drwex: (Default)
I'm taking tomorrow off to deal with various household stuffs so you get the weekly music today. This week we seem to have something of a French theme going, but first an aside... I've been sampling the stream of haunting beautiful tunes on this quora courtesy of Boingboing. Enter at your own risk.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/02/world-premiere-zagar-never-the-same-remix-ep.html
Zagar (http://www.zagarmusic.com/) is a band popular in Hungary and eastern Europe but virtually unknown in the States, which is a shame. Their style is somewhat vocal-trancey, and they've released an EP of remixes of this track. The first is somewhat heavy electronic, somewhat dub and somewhat psy-house. If that doesn't mean anything to you, just push play on the first track, which will give you Cottonmouth's mix of their "Never The Same" track. The video at the bottom is for the Miami Kidz remix, which is much lighter and emphasizes the spacey side, as well as stripping down both the vocals and electronic bits.

http://audioporncentral.com/2011/12/dj-frogg-why-dont-you-shake-the-big-bad-wolf.html
DJ Frogg is, well, French. As best I can manage from his site he claims to be as influenced by Duke Ellington as by Daft Punk or similar modern electronic artists. Last time he was using Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington which worked quite well. Here he's trying to do one with Peggy Lee and it's not always successful. He seems to stop and start rather than really blending the tracks the way I'd like. His site (http://froggsblog.blogspot.com/) is worth checking out for lots more samples of what he does.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/02/justice-on-n-on-justin-robertsons-the-deadstock-33s-vox-remix.html
Justin Robertson (http://thedeadstock33s-justinrobertson.com/) remixes another French artist's work, in this case Justice's "On 'n' On". The result is smooth and slightly trippy but keeps a good beat throughout. It's a lovely extended mix.

http://audioporncentral.com/2012/02/chemical-brothers-pourquoi-rhythm-scholars-dead-pixels-remix-thriftshop-xl-video.html
There was a time when Chemical Brothers did very accessible nearly standard song-structured electronic tracks. They were one of the groups that helped me bridge from standard rock-and-roll to electronic music. Then they sort of wandered off into their own space, doing their own thing and I stopped following them. Here Rhythm Scholar (http://www.rhythmscholar.com/) does a remix of "Porquoi" (see, there's that French again) that takes me right back to the very earliest Chemical Brothers things I heard. It's sample-laden, energic beats, with a very 90s electronica feel mixed in, along with even earlier references ("War Games" and 8-bit samples).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEtbs6c8zq8
http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Tahiti_80/track/Darlin_John_Talabots_Oscuro_Baile_Remix/
Tahiti 80 are a French indie/experimental quartet. Their sound is often spare and minimalist on its own, as you can hear in the first link which is just two of them doing an acoustic version of this track, "Darlin'". Contrast that with this remix by John Talabot, which remakes the entire feel of the track, amping it up and making it wholly electronica without being overpowering. Despite being around for nearly a decade I had not heard of them before, which is really a shame. I'm sure Sturgeon's Law applies equally to music out of France (or the rest of Europe) but that still means there are some real gems we're not getting to hear over here.
drwex: (Default)
Old joke I guess. Does anyone even know what a music deck is anymore? Anyway, here are three new sounds and some nice remixes from old favorites.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/CREEP/track/You_Planningtorock_Remix
Creep (http://www.myspace.com/wearecreep) are a Brooklyn duo that live musically someplace between punk and electronica. They call themselves trip hop but this stuff is much darker than what I usually associate with that kind of sound. The two remixes here have a minor-key electronic buzz that took me a couple of listens to get into, but is definitely growing on me.

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/chucha_santamaria_y_usted/track/fiebre_tropical
Also outside my usual, Chucha Santamaria y Usted is sort of punk and sort of electronic and definitely Hispanic. But with church-choral overtones mixed under the typical Latin rhythms it comes across as an odd sort of inside-out music that is also pretty solidly electronic dance-pop. Go figure that one out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMHHHAi5Oqk
http://soundcloud.com/zagarmusic/sets/prophet-is-a-fool-remixes/
Zagar (http://www.zagarmusic.com/index_en.php) have a number of remixes out for this, their "Prophet Is A Fool" track. You can find all of them at the Soundcloud link. This one, Eriq Johnson's take, is neatly experimental and pulls in things from New York style R&B rhythms to Australian digeridoo influences, to vocal trance choral bits. Zagar themselves are Hungarian indie rockers who pull from all over - particularly jazz and trance-dance.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=384&Itemid=36
Dan Mei does a "return to a classic" mix here, using Katrina And The Waves' well-known "Walking On Sunshine" underneath Eric Hassle's "Hurtful" and speeding both up to a seriously kicking BPM. Say it with me - heavy horns make everything sound better.

http://www.mashup-industries.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=383&Itemid=36
Speaking of Dan Mei and making everything sound better, apparently it is possible to take a seriously mediocre and over-autotuned cover of Patti Smith's "Because The Night", mash that with a little Britney Spears drivel, an overplayed Bon Jovi tune, a heavy dollop of t.A.T.u and come up with something wholly awesome. I have no idea how, but it works. I blame it on t.A.T.u. whose hauntingly pained "Can you see me now?" echoes so strongly over the second half of the mix.

http://audioporncentral.com/2011/06/illegal-sunday-production-unit-intro-again.html
Production Unit (http://dave.marciablaine.com/) takes two nice tracks - Alliyah's "Try Again" and The XX's spare and haunting "Intro" - to create a smooth beautiful mix with her vocals floating above the bass and beats. I've had this one on repeat for several days and it doesn't get old.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VBtI_sUuL58
And finally lobsterdust, who seemingly can do very little wrong these days. Here he takes the sacred psychedelia of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love" and puts it up with the big dance sounds of Fatboy Slim's "Praise You." I linked to the video rather than the MP3 in part because watching it - and the very young Grace Slick - brought back memories. I believe the last time I saw her (and them) live was 1983 in a small theater just outside PA. From the sixth row I almost felt like I could touch her and when they sang this song she leaned way out over the audience and sang her heart out.

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