The Weekly Froth! With Marcos Cabral, Jeremy Glenn and LE1F

Marcos Cabral

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: ‘Sweet & Sour’ by Marcos Cabral (Jeremy Glenn remix)

Marcos Cabral is one half of Runaway, and if you know the track ‘Brooklyn Club Jam’, you kind of know what you’re getting at the start of this. It’s a really deep, bit of a tribal beat. Something that, when at a club, just guides you on how to dance. I guess it is one of those beats you would, literally, feel. And then those vocals at 1:30, my goodness, LOVE them. Big love for them. And in the mean time that deep, tribal beat keeps playing. Though the title of this track might sound like something you order at a restaurant (seriously, not sure what they were thinking), this is better served in a club playing at a time when you want people to get sweaty and you want them to get it on. I’m not familiar with the original, so not sure which part Jeremy Glenn is responsible for (are it his vocals? I remember a track of his that, in terms of voice, is similar, though the track itself was a different genre completely), but this is a remix that I, for one, wouldn’t be afraid to play in a club. I love tracks in which a nice, good beat is combined with strong, emotional vocals (see Storm Queen for more of that).

‘When I See You Again’ by Canyons (Nick Zinner remix)

Canyons are just coming off releasing a hit and miss album (in my eyes, hopefully some people loved it more than I did), but some of those tracks were ace beyond belief (I’m looking at you ‘My Rescue’). This is a very nice Nick Zinner remix, absolutely fitting for the weather I’m listening to this in. Sunny, staring out over the river, excellent. It’s got the raspy vocals, a certain rhythm to it, but it also has a bit of acoustic guitar and a laidback feel going on. If you were expecting a wall of guitar because it is from he of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs you are in for a surprise, as it is not even close to being that. There are several things happening all at once, but somehow Nick Zinner prevents it from feeling cluttered, which is definitely a good thing. Instead, it actually feels quite relaxing, despite being pretty complex with all the numerous layers. Nice song, nice remix, and with five minutes it’s sure not to outstay its welcome.

‘Cochon Ville’ by Sebastien Tellier (The Magician remix)

Of the two, I’m definitely more in the The Magician camp than the Aeroplane one. This remix has this nice deep disco bass going on which might get you moving. Then the vocals come in, and I like the rhythm of the vocals, very enticing. It has a bit of a space disco vibe to it I find, with the synthesizers sounding the way they do. I like the vocals on this one, mostly because they just really fit the sound The Magician is going for, and I like the rhythm of it more than anything else. Love that around 2:15 you have a bit of vocals and then a strip down back to that deep bass sound, which might just get your shoulders shaking and baking. I you like that spacey vibe a bit in your disco set, then this is definitely one to put on your preliminary playlist (though I’ve got no idea on the BPM, but you can figure that one out yourself). But if it fits, one to keep in mind.

‘Mind Body’ by LE1F

Not that I’m into rap or hip-hop, mind you, but I read an article last week on Pitchfork about NY Queer Rap, which was quite a good read, so I just wanted to give a shout out to that one by highlighting a new track of one of the artists that were featured in that article. Its sound is a deep one, so don’t expect it to be light happy and gay this one. Dark stuff, very trippy, and loads of glitchy electronics going on to support a deep voice singing about mind body, whatever that is. Can’t quite make out any of the other lyrics, I’m afraid. As said, not my schtick, so don’t take too much stock in what I have to say on it. Do check out the article though, gotta share what’s interesting no?

‘Stand Up’ by Pitchben (Runaway remix)

Runaway is disco fabs Marcos Cabral and Jacques Renault, and though under that guise they also love to go a bit deeper occassionally, this is on the lighter side of the equation. It actually feels a bit Tiger & Woodsy when that main sound comes in around the fifty second mark with the short sample repetition. But when the vocals come in, you immediately get the disco vibe again. Its got this kind of soft sensibility that I like, and naturally Runaway makes sure you can keep dancing to it. As said, the essence of the track is short bits that are continuously being repeated, and on top of that you’ve got the layer of vocals doing their thing. And sometimes they put an actual beat right at the forefront, which is good, because when your track is eight minutes, you can’t expect all the dancers to keep dancing on the same kind of thing, now can ya? And a beat to give the dance crowd something recognizable is always a smart move in that case. Just to be a bit more specific, don’t expect a total disco vibe from this one, it’s a bit more electro I think. Bit Tiger & Woodsy, as said, but then with a slightly lighter and less clubby vibe. More beach party I’m getting from this.

‘Will Be Now’ by John Talabot & Pional (Young Edits Club mix)

John Talabot hit the freaking jackpot with that album of his, which is absolutely superb and which I expect to feature high on at least my end of year list. This mix, though, might not. Young Edits want to try and put it in the club (the more people who hear Talabot’s tracks the better, I reckon), but for that they need to speed it up, and especially at the start that just sounds awful and, if you have heard the original, kind of unnatural. After a while, when the track has settled down a bit (and I guess when my ears got used to it a tad) it is serviceable, though I find the sounds too sharp for this kind of work. The thing about the Talabot album is its nuance, its aesthetic, its subtleness, and to make it club ready they sharpened the edges and that is not quite as pleasant a sound I’m afraid. Do listen to that album though, genius.