Tanlines to release debut

The band Tanlines is gearing up to release their first full album. This will be done on the 20th of March by True Panther Sounds, and it will be titled Mixed Emotions. One of the album’s tracks, called ‘Brothers’, is now available for streaming on the net, so preview that if ya wanna.

Our Top 50 Favorite Tracks Countdown - 05 - 01

Yessir, it has started, the countdown of the 50 best tracks of 2011! Everyday I’ll post one track in the Daily Clip section, but if you missed one don’t worry, after each batch of five I’ll be sure to post those songs with links on the site (you’ll find it in the main post). So for the next 50 days, nothing but the best, here we go!

Nr. 05 - ‘Don’t Hurt Love’ by Steed Lord

This is awesome. So much raw energy, got to love the strong vocals, but also the frantic pace and all those little things that Steed Lord does to give it just a boost, like three packets of Red Bull. I just want to jump up and down when I hear this one, it’s amazing how much energy it provides. And as said, those vocals, and all the DJ/producing tricks Steed Lord gets out to enhance the experience, it’s awesome. The whole EP is amazing, but this one takes the crown for me.

Nr. 04 - ‘Drop me a Line’ by Midnight Magic

I’m still waiting for them to get touring Europe, and I’m still waiting for them to release their album, but if all the EPs and tracks they released in 2011 are anything to go by it will be worth the wait. This track got remixes by some of the best guys out there, like The Juan MacLean, Mano le Tough, Holy Ghost!, and Steffi, and it is easy to see why this DFA product is being so highly touted. Strong vocals, and they’ve stolen a fair few away from Hercules and Love Affair’s original backing band to get the disco vibe right. It just rolls on so nicely, thanks in part because of that bass of course. It also has this kind of romantic view of being at night going on, the search for love, the amazing opportunities night time brings if one allows a bit of a romantic slant to its views. “I will let you in to my heart”, she confides, if only you “drop me a line”. Yearning for pure love, that must be in the top 3 of disco motifs right there.

Nr. 03 - ‘L.O.V.E.’ by Motor City Drum Ensemble

I live in the city, but I don’t live in the CITY, if you get my drift. Despite that, I’ve seen Motor City Drum Ensemble DJ two times in 2011, and he delivered both times despite widely varying crowds. This is an original release he did for his awesome DJ KICKS entree. “Wherever you go, my heart is there, I’m yours”, and then the music kicks in again. It’s danceable, it’s got atmosphere, and it is smooth. It knows when to turn it down, when to get the pace up, and when to go vocals. I believe Resident Advisor had him in their top 100 DJ list this year, and rightly so. Kid got skills.

Nr. 02 - ‘Hot Stop’ by Marcos Cabral

For all my love for Jacques Renault, I also do love the other half of Runaway, Marcos Cabral. And this track is as good an example of why I love him as any. Gotta love the bass and beat at the start, getting the thing rolling. So if you’re on the floor you won’t get a pause dancing on this one. Slowly the extra sounds come in and the vocals are added. I love how it gives the vocals plenty of room and then pushes the pace when they stop. That’s exactly the right thing to do in my opinion. Let the people focus on the vocals and when the bass and beat come to prominence again let them dance. The music really keeps this one going and strutting along, and the vocals give it some emotional oomph by at one point exclaiming Stop, you’re tearing up my heart. Tremendous song, danceable, got some emotion going on there, and I’ll happily dance to it or drop it in a set.

Nr. 01 - ‘Not in Love Anymore’ by Michael McDonald (Late Nite Tuff Guy Version)

I love what Late Nite Tuff Guy has been doing recently, taking these old classic songs and actually making them better. Or well, putting a different, more dancefloor ready spin to it, but in this case I actually prefer this one to the original simply because it’s not verse-chorus, but it really builds up to that tremendous chorus with those absolutely fabulous vocals by former Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald. That build-up really makes those vocals jump out even more, and if you can bring out Michael McDonald’s voice better then you know you’ve got something golden. “I keep forgettin’ we’re not in love anymore”, McDonald sings, to in the chorus add that he keeps forgetting that “every time you smile”. Dang. Also love how, in the verse before the chorus comes in, Late Nite Tuff Guy strips most things away and clears it all out for McDonald to come in with an extra punchy beat. My favorite song of the year, had this on repeat for forever.

IKRS Starts Its 2012 Season!

So yeah, 2012 is already going for a couple of weeks, so lets give you some quick updates on what we’re expecting to do now that all the favorite-of-2011 lists have all been finished (check those if you haven’t yet, some ace music there that you might like).

First of all, we are all looking forward to covering some ace music in 2012. Last year was amazing, and we hope this year can keep that run going and we will be able to listen and talk about a lot of it.

Second of all, we hope we can continue doing these things:

• Our weekly columns: The Weekly Froth and Crazy Zany Radio Sunday (if ya wanna get in on that, give a shout)
• Our daily clip with new music (though we might add some SoundCloud next to actual vid clips this year)
• Our half-year and end of the year favorite lists
• Gig reviews and album reviews
• Our news items with, next to the latest music news, our little absurd stories taking titles and song names wildly out of context

Thirdly, we hope to add:

• More interviews (We’ve been a bit lackluster there, will try to be a bit more pro-active)
• More On First Listen features, where we type our opinion on a new album per track when listening to it for the first time
• Some more experimenting: You see, we always look and try to find new stuff to do. Some work, some don’t. Try and have a bit of fun.
• More of you! Hope to talk to you readers a bit more, meet some of you at gigs, chat a bit: we’re not that crazy or snooty as we might come across here sometimes. Honest.

So hopefully there will be plenty to enjoy on here in 2012 as well, but especially lets hope there will be plenty of great music to listen to and to revel in this year as well. And ya know, tips are always welcome, even if its your own band.

And with this, we are going to resume our regular broadcast.

My other fav things of 2011, and what I’m looking forward to in 2012

So, we are almost ready to resume our regular schedule here at IKRS with the winding down of our Top 50 Fav Tracks of 2011 Countdown and with our Top 10 fav Albums of 2011 lists just finished. First up, some other cultural and not so cultural things that stood out to me in 2011, and some things I’m looking forward to in 2012.

2011:

Fav movie - TIE: The Future by Miranda July and Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen

Fav gig: TIE: Pulp at Brixton Academy and Azari & III + Hercules and Love Affair @ de Melkweg

Fav video game - Football Manager 2012

Fav board game - Letters From White Chapel

Fav  book read - When Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor (2002)

Fav play read - The Balcony by Jean Genet (1958)

Most eye-opening book - From Reverence to Rape by Molly Haskell (1974)

Saddest Sports moment - Jerry Sloan stepping down as Utah Jazz head coach

Best sports moment - Bauke Mollema showing serious skills in the Vuelta (cycling)

Fav new television series - New Girl (gotta love the quirky humour)

Fav new thing to do - Drink tea not out of tea bags

2012:

First book I’m reading in 2012 -  Soft City by Jonathan Raban (1974)

Film I have high expectations for - My Darling Companion by Lawrence Kasdan with K. Kline and D. Keaton

First stupid thing I’ve done in 2012 - Pour boiling water over my arm

Sports thing I hope to happen - PSV to become national champion

Thing I need to buy - New friggin’ coat

Thing I want to buy - Some sort of apparatus to make grilled sandwiches

Thing I want someone to buy me - A train card for free travel all year round. And cookies.

Thing I want to do but I’m too scared to do anyway - Start a detective series with me filming my own actual endeavors as a detective with someone doing that film-noir voice-over of my life 24/7

Thing I still don’t want to do, not even in 2012 - Go on a cruise

Thing I hope to do more - meet and talk to new people

Thing I am looking forward to - de-Affaire Festival 2012 (if I’m still living in Nijmegen then, otherwise not so much)

Thing I am curious to see play out - Ron Paul in the Republican Primary and the revolution of America’s youth

Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Overview of the Lists

So we have given our favorite albums of 2011 top 10s, and here is a quick overview of them, naturally without the write-ups and the streams of individual tracks. Also, glad we were able to add Ilse’s list as well. So three top 10s, loads of different albums there, so hopefully you can find some tips in there or something to agree with (or both!). Lets roll:

Stef: 

10. Azari & III – Azari & III

09. Beni – House of Beni

08. Reverso 68 – Well Heeled Vol. One

07. Jessica 6 – See the Light

06. Tiger & Woods – Through the Green

05. Little Dragon – Ritual Union

04. Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!

03. Hercules and Love Affair – Blue Songs

02. Joakim – Nothing Gold

01. Nicolas Jaar – Space is Only Noise

Linda:

10. iceage - New Brigade

09. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

08. YACHT - Shangri-La 

07. Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness

06. Wild Flag - Wild Flag

05. CANT - Dreams Come True

04. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

03. My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind

02. Tune-Yards - w h o k i l l 

01. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise

Ilse:

10.Tom Vek -Leisure Seizure

09. Mi Ami - Dolphins EP

08. The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck

07. Kurt Vile - Smoke Rings for my Halo

06. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

05. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

04. Various Artists - Drive OST

03. J. Mascis - Several Shades of Why

02. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

01. Tune-Yards - w h o k i l l

Our Top 50 Favorite Tracks Countdown - 10 - 06

Yessir, it has started, the countdown of the 50 best tracks of 2011! Everyday I’ll post one track in the Daily Clip section, but if you missed one don’t worry, after each batch of five I’ll be sure to post those songs with links on the site (you’ll find it in the main post). So for the next 50 days, nothing but the best, here we go!

Nr. 10 - ‘Pianopella & Breathless’ by Wolfram

Closer of the very nice Wolfram album, which saw Wolfram team up with guys like Holy Ghost! and Hathaway, this is perhaps the most adventurous song of all (not counting the spoken word film bit he put in there somewhere). A good eleven minutes, and it starts with just a mere piano. At one point it starts doing a little tune, as if we are sitting in at practice and hearing a song get born on the piano. After three minutes slowly the beat is allowed in and the actual song starts, which is this lovely, catchy affair to get on the dancefloor on. Love how it goes a bit deeper, and then basically resets at the eight minute mark. Lovely song.

Nr. 09 - ‘It’s a Bubble’ by Beni feat. Sean Delear and Turbotito

Beni delivered a tremendous album with some very club ready tunes. Perhaps none so much as this one featuring Sean Delear and Turbotito. It’s got this clubby beat going on that makes you want to dance, and the vocals just entice you to get into dancing mode even more. They even literally invite you by saying “Come on in”. There’s something very sexual to the vocals without throwing in innuendo or noises of people grunting and going at it. In the chorus they go one step further, stating that they “can’t flow without you”, in other words, get on the floor and dance with me baby. It’s got a lovely high pace, and it just makes you want to be surrounded by cute, young people that are getting it on. If you want to get into that club vibe, this is the track, I’ll tell ya.

Nr. 08 - ‘Painted Eyes’ by Hercules and Love Affair

Hercules and Love Affair impressed me with their new line-up, and with their live show, and with their album. So yeah. Nothing impressed me more though than those vocals by Aerea Negrot, who is on vocal duty for this song. Such nice vocals, so much control over it; perfect. It’s got this yearning quality to it, this dreamy feel. And then the violins come in, that is great, and after that the beat and drums kick it up slightly (though by all means, this is not the most danceable song on the album, far from it). It is this tune where you look at the floor and dreamily dance away, and I do love songs that evoke that kind of feel. Plus, the strings and the vocals give it all the extras it need to be one of my favorite tunes of the year.

Nr. 07 - ‘Nothing Gold’ by Joakim

Joakim knocked it out of the park with this one. His previous album, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about that, but this one is excellence. With this as its highlight. It’s got this estrangement to it, and I do love that in songs. Kind of like Circlesquare a few years ago, which went on to become my favorite album of that year (and one of my favorites of all time). The first time the vocals come in he immediately cuts to the chase. “My love is gone,” he sings. But if you are afraid it is corny or anything, think again, because the lyrics, the tone of his voice, and the sounds of the music all work together to get across this alienated, this melancholic feel. Some immediate piano sounds are thrown in there at the four minute mark, along with some extra sounds to further convey both the distance and anxiety of the narrator. If you love this kind of vibe, like I do, than go out and get this album on vinyl, like I did. You won’t regret it.

Nr. 06 - ‘Reckless With Your Love’ by Azari & III

I can’t believe this song is not number one. And I made this list, and I can’t believe this song isn’t even in the top 5. This is a downright home run by the boys from Azari & III. I’ve seen them perform this one live a few times and it positively kills. It’s got the attitude, it’s got the sexiness, it’s got it all. Great vocals, easy to dance to, and everything just fits. It’s got spunk, for some reason I find that to be the right word. In one year they’ve gone from Paradiso upstairs to the support act of Hercules and Love Affair to Lowlands, to Trouw, and now they’re scheduled to perform in the Paradiso main room. And if you listen to this, and if you see how they bring it every live show, then surely one understands the ascend. They bring, exhume, dish out energy, and this track is a perfect example of that.

Our 10 Favorite Albums of 2011 - Nr. 01

And so its the end of the year again (or the start) and we have listened to an awful lot of music, the people here. And two of us managed to churn out some words on what we consider as our favorite albums of 2011. So enjoy, hope it proves to function both as a tip sheet and as a salute to good music.

Stef:

01. Nicolas Jaar – Space is Only Noise (Circus Company)

There’s something about midnight that heightens ones senses, isn’t there? In previous years I often picked for the top spot an album that I deferred to when on the midnight commute to my little ol’ home. This album just has that midnight, distant vibe all over it. Emotion through a sense of disconnect, like you are watching events unfold in life as opposed to being part of it. Or maybe I’m just thinking this for the French cinema bits thrown in there. Jaar has this very rare sense of knowing when to use what kind of sound. And in music, that is a gift, and an important one at that. Find the right sample, find whatever makes that sound you feel you need, and then drop it at exactly the right time. Not to mention that the actual songs that come out of it are tremendous.

Tremendous certainly is that killer combo smack down in the middle of the album. The songs ‘Problems with the Sun’ and ‘Space is Only Noise If You Can See’ are such great examples of not only Jaar’s musical skills, but also how they can be turned into good songs. Sitting in the train, looking out of the window into the night, city lights the only thing you can see, faintly hearing some sort of commotion in the background, in the reflection seeing some girl study, seeing some boy dream about something or another, knowing that so much is going on in the world that I’m crossing per train, so much love, loss, hope, laughter, frustration, dreams: this album any day of the week. And twice on Sundays.

Linda:

01. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise (Circus Company)

Well, here’s a surprise: two completely different lists, and the only album we agree on is our mutual nr 1 album. That must count for something, even though I haven’t seen it turn up much in other best-of-2011 lists - though that can easily be explained by our superior taste in music here at IKRS (And yes, she's kidding. But not by much. If at all. Wait, I don't think she is. Actually, I agree. Yeah. Right on Linda! - ed).

Things could easily have gone wrong for Nicolas Jaar on this album, minimalism is always a risk as with this type of music, more than any other, you have to get the balance exactly right. Leave one bleep out and you will lose the flow of the record; be a bit overly ambitious and add an instrument too many and you’re stuck with unnecessary fluff forgoing your entire raison d’être (or at the very least the chance of making a good record). But Jaar had no problems with any of those issues: every single sound on this album serves a purpose, and he got those few sounds exactly right. As such, ‘Space is Only Noise’ does require slightly more stringent listening conditions than any other album in order to fully appreciate it: it as an album especially suited for dark, lonely nights, which are pretty rare in London as it’s never fully dark here and there’s always a nutter somewhere shouting abuse. But even under those suboptimal conditions, this album has really gotten under my skin.

Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise by CircusCompany