Favourites From 2008

With the demise of a number of big distributors, there are those who will undoubtedly refer to 2008 as the year vinyl died. I prefer to think of it as separating the wheat from the chaff. In the future if the track isn’t absolutely top quality, it’s simply not going to see a proper record release, and I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. As it was, there were an awful lot of top-notch tracks that dropped last year. These are ten of my favourites.


Steven Lee & Gaby Dershin – Exit Row (Pirupa & Ruggero Remix) (C2)
Buy it now here or here.
C2 consistently put out quality records from the likes of Danny Howells, DJ Pierre, Eric Prydz, and Steve Angelo. This year, they have two in my top ten and two more that just missed the cut. This collaboration by veteran collaborators (Steven Lee is half of Lee-Cabrera, while Dershin is half of duo Astro & Glyde) features plucked strings over a chugging bassline. The original is good, but the remix is better. By adding another, percussive bassline underneath the original bassline and dispensing with the super-long breakdown, relative unknowns Pirupa & Ruggero make the track that much more propulsive. Whenever my mix needed to gather a bit of steam, this is the record I reached for.


Shed – Warped Mind (Ostgut Ton)
Buy it now here or here.
2008 will also be known as the year when minimal techno really came out. Labels like liebe*detail, Get Physical, and Areal all made big splashes this year, but the tsunami came from Berlin producer Shed. With a penchant for odd time signatures and unique track structures, “Warped Mind” is probably his most accessible track in recent memory. In keeping with the auditory aesthetic of minimal techno, “Warped Mind” is an elegant track, consisting of little more than a filtered synth line over skittery percussion. And yet, as with most of the genre, there is something about it that moves the hips and nods the head.


Kaskade & Deadmau5 – Move For Me (Deal)
Buy it now here or here.
I’ve written about this track before and, thankfully, it’s lost none of its immediacy. Even though it is the only Deadmau5 production I’ve enjoyed all year, it’s still a great track and the ‘mau5 is in my top ten for the second year in a row.


Renato Cohen – Magica (Sino)
Buy it now here or here.
Every now and then, Brazilian techno star Renato Cohen drops a couple of brilliant techno stormers into the laps of Hong Kong label Sino. He did it in 2003 and again in 2005. This year he dropped off one driving techno classic (b-side “Power”) and one tech-house masterpiece (a-side ”Magica”). Both tracks are elegantly simple, with the latter being a slightly better track than the former. “Magica” marries a looped vocal sample with an acid bassline and a high-low, pitch-bent electro-bass. The loop extols the listener to “Save my Life!” which, when combined with the pitch-bent bass, creates the kind of adrenaline-inducing vibe most often heard in jock jams like Gary Glitter’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 2)”. “Magica” works best as what I think of as a transition track; one that transitions from a lower to a higher state of floor energy. In that context, it simply can’t be beat.


My Federation – Don’t Wanna Die (Eye Industries)
Buy it now here.
There aren’t very many so-called Indy-rock bands that incorporate the house/techno sound palette into their songs with any grace or consistency. These types of bands tend to display a great deal of distain for all things electronic, despite the fact that punk bands these ingrates tend to idolize owe just as much to dub reggae and disco as they do to 50s rock. My Federation would appear to be the exception rather than the rule. The title single from their excellent album “Don’t Wanna Die” sets the tone for the whole album. It’s punk with an acid bassline. The icing on the cake is the glorious 3-part harmony on the chorus. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then for god sake pick up this slice of 7” gold. If those are all gone, then go get the CD.


Murk Presents Liberty City – If You Really Love Someone (Paul Woolford’s 11 Minutes of Magic) (C2)
Buy it now here or here.
Miami-based duo Murk has been in the game a long time. They’ve been making house since the early 90s under a plethora of pseudonyms. You might know them from classics by the likes of Funky Green Dogs or Mission Control or Interlude or Interceptor or Deep South or Coral Way Chief or, indeed, Liberty City. “If You Really Love Someone” was originally released was originally released in 1994 under Twisted Records sub-label TRIBAL and is considered a classic. The real story here is not Murk; it’s Paul Woolford. Ordinarily, I have avoided putting remixes and redoes of classic tracks in the round-up because they tend to be luke-warm versions of the original; a Malibu Stacy with a new hat. Just occasionally, however, an accomplished producer can take a classic and make it their own. “If You Really Love Someone” is a pretty menacing track to start with. The hissy percussion cuts through the three-note bassline like a knife, while Shauna Solomon’s layered vocals wails over top of it all. Woolford dispenses with everything but the vocal, adds a growling, pulsing bassline over some 909 drum sounds and manages to simultaneously make the track more propulsive and more ominous. Even its extended length (11 minutes!) isn’t an issue as Paul changes things up just enough to keep things rolling and stop the listener from tuning out. Woolford’s output has been spotty at best in the last few years, but this remix places him firmly back in the pantheon of great producers.


Oliver Koletzki vs. Parker Frisby – The Is So Fuckin’ Oldschool (Stil Vor Talent)
Buy it now here or here.
Don’t let the title fool you: Oliver Koletzki wrote and produced all four of these gems. Even though the track list credits A-side tracks “Since You Are Gone” and ”This Is So Fuckin’ Oldschool” to Koletzki and B-side tracks ”Street Life” and ”Brain Against Heart” to Parker Frisby, it’s obvious to the listener that they’re all the same guy. The title is accurate in one regard; these tracks would fit nicely in sets from both 2008 and 1998. ”Street Life”, for example, sounds like a Samplitude-era Olav Basoski track. What ties the EP together is the percussion. The same drum palette is used in all four productions with varying degrees of success. Of the four, I slightly favour “Since You Are Gone”, closely followed by ”Brain Against Heart” simply for the interaction between the chosen drum sounds and clean piano/keyboard melodies. In terms of bang-for-your-buck, you can’t go wrong with this EP.


Wagon Cookin – Mallorca (Sasse Remix) (Compost)
Buy it now here or here.
Apart from the time-signature, I’m not even sure there’s anything left of the original in Sasse’s remix of “Mallorca”. Regardless, I have been digging that bassline since this record dropped in February. The filtering applied is just perfect for head-nodding and hip-shaking. My only complaint is that that the track ends…oddly. After the break, that awesome bassline just drops completely out and you’re left with only the drums and the synth chords. If you’re not paying attention, it’s a real letdown, but if you’ve got another bassline waiting it the wings, it’s gold.


Andomat 3000 – BND2 (Four:Twenty)
Buy it now here or here.
Andomat 3000, a.k.a. Andreas Wiegand, has been recording as DJ Mahatma since the turn of the millennium. I can understand why he came up with the new moniker because his previous output consists almost entirely of hardcore techno/Schranz; certainly nothing like this minimal jewel. The combination of the shuffle percussion and stand-up bass loop provides “BND2”s groove, while the occasional trumpet call and ululating yell evokes the image of outlaws huddled around a campfire in a Tex-Mex desert. Even the title is a clever contraction of the word “bandito”. Even Kiki’s utterly pointless remix serves to underline the genius of original. Out of all the artists listed in this round-up, Andomat 3000 is the one to watch.


The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) (Modular)
Buy it now here or here.
I wrote about “Golden Cage” 5 months ago in The Lost Post (Summer Ingredients) and it’s still golden. Fred Falke doesn’t put a foot wrong on this remix. The sparkling melody, the pulsing bassline, the pitch-bent synths, I love it all and it is far and away my favourite record of the year.

Anyway, keep watching this space. I’ve got a bunch of things in the works, including some upcoming shows and record reviews. Not to mention a new mix that may include a few of the tracks listed above. All set to drop in the next couple of weeks. Until then, keep buying records.

The Lost Post

For some unknown reason, the August 10th post intitled "Summer Ingredients" has disappeared from the blog. Is it a blogger issue? Did I delete it by accident? It's a mystery. Thankfully, the Google Cache has saved my bacon and I'm able to repost it below.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Summer Ingredients

We moved. Again. Same city, just down the road in fact, but it was still quite an undertaking. Not the least of which is all those little jobs a new house requires. Like mowing the lawn. I haven't had to mow a lawn since moving from Nova Scotia, and now I have to mow twice a week just to keep up with the growth brought on by all this rain. And I'm here to tell you, nothing makes you appreciate new music like mowing a lawn. Especially vocal tracks with a bit of hands-in-the-air whooshy-ness. Here are a few of my current favourites.


The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) (Modular)
Buy it now here or here.
A gloriously sparkly remix by frenchman Fred Falke. I always kind of assumed that Alan Braxe was the real genius behind past Braxe & Falke remixes, but it's clear I was very much mistaken. Sorry about that Freddie; you certainly hold your own. Back to the track: I'm not sure if it's the pitch bent keys in the melody or the minor chords of the rhythm line, but FF's remix makes me want to tilt my smiling face into the sun. He takes what is otherwise po-faced guitar song about being trapped and turns it into a kind of bitter-sweat anthem to summer flings. You cannot lose with this one, sunrise, midday, or sunset.


The Presets - This Boy's In Love (Lifelike Remix) (Modular)
Buy it now here.
Another Modular record! I've been watching the Presets since their Blow Up EP five (5!) years ago and I have to say these guys are doing it right. The original track is genius all on its own. The tenor/bass verses and falsetto chorus make for the kind of ear-candy that has me singing along even when the song's not playing. Lifelike (another frenchman and Vulture Falke-alike) injects a bit of bounce to the somewhat dire original. The over-compressed chorus along with the wonderfully squelchy melody combine for maximum whoosh!


Kaskade & Deadmau5 - Move For Me (Deal)
Buy it now here or here.
Written by San Franciscan Kaskade and produced by Canada's own Deadmau5, it's hard for me to judge the separation of duties. It sounds more like a Deadmau5 track, except for the exceptional vocals (performed by one Haley Gibby). Regardless, the track feels more like a lament than the typical techo/trance stormer we've come to expect from both Kaskade & the 'mau5. I've been feeling a bit blah about Deadmau5's stuff lately; too much bombast and not enough soul. Not the case here. The lyrical couplets "Move for me/I'll move for you," and "Another night out/Another dance floor," sound like the groan of a DJ who's been on the road for too long or the cry of the rave casualty so jaded that they're begging the DJ to bring back the rush of the early days/years. That their weariness can be expressed so succinctly is what makes the track great. In fact, the raw emotions expressed elegantly is what makes each of these three records great and is, I think, what's been missing from the current trend towards the minimal. There's just too much tech out there, and not enough soul.

Favourites from 2007

The general blogosphere consensus seems to be that 2007 was another gray year in terms of new music. Personally, I don’t agree with that sentiment at all. Even now I have almost 30 releases sitting in my Juno wishlist. In my view, there was more good music released this year than in the past 3 or 4 years combined. I know one thing for sure: this year’s top 10 was the hardest I’ve ever had to put together and a significant number of great records by the likes of Agoria, Ada, Kinky Movements, and Eric Kupper were left behind.

It is nice to see some Canadians in the list, too. Being a Canuck myself, of course I have a soft spot for my fellow countrymen, but I honestly feel both records rose above all the others. And so, without further ado, here are my picks for the best records of the last year.

Miguel Migs - So Far (Eric Stamile’s Old School Revival Dub) (Salted Music)
Buy it now here or here.
I had originally wanted this track to appear on my second Dissensus Cassette Swap offering as it would have fit in perfectly with the theme. Alas, the postman did not ring in time. Eric Stamile takes Migs Latin guitar original and infuses it with some much needed 80s retro-synth action. LT’s (aka Aya aka Lysa Trenier) breathy vocal matches beautifully with the saw-tooth synth chords and combined with the grumbling bassline makes for a sexy groove. The cowbell in the background is a nice touch, too.


Partial Arts – Trauermusick (Kompakt)
Buy it now here or here.
I’ve written about “Trauermusick” before. The only thing I can think to add is that I still love the original, while the Alter Ego remix now grates.


Deadmau5 – Not Exactly & Faxing Berlin (Mau5trap Recordings)
Buy it now here or here or here or here.
Kind of a tie for eighth spot, but not really as they're both Canadian producer Deadmau5 tracks. I’ve been having this argument with myself for a while now: is Deadmau5 trance (shudder) or electro? Trance isn't all bad, I guess; I always liked the warm, melodic chords. The one thing I love about the recent crop of electro releases is that genre–defining, farting, squelching bassline. Deadmau5 has both in spades and combines them to greatest effect in these two tracks.


Tyken – Every Word (Hed Kandi)
Buy it now here or here.
Many critics seem to have a hate on for Hed Kandi. I guess I can understand that, as they seem to have been largely responsible for the recent crop of compilations distastefully slathered with hyper-stylized, headphone wearing, cartoon nymphs. Compilations aside, Hed Kandi really do seem to have a credible stable of house tracks at their disposal. “Every Word” by Swedish duo Tyken is a stellar example of the kind of house Hed Kandi are pushing. The electro bassline grinds in the background, while the filtered, burbling keyboards swing along with the vocal and strategically placed whooshing samples and synth stabs build the energy to a screaming crescendo. It’s perfect peak-time fair, guaranteed to plaster grins and raise hands.


Romain Curtis & Ceeryl – Psycho (Spinnin’ Records)
Buy it now here.
Dutch label Spinnin’ seem to be something of an enigma: they put out a dizzying array of test-pressings, white-labels, and CD singles, as well as being the parent for at least a dozen smaller labels and yet seem to fly completely under the popular radar. This 12” is a classic example. Released only as a test-pressing, it is the best bit of driving electro I’ve heard all year. Little more than a pulsing, hypnotic bassline and a blippy little synth phrase, “Psycho” keeps going and going, without the listener ever getting tired of it. I cannot for the life of me understand why this isn’t huge in the way that Alter Ego's "Rocker" was.


Jamie Woon – Wayfaring Stranger (Burial Remix) (Live Recordings)
Buy it now here or here.
Up until I recently discovered this remix, I had been largely unimpressed by the output of inscrutable London producer Burial. This track, however, is the very definition of remixing genius. Taking the re-arranged folk song “Wayfaring Stranger”, as performed by John-Mayer-sound-alike Jamie Woon, and turning it into a menacing, pulsating, nightscape track evoking not so much a performer onstage as a lone driver singing along with the sound-artifacts generated as the city rolls past the car window. Every time I listen I hear something new and I can scarcely imagine how many audio tracks were assembled into this one remix. A must for quality headphone listening.


Parov Stellar – Rock For & Love (Etage Noir)
Buy it now here or here.
Another recent find that I am sorry I missed the first time. I have often thought that the bluesier (Is that a word?) side of electronic music is largely ignored by producers. Everybody seems to settle on soul, reggae, and funk, while leaving the slower tempo blues stuff on the cutting floor. The notable exception is, I suppose, Moby’s album “Play”, although “Play” dispensed with most, if not all, of the instruments and focused almost exclusively on the gospel/blues vocals. Austrian label boss Parov Stelar (aka Marcus Füreder) successfully mixes blues with house and comes up with two first-rate tracks for this 12”. “Rock For” uses a looped vocal reminiscent of Billie Holiday, couples it with a simple piano riff and a muted trumpet, which I’ve just realized is one of my favourite sounds, and throws down a stomping track that is equal parts house, jazz, and blues. B side track “Love” is even better with stomping breakbeat, pulsing 303 line, chopped up male gospel vocal and, yes, jazz guitar. So good I am literally itching to play it out.


Daft Punk – Television Rules The Nation/Around The World (Live Mix) & Primetime Of Your Life/Aerodynamic(Live Mix) (white label)
Buy it now here or here.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, you know all about Daft Punk’s triumphant world tour and accompanying live album “Alive 2007”. This particular 12” surfaced at the end of July and includes two allegedly live mixes in the mash-up style of the “Alive 2007” disc. After listening to both releases side-by-side, the 12” is either an excellently executed fake or it’s the real deal. Either way is irrelevant, I suppose, as both tracks are phenomenal mash-ups containing vocals and instrumental samples from a number of Daft Punk tracks, the most obvious of which are listed above. Track it down, you can thank me later.


Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Guns N’ Bombs Thizzmix) (Backyard Recordings)
Buy it nowhere or here.
Canadian duo Chromeo have turned in a fantastic album (“Fancy Footwork”) and a string of fun and funky singles. American outfit Guns N’ Bombs give the best track on the album the Kitsuné electro noise it was missing and turn it into a grinding dancefloor freak-out of gigantic proportions. Inexplicably, this, the best remix in the current bunch of singles, is only available on the promo double 10” or CD.


Basement Jaxx – Make Me Sweat & Cool It (Atlantic Jaxx)
Buy it now here or here.
I haven’t bought a Basement Jaxx record since the “Rooty” days. Nothing from “Kish Kash” or “Crazy Itch Radio” did anything for me at all. So, when a yellow vinyl double A-side on their label Atlantic Jaxx, as opposed to their usual home XL Recordings, passed my nose I thought, “Maybe they’ve gone back to their roots (no pun intended)?” And they HAVE! "Make Me Sweat is little more than an acid bassline, some well-placed woo-woos, and a female vocalist (R-O-X-A-N-N-E) exhorting the listener to, "Make me wet, make me sweat!" The second A-side "Cool It" is just as stripped down, with just congas, whistles, vocals and some fun little piano interludes. Despite their sparse instrumentation both tracks have that indefinable energy typical of early Jaxx singles and both work equally well as warm-up and peak-time records. A true return to form for Basement Jaxx and my favourite record of the year.