Probably the best remix of Daft Punk I've heard! A summery pop-filled cover of "Something About Us" that doesn't disappoint. I don't know anything about Jellynut, but whoever he/she/they is/are, they've made a real gem of a tune!
Synth-pop legends The Human League have been given the disco treatment by Disco disco!! favourite Plastic Plates on their brand new single "Sky", a track from their new album; Credo. Stabbing synths and thumping percussion are wrapped around a catchy hook of "Life goes on/Now you're gone/Life goes on after sky". In-keeping with other Plastic Plates tracks, this isn't an up-tempo one, but it's still club-friendly and worth a play!
The Sauce are back! A-Trak & Armad Van Helden return with a deeper house tune named "The Big Bad Wolf". Surprisingly, it doesn't have a disco sample or even a slapped bassline. One thing's for sure though, after you've heard it you'll be going "THE BIG BAD WOLF" at the least appropriate moment for the next week or so!!
Wait, what? I'm posting a remix of Madonna?! I haven't gone mad, this dub of the Monsieur Adi remix of Madonna's "Music" is really good. It retains it's famous melody that sounds like a robot trying to speak (probably how Monsieur Adi's robot [above] speaks), whilst adding an indie-electro distorted guitar sound. This sounds some something an artist from the future would produce, think Worship or Daft Punk's Interstella 5555!!!
Two of the leading funksters in the music game today, Chromeo & Breakbot, come together in Breakbot's remix of the Chromeo track "When The Night Falls". Obviously, it's full of slapped bass and piano melodies, and although it's not as up-tempo as Breakbot's "Fantasy", it's still a brilliant tune!
Oxford's Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs has taken the catchy ditty "Hawaiian Air" by Friendly Fires and created an astounding summery track with a huge, huge bassline and glittery synths and one of those "hands in the air moments" that I really enjoy. It'd be perfect for a beach party playlist!!
I have always been a huge fan of Crookers. Hailing from Milan, the duo of Bot & Phra were once pioneers of the short-lived Fidget House movement, before the huge success that was their remix of Kid Cudi's "Day 'n' Nite". Although it was a huge commercial success, the duo didn't like the fact that one of their songs had become part of the mainstream, and so they included a satirical acapella version of the track performed by beatboxers in their debut album. Post-Cudi, their sound has matured into something that is quite different from their original stuff, with a much more Tribal and Big Beat sound in some tunes, as well as a bigger House feel to others. Here's my take on one of my favourite artists, how they came to be and how they took the dance music world by storm. But to start, we have to go all the way back to 2006...
PART I: Emergence
There was a time, before Phra grew his now trademark left-wing author style beard and when Bot was rarely seen out of a New Era cap, that Crookers were one of the leading artists in the Fidget House movement. Their sound had the perfect balance in the sound, which meant that their tracks sounded great either in a club or on an iPod. Originally first bursting onto the blogosphere with a substantial amount of remixes for artists like Wiley, Moby & Dusty Kid, Crookers also released some EPs that were now driven into the spotlight. Their first EP, End 2 End, contained a tune named "Just Ghetto" that sampled UK singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae as well as two other tracks. The duo went onto release a host of remixes for various artists as well as EPs Funk Mundial #3, Massive, Aguas De Parco (all 2007), Knobbers, Mad Kidz & E.P.istola (all 2008).
After a bit of a wait and a lot of anticipation, Crookers dropped their debut album, Tons Of Friends (because every track is a collaboration), in 2010. Boasting such talent as Pitbull, Kelis & Major Lazer (amongst other amazing artits), the album has a diverse sound that includes Fidget, Hip Hop, House & Dubstep, every track including Crookers' swagger that had been a part of their style since they first appeared on the scene. Critics branded the album as "100% party", whilst others claimed that the duo were trying to "cover too many bases". Make what you will of it, the album is well-produced and most importantly has a density to it; it isn't just an album of tracks that all have the same old 'double drop' formula, it's a real arrangement of musical styles and you have to commend the pair for having the audacity to move away from their tried and tested sound and making such a good album.
Crookers' latest guise is Dr. Gonzo, another project full of collaborations with the likes of Savage Skulls, Neoteric & Wax Motif. Again, this is a mash up of many styles, with Dr. Gonzo creating the hard-hitting and catchy sound in "Bust 'Em Up", to the tribal and experimental "The Anthem". It looks like now that Crookers have proven themselves at a club level, they now want to have full licence to make tracks that aren't as club friendly, but are true pieces of music, shifting their song balance now towards the iPod than the club. With more Dr. Gonzo tracks on the way, this coud be the start of something big for Crookers and their collaborators.
I really think that house maestros Azari & III are destined for great things. Their songs give off a real seedy vibe, but seedy in a good way; it conjures up images of that underground club in the early 90s that plays deep and dark house music. Their new single, Manic, follows the same sound as their other tunes like Hungry For The Power and Indigo, and with their self-titled debut album out next month, you may be hearing much more about them in the near future.
I was reading Benoit & Sergio's bio on their Facebook page after discovering some of their tracks, and the description they give of themselves pretty much sums them up:
"Not content to make DJ fodder, the duo sets out to create beautifully glistening pop songs that draw from influences mostly uncommon to the house and techno zeitgeist; bands like Talking Heads, Pavement and Roxy Music are sources of inspiration, along with contemporary electronic acts like Isolee, Thomas Melchior and Ricardo Villalobos...
Benoit & Sergio grew up thousands of miles apart, in Paris and Iowa respectively. In 2008, they met at a party in Washington DC and began making dance tracks in the long winter of 2009. Right from the start, they had an insatiable artistic chemistry that kept them in the studio for ten to twelve hours at a time, riffing on each other’s ideas until they had created something even more sexy and epic than they had anticipated. Typically beginning with just a few short minimal loops, their marathon sessions inevitably result in what can only be described as a 'full-blown pop orgy.' "
What you are about to hear is 9 minutes and 27 seconds of pure brilliance, the best remix I've ever heard. Sit back, turn this up loud, and let it take you.
It's quite rare these days to find some really nice sounding vibes are closer to the 100 BPM mark that most DJs don't dare to go. Australian producer Plastic Plates bucks this trend with some remixes that really have an elegant feel about them. Although they probably would not go down well in a club (although I really think they should do), these tracks are perfect to listen to on an iPod or something similar. If you were to compare him to someone else, I'd say he's very much like The Magician, but still keeping a unique, calmer feel to his tunes.
His remixes themselves have had much coverage on the blogosphere, with his remix of Adele's Set Fire To The Rain and Body Language's Social Studies (my favourite Plastic Plates remix and it features in my new On a beach... mix) both gaining a lot of coverage. Maybe this is the start of some sort of Soul revolution?!
The 2 Bears is the duo of Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and Raf Rundell. Their new EP, Bear Hug, consists of 4 tracks, each with their own unique sound.
Bear Hug EP:
1. Take A Look Around - A minimal sounding track with a catchy chorus and melody, a very good sounding tune!
2. In My Brain Is Like A Computer (Telling Me What To Do) - This track sounds much more like an acid house tune from the early 90s, a repetitive beat and spoken vocals are complimented with handclaps and steel drums.
3. Bear Hug - The "famous" track from the EP, Bear Hug is probably my favourite of the 4 (with Take A Look Around a close second). The vocals are brilliant, the chicago house style bassline in the intro is brilliant, the whole track is brilliant!
4. Banger - This track is very experimental, taking different sounds from different genres and putting them into one song. I'm describing it like it's some sort of mess, but it really isn't.
Have a listen & see what you think, make sure to buy the EP off iTunes if it floats your boat!
London's Jeeks is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the idea of "funk". The emerging "UK funky" and "funk house" scenes usually sound nothing like what funk should sound like, it lacks the smoothness and swagger that the old school once had. Jeeks tries to emulate the vibe from the "good old days", with an experimental touch that updates his throwback style into the 21st Century.
My favourite track from the The Wombats' latest album, This Modern Glitch. "Techno Fan" has finally started to get the remixing recognition that I think it deserves. Although I don't usually rate Dutch House hero Afrojack, his remix of "Techno Fan" gives a much deeper house sound to what I have come to expect from him, and the way he uses Morph's vocals as part of the bridge that goes into the bassline is inspired.
Italo-discoers Fare Soldi have once again teamed up with Mothers of Charleston. This time, they've made a remix for M.o.C.'s "Taxi Driver". The tune fits into Fare Soldi's "happy go lucky" attitude, with a bassline that sounds like it's straight from a mid-90s dance club that reamins upbeat throughout. This track would make a great battle weapon for any disco DJ!
As the video title says, you can download the Fare Soldi remix as part of the whole Taxi Driver EP that has been given away for free by Mothers of Charleston along with the original and other remixes by Vektorkat, Stronger Louis and The Phantom's Revenge.
Lately there's been a distinct lack of amazing disco and funk sounding tunes on here... That's all about to change..
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Falcon Punch's tunes don't even try to be contempory. His style sounds like it's just come straight from the 80s, and "Where You'll Stay" is a perfect Summer tune that effectively samples Delegration - Darlin' (I Think About You), keeping the best aspects of the original and then improving the production and adding disco house drums.
Yuksek's new EP, "On A Train", contains material that symbolises the Frenchman's change from analogue electro to a more indie sound. Consisting of 3 original tracks, two remixes of the title track "On A Train" by The Magician and Gucci Vump as well as an acoustic cover of it by ALB, the EP is a well produced addition to Yuksek's diverse back catalogue.
MP3s:
1. On A Train (The Magician Remix) - Disco Disco favourite The Magician takes "On A Train" and adds his trademark repetitive piano rhythms to it, making it sound much more like a house track rather than Yuksek's unique indie-electro style.
2. On A Train - The title track sound more like the Yuksek of old, an analogue sounding bassline wrapped around conventional drums with a catchy hook line.
3. On A Train (Gucci Vump Remix) - The electro supergroup of The Shoes and Brodinski, or Gucci Vump as they are collectively known, put much more of an emphasis on their take on a DJ-friendly of the original, with a big build up leading into a more dancehall soundsing rhythm.
4. On A Train (ALB Cover) (youtube link, the mp3 wouldn't download..) - ALB is an electronic pop producer from Rhiems, France, and he provides the EP with a slow sounding acoustic version of "On A Train". Slow and soothing.
5. Dead Or Alive - A chilled out number that sounds much more like an indie pop record than a French electro one! Probably my favourite on the EP.
6. Mister Dangerous - Yuksek changes back into his alter-ego as an electro producer, using fierce, fuzzy bass and filter house synths.
Buy the whole EP in crystal clear 320kps on Beatport here.
SebastiAn has revealed another track from his eagerly anticipated new album, "Total". "Love in Motion" is a 70s funk throwback song that has been "SebastiAn-ed" by distorting the vocals and using punchy sounding drums and hand claps. It might not be the track that people will remember most from the album, but it's still rather cool!
Death From Above 1979 & MSTRKRFT's Jesse F. Keeler, or JFK as he his known, is the mastermind behind MSTRKRFT's hit single "Heartbreaker" (he wrote the lyrics and arrangemet) and one of my personal heroes. He's worked on some amazing remixes as part of his solo project, including a fantastic remix of Bloc Party's "Flux" (listen here).
His new solo track is a new take on German electro producers Beataucue, and their track "Wolves". Making it sound like an electro tune straight from the late 'Noughties', it still keeps things contempary by using varying drum patterns. It's been released for free, so just click the arrow on the right-hand side of the Soundcloud box to get your grubby mitts on it.
Teeside's Sonic Soul have really made a gem with this remix of Chromeo's "Hot Mess". It starts off all ambient, but that's just the tease as it then drops into a funk-filled disco bassline that could probably make the lame dance!
Japan's own Shinichi Osawa has teamed up with Tommie Sunshine to start the ball rolling on what will inevitably be a Summer full of happy music once the wather gets much nicer.
"Love Will Guide You" is a chilled out, analogue sounding track with playful synth lines and relaxed vocals (once they appear after 3 minutes of an amazing synth arrangement), and with a colourful and child-like video, it certainly does try to make you happy!
Bingo Players's new track "Cry (Just A Little)" follows the standard ingredients that are needed to create good dance music: a constant beat, a funky bassline, 80s style female vocals and the all important "hands in the air" moment. Despite this, the track sounds really fresh and original, using chopped-up vocal segments to make sure that it doesn't become too cheesy and mainstream. This is really, really good.
It's nice to know that despite the over-hyped and highly bankrolled drivel that seems to be making the charts these days labelling itself as "dance" music can still be made into something that is much more listenable..
It's always good to listen to songs you liked years ago again, even if it is just nostalgic. A simple search on the Hype Machine led me to this, a remix of one of the bands I listened to non-stop a couple of years ago, The Sex Pistols.
I listened to this remix, seeing the name "Drop Out Orchestra" and expecting an edgey orchestral version of one of my Pistols favourites, "Pretty Vacant", but in fact, it is an amazing disco rework. Reading this, you probably think that trashy 70s punk and funky disco don't go at all, but give it a listen, and you'll soon think otherwise!
The version they remixed is the re-recorded version the Pistols did for their appearance in Guitar Hero III, but Johnny Rotten still hasn't lost his sneer and delivery of their famous hit.
In the beginning there was Jack, and Jack had a groove
And from this groove came the grooves of all grooves.
And while one day viciously throwing down on his box,
Jack boldly declared "Let There Be House"
Ed Banger's Carte Blanche, the dream-team of DJ Mehdi and Riton, have made their own homage to Chuck Roberts' "My House" by using his iconic vocals to create the build up to a piano solo that has so much energy. Even though it should'nt have a rhythm to it, because it's so abstract, you can't help yourself from tapping along to it before the drums come in, and a potential underground hit is born.
Trying to keep the dirty electro scene en vogue after artists like The Bloody Beetroots and Grum abandoned it to create new styles for themselves, American electro producer Le Castle Vania has teamed up with Birmingham's Edit maestro Computer Club to remix one of my favourite songs ever: DJ Falcon & demi-God Thomas Bangalter (who, of course, is one half of French house legends Daft Punk)'s "Together".
Although I still think that the original is better (I'll stick a Youtube link in so you can decide for yourself), Le Castle Vania and Computer Club have beefed-up and distorted the bass a little bit, making the song more 21st Century.
Le Castle Vania released the track on his blog, along with this explanation of the intentions of the song:
"[The track] was originally something we just whipped up for fun with no intention of releasing it to the public but we’ve been getting harassed over it for a while now so we decided the time is right to let her loose! As you probably know me and Computer Club are a little more know for club bangers and more aggressive sounding tunes but on this one we tried to go for more of summer festival / beach party sort of vibe while keeping the uplifting feel of the original tune. Any way… enjoy!"
Amidst all the heavy basslines and pursuit of "club banger" status of new material by producers nowadays, especially those from across the pond in the US of A, it's always refreshing to hear a track that effortlessly works; without the inclusion of that predictable build up going into a mediocre drop, over-subsidised by a fuzzy mess of a bassline. With producers like, Siriusmo, you never know what you're going to get. One minute he remixes Breakbot using guitar riffs and strings, then he's releasing a remix of Boys Noize's "Kontact Me" using a dubstep sound. My favourite Siriusmo track is in the rich vein of effortlessness. "Signal" is a simple track using chimes and a harpsicord-style synth sound on top of a very simple and constant drum beat. Great to listen to at any hour of the day or night. The video's not bad either!
The Magician is the pseudonym of Belgian minimalist and ex-member of Aeroplane, Stephen Fasano. Like Aeroplane, their trademark minimal techno sound still remains, but under the guise of The Magician, Fasano is able to add 80s infused funky melodies and synths.
The first track Fasano produced under his new name was a remix of "I Follow Rivers" by Lykke Li. A Piano-led piece that focuses on the hook of one line of the original, and although it remains a minimal piece there is still energy within it. It's a track you can dance in a club or chill out on a beach too, so versatile is the sound.
The Magician's latest solo track is another remix; this time of 80's throwback band The Aikiu. "The Red Kiss" remix has been christened as a "Precious 80's Remix", and that's exactly what it is. Delicately handled synths take this song into space, and become a perfect subtle accompaniment to The Aikiu's powerful vocal style.
Finally, Fasano has teamed up with one of my favourite French indie-dance producers, Yuksek, to form the supergroup "Peter & The Magician". Although not much has been revealed about them, they have revealed a track to the world: "Twist". You can hear Yuksek's influences throughout, with the vocoded vocals and up-tempo and Yuksek-sounding drums; contrasted to the minimal melodies that are of typical Magician style. A project to look out for!
German dance-rockers Digitalism have finally released new material since the unveiling of "Blitz", which is now a while back. "2 Hearts" is a step away from the usual distortion and guitars emulating from their first album, Idealism, and includes a guitar-led intro. Although the presence of traditional "rock" instruments is the overriding feature of the song, if you listen carefully you can hear the bass-infused intro of old hit "Pogo", showing that the band are still very much connected to their old sound.
"2 Hearts" is a free download by the band which you can get by clicking on the arrow to the right of the Soundcloud box once you hit play, and it will feature on the band's up-coming album "I Love You Dude".
It's a given nowadays that any new songs by Breakbot will be amazing, and Ed Banger's funkster extraordinnaire has made a new track for the Ed Banger's "Bee Sides" LP. The track is called "Fantasy" and features MJ-esque vocals. Old skool and funky, it's literally impossible not to dance to this, even if it is just in your head.
Fun loving, gold jacket-wearing Italians Fare Soldi's new tune "Party Posse" featuring Mothers of Charleston is from their upcoming EP "Casotto". In typical Fare Soldi style, the track is fun and upbeat with funk and house elements to it without taking itself too seriously. It's definately worth a play!
As you probably know, this month marks the 50th anniversary of man's first venture into space. In 1961, Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed a full orbit of the Earth much to the dismay of the US.
What you probably didn't know is that Spanish producer Vostok-1, named after Gagarin's spacecraft, has produced a commemorative album marking the occasion. No, it isn't jingoistic Soviet orchestral music, it's funky, funky, filter house, accompanied by 80s-style synth lines and chopped-up vocals.
The album, named "Fifty Years In Space", is 12 tracks of unadulterated disco that make the Sun shine that little bit more.
Madeon is 16 years old. 16. Yet he produces music like he's been in the business for years; with sophisticated breakdowns and build-ups, with a busy array of off-beat bass slaps and strings and a sophisticated ear for disco music, especially in his remix of French sensation Yelle.
After their success with "Loving Someone Else", Welsh duo VanGuard have released their new track, "Morning Light", for free. It's a superb 80s inspired Summer tune that makes you feel like you're in GTA Vice City!
Summer's knocking on the door and that usually means one thing - guitar based productions. It looks like this year French analogue producer Yuksek is leading the line against a Gaga/Perry filled Summer with a nicely produced remix of Oh Land's "Sun Of A Gun". Maybe it's time to start getting that "Ray Ban Vision" and catch some UVs...
Duck Sauce duo A-Trak and Armand Van Helden return after their success with "Barbra Streisand", a re-vamp of Boney M's "Gotta Go Home", with another cover version of a song from the disco era. The Sauce are back with a modern take on KC & The Sunshine Band's iconic disco hit "That's The Way I Like It", upping the tempo and adding a more club-friendly use of drums and also a traditional Duck Sauce repetitive-yet-funky bassline. Maybe we should brace ourselves for a Duck Sauce album?
Well-spoken rapper Scroobius Pip takes MIA's "club hit" "Paper Planes" and bootlegs it with the original beat MIA sampled for her track as an homage to the late Joe Strummer, lead singer of legendary punk band The Clash, as it was their song "Straight To Hell" that gave MIA the beat to work with. It's quite right too, as "Straight To Hell" is a much better song than "Paper Planes", and in Pip's own lyrics to "Thou Shalt Always Kill", "thou shalt not take the name... of Joe Strummer in vain".
"But for me I've got to say, it's always bittersweet, as I get all excited for that "Straight To Hell" beat, this ain't a diss to MIA, I respect her and I love her, but it's high time these kids were steppin' to Joe Strummer"
The Clash - Straight To Hell
Electronic legend Etienne de Crecy's single "No Brain" is one of the tracks on his new "Beats & Cubes Vol.1" EP (a theme that runs into the very trippy video to the song). The dark vocoded refrain of "No Brain" is accompanied by a synth-led array of arpeggios that brings out that dubstep screwface you put away when dubstep became the mess of out-of-time remixes made by people that insist on being called names like "DJ BaSsHeAd" and the like.
The Alex Gopher & Pierrick Devin Remix takes much more of a Filter House approach to the track, and it's just as good if not better than the original.
