Frozen

(I'm finally back in blogging action after a week which has pretty much destroyed me, but I haven't slept properly for the last three days so you'll have to forgive me if this post is a little bit disjointed. And I've been sitting on these tracks for a while now, meaning that everyone else has posted them long ago, but I refuse to let that phase me.)

First up, continuing the summer-sound theme that I've been pushing so hard, are the 80kidz. Or more specifically, 'Miss Mars' by the 80kidz. I've posted about these Japanese wonder boys before, but this track goes one better for me. I got their album a while ago, and its very sharp - quite hardcore for the most part (distortion, high tempo, fidgety bits). It's also very purchasable and very previewable, courtesy of itunes and their myspace respectively. 'Miss Mars' is a bit different from the majority of their album, but it's probably my favourite. The synth on it sounds like an electric guitar/video game hybrid, and the classic little electric piano bit underneath is... um...classic. Overall, it bubbles along at a nice little pace, and it sounds very sunny. Recommended.

Speaking of bubbles, the next track is 'Champagne' by Allure, another electro-pop hero from Paris. Around 2:42 is the highlight of the song, and I won't spoil it for you, but basically he throughs in some champagne SFX (sorry, it sounds awesome though!). Overall it's a pretty chilled production, with a nice snare/clap drum pattern that gives it a bit of a funk, and some lovely phaser action. All laid over the top of some very cool synthed-up riffs.

Moving on from those two gems, my love affair with all things GRUM continues. This time, Mr Calling in Sick from Australia (another good electro breeding ground) lends his flavour to 'Runaway'. I don't really know how to describe this song, other than to say that it couldn't be any better and it is huge. Pretty much what you would expect from such an awesome collaboration. Great clubby piano bit, awesome game-boy/Danger-style synth, epic vocals, thumping drums... it's a classic.

Obviously, it's going to be hard to top such an enthusiastic plug. So I won't try. But the next track is still worth some attention, and some positive adjectives.

Galactik Knights are a duo (I believe) out of Japan, France, United States. Which just goes to show that Myspace can be a very unhelpful resource some times. Ho hum. Whatever, or whoever, they are, they make banging music. Their remix of T-Pain's 'Freeze' (which they are giving away FREE on their myspace, with various other remixes) is very cool. It still has that pop-R'n'B flavour, which I actually quite like, but with all kinds of electro-house bits and bobs over the top that make it trendy and alternative. So it's OK to listen to it. They've kept the vocals pretty much intact - I guess there was enough vocoder over the top already - but they've souped up the synth bits and given the drums a bit more punch. They've also taken off that horrible whiny saw-sounding bit from the original chorus. Overall, its a lot more danceable, and the sound is a lot bigger. Highly recommended for anyone who like the original, or who doesn't like the original and wishes it was a whole let better.

Also, I got sent a track about a week ago that is absolutely banging. But i'll post it tomorrow because I'm too lazy to do it now. Have a good day.

80kidz - Miss Mars (Myspace Preview)* Buy
GRUM - Runaway (Calling In Sick Remix) Buy Grum Myspace
Allure - Champagne Myspace!
T-Pain feat. Chris Brown - Freeze (Galactik Knights Remix) Myspace!**

*Original link removed. Sorry!
**Download link on their myspace, along with some other cool shit.