like you ain’t heard, chromeo are playing dublin tomorrow. the last time they played ireland i was busy trying to hassle diplo for an interview, so missed their show. pretty annoyed, but such is life. you know some of the best things with the chromeo name attached are remixes? every time they put something out, they really get the best there is both to complement and to rework their sound.
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i’ve been busy with music new and old lately, and i’ve put a few mixes together. the most recent was for sidetracked, that ever-so-groovy friday night dealio in the chocolate bar in dublin. it’s a game of two halves, as i start off with some more groovy stuff like holmes price‘s unbelievably good cover of the juan maclean‘s human disaster and the classic shep pettibone remix of new order’s true faith. then it goes a bit garagey, with some mj cole and todd edwards, before a deep and slightly irreverent finale thanks to carl craig, and his relentless desire for chicken noodle soup. i’ll be playing sidetracked from 2 next friday, so come along and wave/say hi/boogie.
last month i picked up the 33rd contribution to the dj-kicks mix series, put together by one of my favourite artists, the juan maclean. on the nifty microsite they have a cool interview with mr juan himself. i like that a dubliner (shit robot) gets a mention. i also had the feels so good vinyl bought for me in london at the weekend, complete with florian meindl remix. haven’t got around to ripping it yet though, lazy innit. in the meantime i’m dying to hear this new james holden mix – triangle folds is a beaut…
Posted in MP3
Tagged DJ-Kicks, Florian Meindl, James Holden, Shit Robot, The Juan MacLean
hmm, well, this isn’t exactly going to be the celebratory eulogy you might expect, but that may just be because i’m weird. i got up pretty late, did some cleaning, watched united very luckily beat city. then i headed off into the dublin sunshine, in the hope of picking up some cool limited edition records. no such luck. it’s not that there wasn’t anything on offer, just nothing to my taste. i head tell of a special gang gang dance release, but alas i couldn’t put my hand to it. furthermore, with the album release a few weeks away, i couldn’t justify spending eight whole euro on a single-sided lcd soundystem 12″ that featured one track from that album. sorry james, i’m just not that lavish. there were weird 45s from hot chip and bat for lashes, among others, but they didn’t quite grab me. the only purchases i ended up making in dublin’s tower records were the juan maclean’s first album less than human, and the latest fabriclive mix from “the” duke dumont.
what bugged me most about record store day, however, was the very event itself. i spend a lot of time in record stores, be they chains or independents. i’d say i’m in there maybe four or five times a week. for me, browsing records is a very personal experience. i suppose that relates to the way i listen to music. other than when i’m djing to a room full of people, i’m a very selfish listener. i listen to music for me. so when i go record shopping, it’s a solitary experience, you know, i’m buying records for me and so on. today in tower there were a series of in-store performances which drew a big crowd. in theory this should be good for the shop – people who might not normally visit come along and, hopefully, buy something, bingo. but i don’t know if that happened today. it almost seemed that people who were actually in the shop to look at *shock horror* cds were in the minority. i certainly found it very uncomfortable, but maybe that’s just me. as for road records, i couldn’t even get in the door. great. no purchase there.
i concede that this is all the rambling of a grumpy cynic who hates people, but hey, i genuinely left the house with the intention of spending money today. i did, but it was only a fraction of what it could have been. hey, at least i’ll keep spending money as the days and months roll on…
Posted in Thoughts
Tagged Gang Gang Dance, Rant, Record Store Day, The Duke Dumont, The Juan MacLean
so, since i promised, here is the first half of my non-arbitrary list of songs that meant a lot to me over the past year.
The Juan MacLean – The Station
the future will come was my favourite album of the year, and for a time tonight was my favourite track thereon. the station edged forward for a number of reasons. its lyrics, all about the lack of communication between a man and woman, resonated with personal fears about my own perceived lack of communcation skills and the way i approach my own relationship. unlike some reviewers, i thought the dynamic between juan‘s cold, robotic utterings and nancy whang’s passionate, driven vocals lent the album, and this song in particular, a pathos so often lacking in modern music. this song also holds a special place in my heart as it was the first track i ever played at transmission back in august, something which has come to define the year for me.
Stevie Nicks – Stand Back (Eli Escobar Disco Mix)
the next song i played in that first set back in august was this delightful re-edit of a stevie nicks song done for money lotion by one eli escobar. the isolated strands of guitar licks, the fuzzy synths, the completeness of it all – it’s one of few songs out there that you can listen to, on repeat, for a whole seven minutes and never get bored – everything about this track is respectful to its forebear without being stuck in the past. of course, it is an 80s song, but it fits in perfectly with that resurgent strand of, for want of a better genre-title, nu-disco. but we must bear in mind that it wasn’t just re-edits that eli did this year…
Eli Escobar – Glass House
yes, i’m talking about him yet again. more than anyone else, his work has had a profound effect on me this year. his remixes have been wowing be for a few years, but finally he came out with some original tracks – the dark, relentless groove of glass house contrasted greatly with the euphoric party vibes of good time – both are superb but it’s the title track that edges it for me. the 80s percussion, the heavily-reverbed claps, the brooding bassline, it sounds like a nightmare but it’s more like a dream. compounded with this insane video, it was no doubt one of the most epic releases of 2009.
Joe and Will Ask? – Fabric of Win (ft SaintSaviour)
having met these guys in preston back in may, i’ve been keen to promote and celebrate their work. their latest effort, dewdrops with kris menace, calls to mind binary finary – and joe knows that i only mean that in a good way – but it was fabric of win, with the vocals of saintsaviour, that helped define the latter half of my year. for four months in a row at transmission it found its way into my sets. as joe said of saintsaviour before the track’s release, “she’s an awesome dance music writer, she does it in a kind of cool, edgy way, it’s not bland or boring, like ‘let’s just stick a blonde babe singing something about the weekend’.” this track had the signature beats of a joe and will ask? tune, but bypassed their harder techno sound for a more approachable, housey sound. either way, the boys look like they’ll be around for some time if this is anything to go by.
Curses! – The Deep End (Holy Ghost! Day School Dub ft Nancy Whang)
to be honest, i know i first heard this in early december 2008. that doesn’t matter – it was released in 09. win! it’s kind of hard to be objective on this one. there’s something so deeply moving about all of the different elements of this track – the whining synth, the pummelling bassline, the evocative piano chords, that theme which is essentially just a distorted bass riff – it’s the saddest club track ever written. probably why i’ve never played it out. i remember hearing it played between bands at now wave in manchester when i was waiting for the juan maclean, and i texted a friend saying “have you heard this track? because if you haven’t you should”. i was listening to andrew weatherall’s 6 mix back in may and, as usual, looked at the tracklisting to see if i recognised anything – i didn’t. so it was to my great delight to hear this familiar beat kick in half-way through the mix. of course, “Deep End – Unknown” hadn’t caught my attention 
wevvers used all eight minutes of this beautiful track in his half-hour mix, a fitting tribute to a song that requires attention from the first second to the last.
i’m finally getting my interview game back. see here for details of my recent chat with the juan maclean. more to follow later in the year hopefully. watch this space etc.
it’s a good day. i’m not working. i’m in the middle of reading two great books (one for the bus and one for home time) – jeff chang’s immense can’t stop won’t stop and after dark by haruki murakami. tonight i’m going to that awesome free gig in tripod (in flagranti, the juan maclean dj set, the field), and right now i’m downloading the second installment of the delancey music service. i’m going to have to fight the urge to talk about this every week, but it’s a pretty big urge. this week the interview subject is dances with white girls, one of my favourite new(ish) producers. he first came to my attention with an awesome bmore remix of stevie nicks’ edge of seventeen. within 18 months i could hear one his tracks in urban outfitters on the rapture‘s tapes compilation.
anyway he’s done a wee mix but they’ve not given us a tracklist. so i’m going to have to dig deep and find out what he’s playing. he’s an eccentric and interesting dude – check out his burning bridges and making paper mix from last year, where he goes from proper house and techno to funky house to bmore.
where the hell have you been?!
my first glimspe of the o2. it did fill up.
so i went to spandau ballet in the o2. tony hadley dedicated true to stephen gately (rip). the whole crowd sang along (as much because it’s the band’s most famous song as anything else) and what was amazing was that i could still hear the band properly. maybe that was because i was two rows from the back, but anyway, i was still impressed.
Rui Da Silva – Touch Me (Samples Spandau Ballet’s Chant No. 1)
friday night i hit the button factory for the ed banger night – i was hoping so me would be kind of kooky and weird, but he wasn’t that far outside of the ed banger mould. breakbot played some cool tunes, as did busy p. unfortunately i had to leave a little bit early so missed most of feadz‘s set, though what i did hear was excellent as usual – such as a bmore version of the tetris theme (!) and bangalter’s outrun.
the following night i paid a visit to oktoberfest at chq, which was, in a word, surreal. there was a big hall, there were lots of benches and long tables, and a LOT of paulaner. that much i expected. i didn’t expect the chant/refrain of german nonsense, or hearing cotton eye joe, macarena and lots of dj otzi.
what was less surreal was jokers of the scene at colortv in wax. that was just great. except for the “random” body search on the way in – i’m thinking of getting this tee in protest. but that aside, it was awesome. the boys played a fantastic set – it was full of excellent techno, most of which i didn’t recognise, but it was expertly peppered with some of their own productions and remixes. it would have been easy for them to close on the unstoppable baggy bottom boys but they just kept on going. excellent stuff.
not the best photo ever taken of jokers of the scene
so today and yesterday i took it easy. i watched some generation kill, some peep show, and finally finished watching let the right one in. i liked it, less than the book (as is generally the case), but i thought it was an interesting and faithful, if hugely condensed, adaptation. i thought the book was exceptional in its detail, while the film was impressive by virtue of its use of vague suggestion and implication – brush strokes rather than minute detail.
this weekend i’m looking forward to the juan maclean, in flagranti and the field at tripod, and then i’m supporting mustard pimp on saturday at transmission. i’d love to be hitting some of the deaf nights, but alas i’m working almost every day so i don’t want to spread myself too thin! i did this weekend and it’s tough going. i’m getting old…
final word – check out the delancey music service on east village radio tonight – or later in the week on eli‘s blog. last week he and stretch played some wicked tunes, as well as interviewing amanda blank. get on it.
Tagged Amanda Blank, Breakbot, Busy P, CHQ, East Village Radio, Ed Banger, Eli Escobar, Feadz, Generation Kill, Heineken Music, In Flagranti, Jokers of The Scene, Let The Right One In, Mustard Pimp, Oktoberfest, Peep Show, So Me, Spandau Ballet, Stretch Armstrong, The Button Factory, The Delancey Music Service, The Field, The Juan MacLean, The O2, Transmission, Wax
i love it when the internet makes this easier. i was thinking to myself, where the hell can i find a mix of the weekend? getting rusty with old age. but sure enough, just as the summer has finally arrived (in september), this delightful mix has surfaced today like warm sunshine on your tent after an hour of solid rainfall. i’ve been digging this series for some time now, and this one doesn’t look like it’s about to buck the trend. what really bugs me about this latest white light mix, from smalltown djs, is the opening track – dubtribe soundsystem’s do it now. a lot of people claimed it was an influence on the juan maclean‘s happy house last year, and i recently dug it out – i’ve fond memories of hearing it on danny tenaglia‘s basics mix driving down freeways in california in june 2002, so i was keen to fit it into a mix myself – but there’s no way i can compete with this! at least i know this mix will remind everyone what a great track it is, and hopefully it’ll bring some much deserved exposure to joe and will ask? across the pond.
WHITE LIGHT 11 – Smalltown DJs (RIGHT CLICK, SAVE AS)
Dubtribe Soundsystem – Do it Now
Eli Escobar – Glass House
Fever Ray – Triangle Walks (Rex The Dog Remix)
LCD Soundsystem – 45:33 (Theo Parrish’s Space Cadet Remix)
James Cur – We Just Won’t Stop feat. JDub
Tensnake – Can You Feel It
Moby – Mistake (Lifelike Remix)
Whitest Boy Alive – 1517 (Morgan Geist Remix)
Pryda – Aflon
Joe and Will Ask? – Fabric of Win feat. Saint Saviour
D-Train – You’re the One for Me
Knightlife – Crusader
Faze Action – I Wanna Dancer (Special Disco Mix)
Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer
be sure to check out the earlier entries here if you haven’t done so already.
