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

Flash

I've been on holiday, which is my excuse for the short sabbatical. But now I'm back, with an ipod overflowing with tasty tunes. (Huzzah!). Anyway...

I don't know who St Andrew are, but I know that I've spent the whole morning trying to find out. Apparently he is some guy called Andrew Swanson, he has studied film, some other boring stuff... and he makes nice tunes. 'Cosmic Terror' is his calling card and despite spending most of today listening to his stuff I can't think of anything better to post up. Its a punchy piece of laidback electro, very much in the mould of Nosaj Thing and Flying Lotus but with a bit more action - bigger synths, glittery electro shizzle plastered all over it, some great vocal work, etc. Well worth a listen for anyone who's a fan of the aforementioned two producers, or a fan of electronic stuff in general.

I've been waiting for a good quality copy of this next tune for a good month or so now. And here it is. The Chase & Status remix of Nneka's 'Heartbeat'. This is quite possibly the most obviously commercially-viable crowd-pleaser ever produced by anyone in the history of history (thats probably why they've labelled it so self-consciously) but... f*ck it. Because it is amazing. (In before underground people banging on about how they've sold out. It sounds good to me and thats all that maters).
The thing about crowd-pleasers is that they are pleasing, after all. Big guitars, big bass, massive snares, good times.
Expect this one to be going off everywhere. If it isn't already.

Speaking of commercial stuff, La Roux is very popular at the moment. It seems like anyone who's anyone, or noone (but wants to be someone), is remixing her tracks. 'Bulletproof' is the most recent single, and it's attracted everyone from Foamo to Tepr, but my favourite mix so far comes from the Barcelona duo Y A L L. It's attracted a lot of notice since they entered it for her remix competition by virtue of being brilliant. The Barcelona boys have thrown a load of electro stabs and synths on the song, with a bit of strings (a la Justice/MSTRKRFT/Neo Tokyo) and it sounds awesome. Very dancey, bouncy and cheerful. All the things the original was, multiplied by the power of electro. Definitely a must have.

Last up, how about some feel-good indie? I've posted about Two Door Cinema Club before but I feel like they deserve another mention. The band come from NI and they make very happy summer tunes. 'Undercover Martyn' is their first single and 'tis very nice indeed. You can see the video here if thats the kind of thing you're in to, or just give the track a listen. It's very sing-along, they change the pace up nicely, the guitars are all trebley and rifftastic. Think Delorean, Mew, a less-french Housse de Racket/Phoenix. Indie-pop stuff, basically. There are probably some much better comparisons out there, I just wanted to list bands I like. Ho hum. Check 'em out, they could be the sound of our 'barbeque' summer.

More tomorrow.

St Andrew - Cosmic Terror Buy
Nneka - Heartbeat (Chase & Status 'We Just Bought A Guitar' Remix) Buy C&S
La Roux - Bulletproof (Y A L L Remix) Myspace
Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn Buy

The Heat

I got the MSTRKRFT album a few month' back and I thought 'Oh, the new MSTRKRFT album. This is pretty good.' Since then I've pretty much ignored it. Mainly because there was too much rapping on the songs and I'm not really keen on that with my dance music. I like beats and nonsense vocal snatches and cuts, not big long verses about why (insert rapper here) is so awesome and rich.
(Not that I'm hating on rap, I just don't think it works too well over electro.)
Anyway, long story short, I've started listening to it again. The reason for that is Wolfgang Hartner's remix of 'Heartbreaker', which was my favourite tune of the week up until yesterday when I heard 'Calypso'. The original version was probably my favourite track from the album, but Gartner takes it to a new level. The addition of a much more powerful bass kick sets it off nicely, and the crazy, wobbly, electro blips and fuzzed out vocals turns this into an absolute classic dancefloor filler. It's in the same sort of vein as Chris Lake's remix of 'Oh My God', for anyone who's heard that.
In case I haven't sold this enough: it is f%@£!*g incredible and you must download it. It makes my brain shit gold.*

I don't want to get stuck in a rut or anything, but I'm going to post another Alex Metric tune. And another Treasure Fingers one. At the same time!!!!
I hope that won't blow your mind too much.
Anyway, this is an older mix that Mr. Fingers did for Mr. Metric, and it is pretty much everything you would expect. Funky bouncy bassline, decorative spacey synths, dance-friendly reverbed vocals and a clubtastic beat. Probably my favourite effort from Treasure Fingers so far actually, loving it. (The original is called 'In Your Machine'.)

I don't know if anyone's seen the new Transformers film? I haven't, but thanks to Datsik & Excision I have now heard it. Seriously. I may be a bit late with this one, but 'Calypso' is literally one of the grimiest dubstep (or is it wobble now?) tunes I've ever heard. If robots went out for a massive lash-up and started raving their rusty metal tits off, they'd be doing it to this tune. The bassline is literally like the sound of something industrial throwing up, and the tune is filled with weird metallic stabs and effects that are out of this world. Heavy. Highly highly recommended to anyone who doesn't know it.

The next tune is one from the ever on-point RubADubDub blog, but it isn't (strangely enough) a dubstep cut. It is, in fact, a bit of intense drum and bass, courtesy of Spor. I could pretend that I know loads about Spor and his tune, but to be honest all I know (and all I need to know) is that 'Aztec' is a banger and I love it. If Formula 1 cars had fat soundsytems, this is the kind of intense, fast-paced shit they'd be playing.

Enjoy

MSTRKRFT (Feat. John Legend) - Heartbreaker (Wolfgang Gartner Remix)** Buy
Alex Metric - In Your Machine (Treasure Fingers Remix) Buy
Excision & Datsik - Calypso Buy
Spor*** - Aztec Buy

*Slight overhype.
**You can DL from there easy enough, they don't appreciate re-hosting. Check out the other free tracks - some of them are pretty good.
***Call me late, but apparently Feed Me is Spor's house/electro productions moniker. I now love him 10x more. Legend.

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?

Banananananas

Anyone that has been on Hype Machine in the last week or so will have picked up on Sammy Bananas' (who?) exemplary remix of Passion Pit's single 'The Reeling'. A few current big names have done mixes for the track already (Calvin Harris, Miike Snow, Burns), but for me this remix stands out as the most effective, and the most intriguingly different from the original (although Burns' version is pretty different, I don't think it works quite as well). Mr Bananas puts a very housey/tranceish feel on it (I'm thinking Eric Prydz/ WPAHP/ Deadmau5 stlye here), slowing the pace down and lowering the pitch a fair bit. The result is a great remix, if not a classic original track - it stands out more for what he's done to the original than for it's own greatness (but it is pretty effing great). Well worth a listen.

The Aspirins For My Children got a bit of attention for their (his - is it just Mr Barker?) remix of Marina and The Diamonds, and they deserve a bit more - particularly for this more recent effort: a bang tidy mix of Frankmusik's 'Confusion Girl'. Don Diablo has already lent his talented hands to this particular track, but I think the Aspirins mix just edges it for me, by virtue of being a bit more punchy and dancey (and therefore more suited to my high-impact and intense lifestyle). Frankmusik's stuff is occasionally a bit messy and fast so I like the way Aspirins have slowed it down and drawn out/sliced up the vocals a bit more. Plus the piano stabs make it a more epic and head-noddy (if that's any kind of real term or phrase). (Credit goes to We Like It Indie for putting it up originally).

Ah...remixes. They definitely make life a little better. Metric's 'Collect Call', off their new album is a good song - all Bat For Lashes type atmosphere and mildly haunting vocals, slow builds, reverbed, echoing guitary bits, etc. Tom Wrecks version, however, is all haunting vocals, atmosphere and steadily pounding drums. Which I like. He certainly doesn't 'wreck' the original ... a-ha ... a-ha ... lol? (Ignore that). It's got a bit more dynamism to it - the kind of track you listen to while driving at night: You don't want to fall asleep, but you don't want a rip-roaring electro banger doing your head in. It's nice. Like a chilled out Tiesto/David Aussi vibe with more vocals and less synthed-up chord progressions.

I have to thank the awesome Rub-A-Dub-Dubbb blog for this last one: Nero's 'Act Like You Know'. It's an absolute screamer, and a bit more intensely raw in some parts than his much-hyped (and sick) remix of the Streets - it sounds a bit more like his mix for Boy Crisis. There's also a tasty little house breakdown about halfway through - a more direct lift from his original mix - which uses that classic 'Show Me Love' dance sound without directly sampling the over-killed melody. Then it jumps back into crazy scratched up Rusko-style synths (a little bit darker sounding than Rusko, I should point out) and powerful bass punches. Insane, and highly recommended (although the vocal does get mildly repetitive).

Passion Pit - The Reeling ( Sammy Bananas' Big Choon Mix) FG
Frankmusik - Confusion Girl (The Aspirins For My Children Remix) Theirspace
Metric - Collect Call (Tom Wrecks Remix) Hisspace*
Nero - Act Like You Know (Dubstep Mix) Buy

*Like a few other artists, he's giving away some of his remixes free on myspace. Well worth getting hold of!

Pandamonium

Other than that awesome picture, this post has nothing to do with pandas. Sorry.

Anyway, I was flicking through my itunes today and I realised that the only thing more fun than that panda is Frankmusik's remix of 'Did You Wrong'. (Thats an awful link, sorry again.) The Clik Clik are quite a fun little band on their own, and the original version of the track is cheerful enough, but Mr. Frankmusik takes it and pumps it full of electro candy. The end result sounds like a sugar crazed madman attacking a 5-year olds keyboard. In a good way. It comes across a bit noisy and fast-paced initially, but if you stick with it it's actually a pretty cool tune. One from last year, but worth a listen for those who aren't familiar with it.

I've been a fan of Damn Arms since I heard their Cut Copy remix. Which, come to think of it, can't have been that long ago. Either way, I've yet to hear a bad tune from out of their camp, and the SexWax remix of 'Destination' is no exception. The original two-parter is quite a chilled out number, but SexWax (who gives away the tune free with a bunch of other cool mixes on his myspace) makes it a bit more epic. Everything is a bit more reverbed and fuzzed up (distorted), making the song a bit more filthy and club-friendly without losing too much of the original vibe. It's very good, and not too complicated.

Last up is 'In Anima Vili', by Just A Band. I glossed over this tune completely when I first got it, but returned to it by complete chance the other day. I have now managed to decide that it's flipping awesome. 'Burn It Out' was a banger, and 'In Anima Vili' is no exception. I'm pretty sure it actually says 'bang' just as it drops (about 50 secs in). Which is probably reason enough in itself to have a listen. Apart from that, it's got a massive bass kick to it, and all kinds of spaced-out synths flickering over the top. Plus it's got that Justice-style staccato piano stab all over the bass that sounds amazing.

It's been bloody sunny so far this week, I feel like I should have saved up some of my summer tunes. Ah well...

Damn Arms - Destination (SexWax Remix) Myspace*
Just A Band - In Anima Vili Buy
The Clik Clik - Did You Wrong (Frankmusik Remix) Buy

*The Daft Punk mix on his player is well worth checking out.

Soothers

Gutted.

I have no way of linking that picture to this post. So I'm just going to crack on as if its relevance is obvious.

The first song of today, then, comes from the camp of the unbelievably hot, and very talented, Marina and the Diamonds. I'm a big fan of the original song, 'I am not a Robot', so I wasn't really convinced with Starsmith's revamp when I first heard it. The tune starts pretty slowly, and the vocals seem a bit slapped together initially. However, Starsmith has actually given the track quite a summery spin and I've decided it's definitely worth a listen. It kind of has a more 'robot' feel - all floaty A-ux style synths with a hint of Aeroplane to the beat. Pretty laidback. Also, he has an Ellie Goulding track on his myspace, which makes me think that maybe he produces her incredible music, or is involved in some way?* Top marks if he is.

I haven't posted any indie for a while, so I feel like the time has come. I nabbed a copy of the new Signal Hill album More After We're Gone the other day, and its incredible. I was going to post something off it, but then I got Cascade's new EP The Pieces Of The World and listened to 'Midnight Sun'. Both bands are well in to their treble-led, soft, summery instrumentals, and 'Midnight Sun' is quite possibly the best of the bunch. It surges along at a fairly gentle pace, and is laced with sunny guitar chords and riffs that capture the summer moment perfectly. I'm pretty much in love with the song, and I spent most of yesterday listening to it whilst doing as many summer activities as possible (BBQing, Swimming, being hot, etc.) It was awesome. You can also get a free download of their single 'The Hypnotizer' here.

Time for a third genre now. Because although I thought that soft indie might be the quintissential sound for the season, I'm now thinking ... liquid drum 'n' bass. Amirite? Specifically, the brand that High Contrast and, more recently, Chase 'n' Status and Blame have been putting out. I thought Blame's remix for the new 'Show Me Love' EP was awesomeness, and he's recently been sought out by VV Brown to provide a mix for her new single 'Shark in The Water'. I love it. The vocals are perfect, and the track is filled with triumphant trumpet fills and blasts that make it excitingly epic. It's a must-have for anyone who likes Blame's other work, and it actually makes me want to hear more VV Brown, despite the fact that I've been trying ignore all the hype surrounding her since the start of the year.

Last up, I thought I'd bring back a classic from two summer' ago. The Hook 'n' Sling remix of 'Coup D'etat', which probably shouldn't need an introduction. It was on the Ibiza Annual of 2007, and it has a deliciously inordinate amount of bounce and catchingess to it, making it (probably) one of my favourite house tracks of all time. Enjoy, I hear the cold front is coming back.

Gutted.

Marina and The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot (Starsmith's '24 Carat' Remix) Buy
Cascade - Midnight Sun Myspace
VV Brown - Shark In The Water (Blame Remix) Myspace BuyBlame

Bonus:
Bass Kleph - Coup D'etat (Hook 'n' Sling Remix) Buy

*Turns out they're some duo called Goldsmith? Exciting stuff.