Villainous Riots Broke One's Lips

I noticed the Villains recent remix of Lykke Li is top of Hype Machine today. Which isn't particularly surprising, considering the two names involved on the track, and the awesomeness of the track itself. But seeing the 'Little Bit' remix reminded me of another gem - the Villains distortion heavy power remix of 'Ares'. I'm fond of this song mostly because of the way they've sampled Kele Okereke ... his occasional plea for the audience to 'get fucked up' is pretty cool, and the chopping and slicing off the vocals over the whole track is artfully done. The Villains give it a tempo and force that suit the lyrics perfectly, and the original track (which was maybe one of the worst on Intimacy - too much of an Art Brut copy in places) pales in comparison to the remix. Out with the snare rolls, in with the pounding rave drums.

Another amazing remix team of some renown are the duo LA Riots. I'm a bit of a fan of chopping and cutting vocals (can you tell?), and although the 'Ares' remix has a fair bit, LA Riots offer a bit of a masterclass in it on their remix of 'Love & War'. In fact, the whole remix is something of a masterclass, and is my favourite from them, just topping their mixes of 'Switchblade' and 'Trouble in Daylight'. They manage to combine quite trebley, almost R&Bish, vocals and sparkly piano bits with distorted siren-sounding synths, a grinding electro melody and a funked-up, but fairly heavy, clubby drum pattern. Overall its a recipe for success, and all condensed into about 3 minutes so you don't get bored. They just walk up, punch you in the ear, and walk off.

(LA Riots and Villains actually teamed up a while ago to do a remix of Hot Chip which is fairly good, but not as class as their individual stuff. )

These last two songs won't be news to anyone who's particularly clued up on the blog circuit, but they're still worth posting because ... because I really like them. So nyah.

First up - Broke One's partyriffic remix of 'Exterior'. Anyone who's a fan of Justice or Breakbot/Pnau, and would like to see what their children would sound like, should probably check out this one. It starts off all mellow electric piano chords and hand claps, and then brings in a tasty bit of robo-voice action. After that some distinctly Cross sounding strings and a bit of a crunchy electro synth, thats a bit like a (very) watered down version of 'Waters of Nazareth', join the party. All together, they make a lovely blend of hard and soft electro sounds, and the track moves along at quite a gentle (can I say this?) groove pace. I like it. His remix of Elke's 'Blue Dream Lover' has a similiar style to it - quite funky and chilled. (The end of that mix has a great little 80's sounding solo on it, just before the last chorus).

Chew Lips were on BBC6 Music the other day, which makes me think they must be the new big thing. But what makes me care about their new status is the fact that they've been remixed by Tepr, whose incredible mix of 'Ce Jeu' I posted a while back (mentioning that - Tepr is actually part of Yelle's band, I think). His take on 'Solo' goes in a slightly different direction. It's still pretty housey, but more Fakebeat/Popof-ish than Chris Lake or Deadmau5-ish. Those comparisons are possibly (probably) terrible. Either way, it's an awesome song. To be fair, the original is fairly good, but Tepr manages to bulk it up and give it a bit more presence, dancefloor-wise.

Actually, I've listened to the original all the way through and decided I really like that as well.

Just to round off, I wanted to mention Redial, who I posted about a while back. Blogger, in their infinite wisdom, took exception to that particular post and have since removed it for 'offences'. Of what kind, I couldn't say, but they possibly pertain to my single-handed and wanton destruction of the music industry by virtue of reckless promotions and reviews. Sad times.
Anyway, a friend of mine introduced me to Redial a few weeks ago, and now I recommend him to you. He is awesome, and anyone who is a fan of Danger or Designer Drugs, as I am, should probably go to his myspace right now.

Bloc Party - Ares (Villains Remix) Buy Villains
Photek - Love & War (LA Riots Remix) Buy
The Nerd Follia - Exterior (Broke One Remix) Buy Broke One
Chew Lips - Solo (Tepr Remix) Buy

Wild Things

New post on the way soon, but for now:



Looks amazing! I've been searching my shelves for that book for ages. Great idea to use the Arcade Fire song as well. Congratz to whoever picked that. A nice bit of epic Alt-rock, but with that touching twang lent to it by the lyrics that suits it perfectly to the film. The change to the more upbeat/intense section is awesome as well, very child-like (I almost said 'childish' there, but that would probably be a bit of a disservice.)

I've been listening to Funeral all day.

Arcade Fire - Wake Up Buy

Dream On

I walked home tonight, and all I could smell on the way back was delicious barbecue smokiness, which tells me - ignoring the calender - that it is officially summer.

There are a few songs that say summer to me almost instantly - 'Love Shy', 'Summer Jam', 'Long Hot Summer'... all the obvious ones. But I've recently gone through a spate of unearthing equally sunny pop gems from my happily mainstream-oriented youth.

Leading the pack, is The Wannadies classic 'You And Me Song', which just managed to top 'Dancing In The Moonlight' when I was deciding what to post. I'm still quite surprised that a band with such a depressing name could have produced such a happy song, but I'm certainly not dissapointed. Declarations of ever-lasting love are very summer, as are epic, crashing, uptempo choruses - especially preceeded by quite mellow verses. The You And Me Song meets all those requirements, and rounds the whole thing off with a little electric drum pattern, which sounds like its been through a million compressers and bitcrushers. Awesome. In a formulaic, poppy kind of way.

'Don't Fight It' - from The Panics - is less generally positive, but when the horns and the drums drop at the same time it becomes almost heroic, and has just enough of that summer vibe. The ending is particularly nice, with the vocals becoming almost R&B'ish and very melodic. Overall the song is a fairly average indie-rock number, but there's just enough of a wait between the incredible bits to make them seem even better when they come - it's catchy, laid-back and well produced.

Tahiti 80 are about as French and as 90's as it's possible for any indie/pop band to be. Most of their songs sound like a condensed form of almost gay happiness, delivered by an emphasis on trebley guitar bits and simple, regular drum patterns, overlayed at times by slightly more distorted guitars and cheerful, staccato, piano chords. Once again, these guys aren't incredibly musically talented - the guitarist is no Erik Mongrain - but they have a style which is difficult to dislike. 'Dream On' sums it up.

From Monument To Masses are a different kettle of fish, and 'Defeaning' isn't quite a summer song, although the guitar is quite reverbed and jazzy at times.

In reality, though, it's not actually summer anyway, so I guess that's OK.

The track starts off almost like an Aeroplane song, with DJ Shadow on the drums (I've already made it sound too good, I think, but I'll push on), and becomes progressively more and more rocky towards the end. It ends up almost like grunge, actually, but up till that point the song's fairly chilled so don't be put off. The guitar at the beginning is pretty special, very Lemon Jelly sounding (as is the initial drop), and it's a pretty cool song overall - nice and experimental.

The Wannadies - You And Me Song Buy
The Panics - Don't Fight It Buy
Tahiti 80 - Dream On Buy
From Monument To Masses - Defeaning Buy

Midnight

Need something to help you sleep?

One man getting a lot of press recently is Deadmau5 - due mostly to his much publicized remix of 'I'm Not Alone', which is fairly good, but not one of his best. If anyone's interested, look up his vocal remix of 'I Remember', or the more bangerific and popular 'Ghosts 'N' Stuff', for a proper taste. They are probably my two personal favourites.

However, sometimes even listening to those bad boys is too much effort, and only synth-addled, highly-reverbed piano can send me off into that euphoric state of music induced drowsiness that I love so much.

This particular remix provides the above in pretty much ideal quantities.

Night.

Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar (Deadmau5 Remix)* Buy

*The new link should let you preview the track before you download. I was going to embed a player but... it proved to be a bother; have to make do with this for the time being :-(.

Filthy Dukes Nonsense

My last post was quite lazily brief, mainly because I was caught up in all the excitement of that incredible new Phoenix album. Recently though, I've begun to tire off listening to their marvellous brand of French indie on repeat, and I've moved on to pastures new for the time being. I got my hands on Nonsense In The Dark - the new Filthy Dukes album - the other day, and it's definitely my favourite electro/club record of the year so far. Fist of God was good, but a bit too hip-hop oriented for my liking; FD manage to get the balance right where MSTRKRFT couldn't.

The album starts with that over-played single of recent weeks, 'This Rhythm', which is a fairly solid place to start, but it then progresses on to one of the highlights of the album almost immediately - 'Elevator' - which has some of the best vocal work on the whole LP. It's a nice kind of electro-indie jam, with a weird ethereal vibe. Definitely a new favourite of mine. 'What Happens Next' comes in after that, another quality track, bringing a nice bit of happy bounciness. The vocals start off slightly whiny, but the chorus has got a cool sing-a-long style to it which is instantly appealing. 'Tupac Robot Club Rock', which comes midway through the album, is EPIC. Although I think I still prefer their own remix version of it.

As a whole, it's a pretty solid debut (I only gave one track less than 4 stars, but that might just be because I love FD), and it ranges nicely from club bangers - to use a Westwoodism - to bouncy indie and electro: sometimes on the same song. There's also a nice handful of instrumental tracks, like 'Twenty Six Hundred', which comes across as fairly soft electro compared to some of their stuff, but still has a nice drive to it, and 'Somewhere At Sea', which is a beautifully chilled out piano-ballad type song.

Overall, it's well worth getting - Filthy Dukes are doing a lot for the London Electro scene.

Filthy Dukes - What Happens Next Buy
Filthy Dukes - Tupac Robot Club Rock Buy

PHOENIX

YES! I HAVE THE NEW ALBUM. HOORAY FOR ME. HOORAY FOR PHOENIX!

It's awesome.

Phoenix - 1901 (Immuzikation Remix)

Dubble Helping

I've just hit a massive backlog of work that should keep me occupied for the next two months or so, but I'll endeavour to keep the blog going just to remind people I'm still alive.

A quick couple of dub/dubstep tracks for today then (hence the clever pun in the post title). First up... The Widdler is someone I came across recently on the Data Sapiens blog, and his track 'Sensi Samurai' is the first thing I've listened to every morning since Saturday. (It actually gave me a slight headache this morning, but in a good way. Because it is immense.) Like all the best songs, it samples a martial arts film (a la the mighty Wu Tang Clan), and uses it to fuel a track that feels like a full-frontal ninja beatdown. Atmospherically, it's sinister and spooky, and very japanese. And if you turn it up high enough, that atmosphere is filled with a huge bass sound which takes it to intense new levels. It's almost High Rankinish, but slightly less demonic.

As for my second song of the day (night, really): it's experimental, if nothing else. The other day, I randomly came across a group called Jah Wobble and The Chinese Dub Orchestra, who are all about fusing traditional Eastern and oriental sounds with modern Western influences and dub/dubstep. In many ways, 'L1' parallels 'Sensi Samurai' in terms of concept, although the execution is less club-oriented. The actual result is fairly good, mostly because I've always had an abiding affection for Japanese sounds (some of the electro coming from Japan at the moment is awesome), but also because of the drums - which seem fairly DJ Shadow inspired, and which set the track off nicely and give it enough pace and variety to keep it interesting. Worth a listen, although most of their stuff is less successful - the concept becomes a little exhausted and forced at times.

The Widdler - Sensi Samurai Buy
Jah Wobble and The Chinese Dub Orchestra - L1 Buy

Take It Easy

Ok, so first up today is a personal friend of mine - Nottingham-based, Devonshire-born student Mr. Tom Dove. I don't want to say too much about him, because I'll probably struggle, even more than usual, not to be overtly hyperbolic. But basically...Tom's awesome. He's just put together a new demo, setting himself up as an independent singer-songwriter in the mould of Damien Rice or Bon Iver -although he doesn't sound particularly similar to either. In fact, comparisons are hard to make... maybe Matthew Gair mixed with Andy McKee? Plus a bit of Damien Rice thrown in?

Who knows...

Anyway, I have (completely without his permission), uploaded the three songs he's recorded so far - links below. 'Phone Calls' starts beautifully - the guitar part is probably my favourite off the EP (although the ending to Ariel is particularly nice) - and although the lyrics get a little bit twee in parts, Tom sings with enough conviction to carry them off most of the time. Like all the tracks, it's worth waiting till the end of it, when he really starts to build and get strumming like a beast. The end of the chorus to 'Last Orders' is awesome - the way it drops back into the verse is a nice touch, and really brings out the guitar. 'Ariel' is slightly softer (not that any of the songs are aggressive as such) and around 2:20 it hits possibly the highest point of the EP - jump to that if you're not convinced by anything else.

And if you are convinced, Tom'll probably be playing open mics and so on around Nottingham so get down there and show some support, or give him some Myspace hugs and kisses.

I mentioned in my last post that I went to see Gaslight Anthem the other night. Before the gig, I had only heard their second album, which gave me a slightly warped perspective on them - good as it is. Happily, I've managed to get my hands on the first album since then, and I thought it might be good form to post one of the softer acoustic tracks off it, partly because it sounded particularly good live and partly because it means this post has a well-formed running 'acoustic' theme. Hooray. 'The Navasink Banks' should give you an idea of their versitility, and while it's fairly average as far as such songs go, its got some lovely atmospheric electric bits over the top which make it stand out for me a bit.

Gaslight are a punk band who occasionally go a bit soft (which I love), and the same could probably be said of heavy metal group Dream Theater. Obviously the fact that I just called them heavy metal will put off most people, but 'Hollow Years' is probably closer to Coldplay than Judas Priest. (Although when I say that, I'm definitely not comparing them to either band, just illustrating a point.) To be succint: the guitar is quite nice -with a bit of a Spanish vibe - the drums are chilled and not overbearing, but his voice isn't the strongest... Altogether the song is pretty easy listening and shows a nice variety of style from a metal outfit. Skip to about 3:30 in to hear the best of it.

And finally, 'Little Baby Pines' by SUNBEARS! - whose album is called Dream Happy Dreams. A great album title, which pretty much sums them up for me. They sound kind of like a cross between Phoenix and Death Cab For Cutie - happy but fairly quiet. Dreamy, I suppose. Little Baby Pines is one of my favourite songs of the moment, and has been all the better for the few rays of sun we've been getting this week in England. Of the last three tracks I'm posting, it's the one I'd most highly recommend - as I would their album.

Cheers.

Tom Dove - Ariel
Tom Dove - Phone Calls
Tom Dove - Last Orders Myspace

The Gaslight Anthem - The Navasink Banks Buy
Dream Theater - Hollow Years Buy
SUNBEARS! - Little Baby Pines Buy

Drop, Listen, Bounce

I saw Frank Turner and The Gaslight Anthem last night, and they were both incredible. So much so that they seem to have satisfied my hunger for punk/rock/indie music temporarily, and pushed me back towards pulsating electronica again. Which is probably a good thing.

First up, then, some cracking stuff from Etienne dé Crecy. Namely, the first tune of his Myspace: 'Welcome'. To be honest, the main reason I liked this tune originally is because it starts off with that incredibly threatening alarm, sampled from Goldeneye (I think). But the song eventually builds up to a point, about 4:30 in, where it turns into an incredible, fierce, driving piece of french electro. Without wanting to scare anyone off, it sounds like ideal music for a brutal and aggressive murder - aside from a particularly cool dance breakdown in the middle.

Next is my second favourite tune of recent weeks - George Lenton's remix of 'Weekend Wars'. MGMT are best known for their catchy electro-pop-indie hybrid awesomeness, but Lenton manages to turn them into something altogether more sinister (in a good way). His remix is a powerful piece of dubstep madness: all heavy bass and slow, epic drums. Sort of like Skream's mix of La Roux but with a lot more going on (although I'm not suggesting it's better). The vocals are made a lot more haunting and interesting, and there's still enough of the original track to remind you what a banging remix it is.

Speaking of banging (in both senses of the word, when you consider the song title), I want to talk about my recent favourite: Primecuts' remix of 'Hit That Gash'. Because it is amazing. Now I obviously say that pretty frequently, but this time I feel justified. The first beat of the song is like a sonic boom, and it stays at the same level throughout. Play it loud. (Big shout to Pelski for posting it).

And last, but not least, is 'Bounce Up', off Kyle Watson's Fresh & Bouncy EP. Watson's sound is like a combo of funky house, techno and dubstep, and it gives you pretty much whats promised in the EP's title - bounce. The lead track sounds a bit like something by Dubbel Dutch or, maybe more accurately, Fakebeat - but with a thumping rhythm and some slightly more polished production. 'Right Now' - off the same EP - is slightly more tech house, and gets more laid back towards the end, but is equally funky and worth getting hold of.

Enjoy.

Etienne dé Crecy - Welcome Myspace
MGMT - Weekend Wars (George Lenton Remix) Myspace
Foreign Beggars - Hit That Gash (DJ Primecuts Re-Rub) Buy
Kyle Watson - Bounce Up Buy

No Joke

I've posted about Joker before on this blog, although that post is now lost to the annals of history, and I have ignored him since. However, thanks in chief to the ever-reliable Pelski, he now makes a dramatic return. 'Stuck in the System' pretty much defines epicness for me. It's huge - the snare is as crisp and punchy as you could want, and the bass is so grimy and modulating it scares me. On top of it all, Joker throws on some classic strings, horns and weird synthy sci-fi bits and pieces which take the track to another level. A level of incredibleness.

Who needs vocals?

I realise that sounds like me being my usual hyperbolic self, but it's definitely an essential tune for anyone who likes dubstep, hip-hop, or electro. And speaking of electro, I was browsing Myspace music the other day and came across a Swedish/Japanese electro kid called Fujasaki. Most of the tunes on his myspace are fairly good, but his Cruise Control verison of 'What I Look Like' particularly caught my attention. Now, I'll confess that I have no idea what the phrase cruise control has to do with anything, but it definitely means good things. The tune has a pretty classic Bag Raiders' type vibe, using the same kind of piano sounds and biting synths, with a few good tempo changes and builds. I've had it on repeat for at least three days. So it must be quite good.

During the same myspace trawl, I came across DJ Falcon, whom i confess I should probably already have heard of. But whatever, I got there in the end. Anyone who likes standard house (I'm thinking Armand Van Helden, Eric Prydz, maybe Louis La Roche) will probably like his take on the classic 'So Much Love To Give' (it doesn't sound all that much different at all really), which features Daft Punk's Bangalter. It gets a little repetitive, quite possibly a lot repetitive in some peoples eyes, but its pretty standard rave material: piano refrains, heavily reverbed breakdown sections, long bass notes and a crotch-thrusting drumbeat. Worth a listen for anyone who calls themself a 'clubber', or who secretly thinks they might be one.

Finally, I came across 'Emergency Broadcast System', who are intesely difficult to google but are worth the effort of looking up if you're into atmospheric, dark intensity followed by pacey beats. EBS are Rob Dougan-ish, but with a less classical, more straightforward electronic vibe. They're essentially what he would be if he was a Romanian vampire who enjoyed trips to the beach. At night. Good soundtrack stuff, with a slightly hallucinogenic feel.

Joker - Stuck In The System Buy
Fujasaki - What I Look Like (Cruise Control version) Buy Website
DJ Falcon - So Much Love To Give (Feat. Bangalter) Myspace
Emergency Broadcast System - Wolfdrone Buy