Music, lots of it (part 1)

Many music tabs. Again, a wide variety of things to sample here. I've got more for later this week, but here are some new voices and some top-notch remixes to get you through the rain.

http://clockopera.com/
Clock Opera have put up a stream of their entire debut album "Ways to Forget". It's an odd mixture of UK pop and electronica with some definite punk influences. It's melodic and complex, with lots of looped samples mixed into the instrumentals.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/04/saint-michel-noel-faded-katherine.html
Saint Michel are a new duo with a first EP just released. Here we have two of the tracks from that EP with different feels. The first, "Noel Faded", has an intimate but dreamy feel, with muted vocals and high electro riffs. The second, "Katherine" is more traditional rock-and-roll. You can tell these kids are new - both tracks run a little long and could use an experienced producer's hand to tighten them up.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/MEIKO/track/Leave-The-Lights-On-The-Crystal-Method-Remix/
http://soundcloud.com/morganpage/meiko-leave-the-lights-on
So this pops into my listening stream the other day and it rocks. Meiko (http://site.meikomusic.com/)is a young singer-songwriter living on the US West Coast who has attracted some big-name attention. I mean, it's not everyone who gets remixes from The Crystal Method and Morgan Page. This track, "Leave the Lights On" is a pretty decent pop confection on its own and it's cool to see some of the best in the business go with it. The Crystal Method version is deeper bass/fuzz that I think contrasts well with her vocals. The Morgan Page version is much more explicitly dance floor-oriented and does less with her voice but really gets you moving.

http://soundcloud.com/smimsandbelle/blue-jeans-ft-azealia-banks
Lana Del Rey and Azealia Banks are not two voices I'd naturally think to throw together. Both are young up-and-coming singers making their marks but their styles are wildly different. Del Rey is kind of Marlene Dietrich crossed with Madonna and Banks is fast-talking Brooklyn-style hip-hop. Smims&Belle, the remixers here take slimmed down versions of both vocals and use them in a funky techno track.

http://rcrdlbl.com/2012/04/27/premiere_fun_we_are_young_feat_janelle_monae_betatraxx_remix_
In a similar vein Fun's "We Are Young" gets a serious electro kick in the pants via a Betatraxx remix that brings in Janelle Monae. I like what's in here and I think adding some more Monae would be even better.. My sole gripe about this track is that it drops out to nothing and rebuilds at about the half-way mark, which I don't think is necessary.

Music, lots of it (part 2)

Here we go again. A couple of big names, a couple of new names, and lots of musical fusions you're unlikely to hear on genre-segregated radio.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/04/seun-kuti-slave-masters-jacques-renault-remix.html
Now this is what we mean when we say an 'extended mix.' 8:48 of lush, gorgeous sound. Jacques Renault gives us his remix of Seun Kuti's "Slave Masters." This is equal parts African, vibe, jazz, and dance-electronica. The African vocals and drums meet up with some energetic jazz horns and dance rhythms with just a little bit of d'n'b thrown in for seasoning. Seun Anikulapo Kuti (http://www.facebook.com/seunkutiofficial) is the youngest son of Fela Kuti and if there is such a thing as music in the genes he seems to have it. Also (judging from the news articles I'm reading) he seems to have picked up some of his father's political activist sensibilities, too. It has to be hard to follow in footsteps that large, but this is good music in its own right.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Chet-Faker/track/No-Diggity/
When I first heard Dre doing "No Diggity" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KL9mRus19o) some five years ago I assumed that it was a rap re-make of a traditional tune. It has the slow-drawl piano I associate with southern gospel tunes, and the do-wop male vocals of classic Motown. Now comes Australian "music for humans" maker Chet Faker (http://chetfaker.com/) with an excellent cover of the tune. Faker has heavy emphasis on the core sounds and the whole thing just slides smoothly over you. He's not trying to be Dre - he's got his own style and it's strong and sensual, giving us slow-dance material.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/04/marbert-rocel-lets-take-off.html
Marbert Rocel (http://www.marbertrocel.com/) are an experimentalist quartet from the Netherlands. Their sound is part ambient, part jazz, part Euro new wave electronic, and part retro Andrew's Sisters-era smooth melodies. There are two tracks here and if you'd given them to me separately I'd be hard-pressed to identify them as being from the same musical source. That's not bad, just saying that Marbert Rocel have quite a variety of sounds on offer.

http://soundcloud.com/djimanos/dragonette-let-it-go
Dragonette's "Let It Go" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSL93KO2gnk) is another pop confection that's getting remixed, generally for the better. The original is pretty typical bop-electronic; the Faustix & Imanos remix linked above is like, "OK let's throw out all the kiddie pop stuff and put in some adult dance beats." It's got break and change-ups and although it's clearly a remix of a pop tune it's much more sophisticated than the original.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/04/fun-we-are-young-party-ben-and-mykill-remix.html
I haven't heard anything from Party Ben in a while so this was a nice treat to get. it's his remix of Fun's "We Are Young". Unlike last time's Betatraxx remix this isn't so much about adding elements as it is mixing up and jazzing up what's in the original. It's got a little more of the electronica blippy-bloopy than I prefer, but it's still pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDku4-GEYZU
This one is a couple years old but it's fun to re-listen now and then and I figured I'd round out this set with it. This is nominally Elton John's "Rocketman" but redone by Inertia so as to be nearly unrecognizeable, except for the lyrics/vocal bits. The style is high-BPM electro-house and it's a fun and moving track even if it's many generations removed from its original. (h/t JJV for the original pointer)