dance music

Bionic

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Christina Aguilera has been a polemic figure since her breakthrough hit "Genie in a Bottle". She has a sexual aesthetic similar to a young Madonna’s, fashion sense like Cher’s, and raw vocal power comparable to a younger Whitney Houston’s. Her albums contain raunchy sexed-up tracks that appeal to sexually blossoming young adults and stately ballads that appeal to their post-menopausal mothers. Power pop, pop rock, R&B, hip-hop, dance, and even a little alt-rock have been found in some form on her albums. It’s a curse and a blessing for Christina that she can sound like anyone and sing almost anything. She’s always been difficult to categorize. Her ability to be so many things has caused critics to chastise her for not having her own unique presence.

The campaign for the collaboration-heavy Bionic began in the blogosphere with the declaration “Aguilera goes indie.” Ladytron, Le Tigre, Goldfrapp, M.I.A., Santigold, John Hill, and Sia all stepped up to the plate when an apprehensive Aguilera (convinced by her husband) reached out to them. The end result is an album that finds Christina caught between two worlds. Before, she seemed to be making the choice between being a serious singer or a pop star. Now, Christina Aguilera must chose between either being an “indie” darling or being the radio star. In the end, she is seemingly much more interesting doing “indie” impersonations than she is making radio ready pop.

The mainstream songs dominate the eighteen-track standard edition of the album and are, unfortunately, the weakest offerings from the Bionic sessions. Tricky Stewart never really replicates his production magic on his hits like “Umbrella” or “Single Ladies.” The Spanglish “Desnudate” sounds as if J.Lo, Pitbull, and Gloria Estefan went on an all night coke binge and decided to log some studio time in the process. The clunky Spanish translations, which seem to have been lifted directly from an online search engine, cause the track to sink even further. "Glam," touted as a modern "Vogue," is a cute but innocuous gay-friendly track that brings to mind Paris is Burning and Sex and the City. “Prima Donna” is slinky, urban, club fodder salvaged only by a confident hood delivery from Xtina, whose singing eerily sounds more and more like Michael Jackson by the bridge of the track.

Polow Da don’s tracks don’t fare much better. “Woo Hoo” (feat. Nicki Minaj), an ode to Christina’s lady parts, is fun, but the production is too sparse and predictable. “I Hate Boys” is a bratty, juvenile kiss-off that is the biggest stylistic misstep for Christina. It’s whooshing, grating production and taunting melody make it seem as if she’s trying to bite at the heels of Katy Perry and Ke$ha. But, this is a Christina Aguilera album, and with a deluxe version boasting twenty-four tracks in total there is still much more here to be examined.

A feel good collaboration with Le Tigre, “My Girls” is delightfully similar in its levity and playfulness. It combines Le Tigre’s penchant for female assertiveness and Christina’s stiletto wearing, ruby-lipped brand of third wave feminism. The product is a funky, lo-fi, disco-y, '90s, Girl Power pop with a Peaches feature and an adorable riot grrrrl shout-out to her collaborators.

With many of these collaborations Aguilera has been criticized for lacking a true identity and “ripping off” these artists, which I think is somewhat unfair. Can you call it “ripping off” if there is a consensual collaboration involved? In my opinion Xtina has been unable to maintain a clear musical identity out of sheer boredom and dynamic virtuosity. Yes, her voice is the only distinguishing feature that ties her albums together, but in her defense, why do one thing when you can do everything?

One burning question remains. How does one listen to such an album with such extreme stylistic differences from song to song? I’d say treat it like a mix-tape. With this number of tracks, various styles, and collaborators it’s safe to say that Christina Aguilera has made an album for the digital age. There are multiple ten-fifteen track albums that can be created from this lot for everyone to enjoy.

This is an excerpt from a much longer, more detailed review that can be found at Electroqueer

Written by: Javi, June 14th 2010

This Is Happening

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By LCD Soundsystem

DFA

This can go one of two ways. You can put this album on the loudspeakers of your choice and busy yourself with life until the best beats drop and you are unable to stop yourself from dancing around wildly, close to whatever said speakers you chose. Or, you can do as I do: ready the tunes, put on the headphones, and sit down. You’re going to need to fully absorb the genius before you try to dance to this record.

How does one come to produce some of the greatest ironic dance music of the decade? As co-founding producer of DFA Records, James Murphy certainly learned from some of the best. For me, his legacy is a blend of Le Tigre remixes, that forty-five minute album he made for Nike, and LCD Soundsystem songs about distance, love, and sorrow.

The Sound of Silver singles—namely, “All My Friends” and “Someone Great”—defined my grad school years in Boston, a time of healing from heartbreak, strangely disappointing friendships, and a renewed sense of self and personal goals. What will This Is Happening mean to my life? What will it mean to yours?

Though “Pow Pow” was released on Record Store Day, I have been told that “Drunk Girls” is the album’s first official single. There’s likely one driving factor behind that decision: it’s the album’s shortest song, clocking in at 3:44. Every other tune pushes the six, seven, eight, or nine-minute mark. I also hear early album critics don’t like the track. No matter; I don’t believe in that baby/bathwater dichotomy.

Most acts wouldn’t open a nine-track album with a nine-minute song, but most groups are not this type of brilliant. It takes more than three minutes for “Dance Yrself Clean” to move from a few handclaps, cow bell, and deadpan chants to a full-fledged synth-infused dance-punk anthem, but then, that is the point.

Similarly, the build-up in a song like “You Wanted A Hit” is—at least for me—one of the main reasons to listen to a band like LCD Soundsystem. Three minutes into the track, you’re still waiting for the chorus to kick in, for the heavier beats to drop. “You wanted a hit/But we don’t do hits,” Murphy chants. Only he’s wrong; they do hits in every single song.

Should I be comforted or absolutely fucking terrified that Murphy, a man twelve years my senior, sings about the very things that plague me? How can an album so closely mirror my entire existence? Consider some of the lyrics of “Home:”

This is the trick
Forget a terrible year
This is what you waited for

If you’re afraid of what you need
Look around you, you’re surrounded
It won’t get any better

What can I say about This Is Happening that Murphy does not himself include in the lyrics? “I can change/If it helps you fall in love.”

I could bemoan the Internet rumors that this is the band’s last album. Instead, I will cherish what I have, now. With references to moving to the back of the bus and the desire to wake up next to the girl you took home last night, this album is the perfect blend of indispensable '00s hipster aesthetic and thoughtful analysis of our cultural zeitgeist.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, May 18th 2010

Keyboard City

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Salvador Santana

Quannum Projects

Welcome to Keyboard City, a place where the sun is shining, the people are friendly, and everything is going to work out just fine. It’s a place created by Salvador Santana (son of ten-time Grammy winner Carlos), a young man determined to make his own mark on music. After a lilting introduction, Keyboard City jumps straight into the party atmosphere of “We Got Somethin’,” a bouncy number that sets the tone for the rest of the album. There are a few thoughtful moments, such as the dream-like title track, but, for the most part, the focus is on fun.

After a glance at the album’s liner notes, one question immediately springs to mind: What instrument can’t this guy play? Santana is credited on every track with various combinations of vocals, drums, bass, keyboards, organ, and even something called a clavinet. While there’s no denying Santana’s abilities as an instrumentalist, his lyrical efforts are less reliable. A track like “Under the Sun” has everything a hit single needs, but it’s sometimes difficult to sing along with the lackluster lyrics: “I see so many faces up on the Internet, some like to keep in touch, and some I never met.”

“Salaboutmoney” strays into similar territory. It aims for biting political commentary, but ends up here: “Corrupt politicians drunk off the power. Face it, you’re all over the Internet browser.” What’s telling is that the album’s gorgeous packaging—a jungle-themed pop-up complete with poster and intricate artwork—doesn’t provide us with any of the words. It’s when Santana puts his vocals in the background that Keyboard City really shines. “Video Game, Save My Life” makes you want to invite all your friends for a round of cocktails to nod along to the infectious percussion.

So, what do women do in Keyboard City? Well, they back Santana up by playing some of the instruments and providing additional vocals. The album’s only love song, “Keep Smiling,” puts a gentle, positive spin on a relationship between a woman and man separated by distance. But ultimately, this isn’t an album about anything as complicated as gender; it’s about keeping it real, and enjoying the moment.

“With the last record I was very passive and insecure, only because I wasn’t listening to my gut, allowing my second opinions to get to me,” Santana explains on his website. Even if he’s not completely on top of the lyrical side of the equation, he has clearly found buckets of confidence and plenty of sunshine in Keyboard City.

Written by: Alice Allan, April 11th 2010

The Beat Is...

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:40:00 +0000

Alphabeat

Polydor

For the same reason I celebrate my own existence—the idea of “getting out” of whatever dead-end birth town you once inhabited—Alphabeat make me cheer. Born and raised way off the major highway on Denmark’s lone peninsula (the country is otherwise fully comprised of islands), these young folks not only have the same Jutland accent as my partner; they took off for London after their first album, This Is Alphabeat, created a substantial buzz in the UK. As well it should have. Six friends from a small town who “made it” is admittedly an easy narrative to enjoy. Most Danish guys I know are named Anders, Rasmus, or Morten, and of the five guys in Alphabeat, three are named Anders (and the other two are Troels and, yes, a guy named Rasmus). That all six band members—including lone female Stine—are absolutely adorable and make joyously happy music that appeals to the Danish queer community makes it that much easier to get in their corner.

The Spell—the album, not just the single—has been out in Denmark since October, and as always, the country-specific release varies from the wider released UK version of the album, which is named for the album’s second single, The Beat Is.... Admittedly, as This Is Alphabeat was a sleeper hit made up of cutesy, tambourine- and hand clap-heavy songs about boyfriends, there has been backlash against the band’s more manufactured, mainstream pop sound. Not every track on the album is a winner, but the good ones make up for the lackluster efforts. My testament is this: with “The Spell” showing up everywhere from television commercials to ring tones in the past six months, I have yet to tire of it. What can I say? I like hearing about magical love in a Jutlandish Danish accent. The video will also charm your socks off.

The album’s third song “DJ” is the kind of song that makes me literally leap onto my bike and pedal twice as fast down to the grocery store. Infectious pop at its best, it makes the most mundane chores seem like a total party under a sturdy set of earbuds. I admittedly have a soft spot for pop tracks that pay homage to the often under-appreciated DJ, and the Alphabeat tribute is a cold Danish winter inspiration as much as it’s a club-ready hit.

“Heatwave,” one of my dancey favorites, includes Stine’s guttural vocals in a Britney Spears-esque series of “woah-oh-oh”s. This is a compliment, as the band members are big Brit-Brit fans.

“Heart Failure,” a syncopated single waiting to emerge, questions whether a new lover can handle—or even heal—his pursuit’s broken heart, previously damaged by another. It also includes the catchy line: “I sit on fences/with my/defenses.” When you consider sitting on a fence, do you immediately think someone means they are indecisive, or do you conjure images of cowboys, sitting on the split rail, gazing into the distance? I once asked a friend what she would think about if she had a fence to sit on. “I’d just stare,” she said. “That’s what you do on the fence.” Indeed.

If you’re stateside and need a fun '80s pop fix, pay to download the import or ask a friendly local record store clerk to put in an order. They might shake their heads at your Wonky Pop request, but you’re the one who gets to go home and shake something else.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, March 2nd 2010

Fabriclive 49

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:00:00 +0000

By Buraka Som Sistema

Fabric Records

I recently heard a clip from Fabriclive 49 and wanted to review it. Although I’m not too familiar with techno music (aside from the occasional club visit), I do like it, so off I went. Buraka Som Sistema’s album has a total of twenty-eight short club pieces that are very hard to separate. These songs overlap, interconnect, and pulse. There’s a definite dance vibe to the collection. At the same time, they are rather mellow and spacey in nature. At points, it was difficult to tell where one piece ended and the other started, but maybe that was intentional. The way the songs were put together reminded me of how the colors float together in candy floss, which is how the album needs to be treated—as something light and fun.

One of my favourites is “Machete,” which introduces a more acoustic style with beautiful singing. “Mermaid Dub” is another that stands out with its watery meditation feel, although it is rather long. There isn’t too much to say about its substance, but then again, maybe that too is expected.

Other pieces, like "IC19," are frantic with spinning sirens and a groove that slows down to offer voices only to rise up again. Images of being at once both at a party and floating out among the planets filled my head while listening to the sounds of this album. The dips and surges make the music somewhat more interesting. Another funky track is “Gone Too Far Feat Sizzla,” which is really upbeat.

While the collection overall isn’t too original (it includes remixes from other artists), I’ll definitely be playing it again. It may not have any original sounding bits, but it does have a rhythmically meditative quality to it. Light and airy dance music requires nothing of the listener other than to move to the beat.

Written by: Nicolette Westfall, February 28th 2010

One Love

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:00:00 +0000

By David Guetta

Astralwerks

French DJ and producer David Guetta’s One Love is a dream come true for dance and electronica fans who like hip-hop too. With the smash hits “When Love Takes Over,” featuring Kelly Rowland on vocals, and the auto-tune-saturated “Sexy Bitch,” with Akon, Guetta has placed himself at the forefront of what seems to be a new movement of hip-hop artists showing up on dance records.

Guetta went beyond his strong club fan base and reached a wider audience in 2007 with the hit “Love is Gone,” which got the attention of other artists His collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas on “I Gotta Feeling” resulted in his first number one single in the U.S. The boring FMIF remix is on One Love, along with two other appearances from Will.I.Am: “On the Dancefloor” (also with apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas), is perfect for club heads with its pulsating beat, but the chaotic and annoying “I Wanna Go Crazy” goes nowhere. The same can be said for the Ne-Yo and Kelly Rowland song “Choose.”

In an interview with a British magazine a few months ago, Guetta said he kept hearing from so many artists who felt “trapped in a formula” and were “looking for the music of tomorrow.” He called the sound they began to develop, this mixture of dance and hip-hop, “electro-hop.” Cause for concern if you’re a hip-hop fan worried about the direction our beloved art form—already in trouble—is taking.

Guetta’s work with Kid Cupri on “Memories” is actually worth hearing, although the real standouts are the title song with Estelle’s smooth vocals, and the still hard to resist “When Love Takes Over.” (Is it the backing piano lifted straight from Coldplay’s “Clocks?" Could it be the pleasantly predictable buildup?)

In that same interview, Guetta says that dance music in America has for many years remained a “black, gay underground thing,” but that’s changing now with artists like Kanye West and Timbaland borrowing from house music—an interesting statement since it can be argued that house music was birthed from hip-hop. As one of those concerned hip-hop fans I mentioned earlier, a little “borrowing” doesn’t worry me, but overkill does. Guetta’s mission to resurrect dance music and rule American pop is clear. The future of hip-hop, if too many of its artists ride the “electro-hop” wave, is not.

Written by: Natalie Maxwell, January 8th 2010

Limited Edition Demo

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:54:00 +0000

By MEN

Men Make Music

Pulling together some of the best feminist talent in dance music today, MEN should be requisite listening if you intend on moving forward in your life as a party-loving progressive. I understand that feminism is not always a celebration; I have often in my life been accused of being too serious. However, I like to shake it. A lot. It would be easy to write about my fan girl love for JD Samson. Instead, the music of MEN really speaks for itself.

In their own words, MEN as a band and performance group believes in the “radical potential of dance music.” Indeed, if you’ve ever been at a friendly gender-bending queercore dance party, you no doubt understand the truth in this ideal. With ridiculous cool cred abounding, MEN is comprised of Le Tigre’s JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, Michael O'Neill of bands Hirsute and Ladybug Transistor, artist/producer Emily Roysdon (also of Hirsute), and Ginger Brooks Takahashi of Lesbians To The Rescue, a feminist genderqueer art collective.

Just in time for their fall tour, MEN have put out their Limited Edition Demo. While short, the EP is packed full of energy and beauty. “Off Our Backs,” a popular turn of phrase among feminists and lesbians and used for the journal of the same title, is a track about queering relationships and changing up sexual positions. “I’m a tease/We’re flipping can’t you see?/Off our backs and back up to lead.” I’m not sure the subtext of this song is immediately apparent unless you know MEN’s politics. I do wonder who would show up at a MEN concert without knowing that the band “speaks to issues such as wartime economies, sexual compromise, and demanding liberties.”

“Credit Card Babie$,” arguably the most catchy tune of the batch, seems to be an ironic nod to people who compulsively adopt children. And then there are the days when you just look at your best friend and think, “This is it?” “Simultaneously,” a word I consistently have trouble spelling correctly, is a song about existential confusion in this life. The song is much more brilliant than my days of youthful uncertainty.

Even the fourth track, “Off Our Backs (Jeppe's Money is a Major Issue Remix),” is a danceable hit. In this case, Jeppe is “Senior” from the now-disbanded Junior Senior, a sort of Danish Timbaland with his hands on knobs and turntables for a variety of reputable artists around the world.

Currently on the road with groups like Gossip, MEN are not to be missed. Buy tickets early, party people.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, October 19th 2009

Fabriclive.47

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:29:00 +0000

By Toddla T

Fabric Records

From what I hear, Sheffield England is not a bumping metropolis. From listening to Toddla T, though, you’d gain a quite different impression.

Toddla T, the boy wonder known off-stage as Tom Bell, has been DJing since his mid-teens, is a resident DJ at Fabric, and makes frequent appearances on the BBC radio show “In New DJs We Trust.” His debut album, Skanky Skanky, was released earlier this year, and he produces fellow young British DJs and remixes the likes of Hot Chip.

On Fabriclive.47, Toddla T serves up many of his own tracks and remixes. Compared to the numerous other Fabric albums I’ve sampled over time, this came as a surprise—though a happy one. More accustomed to hearing almost-recognizable samples under old funk tracks and ‘90s R&B jams, TT’s blend of electro, house, drum and bass, and dancehall was a welcome change.

Of particular note are the small things: a random hymn sample that brought back days growing up in an evangelical church, singing “amen” in five part cycles, the women’s voices who fill in where beats just wouldn’t be enough.

It would be easy to mistake skinny white boy Toddla T for a large man of color based on his samples and influences alone. But who says race and ethnicity—or even gender—is directly linked to musical style, aptitude, or production? From the voices that boom from the tracks, it’s tricky to tell much about the young man behind the music. Maybe that subterfuge is all part of the plan.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, October 18th 2009

FabricLive 39

admin — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:22:00 +0000

By DJ Yoda

Fabric Records

This record is sick. By 'sick' I mean off the charts wicked, all night booty-shaking, dance party-inspiring, screaming while you crash down the rollercoaster of noise sick. Woah.

DJ Yoda, the mastermind behind this collaboration, hails from the UK and focuses on hip-hop turntablism, making a name for himself since the late 1990s with his How to Cut and Paste album series. Joining the ranks of Fabric DJs, he’s outdone himself. The Fabriclive series, on a whole, is a stellar mix of internationally celebrated DJs spinning their best collectibles and own work. But despite the number of these albums that line my shelf—well over a dozen as of this writing—DJ Yoda’s skills may have surpassed them all. Have you ever heard a remix of “Sexual Healing” played by brass band? Mix in some old Jurassic 5, Salt N Pepa, Bell Biv Devoe, and Run DMC, and you have a serious party on your hands, even if you’re all alone in your room while you break it down.

Despite the record’s greatness, the first two tracks don’t really kick such an incredible album off right, so skip to Skilbadee’s “Tika Toc” to throw down from the jump. I’ve been doing so all month, and even though that means missing a “Blister In The Sun” mix, you’ll get right into Ice Cube, Chemical Brothers, and Gang Starr. I’m telling you, this record is gold. Go find a copy. Now.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, June 14th 2008

Fabriclive.36

admin — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:37:00 +0000

By James Murphy, Pat Mahoney

Fabric Records

If you want to get the party started, here is the album to get the job done. Fabriclive.36 features James Murphy and Pat Mahoney on this release of electronic disco to minimal disco. The Fabriclive.X repetoire features a new artist release on a regular (if not monthly) basis out of the Fabric night club in London. These works are compliations of artists spun up for the night club dance crowd. Fabric is the brainchild of founders Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie—featuring three separate rooms totaling over 25,000 square feet, independent sound systems, and a body sonic dance floor.

Murphy and Mahoney are a couple of American born and bread boys from Wonder Breadland America who learned at tender ages what music was all about. Moving through the “my dad wanted me to play sax” and the garage bands, these two guys now share a spot on the DJ listing at Fabriclive. The music is dance, dance, dance, and more dance. That’s not a bad thing when you really need a great dance disc to get folks moving. The high energy mix was well received by everyone in the house; these guys do a great job of generating sonic energy and moving it right through. And it sure made Saturday morning chores go a heckuva lot faster too!

Written by: Mary O'Hara, January 20th 2008

Blackout

admin — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:19:00 +0000

By Britney Spears

Jive Records

Few will want to admit it, and even fewer actually will, but Britney Spears' Blackout is a scintillating, effervescent slice of post-millennium pop that will be a guilty pleasure for many in the coming months. Say what you will about the circumstances of Spears' personal life, which have certainly exceeded the threshold of outlandish, but those circumstances have no effect on her splashy radio and club-ready formula. Troubles or not, her music remains as sweet and caloric as candy corn, appealing to the hyperactive kid in all pop listeners.

Of course, Spears is not exactly a "force" to be reckoned with in the music industry in terms of legendary musical talent; Tony Bennett or Celine Dion she will never be. This is also not music for thinking people, but then with song titles like "Hot As Ice" and "Ooh Ooh Baby" that is more than implied. However, these facts alone do not invalidate Spears. The star quality that has endeared her to listeners time and time again is strong as ever on Blackout—one listen and it's hard to imagine these songs being performed by anyone else. Fitting her racy image to a T and never failing to deliver catchy, breathy pop hooks, they are as devilish as they are listenable.

On the biographical side of things, "Piece of Me" is a cheeky smorgasbord of self-referential (or self-aggrandizing, depending on how you look it) anecdotes smothered in chunky electro beats, while the Pharrell Williams-penned "Why Should I Be Sad?" provides an appropriate closer to a collection of songs otherwise grounded in levity with its bittersweet, resilient attitude set against the by now predictable (though nonetheless enjoyable) production work of the Neptunes.

"Gimme More," the set's lead single and Spears' highest chart feature on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1999, is one of the less notable tracks here compared to the trippy, atypical wordplay that marks "Radar" and the downright infectious "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)," a surefire highlight. Hi-NRG beats pulse throughout selections, such as the dancefloor-ready "Heaven On Earth" and "Toy Soldier," which has enough kitschy fun for a cult '80s flick.

Throughout the collection Spears is the ultimate seductress, oozing sex appeal and passion. By the time she coos "you make me feel so hot" throughout the lush "Perfect Lover," the second to last track, it's impossible to doubt her. May she now be a bonafide pop siren in the same league as Kylie Minogue? Possibly.

Jailhouse visits and custody hearings aside, Spears gives listeners reason for hope with Blackout, easily her best and definitely her most intriguing outing to date, even when factoring in her 2004 hits compilation. Oddly enough, she has never sounded more comfortable in her own skin, making this album feel like a debut. Gone are the artistic pretensions that marred her last two albums (she is a performer, not a songwriter), and her material has taken a major upgrade in class. This music is able to self-sustain without the aid of shock value or infamous MTV kissing scene stunts because in and of itself it is purely entertaining. All she needs is for her image to correspond, and she will have her life as well as her career back on track.

Written by: Rudy Palma, November 5th 2007

Fabriclive 34

admin — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:20:00 +0000

By Krafty Kuts

Fabric

I am of the opinion that party music is best heard live while at the party. Loaded with funky break beats, old school rhythms, hip hop, MC style and unique mash-ups, suffice it to say that popping in [Fabriclive 3(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N6TYSU?ie=UTF8&tag=feminrevie-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000N6TYSU) on my home stereo while trying to keep it down (paper thin apartment walls) didn’t do this mix appropriate justice.

Brought to us by the internationally known and hyped DJ mix series from the London-based nightclub, Fabric, breakbeat DJ Krafty Kuts joins the lineup up of notables like Grooverider, Diplo and Death in Vegas, to put together his album, which is the 34th in the Fabric Live mix series. The more I listened to this mix, the more I enjoyed it. Translation: Initially, I wasn’t blown away, but there were pockets of excitement that kept me going that I could appreciate the more I let the music take me over. Of course, break beats aren’t for everyone — this isn’t your regular dance stuff that gets played over the speakers at Abercrombie.

While “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash is easily one of the most overused tracks of all time, the high-speed spacey remix actually reinvigorates a track that would otherwise be trite. I thought tracks like “The Weekend Breaks” were not quite as strong because they tended to sound more typical, but these don’t dominate the album. The mixes tend to get funkier and groovier on the second half, such as the second to last track featuring Dynamite MC and the aptly titled final track "Funky Jam (Primal Scream)." Having a special place in my heart for funkier sounds, these later tracks got me up out of my office chair and snapping my fingers! If I heard these in the club, you know I would be jamming.

Both astute and new listeners will be impressed by the range of genres cohabitating on this album, from the tried and true of Grandmaster to the salsa rhythms on Ralph Robles’ “Takin’ Over” (which became a quick favorite). Though some of the faster and harder sounds on the opening tracks might not appeal to everyone, if you didn’t give it a chance you would definitely be missing out on some solid grooves.

Written by: Lillian B., August 30th 2007

Remixed and Reimagined

admin — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:36:00 +0000

By Billie Holiday

Legacy

Billie Holiday has been lauded along with Joni Mitchell, Judy Garland, and Aretha Franklin as one of the greatest female artists of the 20th Century. The appeal of Holiday was her pained and pinched vocals; she did not have a pretty voice, and the biggest part of her appeal laid in the rough edges of her whiskey-sour pipes.

Because one listens to Billie Holiday for emotional truth, it is a little disconcerting to think of Billie Holiday dance music. One needn’t worry, this album is not the kitschy mess of Ethel Merman’s disco record, nor is it a queerly camp album - like Liza Minnelli’s dance album with the Pet Shop Boys. Instead, the album is a collection of ultra-cool remixes of Holiday classics.

If listeners have a hard time imagining Holiday’s earthy vocals couched in plush dance music, they’d be right; logic would dictate that an artist as gritty and real as Holiday would not fare well in a soundscape of synthesizers. The remixes that work best are not the ones that try to reinvent Billie Holiday as a dance diva, but the ones that attempt to reinterpret her tunes. While Tony Humphries’ vision of “But Beautiful” is sonically awesome, Holiday’s singing suffers in the dub-treatment. Better songs are “Summertime” and “He Ain’t Got Rhythm” that pull off the difficult task of placing Billie Holiday on the dance floor without making it a mess. For the most part the album works because the music covered is the rawer kind that finds itself in the headphones of urbane hipsters.

Written by: Peter Piatkowski, August 29th 2007

Momento

admin — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:39:00 +0000

By Bebel Gilberto

Six Degrees

I’m not usually a headphones-in-the-outdoors type of girl, but I knew I had to take this one to the park. For real. This was an album requiring devoted listening. Musically complex, fresh and so fitting it’s title, this collection of songs required me to take a Momento to stop, appreciate and listen.

Maybe it’s the fact that I am sitting on a green-checkered blanket in the warm Oakland sunshine, gazing across the softness of sloping green grass at the lake on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe it’s the heat of the sun on my thirsty spring skin that has me flying. No matter which inspired which, Bebel Gilberto’s album has my soul dancing and swaying out across the water into limitless sky. I’m buoyed up by Bebel’s honey-toned voice, rhythms ranging from booty-shaking to a soft and steady heartbeat, achingly sweet acoustic guitar, funky electronic sounds and beautiful instrumentation. The cello on “Close to You,” melts me, the chorus of “Os Nuevos Yorkinos” demands that I get up to dance and sing along and her voice alongside the sax on her beautiful cover of Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” turns my knees to rubber.

Reviewing an album of Bebel Gilberto’s is a serious endeavor: to try and meet her half-way; to honor her vision, artistry and herstory; to try and describe the expansiveness of her musical expressions and the way her voice flows easy as a ripple across water, and yet reaches straight into ones gut. Her latest album, Momento, is as well-travelled as she is - recorded in Rio de Janeiro, New York and London with friends, colleagues and producers from all over the world.

As a song-writer and musician, Gilberto comes from a family with an impressive musical genealogy, and has had music in her ears before she even had ears. She’s been singing and songwriting since she was a little girl, and it shows. Her album is a collage of sounds and genres from afro-brazilian rythms and percussion, samba and Brazilian pop, to dance, electronica, acoustic ballads and world music. She released her first album, Tanto Tempo in 2000 (nominated for two Latin Grammy awards) and a second self-titled album in 2004 (nominated for a World Music Grammy). As she releases her third album, the whole world is still eagerly listening.

Take a moment - or put on your headphones and make a moment - to appreciate exactly where you are, and where a visionary artist like Bebel can take you.

Written by: Jessmaya Morales, May 28th 2007

Franchise Player 02

admin — Tue, 22 May 2007 02:15:00 +0000

By Joey Youngman

Franchise Player

Joey Youngman’s Franchise Player 02 is an excellent collection of dance songs marketed for sophisticated urban hipsters, who prefer their dance music steeped in brainy jazz music. The album’s short 16 songs blend into each other, creating a cohesive and nonstop celebration that rarely hits any emotional or sonic crescendos; instead the songs provide a consistent level of sound and beats that provide a fascinating, if an aloof listen.

The album opens with Mils Maeda’s “Lovely Daye” (Greenkeeps 205 Mix), and the song sets the tone of the album, with its dropped horn samples (popping in to accentuate a particular riff or an intricate sequence of beats). Raw Instinct “Grande de Follie” (DJ Gregory’s Main Club Mix) continues the midnight mix feel, adding a lounge feel with murmuring French voices (bringing Serge Gainsbourg’s sensual music to mind), and also including the sampled jazz voices, as well as electronically blanched voices that act like synths, competing with the electric pops and whistles.

Many of the songs recall early 1990’s house music with keyboard, organ or piano riffs springing in between the jungle beats. Jay-Jays & Miguel Mig’s “Rock the Spot” and Bobby and Klein’s “Café Filtre” both pull in elements of house music mainstays including the chiming organs and like-clockwork beats, and “Café Filtre” climaxes with an audience’s ovation. These songs and Bryan Jones’ “Vibe Like Tonight” aren’t terribly mainstream, but they do sound like what C&C Music Factory would’ve crafted if they had been edgier and more creative.

While the songs benefit from their aloofness, there is a much-needed shot of emotion from Jasper Street Co. “Lift Every Voice” (Mousse T. Uplifting Dub); just as the subtitle suggests the song is a moving number with wonderful soul wails by sweet-voiced gospel shouters. The song is a gospel hymn that takes the club to the church.

The other track that follows in the theme of humanity is Troydon’s “City Slummin’” (Johnny Fiasco’s Byrd Word Mix) which samples the Temptation’s classic “Cloud Nine.” The song is removed from its Motown context and cushioned in the squealing electronic setting, removing the original grittiness and replacing it with the glossy shiny technological sheen. The only reminder of the song’s socially conscious origins is the plaintive warbling, “I was born and raised in the slums of the city,” though this isn’t a call-to-arms because any of the emotional oomph is rubbed out by the abbreviation of the singing.

The rest of the album slinks back into sexy, slinky dance music for the nightclub. The atmosphere is chilly and detached and more acknowledgements are made to the influence of jazz in hip-hop and house, most notably in Alan Barratt’s My Kinda Music” (Inland Knights Remix) and the KenLou3 track “Moonshine.” Things take a brief return to the ebullient with Bryan Jones’ “Groove Foundation” that includes a back-up chorus of divas, before the album slithers into a close with more reserved material, capping off with Demon Ritchie’s “Only in New York” which boasts electronically-manipulated choruses that shimmer like sonic liquid. A stylish and arch collection that would be the perfect soundtrack for any nightclub, lounge or runway show.

Written by: Peter Piatkowski, May 21st 2007