All apologies for the distinct lack of posts recently… I’m enjoying a schooldays six week holiday and have found things getting in the way of blogging at every turn. However, despite the inevitable summer slump for new releases, there have been some belters over the last couple of months, and I’ve put some of my favourites into a loose top ten…(cue the TOTP Zepplin moment)
(p.s. click the names to hear the songs, Harvey’s hilarious intro is worth it alone…)
In at ten…Justin Vandervolgen – Clapping Song
First of two in the top ten for the former !!! bassman and producer, it’s deep, it’s hypnotic, it’s minimal, it borders on trance (not really, but sort of). It’s a trippy driving house number for the early hours. The b-side is none to shabby either, both cuts are ideal for a packed floor.
New at nine… Luke Million – Arnold
The keyboard player from The Swiss has his own solo project mining a more refined and subtle synth seam. This track isn’t actually out yet (it’s slated for release in September), but obviously it’s fairly easy to find on mp3. A cheeky Arnold Schwarzenegger vocal sample rides a nice boogie influenced groove to get things moving, before some tasty keys enter the fray. All in all, Million delivers a chugging mid tempo head nodder ideal for the summer.
Straight in at eight… Duff Disco – Eagle Flight
Duff is a Leeds based producer who’s turned out some of the most talked about edits in recent months. Always keeping things low tempo, he’s the man who made Bowie’s fame into a bass heavy funk workout, turned Mark Morrison’s classic(sic) Return of the Mac into a thumping house track, and made Red Hot Chilli Peppers vaguely acceptable (the man can’t work miracles…). On this 12″ he treats Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like An Eagle” to a cosmic house makeover, keeping all of the psychedelia of the original but putting a thunderous groove underneath it. Mint. The b-side is also ace, so there.
Seventh Heaven for Jacques Renault – Tuesday E.P.
That fat bloke from Twin Peaks is bang into his disco isn’t he? Cracking E.P. of disco edits from the NYC producer all brought to you on a beautiful picture disc. Upbeat and uptempo “Young, Single and Free” and “Come On Y’all” tick all the disco boxes… walking basslines, scratchy guitars, horns, clavinet, soaring strings and some hip and happening vocals. Sweet! On the flipside “Dancing in the Sky” is an emotional belter, swirling strings and horns, reminiscent of Chic’s ‘I Want Your Love’, while “In The City” is a mellow and horizontal ending to a corking E.P.
Bang in at Six…Bubble Club – Lonely Acid
The 303 has been undergoing a bit of resurgence as of late and is in full force on the third Bubble Club release. The original mix continues the lysergic theme from the first two BC records, albeit in mood rather than detail, this time using subtle 303 squiggles and deep house pads to set the scene for some trippy treated vocals. The ‘Bubble Club takes a trip mix’ heads even further into drug territory, more acid, more dubby, even thinner vocals, but adds a driving italo bassline to give it a bit more oomph for dancefloor devastation. Rounding the 12″ off is Brennan Green’s version, which slows things down a couple of notches, strips things back a little and massages a chugging beat with some beautiful melodies for a much less aggressive builder.
Live at five… Phenominal Handicap Band – Carry on Carrie
The king of the alias Joey Negro gives Carrie Lucas’ Dance with You a disco refix, dubbing things out and bridging the gap between the original track and Armand Van Helden’s house classic “You Don’t Know Me”, which is based around a sample of it. It’s percussive and good for dancing and that string sample takes me back to simpler times.
At four… Social Disco Club – Daft Funk
I’m not sure whether just two tracks can be enough to mark a trend, but there’s a definite theme developing here. SDC, the Portuguese editor extraordinaire (check out his version of Cowboys and Gangsters, aces) has turned out a clever edit of Edie Johns – More Spell on You (the source material for One More Time by Daft Punk) which mirrors the daft punk arrangements but without the filter house effects and vocals. It’s a crowd pleaser and it’s a variation on a brilliant theme. Bravo!
Things are getting serious, bronze goes to…C/O/M/B/I – Hey Look Out/Framing Hot
Hot off the press is the latest instalment of the C/O/M/B/I series, and it’s a belter. Harvey showcased it on his recent european tour with devastating effect, and I cannot wait to give it a proper peak time airing. It reinterprets Caroline Crawford’s disco screamer ‘Coming On Strong’, but gives the electronics more prominence to add some drive, beautifully treats the guitar licks, and delivers a belting breakdown. Framing Hot is clavinet driven banger with some sultry ‘flaming hot’ vocals and some shouty ‘dance’ vocals, two sides of pleasure.
Silver for Try to Find Me – Get to my Baby (TBD extension)
In truth it was a photo finish, as the top two tracks are brilliant but very different. This track is taken from Justin Van V’s brilliant Try to Find Me Vo.2 comp, and is a dancefloor killer. Great soulful vocals, a lilting groove, a brilliant guitar solo, and then a ravey acidic monster of a second half, the vocal snippets laid over a driving head down electronic rhythm. Wicked!
Numero uno…Dr Dunks – No P’s
Perhaps due my mother’s love of country, Dolly Parton was inescapable in my childhood, and as this brilliant edit shows, this was no bad thing. Eric Duncan of Rub’n'Tug fame has gently extended Dolly’s tale of jealousy and victory ‘Get your hands off my potential boyfriend’, and created a hands in the air, swaying euphoric low tempo number, perfect for enjoying alone or with friends. It’s camp, it’s moody, it’s ace…
More regular posts are promised, including a review of Try to Find Me Vol.2, stay tuned in pop pickers…
Patrick
