Posted: May 21st, 2008 | Author: justin | Filed under: dance, philly, remixes | No Comments »
Philly’s Pink Skull (aka Julian S. Process and Justin Geller) are having a solid 2008. Following the release of their stellar and diverse debut LP, Zeppelin 3, they unleash one of the best remixes for HEALTH’s soon to be released HEALTH//DISCO remix album. Process and Gellar do justice to the FRICTION alums’ track “Heaven” and spin it into a dark dance-inspired late-night rager. “Heaven” is given a sturdy thumping beat and other electronic flairs, while entrancing vocals bubble up to the surface from the noise and lure you onto the shadowy dancefloor.
HEALTH//DISCO drops next Tuesday, May 27th on Lovepump United. Grab the remix below along with the dirty dance-floor-friendly “Unicorn Harpoon” from Zeppelin 3 below, which is out now on Tonearm/Free Press.
[MP3]: HEALTH ”Heaven (Pink Skull Remix)”
HEALTH//DISCO, Lovepump United; 2008
[MP3]: Pink Skull ”Unicorn Harpoon”
Zeppelin 3, Tonearm; 2008
Posted: May 12th, 2008 | Author: justin | Filed under: dance, disco, electro, funk, soul | No Comments »
Syclops lends itself as a bit of a mystery. Little is known of the “Finnish trio” featuring Sven Kortehisto, Hanna Sarkari, and Jukka Kantonen since they don’t tour, do interviews, take press photos, or reveal much information about themselves. The “band” does however play live shows, but only for themselves, not audiences. “They” want the listener to experience their music and enjoy it unencumbered by other things like biographical information, stories, and the like. The fact of the matter is, the ambiguous Finnish trio is actually a front for the one man project of interview-shy, leftfield producer Maurice Fulton (Mu, Kathy Diamond). Why hide behind an obscure trio? I’m not really sure, but one thing I do know is that after a handful of singles including this year’s brilliant “Where’s Jason’s K?,” Fulton will be dropping his debut full-length as Syclops I’ve Got My Eye On You on DFA in June.
I’ve Got My Eye On You expands on the dark electro disco of the January 2008 Syclops single “Where’s Jason’s K?”/”Monkeypuss” (DFA) with more left of center madness. The Sheffield, UK producer’s main success under the Syclops alter-ego is that he manages to take his twisted view of disco, soul, funk and electro and turn them into solid catchy tracks. “Where’s Jason’s K?” follows an addictive hammering bassline over minimal beats for most of the track’s length. Fulton adds a cowbell here and there before the song reaches a pinnacle at its midpoint with organ freakouts and other bizarre shit. The B-side of the single, “Monkeypuss” is a acid house infused affair, harsh and bassy, primed for the dirty dancefloor.
With the brilliant Hercules & Love Affair album already under their belts this year, DFA looks to do it again with I’ve Got My Eye On You on June 10th. Previous single “K” will appear on the album along with the other tracks listed below.
[MP3]: Syclops ”Monkeypuss”
“Where’s Jason’s K?” Single, DFA; 2008
I’ve Got My Eye On You Track Listing:
1. “NR17”
2. “The Fly”
3. “Naoka’s F”
4. “5 Out”
5. “Nelson’s Back”
6. “Where’s Jason’s K?”
7. “The E Ticket”
8. “Mom, The Video Broke”
9. “I’ve Got My Eye On You”
10. “A Lovely Sunday”
Posted: March 24th, 2008 | Author: justin | Filed under: dance, layers, music, shoegaze, synths, trance | 1 Comment »
A month or so ago I was lucky enough hear most of Saturday’s = Youth, the new album from Anthony Gonzalez, better known as M83. And although I only listened to Gonzalez’s fifth studio album just once through, I can confidently say that Saturday’s = Youth is the best thing I’ve heard so far this year. Keep in mind though, I’m a big fan of M83, so my opinion is somewhat biased.
The hazy shoegaze atmospherics and deep space textures of Gonzales’ past efforts are still present on Saturday’s = Youth, but the Frenchman loses the melodrama of previous records, crafting more structured songs with a pop mentality. M83’s recent composition, the eight-and-a-half minute “Couleurs” is driven by assertive thumping beats and glistening synths with an ambient fog hanging over layers of feedback, which is broken through by a trance-like rhythm as the song picks up in its later minutes. I’m really digging the less rock, more pop/dance aspect of this song and the record.
Saturday’s = Youth drops on April 15th via Mute and was produced by Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, Suede, Cocteau Twins, Sugarcubes) and Ewan Pearson (The Rapture, Ladytron). The first single set to be relased from the record (following the already released “Couleurs”) is “Graveyard Girl.”
Gonzales and his crew consisting of drummer Loic Maurin, bassist/guitarist Pierre-Marie Maulini, and Morgan Kibby, who did vocals for the album lands in New York City on 6/3 at Music Hall of Williamsburg and 6/4 at Bowery Ballroom, while Philly gets the band on June 6th in the basement of The First Unitarian Church before they head to D.C. the following night for a show at Black Cat. Tickets are on sale now.
[MP3]: M83 ”Couleurs” (via)
Saturday’s = Youth, Mute; 2008
Posted: March 6th, 2008 | Author: justin | Filed under: FRICTION, dance, music, nyc | Tags: apache beat, crystal castles, FRICTION, health, team robespierre | 4 Comments »
GET HYPE! Toronto’s Crystal Castles, along with Los Angeles quartet HEALTH, and New York’s Team Robespierre and Apache Beat are set to turn the next installment of FRICTION into a balls-to-the-motherfucking-wall dance party. Expect a night of dizzying strobe lights, throbbing basslines, blasts of noise, tropical and psychedelic freak-outs, and plenty of ruckus as these four acts bring hype to the Mercury Lounge on March 26th. Dayton Ohio’s very own, Ruckus Roboticus will be laying down tracks between sets.
TICKETS / Doors @ 7pm / Flyer, MP3s + more below
Toronto’s
CRYSTAL CASTLES transformed Chicago’s Abbey into a bona fide arcade rave last night, punctuating pretty much every blip, bleep, and fuzzy bass throb with a strobe light that flickered nearly non-stop through their set [Pitchfork, 2/27/08].
[MP3]: “Loving and Caring”
The rock’n'roll lifestyle takes its toll, but
HEALTH keep themselves in upper-case shape with their frenetic, head-banging, percussion-brutalizing live shows [Pitchfork].
[MP3]: “Crimewave”
TEAM ROBESPIERRE are the perfect band to ask to play when you want to turn your broken-down loft or vacant parking lot into an instant party space [Oh My Rockness].
[MP3]: “Ha Ha Ha”
Both live and on record,
APACHE BEAT channel their interests back to the confines of modern music, layering together huge slices of delicately constructed melodies and rhythm [Dazed and Confused].
[MP3]: “Tropics (CFCF Remix)”
In part with:
Posted: December 11th, 2007 | Author: justin | Filed under: dance, electro, glam, layers, music, pop, synths | No Comments »
I guess it’s time for me to start getting together one of those year end list things. While I’m at that I wanted to share a few tracks from some artists that I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more of in 2008. Myself and maybe even Nghia will try to get around to doing another one of these in the coming weeks.
Thanks to the kind peeps over at Death + Taxes Magazine for turning me onto London’s SIAN ALICE GROUP. A promo copy of their debut record, 59.59, literally kept me company on my travels over the weekend. 59.59 is an expansive, sprawling pop effort, some might even say epic. Words like haunting, atmospheric, reflective, lush, dreamy, and experimental all come to mind when listening to the album’s sixteen tracks. Sian Ahern lends the record an ethereal beauty with her unearthly, yet seductive vocals…perfect for that winter night bundled up by the fireplace. 59.59 is due out in February on Brooklyn’s The Social Registry imprint.
[MP3]: Sian Alice Group ”As The Morning Light”
59.59, The Social Registry; 2008
Expect to be hearing a lot more about Brooklyn duo MGMT when their debut full-length, Oracular Spectacular, sees its proper physical release via Columbia Records in January (currently only available as a digital download now). When I first heard the single “Time To Pretend” I was reminded of the quirky uplifting pop of The Unicorns (who I miss dearly, but also makes a nice spot for MGMT in my heart).
[MP3]: MGMT ”Time To Pretend”
Oracular Spectacular, Columbia; 2008
I’ve been looking forward to the debut record from APES & ANDROIDS ever since they rocked off our faces at FRICTION back in the day at Sin-e. Nearly a year-and-a-half later and the band has completed their first full-length titled Blood Moon (cover art above), which will hit the streets relatively soon along with a release party at The Mercury Lounge on January 19th. To quote the band (well, actually a Transformers movie review), “it’s long and loud and everything about it is big: from the massive riffs, the pounding score and the band itself, which towers above everything and everyone in this mega-budget sonic explosion.” Check out “Golden Prize” from Blood Moon below. RAD!
[MP3]: Apes & Androids ”Golden Prize”
Blood Moon, Unsigned; 2008
If you have any love left for punchy energetic dance music after the onslaught we received in 2007, then Lyon, France’s SPITZER is for you. Mathieu and Damien Brégère, the French brothers behind Spitzer have been generating a bit of buzz with a couple of hard-hitting electro singles like “Kapersky,” which is going to be included on their Roller Coaster EP, set to be released in 2008. Currently unsigned, I wouldn’t be surprised if the duo was gobbled up by a label like Kitsune or Ed Banger in the coming months. Check out “Aveda Dollars” from the Roller Coaster EP below.
[MP3]: Spitzer ”Aveda Dollars”
Roller Coaster EP, Unsigned; 2008
Baltimore’s BEACH HOUSE put out one of my favorite records of 2006 with their self-titled debut on Carpark. The band is set to release their sophomore full-length titled Devotion on February 26th. Sounds like the band is picking up where they left off with “Gila.” Perfect.
[MP3]: Beach House ”Devotion”
Devotion, Carpark; 2008
Posted: October 2nd, 2007 | Author: justin | Filed under: dance, music, video | No Comments »
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOlKE7pUMqM[/youtube]
Really digging this video for Teenage Bad Girl’s single “Cocotte.” The way it’s shot is very Godard-esque. For you Francophiles, cocotte is French for “chick,” which kind of gives you a little hint on what the video is about. No, not that kind of chick, the other one…yeah, the one that comes from an EGG.
Cocotte is out now on Citizen Records.
Posted: October 1st, 2007 | Author: justin | Filed under: dance, mixtape, music | 4 Comments »
This October is all about dancing. From the streets of Paris, New York City, Toronto, Seattle, and elsewhere we bring you our October mixtape to get you hype for the loads of killer parties happening this month. Nghia takes things down a notch for a little slow dance grind with his Band Of Horses track. The rest are aimed at getting you primed for the dancefloor!
[MP3]: Fucked Up ”Stress (Justice cover)” [James]
Cover; 2007
[MP3]: Marvin Gaye ”Got To Give It Up” [Christian]
12″ Single, Tamla; 1977
[MP3]: Pela ”Lonesome Hearts (CWL Remix)” [Ray]
Remix, World’s Fair; 2007
[MP3]: datA ”Morphius” [Karim]
Aerius Light EP, Ekler’o'shock; 2007
[MP3]: Mika ”Ring Ring” [Ric]
Life in Cartoon Motion, Island; 2007
[MP3]: LCD Soundsystem ”Get Innoucuous (Soulwax Remix)” [Pablo]
Bunch of Stuff EP, Capitol; 2007
[MP3]: Paul Hardcastle ”19″ [Theo]
Paul Hardcastle, Chrysalis; 1985
[MP3]: Jurgen Paape and Boy Schaufler ”We Love” [Paul]
Kompakt Total 8, Kompakt; 2007
[MP3]: TTC ”Travailler (Orgasmic Remix)” [Pat]
36 15 TTC, Big Dada; 2007
[MP3]: Band Of Horses ”No One’s Gonna Love You” [Nghia's Slow Jam]
Cease To Begin, Sub Pop; 2007
[MP3]: David Rubato ”Circuit” [Justin]
12″ Circuit, Institubes; 2007
