Feb 14 2013

[Audio] More Viceroy reMixes, Bit Funk and Bufi

We’re still loving San Francisco producer Viceroy and Chela’s Dream Of Bombay single. In fact, we’re hoping that, come December, someone reminds us about it because it already feels like it deserves a place in out end of year bests. As the reMixes keep rolling in, they are definitely keeping the quality high. Right now Bit Funk and Bufi have a crack at the track and both deliver, very different but nicely complimentary version of the song.

Bit Funk delivers a glorious Disco-House tune that really plays up the dreaminess of the original and Chela vocals. If the original version is a summery beach party, then Bit Funk’s reMix is the club you go to as it gets dark. Intoxicating deep Disco. Bufi, on the other hand gets a bit more ecclectic with Chela’s vocal and turns in an Acidic Italo-Disco tune with some hypnotic pitched vocals and popping drums. This tune just gets better and better.

♫ Viceroy (Feat. Chela) – Dream Of Bombay (Bit Funk reMix)

♫ Viceroy (Feat. Chela) – Dream Of Bombay (Bufi reMix)

Viceroy (Feat. Chella)’s Dream Of Bombay is out now.

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Feb 12 2013

[Audio] Russ Chimes reMixes HURTS

Our relationship with HURTS is a bit strained right now. As you know we’ve been supporting them right from the beginning of their career, before that even with Daggers. To us they were the prefect modern SynthPop act, preforming big epic, dramatic, electronic Pop songs with a strange tongue-in-cheek artiness. It was all very Berlin, but with a cheeky British wink too. Easily one of our favourites. then the new single Miracle dropped, and we got worried. A Coldplay-esque stadium rock track with a focus-group-Goth video did not bode well. Then we saw them live last week, and experienced much of the new album, and out fears were not put to rest. Swinging between epic AOR and 90s industrial Rock, gone was Theo’s cheeky deadpan delivery, to be replaced by pogoing, high kicks (really!), instrument smashing and screaming at the crowd to “come on!”. It’s was a rock show, by-the-numbers. they were absolutely amazing, fantastic light show, charismatic, musically pitch perfect, energetic. We’re just not sure it’s a direction we can get on board with. Good luck to them though.

Luckily, our love affair with the music of Mr. Russ Chime is still going strong, and even more luckily he’s taken the aforementioned Miracle and whipped up a deep, resonant House track from Miracle’s bare bones. Chimes latches on to the raw emotion of the song and lets that feed his music. Playing around with a punchy House bassline and some haunting wood-block sounds, Chimes drops and builds in just the right places, and when he kicks back in, he does it with a full, richness you you’ll be unable to resist grooving to. Finally, we like Miracle!

♫ HURTS – Miracle (Russ Chimes reMix (Radio Edit))

HURTS’ new album Exile is released 11th March.

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Feb 12 2013

[Audio] Charli XCX remixed by Lindstrøm

You may have seen us get a little giddy about this tune last week on Google+ and Twitter. It’s out girl Charli XCX’s new single, You (Ha Ha Ha), reMixed my the space Disco man of the moment Lindstrøm. Alongside the Goldroom reMix, this is the one we were most excited about, and it doesn’t disappoint.

A little more stripped down and Housey than maybe we are used to from Lindstrøm, the track nevertheless retains all the Norwegian’s Cosmic Disco charm. Sparse and Groove, with an almost Dubby swing to it, Lindstrøm’s remix creates a woozy electronic mood into which he drops in and out swirling synths and warping bass sounds. How he manages to get so ecclectic with his pallet and still keep the vibe fun and funky I have no idea, but he pulls it off. Add to this Charli’s top vocal and you’ve got a track that lives up to the hype.

♫ Charli XCX – You (Ha Ha Ha) (Lindstrom reMix)

You (Ha Ha Ha) is released 3rd February.

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Feb 12 2013

[Audio] Viceroy reMixed by Wax Motif

San Francisco’s master of the Disco, Viceroy, and Chela’s Dream Of Bombay turned out to be one of the surprises of the year so far. An amazing summery vocal Nu-Disco tune that’s going to get a lot of play in the coming months, not least because there’s a host of reMixes on the way, the first coming from LA producer Wax Motif.

Wax Motif’s take on Dream Of Bombay is a huge, uplifting floorfiller. Proper main room stuff, the reMix keeps the vocal intact but swaps the summery, Dreamwavey, Disco for pounding dancefloor sounds. Pumping synth bass and frantic undulating leads whisk themselves around the track, awaiting the massive hook. This one is all about big beats, big synths and big builds, and it all works perfectly with the song. Hands in the air time.

♫ Viceroy (Feat. Chella) – Dream Of Bombay (Wax Motif reMix)

Viceroy (Feat. Chella)’s Dream Of Bombay is out now.

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Feb 12 2013

[Audio] Classixx’s ‘Holding On’

Classixx are back! An unexpected, but most welcome turn of events. Not only are this LA Disco duo back with a new single, but they’ve also just announced their début album. To be released mid-March, the album, titled Hanging Gardens, with hold twelve tracks of laid back funky goodness including one or two favourites, such as Far From The Beach. Holding On is the first (new) single to be taken from the album.

The track is a lush beach groove. It’s everything you’d expect from LA Disco. Keen ears may recognise the track from a particularly old edition of The Magician’s Magic Tapes, where an early form of the track was featured. Holding On is sunshine in musical form. Tropical keys and rolling Disco basslines build up a no-worries party mood that’s paves the way for big vintage strings and an infectious vocal sample. Definitely one for pool parties.

♫ Classixx – Holding On

Classixx’s Holding On is released 19th February with remixes by Lifelike and Jerome LOL amongst others with their album following 14th March.

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Feb 12 2013

[Audio] Ajello’s ‘Kalimba Tune’

Out at the end if this month on Ruben & Ra’s Retrospective imprint is an ecclectic slice of Disco and House in the form of the Kalimba Tune single, the latest offering from DJ Rocca and Fabrizio Taver Tavernelli’s Ajello project. If you’re looking for something a little different to get your butt shaking, then you may have come to the right place, the Kalimba Tune serves up a fresh, ethnic instrument driven, take on Disco-House.

Kalimba Tune itself, the single’s lead track, is a big ol’ melting bot, into which Ajello a little late 80s Acid House, a little Cosmic Disco, a hint of Italo and mixes it all up with some smooth Tropical sounds as a garnish. The the whole affair is given a world Music feel with some beautiful (apparently) Sub-Saharan thumb piano. This track could be huge over the summer on the festival circuit, it’s got just the right left-field Disco attitude. The B-side, Saturday Morning, is a warping, cheeky, slice of Cosmic Disco with a bit of a Scandinavian feel. An analog synth workout, Ajello drop what sounds like a live Disco jam. you can just imagine them rocking around banks of wooden ended analog snyths, slipping bubbling LFO’ed sounds in and out of the track. Of course, amongst the single myriad reMixes comes a groovy little tune from Ruben & Ra themselves. The duo’s Cosmic Jam version of Kalimba Tune turns the tune into a late night, laid back track for strictly the sexiest of dancefloors, loaded with added House piano and what sounds like added Q-Tip. Intelligent Disco at it’s finest.

♫ Ajello – Kalimba Tune

♫ Ajello – Saturday Morning

♫ Ajello – Saturday Morning (Ruben & Ra’s Cosmic Jam)

Ajello’s Kalimba Tune is released 25th February on 12” with the digital release following in March. it’ll feature reMixes from Hardway Bros, Chris Massey and Verdo too.

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Feb 11 2013

[Audio] Douglas J. McCarthy’s ‘Kill Your Friends’

It was released last November on CD and Vinyl, so it’s not exactly a new release, but it’s about to see a digital unleashing and it’s was on our playlist toward the end of 2012, so let’s have a little revisit with Kill Your Friends, the début solo album from one of our favourite artists of all time, Douglas J. McCarthy. Doug is, of course, one half of the legendary Nitzer Ebb, of whom we have been fans since we were crazy teens, having first seen them live in 1991. It’s not unconceivable to say that in some mirror universe where we didn’t discover Nitzer Ebb through Bong, the official Depeche Mode fanzine, that electronic rumors, the website, the record label, might not exist. They were, particularly the Showtime and Ebbhead albums, a massive influence.

That said, Douglas’ Kill Your Friends is actually a more satisfying record than Nitzer Ebb’s 2012 comeback album, Industrial Complex. Where Industrial Complex seems to be pandering to the expectations of black clad, stomping fans (something that Nitzer Ebb had never done, just look at Big Hit), Kill Your Friends feels like a much more personal and authentic affair. From the album’s opener, Death Is King, the album deliver what I would have like to hear from Nitzer Ebb, not trying to be Nitzer-Ebb-by-numbers, but producing something with real passion, and musically, making EBM for grown ups. Take The Last Time, one of the albums standouts. Fresh beats and shimmering stabs are paired with the expected synth growl allow McCarthy’s voice, probably one of the most recognisable in electronic music, to shine. And it’s his voice, the Essex-Americana drawl that made Nitzer Ebb so special, that ties the record together. Waxing lyrical on his favourite topics, control, religion, dysfunctional relationships, freedom, Douglas appears as a introspective co-pilot on a road trip through the seedy backstreets of electronic music. Backstreets that lead you through myriad influenced, from the Dubbed-out Evil Love to the Deep Acid House of Taken. Of course, the jackhammer EBM still rears it’s head in the form of All Kinds Of Wrong and Move On, both classic EBB, but on the whole Kill Your Friends is an album for everyone who grew up with, but grew out of, EBM. If you love Nitzer Ebb, but really can’t be bothered with distorted kick drums, arpeggios and shouting anymore then this is definitely the album for you.

♫ Douglas J. McCarthy – The Last Time

♫ Douglas J. McCarthy – Nothing After This

♫ Douglas J. McCarthy – Death Is King

♫ Douglas J. McCarthy – Taken

Douglas J. McCarthy’s Kill Your Friends is out now on CD and Vinyl and released digitally 18th February.

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Feb 11 2013

[Audio] Mitch Murder’s ‘Stages’

Swedish SynthWave master Mitch Murder is getting his groove on, his 80s groove, with his latest offering, Stages. We’re pretty steadily getting about a track a month from Mitch, it’s like being in some awesome music subscription club. We know he’s got a lot of cool stuff coming up, so we’re not sure how long the regular new track schedule will hold up, but for now let’s just enjoy.

Stages is a blindingly funky piece of soundtrack work. Remember how around 1985-86 everyone was rocking the fast-fingered digital basslines in American movies? Well this is that, done with style. The rapid-fire, percussive, FM bassline drives the track ever onward on a journey where the twisting leads feel like passengers. Chirping out their melodic narrative as they flow on top the bassline. Weaving just the right amount of Pop-Funk into his soundtrack style, Mitch delivers both a story, and a pretty infectious dancefloor track too. Also, nice bit of Macross artwork.

♫ Mitch Murder – Stages

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Feb 8 2013

[Audio] FM Attack and Sferro reMix Frankfurt Express

Frankfurt Express are a French retro ElectroPop duo, featuring singer Yota, a name you might recognise from gracing from a handful of awesome Nu-Disco records, who are about to release their new single. the track, Frankfurt Express is a lush, warm slice of quirky, Kraftwerk flavoured, SynthPop. the singe boasts reMixes from the mighty Lifelike (who also co-produced the single), and these two rad cuts from SynthWavers FM Attack and Sferro.

FM Attack’s take on Wake Up, is a surprisingly gothic twist on Italo influenced SynthWave, with vocal samples morphed into a haunting choir and reverb drenched guitar licks amidst the dance beats and squelchy bassline. this all works brilliantly with the vocal, creating a weird, but excellent, dark DiscoPop hybrid. Girlfriend Records head honcho Sferro turns in a woozy DreamPop version of the track. Loaded with dreamlike synths phasing in and out of the track and magical melodies. With razor sharp synth cutting through the track, Sferro’s mix grabs your attention whilst lulling you into a hypnotic state. An amazing single package from the guys.

♫ Frankfurt Express – Wake Up (FM Attack reMix)

♫ Frankfurt Express – Wake Up (Sferro reMix)

Frankfurt Express’ Wake Up is released 15th February, but is available now on Juno.

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Feb 8 2013

[Audio] Logan Sky’s new album

London based SynthWave artist Logan Sky is gearing up for the release of his brand new album, Face The Flames. Previously part of ElectroPop duo Saar & Sky, one of our favourite acts of the past few years, Logan has been steadily carving out a name for himself as a solo artist producing some of the most interesting Italo influenced sounds around.

Right now we can have a listen to the first track from the album to be revealed, Blonde Cobra. It’s a rich slice of futuristic Italo. An edgy BladeRunner mood is countered with bright, shining melodies as an ominous arpeggiated bassline powers the track onward amidst waves of Sci-Fi synths. Haunting and atmospheric whist still being a solid Italo floorfiller, Blonde Cobra has us eager to hear more from the soon-to-be released new record.