The Weekly Froth! With Charlotte Gainsbourg, Frankie Rose and Storm Queen

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Paradisco

By Stef Siepel

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Paradisco’ by Charlotte Gainsbourg (Joakim remix)

I loved (LOVED) that Joakim album last year – a proud addition to my vinyl collection, really like the aesthetic he works with. I seem to remember I actually liked Charlotte Gainsbourg’s ‘Paradisco’, and I know for sure that I, prior to listening, wasn’t at all certain how a Joakim version of this song would sound. But it sounds brilliant, actually, to be fair. Joakim put a needle and just injected this song with atmosphere whilst keeping a beat in there. I get the real urge to disconnectedly vogue on this. Eyes staring blankly into space whilst striking a pose, a pose, a pose, and another one. This is one of those things where I went Huh, really? when I saw it on paper and which just makes sense when listening to it. Awesomeness by Joakim, turning this Gainsbourg song into something completely different, putting it in its own aesthetic, and making it work.

‘Interstellar’ by Frankie Rose

I like the dreamy atmosphere Frankie Rose immediately creates. From the get go you’ve set your aesthetic, you have established the world you are going to operate in for three to four minutes, and I think that is a very good thing to do. Add to that those really nice vocals that fit the music really well, and you’re on to something. I can just imagine listening to this, peering out of the window of my train into the nightscape. And then, at 1:20, the drums come banging in, and it is such a contrast that it basically amplifies that it is contrasting the first part, which is bonkers, and a bit too much in my opinion. With that Rose basically destroys the world that the song operated in and the mode which was established in the first 1:30 of the song. And I could analyze that textually or theatrically etcetera, but this is such a shift, done in such an abrupt way, it would make me go for the skip button on my mp3 players fairly quickly if suddenly that second part would come barging in on my commute.

‘Look Right Through’ by Storm Queen (Aeroplane remix)

Gosh, I do love Storm Queen. And I do do do love this track by him. It is ace, it was one of my favorite songs of last year, so to no one’s surprise, this Aeroplane remix doesn’t quite live up to that. Also, I just don’t think it is a very good remix. What Aeroplane does is putting this pretty constant sound under it that just rolls on and on without the variety and the stops and the breathing space the original has. It’s like, constantly the same pace, nothing ever changes (and if things change, they certainly don’t change it up enough). It just feels like Aeroplane filled in every bit of air that that the original had left in there, and I’m not sure that is such a good idea. Even songs need to breathe, ya know. It also takes all the emotion out of the vocals. And, quite frankly, out of the song. And what is house sans emotion? That’s just dance really, innit? Do track down the original though, that one is ace beyond belief.

‘Pill Party in India’ by The Time and Space Machine (Psychemagik remix)

I like how the drums come out, with a bit of gusto. I liked the debut of The Time and Space Machine, so I certainly don’t mind him putting out a second album under this moniker. This is a remix by Psychemagik, and you know it’s a remix because of that build up from 30 seconds to 40 seconds, which screams remix to me. After that it really gets very clubby, and I suppose that a club version of the original is not too shabby to have, but the first two minutes are really really club (Ibiza, arena, type stuff) and I’m not too big a fan of that. After the two minute mark it changes a bit, it gets some cowbell going, and I kind of like that better. The second half has more sounds to take the song out of that generic club mode, which I think is a plus. That botched up thing he does at 3:40, not too big a fan of that. Looking more forward to the album than to listening to this remix again.

‘Space’ by Letthemusicplay (Jacques Renault remix)

It’s kind of unfair to still be putting in Jacques Renault tunes in this column, because I love everything he does basically, so no real suspense there. But it is always good to give credit where  credit is due, so here I go again. It starts out a bit jungle vibey, and after 15 seconds the beat comes in to make you dance dance dance. The start might not be the most inspiring of all to be fair, but that change up after about 1:15 is GORGEOUS (John Lithgow voice on). It’s just things like that that make me so mad about this boy. After that, the rest is just bonus. You get the strip down at the two minute mark, after which he doesn’t really go for the pay-off but basically sneaks in a beat. And at 3:15 he goes with that delightful change up again, which definitely warranted a repeat. With four minutes to go he makes sure to slightly turn it up a notch so the people on the dancefloor won’t stop dancing, and then he simply rides it home. Another stellar one by Jacques Renault.

‘Chance’ by Yellowstone

Sometimes you gotta put up some of the “local” bands here, got to support the music scene no? This is a young band, released their first EP (free to download, so if you got a bit of spare time left…) last month, and this is one of the songs on that EP. It starts out really atmospheric, bit of echo on the vocals, really nice. After the two minute mark it gets a bit mathy I guess, with a searing guitar going to work. I get a bit of Western vibe from it at times, not sure if that was all that intentional, and nearing the end it does get this kind of radio song quality which might be a good idea commercially speaking but which I don’t particularly fancy. Like the atmosphere they put in it though, and how the first part breaks into the second part without making you go What the heck?. Can’t go wrong with a free download on this I would say.

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