The Belgian disco duo are setting an entirely new standard to summer tunes of frivolity, with this first single from their debut album We Can't Fly set to be released in September. This song shows that Aeroplane actually can fly and help us do the same through their cosmic nu-disco synth waves and squelching bass riffs, that could arguably be compared to any other electronic chill out tune. However, it's obvious that Aeroplane don't make just any other dance song. 'We Can't Fly' is spicy and flavoursome, with reggae percussion, gospel-like vocals and beachy riffs. Not to forget the piano. This single has the potential to cheer up any dwellers of the English summer by taking you on a round trip to the Caribbean; a seriously feel good summer vibe.
Enjoy.
This is a preview posted by the label on YouTube.
Released: 27th June 2010
Label: Eskimo Recordings / N.E.W.S. excl licence Wall Of Sound for UK/Eire.
Rebirth (MySpace page) are elevating another underground artist with niche capabilities, Rennie Foster. Previous to this, the label established itself in 2006 by Shield and has since released the stirring 'Finest Dream' by And If with the awe-inspiring Martin Luther King speech as a reminder of the power of music and politics together. This below is the Will Pezzetti mix.
Another indication as to what Rebirth has brought forth is a melancholic number by NUfrequency with vocals by Shara Nelson of the 'Unfinished Sympathy' legacy, with a video that resembles that of Massive Attack's. Strange choice? This below is remixed by Charles Webber.
And now Rennie Foster releases an epic album this week entitled Blood Sugar. It moves from track one, 'Invoke', which deploys random and offset beats that play against a demanding backing track accompanied by satisfyingly innapropriate piano use; to tracks that employ a minimalistic take on house, such as 'Your Eyes', 'Vital Organ' and 'Roughshod'. There is an erratic use of live instrumentation throughout the album, which complements an overall distortedly picturesque take on electronic music. The newsicmoos stand out track is handed to 'Afrocentrik', posted below.
Wiley's single 'Take That' was released at the end of December last year and stirs up a love-hate response within me. I find the chorus overbearing and repetitive, a defiant message to all of those who 'thinks he can't do it anymore' - is this the workings of a man who is responding to a bit of slander? And the tune is based upon his visit to a Bedford nightclub where he saw a member of the group Take That. Nice, catchy inspiration.
What I do respect is his return to the kind of production that fits in well with today and the fact that he's been here for 15 years is enough for us to know that his talent is continously being strengthened. I'd prefer to hear a lyricless version when out raving, as the dirty electro beat is enough to get the feet stomping.
However, he is receiving much critical acclaim for 'Take That' and I completely understand why. He observes the rules of a dirty electro bassline along with fierce lyrics and balances that somewhat with an upcoming release of his -which is more my cup of chai. Wiley collaborates with Emili Sande for a second time, previously having worked together alongside Chipmunk & Kano on the UK number 1 track 'Diamond Rings'. In their latest offering, the chorus sang by up-and-coming soulstress Sande is cut from White Town's huge hit 'Your Woman' and slots together with Wiley's rap as a dialogue of banter between two opposing sides. 'Never Be Your Woman' subscribes to a UK funky sound, with a rolling, bouncy house beat and soulful percussion - a perfect progression in the UK urban/funky scene.
Wiley's noticeable attribute that fairs well in such an interchangeable music scene is his ability to successfully weave in and out of the very structures of differing urban genres and for that I salute.
This below is the Solo's Love Garage remix and my CHAOON of the week.
Enjoy.
If you like this, check out the original and Herve's remix.
Over two and a half years have zoomed on by since Four Tet released Ringers, a hypnotic tease of an EP that swayed towards an experimental, repetitive techno pulse. Hermetic Londoner Kieren Hebden this month released a new limited edition 12" before much anticipated full length album There Is Love In You follows on the 25th. His abstract approach to production amasses inspiration from jazz, hip hop, soul, folk and techno, whilst putting large emphasis on live instrumentation. It's the way in which Hebden defies genre that results in something so uniquely individual and abstract - taking the superlative nature of each generic sound and remoulding them in to his own innovative hybrid.
The A-side of his new single, 'Love Cry', reveals opposing messages within a 9 minute narrative; of sitting in a concrete room stripped of animation with only the pacification of regret and photographic evidence of a past lover for company, while a subdued bass-light melody induces you into a dream-like celebration, much like the result of his previous EP. The revealing, industrial intro is vacuous and distant, interrupted by a funky trip-hop drum roll, eventually dimming before a harmonious vocal sings 'love cry' - as if the two cannot be separated - echoing a reality of life. The rhythm stretches, lulling you into a trance before snapping you back to attention. Retrospective cries of 'love me' pulsate on repeat as if a desperate plea of the obsessed. A final surge of acid house blips lay the subtly disjointed message to rest.
Man of the moment, Joy Orbison, puts his illuminating spin on 'Love Cry' by breaking the vocal into a dreamy stupor and radiating it over a soulful, contemporary garage beat with hints of nu jazz. The vintage sound of a vinyl needle implies a pre-90's production, further warming you to the melody. Synth build ups drop into ethereal electro bleeps while Orbison keeps hold of Hebden's love of percussion, overall expressing a sense of freedom.
While his and Hebden's creations aren't what you'd expect to hear blasted through big speakers in an inside venue, they create an overwhelming atmospheric space in which you can kick back and let the mind float to it's favourite place, wherever you are when listening.
Why has it taken so long for this track to be released?
Legendary producers combine their powers once again as Kaskade reunite with omnipresential Deadmau5 (or already did do many full moons ago) to release another house floorfiller. This, the first single released from Kaskade's critically acclaimed album Strobelite Seduction, captures the freedom of dancing with a strobe-masked stranger after a gruelling week at work where daydreams of escaping the mundane are a common use of wage earning time. While Kaskade showcase the sultry, cohesive side to this production, Deadmau5 projects his minimal house beat and signature uplifting synths, merging together their talents to form a slick and smooth finish. Following the massive 2009 release 'I Remember', fans may find this track a step down, nevertheless it is still a commercially viable radio pleaser.
Stephen Wilkinson, or Bibio, is a British music producer who released his third album of 2009 earlier this month. The Apple And The Tooth LP flaunts four new tracks and eight remixes of tunes taken from his June release Ambivalence Avenue. Previously having released albums under American independent label Mush, he is now signed to the more heavyweight contingent Warp Records.
From the four new tracks, 'Steal The Lamp' deploys a psychedelic panorama before teasing in a hint of dubstep, closing the track with a scrambled drum and bass arrangement. And title track 'The Apple And The Tooth' is much like 'Bones & Skulls', which both combine folk-pop guitar and vocals from Bibio himself.
As for the remixes, heavy influence is drawn from Warp's way of life, illustrated by label-mate Clark who adds his own gritty, melodic electronica to 'S'vive' (think urban ice cream van) and ultimately transforms Bibio's original with spectacular effect. The stand out remix is Leatherette's easy going version of 'Lovers' Carvings', which pans a broken vocal spread over dream-like percussion and satisfying hip-hop beats.
Unlike Ambivalence Avenue, this album permits you to take a stroll down a more chilled out street, donning an intelligent mix of electronically produced music laced with guitar pop-folk meeting hip-hop. The Apple And The Tooth LP proves Bibio's natural innovation in production is no accident - his previous attempts are the foundations to this claim. With a high turnover of albums as per this year it seems he could be hitting double figures by the end of 2010 - which can only be a positive thing.
This below is the Leatherette remix of 'Lovers' Carvings'.
It's wholly common and mindlessly predictable for tunes to resurface in freshly made packaging, shiny enough to send eager 15 year old bodies dressed in trackies to their local store - the Internet - to spend their pennies. I in no way openly condone the illegal downloading of music, yet I wouldn't feel obliged to deter consumers away from becoming a minor criminal by halting revenue for this remake.
Without a doubt, there have been some credible remixes played across worthwhile nightclubs by purposeful DJ's, a couple of examples being 'Be vs Show Me Love' by members of The Swedish House Mafia where soulful vocals slide nicely alongside a heavy, innovative house beat, or even Dizzee's use of a rave classic in his new single 'Dirtee Cash' where there's enough change brought on by lyrical genius to profess good use of a yester-tune.
Every now and again there will be an updated release of an era-defining classic - in this case the original'Finally' prompted a significant change in my teenage mideducation, which incorporated happy hardcore and mature cheddar trance. I was locked in by a lack of knowledge, basking in a Britpop afterglow and born into a pre-modern town where this kind of scene was revelled in.
The original version of 'Finally', by respected trustees of house music The Kings Of Tomorrow, has been hijacked and transformed into something that quite literally makes me feel a little bit sick. Two reasons why this induces vom in my mouth; one) for taking the soul out of the original production of this tune, and two) for almost taking away from me what I give credit to as being a monumental factor in changing my musical identity.
K-Klass by name are remembered for their early 90's originals 'Let Me Show You' and 'Rhythm Is A Mystery', which were hits for the team of four lads who met in the holy grounds of the Hacienda. However, remixes of pop acts such as S Club 7, Geri Halliwell and Samantha Mumba detract likability away from their hay days, and reminds me of the initial blow upon first hearing this updated version of 'Finally'.
Hopefully, this tune won't make too much of an impression on humble dance floors, though on YouTube I'm left cringing at a little proof of positive reaction received for the terrible in comparison vocals and pestering, trance-like stabs to the heart of a beat.
It's the 25th of September, people are gathering inside the world's most popular club for its 11th annual awards. Its name sparkles in sultry red lights above the stage, a cherry logo is dotted around various walls above world DJ's, producers, technology swots and insiders. This is none other than... The Pacha DJ Awards 2009.
I hadn't heard of them either until a few months ago. Maybe I'm a bit slow in jumping on the DJ-wagon? Whatever the case, the awards handed out are well respected, so is deserved when held within a prestigious nightclub domain. One award that has been continuous from inception is 'Best Ibiza Track'.
Insert a drum roll here.... and without further hesitation, the award, if you haven't already sussed it out through the title, goes to Michel Cleis with 'La Mezcla'. Voila.
It has become the sound of Ibiza this year, which saw early predictions of its inevitable success manifest to truth. Its general release is November 2nd, with new remixes from Copyright, Charles Webster and DJ Roog in the pipeline - so expect this tune to play out on many of the main floors across the country (and world) over the coming months.
The tune itself is broken up and packaged into three surging phases. Upon its beginning you'll unknowingly find yourself lying in a blossoming field of percussion through which roams a rattlesnake shaking its fearful sound. Then phase 2 delivers hypnotic pan flute playing, also used in Timbaland's 'Indian Flute', which lingers like the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans under which tribal drums broaden. One of the highlights of this track and something that makes it work so well is phase 3 - the rousing Latin folk-dance vocal sampled from Toto la Momposina's early 1992 release 'Curura'. When in full swing, the spell-like tune leads your mind deep into a Colombian forest where people shake their shit with strong defiance around a campfire as to stop the sky from striking them down.
By all means, a hugely infectious release from Swiss/French producer Michel Cleis. The hype was big early on and novelty may be running low, but now with a new, raunchy music video I believe it to blow up across commercial radio and tv waves.
I envisage this to be a tune that in years to come will inspire sun-kissed memories of 2009.
My incessent playing of Dizzee Rascal's new tune must have, in some way, mystically aligned my earphones to Stevie V's 1990 synth explosion of a backing track. It arouses in me an acid house romantacism that has hibernated in an Ikea clad cave throughout these noughty years. I'm sure if you listen hard enough you can hear the echoes of Hacienda ravers bitter in their sentiments, proclaiming 'eere y'are it isn't what it once was'. Dizzee's political take on the sampled original completely refreshes the old school track, and it's released aptly in a time when people are screaming out for a bit of that dirty yet life-affirming cash. The natural burst of nostalgia that seeps into one's thought processes stems from an imperceptible blend of a mother of a house track with Dizzee's recession based rap. It's obvious that dance floors across the country are going to lap this one up. Big up the Dizz.
Jaxx's second single from their forthcoming album leaps away from a blatant experimental beat with which fans are in tune - to something that more resembles an advert for a moralistic victory.
There's no doubt that this Europop styled single does grow on you in a vaguely uplifting way but it does lack the typical edge the London duo are renowned for. An exception is made with an intro that lures you in to a false sense of Jaxx security, where credit is due for the hard slap of convivial character that lies past these erratic electro sounds. If anybody were to astonish with flippant changes in one little intro, it's the legends themselves.
The fifth album, Scars, boasts a heap of guest contributors and for this track there seems nobody more suited than the soulful Mr Sam Sparro. His voice complements the steel pan, carnival atmosphere, contrasting starkly to lyrics that encapsulate a bittersweet romantic desire.
One thing Basement Jaxx have achieved is yet another reshaping of their twisted mould. The spirit of this song is credit to a world stuck in gloom, and who knows, maybe legions upon legions will relate the chorus of 'will you walk with me until the feeling's gone' to a bygone era of financial crisis.
Maybe.
Buxton and Ratcliffe are experts at working a mass crowd and 'Feeling's Gone' is to be a sure fire hit making its mark on commercial dance floors across the UK, but it doesn’t hold that elusive flair apparent in the rest of the album.
Rating: 3 stars
::Afterthought::
If this doesn't work for you, listen to the acoustic version for a more chilled experience where the lyrics can really be absorbed. Found here.
