Tag: house

My top 25 albums of 2016 – #’s 10-6

We’re into the top ten!

#10 

If you know me well, then you shouldn’t be surprised that a new record by Deap Vally made it into my top test list of any given year.  Femejism, besides having the greatest album title of the year, is solid beginning to end with the sizzling guitar, sexy / snarling vocals, and powerhouse drumming they do so well.

#9 

The debut LP from Goggs (or is it “G0ggs?”) is the loudest, wildest punk rock record I’ve heard all year.  Ty Segall, who plays guitar on the record, has quickly become one of the most prolific artists in music, and everything he puts out is worth hearing.

#8 

Of course a Radiohead record was going to be in the top 10.  A Moon Shaped Pool continues the band’s metamorphosis into this generation’s Pink Floyd.  It’s beautifully crafted, but a heavy listen.  It might be the saddest break-up (Thom Yorke from his long-time girlfriend) record of 2016.

#7 

“Holy crap” is the way I described my reaction upon first hearing A Tribe Called Quest‘s We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service to a friend.  This friend, Dee Tension, is a hip-hop producer, beat maker, and MC in Boston, and he claimed he’d been listening to it daily since its release.  You might, too, upon hearing it.  It’s not only a loving tribute to founding member Phife Dawg, but also a sharp critique on race, politics, gentrification, and much more.

#6 

Speaking of great returns, Underworld had another one we needed in 2016.  Barbara, Barbara, We Face a Shining Future is the most uplifting and optimistic record of the year.  Every song is about seeing good times ahead and remembering how every moment is divine.

We’re almost there.  Who makes the top 5?  Tune in tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: D:Fuse – People 2: Both Sides of the Picture (2003)

Recorded live and without edits in Austin, Texas, D:Fuse’s People 2: Both Sides of the Picture is an outstanding double-album of house and ambient, chill and trance music. Disc 1 is entitled People Chilling and is nothing but chill music from D:Fuse and some of his favorite artists. Subtech’s “Piano Heaven” is a particularly good downtempo track that is still danceable. Joy’s “Timewave Zero” is over ten minutes of slow groove house that turns into an acid lounge track. Kaskade’s “Be There” has a sweet xylophone and hand percussion groove. D:Fuse plays three of his own tracks on the “Chilling” half of the album. The first is “Indecision,” on which he teams with Blueletter to bring a funky house dance mix that doesn’t get too heavy. The second is the club mix of “Everything with You,” and the third is a great chill-out version of “Blue Skies.”

Disc 2 is People Clubbing and starts with a grade fade-in on Scanners’ (featuring D:Fuse, no less) “Music Is About You.” “Is it trance? Is it house? Does it matter?” they ask. The answer: It doesn’t. Just get out there and shake your groove thing. Abraham Bam Boogie’s “Deep Satisfaction” is a sharp house mix. D:Fuse returns, along with Joy, on “House Sound of the Future.” It has a great classic rave vibe to it that takes me back to the early 1990’s and dancing in an abandoned high school gym. Liam Kennedy’s “dirtbag remix” of “Evaporate” has some sweet synth bass that kicks in about a third of the way through the tune. D:Fuse and Shane Howard’s “Wash” has even more of it. The hand percussion on Nathan Profitt’s “There Is Hope” is wicked and brings a tribal urgency to the song.

It’s a good double album. One side is good for making out, the other for dancing. One can always lead to the other, right?

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Nortec Collective – The Tijuana Sessions vol. 1 (2001)

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I’d been looking for this album for a long time since hearing parts of it on a National Public Radio show that was highlighting techno and house music from Mexico made by Nortec Collective – a group of Mexican DJs and producers who often worked together. I found The Tijuana Sessions vol. 1 in a used CD bin for about three bucks last year. It was worth the wait.

Bostich’s “Polaris” gets the compilation off to a good start, mixing rapid snare beats with synth bass. Bostich has two other tracks on the album – “El Vergel” (which includes street band accordion and tuba to good effect. Yes, really.) and “Synthakon” – a fun dub track.

Fussible, Bostich’s frequent collaborator, has three tracks as well – “Casino Soul” (with fun electro bleeps and a swanky synth horn section), “Trip to Ensenada” (a great acid house track with cool reverbed synths), and “Ventilador” (his trippiest contribution to the record).

Another triple threat DJ on the record is Terrestre. He starts with “Norteno De Janeiro,” which is a great tune for late night lounging and make-out sessions in a nightclub on the Yucatan Peninsula. Second is “El Lado Oscuro De Mi Compadre,” which belongs in a Bond film or at least a cool 1960’s Euro-spy movie. Third is “Tepache Jam” – an accordion and tuba-heavy jam saluting Mexican buskers and house parties.

Plankton Man gets a double shot, first with “Elemento N.” Like Bostich’s “El Vergel,” it blends house music with traditional Mexican street music (bold horns, parade drums, and touches of Spanish style guitar) and mixes them well. His next tune is “No Liazi Jaz,” which brings in a bit of psychedelic fuzz to his house stylings.

Other DJs on the record include Panoptica, whose “And L” is a slick acid house track with trippy reverbed percussion, Clorofila (bringing us the super-loungy “Cantamar ‘72”), and Hiperboreal – whose “Tijuana for Dummies” is a good house track with no muss and no fuss. It’s just dance beats layered upon dance beats.

The Tijuana Sessions vol. 1 is a good house / lounge / dub record and well worth investigating if you’re on the hunt for such music. Just don’t take eleven years to find it like I did.

Keep your mind open.

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New house music from Mr. Tophat due in January.

MR. TOPHAT FEAT. ROBYN’S “TRUST ME” EP
SET FOR JANUARY 13TH RELEASE VIA SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND

LISTEN TO “TRUST ME”
https://youtu.be/GVpDhCnbh5U
[above image by Per Erik Adamsson]
It’s a match made in dancefloor heaven: Swedish house maestro Mr. Tophat and pop phenom Robyn have come together for “Trust Me,” a three track EP of dark disco and luscious grooves. With each track going well beyond the nine-minute mark, “Trust Me” is the artistic culmination of two artists joining together in the studio and putting pure inspiration to tape, resulting in some of the loosest and most intriguing music either has made in their careers. Further strengthening the EP’s disco bonafides are contributions by Abba’s original drummer, Per Lindvall, and his brother, bassist David Lindvall.

Although Robyn and Mr. Tophat have known each other personally for nearly a decade, the first time they professionally crossed paths was last year, when the latter contributed a few remixes of material from Robyn’s “Love Is Free” EP with La Bagatelle Magique. “I wasn’t making my own music at the time, so he forced his way into my studio and said, ‘We’re going to make music now,’” Robyn recalls the beginnings of the pair’s creative process. “It was really nice for me to be submerged into his world and lose myself in something that wasn’t my own.”

“Trust Me” is certainly situated in Mr. Tophat’s world. The Stockholm-based Junk Yard Connections owner and Karlovak co-founder has spent most of this decade releasing a brilliant stretch of side-long singles with production pal Art Alfie. Those singles’ dense, lovingly handcrafted club vibes are perfectly realized on this EP, with some subtle tweaks to the winning formula—a rich intricacy embedded within a deeper-than-deep sound perfect for peak-hour dancing and 3 AM comedown communions alike.

Mr. Tophat feat. Robyn’s “Trust Me” EP is out January 13th via Smalltown Supersound and available for pre-order now.
Listen to Mr. Tophat feat. Robyn’s “Trust Me”:
https://youtu.be/GVpDhCnbh5U
https://open.spotify.com/track/6EM47FG2jJtBiThswNhNaE

“Trust Me” EP Tracklisting:
1. Trust Me (Original)
2. Right Time (Original)
3. Disco Davato (Original)

Pre-order Mr. Tophat feat. Robyn’s “Trust Me” EP –
Via Smalltown Supersound – http://smarturl.it/sts303-superstore
Via Bandcamp – http://smarturl.it/sts303-bcamp
Stream + download “Trust Me” everywhere else here – http://smarturl.it/sts303-digi

[“Trust Me” EP cover art]

 

Mr. Tophat & Robyn online:
https://www.facebook.com/mrtophatofficial/
https://soundcloud.com/mrtophat
https://www.instagram.com/mrtophatofficial/
http://robyn.com
https://www.facebook.com/robyn
https://soundcloud.com/robyn

Bristol house music duo Punctual release debut single.
“This duo look set to take dance music in some exciting directions.” – Wonderland Magazine

“It feels like the future” – Indie Shuffle

“Follow along with Punctual, it’s sure to be a promising journey.” – Earmilk

Continuing their love of old-school House music, Punctual officially release “Eva” and reveal B-side “Fix” for the first time today via Juicebox Recordings. Having recently remixed the latest HONNE track “Good Together” as well as “Feet On The Ground” by Fono, Punctual are keen to showcase their latest material.

On “Eva,” Punctual are further enhancing their reputation for producing rich and textured sounds that bring a fresh new approach to traditional House music. B-side “Fix” is a layered, genre-defying journey calling upon influences such as Floating Points, Todd Terje, Robert Glasper, Lone and Max Graef. The preacher sample perfectly conveys the overall emotions that the song manages to impart upon the listener.

Punctual are songwriter / producer / DJ duo Will Lansley and John Morgan, based out of Bristol. The duo have been immersed in their rich local scene making music together and playing DJ sets to road-test their creations. “Eva” has received radio plays from industry heavyweights such as BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong, Monki, Phil Taggart and Huw Stephens as well as multiple plays from Zane Lowe on Beats 1 Radio.

LISTEN TO PUNCTUAL’S “EVA”/“FIX”:
“Eva” SoundCloud – https://soundcloud.com/wearepunctual/eva
“Fix” SoundCloud – https://soundcloud.com/wearepunctual/fix-1
“Eva”/”Fix” on Spotify – smarturl.it/PunctualSpot
“Eva”/”Fix” on iTunes – smarturl.it/PunctualiTunes
“Eva”/”Fix” on Google – smarturl.it/PunctualGoogle

PUNCTUAL TOUR DATES:
Fri. Oct. 21 – Bristol, UK @ Motion (tickets)
Sat. Nov. 26 – Bristol, UK @ Motion (tickets)