Howard You Like It

Classixx established themselves (arguably) as the sound of Summer '09 a while back, by releasing a whole bag of awesome mixes of stuff and making the blogging world wet themselves collectively in excitement. A few month' back, a video of their single(?) 'I'll Get You' sprang up on youtube, Radio 1 got all excited about it, so did I, and since then I've been waiting to grab a decent copy of the track. Which I now have. Aeroplane played it when I saw them on Saturday and pretty much made my day, despite all the rain and ketted-up nutters. The chorus of the song, for those who don't know it, goes 'Do you like bass, do you, do you like bass?' which I think should pretty much sell it to any doubters.

Listening to Classixx has put me in a pretty chilled type of mood, which probably explains why I chose the next song. The Time And Space Machine remix of Bastila's 'Ghosts' sound like a track that has been custom-made for a MoS 'Chillout' compilation. The guitars are heavily reverbed, trebley and wah-wahed up to the hilt, giving them a very relaxed, floaty feel. Signal Hill-esque, but with some sampled old-school hip hop drums and a deep, funky bassline thrown over the top to give it a nice bit of rhythm. A good one for watching the sunset.

Next up is a Lifelike remix, courtesy of Hyperbole. So far I've heard 3 different mixes of Killa Kela's 'Everyday', and I reckon Lifelike's is the best of the three. He basically takes the insanely catchy chorus on the original, turns it up, and loops it for the best part of six minutes. In a good way - kind of like his 'Cross The Dancefloor' remix. It sounds epic, very summery, and good for dancing or barbequing. Obviously that sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but I think it just depends how loud you play it. Probably the best remix I've heard from Lifelike in a long time, but well worth the wait.

Last, but definitely not least, is another one from my new favourites Y A L L. Following up on my last post, I've been searching everywhere for some more tunes from these guys' back catalogue. Their remix of the classic 'At Night' is the pick of the bunch, just edging their La Roux edit off the top spot. Massive kicks and snares, fuzzy sub bass snippets, and (standard) party synth stabs make up a very powerful track - think Sidechains, Grum, etc. A must-have for the electro rave-up animals.

Classixx - I'll Get You (Feat. Jeppe) Buy
Bastila - Ghosts (The Time And Space Machine 'Summer of Love' Remix) RCRD LBL
Killa Kela - Everyday (Lifelike Remix) Myspace
Shakedown - At Night (Y A L L Mix) Web

Brown Noise

So I was listening to 'Rock the Casbah' on youtube this morning and I happened to skim through the comments bit underneath the vid, which is where I came across this:

"yeah buddy i listen to fucking music that would make any high school preppy guido bitch shit her pants. sorry i dont have a narrow mind when it comes to music"

And it gave me epic lulz + wtfs.

But it also made me think. Not in a deep way like 'why are some people so stupid and hateful that they find themselves needing to post those comments oh the woes of the world and the youth of today ...etc', but in a 'lol imagine if a tune could make you shit your pants' kind of way. Now obviously there is the mythical 'Brown Note':

The brown note is an infrasound frequency that is said to cause humans to lose control of their bowels due to resonance.

But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking more about tunes that are so frucking banging they might actually cause you to shit yourself in pure joy. I mean, I've been in clubs where the bassline has been so deep I felt like I might just go right there on the dancefloor, but I've never actually done it.

Maybe one day I will.*

Until then, I'll make do with listening to bangers. These tracks (probably) won't induce bowel-loosening euphoria, but they are pretty sick. First up is the Sidechains remix of Booty Luv's 'Say It'. I've already posted Diamond Cut's take on this song, but the Sidechains mix is a bit lighter and more club friendly (synths, funky bassline, fade outs etc). Its the kind of song that has earned them their place on the bill at Ibiza, and is worth a listen. Those who like it a bit more hardcore and bassy should check out Nero's pretty stellar remix instead. Bufi's 'Homeless Hero' sounds almost exactly the same as Bag Raider's 'Fun Punch' to me, but that is no bad thing. Any fans of Fun Punch or BR should probably check it out. As for Moonbootica, yes, their name is ridiculous and takes far too long to say, but their music is pretty sharp. Very sharp, some would say. Anyway, Freeland is obviously a fan, because Moonbootica got drafted in to remix the new single 'Do You'. Joker and High Rankin were given the same honour, and their remixes are full of dubsteppy goodness, but I've gone for Moonbootica's mix instead. This is mainly because I like them, but their version is pretty good - full of grinding distorted-guitar type synths and a nice bassline stab that promotes headnodding in a big way.

As for Classixx, they probably need no introduction. Cold Act Ill is a tune they released a while back (which is my way of saying I have no idea when) and has had a fair bit of attention from blogs - including Gottadancedirty, which is where I got it from. It is very very awesome and very euphoric - huge beat, great vocal sampling, big, smooth, clubby synth chords ... like a mix between Justice, Fred Falke, Moulinex and Deadmau5. Hopefully thats enough name drops to make everyone download it, and to make everyone so confused that they'll have no idea what it should sound like, letting me get away with that terrible, terrible description.
If any of these tunes make you shit your pants, it'll be this one.

Booty Luv - Say It (Sidechains Remix) BuySC
Bufi - Homeless Hero Buy
Freeland - Do You (Moonbootica Remix) Buy
Classixx - Cold Act Ill (Extended Mix) Buy


*Lol?

Summer's High Heights

That horse is well up for scuba diving.

French three-piece Pony Pony Run Run might also like scuba diving, but that is irrelevant. What is relevant is their happy summer sound, and their incredibly catchy new single 'Hey You' in particular. I can't really put my finger on exactly what it is about this track that makes me like it so much - it could be the nonsense lyrics, it could be the fairly straightforward dance-type beat, it could be the mellow, rising synths, it could be...
Well, all those things. I'll just say that it's the song as a whole that inspires me. Although it might also just be the way he says 'aaye you' on the chorus. Anyway, listen to it. And watch the video.

Before I started listening to 'Hey You', I spent most of the week listening to the new Classixx tune - 'I'll Get You' - which is pretty much certain to be one of the tracks of the summer. You can catch a preview of that here. Anyway, the amazingness of that particular song prompted a bit of Classixx searchmania, and I cropped up (amongst a lot of good stuff) with their remix of Shiny Toy Guns' 'Starts With One' (thanks to Ohh Crapp). The mix is pretty epic, and I especially like what they've done with the vocals - nice bit of mildly distorted reverb and some good cutting. Apart from that, the synth is huge and fuzzy and there are enough changes and chops to keep it interesting. Banging club tune.

Three words that I wouldn't shy away from applying to my last song.

Because Pilotpriest's remix of Lioness is also a banging club tune (see?), though it starts off in the guise of a smooth electro ballad. The first 4 minutes are super chilled, laced with shiny stabs and a funky bass riff, and the chilled softness of those minutes doesn't really prepare you for what happens after, when it gets all bangeriffic and intense. The last three minutes sound like a sudden'Waters of Nazareth' takeover, a kind of Boyz Noize meets Bag Raiders remix that is... uhh... bangeriffic and intense. Worth a listen.

The Weekend is here!

Pony Pony Run Run - Hey You Buy
Shiny Toy Guns - Starts With One (Classixx Remix) Buy
Lioness - You're My Heart (Pilotpriest Remix) Buy