luckier

i read yesterday about sufjan stevens‘ latest venture – as p4k’s head put it, Sufjan Makes Instrumental Album With Stepdad and National’s Bryce Dessner. it’s part of asthmatic kitty’s library catalog music series, the aim of which is to make what is essentially background music. on one level this could be seen as a perverted, introspective approach, making music that isn’t meant to be listened to but simply heard, not unlike the sound of the rain or of passing traffic, but the more i think about it i think it’s a delightfully novel approach which goes against everything i think is wrong with music right now. this is what the site says about the project:

Asthmatic Kitty’s Library Catalog Music is a series of instrumental albums designed for possible use in films and television, background sounds for home or office, or personal needs, such as relaxation, stimulation, meditation, concentration, or elevation. For your listening pleasure, we asked a select group of talented artists to create a unique recording for this collection. Specific uses for the music is this series may include accompaniment to cooking, eating, sculpting, exercising, high stakes poker, soaking, panoramic landscapes, cuddling, car chases, drawing, knitting, bandaging, romance, playing chess, or planning the rest of your life, of which this is the first day.

now i’m trying to apply this logic to club music. the library catalog wouldn’t ever work in a club (well i guess it wouldn’t, from the blurb above) but i think that it raises questions about people’s intentions when they make music. when kids are first learning to make music in their bedroom, they’re going to look to their idols – and right now those idols are people like boys noize, crookers, justice etc – most of whom are known for their peak-time bangers. no-one starting out is going to want to make a track that a dj will play to an empty floor as soon as the doors open. but the dj has to play something. so when does a producer make the transition, from making, as i call them, peak-time bangers, to tracks that just sound good at any time?

listening to chromeo’s dj-kicks i was really taken aback by the contribution from perth’s shazam. the guy’s already made a name for himself with that awesome remix of dance wiv me, as well as the unstoppable pool party 2009 (i swear i heard that in arnotts last week and thought it was late 90s french house – it’s that good), and now this track shows his abilities range far beyond late night fare. this slow-burning disco track fits in beautifully to the chromeo mix, in that it’s got that cheesy 80s sound – you know, that dancing organ sound, the soft warm synths, the seinfeld bass – it’s all there. this guy is, what, 19? i think more producers need to take a leaf out of his book. go hard in what you do, yes, but you don’t always have to go hard.

Shazam – Luckier

“can you play something i can dance to?”

it’s funny how when people end up in a club that really isn’t for them, they try to make out like they’re not the one with the problem. last night at transmission i had a pair of girls come up to me and repeatedly ask for: pop music; songs with words; songs people know; songs people can dance to. at this stage of the night i had already played tracks by boys noize, daft punk and the chemical brothers, so it wasn’t like i was digging my tunes from the depths of obscurity. while the club wasn’t as full as i’ve seen it at present, the dancefloor was by no means empty, and the majority of those on the floor seemed to be enjoying themselves, what with the odd “ooee ooee ooh” chant and some very happy dancing faces.

i understand that when one pays into a venue one can expect that the dj is there to entertain you. i’m relatively new to this game, so i’m not above at least listening to requests. i’ve talked the ear off plenty of djs in my time. at the same time, if you arrive at a night that isn’t playing the sort of music you like, you can’t expect the music policy to shift entirely because you don’t like what you hear. i’m a huge fan of jay-z, have been for over a decade, but i’m not about to play run this town because one girl in the crowd thinks boy 8-bit is “shit”.

i know i’m not the first dj to express this sentiment, and i certainly won’t be the last. i might seem like i’m running off some righteous indignation, and to an extent i am. that said, i couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. especially when the stuck on repeat vocals kicked in and one of the complainers recognised it and, thus, waved her hands in the air and started dancing. maybe playing all 9 minutes of alexander robotnick’s epic remix was asking a bit much…

anyway, this is pretty much what i played.

Boys Noize – Oh! (A-Trak Remix)
SmartTech – Took The Trompeta
Green Velvet – Flash
The Chemical Brothers – Star Guitar (Pete Heller’s Expanded Mix)
Daft Punk – Around The World
Joe and Will Ask? – Fabric of Win (ft. SaintSaviour)
Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity of Huge
Kid Cudi – Make Her Say (Nadastrom 88 Dub)
Midfield General – Disco Sirens (Boy 8-Bit Remix)
MGMT – Time To Pretend (Diplo Remix)
La Roux – I’m Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)
Little Boots – Stuck On Repeat (Alexander Robotnick Remix)
Machines Don’t Care – Afro Jacker
Telephoned – Pop Champagne
Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You
Sharon Phillips – Want 2 / Need 2 (Trentemøller Remix)

early top 10

i fear some of these charts may be getting a bit repetitive – but hey, i’m just repping what i love you know. glass house is slowly working its way up my tunes of the year list, may well be at the top by december. as for that hell track – yeah there’s been some controversy, but the remix package is to die for. radioslave wins for the sheer balls of making a motherf*ckin’ 28 minute version for the two motherf*ckers that understand it. i’m one of them

1 Eli Escobar – Glass House
2 Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi (Kingdom Remix)
3 Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Death Suite (DJ Mehdi Simple Acid Edit)
4 Jokers of the Scene – Baggy Bottom Boys (Original Mix)
5 The Count & Sinden – Mega (Schizofonics Remix)
6 Hugg & Pepp – Sweet Rosie (Turbo Edit)
7 Hell ft. P. Diddy – The DJ (Radio Slave Remix)
8 Jay-Z Feat. Rihanna – Run This Town (Fake Blood 1 Minute Mash)
9 Yazoo – Situation (US 12” Mix)
10 Model 500 – Night Drive (Time, Space, Transmat)

ten for tuesday

i had actually forgotten it was chart day until i saw nialler9’s tweet – so i had to quickly gather my thoughts on what was rocking my world this week. i’ve been working on a mix for transmission so some of these tracks may well feature there, while others are just making me smile.

1 Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Death Suite
2 Kid Cudi f. Kanye West & Common – Make Her Say (Nadastrom 88 Dub)
3 Zombie Nation – Mystery Meat Affair (Shadow Dancer Remix)
4 Dakunt – T’a Surdou
5 Sam Tiba – Weed Barbie
6 Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
7 Eli Escobar – Glass House
8 Still Going – Untitled Love
9 The Field – Sequenced
10 Kanye West – Through The Wire

death waves

erol alkan and boys noize have teamed up to make two awesome tracks, called waves and death suite. the former is a dreamy balearic affair, while the experience of listening to the latter has been described like “being fucked by angry nanorobots.” listening closely, i noticed rhythmic and textural similarities, so i’ve come to the conclusion that ultimately, it’s the same track, albeit formulated in two very different ways. have a look at some youtube previews before listening to my cross section of the two tracks.

Death Waves? WaveSuite?

Waves/Death Suite is released on August 31 on Boysnoize Records

august chart number 1

ok a couple of these aren’t strictly out yet, and some are maybe a bit old to be chart-worthy, but i heard some of these used to great effect at the weekend.

1 Erol Alkan & Boys Noize – Waves
2 LCD Soundsystem – 45:33 (Padded Cell Remix)
3 Primary 1 & Riton – Who’s There (In Flagranti Remix)
4 Zomby – Rumours and Revelations
5 Sebastien Tellier – Kilometer (Aeroplane ‘Italo 84′ Remix)
6 Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Rex The Dog Remix)
7 Major Lazer – Hold The Line (ft Mr. Lex & Santigold)
8 Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity of Huge (A Chicken Lips Instrumental Malfunction!)
9 The Juan MacLean – Happy House Dear (Matthew Dear vs Audion Remix)
10 Little Boots – Stuck On Repeat (Alexander Robotnick Remix)