We met the charming and very lovely Alex Metric backstage at Wireless Festival a little while ago, and here are the results of our blossoming friendship with a man after our own hearts:
Boris Dlugosch
When I loaded the latest single from the German deep house producer Boris Dlugosch onto my iPod I was half expecting it to go into a state of shock due to the presence of such a foreign body on its hard drive. Not that I have anything against German deep house but I guess I always tended to equate it to doner kebabs, brilliant at 3am when you’ve had a skinfull but not so advisable at any other time. Which is why I was somewhat shocked when I heard ‘Bangkok’… and actually quite liked it!
This German barrage of bass kicks off with a rather straight drum beat and synth line, however this is just regular façade of what is, on the whole, a rather edgy track. The main hook sounds like a Smurf with a hollow wooden arse having its head slammed in a door whilst being smacked on the rear end with a drum stick, well it does to me anyway…..and I love it, and you should too!
The background to this Smurf-related assault is provided by a deep, crunching bass beat so dark and murky it should be housed in London Dungeons; equally brilliant.
However, this track also seems to have one foot in the past as a vintage sounding ascending synth line conjures images of old Daft Punk albums, before being crushed by the London Dungeon bass blob and Smurf assaulting drummer.
Thank you, Boris Dlugosch, for giving me my first pleasant sober experience of deep house, and thank you also for deciding what I should have for lunch tomorrow… extra salad and garlic mayo please!
Short Circuitry
A brief introduction is in order: with the UK’s dance scene in rude health and its influence currently being felt way beyond our shores, you have on your screen the first installment of Short Circuitry, a monthly column that intends to shed some light on a snapshot of some of the most exciting developments in electronic music over the preceding four weeks or so (in this case mostly from late June and July).
Little Boots
Pop and alternative music have a funny old relationship really. On the whole, there’s an uneasy sense of détente, all the while buttressed by a smug sense of superiority on the part of the ‘serious’ music fans, which occasionally gives way to blasts of outright snobbery.
Royksopp
For a short while there, it was looking as though Röyksopp may fall into that “band from that car/phone advert” category.
Fenech Soler
I suspect that King’s Cliffe is lacking in great electro bands, but at least they have one, Fenech Soler. Incidentally, putting Fenech into your image search engine brings up a lot of pictures of a 1960s erotic actress, so just be careful if you’re at work.
Junior Boys
2009 welcomes the return of Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus, more commonly known as Canadian dance act Junior Boys. Three years have passed since their last release, the critically acclaimed So This Is Goodbye. But can Junior Boys replicate their past success on their latest album?
Junior Boys - Hazel
Canadian duo Junior Boys have been honing an engaging blend of dance music for much of the decade now. Their debut album Last Exit was lauded by critics and they achieved something of a crossover in 2006 with ‘In The Morning’, the infectious track from their follow-up So This Is Goodbye. Forthcoming third album Begone Dull Care finds Junior Boys continuing to focus in on their sound; something that they have always excelled at is creating a mood across a whole record and their new album is lushly produced, with the beats crisp and immediate, and holds a few surprises along the way. However, at times, the songs themselves can flatten into a whole, occasionally failing to fully realise their potential; stuck between ‘pop’ songs and ‘dance’ songs, some tracks can’t quite become either and fail to register.
‘Hazel’ however, is not one of those moments; rightly cherry-picked to be the first single from Begone Dull Care, it comes glazed with just the right amount of retro dancefloor chic, coupled with the romantic longing of a great pop song. Jeremy Greenspan’s vocals have, in the past, been a little understated, even whispered, but here he gives the soulful leanings that had always been apparent a freer reign. … Continue Reading
Orbital II
Rave culture emerged with such a bang in 1988 that most of its vast following was left in an ecstasy fuelled daze for the remainder of the decade. It wasn’t until the early nineties that some of the producers of the era’s finest tracks began to realise the artistic potential of the acid sound. After all, the warehouse parties weren’t about standing around watching men with long hair masturbate guitars. It wasn’t about image or attitude or ego. It was about the crowd, and it was about dancing.
Filthy Dukes
This reviewer prescribes to the school of thought that music criticism should never rely too heavily on namechecking other bands when describing the sounds of a new album.
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