time for some svek again i reckon and i'm going to highlight one of the persauder tracks that is in regular titleschemes of various part of stockholm, but sort of isn't. in terms of geography "from west to south" means kungsholmen to södermalm* and that means västerbron. dahlbäck has named some of his tracks after bridges, most of them of rather small character compared to västerbron but that has nothing to do with this.
anyhow "from west to south" was one of the first track that i heard when i rediscovered jesper dahlbäck's the persuader project and it holds a dear place in heart. some of the elements reeks of, dare i say it, cheesy but it but that bassline makes up for the combination of the overly romantic keys & saxophone combo. you have to know how to place this in a set for it not to stick out but when jori hulkkonen plays it in his helsinki sessions mix, it's brilliant.
the other keyboard bits from dahlbäcks makes up for it like the noodling type seance in the end and the stabby solo in the break of the song. the latter is used with a patch that is so high pitched that it creates tension like no other and continues as the bass and percussion is romping back in. it doesn't release until a bit in and here dahlbäck improvised within the chords of the song and then starts to do these lush long notes a la "summer madness". simply put beautiful.
i have said before that there isn't one single jesper dahlbäck/the persuader production that sucks because the level is set so high that even the lesser good ones are brilliant. this one ranks amongst the highest with "kungsträdgården", "djurgårdsbron" and "slussen".
buy here (beatport)
*funny thing is that dahlbäck has two tracks called "kungsholmen" and "södermalm" and the musical transition between them wouldn't be like "from west to south".
Friday, 14 December 2012
Thursday, 13 December 2012
dharma one - belong (featuring tuomo)
"belong" is a track that i found on their label compilation "liquid assets", i bought it about five or six years ago with a bit of a clue about what kind of music i would find. the only name i recognized on the tracklisting was mekhanist and that was thanks to my good friend jyri lehtinen who has been brilliant at pushing me onto great finnish music. behind the name dharmaone/dharma one (or even just dharma) hides jouni helminen and i know little about him but the tracks i have heard from him has been quality.
the song first came out in '02 on the second edition of a nine2five's "coffee breaks" ep:s. i know for certain that it became a favourite with the mighty gilles peterson and was featured on a mixcd of his along with another compilation. it features fellow finns tuomo prattala on vocals and antti hynninen (aka rebeat) on flute and berimbau. the song is a mighty broken beat track with wild percussion, stabby keys and really subby bass. tuomo's light but beautiful vocal ride on top the beats as the rhythm shuffles around.
it's quite anthemic in it's execution and definitely something for those one am moments in a warm club.
buy here (beatport)
it also comes with a housey version courtesy of jimpster and it's also quite nice
the song first came out in '02 on the second edition of a nine2five's "coffee breaks" ep:s. i know for certain that it became a favourite with the mighty gilles peterson and was featured on a mixcd of his along with another compilation. it features fellow finns tuomo prattala on vocals and antti hynninen (aka rebeat) on flute and berimbau. the song is a mighty broken beat track with wild percussion, stabby keys and really subby bass. tuomo's light but beautiful vocal ride on top the beats as the rhythm shuffles around.
it's quite anthemic in it's execution and definitely something for those one am moments in a warm club.
buy here (beatport)
it also comes with a housey version courtesy of jimpster and it's also quite nice
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
the clifford gilberto rhythm combination - i wish i was a motown star
another track from a compilation and this one comes courtesy of florian schmitt aka clifford gilberto on the ninja tune compilation "funkungfusion". the title of the song "i wish i was a motown star" intrigued me but so did a number of the track on the compilation but it was a track and an artist that i hadn't heard prior to buying the compilation.
from hearing the first seconds of it i understood that the name of the game is jazz in the way that say, tom jenkinson/squarepusher or amon tobin makes jazz music. that means deconstructing the music into pieces and then re-assembling it while still retaining the core foundation. this track in particular reminds me of kid606's ragga jungle breakcore madness except for the all of the ragga; jungle; breakcore & madness.
i know that doesn't make sense but i think breaking it down like this is more sensible: it's a regular cool jazz track with chopped up parts and a drumprogramming that sways between ballistic and something that fits the music. this is what make it brilliant and it stimulates the jazzloving part of me and the lurking a.d.d.-freakazoid that tries to shake legs to the crazy fast rhythm of the song.
the only question remains is if the base of the song is a sample or original and since this is on the ninja tune label the logical answer would be that schmitt has gone nuts on some track. you never know and according to his own biography, he is a classically trained pianist and has played in jazz ensembles and bands so your guess is as good as mine. i choose to believe that it's a prerecorded part of his own history and that he went nuts on that.
buy here (beatport)
from hearing the first seconds of it i understood that the name of the game is jazz in the way that say, tom jenkinson/squarepusher or amon tobin makes jazz music. that means deconstructing the music into pieces and then re-assembling it while still retaining the core foundation. this track in particular reminds me of kid606's ragga jungle breakcore madness except for the all of the ragga; jungle; breakcore & madness.
i know that doesn't make sense but i think breaking it down like this is more sensible: it's a regular cool jazz track with chopped up parts and a drumprogramming that sways between ballistic and something that fits the music. this is what make it brilliant and it stimulates the jazzloving part of me and the lurking a.d.d.-freakazoid that tries to shake legs to the crazy fast rhythm of the song.
the only question remains is if the base of the song is a sample or original and since this is on the ninja tune label the logical answer would be that schmitt has gone nuts on some track. you never know and according to his own biography, he is a classically trained pianist and has played in jazz ensembles and bands so your guess is as good as mine. i choose to believe that it's a prerecorded part of his own history and that he went nuts on that.
buy here (beatport)
interfearence - religious revolution
i saw this album with a great cover and the title interfearence on it a few years ago and i was little puzzled but after a little while, it sprung to mind that there was a british big beat act called just that. they also made a remix of hybrid's "if i survive" but i'm not a fan of that but it was that version that helped me identify the album as i bought the commie's dub digitally the same week. for a remix of theirs that i do like, i really recommend their rerub of galliano's "ease your mind".
the sound of the album is big beat but leaning on the housier side and with a lot of use of guitars, sitars and live bass. according their own biography the words i am looking for is a "unique musical sound with heavy layers" and that it's supposed to be "deeply organic". see the last word is what i wouldn't use just because they've incorporated some live instrumentation. especially when you fiddle around with everything else, and the live sounds as well in a computer.
never the less i am fond of the songs and especially "religious revolution" as the drum programming is the best on this one. it starts out with a sitar that is looped in a really good way and some percussion get into play. here it's still breakbeats with tablas and bongos backing it up and there is a nice groove to it but it changes into a four on the floor after a lengthy break. the transition does take a bit to long but it builds a good atmosphere with all the guitar & sitar parts meshing together.
they use a bit of reversing with some of the sounds and the guitar loop that breaks up those not-spooky sounds is flipped and the effect is great. they've used a guitar pedal when playing and the twang in reverse creates a lovely dissonance and it sets a new tone to the track. when it all kicks in again with the bassline is put in and it's a really funky one that first plays to the guitar chord but then gets somewhat of a solo.
it leads into a new break and here it switches into a breakbeat again but now it's some looped amen drums that are filtered in. the bassline sits sort of weird in this section as they are swinging it and the drums take too much of space but when the amens go out it works again.
funky breakbeat music for the whole family.
buy here (itunes)
the sound of the album is big beat but leaning on the housier side and with a lot of use of guitars, sitars and live bass. according their own biography the words i am looking for is a "unique musical sound with heavy layers" and that it's supposed to be "deeply organic". see the last word is what i wouldn't use just because they've incorporated some live instrumentation. especially when you fiddle around with everything else, and the live sounds as well in a computer.
never the less i am fond of the songs and especially "religious revolution" as the drum programming is the best on this one. it starts out with a sitar that is looped in a really good way and some percussion get into play. here it's still breakbeats with tablas and bongos backing it up and there is a nice groove to it but it changes into a four on the floor after a lengthy break. the transition does take a bit to long but it builds a good atmosphere with all the guitar & sitar parts meshing together.
they use a bit of reversing with some of the sounds and the guitar loop that breaks up those not-spooky sounds is flipped and the effect is great. they've used a guitar pedal when playing and the twang in reverse creates a lovely dissonance and it sets a new tone to the track. when it all kicks in again with the bassline is put in and it's a really funky one that first plays to the guitar chord but then gets somewhat of a solo.
it leads into a new break and here it switches into a breakbeat again but now it's some looped amen drums that are filtered in. the bassline sits sort of weird in this section as they are swinging it and the drums take too much of space but when the amens go out it works again.
funky breakbeat music for the whole family.
buy here (itunes)
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
kate bush - somewhere in between
"somewhere in between" comes from kate bush's 2005 two disc album "aerial" and is on the second disc which actually is a coherent entity but that doesn't stop me from singling out one track. the lead single from the album is on the first record and while it's nice, i do think the second disc is where the gems of the album are located.
i bought "aerial" a few years ago and liked it but forgot about it until i relistened to it a few months ago and memories came back. for "somewhere in between" i liked it because of the groove and of course kate bush's lovely voice. the song represents what adult contemporary music should be known as all the time as there is punchy instrumentation and great songwriting. then again that is kate bush's catalogue in a nutshell so take notes people.
what this song reminds me off is balearic music and this is why i say that i love it for the groove. i am puzzled that someone hasn't cut their teeth into it and done a lengthy ten minute rework. never the less the shuffling drums, the gentle guitar, the walking bassline and the string arrangements is brilliant. especially as it compliments bush's vocal range from her lower notes and her lovely highs.
great music from kate bush, i would say genius but as it's kate bush, that goes without saying.
buy here (itunes)
note: with the re-release of aerial "somewhere in between" is done part the second disc "an endless sky of honey"
note: with the re-release of aerial "somewhere in between" is done part the second disc "an endless sky of honey"
Monday, 10 December 2012
robyn - be mine! (jori hulkkonen vocal mix)
"be mine!" in it's original form is a song i loved from the first time i heard as robyn appeared on the swedish national radios awardshow p3 guld in 2009. nobody knew what was going on but this was the starting point for robyn as the cultural phenomena in the current shape. as it was released at first it didn't come with any remixes or sorts and to be honest, i was hesitant for any as i didn't want anyone to fuck it up.
as she she took her massively selling album to the uk and eventually the us she, as she runs her own label, started re-issuing singles and with new remixes. "be mine!" was quite late to the equation but eventually the information dropped and i saw the names roger sanchez, ocelot, redroche, meat boys and jori hulkkonen. as they were introduced i wanted to hear samples of the versions but the two that i wanted to know about was by sanchez & hulkkonen. the former was quite a dud in these ears but jori hulkkonen didn't dissapoint at all.
the jist of the remix is that taking the original and refitting into the kind of techno that hulkkonen was making at the time. synthdriven techno with slow builds and heavy grooves. the backdrop fits the melancholy and sadness that robyn is purveying as she sings about missing love. the vocal however is different as i think the remixers were given a new take as the chords are different and hulkkonen uses this to his advantage.
one of the things that eventually irritated me with the original was that breakdown where she talks about "tying her laces", i can't even explain why this exact thing became a point of distress. however in hulkkonens version it works even if all he did was to set it with more of her background vocals and long sweeping pads, now the problem is solved
basically, hulkkonen managed to make a great song even better.
buy here (beatport)
as she she took her massively selling album to the uk and eventually the us she, as she runs her own label, started re-issuing singles and with new remixes. "be mine!" was quite late to the equation but eventually the information dropped and i saw the names roger sanchez, ocelot, redroche, meat boys and jori hulkkonen. as they were introduced i wanted to hear samples of the versions but the two that i wanted to know about was by sanchez & hulkkonen. the former was quite a dud in these ears but jori hulkkonen didn't dissapoint at all.
the jist of the remix is that taking the original and refitting into the kind of techno that hulkkonen was making at the time. synthdriven techno with slow builds and heavy grooves. the backdrop fits the melancholy and sadness that robyn is purveying as she sings about missing love. the vocal however is different as i think the remixers were given a new take as the chords are different and hulkkonen uses this to his advantage.
one of the things that eventually irritated me with the original was that breakdown where she talks about "tying her laces", i can't even explain why this exact thing became a point of distress. however in hulkkonens version it works even if all he did was to set it with more of her background vocals and long sweeping pads, now the problem is solved
basically, hulkkonen managed to make a great song even better.
buy here (beatport)
mau - proposal chapter 1
club guidelines was one of the many institutions of stockholm's mosebacke and they championed soulful house and techno with magnus talib and resident mikael nordegren (tiger stripes, d'malicious) in charge. at the end of their run they released a compilation with some of the featured dj's and artists and some of the anthems from the club.
of course i had to buy the compilation and i really liked it, it featured plenty of killer tracks and one of them was this, "proposal chapter 1" from magnus östergren aka mau. i am quite sure that i didn't like this when i first listened to as i was more into the soulful house on the compilation. my current ears however says that this is brilliant and the best way to describe it would be a combination of grimy broken beat, dark techno and a whole lot of eerieness.
i had it in my headphones a months ago when i was out walking and the sun starting to set. it was darker outside and the surroundings were in the transition from fall to winter it was the perfect soundtrack for that moment. the jittery drums and small effected sounds are constantly overheaded by this pad which sets the tone well. the key element is the playful nature of the track and how sounds are messed around with and at parts it sounds like rules being tossed through the window. as it should be.
of course i had to buy the compilation and i really liked it, it featured plenty of killer tracks and one of them was this, "proposal chapter 1" from magnus östergren aka mau. i am quite sure that i didn't like this when i first listened to as i was more into the soulful house on the compilation. my current ears however says that this is brilliant and the best way to describe it would be a combination of grimy broken beat, dark techno and a whole lot of eerieness.
i had it in my headphones a months ago when i was out walking and the sun starting to set. it was darker outside and the surroundings were in the transition from fall to winter it was the perfect soundtrack for that moment. the jittery drums and small effected sounds are constantly overheaded by this pad which sets the tone well. the key element is the playful nature of the track and how sounds are messed around with and at parts it sounds like rules being tossed through the window. as it should be.
Sunday, 9 December 2012
studio pressure - relics (plaid remix)
plaid remix of "relics" is something i either discovered through my good friend jan henrik or on discogs, probably both in combination. it did spark my interest as it deals with a favourite type of remix as mentioned in my entry on king britt's remix of "do something". plaid was much more known as making nice weird techno and electro but they were offered to put their spin on this photek production.
certificate 18 asked a number of artists from different fields of electronic music to do remixes and most notably it included auteche's remixes of lexis' "hypnotise", two lone swordsmen's remix of klute's "silent weapons" and this one. most of the remixes were gathered up on a compilation called "the widescreen versions" and is well recommended.
"relics" in it's original formation is known by this hypnotic melody sequence and these dubby organ stabs along with thunderous subbass hits. plaid's approach was to work the song into a spookier track and flipped some of rupert parkes melodic parts. the main sequence is looped and the pads are taken in for a bigger role as well as the groove being much more rhythmic than photek's luscious amen onslaught.
it's such an original flip on a track that is dripping of ideas and angles already, to take a bit of each and set them in new sections is brilliant.
listen here (youtube)
certificate 18 asked a number of artists from different fields of electronic music to do remixes and most notably it included auteche's remixes of lexis' "hypnotise", two lone swordsmen's remix of klute's "silent weapons" and this one. most of the remixes were gathered up on a compilation called "the widescreen versions" and is well recommended.
"relics" in it's original formation is known by this hypnotic melody sequence and these dubby organ stabs along with thunderous subbass hits. plaid's approach was to work the song into a spookier track and flipped some of rupert parkes melodic parts. the main sequence is looped and the pads are taken in for a bigger role as well as the groove being much more rhythmic than photek's luscious amen onslaught.
it's such an original flip on a track that is dripping of ideas and angles already, to take a bit of each and set them in new sections is brilliant.
listen here (youtube)
Saturday, 8 December 2012
shola ama - imagine (ed case & carl h remix)
i heard this version a few years after hearing the asylum remix and that is the definite version of the song for all i care. ed case & carl h's remix does rate quite high as well and reasons being for that bassline. i think this version was done after the asylum remix became the smash that it was. this leads me to believe that a proper underground mix was something that was needed as the asylums remix was much smoother.
this remix sets shola amas vocals behind a sparse backdrop that consists of really punchy drums, a mother of a bassline and then two melodic parts and a choir pad of sorts. much of the track is just ama and the drums and bass, something that on a big system makes the difference. you have to get the elements down really fat as they are they domineering parts but the impact is like no other.
the key moment is when that it drops and you hear this massive murmur of a bassline that is playing the notes of the vocal melody. henceforth the solo parts with ama and the rhythms are nothing short of brilliant. her sweet voice and that menacing grumble, beauty and the bass. always going to be my favourite fairytale.
listen here (youtube)
this remix sets shola amas vocals behind a sparse backdrop that consists of really punchy drums, a mother of a bassline and then two melodic parts and a choir pad of sorts. much of the track is just ama and the drums and bass, something that on a big system makes the difference. you have to get the elements down really fat as they are they domineering parts but the impact is like no other.
the key moment is when that it drops and you hear this massive murmur of a bassline that is playing the notes of the vocal melody. henceforth the solo parts with ama and the rhythms are nothing short of brilliant. her sweet voice and that menacing grumble, beauty and the bass. always going to be my favourite fairytale.
listen here (youtube)
Friday, 7 December 2012
the odd couple - paperkites
"paperkites" comes from the fredrik lager (freddie cruger/red astaire) & lars berger collaboration ep as "the odd couple" on cruger's own swedish brandy productions. i have it on the most excellent label compilation "current cuts vol. 1" which gathers up some of the best tracks from the labels first ten releases. there is some brilliant hiphop music on this in various shapes and forms, all from proper old school leaning to the twisted editions of the genre from the last decade.
i was blown away by how good this track when i heard the first time, to be honest i don't like the small speech in the beginning but the groove is immense. a nice light summery groove with this smooth floating bass and most of the track feels somewhat natural. cruger's production are generally a hopscotch of samples that has been twerked but despite being constructed it doesn't completely sound like it. both in the programming of the drums and the bass, there is an attention to detail and there are movement that might as well was played by a band.
the trainspotter in me does want to locate where cruger & berger grabbed their soundbites but i can only locate two and i'm not even sure they are the ones. the vocal sound like parts of terra deva's in the furry phreaks classic "soothe" but it's only fragments. the lush string sequence sounds to me like the one from the break of quincy jones' rendition of "summer in the city" but i know that it can't be that. there isn't a clean segment where long notes are playing and no drums or bass are heard.
anyhow, it's a perfect light funky summery jam for a winter day like this where the sun is shining high in the sky and if you actually step outside, it's at least 5 degrees below zero....
buy here (junodownload)
i was blown away by how good this track when i heard the first time, to be honest i don't like the small speech in the beginning but the groove is immense. a nice light summery groove with this smooth floating bass and most of the track feels somewhat natural. cruger's production are generally a hopscotch of samples that has been twerked but despite being constructed it doesn't completely sound like it. both in the programming of the drums and the bass, there is an attention to detail and there are movement that might as well was played by a band.
the trainspotter in me does want to locate where cruger & berger grabbed their soundbites but i can only locate two and i'm not even sure they are the ones. the vocal sound like parts of terra deva's in the furry phreaks classic "soothe" but it's only fragments. the lush string sequence sounds to me like the one from the break of quincy jones' rendition of "summer in the city" but i know that it can't be that. there isn't a clean segment where long notes are playing and no drums or bass are heard.
anyhow, it's a perfect light funky summery jam for a winter day like this where the sun is shining high in the sky and if you actually step outside, it's at least 5 degrees below zero....
buy here (junodownload)
macy gray - do something (sylk 130 remix)
discovered this remix by king britt (aka sylk 130) of macy gray's debut single when i was trawling discogs and checking out king britt's remix discography. when i found the tag "drum & bass" in the genre description things became interesting. it's always fun to hear when producers step out of their comfort zone and leave their regular tempo. i do tend to be more excited when a house or techno producer makes drum & bass than vice versa.
this remix sort of calls to mind 4hero and especially their much beloved remix of the masters at work sideproject nuyorican soul's cover "i am the black gold of the sun". it starts out in slower hip-hop tempo and then flips into double time but they have a different motifs. 4hero's kept it smooth and jazzy throughout whereas king britt kept is rugged at first.
for the first part of the remix, king britt stripped down the original down to the rhythm and bass and it's proper headknod backpacker hiphop mode. it carries on for about two and a half minutes and then he drops the beats and you hear some nice delayed keys and parts of macy's vocals being echoed. eventually he drops in the frantic breakbeats and sounds like he used the original drums in doubletime and an additional breakbeat with prominent rides.
it stays very jazzy and you hear part 4hero but also roni size as influence for it, the bass stays smooth but rumbles well in the lower frequences. a lot of use of longer notes in legato and i quite like it's symbiosis with the airy pad that eventually creeps up. a very well done remix and if he king britt decides do more drum & bass, i'd be up to hear it.
this remix sort of calls to mind 4hero and especially their much beloved remix of the masters at work sideproject nuyorican soul's cover "i am the black gold of the sun". it starts out in slower hip-hop tempo and then flips into double time but they have a different motifs. 4hero's kept it smooth and jazzy throughout whereas king britt kept is rugged at first.
for the first part of the remix, king britt stripped down the original down to the rhythm and bass and it's proper headknod backpacker hiphop mode. it carries on for about two and a half minutes and then he drops the beats and you hear some nice delayed keys and parts of macy's vocals being echoed. eventually he drops in the frantic breakbeats and sounds like he used the original drums in doubletime and an additional breakbeat with prominent rides.
it stays very jazzy and you hear part 4hero but also roni size as influence for it, the bass stays smooth but rumbles well in the lower frequences. a lot of use of longer notes in legato and i quite like it's symbiosis with the airy pad that eventually creeps up. a very well done remix and if he king britt decides do more drum & bass, i'd be up to hear it.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
bioground - outstanding emptiness
in the autumn of '05 i heard a dj mix from german dj atak who played an hour in this internetradio ordeal and that set got me into bioground. the set itself was filled with at least five timewriter/jean f. cochios tracks but he opened with the eric kupper remix of bioground's "affinity". then in midset he played the track that was nothing short of heartstoppingly beautiful, "smooth summer nights".
that track alone made me a fan of his works for life even though bioground/luís novo isn't as active as he used to be. when looking in bioground's releases at the time it consisted of a few singles, two remixes and an album from which i found "outstanding emptiness" on. some more great track included "hazel eyes" & "love addiction", the former of which also feature joeee who sings on this track as well.
what attracted me to "smooth summer nights" was that sort of subdued melancholy and while there there is a touch of happiness in it, there is none in "outstanding emptiness". the atmospheric beginning conveys it and joeee's vocal is dripping of emotions and you feel his heartbreak and loneliness. for some reason the track makes me think of the frankie knuckles & satoshi tomiie classic "tears" with robert owens on vocals.
there is no connection other than dripping heartbreak on groovy house beats but it comes from that being one of the prime examples of this. musically "outstanding emptiness" sounds more a bit like marshall jefferson & truth's "open your eyes" and larry heard/fingers inc's "mystery of love" than "tears". it also sound a whole bit like "smooth summer nights" but producers use the same sounds & aesthetics and i only object to that when the song sucks and this doesn't.
buy here (djtunes)
note: for whatever reason, the first 16 bars is fucked on the version available digitally. there should not be a double time kick and the tempo shouldn't be that fast after them.
that track alone made me a fan of his works for life even though bioground/luís novo isn't as active as he used to be. when looking in bioground's releases at the time it consisted of a few singles, two remixes and an album from which i found "outstanding emptiness" on. some more great track included "hazel eyes" & "love addiction", the former of which also feature joeee who sings on this track as well.
what attracted me to "smooth summer nights" was that sort of subdued melancholy and while there there is a touch of happiness in it, there is none in "outstanding emptiness". the atmospheric beginning conveys it and joeee's vocal is dripping of emotions and you feel his heartbreak and loneliness. for some reason the track makes me think of the frankie knuckles & satoshi tomiie classic "tears" with robert owens on vocals.
there is no connection other than dripping heartbreak on groovy house beats but it comes from that being one of the prime examples of this. musically "outstanding emptiness" sounds more a bit like marshall jefferson & truth's "open your eyes" and larry heard/fingers inc's "mystery of love" than "tears". it also sound a whole bit like "smooth summer nights" but producers use the same sounds & aesthetics and i only object to that when the song sucks and this doesn't.
buy here (djtunes)
note: for whatever reason, the first 16 bars is fucked on the version available digitally. there should not be a double time kick and the tempo shouldn't be that fast after them.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
ken ishii - awakening (christian smith & john selway remix)
can't say i remember when i discovered this track but i have a fond memory of it since i recorded a mix a long time ago where i opened with it. bear in mind that my skills on the decks weren't that good then and even if i had the mix available i wouldn't haul it off that easy. i do know that as an additional intro thing i played a section of james holdens pistolwhip in reverse on top. i practiced and got it down well and when i recorded the mix it, every attempt went down the shitter.. oh well.
truth be told that it's more likely for me to play the original nowadays as i'm more attracted to it, but the smith & selway remix is the one i have played more over the years. both are brilliant in their own way as ishii's original is a bumping piece of techno with more of a housey appeal. really well composed track with all sorts of nice crazy synth sounds and a bass that really resonates well when it hits those longer notes.
christian smith & john selway take a somewhat different approach but do more of a big room version where the bassline rolls and the groove is percussion heavy. ishii's synth sounds are simplified to a few formations but are also treated with reverb and the likes. they float on top of the thick bed of beats and bass and with the additional pads, it's a nice texture of sounds.
in all of it's big roomey vibe they also bring on this nice summery balearic feeling as the breaks down and it feels like the missing link between chicane and adam beyer (circa 2002 mind you).
buy here (junodownload)
truth be told that it's more likely for me to play the original nowadays as i'm more attracted to it, but the smith & selway remix is the one i have played more over the years. both are brilliant in their own way as ishii's original is a bumping piece of techno with more of a housey appeal. really well composed track with all sorts of nice crazy synth sounds and a bass that really resonates well when it hits those longer notes.
christian smith & john selway take a somewhat different approach but do more of a big room version where the bassline rolls and the groove is percussion heavy. ishii's synth sounds are simplified to a few formations but are also treated with reverb and the likes. they float on top of the thick bed of beats and bass and with the additional pads, it's a nice texture of sounds.
in all of it's big roomey vibe they also bring on this nice summery balearic feeling as the breaks down and it feels like the missing link between chicane and adam beyer (circa 2002 mind you).
buy here (junodownload)
echoboy - turning on (red snapper remix)
after hearing the remix of jessica lauren's "uptown" i did check out some of red snapper's other remixes and some of their works. i knew of their remix of ruby's "paraffin" and the remix of lamb's "softly". the former i don't like at all but the remix of "softly" is nice but it has nothing on the bola remix so it doesn't matter.
i really didn't know much about the original song or richard warren/echoboy's works in general but i know i've seen the name before. this was case of hearing the remix before the original so i didn't know what they used and what they did with this remix. after hearing "turning on" i realised they used the resonant synth sounds from the latter half of the song and removed most of warren's vocals.
what made me like the track is the fact they flipped it to a garage like tune but with sharp spaced out sounds. the drums are smacking and on point but apart from additional percussion grooves it doesn't go anywhere with the programming. then again i believe they put the focus on getting the bass down fat and they pulled that off well. it's a murmuring sound and i feel the frequencies excellently when i bang it out.
red snapper really built the tension with this as the bass progresses and with the background sound growing and as you think it will go nuts they drop them. instead they unleash this buzzing high pitched sinewave that they took from the original and it's transient and really gets to you in a good way. as it becomes sort of a noise it hits a level of annoyance and then it drops. really well also and this is the killer moment, killer track.
buy here (junodownload)
i really didn't know much about the original song or richard warren/echoboy's works in general but i know i've seen the name before. this was case of hearing the remix before the original so i didn't know what they used and what they did with this remix. after hearing "turning on" i realised they used the resonant synth sounds from the latter half of the song and removed most of warren's vocals.
what made me like the track is the fact they flipped it to a garage like tune but with sharp spaced out sounds. the drums are smacking and on point but apart from additional percussion grooves it doesn't go anywhere with the programming. then again i believe they put the focus on getting the bass down fat and they pulled that off well. it's a murmuring sound and i feel the frequencies excellently when i bang it out.
red snapper really built the tension with this as the bass progresses and with the background sound growing and as you think it will go nuts they drop them. instead they unleash this buzzing high pitched sinewave that they took from the original and it's transient and really gets to you in a good way. as it becomes sort of a noise it hits a level of annoyance and then it drops. really well also and this is the killer moment, killer track.
buy here (junodownload)
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
amplify dot - three little pigs
this one is quite freshly released from a.dots latest mixtape "spare parts" and after listening to the whole shebang, i thought this was the best of the collection. the mixtape itself is i believe something for the fans to hold on to until her album debut, as she signed with virgin/emi a few months ago. a twelve tracker with a few stonking fresh track including this track and the show-n-prove produced "get down" that was given a few days ago as a tease.
dot kicks some razor sharp rhymes with the viewpoint that she is the villainous character in a few select children stories, like "snow white" and "three little pigs". all over this really banging beat with jamaican horns samples and what sounds like a chopped up break from the commodores' "the assembly lines". together with a womping bass and a kick that punches in hard.
it sits on the line of going completely into wobblecore or brostep during the hooks but it stays there. even near the end where dottys vocals are bitcrushed and the sounds are a bit more mental it doesn't go over the line which is healthy as i'm not that.
ultra banging track from one of the best rappers around at the moment. grab the mixtape and buy here album once it's done and released
listen here (soundcloud) | download here (facebook page)
dot kicks some razor sharp rhymes with the viewpoint that she is the villainous character in a few select children stories, like "snow white" and "three little pigs". all over this really banging beat with jamaican horns samples and what sounds like a chopped up break from the commodores' "the assembly lines". together with a womping bass and a kick that punches in hard.
it sits on the line of going completely into wobblecore or brostep during the hooks but it stays there. even near the end where dottys vocals are bitcrushed and the sounds are a bit more mental it doesn't go over the line which is healthy as i'm not that.
ultra banging track from one of the best rappers around at the moment. grab the mixtape and buy here album once it's done and released
listen here (soundcloud) | download here (facebook page)
chakra - home (tilt's topline mix)
"home" is a song that has countless good versions so chances are that i will make another entry about say the solar stone remix of the salt tank reconstruction. parks & wilson had a knack for making great punchy epic trancers and this was no exception. driving beats, great melodics that were in tune and fit with the track at hand and it didn't fanny around.
there is only one thing i don't like about it and that's the drop in the beginning of the track that reminds me sort of the classic anthony pappa & alan bremner moment "skydive". part of what bugs me with both is when trying to eliminating them makes the track seem you have cut out something substantial when you have not. when i do my nips and tucks on tracks like this to remove elements like small breaks or segments with awful synths or vocals and such, i try to execute so it's not noticeable.
tilt's remix came for the '99/'00 re-release of home and besides them there was also remixes by above & beyond, rob searle & mara. chakra was one of the many projects from rick simmonds & stephen jones, more known as the space brothers. the space brothers in general were known for making vocal trance that didn't suck, almost...
a key to their success of pulling this was that they knew vocalists that had a good vocal range. one that they worked with on many of occasions and on all of the five chakra singles was kate cameron. simmonds & jones used to write most of the lyrics to the songs and their only problems is that they used these "poetic rephrasings" that can make you cringe. for example in this song cameron sings:
for their main vocal version tilt took some of the original melodies and put their spin and synth patches and set it to a new groove. i am a big fan of that conga-loop that they used and is so audible in the mix as it's rare to hear it with this kind of tracks. tilt knew that there wasn't that much of a problem with the original besides a typical 1997 synth patch and some other sounds, all what was needed was an update and refitting and something that would be more longlasting.
buy here (itunes)
there is only one thing i don't like about it and that's the drop in the beginning of the track that reminds me sort of the classic anthony pappa & alan bremner moment "skydive". part of what bugs me with both is when trying to eliminating them makes the track seem you have cut out something substantial when you have not. when i do my nips and tucks on tracks like this to remove elements like small breaks or segments with awful synths or vocals and such, i try to execute so it's not noticeable.
tilt's remix came for the '99/'00 re-release of home and besides them there was also remixes by above & beyond, rob searle & mara. chakra was one of the many projects from rick simmonds & stephen jones, more known as the space brothers. the space brothers in general were known for making vocal trance that didn't suck, almost...
a key to their success of pulling this was that they knew vocalists that had a good vocal range. one that they worked with on many of occasions and on all of the five chakra singles was kate cameron. simmonds & jones used to write most of the lyrics to the songs and their only problems is that they used these "poetic rephrasings" that can make you cringe. for example in this song cameron sings:
don't be afraid, your world is dark tonight / for without love, how can your spirit sing? / you are a bird with wounded wings / you're not alone, i've come take you hometilt also made a second version that has been stripped down of the vocal element but also the melodic parts. parks, wilson & graham put their focus on the rhythm and while it's brilliant as a piece in a set, it's also a bit boring. actually boring is the wrong word but the melodic aspects were part of the brilliant elements of the track so replacing them with warped sirens and other sounds were just stupid.
for their main vocal version tilt took some of the original melodies and put their spin and synth patches and set it to a new groove. i am a big fan of that conga-loop that they used and is so audible in the mix as it's rare to hear it with this kind of tracks. tilt knew that there wasn't that much of a problem with the original besides a typical 1997 synth patch and some other sounds, all what was needed was an update and refitting and something that would be more longlasting.
buy here (itunes)
Monday, 3 December 2012
newkid - luftens hjältar (med lorentz & ison)
the first time i heard about "luftens hjältar" ("the heroes of the airwaves") was about six months ago when i heard an acoustic version of the song. alexander ferrer (aka newkid) was invited by swedish music blog psl to perform a set for one of their newly started ordeals. it's called the sinding sessions and basically it's sort of an unplugged session but with no real audience. with newkids music being based in r&b and hiphop and the hyper-electronic kind, you strip it all down to the core and get close to the music.
what attracted me to this was the fact that ison glasgow delivers a verse and i've stated this before but i am a fan of his. if anyone asks why haven't you heard this one before, especially since newkid's debut album being released in '11. then i have to answer than besides "turbulens" i wasn't a fan of newkid's music and the titles itself doesn't list guests in usual manners.
it is actually a posse cut of sorts (even though it's only three persons) where the topic at hand is to brag about how good they are. the title is alluding to that but it's also the swedish name to the animated 90's disney show "talespin". it's a bombastic production by måns "monzi" persson that contains of shuffled 32th notes hihats and supersaw stabs that sound like the bastard child of just blaze and lil jon.
there are little to say than ison's verse is killer and it's filled with his kind of punchlines and it's delivered flawlessly.
buy here (itunes)
what attracted me to this was the fact that ison glasgow delivers a verse and i've stated this before but i am a fan of his. if anyone asks why haven't you heard this one before, especially since newkid's debut album being released in '11. then i have to answer than besides "turbulens" i wasn't a fan of newkid's music and the titles itself doesn't list guests in usual manners.
it is actually a posse cut of sorts (even though it's only three persons) where the topic at hand is to brag about how good they are. the title is alluding to that but it's also the swedish name to the animated 90's disney show "talespin". it's a bombastic production by måns "monzi" persson that contains of shuffled 32th notes hihats and supersaw stabs that sound like the bastard child of just blaze and lil jon.
there are little to say than ison's verse is killer and it's filled with his kind of punchlines and it's delivered flawlessly.
buy here (itunes)
yara - law bassely
another song from when i was enamoured with all sorts of habibi-pop and i think this was a heads up or alert of a new release on one of the many english speaking arabic music forums. what hooked me in with "law bassely" ("if he only looked at me") was that intro that consists of some midrangey-bass womps and this twinkly melody and i was still at the time still liking epic trance music so i liked the bites.
i got hung up on on "law bassely" because of the intro and that it was catchy but also because it goes into two measures of 6/8 during the choruses. yes, it's that simple but i was liking how it switched from 4/4 to 6/8 as she stretches out the phrasing of the hook. i could mention what it is about lyrically but i've mentioned in the entry about nancy ajram's "ashkarballi" that all habibi-pop tracks are about love, hence the somewhat dimuitive name.
but if anyone is interested and haven't checked lyricstranslate.com, then as the translated songtitle says, it's about unanswered love. this is the reason why i for the most part don't care about what the lyrical topics are with pop songs like this, because they are almost all about love. it goes for music in any sort of language, be it arabic or japanese or spanish or swahili or russian.
if the main topic of the song is about love it's probably about three forms: 1) i love you 2) i don't love you 3) why don't you love me. it goes without saying but in love equals physical intimacy in 90% of the cases. hence why i am more grabbed by the music than the lyrics but yara herself sings these enchanting lines about why this guy hasn't noticed her yet really well and that is what matters, doesn't it. great song.
buy here (itunes)
i got hung up on on "law bassely" because of the intro and that it was catchy but also because it goes into two measures of 6/8 during the choruses. yes, it's that simple but i was liking how it switched from 4/4 to 6/8 as she stretches out the phrasing of the hook. i could mention what it is about lyrically but i've mentioned in the entry about nancy ajram's "ashkarballi" that all habibi-pop tracks are about love, hence the somewhat dimuitive name.
but if anyone is interested and haven't checked lyricstranslate.com, then as the translated songtitle says, it's about unanswered love. this is the reason why i for the most part don't care about what the lyrical topics are with pop songs like this, because they are almost all about love. it goes for music in any sort of language, be it arabic or japanese or spanish or swahili or russian.
if the main topic of the song is about love it's probably about three forms: 1) i love you 2) i don't love you 3) why don't you love me. it goes without saying but in love equals physical intimacy in 90% of the cases. hence why i am more grabbed by the music than the lyrics but yara herself sings these enchanting lines about why this guy hasn't noticed her yet really well and that is what matters, doesn't it. great song.
buy here (itunes)
Sunday, 2 December 2012
dj marky & xrs - butterfly
a few days ago i was listening to this one, the dj marky & xrs' "butterfly" and the two following tracks that came up on foobars shuffle was dj koze's "mariposa" and sunday brunch's "fjäril". at first i thought the coincidence with dj marky & xrs and sunday brunch's tracks being titled similarily was fun, but after running "mariposa" in google translate it was borderline spooky.
now you may have to know a touch of spanish or swedish but all of these tracks are called "butterfly" and it had me thinking about doing an entry on them. all of them are in different genres and have nothing in common musically really but the coincidence in titles were too much fun. so here goes and first off i'll talk about dj marky & xrs's "butterfly".
in all truthfulness i like "the wizard" much more which the flip on the single but this is a cracking liquid roller. "butterfly" is based heavily around roy ayers ubiquity's song "searching". most hiphop-heads will know that "searching" was also sampled by pete rock & cl smooth back in '94 on the "main ingredient" album. however marky & xrs took the hook as their sample base and this uses more of the melodic elements. the combination of the powerful drums and packing bass and roy ayers electric piano and vibraphone is a winning one.
buy here (beatport)
with "fjäril" it is a track that i've mainly heard when browsing through sunday brunch's album "no resistance" and i've noted it as it's the saxophone track on the record. soundwise it's in line with most of the album's content with the sort of blending of deeper house, techno & broken beats. for some reason it reminds me of lionel richie's "all night long" because the intro for that uses this conga rhythm and it's also present in this one but backed up with more percussion.
rhythmically it's a broken beat of sorts that sounds like a four on the floor with the two and fours being swung a bit back. the kick however doesn't come in at first but it's started out with a shaker & triangle groove that has some phasing on and the distinct sound of jesper dahlbäck's icy synths. the first pad plays a motif that is prevalent in the first half of the track and works with the groove.
anders paulsson's saxophone that also start the track out plays in accents but is given a small solo in the breakdown. part of me doesn't like how smooth jazz and romantic it sounds at times but when it's set to a nice funky techno/house rhythm it's easier to tolerate.
buy here (beatport)
"mariposa" was something that i heard in a set once and was entranced by that groove. it's nice weird techno which starts out with low-key but is something that grows. you hear that as a long mysterious pad is slowly fading in along with more of the melodic elements of the song. when the hi-hats come in to play you hear sampled car sounds, in particular when you lock the doors.
part of me wonders how anyone would react to this element if one was moving in a car and the music is blaring loudly. i know from experience that my cousin didn't like the sampled car sounds in turkish pop singer mustafa sandal's "araba", when we were listening to it on the autobahn heading from germany to the netherlands.
anyhow as the track is progressing you hear this with really pulsating synths that grows in volume and it almost sounds helicopter like. koze drops the rest of the track except for the kick and the dissonant background sound along with the pulsating rhythm is really trippy. this is something that could be used in so many ways but i would say that taking it down or transitioning to something different would be effective. lovely warm weird techno music.
buy here (beatport)
now you may have to know a touch of spanish or swedish but all of these tracks are called "butterfly" and it had me thinking about doing an entry on them. all of them are in different genres and have nothing in common musically really but the coincidence in titles were too much fun. so here goes and first off i'll talk about dj marky & xrs's "butterfly".
in all truthfulness i like "the wizard" much more which the flip on the single but this is a cracking liquid roller. "butterfly" is based heavily around roy ayers ubiquity's song "searching". most hiphop-heads will know that "searching" was also sampled by pete rock & cl smooth back in '94 on the "main ingredient" album. however marky & xrs took the hook as their sample base and this uses more of the melodic elements. the combination of the powerful drums and packing bass and roy ayers electric piano and vibraphone is a winning one.
buy here (beatport)
with "fjäril" it is a track that i've mainly heard when browsing through sunday brunch's album "no resistance" and i've noted it as it's the saxophone track on the record. soundwise it's in line with most of the album's content with the sort of blending of deeper house, techno & broken beats. for some reason it reminds me of lionel richie's "all night long" because the intro for that uses this conga rhythm and it's also present in this one but backed up with more percussion.
rhythmically it's a broken beat of sorts that sounds like a four on the floor with the two and fours being swung a bit back. the kick however doesn't come in at first but it's started out with a shaker & triangle groove that has some phasing on and the distinct sound of jesper dahlbäck's icy synths. the first pad plays a motif that is prevalent in the first half of the track and works with the groove.
anders paulsson's saxophone that also start the track out plays in accents but is given a small solo in the breakdown. part of me doesn't like how smooth jazz and romantic it sounds at times but when it's set to a nice funky techno/house rhythm it's easier to tolerate.
buy here (beatport)
"mariposa" was something that i heard in a set once and was entranced by that groove. it's nice weird techno which starts out with low-key but is something that grows. you hear that as a long mysterious pad is slowly fading in along with more of the melodic elements of the song. when the hi-hats come in to play you hear sampled car sounds, in particular when you lock the doors.
part of me wonders how anyone would react to this element if one was moving in a car and the music is blaring loudly. i know from experience that my cousin didn't like the sampled car sounds in turkish pop singer mustafa sandal's "araba", when we were listening to it on the autobahn heading from germany to the netherlands.
anyhow as the track is progressing you hear this with really pulsating synths that grows in volume and it almost sounds helicopter like. koze drops the rest of the track except for the kick and the dissonant background sound along with the pulsating rhythm is really trippy. this is something that could be used in so many ways but i would say that taking it down or transitioning to something different would be effective. lovely warm weird techno music.
buy here (beatport)
Saturday, 1 December 2012
automat - funk me please
"funk me please" is from the french label karat records compilation and i didn't really know of this label before buying the album. i quite liked the album cover and it also contained tracks by black strobe, chloé & nôze so it deemed interesting. the result is a collection of cracking techno, house and some electro and all with a 80's type lean. "funk me please" lands in the category of the latter and it's no secret that i love this kind of stuff.
a good groove with a bassline that sounds like an tb-303 that is used in it's regular style, i.e. not as the resonant squelchy highpitched acid wiggle. it uses all sorts of bends and warps which remind me of garage as the bottom end really punches in at the bottom frequencies. together with punchy drums, clever drum programming and nice melodics, it's a done deal.
buy here (junodownload)
a good groove with a bassline that sounds like an tb-303 that is used in it's regular style, i.e. not as the resonant squelchy highpitched acid wiggle. it uses all sorts of bends and warps which remind me of garage as the bottom end really punches in at the bottom frequencies. together with punchy drums, clever drum programming and nice melodics, it's a done deal.
buy here (junodownload)
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