Surkinly Hot

It's a bright and glorious day in London. The April sunshine woke me up this morning with a big stick and said, 'It's April, Fool!'. And then it forced me to play Surkin's remix of 'One Day'. Basically, if a video was ever made for this song, it would feature people having a BBQ on the beach and drinking some deliciously intoxicating beverages. Like all Surkin's tunes, it has that bouncy vibe to it (accompanied by some straightforward piano chords and awesome string snippets on this particular song, and an awesomely summerish vocal work) which forces you to jump up and down in your seat. As well as reminding you how gay it is that you're in a seat, and not in Ibiza. Or some such party island. In truth, it's my favourite Surkin effort of recent times, reaching the level of 'Chrome Knight' and 'Next of Kin' in the way that some of his other stuff... hasn't. That sentence petered out towards the end. Anyway, download it.

Moving on. How about Kokuz, aye? Or This Is Kokuz to give them their full title. I am eternally grateful to that mysterious masked blogger, Pelski, for posting about this particular duo. They sound a little bit like a faster paced, more aggressive Surkin, although completely different, obviously. Scrap that. Their remix of 'Float My Boat' sounds like something of an Ibiza Annual. Very catchy, quite simple, but with some cool thrills and spills and breakdowns that make it pretty awesome. Their remix of 'Get Off' isn't much different, but you need to be able to feel the bass - tinny speakers won't do the track any kind of justice. Think Fake Blood vs. Aston Shuffle and you're probably on the right lines. Could be huge.

I've posted about Rogues before, but god damn it if I won't just post about them again. Or rather, about Wire and Example's remix of them. It's one that most people will have heard, but well worth another post because:
A) Example is awesome, I saw him last year and he's genuinely a good performer, unlike some rappers I could mention. (You know who you are, you b*stards).
B) This tune is awesome. The dubstep scene is going from strength to strength at the moment, and this particular gem is an absolute banger that sums up everything that's good about the scene. They've chucked out the original vocals for the most part, but when they do feature they have an eerie, wailing feel to them that suits the dark atmosphere of the track perfectly. Aside from that, the new vocals are pretty cool, but the emphasis is on the heavy bass, and a very powerful kick drum and snare - sounds a lot like 'Sensi Samurai', slightly simplified and perhaps more powerful for that.

I like it a lot.

The Juan MacLean - One Day (Surkin Remix) Buy
Sharooz - Get Off (Kokuz Re-Chop) Buy
Rogues - Not So Pretty (Wire & Example Remix) Buy

Indiecision

Marina and the Diamonds is great. I first heard 'Obsessions' a few weeks back and thought 'awesome'. Then 'Mowgli's Road' turned up in my inbox and I thought the same thought again, with a vengeance. The other two tracks on her myspace are equally good. Turns out she's signed to the same label as Passion Pit, so that might give you an idea of the popular, sing-along quality of her music - although she is much less electronic and can sing a whole lot better. I'm sure she'll be huge. Check out electrorash for a bit more info... and for tuneage.

But as for who I think should be huge: Malajube! I've posted about them before, but suddenly realised just now (during a Marina and the Diamonds inspired indie-listening phase) that my personal favourite of theirs, 'Dragon de Glace', has yet to grace my page. A terrible oversight. The song starts beautifully, with a simple but gorgeous bit of acoustic guitar work, and then the breathy french vocals come in, rubbing the beauty of their language in my english face. The build at the end is also incredible, and well worth waiting for.

I got Fanfarlo's album recently, and while it's not particularly outstanding, it is pretty solid all the way through. 'Fire Escape' (below) and 'I'm A Pilot' are the most attention grabbing tracks. They've got a pretty cheerful sound, kept from overt popishness by occasional trumpet solos, and by a slightly melanchonic singer (in terms of sound, not necessarily lyrics). Employing a similar kind of upbeat, head-nodding drum pattern is the Pains of Being Pure at Heart song 'A Teenager in Love'. In fact, both bands sound vaguely similar, although Pains are a bit more melodic and acoustic in general.

In fact, they're not that similar when you get right down to it. Because if you're getting down to it, why would you be mentally comparing bands?

Aha, aha...

Finishing up are the Rogues, already remixed by Feed Me - which has pretty much sold them to me - who are probably the most obviously 'indie'. 'Not So Pretty' is almost impossible not to sing along to, and has a nice little riffy guitar bit and some solid, danceable drumming.

My next post will probably be a bit more electro and dubsteppy (I don't know if anyone's got the Primecuts remix of 'Hit That Gash', but it's huge), but I was feeling in a pretty indie/alternative mood after listening to those new Phoenix and Doves singles for an entire day - can't wait for the respective albums. Anyway, enjoy. Four decent songs from four decent bands.

Malajube - Dragon de Glace Buy
Fanfarlo - Fire Escape Buy
The Pains Of Being Pure at Heart - A Teenager in Love Buy
Rogues - Not So Pretty Buy


Just realised my 'Feed Me' post got pulled. Twice I think. Maybe third time lucky?

Rogues - Not So Pretty (Feed Me Remix) Buy

Speaking of posts being pulled, my 'Power to The People' post was also removed. Sigh. Another casualty with that cruel mistress that is the Blogger hegemony. Of the tracks that were on there, Mansion - 'Body' and the Jimmy2sox remix of 'We Are The People' are the ones worth looking up.