karin krog's catalogue.
buy here (7digital)
her voice resonated perfectly as she had that smoky or husky tone and it rode perfectly on top of the rhythms. i heard a multitude of songs and albums and found her material from the mid 70's and forward to be the best as i was into that kind of jazz but nothing hit me so hard when i heard this track.
"new spring" comes from the album "cloud line blue" and was a collaboration with john surman. i could easily copypaste some information from wikipedia or all that jazz.com but i really have no clue who that is. but he's a fellow that's well credited and played on a lot of records. on this one his saxophone opens the track and it's with long delayed notes.
the mood is set to be out there and it establishes that well and along with the driving moog bass it's a intoxicating rhythm. the drums are a bit staccato and stays in the background but i don't really mind it as it plays it's position well.karin krogs delivers her vocals in a very rhythmic way and she is firmly locked to the tempo of the moog bass and it's really good. she stays on point for a few bars and then goes off with longer phrasings and is accompanied by surmans saxophone.
her presence on the track stands out even when it's treated with reverbs and echo along with most of the elements on the track. this is one of those tracks that looks ahead of it's time and there is that element of futurism with the textures of the track. but it's that 70's futurism that gives the images of flying cars and the jetsons rather than what is actually happening today.i can't help thinking that this is something that could be adapted to techno and that there is a detroit track to be made, possibly by stacey pullen or juan atkins.
either how this track is amazing and i keep going back to it for it's sound. it's well recommended, much like the most of karin krog's catalogue.
buy here (7digital)
Wednesday 22 August 2012
laurent garnier - greed (avril remix)
this one was i was intrigued by as i was going through a small fred avril kick. i knew of the original and how it was a fierce electro number but i didn't know what avril was going to bring to the table. with fabrice lig making a melodic loop techno number and dave clarke going into darker techno, i thought avril was to do a dancefloor track.
it is not and fred avril flips the program and while it may sound like a menacing track in the beginning, it goes into a whole different field. the intro featured the spooky & distressed computer and vocodered samples from the original and a metallic bass which creates a great tension. then when the speach finishes on "everything you possess" it goes into a sweeping sound and launches a massive orchestral piece and it's all smooth sailing from there.
the original rides at the mid 130s and this one goes in slower halftime and the drummachine sounds are replaced with light jazzy drums. it feels very much like a martin denny type kitschy exotica throwback but with an underlining spooky atmosphere. fred avril retells garniers story with great excecution when he adds more to it and really emphasises the whole fear of computers motif.
i love this track and like how he managed to incorporate the ultra-electronic sounds as well which is the bass and a small bit of acid wiggle during the mighty crescendo. it strengthens the piece and it keeps the bombastic orchestral post-rock meets bombastic feel with the electronic music.
buy here (junodownload)
a fair warning, that is the radio edit which is the only one available for purchasing as f-comm just uploaded their old cd-singles like that. the full version is also on the f-comm compilation "megasoft office 2001" but it isn't up on the downloadsites for purchasing. the radio edit takes away much of the fun of the piece and it's bollocks.
it is not and fred avril flips the program and while it may sound like a menacing track in the beginning, it goes into a whole different field. the intro featured the spooky & distressed computer and vocodered samples from the original and a metallic bass which creates a great tension. then when the speach finishes on "everything you possess" it goes into a sweeping sound and launches a massive orchestral piece and it's all smooth sailing from there.
the original rides at the mid 130s and this one goes in slower halftime and the drummachine sounds are replaced with light jazzy drums. it feels very much like a martin denny type kitschy exotica throwback but with an underlining spooky atmosphere. fred avril retells garniers story with great excecution when he adds more to it and really emphasises the whole fear of computers motif.
i love this track and like how he managed to incorporate the ultra-electronic sounds as well which is the bass and a small bit of acid wiggle during the mighty crescendo. it strengthens the piece and it keeps the bombastic orchestral post-rock meets bombastic feel with the electronic music.
buy here (junodownload)
a fair warning, that is the radio edit which is the only one available for purchasing as f-comm just uploaded their old cd-singles like that. the full version is also on the f-comm compilation "megasoft office 2001" but it isn't up on the downloadsites for purchasing. the radio edit takes away much of the fun of the piece and it's bollocks.
Tuesday 21 August 2012
el perro del mar - change of heart
first time i heard this one was on radio when it came out in 2009 and it grabbed me instantly with it's dreamy sound and that bassline. i had known of sarah assbring/el perro del mar for her more acoustic indie pop songs and this was none of that.
it came at a time when the sort of balearic sound was sweeping the blogosphere and music nerds everywhere. track was in the lower tempo and rode a slight danceable groove but it also had that big reverbed out sound. i liked this sound a bit also but i favoured atmospheric deep house & techno than this neo-disco dub thing. much like everyone else, i did get into it but later.
assbring said in a radio interview that she was quite into this sound and the music coming from swedish act studio who also hailed from gothenburg. assbring sought him out to initially to do a remix but the conversation between her and studio's rasmus hägg led to a collaboration.
it's pretty much impossible to talk about this track without referencing it's melancholia and that bass. i don't really want to go much into the former as it's a song from a breakup album, the topic at hand speaks for itself the latter however i can be lyrical about as it one of the best basslines i've heard in music for a long time.
to put in terms that may be really pretentious it's the result you would get when combining jah wobble and bernard edwards. it is in it's most glorious state when it's not being passive and following chords and that is generally when sarah assbring isn't singing. i love this song and i love that bassline, problem is that i can't listen to this song in repeated times as it does bring me down.
buy here (klicktrack)
it came at a time when the sort of balearic sound was sweeping the blogosphere and music nerds everywhere. track was in the lower tempo and rode a slight danceable groove but it also had that big reverbed out sound. i liked this sound a bit also but i favoured atmospheric deep house & techno than this neo-disco dub thing. much like everyone else, i did get into it but later.
assbring said in a radio interview that she was quite into this sound and the music coming from swedish act studio who also hailed from gothenburg. assbring sought him out to initially to do a remix but the conversation between her and studio's rasmus hägg led to a collaboration.
it's pretty much impossible to talk about this track without referencing it's melancholia and that bass. i don't really want to go much into the former as it's a song from a breakup album, the topic at hand speaks for itself the latter however i can be lyrical about as it one of the best basslines i've heard in music for a long time.
to put in terms that may be really pretentious it's the result you would get when combining jah wobble and bernard edwards. it is in it's most glorious state when it's not being passive and following chords and that is generally when sarah assbring isn't singing. i love this song and i love that bassline, problem is that i can't listen to this song in repeated times as it does bring me down.
buy here (klicktrack)
Monday 20 August 2012
fat freddy's drop - shiverman (live)
i was talking to a mate about fat freddy's drop after he attended a show of theirs and were impressed by their concert. he said that it was a lot of horns and a heavy groove, the exact words were manu chao live in cubic. this got me interested and i have heard a number of their tracks and albums and like their stuff but know them for their (dub)reggae numbers.
so i went online and listened to their last live album, from 2010 and recorded in london. it was really tight and it was a sixtracker where the shortest track was ten minutes so i was quite into the groove. they played that reggae groove really well but then came the last track on the set.
this track was "shiverman" and it differed from the previous as there was no one-drop or riddim groove but a four on the floor and the bass were in a different mode as well. i started to get the feel of early 90's progressive house from the school of junior boys own and guerrilla and it sounded very much like leftfield or underworld or william orbit.
on the "dr. boondigga and the big bw" album it plays sort of in the same mode but the interesting entrancing groove goes on for longer in the beginning. the big heavy funky ska in the end pays off more as it's in a live setting, but i felt it clashed too much as i was picturing it going off into a different kind of sound explosion.
however the first twelve minutes go through such a meticulous hypnotic chugging that it's a number that would be a perfect three am number. basically it's proper trance music. love it.
buy here (7digital)
so i went online and listened to their last live album, from 2010 and recorded in london. it was really tight and it was a sixtracker where the shortest track was ten minutes so i was quite into the groove. they played that reggae groove really well but then came the last track on the set.
this track was "shiverman" and it differed from the previous as there was no one-drop or riddim groove but a four on the floor and the bass were in a different mode as well. i started to get the feel of early 90's progressive house from the school of junior boys own and guerrilla and it sounded very much like leftfield or underworld or william orbit.
on the "dr. boondigga and the big bw" album it plays sort of in the same mode but the interesting entrancing groove goes on for longer in the beginning. the big heavy funky ska in the end pays off more as it's in a live setting, but i felt it clashed too much as i was picturing it going off into a different kind of sound explosion.
however the first twelve minutes go through such a meticulous hypnotic chugging that it's a number that would be a perfect three am number. basically it's proper trance music. love it.
buy here (7digital)
Sunday 19 August 2012
danny tenaglia - roots (the sound of the drum)
this one i heard through dj lottie's 1998 essential mix for bbc radio 1 and for the record i didn't hear it at the time but it was a few years after when i grabbed the set as a recommendation from a friend of mine. i liked the set and it included some great house music from the time, a number of tunes that i did know and a whole lot i hadn't heard before.
that's the way i liked it when i was young and hungry for music and one track that intrigued me was near the end of the set and followed armando's excellent track "tunnel vision". i just heard tribal drums coming in and eventually this vocal sample that said "it's the sound of the drum". it sort of yelled at you in a chanting way and it commanded my attention.
initially i hated this track because i thought that the vocal sample was annoying and i didn't care for it for many years. i wasn't kind of reluctant towards that kind of darker progressive tribal house and i had issues with some vocals that was preachy. nowadays i don't care about this particular one but i still have issues with the vocal samples in eddie amador's "house music" (and ron carroll's "the prayer" by default) and cevin fisher's "the way we used to do it".
that normally is a segway for me to talk out of my arse about that but i'll refrain myself this time. as i got into darker progressive house i saw this track in a new light and liked the structure of the track. the dynamics and different regions lends itself to work with a plethora of tracks and especially in the grayarea between progressive house and trance.
the vocal talks about drums and while it doesn't have as much vivacious drums you would expect, it does have a really powerful groove. along with the stabbing bassline, that is worked instead of a groovier one as the percussion take up a lot of the lower regions, it's a great tool at hand. oh and i love those sinister pads that plays in the breaks.
buy here (beatport)
that's the way i liked it when i was young and hungry for music and one track that intrigued me was near the end of the set and followed armando's excellent track "tunnel vision". i just heard tribal drums coming in and eventually this vocal sample that said "it's the sound of the drum". it sort of yelled at you in a chanting way and it commanded my attention.
initially i hated this track because i thought that the vocal sample was annoying and i didn't care for it for many years. i wasn't kind of reluctant towards that kind of darker progressive tribal house and i had issues with some vocals that was preachy. nowadays i don't care about this particular one but i still have issues with the vocal samples in eddie amador's "house music" (and ron carroll's "the prayer" by default) and cevin fisher's "the way we used to do it".
that normally is a segway for me to talk out of my arse about that but i'll refrain myself this time. as i got into darker progressive house i saw this track in a new light and liked the structure of the track. the dynamics and different regions lends itself to work with a plethora of tracks and especially in the grayarea between progressive house and trance.
the vocal talks about drums and while it doesn't have as much vivacious drums you would expect, it does have a really powerful groove. along with the stabbing bassline, that is worked instead of a groovier one as the percussion take up a lot of the lower regions, it's a great tool at hand. oh and i love those sinister pads that plays in the breaks.
buy here (beatport)
Saturday 18 August 2012
alexander o'neal - love makes no sense (brothers in rhythm remix)
this came from a cdsingle i found in a charityshop and i grabbed it since it had brothers in rhythm remixes and it came from the early nineties. seaman and anderson barely failed with their remixes and when i took it home and listened to it i wasn't dissapointed.
i knew alexander o'neal from his 80's singles with "fake" and "critizise" so i knew he could sing well but i hadn't heard of this song before. found out when listening that it was a slower 90's new jack swing affair but with a serious thump and i liked the song in it's original shape. i thought brothers in rhythm transposed it onto the house floor perfectly as the elements where there to take and reshape.
much like their killer remix of janet jackson's "if" and a few others, it sort of sounded like a cross between american garage and italian house but with the uk scene in mind. the key thing to their sound was that piano and they used to add it if it wasn't present in the original but in this case it's a big part of the song.
the way the song builds creates great tension and it reflects well as o'neal's voice has subtle frustration in mind. the hook works to this advantage because isn't that conventional. the chorus sounds more like a bridge and when building a house track like this it provides the right amount of release.
along with the breaks that the song provides in the second half where the organ, piano, keys and o'neal gets their small solo parts with parts of o'neal's adlibs on top. i really like how they used them in both the build and the latter part of the song as it feels natural to the song.
that's the bottom line with why i love remixes by brothers in rhythm and a few others who were we're appointed to do the main house/club version. they made the track and it felt like it was the original version and used the vocals and instrumentation with great execution.
listen here (youtube)
i knew alexander o'neal from his 80's singles with "fake" and "critizise" so i knew he could sing well but i hadn't heard of this song before. found out when listening that it was a slower 90's new jack swing affair but with a serious thump and i liked the song in it's original shape. i thought brothers in rhythm transposed it onto the house floor perfectly as the elements where there to take and reshape.
much like their killer remix of janet jackson's "if" and a few others, it sort of sounded like a cross between american garage and italian house but with the uk scene in mind. the key thing to their sound was that piano and they used to add it if it wasn't present in the original but in this case it's a big part of the song.
the way the song builds creates great tension and it reflects well as o'neal's voice has subtle frustration in mind. the hook works to this advantage because isn't that conventional. the chorus sounds more like a bridge and when building a house track like this it provides the right amount of release.
along with the breaks that the song provides in the second half where the organ, piano, keys and o'neal gets their small solo parts with parts of o'neal's adlibs on top. i really like how they used them in both the build and the latter part of the song as it feels natural to the song.
that's the bottom line with why i love remixes by brothers in rhythm and a few others who were we're appointed to do the main house/club version. they made the track and it felt like it was the original version and used the vocals and instrumentation with great execution.
listen here (youtube)
Friday 17 August 2012
september - we can do it
first time i heard about swedish dance project september was when i saw the video on swedish music channel ztv and they played "la la la (never give it up)". it was pushed as a potential hit song by the staff and it was a nice song that i eventually bought the single for it. i eventually found out that project was in this state was jonas van der burg on production and petra marklund singing.
while it was a good song and i still like it, i found the next single to be better. like the first song i saw the video for "we can do it" on ztv but unlike that it wasn't as good. even though the video for "la la la" was just marklund walking around a sunny stockholm morning with a microphone connected to a speaker with a really long wire.
never mind that since i'm focusing on the music and this song had a better hook and was musically more appealing. when i first heard the s.o.s. band's 1980 hit "take your time (do it right)", after hearing "we can do it", it was an oh snap moment. the funny part is that i knew that the chorus is actually a lift since it's listed in the credits on the single.
when i say that it's musically more appealing, i may be talking out of my arse since both singles are cousins aurally even though they are different else wise. the sound is this dancepop thing where it's clean cut house with the all focus is up top since the rhythm section tend to be standard.
the difference between the former single and this one was that "la la la" was driven by this strumming guitar and a string section. "we can do it" kept the guitar to a more nile rodgers sort of thing but not really and the song was musically more keyboard driven and the bassline wasn't just this one note offbeat thing.
i also bought the three following september singles and have always been quite into the project. i thought it was well earned when marklund gained fame in the uk & the us with the breakout single "looking for love". her international fame came after she changed recordlabels and unlike stockholm records, catchy tunes decided to try to go outside of sweden with success. later on she also became a household name here in sweden after she appeared on "så mycket bättre, the swedish version of dutch tv-show "the netherland best singers".
all of love to petra marklund and all love for this song.
buy here (itunes)
note: i'm not sure if the original version is available outside of swedish territories since on 7digital and uk itunes you can only find the re-recorded version which i don't think is as good.
while it was a good song and i still like it, i found the next single to be better. like the first song i saw the video for "we can do it" on ztv but unlike that it wasn't as good. even though the video for "la la la" was just marklund walking around a sunny stockholm morning with a microphone connected to a speaker with a really long wire.
never mind that since i'm focusing on the music and this song had a better hook and was musically more appealing. when i first heard the s.o.s. band's 1980 hit "take your time (do it right)", after hearing "we can do it", it was an oh snap moment. the funny part is that i knew that the chorus is actually a lift since it's listed in the credits on the single.
when i say that it's musically more appealing, i may be talking out of my arse since both singles are cousins aurally even though they are different else wise. the sound is this dancepop thing where it's clean cut house with the all focus is up top since the rhythm section tend to be standard.
the difference between the former single and this one was that "la la la" was driven by this strumming guitar and a string section. "we can do it" kept the guitar to a more nile rodgers sort of thing but not really and the song was musically more keyboard driven and the bassline wasn't just this one note offbeat thing.
i also bought the three following september singles and have always been quite into the project. i thought it was well earned when marklund gained fame in the uk & the us with the breakout single "looking for love". her international fame came after she changed recordlabels and unlike stockholm records, catchy tunes decided to try to go outside of sweden with success. later on she also became a household name here in sweden after she appeared on "så mycket bättre, the swedish version of dutch tv-show "the netherland best singers".
all of love to petra marklund and all love for this song.
buy here (itunes)
note: i'm not sure if the original version is available outside of swedish territories since on 7digital and uk itunes you can only find the re-recorded version which i don't think is as good.
Thursday 16 August 2012
delon reid - i want it that way
this one comes from a greensleeves riddim cd that i bought a while ago and i bought it blind as it wasn't a riddim that i knew but it had enough interesting names for me to want to check it out. after taking it home and listening to the first track, which was capleton's "caan hold we dung", i was amazed. to be honest while capleton's track is among the best on the cd, it wasn't his effort that stunned me.
it was those pianostabs that starts the track and it's they are that infamous fill from britney spears' "...baby one more time". the way the riddim is worked is that fill which goes into this traditional digital dancehall riddim formula of wonky drums and fat bass. here it is also treated with a pad that plays some chords and some small keyboard twitterings.
the virus riddim was produced by tony thomas, mikey williamson and delon reid and for his outing on this riddim he decides to take a stab at another song from the cheiron camp. being the backstreet boys' "i want it that way" and this crosspolination of cheiron pop music and ultra modern dancehall music is nothing short of brilliant.
reid sings the song as faithfully as he wants to take it and tackles this song in a good way. even the bridge where it gets a bit over the top in the original goes on the same tip and he pulls it off well. to be honest, all of this may be rear view mirror kitsch but i love this track.
buy here (7digital)
it was those pianostabs that starts the track and it's they are that infamous fill from britney spears' "...baby one more time". the way the riddim is worked is that fill which goes into this traditional digital dancehall riddim formula of wonky drums and fat bass. here it is also treated with a pad that plays some chords and some small keyboard twitterings.
the virus riddim was produced by tony thomas, mikey williamson and delon reid and for his outing on this riddim he decides to take a stab at another song from the cheiron camp. being the backstreet boys' "i want it that way" and this crosspolination of cheiron pop music and ultra modern dancehall music is nothing short of brilliant.
reid sings the song as faithfully as he wants to take it and tackles this song in a good way. even the bridge where it gets a bit over the top in the original goes on the same tip and he pulls it off well. to be honest, all of this may be rear view mirror kitsch but i love this track.
buy here (7digital)
Wednesday 15 August 2012
mj cole - crazy love (crazy dubb)
i had no relation to "crazy love" before buying the cdsingle two years ago, unlike "sincere" it was not a song that i knew. i had a clue that it was from one of the biggest selling garage albums at the time but i did not own that. probably had to with something that i've told before, i really did not get garage for a long time.
chances is that if i had found the single before that i would have gone more ape over michi lange's house versions, which are well done, really classy and worth writing about. then again this single didn't have any weak versions but for me the standout was mj cole's own rugged & bass heavy dub.
this was obviously meant for the clubs as the original goes on the lighter side as the drums are more compact, the strings play regularly and elizabeth troy's vocals dominate the track. i purposely wrote it like that as the changes are mainly at those three aspects.
i really love what mj cole did to his own track and how he shifted the focus from the top of the aural spectrum to the bottom. the bass that comes right after a vocal drop with troy's vocals repeating "don't leave me lonely" is thick and hits perfectly. as the strings are cut up it is also the melodic aspect as the bassline plays the chords of the string ostinato
the only thing that bugged me with track was why cole took out the first kick, in a listening aspect it didn't bother me at all but when mixing it really did. i kept forgetting that from the top it starts on two and that's not the first time mj cole has done that as his dub of valerie etienne's "misunderstanding" works in the same way.
listen here (youtube)
chances is that if i had found the single before that i would have gone more ape over michi lange's house versions, which are well done, really classy and worth writing about. then again this single didn't have any weak versions but for me the standout was mj cole's own rugged & bass heavy dub.
this was obviously meant for the clubs as the original goes on the lighter side as the drums are more compact, the strings play regularly and elizabeth troy's vocals dominate the track. i purposely wrote it like that as the changes are mainly at those three aspects.
i really love what mj cole did to his own track and how he shifted the focus from the top of the aural spectrum to the bottom. the bass that comes right after a vocal drop with troy's vocals repeating "don't leave me lonely" is thick and hits perfectly. as the strings are cut up it is also the melodic aspect as the bassline plays the chords of the string ostinato
the only thing that bugged me with track was why cole took out the first kick, in a listening aspect it didn't bother me at all but when mixing it really did. i kept forgetting that from the top it starts on two and that's not the first time mj cole has done that as his dub of valerie etienne's "misunderstanding" works in the same way.
listen here (youtube)
Tuesday 14 August 2012
anna ternheim - what have i done (a forest remix)
this one is a youtube find and it came to my attention shortly after hearing the original which i love and is a brilliant song. ternheims original composition had this melancholia within all the slightly uptempo feel of track. it also had so much great tension and release built within the track and the way it breaks down with the orchestral theme is immense.
but fact in mind is that the best part of the song besides the song and lyrical content itself is that bassline, the way it drives the track. a whole lot of people commented that it actually copies the bassline of roxy musics "love is the drug" and in comparison it does have similarities but just that. i was quite pleased for people bring that to mind since i've never heard "love is the drug" before that and i love that track also
but about the track at hand then and because of it's nature "what have i done" lends itself to remixing and there is actually an official one by familjen, but i don't think much of that. there isn't a pure acapella released to do any substantial remixes but ternheim had a tendency to do acoustic versions of her songs and release them.
so swedish producer a forest took advantage of that and worked on his version which is a soundscapey techno version but with a serious drive. when i first heard it i was gobsmacked by it's awesome nature and loved that deep bass and the way ternheims intentionally delayed vocals & piano works when emphasising a dub element.
ternheims vocal is so remarkable with this take and she pours a little more emotion into it and with the dark pads sending you shivering feel to the skin it's nothing short of amazing. as much as i love the original i love this version as well.
listen here (youtube)
but fact in mind is that the best part of the song besides the song and lyrical content itself is that bassline, the way it drives the track. a whole lot of people commented that it actually copies the bassline of roxy musics "love is the drug" and in comparison it does have similarities but just that. i was quite pleased for people bring that to mind since i've never heard "love is the drug" before that and i love that track also
but about the track at hand then and because of it's nature "what have i done" lends itself to remixing and there is actually an official one by familjen, but i don't think much of that. there isn't a pure acapella released to do any substantial remixes but ternheim had a tendency to do acoustic versions of her songs and release them.
so swedish producer a forest took advantage of that and worked on his version which is a soundscapey techno version but with a serious drive. when i first heard it i was gobsmacked by it's awesome nature and loved that deep bass and the way ternheims intentionally delayed vocals & piano works when emphasising a dub element.
ternheims vocal is so remarkable with this take and she pours a little more emotion into it and with the dark pads sending you shivering feel to the skin it's nothing short of amazing. as much as i love the original i love this version as well.
listen here (youtube)
Sunday 12 August 2012
the heritage orchestra - the 1890 affair
this is a suite from an album i picked up a long time ago and while i sort of had a hunch of what it was. i was however not listening to gilles petersons radio at the time so i didn't have the full picture. i had gathered that the heritage orchestra was a contemporary jazz ordeal that worked as a rather big band and drawing influences from the west london club music and classical music.
the selftitled lp comes with six compositions and is a well done album that starts off with a slower funk number that is greeting you with a shower of strings and horns but then goes into shuffling drums. it gives you a great idea of what the lp will being to the table along with two vocal numbers and some nice funky uptempo regions as well.
topping the whole thing off is this suite, "the 1890 affair", that comes in three pieces and was written by bandleader jules buckley. it starts of with a mighty bang which sets it apart from the previous ones which goes a bit slower and it has this string ostinato which has you hooked. the first part of the suite for some reason got me thinking of adam f's "circles" because of it's chords and bassline.
the full twelve minutes of the composition goes through a variety of modes and shifting tempo and it's reflective when it goes into the second movement. here it leaves the drum & bass flirt and goes into swanky jazz as you hear this heavy tenor saxophone solo by tom challenger with some subtle wahwah guitar backing it up. all the sounds surrounding the sax has a more chaotic feel but it feels coherent as the upright bass gets to be the grounding part.
it eventually goes back into double time again with guitars, horns and strings all building up this crescendo that is the payoff for this string part that brings in the final movement. here the regular drums are left behind for congas and percussion that plays the rest. the strings play in halftime while the bass plays in full time. as it all winds down an electric bass gets it's shine along with a piano and it ends beautifully.
buy here (7digital)
the selftitled lp comes with six compositions and is a well done album that starts off with a slower funk number that is greeting you with a shower of strings and horns but then goes into shuffling drums. it gives you a great idea of what the lp will being to the table along with two vocal numbers and some nice funky uptempo regions as well.
topping the whole thing off is this suite, "the 1890 affair", that comes in three pieces and was written by bandleader jules buckley. it starts of with a mighty bang which sets it apart from the previous ones which goes a bit slower and it has this string ostinato which has you hooked. the first part of the suite for some reason got me thinking of adam f's "circles" because of it's chords and bassline.
the full twelve minutes of the composition goes through a variety of modes and shifting tempo and it's reflective when it goes into the second movement. here it leaves the drum & bass flirt and goes into swanky jazz as you hear this heavy tenor saxophone solo by tom challenger with some subtle wahwah guitar backing it up. all the sounds surrounding the sax has a more chaotic feel but it feels coherent as the upright bass gets to be the grounding part.
it eventually goes back into double time again with guitars, horns and strings all building up this crescendo that is the payoff for this string part that brings in the final movement. here the regular drums are left behind for congas and percussion that plays the rest. the strings play in halftime while the bass plays in full time. as it all winds down an electric bass gets it's shine along with a piano and it ends beautifully.
buy here (7digital)
Saturday 11 August 2012
swell session vs. domu - a heart to cover for (featuring elsa esmeralda)
i've been meaning to do an entry on any of the tracks from andreas saag/swell session's 2007 album "swell communications" for a while now and it took a while to pinpoint the exact one but for the record. there isn't a bad track on the album and i could write about any of the songs but i picked the first track of the album. which is a cliché in it self if it hadn't been for the fact that it's immense.
saag's modus operandi for the album was to work with some of his musical contemporaries, friends and producers he liked and for this track it's a collaboration with british producer dominic stanton aka domu. on the album it's split a two parter with a two minute intro and by saag's own story, he prepared some music before the session and then completed a track.
the end result is this chunky broken beat meets hip-hop kind of ordeal, sort of flying lotus and rustie, but with a underlining soulful r&b influence. saag says that he decided to split it for what was going to end up on the album and domu handled the intro which is more of the former as it's just rhythm with chopped up sounds, scratching and a filtered steady bass.
it also does it's work as being an intro as it teases in the main part which saag was going to do. the vocal that starts the track is a sign of esmeraldas bright presence on the track. her singing and lyric is a part to what makes me love this song but fact is that i got hooked to that bassline.
which is odd since it's not a bassline like a "push the feeling on" or "body language" or "lfo" or a track that is known for it's bassline and it's really something that responds to the backbeat. i love it and i remember it getting into my head so hard that i had to steal it for some other beat i was working on.
the only thing that baffled me is how this didn't get bigger attention than it did, it should have crossed over to the mainstream radio circuit as it's perfect in the adult contemporary scene as well as the less mainstream r&b dancefloor.
buy here (junodownload)
saag's modus operandi for the album was to work with some of his musical contemporaries, friends and producers he liked and for this track it's a collaboration with british producer dominic stanton aka domu. on the album it's split a two parter with a two minute intro and by saag's own story, he prepared some music before the session and then completed a track.
the end result is this chunky broken beat meets hip-hop kind of ordeal, sort of flying lotus and rustie, but with a underlining soulful r&b influence. saag says that he decided to split it for what was going to end up on the album and domu handled the intro which is more of the former as it's just rhythm with chopped up sounds, scratching and a filtered steady bass.
it also does it's work as being an intro as it teases in the main part which saag was going to do. the vocal that starts the track is a sign of esmeraldas bright presence on the track. her singing and lyric is a part to what makes me love this song but fact is that i got hooked to that bassline.
which is odd since it's not a bassline like a "push the feeling on" or "body language" or "lfo" or a track that is known for it's bassline and it's really something that responds to the backbeat. i love it and i remember it getting into my head so hard that i had to steal it for some other beat i was working on.
the only thing that baffled me is how this didn't get bigger attention than it did, it should have crossed over to the mainstream radio circuit as it's perfect in the adult contemporary scene as well as the less mainstream r&b dancefloor.
buy here (junodownload)
Friday 10 August 2012
varano - leaving my troubles behind (håkan lidbo's hiphouse mix)
i bought this single for "leaving my troubles behind" a few years ago, right after i discovered the single for "dead end street" which i didn't know of but had a trentemøller remix which got me interested. while that was truly a downtempo single with downtempo remixes this had some uptempo versions and featured swedish rapper chords whom i'm a fan of.
the remixes was done by danish act money your love, british house and broken beat producer raw deal and swedish house producer håkan lidbo. i knew of the latter two but i quite like all of the versions on the single but this one has gotten the most play over the years.
it also, unlike raw deal, keeps chords' verses and i like the topic at hand and how he incorporated the same intro, both vocal & musical but then kicks right along. lidbo keeps much of the strings and horns from the original and puts them to good use. the track itself is a textbook cracking house number with some fierce bass and while it's labeled "hiphouse" as it's technically is, it doesn't sound like the late 80's/early 90's kind.
overall it's a great remix of a great track. well recommended.
buy here (itunes)
the remixes was done by danish act money your love, british house and broken beat producer raw deal and swedish house producer håkan lidbo. i knew of the latter two but i quite like all of the versions on the single but this one has gotten the most play over the years.
it also, unlike raw deal, keeps chords' verses and i like the topic at hand and how he incorporated the same intro, both vocal & musical but then kicks right along. lidbo keeps much of the strings and horns from the original and puts them to good use. the track itself is a textbook cracking house number with some fierce bass and while it's labeled "hiphouse" as it's technically is, it doesn't sound like the late 80's/early 90's kind.
overall it's a great remix of a great track. well recommended.
buy here (itunes)
Thursday 9 August 2012
nicole willis & the soul investigators - invisible man
i don't remember when i discovered this album that "invisible man" was from but i do know it was a short while after sharon jones & the dap-kings have gotten their big break. it was about making soul and funk that actually sounded like the real mccoy in a revival fashion. i believe timmion records we're feeling inspired of what tru thoughts and daptone was doing and released some singles first and eventually an album.
while sharon jones and the dap-kings are based out new york this band came from finland out of all places. now throwing all the prejudice out the window, cratediggers and musicnerds know that finland has their share of funky music. while previous projects in the seventies may have been aided by foreign instrumentalist, in this case it's an american singer who is living and operating in finland.
as someone who generally doesn't listen to many albums nowadays in full and in multiple hearings it says something when i say this. i've listened to this record so many times i can't count and i can easily talk about any track on it and i really don't find any weak tracks on it. ok, "my four leave clover" bugs me lyrically but it's only that one.
"invisible man" is one of the many upbeat numbers but it's also one the number that points towards the motown sound the most and it's brilliant. from the starting drums it picks up the space fast but moves in a perky bounce. i like how the vocals are arranged as willis does her own backup in call & response like the motown records. lyrically it talks about regretfulness in a former relationship and there isn't a cheerful topic but it's done in that mid 70's motown styling of juxtaposing emotions musically.
the reason i keep mention motown is while there is obvious links toward the northen soul sound and it sometimes sounds like a pastiche of soul music, some tracks that are original have arrangements that remind of known records. on the "keep reachin' up" album all of the songs we're lyrically original unlike the first unlike the first output by sharon jones & dap-kings but musically i wouldn't say so.
this one in particular is very similar to martha & the vandellas classic "heatwave" and i'm well sure that the similarities are intended and i quite like how they did it. nicole willis sings in sort of the same flow as martha reeves and the band plays "invisible man" within the same shuffle.
however nicole willis & the soul investigators do this so well that it's obviously a tribute to the song.
buy here (7digital)
while sharon jones and the dap-kings are based out new york this band came from finland out of all places. now throwing all the prejudice out the window, cratediggers and musicnerds know that finland has their share of funky music. while previous projects in the seventies may have been aided by foreign instrumentalist, in this case it's an american singer who is living and operating in finland.
as someone who generally doesn't listen to many albums nowadays in full and in multiple hearings it says something when i say this. i've listened to this record so many times i can't count and i can easily talk about any track on it and i really don't find any weak tracks on it. ok, "my four leave clover" bugs me lyrically but it's only that one.
"invisible man" is one of the many upbeat numbers but it's also one the number that points towards the motown sound the most and it's brilliant. from the starting drums it picks up the space fast but moves in a perky bounce. i like how the vocals are arranged as willis does her own backup in call & response like the motown records. lyrically it talks about regretfulness in a former relationship and there isn't a cheerful topic but it's done in that mid 70's motown styling of juxtaposing emotions musically.
the reason i keep mention motown is while there is obvious links toward the northen soul sound and it sometimes sounds like a pastiche of soul music, some tracks that are original have arrangements that remind of known records. on the "keep reachin' up" album all of the songs we're lyrically original unlike the first unlike the first output by sharon jones & dap-kings but musically i wouldn't say so.
this one in particular is very similar to martha & the vandellas classic "heatwave" and i'm well sure that the similarities are intended and i quite like how they did it. nicole willis sings in sort of the same flow as martha reeves and the band plays "invisible man" within the same shuffle.
however nicole willis & the soul investigators do this so well that it's obviously a tribute to the song.
buy here (7digital)
Wednesday 8 August 2012
coldcut - autumn leaves (bare leaves)
the original was a song i believe i saw on mtv back in the day but it had no recollection of it when i heard the beautiful ambient irresistible force remix by mixmaster morris a decade later. after a while i grew infatuated with the song and listened to the original version by coldcut and then heard the nat king cole version which i thought then was the absolute "original".
after a while i did my proper research and found out that it was not and it's originally a french song/poem from 1945 called "les feuilles mortes" and was written by jacques prévert. johnny mercer wrote the english version in 1947 and among the first to record it was jo stafford. the song became a standard that a hundreds have recorded a version of but the most relevant to the coldcut version is nana mouskouri's from 1979.
if i have done my research right this is the version that adds the verse that coldcut also used for their rendition. this verse fleshes out the lyrical concept of the song and it's these parts that i like the most in it's portrail of seasons as parts of the relationship. especially the lines "autumn leaves fall and then swept out of sight, so is the memory of love that we knew"
coldcuts version is held up with janis alexander's magnificent vocal and it's what made me pay attention as it cuts through with all it's emotion. musically the original album version is very typical of coldcut and the early 90's hiphop sounds but the problem i have gotten on recent hearings is that it dates the song as well.
the vocal is timeless and so is approach with the piano and the string arrangement but then comes the drums and while the drums from tom scott's "sneakin' in the back" works, the drums from ike & tina turner's "cussin', cryin' and carryin' on" does not.
well atleast in the raw shape they are in on the album version and i should note that it's weird to hear me complain about the use of good drumbreaks like this but i don't think it fits with the track at hand. in the radio version i believe they are taken out and on the rendition on coldcut's best of compilation, both drum breaks are replaced with some regular drum hits and it works well for the song.
however there is two other versions of the song that stripped it all down. labelled similarly they are called "naked leaves" and "bare leaves" and they are identified with the former having an occasional bassdrum every second bar or so, having a different intro and outro and being longer. "bare leaves" is also available on the album while the "naked leaves" was on singles.
"bare leaves" starts with the piano and janis alexanders voice and when the bridge hits you hear this sweeping violin that hits once. it then slowly brings in a second piano line and rest of the strings that plays when the most famous lyrical part is being sung. as alexander is repeating "autumn leaves, start to fall" it all builds as a crescendo with piano going into an arpeggio as the coda of the song.
this final part just gets to me every time, it's that beautiful.
listen here (youtube)
after a while i did my proper research and found out that it was not and it's originally a french song/poem from 1945 called "les feuilles mortes" and was written by jacques prévert. johnny mercer wrote the english version in 1947 and among the first to record it was jo stafford. the song became a standard that a hundreds have recorded a version of but the most relevant to the coldcut version is nana mouskouri's from 1979.
if i have done my research right this is the version that adds the verse that coldcut also used for their rendition. this verse fleshes out the lyrical concept of the song and it's these parts that i like the most in it's portrail of seasons as parts of the relationship. especially the lines "autumn leaves fall and then swept out of sight, so is the memory of love that we knew"
coldcuts version is held up with janis alexander's magnificent vocal and it's what made me pay attention as it cuts through with all it's emotion. musically the original album version is very typical of coldcut and the early 90's hiphop sounds but the problem i have gotten on recent hearings is that it dates the song as well.
the vocal is timeless and so is approach with the piano and the string arrangement but then comes the drums and while the drums from tom scott's "sneakin' in the back" works, the drums from ike & tina turner's "cussin', cryin' and carryin' on" does not.
well atleast in the raw shape they are in on the album version and i should note that it's weird to hear me complain about the use of good drumbreaks like this but i don't think it fits with the track at hand. in the radio version i believe they are taken out and on the rendition on coldcut's best of compilation, both drum breaks are replaced with some regular drum hits and it works well for the song.
however there is two other versions of the song that stripped it all down. labelled similarly they are called "naked leaves" and "bare leaves" and they are identified with the former having an occasional bassdrum every second bar or so, having a different intro and outro and being longer. "bare leaves" is also available on the album while the "naked leaves" was on singles.
"bare leaves" starts with the piano and janis alexanders voice and when the bridge hits you hear this sweeping violin that hits once. it then slowly brings in a second piano line and rest of the strings that plays when the most famous lyrical part is being sung. as alexander is repeating "autumn leaves, start to fall" it all builds as a crescendo with piano going into an arpeggio as the coda of the song.
this final part just gets to me every time, it's that beautiful.
listen here (youtube)
Tuesday 7 August 2012
jody watley - off the hook (kenlou mix)
this is from a single that i bought at a secondhand-store and i didn't know the track at hand but it did include remixes by masters at work, booker t & soul solution. i also had a clue about it being one of the last pure r&b albums of her career as it started shifting towards a more house-oriented sound.
it's also where i got interested in watley's music although i can honestly say that i didn't really know her previous records but i knew of her. but back to this track at hand and this wasn't really the version i first liked on the single, i thought booker t's more straightforward garage rerub was the best. then i really listened to the kenlou remix and my opinion changed.
louie vega & kenny dope gonzales created two sets of remixes with a main mix and a dub, they were billed as m.a.w. and kenlou. both very soulful bumping us garage numbers but the former being a bit more focused on the added instrumentation and the latter being a little rawer.
it's also where i got interested in watley's music although i can honestly say that i didn't really know her previous records but i knew of her. but back to this track at hand and this wasn't really the version i first liked on the single, i thought booker t's more straightforward garage rerub was the best. then i really listened to the kenlou remix and my opinion changed.
louie vega & kenny dope gonzales created two sets of remixes with a main mix and a dub, they were billed as m.a.w. and kenlou. both very soulful bumping us garage numbers but the former being a bit more focused on the added instrumentation and the latter being a little rawer.
the track starts out with some low-key vocal samples and a few timbale & cowbell hits and then drums come in full force. the drums have their lively shuffle and the groove works in a bounce that reminds me of the uk funky movement. which isn't that surprising as rhythms the late 90's us garage and artists such as masters at work and mood II swing have been clear influences.
the production in general is quite clean the way all the sounds have their space even within the more chaotic regions is well done. the groovy bassline cuts through well and same goes for the horns that are a bigger part of the m.a.w. main mix are here in accents but take place in the chorus
watley's wonderful vocals are also treated to a backing up by a choir of talented backup vocalists that include eddie stockley, karlon taylor brooks jr., sheila epps, kenny bobien & russel soxton. mended together with cassandra lucas and watley herself from the original recording. they compliment her singing and really emphasise the subtle gospel feel in her voice.
the production in general is quite clean the way all the sounds have their space even within the more chaotic regions is well done. the groovy bassline cuts through well and same goes for the horns that are a bigger part of the m.a.w. main mix are here in accents but take place in the chorus
watley's wonderful vocals are also treated to a backing up by a choir of talented backup vocalists that include eddie stockley, karlon taylor brooks jr., sheila epps, kenny bobien & russel soxton. mended together with cassandra lucas and watley herself from the original recording. they compliment her singing and really emphasise the subtle gospel feel in her voice.
to conclude this is a track in the best of masters at work stylings and i believe this remix eventually leaded to them to produce a track for her album. also the single "i love to love" together with vibraphone legend roy ayers on masters at works own label.
listen here (youtube)
listen here (youtube)
Monday 6 August 2012
massive attack vs. mad professor - radiation ruling the nation (protection)
the original was one of those songs that i saw on mtv when i was younger and i knew of massive attack for "unfinished sympathy" but the difference was that i like that song. i do know it was to do with having problems with tracey thorn when she sounds really dreary.
eventually i did catch on and by then i had listened to more than the first two minutes of the song and heard that wonderful slow but heavy pulsating bass & rhythm. i didn't know what a tb-303 was or the concept of acidlines but i did know that was the best part of the song.
that heavy rhythm was amplified in mad professors dub version and it is one my favourite tracks on his dub remix album but i like "i spy (spying glass)" a bit more. the professor takes a very rhythmic approach to his version and the samples from james browns "the payback" are removed as the focus is shifted of them.
it starts out with the dreamy pad from the original and eventually you hear a long & round bass stab that hits hard. after a while some reverbed out sound are introduced into the soundscape once the rhythm gets going. thorns vocal is reduced to occasional short fragments loaded with reverb and delays.
the acidline is given a bigger space into the realm but it still floats on in the background until halfway in where the other sounds are put in a backseat role for a near solo. it was when i heard this first time that i really fell in love with the track. i'd always associated dub with such slower rhythms and while this does floats at 85bpm it does have the movement as the acidline & drum rhythms are chugging on.
buy here (7digital)
eventually i did catch on and by then i had listened to more than the first two minutes of the song and heard that wonderful slow but heavy pulsating bass & rhythm. i didn't know what a tb-303 was or the concept of acidlines but i did know that was the best part of the song.
that heavy rhythm was amplified in mad professors dub version and it is one my favourite tracks on his dub remix album but i like "i spy (spying glass)" a bit more. the professor takes a very rhythmic approach to his version and the samples from james browns "the payback" are removed as the focus is shifted of them.
it starts out with the dreamy pad from the original and eventually you hear a long & round bass stab that hits hard. after a while some reverbed out sound are introduced into the soundscape once the rhythm gets going. thorns vocal is reduced to occasional short fragments loaded with reverb and delays.
the acidline is given a bigger space into the realm but it still floats on in the background until halfway in where the other sounds are put in a backseat role for a near solo. it was when i heard this first time that i really fell in love with the track. i'd always associated dub with such slower rhythms and while this does floats at 85bpm it does have the movement as the acidline & drum rhythms are chugging on.
buy here (7digital)
Sunday 5 August 2012
jamelia featuring beenie man - money (capital t club mix)
when i look for cd-singles in bargain bins and second hand stores i tend to have an eye on pop songs as well as you can find good remixes not available elsewhere. usually i was on the look out for straight up house versions and used to care less about other remixes but after a while my focus shifted.
on the r&b singles i started to look for the garage versions & hiphop mixes and on the american singles that meant new york/new jersey garage but on the uk singles that meant uk garage, 2-step and later on grime rerubs.
but i don't buy any pop single just for the fun of it... actually that's not true. when i had more storage space i would but then with less and less space it became songs i do like in it's original form or a remixer i know turns out quality. in this case i did like the original version and found beenie man's part to be entertaining as he tries to be operatic when mimicking the hook.
this single included the radio edit, an slower r&b mix by colin emmanuel who also produced the original and two remixes smokin' beats and capital t. both version are edited down on the single which in terms of cin rules is normal except for the full versions would have easily gotten in under 20minutes. i know that it was more of a case of radio edits on the singles so any dj wanting to play it had to buy the vinyls.
anyhow smokin' beats does a house version and this would have been the version i'd gone gaga over but i bought this single after i started getting into garage so it's on the capital t remix i went nuts over. trevor davy (aka capital t and rugged & tough productions) did a bouncy but driving 2-step version and from the initial drum hits and teasing arpeggio i was in love.
the bassline is deep but almost wavey-like at times as the sinewaves are bent when they hit in the lower regions. the drums aren't really smacking hard but they deliver well and it's a quite shuffling and skipping pattern that reflect in the bassline.
the usual problems with timestretched vocals is that if the vocal is delivered too fast it will amplify itself once you start to mess with it and in this case it works out perfect. since the flow from both jamelia and beenie man is delivered quite slow and therefore it isn't that noticeable in the sped up tempo.
the end result is a really good remix of a really good original. well recommended.
listen here (youtube)
on the r&b singles i started to look for the garage versions & hiphop mixes and on the american singles that meant new york/new jersey garage but on the uk singles that meant uk garage, 2-step and later on grime rerubs.
but i don't buy any pop single just for the fun of it... actually that's not true. when i had more storage space i would but then with less and less space it became songs i do like in it's original form or a remixer i know turns out quality. in this case i did like the original version and found beenie man's part to be entertaining as he tries to be operatic when mimicking the hook.
this single included the radio edit, an slower r&b mix by colin emmanuel who also produced the original and two remixes smokin' beats and capital t. both version are edited down on the single which in terms of cin rules is normal except for the full versions would have easily gotten in under 20minutes. i know that it was more of a case of radio edits on the singles so any dj wanting to play it had to buy the vinyls.
anyhow smokin' beats does a house version and this would have been the version i'd gone gaga over but i bought this single after i started getting into garage so it's on the capital t remix i went nuts over. trevor davy (aka capital t and rugged & tough productions) did a bouncy but driving 2-step version and from the initial drum hits and teasing arpeggio i was in love.
the bassline is deep but almost wavey-like at times as the sinewaves are bent when they hit in the lower regions. the drums aren't really smacking hard but they deliver well and it's a quite shuffling and skipping pattern that reflect in the bassline.
the usual problems with timestretched vocals is that if the vocal is delivered too fast it will amplify itself once you start to mess with it and in this case it works out perfect. since the flow from both jamelia and beenie man is delivered quite slow and therefore it isn't that noticeable in the sped up tempo.
the end result is a really good remix of a really good original. well recommended.
listen here (youtube)
Saturday 4 August 2012
rob dougan - clubbed to death (spoon mix by carl craig)
this one came in my peripheral a few years ago and i was actually expecting a techno version being that it's carl craig responsible for the remix. the second thing that i didn't expect was how it would sound as the famous orchestral piece used and the piano melody is devoid in this version.
but neither we're they in most of the remixes in the original '95 release where this track was released under the name "rob d". peshay, la funk mob (note the version they did without dougan) and carl craig went to town and used the original material as they pleased. the only version that kept the piano as it is was by wax doctor.
carl craig's revision of the track starts off with the orchestral piece but regrooved as it loops after two beats and goes down a semi-note for two beats. it's then again pitched down and stays like that for four beats, this re-jig serves as the main theme for the track. it also shows what route craig was planning for the track as it's a slow instrumental hip-hop retake with plenty of experimentation.
sounds are twisted left and right and laid under a bedrock of a deep hitting kick drum and reverbed clap. the kick has this offsetting weird bass trail but it's actually the kick reversed which is in it's own pattern. i've tried playing the whole track in reverse and if the clap wasn't that full of reverb it would have been rather decent.
i quite like this remix now but it took me a long time to appreciate it as the first time i heard it i didn't understand it at all. you can scream out trendwhore and that i'm only talking about this version since carl craig's name & person has gotten a big revival but that doesn't really tell the whole story.
i could have written on the peshay remix but what more else is it to say that here is this nice amen roller with an atmospheric intro*. or la funk mob's second version named the darkside mix which also goes down on the slow instrumental hip-hop route but is less interesting aurally.
listen here (youtube)
*i know that i could easily write about it but fact is that it would be a combination of this one and the entry on source direct's "shimmer"
but neither we're they in most of the remixes in the original '95 release where this track was released under the name "rob d". peshay, la funk mob (note the version they did without dougan) and carl craig went to town and used the original material as they pleased. the only version that kept the piano as it is was by wax doctor.
carl craig's revision of the track starts off with the orchestral piece but regrooved as it loops after two beats and goes down a semi-note for two beats. it's then again pitched down and stays like that for four beats, this re-jig serves as the main theme for the track. it also shows what route craig was planning for the track as it's a slow instrumental hip-hop retake with plenty of experimentation.
sounds are twisted left and right and laid under a bedrock of a deep hitting kick drum and reverbed clap. the kick has this offsetting weird bass trail but it's actually the kick reversed which is in it's own pattern. i've tried playing the whole track in reverse and if the clap wasn't that full of reverb it would have been rather decent.
i quite like this remix now but it took me a long time to appreciate it as the first time i heard it i didn't understand it at all. you can scream out trendwhore and that i'm only talking about this version since carl craig's name & person has gotten a big revival but that doesn't really tell the whole story.
i could have written on the peshay remix but what more else is it to say that here is this nice amen roller with an atmospheric intro*. or la funk mob's second version named the darkside mix which also goes down on the slow instrumental hip-hop route but is less interesting aurally.
listen here (youtube)
*i know that i could easily write about it but fact is that it would be a combination of this one and the entry on source direct's "shimmer"
Friday 3 August 2012
jessica folcker - tell me what you like
when this came out it was talked about being one of the last projects by denniz pop before his death. i can't really confirm it as it is a cheiron product like most and the cheiron collective were involved with a lot of productions at the time.
folcker had been part of the artist stable and done vocal work for some of the eurodance projects including dr. alban, e-type, amadin, anna book's 90's revival and leila k. on the latter she sang on being "electric" where folcker's chorus, leila's high energy rap & denniz pop's production is a perfect combination and i love that track to date.
as the story goes, folcker was first discovered when working in dr. alban's clothing store and she was an aspiring singer. i don't know more than that but it did eventually land to her own career and with this track it started with a bang.
it's what i refer to as a near perfect pop song in the cheiron style and it really personified what would come out from that collective. very clean production and instrumentation was was on point but didn't go overboard as it was a vehicle for the singer, not the musicians involved. jessicas singing is like her previous back-up vocal efforts and rings clearly of talent and her voice is nothing short of amazing.
while most of the producers in the cheiron collective had their own style and while max martin where using his old hard rock influences in extremely subtle ways and amatiello & lundin (amadin) were a little more dance oriented, denniz pop had a number of influences and reggae was one that appeared in his productions.
this one included and it can be heard though the piano, the guitar & the bassline although the latter derives much more from funk. song & structure wise it's a fairly standard verse/bridge/chorus/verse thing of the 90's where it wasn't completely a race to get to the chorus within the first 30seconds of the song.
it does start with it but as it's proceeded with beats and an emphasis that it was a just a tease for the verse it doesn't really count, at least in my book. but the reason i mentioned britney's "...baby one more time" is that i noticed that this song and maybe a few others sparked a breakdown trend in the cheiron productions.
they tended to use ambient drops right near the end of the song right before the chorus repeats until fadeout. but here the drop is longer and included singing and it's a classic trick within music but i associate it with dance music where in the late mid 90's, the breakdowns became the focal point of the track.
luckily they didn't pervert those as it happened in dance music. anyhow great song, love it to death
listen here (youtube)
folcker had been part of the artist stable and done vocal work for some of the eurodance projects including dr. alban, e-type, amadin, anna book's 90's revival and leila k. on the latter she sang on being "electric" where folcker's chorus, leila's high energy rap & denniz pop's production is a perfect combination and i love that track to date.
as the story goes, folcker was first discovered when working in dr. alban's clothing store and she was an aspiring singer. i don't know more than that but it did eventually land to her own career and with this track it started with a bang.
it's what i refer to as a near perfect pop song in the cheiron style and it really personified what would come out from that collective. very clean production and instrumentation was was on point but didn't go overboard as it was a vehicle for the singer, not the musicians involved. jessicas singing is like her previous back-up vocal efforts and rings clearly of talent and her voice is nothing short of amazing.
while most of the producers in the cheiron collective had their own style and while max martin where using his old hard rock influences in extremely subtle ways and amatiello & lundin (amadin) were a little more dance oriented, denniz pop had a number of influences and reggae was one that appeared in his productions.
this one included and it can be heard though the piano, the guitar & the bassline although the latter derives much more from funk. song & structure wise it's a fairly standard verse/bridge/chorus/verse thing of the 90's where it wasn't completely a race to get to the chorus within the first 30seconds of the song.
it does start with it but as it's proceeded with beats and an emphasis that it was a just a tease for the verse it doesn't really count, at least in my book. but the reason i mentioned britney's "...baby one more time" is that i noticed that this song and maybe a few others sparked a breakdown trend in the cheiron productions.
they tended to use ambient drops right near the end of the song right before the chorus repeats until fadeout. but here the drop is longer and included singing and it's a classic trick within music but i associate it with dance music where in the late mid 90's, the breakdowns became the focal point of the track.
luckily they didn't pervert those as it happened in dance music. anyhow great song, love it to death
listen here (youtube)
Thursday 2 August 2012
pingel - dance with me
i discovered this track when josefin johansson (aka josefinito) and kristofer jonzon took part of "musikhjälpen" (swedish version of dutch format "serious request") 2011 and they performed this track that was very much a pastische of an 80's/90's house track. it was seriously catchy and i liked it instantly and it was weird to know that josefinito could sing as she's more known as a comedian.
it was likewise with jonzon, but i did know that he was actually a great singer and musician as he performed on the show the year prior. he did some lovely renditions of berlin's "take my breath away", chris isaak's "wicked game", the rolling stones' "wild horses" and a few others. he had released an album prior to that also and i was transfixed to the idea to him as a balladeer & pop singer so it was weird him do something like this.
as mentioned this track is sort of throwback and it's showing in the style where the vocal edits are done with triggered samples as it was sampled. but it isn't the vocal that is carrying the track even though josefinito really belts it out in a nice way.
it's that driving bassline which has a near acid like quality and really want someone like kings of the universe to do a remix to take this song to the next level with a proper acidline in the mix. the way it breaks down near the end to the bass and it always evokes a resonant wiggle that i want to come in and explode. especially since the the bottom end goes into a lovely sharper buzz at the break
jonzon who i'm guessing produced the track did a fine job with working tr-909 samples for the rhythmical stomp and the overall synthesizer work. his own vocal presence on the track is almost frank farian-esque but better. both two did a bangup job with this track and i think the other tracks on their ep is quite nice as well as their kitschy electronic pop music really resonates with me well.
buy here (7digital)
it was likewise with jonzon, but i did know that he was actually a great singer and musician as he performed on the show the year prior. he did some lovely renditions of berlin's "take my breath away", chris isaak's "wicked game", the rolling stones' "wild horses" and a few others. he had released an album prior to that also and i was transfixed to the idea to him as a balladeer & pop singer so it was weird him do something like this.
as mentioned this track is sort of throwback and it's showing in the style where the vocal edits are done with triggered samples as it was sampled. but it isn't the vocal that is carrying the track even though josefinito really belts it out in a nice way.
it's that driving bassline which has a near acid like quality and really want someone like kings of the universe to do a remix to take this song to the next level with a proper acidline in the mix. the way it breaks down near the end to the bass and it always evokes a resonant wiggle that i want to come in and explode. especially since the the bottom end goes into a lovely sharper buzz at the break
jonzon who i'm guessing produced the track did a fine job with working tr-909 samples for the rhythmical stomp and the overall synthesizer work. his own vocal presence on the track is almost frank farian-esque but better. both two did a bangup job with this track and i think the other tracks on their ep is quite nice as well as their kitschy electronic pop music really resonates with me well.
buy here (7digital)
Wednesday 1 August 2012
herbie - right type of mood (dragonfly's jungle mix)
this is yet another track which was amongst the first records i bought back in the early noughties and i picked it up since i love the original. for some reason it still lingers in my head whenever i take the stockholm subway, especially since the video was shot in one of the carts. it only happens though when i go on the older type trains.
but for this remix it wasn't really a version i cared about until recently when i dug the track up since i also own it on cd-single. this is a cheiron/swemix product as it was produced by denniz pop & max martin and included remixes by douglas carr, amadin (john amatiello & kristian lundin) and mårten attling (dragonfly/mindbender).
the latter wasn't part of the cheiron collective but was part of stockholms dance scene on the more hardcore/techno site but also did remixes for some cheiron artists. attling's remix strip away the eurodance influences and goes for an atmospheric ragga jungle rerub. since herbie used to spit in that raggamuffin style it the beats fit his vocal much better but i think it's all a matter of taste.
all of the remixes are quite dated in their style but this one holds up the best considering what it tries to do. there is a slight resurgence with this type of material and i can't really say that the original's euro-synths or douglas carr's staler house beats are relevant in this day and age.
attling opens his remix with herbie chriclow's opening hype ups over some nice pads but goes quickly into some hard-hitting drum breaks. the breaks used are "think" and "funky mule" but the latter are used to back up the "think" break. as usual with this type of jungle the bass is really subby and hits quite hard with it's deep sine stabs.
the track goes halfway into a ravey type break where you hear a time stretched "rude boy" vocal and some messed up organ sounds. the good thing is that these type of sections can really date a track but it doesn't go overboard and this is part of what makes this work 15+ years after it was originally released.
listen here (soundcloud)
but for this remix it wasn't really a version i cared about until recently when i dug the track up since i also own it on cd-single. this is a cheiron/swemix product as it was produced by denniz pop & max martin and included remixes by douglas carr, amadin (john amatiello & kristian lundin) and mårten attling (dragonfly/mindbender).
the latter wasn't part of the cheiron collective but was part of stockholms dance scene on the more hardcore/techno site but also did remixes for some cheiron artists. attling's remix strip away the eurodance influences and goes for an atmospheric ragga jungle rerub. since herbie used to spit in that raggamuffin style it the beats fit his vocal much better but i think it's all a matter of taste.
all of the remixes are quite dated in their style but this one holds up the best considering what it tries to do. there is a slight resurgence with this type of material and i can't really say that the original's euro-synths or douglas carr's staler house beats are relevant in this day and age.
attling opens his remix with herbie chriclow's opening hype ups over some nice pads but goes quickly into some hard-hitting drum breaks. the breaks used are "think" and "funky mule" but the latter are used to back up the "think" break. as usual with this type of jungle the bass is really subby and hits quite hard with it's deep sine stabs.
the track goes halfway into a ravey type break where you hear a time stretched "rude boy" vocal and some messed up organ sounds. the good thing is that these type of sections can really date a track but it doesn't go overboard and this is part of what makes this work 15+ years after it was originally released.
listen here (soundcloud)
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