The fight for diverse and conscious voices

Meeting cancelled so let's dump out some of these links. One new and several familiar voices here, including two really good modern covers of "classic" tunes.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Letting-Up-Despite-Great-Faults/track/Bulletproof-Girl/
I don't blog much rock, for whatever reasons. This is definitely on the electronic side of rock - very synth-heavy - but it has a number of standard rock tropes. Letting Up Despite Great Faults (http://www.lettingup.com/) has a new album out and this "Bulletproof Girls" is from that. This all-male quartet reminds me of a lot of other all-male acts - they self-describe as "shoegaze guitar", a phrase I've not heard before but which is remarkably descriptive. It's a gentle, introspective sound without being maudlin or emo.

http://soundcloud.com/philosophyofsound/by-the-rivers-dark-pos-rework
Philosophy of Sound (http://www.philosophyofsound.info/) are a new-to-me electro-funk duo from down under. This rework of a Leonard Cohen classic works exceptionally well. The master's vocals are pristine, but laid over a kicked-up bass track that energizes without overwhelming. It's a fresh take on an old favorite.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/illegal-sunday-the-xx-sunset-volta-remix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ9rflGsNEg&feature=player_embedded#!
The xx are hot again. After being popular in 2009/2010 they kind of faded from sight but are back with force nowadays. The first link is a Volta remix of their track "Sunset". It's not bad. A little heavy on the electro and nu disco for my tastes. IMO, the xx rises or falls with Romy's voice and Volta respects that, but overdoes the knob-twisting a bit.

The second link is OH MY GODS. BBC Radio One did a live show with the xx and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. I'm often hesitant about orchestral arrangements of pop music, and it's doubly dangerous to try putting a full orchestra behind an act that builds around intimate breathy vocals. Normally you'd want (and the xx gives you) a spare sound. But somehow this works. It's goosebumps throughout, though I wish they'd edited out the enthusiastic audience.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/illegal-sunday-yes-owner-of-a-lonely-heart-jean-claude-gavri-remix-dimitri-from-paris-re-touch.html
I had to go back to 2009 to find a remix of a Yes tune that I liked enough to blog. Yes still is one of my guilty pleasures and there haven't been a lot of reworks that attempted to touch them. This is Dmitri from Paris (a producer I've heard but not blogged before) touching up a remix first done by another Frenchman, Jean Claude Gavri. I can't tell you who's responsible for what parts of the sound, but the double-edit definitely produced something good. It sounds like I imagine Yes would sound if they were writing in a modern style.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/little-boots-double-pack.html
Bronski Beat are another good act that doesn't get covered much. Here's Little Boots (http://littlebootsmusic.co.uk/) doing a modernized techno-dance version of their "Smalltown Boys". This is also another good example of how a light production touch on vocals can work well. She's got a great voice and it's not overtuned, though I wish they'd let her punch it just a bit more, and the ending of the post on APC sounds like it was cut short.

The second track in the post is Little Boots doing a dub remix of Jupiter's new "Juicy Lucy (Needs a Boogieman)." I've had the Jupiter track on the back burner for a bit - it's a style of old-school blaxsploitation-film funk that I should like but it just didn't do anything for me. The Little Boots remix is a step up in that it keeps the boppin' funk core but emphasizes the instrumentals rather than the vocals I found too repetitive in the original.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/10/jack-beats-ft-jess-mills-somebody-to-love.html
This just hit today and it's a good antidote to the gray and drear. Plus, Jess Mills! Here she is doing vocals for Jack Beats (http://www.jackbeats.co.uk/) a UK duo. Their new EP shows traces of vocal trance, hip-hop, dubstep, and definite techno genetics. Last month I blogged their first single, a Diplo collaboration. I think I'll be buying this one when it drops.

MizA has suggested I tag these silly posts, which would make MY life easier but damned if I can find the time to go back and redo the last year, let alone all of it. Gah. (Not Gaga. SO! TIRED! OF! HER! Where was I?)

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/01/illegal-sunday-amoraboy-come-together.html
DJ Maggie Mash's previous entry was brilliant and brain-breaking. This one is also quite good. I don't hear a lot of Beatles mash-ups, and this one really sounds like Green Day just sat down to cover "Come Together" in their own style. I think Maggie captures that feel while still being very true to the original.

http://audioporncentral.com/2010/01/eric-peltier-dadada.html
Speaking of covers, I adore the old electro-pop "Da da da". It's still every bit as catchy today as it was back then. This cover video is a cute trick with iPhones by TinBoxTwo (http://www.tinboxtwo.com/). Watch for the guitar, particularly.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1006676/Jackie+Boyz+-++Stick+Up+
Like the original blogger, I have this tune stuck in my head. Jackie Boyz (http://www.myspace.com/officialjackieboyz) blend things from the pop side of hip-hop with some more traditional R&B stylings. It's very catchy and danceable.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1006622/The+xx-Shelter+%28Death+To+The+Throne+Remix%29
The last time I pointed to a cover of a The Xx tune I noted that they had some breathy and haunting vocals. That's still true, but this time Arizona-based DJ/remixer "Death to the Throne" (http://www.myspace.com/deathtothethrone) has paired the vocals with some nice house dance beats. It's a little on the bass/thuddy side in places but he does a good job of making sure that doesn't overwhelm the vocal feel.

http://massiveattack.com/
Massive Attack is a group I used to listen to on near-infinite repeat. Lately I've lost touch with what they're doing so I went over to their site to check it out since they've got a new EP just out. The page is very cluttered but if you scroll down a bit on the left side you can stream six tracks from them, including some very different remixes featuring some awesome guest artists.

http://hypem.com/#/track/1006120/The+Cure+-+Lovesong+Diplo+remix+
This one is purely and solely for my Babe and I'm not gonna 'splain that. If you want to read about the track, check out the original blogger at Indieshuffle: http://www.indieshuffle.com/?p=3321. Unfortunately the uploaded sample cuts off abruptly - you need to download the fuller version if you want to get it all.

I gotta say audioporn central is a dangerous place. He blogs a LOT, and there's a ton of good stuff out there. This week we'll have a couple of his links and some other goodness.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=36
First up, though, old favorite Clivester comes through with a supremely rockin' mash. The mix uses three tracks that I'm not familiar with so I had to go look them up. autoKratz (like "autocrats" get it?) "Speak In Silence" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUQ-dbDOnWk) is a downbeat electronic euro-pop track that sounds like Kraftwerk and Pet Shop Boys had a love child. They've just put out their first full album in June of this year, so it remains to be seen what sort of presence they'll establish. Zoot Woman are another UK dance duo. Their "Just A Friend Of Mine" (http://www.myspace.com/zootwoman) is also male euro-pop, but somewhat more uptempo than the autoKratz. Finally Mr. Hudson's "Supernova" (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9xz57_mr-hudson-supernova_music) featuring Kanye West depending on who you ask also starts from the male Europop model, but Kanye's vocals really take over and that's what Clivester hooks into, pulling out the prot-beat and pumping it into a dance tempo with more energy than I would've expected given the source material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr1lTtpPZF4
This video is the first of three segments recorded at a live show by Smith & Smart (http://www.myspace.com/smithampsmart) a German dance-music duo. I link it both because it's a nice mix and also because it gives you a real view of what a live mix set can be like. You've got one DJ and one drummer and the result is HOT! If you like it you can watch the other 2/3 which contains more rap and live performance, but I think segment one is the best, pulling in samples from everywhere and driving hard.

http://audioporncentral.com/2009/12/vitaminsforyou-shelter-the-xx-cover.html
The Xx have been getting major buzz for some months now. Their sound is spare and haunting, with a breathy quality that reminds me of some of Matt Johnson's vocals for The The. This track is an even more spare and subdued mix that gives me chills every time I listen to it.

http://hypem.com/#/track/993962/Z+TRIP+-+WORK+IT+OR+LEAVE+IT
Time for another of my guilty admissions: I am a huge Yes fan. I liked the whole prog-rock thing, with the silly costumes and overdone stage shows. Concept albums and orchestral arrangements? Yes, please. Of all the prog-rock groups, Yes always seemed to have the most raw talent, and I was willing to excuse Jon Anderson's silly lyrics and high-pitched vocals if it meant I got more Bruford, Wakeman, Squire, and Howe. I'm guessing that DJ Z Trip (http://www.djztrip.com/) shares some of that love because what he's produced here is a scratch mix that takes the Yes classic "Leave It" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p1kq0SnTEs) and updates it to modern sensibilities.

http://audioporncentral.com/2009/12/sissy-nobby-lay-me-down-l-vis-1990-remix.html
While I'm treating your ears gently I thought I'd pass on this beautiful ambient track. I'm not familiar either with Sissy Nobby, the original artist, or the remixer L-Vis 1990 so I haven't much to add except to say... yeah, this is the kind of thing I would want at the end of an all-night set while I sat and watched the sun coming up.

OK, enough rest. Time to wind this up with two high energy tracks...

http://audioporncentral.com/2009/12/dj-moule-the-chemical-clash.html
"The Chemical Clash" is a trainwreck mix of the Chemical Brothers' "Hey Boy Hey Girl", arguably the best-known dance track in pop music, and The Clash's classic "Should I Stay or Should I Go". DJ Moule's site (http://www.djmoule.com/) is in French, which limits my understanding of what he's saying, but I love the Franglais of "bricoleur des bootlegs."

http://audioporncentral.com/2009/12/ocelot-%E2%80%93-our-time.html
Audioporn is hosting two mixes of Ocelot's "Our Time" so you can compare and contrast. I'm having a hard time deciding which I like better. The basic track is very much a dance-floor mix, with lots of fuzz and effects. The Kap10Kurt remix strips out a lot of the effects, leaving heavy beats and more space for electronic vocals.