IKRS Fanzine, over indie/electro/whatever muziek!

Welcome to the site of IKRS, a fanzine for people who love music. In this post you can find everything there is on the site, neatly gathered at the top of the blog. For news (wrapped in stories), interviews, live reports, and reviews/first listen/ album features; it's all here honey! Don't forget to check the Clip of the Day, which is refreshed (almost) daily. Read about what we do and what we stand for in our About IKRS section (just Dutch, unfortunately). For more information you can mail ikrszine@gmail.com or you can pm/add me on www.last.fm/user/sa34 .Or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/IKRSzine.

(News) Stories:
05 June:
Jamie Jones to release sophomore album
The Walkmen release album today
This month's news

Reviews/Reports:
Bleed Bleed Bleed by Thieves Like Us - Album Review (External link)
05 Days Off - Escort & WhoMadeWho @ Paradiso (External link)
Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen - Album review (External link)
Azari & III live at Trouw 
Owen Pallett and the Noord Nederlands Orkest live at Catharinakerk (External link)
 
Daily/Weekly Columns:
Daily Clip (18 juli)  
The Weekly Froth #48
Now Playing... 'Under the Westway' by Blur
The Weekly Froth #47
Now Playing... 'Would That Not Be Nice' by Divine Fits


Features:
Favorite Albums of the first half of 2012 - 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Best live performances of 2011 (compiled in bad vids that don't do justice to the real thing)
Other fav things of 2011, and things I'm looking forward to in 2012
Favorite Albums of 2011 - 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 - Overview of the lists
Favorite tracks of 2011 - 50-46 / 45-41 / 40 - 36 / 35 - 31 / 30 - 26 / 25 - 21 / 20 - 16 / 15 -11 / 10 - 06 / 05 - 01
Interview archive

The Weekly Froth #48 (with Marcos Cabral & Jeremy Glenn, Tensnake, more!)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Partytime’ by Jeremy Glenn (Marcos Cabral remix)

We know Jeremy Glenn has done some good work recently, and we know that Marcos Cabral can bang out a (house) tune. So put the two together, and you’re on to something, right? From the get go, this thing is on fire. Love the beat with the piano seeping through, and then it really gets rolling with more and more instruments being introduced. Cabral will not be rushed, and I like that in an eight minute song. If you are going to do something for eight minutes, might as well show some patience and make sure you pick up all the momentum you can gather. And so he does and so it rolls on, constantly tweaking it slightly to make sure it doesn’t get dull. The change-ups are there as well (just look at the shape of the SoundCloud thingy). The first one strips it back to a percussion led fragment (which changes mid gear as well into something more synth), and the second change-up also strips it down a tad This all, of course, to build back up to the main beat, which comes back in not too much later. Personally I would’ve loved for that return to go together with a bit more of a punch, but that doesn’t change the fact that this one keeps on rolling and will keep everyone on dancing. Sans vocals, by the way. … Continue Reading

The Daily Clip!

8De clip van de dag heeft elke dag een nieuwe clip, hopelijk zorgend voor een blijvende stroom van nieuwe, leuke, en/of goede muziek. Vandaag is de clip van de dag... *tromgeroffel*

‘Look at Where We Are’ by Hot Chip! Saw a bit of them on a live stream on YouTube this weekend I believe, and they sure can still make you dance. That sounded pretty good. This one not that dancey, and I still think they can do dance better than ballad, but that’s personal preference for you I suppose. Clip directed by Danny Perez and futures a bit of sci-fi elements. 

Now Playing... ‘Under the Westway’ by Blur

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Under the Westway’ by Blur … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth #47

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Do I Believe in God’ by Late Nite Tuff Guy

No he didn’t. ‘Controversy’ by Prince is just an awesome tune, and some fantastic remixes have already been made of it. Late Nite Tuff Guy, who has already taken on a lot of classics to make them pure love for the dancefloor, is the next to try, and with such material, how could anyone fail? He starts with this sound to dance to, and slowly you begin hearing that Prince guitar from the song. An impatient person would’ve gone straight in at the half minute mark, but LNTG waits a little bit more, builds it up a little bit more, and gives people a little bit more time to realize, Oh hey, I KNOW this! So wait for it, wait for it, and then, at 1:37, there it is! ‘Controversy’ by Prince. What a funky tune, and that build-up makes it all the sweeter. I think any dancefloor must go bananas on this, and I’m curious to see if he gets clearance to release this (fat chance, probably). If not, that would be too bad, because this should be banging on every dancefloor. That guitar, those vocals, that funk, and LNTG puts emphasis on all the right things to make it even more of a dancefloor monster than it already is in its own right. He throws in a bible verse there, which might or might not be to your taste, but it’s short and the funk is nine minutes long, so even if, who cares. These are the things that make me happy. … Continue Reading

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 01

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

01. Linda

Artist: Lotus Plaza

Album: Spooky Action at a Distance

Label: Kranky

I thought this was an average, nice album, till the moment I put it on my headphones when I was walking through the park on a hazy sunny day (yes, we did have some of those this year). It just clicked. It might not be the best album to put on at a dinner party, or in the background when you're doing some work, but for walking around the city with your headphones on to block the noise, this the perfect shoegaze/noise rock/dream pop option. It is, you might say, sublime. 

Tracks switch from ambient dreamy pop (Strangers) to more assertive guitar based tracks (White Galatic One), without ever losing the flow of the album. Some way or other, it all still fits together. 

And yes, Lockett Pundt also just so happens to be that guitarist who stands, unshaken and unassuming, next to the terrific Bradford Cox when they play as Deerhunter, but lets give credit where credit's due and judge him on his own merits. 

01. Stef

Artist: John Talabot

Album: Fin

Label: Permanent Vacation

And so here we are, number one, and for me, I’ve just got a weakness for these kind of albums that for some reason or another I find perfectly suited to listen at midnight to. In the train, or walking around in the city, seeing the city lights, and then music can be just the perfect companion. Luckily, every year there’s sure to be one album that will accompany you when it has all gone dark and the city lights are all you see in abandoned streets with only the bums and the youth alive as its inhabitants.

Last year it was Nicolas Jaar, I certainly count Circlesquare’s album to that category as well. And here, John Talabot has done it to perfection too. All three manage to make such elegant, understated songs that put me in escapist mode when I’m thinking about love and law and poverty. The combination of the vocals, the beat, and just the overall complex compositions of these songs (in combination with a full moon, though full isn’t a prerequisite) just manage to hit me like no other albums can. John Talabot, with his lovely songs, his collaborations with Pional (another talented man right there), manages to evoke exactly the right atmosphere and emotions on this album that make me want to wander from lamppost to lamppost. 

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 02

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

02. Linda

Artist:POLIÇA

Album: Give you the Ghost 

Label: Memphis Industries

Not that many debut albums made my list this year, but this one definitely stood out for me. The amount of reverb on this album might scare a lesser band, but they've managed to make it work. The best description of the album I've read is that it sounds a bit like a sad robot (cue Marvin the robot) that is trying to recreate the 80s in its shed. 

'Dark Star' and 'Lay Your Cards Out' are two singles that will hopefully get the band the attention they deserve for daring to come out with something like this. What they are great at is balance. Whereas opening track 'Amongster' is made up solely from drums , singing and a synth, other tracks, such as 'Dark Star' have a wealth of instrumentation behind them. Both tracks still manage to sound light, sculpted and catchy, and that's a hell of a trick. Also: they have guitars! Yay!

02. Stef

Artist: WhoMadeWho

Album: Brighter

Label: Kompakt

I’ve loved a lot of what these guys have done, though I’m not sure I’ve actually loved a whole album. This, I love as a whole album. It has those great vocals that I just adore (that’s a real weak spot for me, which might explain why this album is higher on my list than on others), and all these songs have a tight rhythm that propel them forward.

I also like the aesthetic of the songs. It has this atmosphere I really love, this slight slant towards the melancholic/detached. Yet, the songs, thanks to the tight rhythm section, are all pretty danceable, and they are very “active” songs in the sense that they are pretty full on and accessible and catchy. That contrast between the content in the form, in this case, forms a wonderful combination that, instead of opposing each other, actually heightens both. Great album that I can listen to over and over again without growing tired.

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 03

03: Linda

Artist: Errors

Album: Have Some Faith in Magic

Label: Rock Action Records

One Scot loses, another couple of them make it into this list. It will hardly make up for Murray's loss, but while Britain's sports trauma deepens, they ought to focus on the things they are good at (especially since they don't seem to have won anything since I moved here 3 years ago – apart from Chelsea's Champions League win of course, but as they're Russian owned, you can hardly call them British). 

So maybe Error's record comes at exactly the right time. There definitely seem to be a lot of errors going around, and faith in magic is what seems to be needed to keep our heads up. There are some catchy melodies on this album, and they even manage to keep the tracks and album exciting all the way through. It's their third full length and they really seem to have mastered the art of a good build up. Although their songs explore all kinds of different genres, from afro-rhythms via danceable indielectro to post-rock, together the tracks fit together better than Murray and his expressionless face (which we should love). 

03. Stef

Artist: Sebastien Tellier

Album: My God is Blue

Label: Record Makers

This album shows just a tremendous amount of craftsmanship which I can't help but admire. There is so much variety on there, from catchy songs with a slight beat to slower paced ballads, not to mention all the different kinds of instruments that are used as layers. On some you can hear some horns, there are a few strings there, occasionally a big guitar sound: it makes that every track has a different set up, a new sound that you can revel in.

Too much variety can sometimes be detrimental to the album’s cohesion, but not so here. It all seems to fit, it all sounds like it belongs on one album together. The fact that it sounds as an album, yet has so much variety in the songs itself, that’s class. Add to that the fact that it is very accessible despite the amount of layers and different instruments used, and then I think it is a very worthy entry in the top 3 of this list.

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 04

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

04. Linda

Artist: Django Django

Album: Django Django

Label: Because Music

An art-pop band from Dalston. You're probably right to feel ever so slightly turned off by those words. Luckily, they're originally from Scotland, making the whole thing sound a lot better. It's an upbeat, innovative album that manages to surprise me today, even though it's been out since January. The album has been influenced by more genres than there are samples in your average Girl Talk track, but still manages to be easy to grasp and to dance to. 

I could bang on about this amazing album for another few paragraphs (I think I've proven my ability to digress by now), but as that would either keep you from listening to this record, or prevent you from reading my actual top 3, I'll keep it to myself. Now go have listen. 

04. Stef

Artist: Twin Shadow

Album: Confess

Label: 4AD

Only been streaming for a short while now, but the single ‘Five Seconds’ was already an indication (for me at least...) that this was going to be good. The track that comes after that one on the album, ‘Run My Heart’, is pure genius. I just love that line of I’m not in love / I’m just a boy, you’re just a girl / and if you want to be the one that believes it, then be the one that believes it. It is the epitome of youth, being “in love”, but really not, and if any of the two mistakes it for the real thing and not a boy/girl thing, that’s when the real heartache starts.

It is funny, because in essence, most of the songs are about the most basal thing imaginable: love, either the presence or absence of it. Now, that could be a recipe for the most banal album ever, but with his debut Twin Shadow already proved that they can make it into something evoking emotion whilst sticking to the core. Something like ‘Forget’ on that album, for instance. This album has plenty of great songs, I love the vocals, it seems a bit more complex in terms of instruments, bit more layered, and I think this is an album I’ll be having on frequently this summer.

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 05

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

05. Linda

Artist: Blood Red Shoes

Album: In Time to Voices 

Label: V2 Records

They're back! I can still remember seeing BRS live just after they released their first album 4 years ago. They're still the only band who managed to get the crowd on-stage at Doornroosje in Nijmegen (though admittedly, I haven't lived there for about 3 years now). There was a real sense of urgency to that first album. Box of Secrets was full of teen angst, as the critics liked to put it. Their second album flopped and I was ready to forget they even existed, but they've managed the almost impossible and have come back with something that even outshines their debut.

Whereas Box of Secrets shone in simplicity, this album celebrates coming of age with more complicated guitar riffs and even more noise coming out of Laura's guitar. Tracks like 'Stop Kicking' might even deserve the denominator of 'anthem'. Now more than ever, it is hard to believe it's just to the two of them. Or, to come back to yesterday’s 'essay', that guitar music is on the way out. Rock on!

05. Stef

Artist: Kasper Bjorke

Album: Fool

Label: HFN Music

Kasper Bjorke + Jacob Bellens = Great tunes. Bjorke has this knack for getting out some nice (deep) house music (though not unwilling to let some old school 80s and disco influences rear their head every now and again, see his Kim Carnes edit for instance), and Bellens has the vocals to match exactly what Bjorke is doing. This has led to an album on which the first half consists of more “pop” tunes, with some dancey beats and some great vocals that are easy on the ear. The second half of the LP Bjorke flies mostly solo, and he gets more into deep house mode there.

His last album Standing on Top of Utopia was already an amazing album with some great tunes (Young Again and Efficient Machine especially). This album matches these tunes with the likes of ‘Hummingbirds’ and ‘Deep is the Breath’, for instance, but it, to me, also sounds not as disjointed as SoToU did. This feels more like an album that belongs together and evolves throughout the songs for some reason. Or, perhaps better put, the deep house songs on the second half on this album I find more intersting than the second half of his previous effort. Not that Standing on Top of Utopia was anything to sneeze at, mind you, and this album perhaps even tops that.

Now Playing... ‘Would That Not Be Nice’ by Divine Fits

Now Playing – every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on one of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Would That Not Be Nice’ by Divine Fits … Continue Reading

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 06

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

06. Linda

Artist: FOE

Album: Bad Dream Hotline 

Label: Mercury Records

"Guitar music is on the way out." Every time someone dares to put those words in print, it seems guitars are about to make a grand return to the charts. Originally, those words are attributed to a man working at Decca in 1962, after being asked to consider signing a guitar band by the name of The Beatles. But over the years, it just keeps popping up. Guitars certainly were obsolete when synthesizers took over the world in the 70s, but then there suddenly were bands like R.E.M., U2 and the Smiths to prove them wrong. But no, we were assured guitars would die with the 80s, only to run headfirst into the 90s with Nirvana and Blur. The same trick repeated itself at the turn of the millennium, with guitars to be restored to their rightful place in music by bands like Franz Ferdinand and Arcade Fire. 

It appears that now we've gone a full circle again, and it is time to yet again declare the demise of the guitar. Luckily, fresh blood, by the name of FOE, is waiting to prove the nay-sayers wrong. She is only 22, but she has some attitude, and some vaudeville/horror movie-inspired tracks to share with you. For a debut album, it's surprisingly coherent and appears to be thought out and created with a certain direction in mind. Nevertheless, it's not a one-trick pony, and manages to grab your attention after a few spins. And most importantly, it has some of those presumed-to-be dying guitars. 

06. Stef

Artist: Jan Ken Po (Max Essa)

Album: Unlimited Man

Label: Nang Records

It is all about the bass in this one. Well, not all, there are some nice keys and drums thrown in there as well, but a lot of these songs do rely on the bass, and blimey, Max Essa really makes it work on this one. I just love songs that are smooth and roll along nicely, which you can do perfectly with a good bass. And I can tell you that there is no shortage of nicely rolling bass tracks on this album.

There is even some sort of bonus track (which doesn’t appear on my LP, which is a shame) that actually is a nice concluding paragraph to this album: it is packed with atmosphere (that Western-y feel helps), it rolls along superbly, and it has got that bass as the cornerstone. Essa, who has been on a roll the past few months, has delivered an album with its own sound, with a lot of nice details that pack it with some extra flavour, but especially he has delivered an album with smooth tunes that just keep on going long after the day is done.

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 07

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

07. Linda

Artist: Chairlift 

Album: Something 

Label: Young Turks

Everything on this album has been done before, mostly in the 80s, which happened a terrifying 30 years ago (terrifying as I was born in that decade and have memories from that decade, though I'm heavily in denial as to being associated to something that happened that long ago). Nevertheless, Chairlift's Something really manages to get me of my chair and dance embarrassingly through the living room (it's the only way I know how). 'Met before' is a real belter, and would have made my track of the year so far if Phantogram hadn't been around. 

As a good album requires, they're also pretty special in a live setting. Leaving out the few weaker tracks towards the end of the album, they're a real crowd pleaser. Anyone who secretly sings along to 'Take on Me' (=best pop song ever) will surely love this album. 

07. Stef

Artist: Drrtyhaze

Album: Love Loud

Label: Nang Records

Drrtyhaze’s debut record is just an amazing collection of fabulous house songs that should be burning holes in the dancefloor. There are some absolute killers on here, maybe chief amongst them ‘Giving You All of My Love’, which is an absolute knock-out. But a song like ‘Superhigh’ (listen below) is another perfect example of what this album is about. It has got a nice pace going, some lovely vocals that fit the bill, and it just has got that house thing going on with all the right sounds that keep this one propelling forward.

Also, they are all so very easy on the ear these songs are. Great bass and percussion on most songs, and it is not just listenable for the dancefloor and at extremely loud volume (though that’ll do just fine indeed), it doesn’t only have that club sound that some “club” tracks are guilty of. Most of these songs are between the six and nine minutes, most of these songs are really danceable, and all of these songs sound like they belong on the same album. Certainly a debut one can build on.

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 08

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

08. Linda

Artist: Blondes

Album: Blondes 

Label: RVNG INTL.

Finally Blondes managed to make an album! They've been flying under the radar for quite a while now, but I'm hoping this (amazing, I might add) album will give them the credit they deserve. 

As per usual, each year will throw up an album that doesn't let itself be defined by just one preconceived genre, and by the rules that govern the world of indie/alternative/whathever the hell you want to call it-world, a new term needs to be created. This year's craze comes from the mind of DiS overlord Sean Adams who has dubbed Blondes cat-gaze. Naturally this is a joke, but that is how we got stuck with witch-house and chillwave, so prepare yourselves for a year of cat-gaze. 

Now, this being 2012 and the internet (which, as we all know, is made of cats) having been around for as long as it has, we're probably all prepared for a music genre to go with what seems to be main purpose of the world wide weg today. But no worries, Blondes are infinitely better than the Nyan cat.  

08. Stef

Artist: Kindness

Album: World, You Need a Change of Mind

Label: Female Energy / Polydor

Elegant. That is what I think of when I think of this album. Elegant. It has a certain elegance to it that I just love. The essence feels kind of smooth jazz, sometimes helped with a twinkling of electro ideas like, for example, a small little beat. The voice is exactly what fits this music: smooth, a bit dreamy, and they make sure together it plays perfectly.

There is elegance not only in the complex yet completely clean sounds, but also in the fact that it isn’t afraid to strip it down and basically go silent. Like for example on something like ‘Anyone Can Fall in Love’, which has a lot of calmth to it. Or something like ‘Swingin’ Party’, which basically has two musical constants neatly flowing in the background and then the vocals over it, instructing one to bring their own lampshade, for somewhere there is a party. The album really feels like an album, despite the different songs and that they are not all his, but the feel is constant. It is a stylish whole, an album executed in an intellegent and, indeed, elegant manner which makes it a lovely listen.

The Weekly Froth #46 (Drop Out Orchestra, Elijah Collins & Nist, Rogue Vogue, more)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘In the Dark’ by Drop Out Orchestra feat. Christopher Norman (NSFW remix)

Dutch producer NSFW had this awesome track earlier this year (‘Let U Go’), and Drop Out Orchestra has been churning out a lot of tunes the past months/years, but some of them are quite ace so no one is minding it probably. This remix is just so nice. It already starts with this catchy rhythm, and then the keys come in, some heavily distorted vocals, and this thing is up and running. Drop Out Orchestra really knows how to get the rhythm going, and their best works have this catchy feel that makes it both accessible and impossible not to dance to. After three minutes they put in a vocal part with the instruments on low volume, obviously working up to the return of the beat/main rhythm and the keys, which also play a huge role in this thing. Really good track/remix this. … Continue Reading

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 09

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

09. Linda

Artist: The Shins 

Album: Port of Morrow 

Label: Sony

So this album isn't as good Wincing the Night Away, so what? It's still the same rather amazing band, with some added Broken Bells influence and some pretty memorable tracks. It lacks a bit in the immediacy Wincing had, but makes up for that in part by being more accessible and pop, which probably not everyone is going to like, but hey, I liked Broken Bells, and I like this album. Some tracks (e.g. It's Only Life) are tad too similar to aforementioned side project, but overall it's pretty neat. 

09. Stef

Artist: Sare Havlicek

Album: Escape Machine

Label: Nang Records

A lovely little disco album this. I’m not sure if there are real stand-outs on there, but it flows in a lovely, lovely manner. All of them have got that same feel, all of them are catchy, and they sure fit on one and the same album. Sure, there are some differences. ‘Burning Hot’, for instance, is more for the dancefloor, with those deep male vocals saying that he feels hot for you, and then the female vocals come in for the actual singing (which is a classic house division). Just one track prior to that one though, ‘Not Enough’ starts with a little piano before the beat comes in, and it is a slower paced affair. I love those vocals, which luckily return for ‘Too Far Ahead’. There, Mitja can strut his stuff on a song slightly faster paced, with a nice strip down and then punch back with the keys around the two minute mark.

It has got this cohesive feel though, despite these differences, and despite different vocalists. So often, it is the other way around: the more vocalists and the more variety, the more it feels disjointed. Not with this one. Its a great block of songs, not boring because of the diversity, but it does feel like an album. An album with plenty of lovely disco vibed songs on there.

Now Playing... 'Who' by David Byrne and St. Vincent

Now Playing – every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on one of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Who’ by David Byrne and St. Vincent … Continue Reading

Our favorite albums of the first part of the year- Nr. 10

So here we are again. Nothing changes, it all stays the same, nothing ever happens. For the umpteenth time now, we put in our 2 cents of what has been doing it for us in the first half of this year music wise. Hopefully you can find something in there that you agree with, which you overlooked at first, or which you maybe never even heard of. So much great music out there, this is our little grab out of that hat, enjoy!

10. Linda

Artist: Moonface with Sinaii

Album: Heartbreaking Bravery
Label: Jagjaguwar

First, some honorable mentions: Honourable mentions: Liars – WIXIW; Sharon van Etten – Tramp; Nite Jewel – One second of Love; Phantogram – Nightlife (Don't move is my track of the year so far); Japandroids – Celebration Rock

Now, to the album. It’s Spencer Krug does Bowie, Thin White Duke era (unfortunately without the actual white stuff, so it doesn't measure up entirely).

10. Stef

Artist:Peter Visti 

Album: Illusions in a Twisted Mind

Label: Baer Funk

There is one major downside to this album, namely that I really dislike the fourth track on this album. That makes it that, album wise, it edges into my top ten instead of firmly sitting somewhere around the middle. Because, that track aside, this is an album with some fabulous disco&house tracks. The thing I love most are those violins. That opening of the album for example, those strings add so much atmosphere from the get go, which puts it a notch above just the average beat & bass tune or whatever. That first moment at 1:11, when that kicks in, wow, amazing stuff. That certainly puts it a step beyond the generic club stuff.

The first track has this kind of spoken word thing going on, but for example in the third track you’ve got a female vocalist whispering little French words in your ear, whereas on other songs it shifts into English and enticement, for example when the lady asks if you can feel it on the track with exactly that name. There’s plenty of variety in there, from the strings of ‘My Advice’ to the almost Latin American guitar plucking on ‘Among Angels’, and those things also manage to give every song its own, unique feel and atmosphere (and Visti packs that in there). Too bad about that one song though, because I just cannot put an album higher than this on an album list if I always skip a track smack down in the middle.

The Weekly Froth #45 (With Still Going, Breakbot, Irregular Disco Workers, more!)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

‘Work That Shit Party’ by Still Going

Here we go, here we go. Still Going gets it going (…) with this one, a release on their own label after previously being affiliated with DFA (if memory serves me correctly). It has all the makings of a track that’ll just kill it on the dancefloor. It’s got the pace, the beat, that real house vibe that makes you just want to work it on the floor like it’s the start of that era. Some tracks just have that tribal sense that you have to move your body, and this is a very good example of that, in my opinion. I don’t know why anyone would stop dancing when this comes in. There’s just something in the essence of this beat that works, and Still Going knows how to ride that for nine minutes without making it feel stale. And one way to make it not boring is to put some strong female vocals in after 3:30 or so, and she is saying that at least she is working it, so if you hadn’t been doing that already, that is the perfect time to join in. After the female vocals come the male vocals, which in good House tradition do not actually sing like the female vocals but rather instruct you that you really should be working it. There is a nice break in there as well, in which those female vocals return and get some space to belt it out. Naturally, after that, soon the sound and the beat come back, and it gives it one last go before, just prior to getting into double digits, it closes shop. Fabulous house track, great to dance to, one I would like to play for sure. … Continue Reading

Now Playing... 'Pyramids' by Frank Ocean

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Pyramids’ by Frank Ocean … Continue Reading

The Weekly Froth #44 (Julio Bashmore, Evan Stalker, and J.C. Gavri)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘Troglodytes’ by Julio Bashmore

TUNE! That’s what this is. Bashmore does it again with this fabulous track, which I would happily fit into any set (well…). It’s got these fab, masculine talking vocals, which is very house.  I believe there is something like that male vocals have to talk and female (or feminine) vocals have to sing and that they are the ones that bring all the emotions to songs. Not only the vocals are great though, that sound is really catchy and not just that same old same old beat or anything. It is that mixture of the beat, the lighter instrumental sounds, and then those masculine vocals which make it work. And work it does. If you want a quick peak on what this song is all about, just listen from 4:00 to 4:30, which gives a good indication of the contrast that I like so much. First almost nothing but that talky voice speaking of a time where there was nothing but primal instincts (cavemen, troglodytes!), and then the beat comes along with that light sound which makes it shine. The combination that Bashmore finds is just a really nice one, it just fits his house vibe, which the Jimmy Castor version isn’t exactly. But as said, it just fits, Julio surely heard that right. … Continue Reading

Now Playing... 'Sleeping Ute' by Grizzly Bear

Now Playing – every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on one of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Sleeping Ute’ by Grizzly Bear … Continue Reading

Weekly Froth #43 (Max Essa, Matthew Dear, The Heels of Love, and more!)

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the week: ‘I’m Dancin’ by Kotey Extra Band (Max Essa remix)

I love Max Essa, and this one slipped under the radar for me, but I happened to come across it, and it is pretty funkilicious as far as I’m concerned. It isn’t really disco funk though, that synthy sound that comes in about 40 seconds in gives it a certain city vibe me thinks. Essa does keep it rolling with the main sound, but it is not like this is one of those straight dancefloor cuts (perhaps more of someone dancing through the city even, if you’re brave enough to do that sort of thing). The vocals (Kyle Chandler’s work) come in at 2:50, and they fit that synth sound perfectly if you ask me. Just before the four minute mark Essa goes bass, and he can do that, just see his Jan Ken Po album he released this year. It really sounds like an entity this track, not one of those remixes that gets a beat slapped on it, but it just is a smooth ride that rolls along. Essa delivers again. … Continue Reading

Now Playing... 'Words in the Fire' by Patrick Watson

Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Words in the Fire’ by Patrick Watson … Continue Reading

Jamie Jones to release sophomore album

On the 25th of June Jamie Jones will be releasing his second album. Jones’s first album was called Don’t You Remember the Future, and this go around he’s given his album the name Tracks From the Crypt. It will be released through Crosstown Rebels and it will feature twelve tracks.

Walkmen to release new album in June

Veteran indie rock band The Walkmen have released their new album today, on the 5th of June. The album will be called Heaven and will feature Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes. The release is in the hands of Fat Possum/Bella Union, and it will contain tracks called ‘We Can’t Be Beat’, ‘Heartbreaker’, and ‘Love is Luck’.