this one is quite a classic and i love it for a multitude of reasons but the main one is because how it samples india's vocals from river ocean's classic "love & happiness (yemaya y ochùn)". the other reason is how mental the breakbeats are programmed and i love how it uses four or five elements and does so much with it. i think the point of the single from this track was from to have a distinct vocal track and a piano track in which both were sampled off other records but twisted around.
"vocal tune" starts with one of the lines from the breakdown of "love & happiness" where india sings "i'm singing to you" and "i wanna let the world know" which sets the topic at hand. it's backed up with a rhodes stab and this really long tenseful string sound. the same sound is heard through out the track and is itself a classic element within deeper house, techno and jungle.
it's no real jungle tune without subby bass hits and once the effected cold sweat drums hit you hear the bass punch in. the drums is quite frantic but in the first third they are quite stable in it's chaos but midway into the song peshay unleashes more drums and there isn't any stability and on a glance it's just scattered kicks, snares, hats and cymbals.
the drop unleashes the full vocal from india and i would say that it's a calm before the storm and something to contrast the continuing of the chaotic drumprogramming. but with my explanation you would think it's crazy and hard to mix this but it's not even though i tend to use it from the drop as an intro as it's a great way of playing the track in a set.
listen here (youtube)
Sunday 30 September 2012
Saturday 29 September 2012
kelis - milkshake (freq nasty's hip-hall mix)
i bought the cd-single when this one came out and i love the original but i was really after the x-press 2 remix which took the song and worked it out for 9minutes. the fact is that i could do an entry on a boat-load of versions, my single included four and all of which where excellent. however "milkshake" became on of those tunes that everyone had to get on and do something with.
it happened sometime in the noughties where there was a pop or r&b tune that had so many bootleg remixes that counting them was pointless. many more examples included jill scott's "golden" or blur's "song 2" or white stripes' "7 nation army" and that was just the tip of the iceberg. it always have to do with the original song either sitting in the right tempo or having a vocal that was brilliant or just being that awesome that it needed a now drumtrack & looping and it was good to go.
"milkshake" had all three of those as it was in 113 bpm, a tempo that was perfect for timestretching to housetempos (the days before the easy timestretching of ableton). it had one of the best hooks out there but the thing that everyone loved was that bass. a big luscious force in the lower end which was this very midrangy saw sound that got so much space because the drum track was really compact. but it did have all the elements of a trademark neptunes production and especially how the kicks hit deep and highpitched clacky clap
i was quite sure that if i'd ever do an entry on this one i'd write about the dj zinc remix as on later days it was my favourite version of the song. but then i revisited the single again and heard freq nasty's remix and it blew my mind. a certainty is that i know that it was a version that i disliked when i bought the single as i didn't get this kind of breakbeat or uk garage for that matter but i do now.
freq nasty writes on his own website that he's still proud of this remix and i agree because it was quite forward thinking. it operates in halftime and maintains the heavy soundscape of the original but translates it into the west london or brixton state of mind. the rhythmic background for the track is something that in a modern setting would be called dubstep but i'd rather say grime. it's really no difference from a beat you'd hear from someone like wiley/eskiboy, jme, jon e cash, dj target or any of the bigshot grime producers.
this remix just has all things right and i love the sub bass that's incredibly heavy and hits you with that low frequency punch with every note. the other thing that makes it sound properly uk is that freq nasty let spoonface go in and deliver some bars and they are quite good.
listen here (soundcloud)
it happened sometime in the noughties where there was a pop or r&b tune that had so many bootleg remixes that counting them was pointless. many more examples included jill scott's "golden" or blur's "song 2" or white stripes' "7 nation army" and that was just the tip of the iceberg. it always have to do with the original song either sitting in the right tempo or having a vocal that was brilliant or just being that awesome that it needed a now drumtrack & looping and it was good to go.
"milkshake" had all three of those as it was in 113 bpm, a tempo that was perfect for timestretching to housetempos (the days before the easy timestretching of ableton). it had one of the best hooks out there but the thing that everyone loved was that bass. a big luscious force in the lower end which was this very midrangy saw sound that got so much space because the drum track was really compact. but it did have all the elements of a trademark neptunes production and especially how the kicks hit deep and highpitched clacky clap
i was quite sure that if i'd ever do an entry on this one i'd write about the dj zinc remix as on later days it was my favourite version of the song. but then i revisited the single again and heard freq nasty's remix and it blew my mind. a certainty is that i know that it was a version that i disliked when i bought the single as i didn't get this kind of breakbeat or uk garage for that matter but i do now.
freq nasty writes on his own website that he's still proud of this remix and i agree because it was quite forward thinking. it operates in halftime and maintains the heavy soundscape of the original but translates it into the west london or brixton state of mind. the rhythmic background for the track is something that in a modern setting would be called dubstep but i'd rather say grime. it's really no difference from a beat you'd hear from someone like wiley/eskiboy, jme, jon e cash, dj target or any of the bigshot grime producers.
this remix just has all things right and i love the sub bass that's incredibly heavy and hits you with that low frequency punch with every note. the other thing that makes it sound properly uk is that freq nasty let spoonface go in and deliver some bars and they are quite good.
listen here (soundcloud)
Friday 28 September 2012
future engineers - eden
heard this one first on juno a few years ago when i was buying some new drum & bass and this one stopped me in my tracks. i was always under the impression that future engineers did this combination of techy & atmospheric and i wasn't expecting something in the liquid stylings. it also before i heard their previous release on covert operations recordings which did tell that there was a change in sound.
the second reason i kept listening to the clip on juno over and over was because i heard some keys that i recognized and it took me a minute or two but then i remembered. "eden" is built around the track "shibuya" by keyboardist roger joseph mannings jr. & brian reitzell. it's taken from sofia coppola's film "lost in translation" and soundtrack, the original track can be heard when scarlet johanson is crossing the crowded streets of shibuya.
future engineers used a whole lot of the original track and used the spooky beginning & end for their intro which gives me goosebumps every time. the leitmotif from the original is however what is heard mostly throughout the track, but it goes into some tweaking halfway into the track. they attach another synth that first plays on it's own after the sample is taken off right before the breakdown. it then goes in again right after the break but paired up with the original and the effect is well nifty.
there is also another huge sample that is implemented and this one is from actor terry o'quinn as john locke. it's from the fifth episode of the first season of tv-series "lost", called "white rabbit". when the track breaks down you hear some mumbled dialogue and then:
now this is all googled info as i wasn't part of the cult of lost and have never seen one single episode nor do i plan to. but i do like this tune even though it rides on two huge samples and isn't really as clever as previous future engineers productions but you can't please everyone can you.
listen here (youtube)
p.s. i have not mentioned that it does include amen drums & reese bass but mentioned those is like constantly bringing up that the tr-909 was used in chicago house or whatnot. the actual reason for not saying it does have them is because i don't really like their use of the amen.
the second reason i kept listening to the clip on juno over and over was because i heard some keys that i recognized and it took me a minute or two but then i remembered. "eden" is built around the track "shibuya" by keyboardist roger joseph mannings jr. & brian reitzell. it's taken from sofia coppola's film "lost in translation" and soundtrack, the original track can be heard when scarlet johanson is crossing the crowded streets of shibuya.
future engineers used a whole lot of the original track and used the spooky beginning & end for their intro which gives me goosebumps every time. the leitmotif from the original is however what is heard mostly throughout the track, but it goes into some tweaking halfway into the track. they attach another synth that first plays on it's own after the sample is taken off right before the breakdown. it then goes in again right after the break but paired up with the original and the effect is well nifty.
there is also another huge sample that is implemented and this one is from actor terry o'quinn as john locke. it's from the fifth episode of the first season of tv-series "lost", called "white rabbit". when the track breaks down you hear some mumbled dialogue and then:
"not a big believer in... magic. but this place is different. it's special. the others don't wanna talk about it because it scares them, but we all know it, we all feel it. / but what if everything that happened here happened for a reason? what if that someone you're chasing is really here? "and
"i've looked into the eye of this island, and what i saw... was beautiful"
now this is all googled info as i wasn't part of the cult of lost and have never seen one single episode nor do i plan to. but i do like this tune even though it rides on two huge samples and isn't really as clever as previous future engineers productions but you can't please everyone can you.
listen here (youtube)
p.s. i have not mentioned that it does include amen drums & reese bass but mentioned those is like constantly bringing up that the tr-909 was used in chicago house or whatnot. the actual reason for not saying it does have them is because i don't really like their use of the amen.
Thursday 27 September 2012
chanel - my life (grant nelson neo funk mix)
yet again found the cdsingle in a cratedig and for this one i did know about it since the haji & emanuel remix was quite a hit. i may have bought it for that but i was also interested in the three grant nelson remixes that was included since i like grant nelson's productions.
this track was by a british singer by the name of chanel perry and it originally was released in the early noughties. it went under the radar and was an r&b track that few knew but was a firm favourite amongst uk r&b dj's because of it's sample of the crusaders & randy crawford's classic "street life". after much underground buzz and hubbub it was decided to revamp the track. some house versions were included and was initally only from seamus haji and paul emanuel, but he wasn't credited on the first releases and grant nelson.
nelson turned in three remixes labeled "vocal mix", "dub mix" and "neo funk mix" and you would think that first and second are similar but with less vocal on it but that isn't the case. the dub mix is actually the version i like the least and it's because it sounds so clean & harmless if that makes any sense. the vocal mix is what i rate the second but it's the neo funk version that takes the cake.
it has to do with that it in the vocal mix, nelson flips around the "street life" bassline and while it does sound good, he keeps it as it is in the neo funk mix. the track also has a better groove and i like how the bassline got the big focus of the track. nelson who is a legend within uk garage knows his way around the bottom end and anyone who knows me will have an idea which part of the spectrum i am mostly interested in.
the bass has a nice slapping sound to it for the most part until the break where nelson adds another one which is quite synthsounding but really squelches. it really makes an impact when the second break drops and you hear perry's vocal flow perfectly on top and it's waggling around in the lower end. when the track kicks in again, it's just bliss. love this one
buy here (junodownload)
note, juno says "edited", there isn't anything substantial removed but only 15seconds of drums.
this track was by a british singer by the name of chanel perry and it originally was released in the early noughties. it went under the radar and was an r&b track that few knew but was a firm favourite amongst uk r&b dj's because of it's sample of the crusaders & randy crawford's classic "street life". after much underground buzz and hubbub it was decided to revamp the track. some house versions were included and was initally only from seamus haji and paul emanuel, but he wasn't credited on the first releases and grant nelson.
nelson turned in three remixes labeled "vocal mix", "dub mix" and "neo funk mix" and you would think that first and second are similar but with less vocal on it but that isn't the case. the dub mix is actually the version i like the least and it's because it sounds so clean & harmless if that makes any sense. the vocal mix is what i rate the second but it's the neo funk version that takes the cake.
it has to do with that it in the vocal mix, nelson flips around the "street life" bassline and while it does sound good, he keeps it as it is in the neo funk mix. the track also has a better groove and i like how the bassline got the big focus of the track. nelson who is a legend within uk garage knows his way around the bottom end and anyone who knows me will have an idea which part of the spectrum i am mostly interested in.
the bass has a nice slapping sound to it for the most part until the break where nelson adds another one which is quite synthsounding but really squelches. it really makes an impact when the second break drops and you hear perry's vocal flow perfectly on top and it's waggling around in the lower end. when the track kicks in again, it's just bliss. love this one
buy here (junodownload)
note, juno says "edited", there isn't anything substantial removed but only 15seconds of drums.
Wednesday 26 September 2012
jaydee - plastic dreams (hohner retro mix)
i bought this single because it had the boom boom satellites remix which is by far one of my favourite versions of this over re-interpreted track. what i loved about that is that it took plastic dreams into an original direction and many of the '97 remixes did so.
the single included versions by boom boom satellites (as mentioned) who did a gritty big beat version and mr. yt who did a straightforward techno version. it also had a drum & bass version by peshay which is a good tune on it's own but a lousy remix and a version named hohner retro mix which is done by the smart mob. i have tried to look further on who holds responsible exactly for the remix but i think it has to be patrick pulsinger as he is credited as well.
reason why i singled out this version is partly because i've already done a piece on the boom boom satellites remix on discogs and i found it pointless to rehash that. but it is also a really good version and i like how it fits the "plastic dreams" lead into it's gritty soundscape.
a description genrewise would be kind of digital hiphop with elements from acid house & idm and sounds from the famous hohner organ? which the remix is named after. it starts out with distorted & affected drums with gritty raw bass and it quickly introduces the hohner sounds into the picture. the melody comes in shortly after that and it's played on a flute and it's this sonical contrast that make it all work. a highlight is when the tb-303 sounding synth comes in at the break as a tease for it's position as the closer of the track.
one thing i do have to note though is that the first time i heard this remix i really thought that they done the track at house speeds and then pitched it down. i just has that effect as all of the structures is so typical of weirder techno and not 100bpm breakbeat music. but it's a great tune, no matter how you play it
listen here (youtube)
the single included versions by boom boom satellites (as mentioned) who did a gritty big beat version and mr. yt who did a straightforward techno version. it also had a drum & bass version by peshay which is a good tune on it's own but a lousy remix and a version named hohner retro mix which is done by the smart mob. i have tried to look further on who holds responsible exactly for the remix but i think it has to be patrick pulsinger as he is credited as well.
reason why i singled out this version is partly because i've already done a piece on the boom boom satellites remix on discogs and i found it pointless to rehash that. but it is also a really good version and i like how it fits the "plastic dreams" lead into it's gritty soundscape.
a description genrewise would be kind of digital hiphop with elements from acid house & idm and sounds from the famous hohner organ? which the remix is named after. it starts out with distorted & affected drums with gritty raw bass and it quickly introduces the hohner sounds into the picture. the melody comes in shortly after that and it's played on a flute and it's this sonical contrast that make it all work. a highlight is when the tb-303 sounding synth comes in at the break as a tease for it's position as the closer of the track.
one thing i do have to note though is that the first time i heard this remix i really thought that they done the track at house speeds and then pitched it down. i just has that effect as all of the structures is so typical of weirder techno and not 100bpm breakbeat music. but it's a great tune, no matter how you play it
listen here (youtube)
Tuesday 25 September 2012
innocence - i'll be there (masters at work 12" mix)
this is another track from a single found in one of my many crate digging expiditions. i grabbed it since it had a masters at work remix but i later found out that there was another single with two additional versions by vega & gonzalez. to be honest, it does bug me not have it but i have heard them elsewhere and while the disco dub & the house dub are groovy, they aren't essential m.a.w. material. besides in terms of this type of garage house, the club mix done by innocence themselves was a little better.
anyhow, the masters at work mix that was included on my single was labelled the twelve inch mix and is a funky ordeal and is garage house but with hip-hop sensibility. it comes of a bit acid jazz and sounds like something that would come out on talkin loud. it's groove is built on the well known break from the skull snaps' "it's a new day" and also includes some shuffling guitar action and scratching.
while the track was released 1992 it does sounds like something vega & gonzalez would knock out a few years prior since it's that hip-hop sounding. you can notice that with the way the sounds & samples are worked and especially how a few seconds of brick's "dazz" appear at times. it's also because of it's playful nature and that is best heard in the break halfway into the song.
the bass and the chords from the original are dropped in favour of eight bars of raw funk. it then leads into a flute solo and a guitar solo subsuquently. both of which are in the original but they make more sense when they are highlighted instead of being a tool for the coda.
listen here (youtube)
anyhow, the masters at work mix that was included on my single was labelled the twelve inch mix and is a funky ordeal and is garage house but with hip-hop sensibility. it comes of a bit acid jazz and sounds like something that would come out on talkin loud. it's groove is built on the well known break from the skull snaps' "it's a new day" and also includes some shuffling guitar action and scratching.
while the track was released 1992 it does sounds like something vega & gonzalez would knock out a few years prior since it's that hip-hop sounding. you can notice that with the way the sounds & samples are worked and especially how a few seconds of brick's "dazz" appear at times. it's also because of it's playful nature and that is best heard in the break halfway into the song.
the bass and the chords from the original are dropped in favour of eight bars of raw funk. it then leads into a flute solo and a guitar solo subsuquently. both of which are in the original but they make more sense when they are highlighted instead of being a tool for the coda.
listen here (youtube)
Monday 24 September 2012
mike delinquent project featuring lady leshurr - step in the dance
this one was a track i heard the cut of on soundcloud a while ago and it seemed promising. cut to yesterday when leshurr tweeted that the track had been released and i heard the full monty and i was in love. basically since the first clip cut was at 2minutes and didn't include the break or the tailend.
the track itself is a quite hype uk bass track that is part dubstep, part grime and part oldschool ragga jungle. lady leshurr spits in her usual fast razortounged flow and with this one she throws in an extra amount of patios and it's awesome. her lyrics always seem to include cheeky references to other artists and i love how she does that. she includes her twist on the hook from buju banton's infamous "boom bye bye" and this is something i heard first on her mixtape "l yeah!".
there it's the hook on "stay scheming" where she goes off hard on the rick ross, drake & french montana track of the same name. it is still quite controversial to reference to "boom bye bye" but i feel more comfortable when leshurr does it rather than jay-z.
anyhow the song is a quite a club banger for the first 2minutes and then there is that break where you hear crowd noises, leshurr singing a bit sweet and big reverbed claps that seem to build up for something. right when she says the magic words "drop the bass, out, go", my ears are greeted with amen drums and the bassline and leshurr that goes off harder.
the tailend is actually the most clichéd part of the track as you might as well play lennie de ice's "we are i.e." instead if you need something like that or a shedloads of other jungle techno tunes. but and that's a big, so i repeat it, but it's still does the trick. atleast for me, i hope for others as well. boh!
buy here (itunes)
ps. the zed bias remixes are decent but i was really disappointed in them as i expected more from him.
the track itself is a quite hype uk bass track that is part dubstep, part grime and part oldschool ragga jungle. lady leshurr spits in her usual fast razortounged flow and with this one she throws in an extra amount of patios and it's awesome. her lyrics always seem to include cheeky references to other artists and i love how she does that. she includes her twist on the hook from buju banton's infamous "boom bye bye" and this is something i heard first on her mixtape "l yeah!".
there it's the hook on "stay scheming" where she goes off hard on the rick ross, drake & french montana track of the same name. it is still quite controversial to reference to "boom bye bye" but i feel more comfortable when leshurr does it rather than jay-z.
anyhow the song is a quite a club banger for the first 2minutes and then there is that break where you hear crowd noises, leshurr singing a bit sweet and big reverbed claps that seem to build up for something. right when she says the magic words "drop the bass, out, go", my ears are greeted with amen drums and the bassline and leshurr that goes off harder.
the tailend is actually the most clichéd part of the track as you might as well play lennie de ice's "we are i.e." instead if you need something like that or a shedloads of other jungle techno tunes. but and that's a big, so i repeat it, but it's still does the trick. atleast for me, i hope for others as well. boh!
buy here (itunes)
ps. the zed bias remixes are decent but i was really disappointed in them as i expected more from him.
p!nk - most girls (x-men dubby mix)
this is probably the umpteenth the time i put this in writing but the combination ok american late 90's/early 00's r&b and uk garage/2-step is one of the best ever. most of the producers who made uk garage sampled the acapellas anyways and so when bootlegs got cleared or they were actually hired to do remixes, it was simply awesome.
i do have to say that i only get giddy with joy about these remixes if i loved the original in the first place and i really liked this one. when p!nk came out with "there you go" it had that jerky darkchild sound but i didn't like that song too much but i loved "most girls" and "you make me sick" which was the follow up single. with "most girls" the americans were treated with house versions by anthony acid & dj skribble and the uk was given garage versions by x-men which i think was only johnny j at the time as wookie had left the project by then.
the x-men remixes of "most girls" came in two flavours where one was the labeled "vocal mix" and "dubby" but the latter doesn't mean less vocal or instrumental. i think a better explanation would be "mainstream mix" and "underground mix" respectively and it's because the main mix is very glossy and is focused more on the top end rather than the bottom end. the mix is good but it goes a bit over the edge with the synth and the adlib vocals from the original.
but as mentioned johnny j did a second mix and the synths are coated in filter and so are the operatic fills. henceforth when the track kicks, you are greated with just dirty drums & bass and that's the mode i was looking for. the main mix has more compact 2-step drums and on this one it's backed up by a break. it also goes into a little more drum edits and it's everything i hoped for when i heard that there was a uk garage remix of this song. love it to death.
listen here (youtube)
i do have to say that i only get giddy with joy about these remixes if i loved the original in the first place and i really liked this one. when p!nk came out with "there you go" it had that jerky darkchild sound but i didn't like that song too much but i loved "most girls" and "you make me sick" which was the follow up single. with "most girls" the americans were treated with house versions by anthony acid & dj skribble and the uk was given garage versions by x-men which i think was only johnny j at the time as wookie had left the project by then.
the x-men remixes of "most girls" came in two flavours where one was the labeled "vocal mix" and "dubby" but the latter doesn't mean less vocal or instrumental. i think a better explanation would be "mainstream mix" and "underground mix" respectively and it's because the main mix is very glossy and is focused more on the top end rather than the bottom end. the mix is good but it goes a bit over the edge with the synth and the adlib vocals from the original.
but as mentioned johnny j did a second mix and the synths are coated in filter and so are the operatic fills. henceforth when the track kicks, you are greated with just dirty drums & bass and that's the mode i was looking for. the main mix has more compact 2-step drums and on this one it's backed up by a break. it also goes into a little more drum edits and it's everything i hoped for when i heard that there was a uk garage remix of this song. love it to death.
listen here (youtube)
Sunday 23 September 2012
nelly makdessy - ishtag
i was introduced to this song through my friend who actually listened to mainstream arabic music while i was out of the loop. my intake of arabic music was limited to mainly bumming the odd the amr diab tune and whatever else that i had heard prior in my childhood. as you will guess, i had no clue on who nelly makdessy was but the this one really grabbed me on the first listen.
that intro with the shakers kicking along in slower drum & bass tempo was all it took really, makdessy's voice was easy on the ears and the song is really catchy. but it's the doubletime or halftime concept with this one that i liked. unlike dubstep, a genre that frequently uses halftime, both the kick and bass are in 80bpm and the rest thunders along at twice that pace.
makdessy became a sing i quickly started listening more to and i really like the fourth album "oof oof" which brought her a bigger breakthrough. this track comes of the third album "ana eih" and that also has a few other tracks that i like a lot like the cover of diab mashour's classic "ya bourdain".
the reason i got on makdessy's music quickly because i liked that it had classic arabic instrumentation and melodies and western pop sensibilities. it reminds me a little bit of the '90's habibi pop that still didn't sound as computer manipulated. that being said, her music isn't completely what i've described or what you can hear. a track like "ya yomma" on the "oof oof" album is basically a commercial house track with some saz, strings and makdessi's vocals. anyhow, well recommended tracks all of them.
buy here (itunes)
that intro with the shakers kicking along in slower drum & bass tempo was all it took really, makdessy's voice was easy on the ears and the song is really catchy. but it's the doubletime or halftime concept with this one that i liked. unlike dubstep, a genre that frequently uses halftime, both the kick and bass are in 80bpm and the rest thunders along at twice that pace.
makdessy became a sing i quickly started listening more to and i really like the fourth album "oof oof" which brought her a bigger breakthrough. this track comes of the third album "ana eih" and that also has a few other tracks that i like a lot like the cover of diab mashour's classic "ya bourdain".
the reason i got on makdessy's music quickly because i liked that it had classic arabic instrumentation and melodies and western pop sensibilities. it reminds me a little bit of the '90's habibi pop that still didn't sound as computer manipulated. that being said, her music isn't completely what i've described or what you can hear. a track like "ya yomma" on the "oof oof" album is basically a commercial house track with some saz, strings and makdessi's vocals. anyhow, well recommended tracks all of them.
buy here (itunes)
Saturday 22 September 2012
rhianna - oh baby (4hero extended remix)
there are two ways of writing about this one and it's either about the music or go deeply into comparison with a certain barbadian singer. i'm not going to spend the whole thing talking about rihanna but i do enjoy the irony of the situation. basically both rhianna & rihanna having the same first name, being robyn, and they bear a similar artistname. the comparison ends there as their fields of music were different, rihanna starting out with poppy/r&b flavoured-caribbean stylings and rhianna being in the soulful british r&b territories. rhianna also released her first single 3 years prior to rihanna and fact is, i'll stop talking about rihanna here.
i heard about this song not when it was released but a few years later and i would think it was '09 since i was really into 4hero at the time and was checking out some of their remix discography. yes, the similarities in name with said barbadian popstar was what attracted me to check the track and remix out. after perusing more into rhianna kenny's discography on discogs i also noticed that 4hero also remixed second single "word love" and so did jay denes of naked music fame. but they didn't make that much of an impression like when i heard first single "oh baby" and the 4hero remix.
what i expeted was a quaint but funky broken beat track when i though of how it would sound but it's just quaint. it's essentially a stripped down groove with guitar strums playing the chords for the song and some strings that sweep along for accentuation along some occasional synthy sounds. the tempo has been kicked but it's not that noticable, the remix seems to really focus on kenny's vocals and i don't know it really was for the club or home listening or even radio.
what it reminded me of was all those uk garage records that had all the elements of garage but were so stripped down and to a certain degree poppy. and it really failed me to see how they would ever work in a club. i can't really see myself dancing to this track even though i can hear the rhythm that is meant for moving at least one part of the body. i don't really know but i do know that i really like this song.
buy here (itunes)
i heard about this song not when it was released but a few years later and i would think it was '09 since i was really into 4hero at the time and was checking out some of their remix discography. yes, the similarities in name with said barbadian popstar was what attracted me to check the track and remix out. after perusing more into rhianna kenny's discography on discogs i also noticed that 4hero also remixed second single "word love" and so did jay denes of naked music fame. but they didn't make that much of an impression like when i heard first single "oh baby" and the 4hero remix.
what i expeted was a quaint but funky broken beat track when i though of how it would sound but it's just quaint. it's essentially a stripped down groove with guitar strums playing the chords for the song and some strings that sweep along for accentuation along some occasional synthy sounds. the tempo has been kicked but it's not that noticable, the remix seems to really focus on kenny's vocals and i don't know it really was for the club or home listening or even radio.
what it reminded me of was all those uk garage records that had all the elements of garage but were so stripped down and to a certain degree poppy. and it really failed me to see how they would ever work in a club. i can't really see myself dancing to this track even though i can hear the rhythm that is meant for moving at least one part of the body. i don't really know but i do know that i really like this song.
buy here (itunes)
Friday 21 September 2012
louie austen - drowning
this was certainly a cratedig buy and i heard "hoping" and a few other tracks prior to buying the "easy love" album so i knew what i was purchasing. basically the story of louie austen is, if anyone don't know, an austrian crooner who started working with several dancemusic producers and put his voice to records to house and techno records.
his first release was "consequences" and came out in '99 on patrick pulsinger and erdem tunakan's cheap records. the schtick for that one was sort of sinatra meets amon tobin and the result was matthew herbert on acid. produced by mario neugebauer it was twisted jazz, dubhop and weirder electronic music but with an austrian gentlemen singing on top of some of the tracks.
the rules were changed for the format once "hoping" came about a few changes and the project was more directed towards the houseier. austen also sang more substantially and pulsinger came into play in terms of production. also the albums were now released on fellow austrian label kitty-yo but that's not really interesting though.
this track comes from the third album "easy love" and best way of describing it is louie austen singing very in a melancholic way on top of dubby bossanovaflavoured house. it was one the tracks that attracted me the most when i listened through the whole album. it liked the element of dub and the louie singing in the first half of the song. when austen enters the track it is just him, the beat and that bassline and it makes an impact. you hear more musical elements as the track progresses including a rhodes that gets a solo halfway into the song.
echoes of his vocals and reverbed out sounds in true dub fashion are heavy in the tail end of the song and it was this moment that made me want to do an entry on this song. i've mentioned that i listen to a lot of tracks when i'm out walking and i'm really grabbed by certain elements and his voice was the first but the dub echoes was the second one. love it.
buy here (junodownload)
his first release was "consequences" and came out in '99 on patrick pulsinger and erdem tunakan's cheap records. the schtick for that one was sort of sinatra meets amon tobin and the result was matthew herbert on acid. produced by mario neugebauer it was twisted jazz, dubhop and weirder electronic music but with an austrian gentlemen singing on top of some of the tracks.
the rules were changed for the format once "hoping" came about a few changes and the project was more directed towards the houseier. austen also sang more substantially and pulsinger came into play in terms of production. also the albums were now released on fellow austrian label kitty-yo but that's not really interesting though.
this track comes from the third album "easy love" and best way of describing it is louie austen singing very in a melancholic way on top of dubby bossanovaflavoured house. it was one the tracks that attracted me the most when i listened through the whole album. it liked the element of dub and the louie singing in the first half of the song. when austen enters the track it is just him, the beat and that bassline and it makes an impact. you hear more musical elements as the track progresses including a rhodes that gets a solo halfway into the song.
echoes of his vocals and reverbed out sounds in true dub fashion are heavy in the tail end of the song and it was this moment that made me want to do an entry on this song. i've mentioned that i listen to a lot of tracks when i'm out walking and i'm really grabbed by certain elements and his voice was the first but the dub echoes was the second one. love it.
buy here (junodownload)
Thursday 20 September 2012
josé james - it's all over your body (dj spinna remix)
the seed for the buzz of the new josé james album, for me mind you, was planted when i read an update from gilles peterson on facebook and it was very gilles and sensless hype but i was swallowing it. i had heard of an eventual album in the making but i didn't know that it was to be released on legendary blue note records.
i of course later heard the new tracks on dj spinna's mixtape that served as the official album teaser and it was pure quality. "it's all over your body" was not my favourite out of the five new tracks that was on it but when the news reached me that the single was out and with a dj spinna remix i was more than eager to check it out.
the original is very josé james but with a new twist and the best way to explain it lowkey cool jazz spun through a hip-hop filter and with a touch of dub & funk. it's sort of sparse and james' voice fits the musical backing like a glove. now for spinnas take there is a whole load to take in the original and to flip and this is what he did.
it's eastcoasthiphop style r&b but with a contemporary edge with a clean packing bass and drums that cut through the spectrum. it's quite funky and the musical content is taken from a motif that appears in the original and that spinna looped and tweaked. he certainly did a good job at re-translating it for the club and it's where i want to hear this song the next time. it is going to be in my headphones though, proper tune.
buy here (itunes)
note: previous entry was one with a clear message and if anyone thought i would change into a more serious popularculture blog, think again. remember that i wrote about shorty rogers and followed it up with alex christensen/u96 and then james brown. i just write what i feel about with no care to what is good taste or not, mostly since no one actually reads this blog. so on the with the regular programming...
i of course later heard the new tracks on dj spinna's mixtape that served as the official album teaser and it was pure quality. "it's all over your body" was not my favourite out of the five new tracks that was on it but when the news reached me that the single was out and with a dj spinna remix i was more than eager to check it out.
the original is very josé james but with a new twist and the best way to explain it lowkey cool jazz spun through a hip-hop filter and with a touch of dub & funk. it's sort of sparse and james' voice fits the musical backing like a glove. now for spinnas take there is a whole load to take in the original and to flip and this is what he did.
it's eastcoasthiphop style r&b but with a contemporary edge with a clean packing bass and drums that cut through the spectrum. it's quite funky and the musical content is taken from a motif that appears in the original and that spinna looped and tweaked. he certainly did a good job at re-translating it for the club and it's where i want to hear this song the next time. it is going to be in my headphones though, proper tune.
buy here (itunes)
note: previous entry was one with a clear message and if anyone thought i would change into a more serious popularculture blog, think again. remember that i wrote about shorty rogers and followed it up with alex christensen/u96 and then james brown. i just write what i feel about with no care to what is good taste or not, mostly since no one actually reads this blog. so on the with the regular programming...
Wednesday 19 September 2012
lilla namo - haffa guzz
right so sometimes i write about songs with a clear intention to segue into a subject i wish to write about and this is going to be one of those, but for formalities sake i'll start off in a usual manner. this one is a song that blew up during the summer and was one of the big club bangers. i really like this song for it's beat and catchy nature and that it's a good song in general.
it's done by swedish/kurdish poet and rapper namo marouf aka lilla namo (little namo) and produced by swedish producing-duo up to no good. the latter is responsible for hits such as newkid's "turbulens" & toffer's "nattbuss". "haffa guzz" is a bassy uptempo hiphop cut and talks about how if marouf was a guy, she would have picked up girls all the time. she goes on and poses all sorts of examples on how she would pull these women.
my second or third reaction to this song was, when is a swedish rapper going to flip the concept. basically in the same bragadoccio style and say that if he was a girl, he would have picked up guys all the time and in such and such manner. i even posed a question/challenge on twitter for anyone to do it since i know of countless rappers that will do their own version of hit/other peoples songs for mixtapes or whatever.
another reason i also thought of that is because how come it, more or less, always has to be the female playing this roleplay within a lyrical/musical context. i'm maybe forgotten about some substantial art, within mainstream popular culture mind you, but i haven't heard of anyone recently playing the female role in a sincere fashion. the problem would be the pitfalls of doing it would be having a part of your fanbase questioning you or their sexuality or not coming off as someone confirming gender roles to a fucking t.
the latter happened in 2008 when beyoncé knowles released "if i were a boy" that questioned roles and responsibilities as humans and genders. for the record i really don't like this song, not for it's message but because it's musically uninteresting. it's also a bit constrained in it's execution but most people really understood what it was about.
i say most people as r. kelly really missed the point when he decided to do a remix for the song where he answers beyoncé.his response was plain condescending dounchebaggery in verses, ad libs and wailings that made you understand that r. kelly would never understand what it'd be in some other shoes.
this example is exactly i think is going to happen if the wrong person flips "haffa guzz" into probably "haffa dude". there is also the latent homophobic angle where you will have the wrong person whip out something like "no homo" or "pause" or "i'm really unconformable with thinking about other guys penises" in every verse or such.
note before anyone says there is this, that and that other one when it comes in gender roleplay within music, yes i am well aware of that there is. however it is mentioning that in ancient times all objectification in arts where mostly of male character, like it would really make up for the full on objectification of women in modern media. now that we got that sidetrack out of our way, i love this song and had fun to it in the clubs and danced to it plenty of times. lilla namo has proper talent and i seriously hope her follow up will be equally awesome.
buy here (itunes)
it's done by swedish/kurdish poet and rapper namo marouf aka lilla namo (little namo) and produced by swedish producing-duo up to no good. the latter is responsible for hits such as newkid's "turbulens" & toffer's "nattbuss". "haffa guzz" is a bassy uptempo hiphop cut and talks about how if marouf was a guy, she would have picked up girls all the time. she goes on and poses all sorts of examples on how she would pull these women.
my second or third reaction to this song was, when is a swedish rapper going to flip the concept. basically in the same bragadoccio style and say that if he was a girl, he would have picked up guys all the time and in such and such manner. i even posed a question/challenge on twitter for anyone to do it since i know of countless rappers that will do their own version of hit/other peoples songs for mixtapes or whatever.
another reason i also thought of that is because how come it, more or less, always has to be the female playing this roleplay within a lyrical/musical context. i'm maybe forgotten about some substantial art, within mainstream popular culture mind you, but i haven't heard of anyone recently playing the female role in a sincere fashion. the problem would be the pitfalls of doing it would be having a part of your fanbase questioning you or their sexuality or not coming off as someone confirming gender roles to a fucking t.
the latter happened in 2008 when beyoncé knowles released "if i were a boy" that questioned roles and responsibilities as humans and genders. for the record i really don't like this song, not for it's message but because it's musically uninteresting. it's also a bit constrained in it's execution but most people really understood what it was about.
i say most people as r. kelly really missed the point when he decided to do a remix for the song where he answers beyoncé.his response was plain condescending dounchebaggery in verses, ad libs and wailings that made you understand that r. kelly would never understand what it'd be in some other shoes.
this example is exactly i think is going to happen if the wrong person flips "haffa guzz" into probably "haffa dude". there is also the latent homophobic angle where you will have the wrong person whip out something like "no homo" or "pause" or "i'm really unconformable with thinking about other guys penises" in every verse or such.
note before anyone says there is this, that and that other one when it comes in gender roleplay within music, yes i am well aware of that there is. however it is mentioning that in ancient times all objectification in arts where mostly of male character, like it would really make up for the full on objectification of women in modern media. now that we got that sidetrack out of our way, i love this song and had fun to it in the clubs and danced to it plenty of times. lilla namo has proper talent and i seriously hope her follow up will be equally awesome.
buy here (itunes)
Tuesday 18 September 2012
neneh cherry - woman (alex reece vocal mix)
i picked up this record in a bargain bin a year ago when i also picked up the original 12" of "buffalo stance". the original "woman" wasn't a song i remember liking when it i first heard it in '96 but it had remixes of alex reece & la funk mob. now when i listen to the original i do like it a lot and i like how it flips james brown's "it's a man's man's man's world".
when i put the record on platter i did first listen to la funk mob's remix and it is decent but it see the point of it, even in a trip-hop context. flipped the record over and there was reece's version in vocal and instrumental form. it starts out with a percussion groove that sounds very drummachine-like and with it there is some of cherry's lines from the first verse. some synthstrings come into the spectrum and then it kicks along proper once you hear the bassy kick from the classic "humpty dump"-break.
reece uses cherry's vocal sparse and it's mainly those four lines from the opening verse that come into play and then the hook in the breakdown later on in the song. the vocals are triggered kind of disjointed from the rhythm of the track but it works really well. the track is overall kind of rugged but with a polished edge and it's melodic elements that are the synthesized strings and bassline deliver.
listen here (grooveshark)
when i put the record on platter i did first listen to la funk mob's remix and it is decent but it see the point of it, even in a trip-hop context. flipped the record over and there was reece's version in vocal and instrumental form. it starts out with a percussion groove that sounds very drummachine-like and with it there is some of cherry's lines from the first verse. some synthstrings come into the spectrum and then it kicks along proper once you hear the bassy kick from the classic "humpty dump"-break.
reece uses cherry's vocal sparse and it's mainly those four lines from the opening verse that come into play and then the hook in the breakdown later on in the song. the vocals are triggered kind of disjointed from the rhythm of the track but it works really well. the track is overall kind of rugged but with a polished edge and it's melodic elements that are the synthesized strings and bassline deliver.
listen here (grooveshark)
Monday 17 September 2012
afrika bambaataa & soulsonic force - planet rock (tipper's 21" sub p'trol mix)
this was a version i heard in a mix and i didn't catch that was a remix of planet rock until the second or third listen. this was because i didn't hear the ending where it's the only place where dave tipper plays the infamous melody from "trans europa express". the rest is just punchy nuskool breaks, some vocal samples, glitchy sounds and bass. the latter is actually what you hear the most of and is what you will fall in love with.
it isn't a bassline like the remix of leftfield's "dusted" or dave tippers own "twister", it's just really heavy sub bass. you would think that is a bad thing since the whole having the bassline as the hook requires it being a catchy one, but it punches through really boldly. but when did i really grasp that it was a "planet rock" remix and not just something that sampled "planet rock"?
on the fourth listen as it was then i noticed that the subby bass hits actually plays in the portamento of the "trans europa express" melody. i know this version isn't for everyone and as "planet rock" is such a classic entity within dance music but i think it was bold to take it down a route that no one had done before. well recommended
buy here (beatport)
it isn't a bassline like the remix of leftfield's "dusted" or dave tippers own "twister", it's just really heavy sub bass. you would think that is a bad thing since the whole having the bassline as the hook requires it being a catchy one, but it punches through really boldly. but when did i really grasp that it was a "planet rock" remix and not just something that sampled "planet rock"?
on the fourth listen as it was then i noticed that the subby bass hits actually plays in the portamento of the "trans europa express" melody. i know this version isn't for everyone and as "planet rock" is such a classic entity within dance music but i think it was bold to take it down a route that no one had done before. well recommended
buy here (beatport)
Sunday 16 September 2012
powerhouse - what you need (olav basoski dub)
as usual this was found in a cratedig and i was happy to found the cdsingle as i knew the song and loved it. it was this song that lead me into looking at thelma houston's catalogue as it samples "here i am". i had heard the full intention mix when i was younger and that as the it was the version pushing the single commercially. the single included it and the original mix and a remix by olav basoski.
i knew how basoski worked his tracks and you figure that someone like him would do what fontana did but push it further, but he didn't. it's still a filtered loop workout but he didn't use the grooves at hand in the traditional way. i'm still not sure if he actually works a loop from either two originals and usually i would drop some science about where the groove is actually from but i have no clue.
what i do know is that it's incredibly funky and that's a safe bet when it comes to basoski. it's sound of dj sneak & glenn underground processed through bangalter and carl cox. it's very much dj music and "if a part of your body isn't moving, something is wrong with you"-music. it does seem crude as the tempo and relentless four on the floor sets the tone but there is subtleties in the music.
someone explained to me once that in music that is repetitive you always have that other side that changes throughout the track but it's not really paid attention to. in this case it's the filterwork or the sound being processed spread throughout the track. i don't know if that actually made sense but this track is awesome nonetheless
listen here (youtube)
i knew how basoski worked his tracks and you figure that someone like him would do what fontana did but push it further, but he didn't. it's still a filtered loop workout but he didn't use the grooves at hand in the traditional way. i'm still not sure if he actually works a loop from either two originals and usually i would drop some science about where the groove is actually from but i have no clue.
what i do know is that it's incredibly funky and that's a safe bet when it comes to basoski. it's sound of dj sneak & glenn underground processed through bangalter and carl cox. it's very much dj music and "if a part of your body isn't moving, something is wrong with you"-music. it does seem crude as the tempo and relentless four on the floor sets the tone but there is subtleties in the music.
someone explained to me once that in music that is repetitive you always have that other side that changes throughout the track but it's not really paid attention to. in this case it's the filterwork or the sound being processed spread throughout the track. i don't know if that actually made sense but this track is awesome nonetheless
listen here (youtube)
Saturday 15 September 2012
michelle gayle - freedom (classic expo mix)
this was a cratedig find from atleast four years ago and i know for certain that i picked it on the strength that had a lot of remixes. the single had some r&b/hiphop versions for radio and/or the club, a really good jungle version by mc moose and then a couple of versions by david morales. the original was a nice r&b tune but i think the jungle mix and morales' house remix is the strongest.
what made like latter was that it wasn't completely like morales other work. i say that because while a solid chunk of the track plays like classic def mix material it does go into darker territories. it's when gayle's vocals are taken out of the spectrum that morales throws in elements that aim for the smaller rooms. the brightest example is the beginning where you hear this stabby organ riff that sounds more like tenaglia than morales.
after it has it's course the track plays straight and it's a fairly funky groove that really compliments michelle's singing as it has a slight gospel feel. after the chorus is sung there is a small transitional part and it goes into this barren part where you hear these dark pads. the arrangement that is done during the break is classic tensionbuilding with delay effects and such.
i quite like when morales did these type of remixes where it went into the smaller rooms or had more of a progressive sound. satoshi tomiie would perfect this sound later on when he stepped out def mix and i really thought that he was involved with this remix as well but he's not. anyhow, great track and one of my favourite morales productions.
listen here (youtube)
what made like latter was that it wasn't completely like morales other work. i say that because while a solid chunk of the track plays like classic def mix material it does go into darker territories. it's when gayle's vocals are taken out of the spectrum that morales throws in elements that aim for the smaller rooms. the brightest example is the beginning where you hear this stabby organ riff that sounds more like tenaglia than morales.
after it has it's course the track plays straight and it's a fairly funky groove that really compliments michelle's singing as it has a slight gospel feel. after the chorus is sung there is a small transitional part and it goes into this barren part where you hear these dark pads. the arrangement that is done during the break is classic tensionbuilding with delay effects and such.
i quite like when morales did these type of remixes where it went into the smaller rooms or had more of a progressive sound. satoshi tomiie would perfect this sound later on when he stepped out def mix and i really thought that he was involved with this remix as well but he's not. anyhow, great track and one of my favourite morales productions.
listen here (youtube)
Friday 14 September 2012
keoki - veronica (deepsky's hot auntie remix)
as mentioned before i sometimes tend to be focused on some artist on the strength of one song and for this one wasn't even none of the parties involved in this song. it was actually evolution and i was really into taylor & hope dawson's remix of keoki's "crash" (which was engineered/produced by evolution). after digging for other tracks on keoki's albums & remix albums i found this one.
the original is a decent track and can be described as acid breaks but less dramatic than say fatboy slim's "everybody needs a 303". it has some nice sounds but i don't really see it's purpose in a mix and keoki's vocals really brings the track down. when deepsky got their hands on the source material the outcome was much in line with their material, top notch subdued trance that doesn't fanny around.
it works with a lowslung bassline and the rhythm has variety in it's percussion grooves but it's subtle. since the track lacks a big melodic element it is all rhythm and it delivers well. there is an acid womp that is loop during the tailend of the that is reminiscent of the one in daft punk's "burnin'" but that's about it. i've played this in countless sets and it's the kind of trance that is perfect for buildups or keeping the pace going.
buy here (junodownload)
the original is a decent track and can be described as acid breaks but less dramatic than say fatboy slim's "everybody needs a 303". it has some nice sounds but i don't really see it's purpose in a mix and keoki's vocals really brings the track down. when deepsky got their hands on the source material the outcome was much in line with their material, top notch subdued trance that doesn't fanny around.
it works with a lowslung bassline and the rhythm has variety in it's percussion grooves but it's subtle. since the track lacks a big melodic element it is all rhythm and it delivers well. there is an acid womp that is loop during the tailend of the that is reminiscent of the one in daft punk's "burnin'" but that's about it. i've played this in countless sets and it's the kind of trance that is perfect for buildups or keeping the pace going.
buy here (junodownload)
Thursday 13 September 2012
cloetta paris - young girls in town
this one was a recommendation when i had rediscovered italodisco, synthpop and all that goodness. i think it was after everyone heard about sally shapiro and johan agebjörn and was entranced. the initial hook in was the cover of john parr's "st. elmo's fire (man in motion)" that was circulated after it'd been uploaded to their myspace account.
i quite liked it and "i miss you, someone" but on the strength of those two i didn't really understand the comparison to shapiro & agebjörn. the sound was much more 80's synthpop revival and not really italo but that was until i heard some of the tracks on the "secret eyes" album. in it's entirity it does hold up and includes some really cracking cuts and the one that i like the most is the second last song "young girls in town".
the main attraction for any italodisco song is the synthesizer work and this has some tasty sounds. it starts from the intro that builds up really well with layers and when cloetta goes in to sing it sets the mood right. cloettas sweet voice fits really good with the subtle melancholia that she tends to bring to the table in her songwriting or the melodies. but it's not complete sadness that is portrayed but it's the age old trick of using minor chords.
the song does change into a more cheerful one once the chorus hits but it also changes right into the minor chords for the second verse. it does this switch again but it goes up in key for the final chorus and i quite like how the song is constructed musically. it also uses a small dose of vocoder in places which is always, and i repeat, always is a plus in my book.
buy here (itunes)
i quite liked it and "i miss you, someone" but on the strength of those two i didn't really understand the comparison to shapiro & agebjörn. the sound was much more 80's synthpop revival and not really italo but that was until i heard some of the tracks on the "secret eyes" album. in it's entirity it does hold up and includes some really cracking cuts and the one that i like the most is the second last song "young girls in town".
the main attraction for any italodisco song is the synthesizer work and this has some tasty sounds. it starts from the intro that builds up really well with layers and when cloetta goes in to sing it sets the mood right. cloettas sweet voice fits really good with the subtle melancholia that she tends to bring to the table in her songwriting or the melodies. but it's not complete sadness that is portrayed but it's the age old trick of using minor chords.
the song does change into a more cheerful one once the chorus hits but it also changes right into the minor chords for the second verse. it does this switch again but it goes up in key for the final chorus and i quite like how the song is constructed musically. it also uses a small dose of vocoder in places which is always, and i repeat, always is a plus in my book.
buy here (itunes)
Wednesday 12 September 2012
toddla t & shola ama - alive (sticky remix)
i was given a heads up on this one recently and the reason i reacted was the magic words "shola ama". her voice in combination of garage or any kind of bass music is perfect. both the dream teem mix of "much love" and the asylum remix of "imagine" is perfect examples of that.
in the case of this one i had problems to decide if i should talk about the original or stickys remix as they both are brilliant. the original has "funky mule" drums and lovely strings but stickys remix has better bass and i think while the higher end is brilliant in both versions it's the low end that seals the deal.
stickys replaces the "funky mule" drums for a beefed up "funky drummer" and that along with toddla t's piano and strings rings to mind another favourite tune from a year ago. emeli sandé's "heaven" and i think it was definantly in mind when this song was finished.
"heaven" has that torchsong feel and "alive" is obviously ama's attempt to say that she's back and that her various problems are done with and nothing is gonna stop her now. now to be really honest i think that "heaven" is a much better song but this is almost up to par.
buy here (junodownload)
in the case of this one i had problems to decide if i should talk about the original or stickys remix as they both are brilliant. the original has "funky mule" drums and lovely strings but stickys remix has better bass and i think while the higher end is brilliant in both versions it's the low end that seals the deal.
stickys replaces the "funky mule" drums for a beefed up "funky drummer" and that along with toddla t's piano and strings rings to mind another favourite tune from a year ago. emeli sandé's "heaven" and i think it was definantly in mind when this song was finished.
"heaven" has that torchsong feel and "alive" is obviously ama's attempt to say that she's back and that her various problems are done with and nothing is gonna stop her now. now to be really honest i think that "heaven" is a much better song but this is almost up to par.
buy here (junodownload)
Tuesday 11 September 2012
sandy rivera - dreams (rasmus faber remix)
"dreams" was a track that i liked a lot when it came out and i played the chus & ceballos remixes extensivly in my dj sets. i liked the tribal meets progressive house sound and it worked well with that melody. i didn't know then what the origin of the lead was but i had heard of it before. i felt a bit stupid when it fell into place that it was jazz standard "caravan" that rivera had borrowed.
"caravan" always had a sort of oriental feel to it and chus & ceballos productions fit to it like hand in glove and i thought it was the definite version. then i heard rasmus fabers versions and much like when faber rejigged junior jack's "e samba" into something proper, this made sense. faber has a tendancy to go the extra mile and bring more musical content into something that has been sampled or revisioned.
for this one he digged deeper into the jazz origins of "caravan" and fuses it with a really well produced funky house track. faber is one that works often with latin sounds and for this one he brought on a plucky guitar but there is also a flute, some keys and cracking percussion. all of this wonderful musical content built under a round bassline that really packs punch.
faber also created a dub that removes "caravan" out of the frame and many of the sounds that he brought on. it still operates under the chords of the original but keeps it simpler and it's also well done. i actually wrote this entry to write about the dub but after repeated listens to the main mix, i had a change of heart but they are equally strong. they are meant for two different rooms really.
buy here (junodownload)
"caravan" always had a sort of oriental feel to it and chus & ceballos productions fit to it like hand in glove and i thought it was the definite version. then i heard rasmus fabers versions and much like when faber rejigged junior jack's "e samba" into something proper, this made sense. faber has a tendancy to go the extra mile and bring more musical content into something that has been sampled or revisioned.
for this one he digged deeper into the jazz origins of "caravan" and fuses it with a really well produced funky house track. faber is one that works often with latin sounds and for this one he brought on a plucky guitar but there is also a flute, some keys and cracking percussion. all of this wonderful musical content built under a round bassline that really packs punch.
faber also created a dub that removes "caravan" out of the frame and many of the sounds that he brought on. it still operates under the chords of the original but keeps it simpler and it's also well done. i actually wrote this entry to write about the dub but after repeated listens to the main mix, i had a change of heart but they are equally strong. they are meant for two different rooms really.
buy here (junodownload)
Monday 10 September 2012
mini reviews #12
twelvth edition now and for this one i asked a person that is known for his photography of various birds and other animals. he's also a lover of music and he is quite supportive of various bedroom djs on the forum that i tend to visit. he goes by the name of stu french but is more known as sushipunk on said forum.
01. endorphin - free | youtube
i would have liked this more without the beat but it's nice.
02. massive attack - group four | youtube
the contrast between frazer and 3ds vocals is what makes this song and that bassline
03. propellerheads - 360° (oh yeah?) | youtube
skateboarding is fun, so is this song.
04. brainchild - symmetry c (lange breakbeat remix) | youtube
i love this one, even more than the similarly styled tekara remix of koglin's" the silence"
05. frontside - dämmerung | youtube
hooray for crazy drums, tensionbuilding melodics and acid waggle
06. tilt - i dream (tilt's resurrection mix) | youtube
great track but i think the casa de angeles mix is the definite one
07. pink floyd - high hopes | youtube
i don't like it and it sounds like third rate dead can dance stuff.
08. plump djs - scram | youtube
love this one. it's so much lunacy and win at the same time.
09. brainbug - nightmare | youtube
i own this on vinyl. i still like it.
10. gangstarr - love sick (upbeat version) | youtube
the original is one of the least interesting gangstarr songs but this remix makes it nice.
thanks for those ten stu. and as always i asked if he wanted to anything extra about his picks and the response was:
01. endorphin - free | youtube
i would have liked this more without the beat but it's nice.
02. massive attack - group four | youtube
the contrast between frazer and 3ds vocals is what makes this song and that bassline
03. propellerheads - 360° (oh yeah?) | youtube
skateboarding is fun, so is this song.
04. brainchild - symmetry c (lange breakbeat remix) | youtube
i love this one, even more than the similarly styled tekara remix of koglin's" the silence"
05. frontside - dämmerung | youtube
hooray for crazy drums, tensionbuilding melodics and acid waggle
06. tilt - i dream (tilt's resurrection mix) | youtube
great track but i think the casa de angeles mix is the definite one
07. pink floyd - high hopes | youtube
i don't like it and it sounds like third rate dead can dance stuff.
08. plump djs - scram | youtube
love this one. it's so much lunacy and win at the same time.
09. brainbug - nightmare | youtube
i own this on vinyl. i still like it.
10. gangstarr - love sick (upbeat version) | youtube
the original is one of the least interesting gangstarr songs but this remix makes it nice.
thanks for those ten stu. and as always i asked if he wanted to anything extra about his picks and the response was:
just a collection of tracks that make me feel nostalgic in some way, and I pretty much love them all, so i'm interested to know your (short) thoughts on themright on.
chanté moore - straight up (sunship remix)
this is the second time i'm mentioning carly rae jepsen's "call me maybe" but this is in leau of that i heard someone talk about the ambiguity of the lyrics. it blatantly says that she wants to hook up but then there's that word "maybe" which might be an attempt of some idea of teenage love. that idea was shattered when i found out that jepsen's isn't 16, she's 26 and going up to guys and giving them there number with idea of "maybe you can call me" is just stupid.
i came to think then of a song released ten years earlier by american r&b singer chanté moore called "straight up". in this song there is no sense of doubt what she wants the respective to do, there is no maybe. note that i'm not taking a shit on "call me maybe" as that song is not that stupid but in comparison to "straight up", i'm favouring the latter. not because of the lyrical content but that i think it's musically better.
"straight up" in it's original shape is a really punchy r&b track produced by jermaine dupri and sounds a bit like dupri & jay-z's hit song "money ain't thing". this remix by ceri evans aka sunship was a version i found much later and while i like the original i think it one ups it. evans flips the track for an utterly funky garage track and this is what sealed the deal.
the track kicks off with punchy drums and some chopped up vocals and this handling of the vocals follows until the first verse kicks in. the chops are a cross between the style of mk & todd edwards and i really like how he did it. i would describe it as like edwards it very musical and like mk it does become a hook of it's own.
evans take of the track is obviously a bit more on the commercial side of garage as the bass goes on the rhythmic side instead of the assaults from the deep lower end. most of the track is actually dominated by moore's voice and one of the good things evans did was to get rid of jermaine dupri's adlibs. even though her vocal stands right in center all the time you hear two keyboard patches. one lowkey that plays the chords that has a organ-esque sound and a high pitched one that plays during the bridges & hooks.
i do have to say that i didn't like this one when i first head it as i thought it was a bit all over the place but after a thorough listen, it became a favourite of mine.
listen here (youtube)
i came to think then of a song released ten years earlier by american r&b singer chanté moore called "straight up". in this song there is no sense of doubt what she wants the respective to do, there is no maybe. note that i'm not taking a shit on "call me maybe" as that song is not that stupid but in comparison to "straight up", i'm favouring the latter. not because of the lyrical content but that i think it's musically better.
"straight up" in it's original shape is a really punchy r&b track produced by jermaine dupri and sounds a bit like dupri & jay-z's hit song "money ain't thing". this remix by ceri evans aka sunship was a version i found much later and while i like the original i think it one ups it. evans flips the track for an utterly funky garage track and this is what sealed the deal.
the track kicks off with punchy drums and some chopped up vocals and this handling of the vocals follows until the first verse kicks in. the chops are a cross between the style of mk & todd edwards and i really like how he did it. i would describe it as like edwards it very musical and like mk it does become a hook of it's own.
evans take of the track is obviously a bit more on the commercial side of garage as the bass goes on the rhythmic side instead of the assaults from the deep lower end. most of the track is actually dominated by moore's voice and one of the good things evans did was to get rid of jermaine dupri's adlibs. even though her vocal stands right in center all the time you hear two keyboard patches. one lowkey that plays the chords that has a organ-esque sound and a high pitched one that plays during the bridges & hooks.
i do have to say that i didn't like this one when i first head it as i thought it was a bit all over the place but after a thorough listen, it became a favourite of mine.
listen here (youtube)
Sunday 9 September 2012
remy & sven - piano power
i bought underworld's "back to mine" compilation a while ago and this was one of the tracks on it. it's on the unmixed part of the album and i hadn't heard of it prior but it was pretty why it was included. as soon as that piano hit i immediately thought of underworld's "king of snake". i should not that it's not a blantant lift or copy but it's obviously an influence.
"piano power" is from '92 and made by dutch producers remy unger and sven van hees. two persons who would end up do a lot of productions. with the latter i do know that i've heard a large number of his productions when i look at what he's done on discogs. he is also the owner of global cuts who've put out this one and a few other noteworthy records. but it is so that am more knowledgable of unger, i've played things like "serious damage", "backstabber" and "dustsucker" countless times in my dj-sets.
this track is one of those that stands on it's own well in a modern setting meaning that it's not dated by a particular sound or a cliché. it works on a bedrock of a really lucious tr-808 kick and the bassline from e.s.g.'s "moody". it carries on with various percussion loops and builds up a nice groove when a minute in there is a drop. this is where the piano hook is introduced and it sits on top of the beats a bit affected as it sounds like subtle phasing is applied.
there is more phasing in the tracks middle part during the break where you hear small stabs of phasing and then it's applied on most of percussion loops. it does serve it's purpose well as it builds tension incredibly well for the last bit of piano action. basically "piano power" is the type of tune that would be greeted to any big room techno or house set with a smile.
listen here (youtube)
"piano power" is from '92 and made by dutch producers remy unger and sven van hees. two persons who would end up do a lot of productions. with the latter i do know that i've heard a large number of his productions when i look at what he's done on discogs. he is also the owner of global cuts who've put out this one and a few other noteworthy records. but it is so that am more knowledgable of unger, i've played things like "serious damage", "backstabber" and "dustsucker" countless times in my dj-sets.
this track is one of those that stands on it's own well in a modern setting meaning that it's not dated by a particular sound or a cliché. it works on a bedrock of a really lucious tr-808 kick and the bassline from e.s.g.'s "moody". it carries on with various percussion loops and builds up a nice groove when a minute in there is a drop. this is where the piano hook is introduced and it sits on top of the beats a bit affected as it sounds like subtle phasing is applied.
there is more phasing in the tracks middle part during the break where you hear small stabs of phasing and then it's applied on most of percussion loops. it does serve it's purpose well as it builds tension incredibly well for the last bit of piano action. basically "piano power" is the type of tune that would be greeted to any big room techno or house set with a smile.
listen here (youtube)
Saturday 8 September 2012
hannah williams & the tastemakers - work it out
another soundcloud heads up and this came from jimi needles who plays the drums in the band and it came with message of it's the single from their upcoming record. i don't even know why i was following needles in the first place but i'm glad that i am since his blurb on this one said all the right things. on a glance i thought it would be another version of beyoncé's "work it out" but i know speedometer did that and that wasn't even a good version.
luckily it was not for two reasons, i don't like beyoncé's song and this is much better than that. since the name of the game is soul and blues (and might i add revival) i thought of amy winehouse's "back to black" the first bar since they have a similar piano groove but the similarities stops there. the moment that made me fall in love with the song is when hannah williams sings her first bar and it had the same feeling of when i first heard etta james.
her voice is really powerful and it commands your attention and her heartfelt bellowing really speaks to you and i felt i was the person she was talking about. the song really doesn't have a good chorus if i am going to be honest and the backup singers don't help. it doesn't let down the song as rest of it really falls to place with the slow backing track with the usual bluesy accentuations. it's a great platform for williams to belt it out and the key moment is right near the end when she says "i wanna scream" and then follows it up "baby i wanna scream" and an uh that both etta james and james brown would be proud of.
buy here (bandcamp)
luckily it was not for two reasons, i don't like beyoncé's song and this is much better than that. since the name of the game is soul and blues (and might i add revival) i thought of amy winehouse's "back to black" the first bar since they have a similar piano groove but the similarities stops there. the moment that made me fall in love with the song is when hannah williams sings her first bar and it had the same feeling of when i first heard etta james.
her voice is really powerful and it commands your attention and her heartfelt bellowing really speaks to you and i felt i was the person she was talking about. the song really doesn't have a good chorus if i am going to be honest and the backup singers don't help. it doesn't let down the song as rest of it really falls to place with the slow backing track with the usual bluesy accentuations. it's a great platform for williams to belt it out and the key moment is right near the end when she says "i wanna scream" and then follows it up "baby i wanna scream" and an uh that both etta james and james brown would be proud of.
buy here (bandcamp)
Friday 7 September 2012
trip poem - the act of life (chuck cogan phooked up da mix)
another cratedig find, but technically it was in a cardboardbox, and like many i had no clue on what it was and bought it on the strength of credits. "the act of life" was a swedish release and had versions by swedish producers chuck cogan & playmaker and it seemed interesting. later i found out that this was the first release on label found you recordings that was meant to be dance oriented. but when this single didn't lead to any substantial buzz the label became more jazz & folk related.
the song itself is a fairly decent house track but it's inoffensive and is more radio than club-oriented and i think there are better tracks that do that. playmaker did the big dancefloor romper and i think this version would have been the one i had focused on normally. but i do have that sore spot for broken beat and i've mentioned that if the rhythm is really messed up, i'm quite likely to get obsessed with that one.
cogan's version strips the melodic foundation from the original and focuses on a couple of sounds that are the backbone of the whole track. the sounds are worked in repetition and are built on the core of three note rhodes ostinato. the rhythmic track is a heavily shuffled broken beat that directly responds to the keys. cogan's version at a glance seems lacking of ideas as it works within repetion but it's structure and how cogan flipped the inoffensive original is remarkable. i really like this one and it fits well with in deep house and broken beat sets. only bad part is that the bass isn't heavier.
the song itself is a fairly decent house track but it's inoffensive and is more radio than club-oriented and i think there are better tracks that do that. playmaker did the big dancefloor romper and i think this version would have been the one i had focused on normally. but i do have that sore spot for broken beat and i've mentioned that if the rhythm is really messed up, i'm quite likely to get obsessed with that one.
cogan's version strips the melodic foundation from the original and focuses on a couple of sounds that are the backbone of the whole track. the sounds are worked in repetition and are built on the core of three note rhodes ostinato. the rhythmic track is a heavily shuffled broken beat that directly responds to the keys. cogan's version at a glance seems lacking of ideas as it works within repetion but it's structure and how cogan flipped the inoffensive original is remarkable. i really like this one and it fits well with in deep house and broken beat sets. only bad part is that the bass isn't heavier.
Thursday 6 September 2012
dream - he loves u not (meeker & mc supplier 2 step garage mix)
i am quite of a popwhore and used to listen to mtv a lot in my day and during the turn of the century, you'd hear this type of pop and r&b that had off-kilter rhythms. it came from the us but sounded more like the uk as it had very those combinations of double rhythms that you heard in uk bass music.
"he loves u not" was a song that i loved and my heart lept with joy when i found a cdsingle of it with remixes. it had the official hiphop mix with g-dep adding a verse, and three dance mixes by ingroove, hq2 and meeker & mc supplier. i was most pleased of the latter as neither ingroove or hex hector & mac quayle did remixes that stay releveant in these ears.
meeker & mc suppliers refit the original onto a 2-step rhythm and does a version that outdoes the original. the key moment is when it builds up and after the first play of the hook you hear this drop and then a mighty fierce bass. it's that warped bass and the driving beat that is nothing short of a lethal combination. mc suppliers verse is not really good but he does his role of hyping the girls and it works sort of with the rest of the track.
"he loves u not" was a song that i loved and my heart lept with joy when i found a cdsingle of it with remixes. it had the official hiphop mix with g-dep adding a verse, and three dance mixes by ingroove, hq2 and meeker & mc supplier. i was most pleased of the latter as neither ingroove or hex hector & mac quayle did remixes that stay releveant in these ears.
meeker & mc suppliers refit the original onto a 2-step rhythm and does a version that outdoes the original. the key moment is when it builds up and after the first play of the hook you hear this drop and then a mighty fierce bass. it's that warped bass and the driving beat that is nothing short of a lethal combination. mc suppliers verse is not really good but he does his role of hyping the girls and it works sort of with the rest of the track.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
airto moreira - chicken in the mind (amon tobin mix)
here comes another one from the cratedigging session i did with my mates jan henrik & mikael. i found the cd and since it was on electric melt i knew was some jazz album and that they had people do reworks of. the original is a nice record with heavyweights such as herbie hancock on keyboads, stanley clarke on bass and of course airto on drums & percussion.
now most of the remix album is either straight up dancefloor material or hones more to the original and the latter is where you find amon tobin's remix. tobin who in regular modus operandi does sample jazz and cut it up, does what he does best on this one. only difference is that with the original multitracks you get the full potential of the messed up version of drum & bass that he works.
the original "chicken in the mind" revolves around this piano who plays regular motifs along with glissandos and arpeggios and while it's very scattering in tone, it's the grounding part of the track. the drums stay in the background and plays rhythms that doesn't make sense, even when it mostly reacting to the piano.
tobin translates "chicken of the mind" to the faster drum & bass pace that he operates under but switches the roles where the piano is the accompanying role. the rhythm section is the key and i like the way he brings out the bass that is tucked away in the original. he keeps the quirky but frantic atmosphere of the original and it's the perfect type of music to listen to when out walking at night.
buy here (itunes)
now most of the remix album is either straight up dancefloor material or hones more to the original and the latter is where you find amon tobin's remix. tobin who in regular modus operandi does sample jazz and cut it up, does what he does best on this one. only difference is that with the original multitracks you get the full potential of the messed up version of drum & bass that he works.
the original "chicken in the mind" revolves around this piano who plays regular motifs along with glissandos and arpeggios and while it's very scattering in tone, it's the grounding part of the track. the drums stay in the background and plays rhythms that doesn't make sense, even when it mostly reacting to the piano.
tobin translates "chicken of the mind" to the faster drum & bass pace that he operates under but switches the roles where the piano is the accompanying role. the rhythm section is the key and i like the way he brings out the bass that is tucked away in the original. he keeps the quirky but frantic atmosphere of the original and it's the perfect type of music to listen to when out walking at night.
buy here (itunes)
Tuesday 4 September 2012
randy gardell - miss frisky lady
i discovered netlabel bevlar a long time ago but didn't care about it at first since i then had a computer with a smaller harddrive and a slower internet connection. when i rediscovered the label it was when i heard about özgür can & cryo's "bloody mary".
this was still when netlabels was a term for the recordlabels who put up all their music online for free, hosted on archive.org. when platforms such as beatport and junodownload came to operate better, the netlabels slowly became limited again to the ambient music and stuff you wouldn't make a dime out of on itunes.
bevlar was a label that released quality material and i was kind of pissed that i didn't bother prior to it but i am still supporting a load of the tracks that they released. because they gave out their music and didn't make a single cent out of it, you could sample huge chunks of music wholesale and there wouldn't be a problem. then again nowadays you have labels that sell their things on juno and other platforms that sample wholesale and everyone seems to get away with it.
"miss frisky lady" comes courtesy of rasmus gardell, known more as rasmus on bolshi records, under the moniker of randy gardell. it was released on the sublabel bevlar user that was strictly for club music and is a banging house track with prominent tribal drums.
the reason i talked about wholesale samples is because it's built around two bars of kool & the gang's "fresh". unlike "hollywood" which was gardells first outing on the bevlar label where he took the whole melodic hook of boney m's "ma baker", this uses a vocal part and isn't from the chorus. it is taken from the chorus and works incredibly well the way it's looped around.
the track is repetitious but gardell uses filters, drops and bridges to make it interesting, he adds a vocodered part for when the sample is filtered down for a small drop. as it's 130 something bpm it is more suitable for a banging techno set but it does work with house music when it's pitched down or more funky progressive house. it's playful arrangement lends itself to being creative on the decks and you can get in from the top or midway in.
i love this track and even though i fucked up many times when working it in sets, i do keep on supporting it.
download here (archive.org)
this was still when netlabels was a term for the recordlabels who put up all their music online for free, hosted on archive.org. when platforms such as beatport and junodownload came to operate better, the netlabels slowly became limited again to the ambient music and stuff you wouldn't make a dime out of on itunes.
bevlar was a label that released quality material and i was kind of pissed that i didn't bother prior to it but i am still supporting a load of the tracks that they released. because they gave out their music and didn't make a single cent out of it, you could sample huge chunks of music wholesale and there wouldn't be a problem. then again nowadays you have labels that sell their things on juno and other platforms that sample wholesale and everyone seems to get away with it.
"miss frisky lady" comes courtesy of rasmus gardell, known more as rasmus on bolshi records, under the moniker of randy gardell. it was released on the sublabel bevlar user that was strictly for club music and is a banging house track with prominent tribal drums.
the reason i talked about wholesale samples is because it's built around two bars of kool & the gang's "fresh". unlike "hollywood" which was gardells first outing on the bevlar label where he took the whole melodic hook of boney m's "ma baker", this uses a vocal part and isn't from the chorus. it is taken from the chorus and works incredibly well the way it's looped around.
the track is repetitious but gardell uses filters, drops and bridges to make it interesting, he adds a vocodered part for when the sample is filtered down for a small drop. as it's 130 something bpm it is more suitable for a banging techno set but it does work with house music when it's pitched down or more funky progressive house. it's playful arrangement lends itself to being creative on the decks and you can get in from the top or midway in.
i love this track and even though i fucked up many times when working it in sets, i do keep on supporting it.
download here (archive.org)
Monday 3 September 2012
general midi - never gonna stop the show (autobots 'last bus to lockwood' ska mix)
this one i discovered on juno and it was an instant loveaffair as it reminded me of so many good things and was one incredibly banging tune. the title gives a hint that it's in nuskool breaks territories but with mc jakes on the mic and autobots incorporating the typical ska riddim into the mix it's not the usual tune. usually this combination of reggae and breaks is something associated with tayo but it's a little too blatant and funky for his thing, which is a good thing
the ska riddim reminded me melodically of pato bantons version of the equals' "baby come back" but that was just because i had that song in my head the first time i heard this track. the tune doesn't go straight into the ska aesthetics but had some dancehall type soundeffects in it's original shape.
autobots however adds some more and harnests general midi's chunky bass and punches it in fatter. mc jakes spits very grimey but there is a hint to what a british ragga rapper would throw down and his part is what amplifies this one to the next level. basically the autobots remix of "never gonna stop the show" is a whole load of fun and a great dancefloor tune. i used to also end my sets with it, even in sets where i was playing a whole different thing just because of it's sheer awesome.
buy here (junodownload)
the ska riddim reminded me melodically of pato bantons version of the equals' "baby come back" but that was just because i had that song in my head the first time i heard this track. the tune doesn't go straight into the ska aesthetics but had some dancehall type soundeffects in it's original shape.
autobots however adds some more and harnests general midi's chunky bass and punches it in fatter. mc jakes spits very grimey but there is a hint to what a british ragga rapper would throw down and his part is what amplifies this one to the next level. basically the autobots remix of "never gonna stop the show" is a whole load of fun and a great dancefloor tune. i used to also end my sets with it, even in sets where i was playing a whole different thing just because of it's sheer awesome.
buy here (junodownload)
Sunday 2 September 2012
slagsmålsklubben - his morning promenade (bauri remix)
prior to frej larsson becoming a big name on his own as a rapper i hadn't really heard of slagsmålsklubben. their main fanbase was a part of society that was into synth, electro and computers. i had a friend that liked them and i liked the name as it's a direct translation of "fight club".
the type of music they made and still do can be called electro but i'm more likely to call it casiocore, a term that ishkur helped popularise. anyone who've ever played with casio's cheaper synthesisers, or if you are old enough the vl-tone, has a clue on the name. nowadays it goes under the name chiptune or electro but casiocore is more aptly titled in my opinion.
the original of this track is insanely catchy and a great tune but i wanted to focus on bauris remix. i found it a few weeks ago by looking at bauri's works and with this one, along with other tracks, i was in love on the get go. bauri's approach to "his morning promenade" is a ravey one and it kicks off with a bang with a really messed up amen break. i mean messed up in the style of hrvatski & rdj where the break has been affected to a really large point.
the catchy arpeggio melodies from the original is brought on early and works really well as a contrast to the maddening rhythm section. because bauri took the rave approach for this one he also threw in a break two minutes in where you hear a pitched vocal that sounds like it's taken from the isley brothers' "shout". i don't know if it's any tension or release in this song beyond that part as it's onslaught just pounds away throughout the track and it's awesome.
buy here (itunes)
p.s.the reason i decided to talk about this track on a sunday was to try do a weekly thing where i write about something high energy to contrast what most musicblogs do. there the obvious concept is, friday & saturday is party music and sunday is chill music. i'm not going to do chill music on friday or saturday but i will do energetic musics on sunday.
the type of music they made and still do can be called electro but i'm more likely to call it casiocore, a term that ishkur helped popularise. anyone who've ever played with casio's cheaper synthesisers, or if you are old enough the vl-tone, has a clue on the name. nowadays it goes under the name chiptune or electro but casiocore is more aptly titled in my opinion.
the original of this track is insanely catchy and a great tune but i wanted to focus on bauris remix. i found it a few weeks ago by looking at bauri's works and with this one, along with other tracks, i was in love on the get go. bauri's approach to "his morning promenade" is a ravey one and it kicks off with a bang with a really messed up amen break. i mean messed up in the style of hrvatski & rdj where the break has been affected to a really large point.
the catchy arpeggio melodies from the original is brought on early and works really well as a contrast to the maddening rhythm section. because bauri took the rave approach for this one he also threw in a break two minutes in where you hear a pitched vocal that sounds like it's taken from the isley brothers' "shout". i don't know if it's any tension or release in this song beyond that part as it's onslaught just pounds away throughout the track and it's awesome.
buy here (itunes)
p.s.the reason i decided to talk about this track on a sunday was to try do a weekly thing where i write about something high energy to contrast what most musicblogs do. there the obvious concept is, friday & saturday is party music and sunday is chill music. i'm not going to do chill music on friday or saturday but i will do energetic musics on sunday.
Saturday 1 September 2012
lo-fidelity allstars - deep ellum...hold on (featuring jamie lidell)
this one is from a cd that i bought in a charity shop a few years ago and while i had heard of the name lo-fidelity allstars but had no clue on how they sounded. the back of the album said that it included vocal performances from the likes of greg dulli (of the afghan whigs), bootsy collins and jamie lidell. all those names got me interested but it was jamie lidell that i got most excited about.
i was a massive fan of his albums multiply & jim and was like most people amazed this freak genius make that sort of funk and have pipes that make it work as well. my friend jan henrik had known about lidell before i knew of him as he tipped me off on "when i come back around" when that was all the rage. he also knew of his works prior the multiply album and said that the breakthrough of multiply wasn't something that he came up with overnight.
there had been traces of it in some one off compilation numbers and a few tracks on lidell & cristian vogel's super_collider project that were a preview of things to come. i'd say that the things that really popped it off was from '01/'02 and were lidell's version/remix of matthew herbert's "the audience" (titled "music will not last") and this guestspot on the lo-fidelity allstars record.
even though lidell wasn't part of the production as far as i know, for this track it could sound like come from him. it's some packing drums and an acid bassline that bends and shifts shape throughout the track and is extraordinarily fat. as the track progresses there is more distorted accents to it and it really goes bananas midway in. the coda of the track is so chunky with that bass sounding like a cross between the tb303 in daft punk's "da funk" and the guitar solo from the end of daft punk's "aerodynamic".
of course lidell himself really does deliver a great vocal performance and it is a vocal that will open eyes & ears to most. after i purchased the album, i listened to this track so much that i forgot to listen to the rest of the album but it's quality as well.
buy here (junodownload)
i was a massive fan of his albums multiply & jim and was like most people amazed this freak genius make that sort of funk and have pipes that make it work as well. my friend jan henrik had known about lidell before i knew of him as he tipped me off on "when i come back around" when that was all the rage. he also knew of his works prior the multiply album and said that the breakthrough of multiply wasn't something that he came up with overnight.
there had been traces of it in some one off compilation numbers and a few tracks on lidell & cristian vogel's super_collider project that were a preview of things to come. i'd say that the things that really popped it off was from '01/'02 and were lidell's version/remix of matthew herbert's "the audience" (titled "music will not last") and this guestspot on the lo-fidelity allstars record.
even though lidell wasn't part of the production as far as i know, for this track it could sound like come from him. it's some packing drums and an acid bassline that bends and shifts shape throughout the track and is extraordinarily fat. as the track progresses there is more distorted accents to it and it really goes bananas midway in. the coda of the track is so chunky with that bass sounding like a cross between the tb303 in daft punk's "da funk" and the guitar solo from the end of daft punk's "aerodynamic".
of course lidell himself really does deliver a great vocal performance and it is a vocal that will open eyes & ears to most. after i purchased the album, i listened to this track so much that i forgot to listen to the rest of the album but it's quality as well.
buy here (junodownload)
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