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Pump up the goddamn funk (music)
Jan. 25th, 2013 01:29 pmSome seriously funky stuff in this batch, plus a surprise or two.
http://audioporncentral.com/2013/01/blende-surrender-circus.html
One of the things I like best about modern electronic dance music is that deep in the genome is funk. Sometimes it has to pass through disco to get here, but even that can be tolerable. This groovy funky dancey track is a collaboration of two UK-based artists who go by the names Blende and Surrender!. They have an EP coming out next month and this "Circus" is the first single off it. Boppin' good.
http://audioporncentral.com/2013/01/reset-stealin-your-soul.html
Last time I promised you TURBOFUNK and here it is. I do not believe it's possible to listen to this without turning it up loud. The track is by Reset! (http://soundcloud.com/reset-1) who are a new name to me but definitely now on my to-check-out list. There are two other mixes available, and of the three I think I like the original video version best. That's a narrow win, though, because both the vocal mix and the Monique Autoerotique remix are pretty good. Three times the turbo!
http://djsteveboy.com/groovelectric.html
DJ Steveboy's latest mix, "Chimera", is one of his funkiest, and finest in recent memory. It's got some good vocal bits, but the real win for me here is the middle acoustic sections, which spread across a variety of modern styles, all of which have some connection back to the base funk roots.
http://soundcloud.com/mashupgermany/mashup-germany-we-are-the
Mashup Germany continues to surprise and delight. He may be the most underrated mash-up DJ working today. Here he tosses off a casual 11-track beauty that I can't stop dancing to. This is a traditional dance-floor destroyer done beautifully. One of the things I like about his productions is that he's not afraid to let them be quiet for a bit. Listen from about 0:45 here to see what I mean. Then he starts to pull in "Kids" and the whole mix takes off. The bit up to 1:05 where the mix hits full stride is just brilliant, and who else would think of using "Tom's Diner" like that?
http://audioporncentral.com/2013/01/tegan-sara-fool-to-cry-produced-by-rac.html
I continue to think that one way to make the world better is to have more Tegan & Sara in it. This cover of the Rolling Stones' "Fool To Cry" was put together by RAC and it's a surprise and a delight. I'm not that fond of the original but the harmonies in this one really do it for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8e2fJfiddx4#!
This one I'm blogging because it took me by surprise. It's Heart, doing "Stairway to Heaven" as part of the Kennedy Center Honors Led Zeppelin. That's not hugely surprising, as Heart have done Zeppelin tunes for many years as part of their regular sets and the Wilsons have been forthright about how much Zeppelin influenced them. It was somewhat surprising to see them doing it with Jason Bonham and also how much I liked the orchestral arrangement. True, prog rock has a long and storied history of orchestral arrangements but part of what makes "Stairway" is its sparsity. The choral bits here just... work. The guest guitarist (unnamed here) is really good. And the bowlers are a nice touch.
http://audioporncentral.com/2013/01/blende-surrender-circus.html
One of the things I like best about modern electronic dance music is that deep in the genome is funk. Sometimes it has to pass through disco to get here, but even that can be tolerable. This groovy funky dancey track is a collaboration of two UK-based artists who go by the names Blende and Surrender!. They have an EP coming out next month and this "Circus" is the first single off it. Boppin' good.
http://audioporncentral.com/2013/01/reset-stealin-your-soul.html
Last time I promised you TURBOFUNK and here it is. I do not believe it's possible to listen to this without turning it up loud. The track is by Reset! (http://soundcloud.com/reset-1) who are a new name to me but definitely now on my to-check-out list. There are two other mixes available, and of the three I think I like the original video version best. That's a narrow win, though, because both the vocal mix and the Monique Autoerotique remix are pretty good. Three times the turbo!
http://djsteveboy.com/groovelectric.html
DJ Steveboy's latest mix, "Chimera", is one of his funkiest, and finest in recent memory. It's got some good vocal bits, but the real win for me here is the middle acoustic sections, which spread across a variety of modern styles, all of which have some connection back to the base funk roots.
http://soundcloud.com/mashupgermany/mashup-germany-we-are-the
Mashup Germany continues to surprise and delight. He may be the most underrated mash-up DJ working today. Here he tosses off a casual 11-track beauty that I can't stop dancing to. This is a traditional dance-floor destroyer done beautifully. One of the things I like about his productions is that he's not afraid to let them be quiet for a bit. Listen from about 0:45 here to see what I mean. Then he starts to pull in "Kids" and the whole mix takes off. The bit up to 1:05 where the mix hits full stride is just brilliant, and who else would think of using "Tom's Diner" like that?
http://audioporncentral.com/2013/01/tegan-sara-fool-to-cry-produced-by-rac.html
I continue to think that one way to make the world better is to have more Tegan & Sara in it. This cover of the Rolling Stones' "Fool To Cry" was put together by RAC and it's a surprise and a delight. I'm not that fond of the original but the harmonies in this one really do it for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8e2fJfiddx4#!
This one I'm blogging because it took me by surprise. It's Heart, doing "Stairway to Heaven" as part of the Kennedy Center Honors Led Zeppelin. That's not hugely surprising, as Heart have done Zeppelin tunes for many years as part of their regular sets and the Wilsons have been forthright about how much Zeppelin influenced them. It was somewhat surprising to see them doing it with Jason Bonham and also how much I liked the orchestral arrangement. True, prog rock has a long and storied history of orchestral arrangements but part of what makes "Stairway" is its sparsity. The choral bits here just... work. The guest guitarist (unnamed here) is really good. And the bowlers are a nice touch.
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