Yearly Archives: 2011

Oct 17 2011

Mustang. EP. Interview.

mustang

Today sees the long awaited release of Mustang’s ‘Shooting Love’ single on Different Recordings.

In just to years together Mustang have cemented their reputation as one of the go-to names for synthesizer Disc. Their reMixes, their mixtapes and their original tracks have all earned them critical acclaim and massive blog hype.

Their new single, ‘Shooting Love’, paces slick analog Disco with ElectroPop sensibilities in a track that’s as catchy as it is groovy. Hovering up influences from Italo, Disco and Classic house in a Pop package and that live synthesizer feel that Mustang excel at, ‘Shooting Love’ has already firmly planted itself of one of the tracks of the year.

The guys kindly took some time to fill you lot in on the good, the bad, and the ugly of Mustang:

ER: So, Mustang, I guess you guys are either really into muscle cars or really into horses? Or really into random words? Where’d the name come from?

M: In fact, there’s no real meaning for this… We are not especially car lovers, the same for horse riding, it is not really our thing. When we were looking for a name, after some ridiculous ideas and proposals, Renaud came up with “Mustang” and that was it.

ER: How did you guys get together to make music? Were you drawn together by the scene in Belgium? Is there a scene in Belgium? Did you start off always making this kind of music or has it been a musical journey to end up here?

M: We know each other since a long time, we met first in a Club called Dirty Dancing in Brussels, 5 years ago. Then we tried a studio session together to work around a reMix for a band called Ghinzu. The result was OK, we had a good time, and we decided to move on. After that we finished our first tracks and Gomma Records signed them. The ideal start for us. After the release of ‘Chameleon Circus’,  we started to receive some reMix proposals (for Vitalic, Morcheeba, Ali Love, Two Door Cinema Club… to name a few) and we released 2 new EP’s after that.
In a few days, our 3rd EP called “Shooting Love” will be release on Different Recordings.
Next to that we have reMixes for Crystal Fighters and Arnaud Rebotini upcoming.
Belgium is a small country with a kind atmosphere between artists. We all know each other since a long time. So yes, we can say there’s a Belgian scene, very productive and interesting.

♫ Mustang – Shooting Love (Radio Edit)

ER: What would be your preference, to perform as a DJ team or as a musical outfit?

M: At the moment, we only perform as DJ’s but we make a lot of edits en cuts to setup our own kinda’ sound/set. We are both DJ’s for a while. We were both lucky, by being residents at the main alternative clubs in Belgium. The plan will be to grow in to a live performance in the near future.

ER: How is performing in Belgium? What your favourite place outside your home country you’ve played?

M: Playing in Belgium is very exciting, you can go very eclectic en very musical at the same time without throwing hits non stop, but we’re lucky to be one of the main residents at Libertine Supersport Club in Brussels, voted as one of the best clubs in Europe! A lot of guest DJ’s from foreign countries who played alongside us says it’s a challenge to play in Belgium, and it’s true. We had great times at Beiruth, Athens, Beijing, Paris and Perrugia, these are our top 5 places at the moment.

♫ Mustang – Shooting Love (Jeremy Glenn ReOrder reMix)

ER: You blew up online with a string of amazing reMixes, what’s the reMix you’ve done that your most proud of?

M: It’s very difficult to say because we all enjoyed them by making. We like all of them at the end, because they are linked to some periods of us growing in the studio…Let’s say the 2 last ones we did, for Arnaud Rebotini and Crystal Fighters because they reflect more our sound of today.

ER: We can’t really not ask you about your influences, ‘Shooting Love’ has got such an ‘80’s Electro/Boogie/Soul feel, what were you listening to when your were producing it? What influences you in general?

M: In fact we share the same passion for electronic, melodic music, Andy is more into Italo, Psyche & Disco stuff and Renaud  is more into New Wave and Pop music. Let’s say we’re fans of The Human League, The Cure, Lucio Battisti, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Eric Satie, Carl Craig, Talk Talk, Serge Gainsbourg to name some examples… A large spectrum isn’t it ?

♫ Mustang – Shooting Love (Black Strobe reMix)

ER: So you’ve played around a few places. Any crazy rock ‘n’ roll stories from your adventures?

M: Last year at the infamous Calvi On The Rocks festival… After an already heavy drinking night, we left the beach heading to a club who was “not so far”. We were 13 in a small Van (with Dixon on top of us singing some Deutsh songs and crying because Germany just lost the semi final of the World Cup). The driver completely lost his way and we arrived in the middle of nowhere with 250 sheep screaming around us. Finally we found the club after 1h30m of driving and we all finished naked in the sea in front of it. Can’t even remember the return to the hotel.  : )

ER: So what’s in Mustang’s studio? Do you have a favourite bit of kit?

M: We use a lot of Roland, Simmons & Linn’s Drum machines. I think our favorite is still the Jupiter 8 but we’re using the Matrix 1000, SE-1, DX-7 or MemoryMoog a lot to!

ER: If money was no object, what piece of studio gear would be your dream to own?

M: An SSL Mix table, a Yamaha CS-80, some Chandler Limited compressors, TubeTech Pré-Ampl, GML EQ’s and Lexicon 480L Reverb. What else ?

♫ Mustang – Shooting Love (Fat Club Mix)

ER: Is Mustang a Cereal or a Full English Breakfast kinda’ band? Would your answer change the day after a show?

M: Not that much Cereal, for sure ! And the day after a show, we usually visit a friend called “Ronald”… He’s everywhere  : )

Many thanks to the guys for taking the time to chat with us.

‘Shooting Love’ is released today!

Buy Mustang’s music from:

Oct 17 2011

Catcall’s ‘Satellites’ video

This is the video for Australian ElectroPop outfit Catcall’s latest single, ‘Satellites’.

That sheen you can hear? That’ll be the track being produced by Mr. Diamond Cut. Slick and really catchy!

‘Satellites’ is the first single from Catcall’s forthcoming début album, ‘The Warmest Place’, due out in early 2012.

Buy Catcall’s music from:

 

Oct 17 2011

Kelek

kelek

You may remember us a while back raving about German producer Kelek’s entry in Fear Of Tigers’ ‘The Adventures Of Pippi Longsrump’ reMix completion. His entry was easily in our top three.

The man stopped by the electronic rumors Inbox to pimp out his latest tune, ‘Dinosaurs’, and it’s pretty awesome. There’s a nice little crossover going on between Italo, Dreamwave and Electro-House in this track, with the first minute lulling you into a retro synth sense of security before dropping some chainsaw leads on you, Kavinsky style. Supplying both the emotional experience of SynthWave and the in-you-face electronics of hard Electro, ‘Dinosaurs’ is an instant winner.

♫ Kelek – Dinosaurs

Check out more from Kelek on SoundCloud.

Oct 17 2011

Zimmer’s new single

zimmer

Synthetic Disco producer Zimmer’s new single, Looking At You’ is released later this month on Discotexas.

The track is a laid back head-nodder with flashes of Acid and Disco licks amongst Zimmer’s analog synthesizer grooves. the addition of a lilting sax refrain to a track like this just gives it a cool, late nights in the city, feel to it. This smokey groove is a definite rooftop jam, which Zimmer calls Horizontal Disco, also the title of the EP ‘Looking At You ‘is taken from.

♫ Zimmer – Looking At You (Original Version)

‘Horizontal Disco’ drops 21st October.

Buy Zimmer’s music from:

Oct 17 2011

Goin’ Old School: Clock DVA – The Hacker

Clock DVA‘s ‘The Hacker’ from 1988, prepare of Sci-Fi terrorism! Sometimes you’re just in the mood.

Buy Clock DVA’s music from:

Oct 17 2011

Mellophonia’s new EP

mellophonia

Mellophonia is the alter-ego of Mikhail Khvasko, also head honcho at Mellophonia Records, one of Russia’s most well respected electronic Disco labels.

For this latest release Mikhail has joined forces with Mi Ami’s Damon Palermo to create an EP of raw, live sounding Cosmic Disco. The EP opener ‘Lunar Landscapes’ is a warm synthesizer journey offworld, and experience of electronic experimentalism and melody. Dominated by live drumming, rich Moog textures and an impressive musicianship the track is like Jarre, Vangelis or Tangerine Dream indulging themselves with a Disco jam session. ‘Sky Glide’ is more of a solid groove track with massive helpings of Moog Funk and thick synth sounds. The EP is backed up with reMixes from Black Devil Disco Club and In Flagranti, and the whole thing feels like something fresh, a bit of a change, yet keeps the Disco vibe going.

♫ Mellophonia – Lunar Landscape

♫ Mellophonia – Sky Glide

The ‘Lunar Landscape’ EP is out 21st November on Lo Recordings.

Buy Mellophonia’s music from:

 

Oct 16 2011

It’s an Italo special on this weeks Fear Of Tigers’ ‘The Guestlist’

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Fear Of Tigers – The Guestlist 14/10/2011 = FoT treats us to an Italo special this week, and I do mean treat, this ones storming!

♫ Fear Of Tigers – The Guestlist 14/10/2011

Buy Fear Of Tigers’ music from:

Oct 16 2011

Pandr Eyez

Pandr Eyez

Some more really classy electronic music is incoming from the label that knows how to spot true interesting talent, Cascine.

Released soon ids the début records from London based duo Pandr Eyez. ‘Eyes On You’ is a deep, soulful, downtempo electronic track.  Elements of the track seem pretty opposed and yet somehow complimentary, Trip-Hop beats sit alongside SynthPop melodies, Dub basslines run under Ferren’s powerful Motown vocals, all sounding starkly different, and alone, but at no point in the track does anything feel like it shouldn’t be there, further if any element were missing the track would suffer for it. Pandr Eyez obviously have a massive range of influences, and working those influences together is quite a feat, but it’s one this twosome seem more than capable of embracing.

♫ Pandr Eyez – Eyes On You

‘Eyes On You’ drops 25th October.

Until the single is released, check out Pandr Eyez on SoundCloud

Oct 16 2011

‘F.A.R.E.W.E.L.L’ from Final DJs

finaldjs

Here’s the new one from Final DJs, ‘F.A.R.E.W.E.L.L’, let’s hope that’s not literal, Final DJs have only just got here!

They do manage to conjure up the atmosphere is a final act with this tune though. With a solid night drive backing and some particularly New Order-esque lead lines this slice of SynthWave just soars, and takes you away with it. My only complaint would be that for a seven minute song the last minute is amazing, I would have liked more of  that massive synth section through the track, Still more awesomeness from Final DJs though!

♫ Final DJs – F.A.R.E.W.E.L.L

Check out more from Final DJs on their SoundCloud.

Oct 16 2011

Unreleased track from DâM-FunK

dam-funk

Here’s a fresh track from the vaults of LA groove king. DâM-FunK

‘Blair’, in his own words is “An instrumental, dedicated 2 the memories of my hi-school I graduated from in Pasadena, CA while a ‘temporary resident’ here on this thing we know as plant earth.”. I, on the other hand, would call it smooth modern funk in that freeform way that is instantly recognisable as DâM-FunK. A solid tune with some real feeling in the synth playing, ‘Blair’ is the funkiest thing you will hear all day.

♫ DâM-FunK – Blair (Unreleased)

Buy DâM-FunK’s music from: