Quasi: sounding like Pavement and making kooky videos involving dress-up. This is rather lovely and comes from their forthcoming album on Domino, Mole City, out 30 September.
Video: You Can Stay But You Gotta Go - Quasi
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Stream: But We Did (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) - Thomas Dybdahl
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Follow us down the garden path for a gentle seven-and-a-half-minute stroll why don't you. This new remix by Norwegian cosmic disco crazy person Prins Thomas takes fellow Norwegian Thomas Dybdahl's 'But We Did'. This feels a little bit more human than much of Prins Thomas' work - Dybdahl's vocals undergo a rather gentle cut-up treatment but it all feels naturalistic in its cosmic-ness.
'But We Did' is the lead single from Dybdahl's forthcoming album What's Left Is Forever, which is due out on 16 September - if you pre-order the album on iTunes you can grab the original now [standard / deluxe]. The remix is out on Beatport as an exclusive now and gets a general release on 4 August.
Joe Goddard, source: Thomas Butler for RBMA
EP Review: Taking Over - Joe Goddard
One fifth of Hot Chip, Joe Goddard has been teasing his EP for a little while now, having first snuck out the rather lush 'She Burns' back in May on Soundcloud.
That track maintains much of it's crystalline beauty, Mara Carlyle's vocals wispy and delicate against Goddard's fuzzy melodic tinkering and unpretentious bass work. It's the rest of the material on this that interests me most though, and it's a varied collection of tracks in ambition and focus if not quality...
Taking Over starts with 'Step Together', a collaboration with Boris Dlugosch, who… Is apparently still alive? And thankfully appears to be sens-Moose T. Which is a relief. Dlugosch seemingly gives the track it's Spanish influenced keys whilst Goddard lays down a vocal in his trademark under-stated and bruised fashion... It's enjoyable but undeniably the least interesting thing here.
The title track is more pop than dance, a spectral electronic ballad with gently picked guitar melodies and Goddard's softest possible vocal delivery. It's a beautiful track and it feels surprisingly personal, dealing with the love of the music as it starts to consume you at that moment in a night out when everything comes together… Mind altering substances optional, of course.
Immediately before 'Taking Over' and potentially from the same inspirational source but very different in terms of it's execution is 'Bassline '12'. The most heads-down track on the EP it's a slow building house track with a crescendo of stark metallic keys that expands over nine-minutes to make it the longest track here. Goddard manages to combine a sense of upfront danceability with the sort of melodic and melancholic depth Hot Chip are known for. Goddard's work with Raf Rundall as the 2 Bears was always more about the nightclub than Hot Chip but at times it felt laking in depth in comparison. 'Bassline '12' is a more considered and ultimately stronger offering, suggesting Goddard may have a lot to offer on his own.
Taking Over is out now, available to order on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link]. Stream in full on Spotify:
EP Review: L'Année Du Dragon - Hotel International
Franz Kirmann is a somewhat profilific producer but there's a good chance you haven't heard of him... At least not yet. That's in part due to the fact that he has worked under a number of aliases and the banner of many projects, but this new one as Hotel International also appears to be his most populist release yet.
Having previously used the Hotel International name to remix Eskimo Twins and Simple Minds' 'This Fear of Gods' it sounds like the inspiration of the latter has rubbed off on Kirmann just a little bit. 'L'Année Du Dragon' is a dusty and moody Ballearic track that riffs off of the sound of 80s new wave. The core melody is actually pretty much directly lifted from Don Henley's 'The Boys Of Summer', something Kirmann readily fesses up to, saying "I was jamming with a synth and started playing that line that basically sounds like a rip off of Don Henley's Boys Of Summer… In the end I decided to leave it on the track as it gives a nostalgic feel."
The track is aiming for something that's pop and yet cinematic and 'L'Année Du Dragon' achieves just that. If anything Kirmann's a little overly dour and dismissive of his own creation, labelling it cheesy despite enjoying its familiarity... But if there is a certain whiff of fromage it's really just down to the inspiration he has drawn on. This doesn't actually sound that far away from the sort of thing the critically adored Italians Do It Better label would release, and it would fit right in within Nicolas Winding Refn's ultra-violent Drive.
Two remixes feature. First up is Canada's Jokers Of The Scene, who draw the original out to epic proportions. The first few minutes lack any proper drums, providing a level of tension that ultimately threatens to boil over once the track kicks in proper with a solid four-four and a bubbling acid-line... The mix moves through three main acts and each of them almost deserves their own mix, it's 11-minutes long but justifies its own duration. The second mix comes courtesy of France's Morgan Hammer and she jetisons the main riff of the original to create a doped-up twisted take, complete with heavy reverb-drenched drums and fizzy bass melodies that give the track a much darker feel.
L'Année Du Dragon is out on Monday through Days Of Being Wild. You can pre-order on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link] or listen and purchase through Bandcamp below:
Stream: Time For A Change - French Kiwi Juic
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I'm currently dying of heat exhaustion at work in the British July weather (desk based thermometer reads: 31 degrees!) but this new EP from Parisian born producer French Kiwi Juice is definitely helping keep me going.
Time For A Change is out this week via Roche Musique. On it FKJ combines hot and sunny disco house sounds with a hip-hop edge and just a dash of soft rock... Check it out via the embeds below or you can stream it on FKJ's Soundcloud page.