The Weekly Froth! With Madrid, CFCF and Classixx

Madrid - 'Sad Song' (Mickey Moonlight Rework)

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.

‘Sad Song’ by Madrid (Mickey Moonlight Rework)

The song starts out with a little piano ditty, but the real track starts a little while in when the instruments start setting a moody atmosphere and the vocals consequently match it. It’s a project by (former) members of CCS and Bonde de Role, two pretty well known bands I reckon. This I haven’t heard CCS do though (With the note that I’m not THAT familiar with their work outside of the singles). It’s all about the atmosphere, which really epitomizes sadness, or in any case something in decline, some sort of loss. They really manage to hit that out of the park. I also like the male and female vocals together. I think they complement each other perfectly, especially in the context of this song. A good duet, and I do honestly think it’s been a time since I’ve heard one of those.

‘Can’t Sleep Since’ by Keenhouse

It seemingly is about to start out like some sort of dreamy, slow paced tune. But quickly you recognize the build-up as one working towards a pretty big release, and not much later it gets a thumping beat which readies it for the dancefloor. Though some parts of the song seem to be pretty straightforward banger material, some stretches in there are a tad more experimental, which kind of cuts into the momentum it tries to build. For me it is a peculiar mix because it seemingly is aiming for either two things at once, or none of them at all. I assume that it isn’t made as a straight house tune, for I would say there are too many stretches that kill the momentum. However, the “banger” parts are not really moments in the song I would really get enthusiastic about listening to by myself. So for me, it kind of falls in between two worlds, this.

‘Blue Eyes’ by Ladyhawke (Jacques Renault remix)

Now, I’m not the biggest Ladyhawke fan around. However, I’ll listen to almost anything Renault puts up, so this is not going to be an exception to the overriding rule here. Renault puts in a nice rolling sound, and it uses the vocals of Ladyhawke well to mix into the vibe he is creating. With vocals being not really her delivering lines, but he picks out a line purely for the way her voice flows I think, not so much because of its lyrical content. I like that slow down at the three minute mark, really smooth transition that, and it is a nice stop-and-go for the returning beat a good fifteen seconds later. I definitely can see myself dancing to this, though with that said, I don’t think this will crack my top ten Renault songs anytime soon. There’s something in that aesthetic that I do not quite prefer over his more disco sounding tunes. For me, there’s this tropical element (by lack of better description) in here that does not quite do it for me. Though as said, if this comes up in a club, no complaining from my side.

‘Maybe You’ by Saint Lou Lou (CFCF remix)

I think CFCF has so developed since the first remixes I heard of him. Those were kind of disco fueled affairs — which I loved, mind you — but from that point on I think he really has managed to build on his own sound. His pallet is just tremendous, and I think he has become ace at playing with structures and layers and sounds, knowing how to really use them to enhance the mood of the songs. His tracks just sound like someone so confident with sound and so knowing in what sounds connote what. And you can hear that in this track as well, just the different layers and elements in there. Add to that some lovely, fragile female vocals that fit the aesthetic of the track, and you are in for six minutes of lovely hypnoticness. That moment at 3:30 when he goes from a vocal part to a stretch of just instrumentals is especially lovely, that’s a highlight for me right there.

‘Little Things’ by Walker & Royce (Eli Escobar remix)

With Eli Escobar you know that you’re going to get dirty on the dancefloor. He really is able to bring that vibe to his songs where you can imagine them in a hot and sweaty club with people really getting down and bumping and grinding against each other. And nothing wrong with that, I would say. This is no exception, and right from the get go he delivers that vibe. There’s a nice change up after a good minute with the introduction of a new sound, and I also really like that vocal bit after the two minute mark. There he strips down the beat and he lets the vocals go for a bit. After which, obviously, the beat returns to, for a moment, ride alongside the vocals that have just been introduced. Certainly a nice and sexy remix for the dancing crowd I reckon.

‘Move in the Right Direction’ by Gossip (Classixx remix)

Classixx released some excellent singles of its own last year, and now they’re on remix duties for this Gossip track off of their most recent album. It starts out with this really summery, laid-back vibe. Not at all using those bold and brash sounds that dominate that Gossip album, if memory serves me correctly. Nor with the dominating vocals of Beth Ditto, for they are virtually absent from this track solely running on vibes. As said, this is a nice and summery tune, perfect for a beach party with a relaxed atmosphere. To turn a track completely around like this is kind of awesome to be honest, I always at least appreciate the effort if they don’t simply mimic the original with a different beat smacked onto it. And if it results in a nice listen like this, then I’m all the more for it.