A collection of wonderful tracks. Some new - some old - all gold!




Risque - Starlight (alt link)

Dutch girl group Risque originally released Starlight back in 1982 - it is early 80s disco pop perfection with its swirling analog synths and other associated ethereal sounds plus such classic lyrics as "You, you're my Space Invader"






Stereo Total - Mehr Licht (alt link)

More Light has perhaps taken over Do The Bambi or Joe Le Taxi as my favourite Stereo Total song. Raw.






Tussle - Meh Teh (alt link)

My disappointment at not getting chance to see San Franciscan experimentalists Tussle live this year was confounded when I heard Meh Teh. Telescope Mind and Kling Klang on Troubleman Unlimited and Smalltown Supersound are both well worth checking out if you're a fan of say both disco and Battles.





Clark - Dirty Pixie (alt link)

Clark's latest EP Throttle Promoter delivers ferocious beats. Top stuff.



The Knife - You Make Me Like Charity (alt link)

My favourite song by The Knife.



Alan Braxe - Addicted

55% danceable - 100% amazing. You'll see what I mean.

From Here We Go Sublime is possibly my favourite album of the year. So upon investigating for a similar sound I was recommended the following. Vintage soundscapes from Arp and shoegazey electronica from The Reflecting Skin. For fans of The Field, you should enjoy both of these.






The Reflecting Skin - Year Of The Knife (alt link)




Arp - Potentialities (alt link)






If the the above has left you in a state of ambient frostbite then you really need to be warmed up by this track from Otterman Empire - taken from the 2006 Babylon & On 12" released on Whatever We Want Records. Whilst nowhere as good or inventive as the title track, Dharma really does make you feel like you should be in some down at heel Abu Dhabi disco back in 1973. Excellent stuff!






Otterman Empire - Dharma (alt link)

Cajuan - Raven (Cajuan's Metro Rave Mix) (alt link)
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Fox n'Wolf - Rules Out (alt link)
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datA - 7 Months To Forget (alt link)
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Etienne de Crécy - Punk (live) (alt link)
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Hamburg's Moonbootica really serve up a volley of beats on this track. 7 out of 10 - Perfect!








Moonbootica - Strobelight (alt link)








Synth-pop - it's been too long since the sugary sweetness of a Freezepop-esque act has grabbed my attention and made me smile. I thought i'd gone off the genre to an extent but no, quality always shines through. Actually scrub the Freezepop comparison what we are talking here are the delicious synth-pop moments of 69 Love Songs - you know, like - Underwear and Long Forgotten Fairytale. Fantasy Mirrors are full of warmth and mischief and are ready to caramelise your ears.









Fantasy Mirrors - Blue Whale (alt link)

Best regards
Mr Abede.

Spam from Africa (potentially a great band name) can be quite fun to read, certainly better than an insipid glossy celeb magazine. Today's tracks - Nick Zinner's subtle mix of Services brings back raucous memories of United Sounds of ATP at Camber Sands, that whole weekend was jokes, and i'm so glad that ATP is back at Camber Sands next year - can't wait!

Zombie Zombie is the psychedelic side project of Herman Dune's Neman. Zombie Zombie could be the soundtrack to any creep-in-cheek 1960's horror B-movie. The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies perhaps. It's all pretty compelling analog action anyway, and you UK kids have chance to see Zombie Zombie in a hamlet near you over the next few weeks, check their Myspace for details.

Danger is French and makes electro music inspired by Daft Punk - "Oh, how original!" you say - "You may scoff, but he sure crafts a good tune " I say. Danger works can be found on the great French electronic freakbeat label, Ekleroshock.

And finally, Terrestrial Super Receiver bring the nostalgic sounding electronic pop beats that could be summed up with the words "1980's workout music"

Milky Globe - Magic Waves (with Aeroplane) (alt link)








Oh here, have some more space disco. Lush, cosmic soundscapes and an infectious soft beat are enough to make anyone reach for their VR headset. Taken from Sinner DC's Montage vinyl







Sinner DC - Lady March (Water Lilly Remix) (alt link)









From music to art - FFFFOUND! is the greatest website in the world for the bored/lazy art lover. Enjoy!

BIPPP: French Synth Wave 1979/85 - the must have compilation for any adherent of the current French electronic scene. It's a collection of obscure French synth tracks produced between 1979-1985. From the outset it becomes pretty obvious just how much they've influenced the generation of electronic upstarts we now see coming out of France - with them no doubt taking inspiration from these lo-fi DIY styles of yesteryear. Proof can be found by listening out for the sample used by Busy P in his track Rainbow Man taken from the Comix track. Grab your copy of the compilation HERE.





Comix - Touche Pas Mon Sexe (alt link)




Les Visiteurs Du Soir - Je T'Écris D'Un Pays (alt link)




Ruth - Polaroid Roman Photo

SERIOUS




Motor - Killer (alt link)



John Lord Fonda - So Far Away (alt link)




FUN




The Soft Pink Truth - Promofunk (alt link)



Neon - Skydiver (alt link)




SERIOUS + FUN = SERIOUS FUN. Which is what was had at Turnmills on Saturday, it was all a bit ridiculous. Anyway - the track by Motor will do nothing to convince you that they actually produced some of Prince's work. Motor present uncompromising harshness wielded like a man with mastery over wild animals, firm but enticing. The John Lord Fonda track if you haven't heard it before will no doubt remind you of Vitalic with its epical composition. Promofunk by The Soft Pink Truth is still one of my favourite tracks ever released on Tigerbeat6 an unsurpassed disco-glitch triumph. Skydiver by Neon was released in 1981, a catchy italo number about love (the bendy guitars give it extra romance). Skydiver was featured on the 8th of Parisian fashion house Colette's compilation which was mixed by Joakim. The 2nd CD is one of the highest quality.

Here we have nothing less than amazing. Le Le write their songs in English, Dutch, German and French. The tunes they craft are pure pop genius. Insanely catchy and instantly memorable this electro-pop perfection will brighten up anyones grim day of mundanity. Just think somewhere along the lines of the poppier moments of a Kitsune compilation and you have a rough idea of where Le Le are at but still managing to stamp their own brand of magical genius onto proceedings, electro esperantology I think they call it. Their single is available HERE. Now an ode to jeans with ankles of 12 inches or less in circumference.








Le Le - Skinny Jeans (alt link)








Le Le - La Bouche








Le Le - Hard









You may or may not have heard Turzi, they've been getting noticed up and down the blogs for a while and with good reason, their album entitled 'A' features all sorts of songs that begin with the letter A. Expect some exquisite and consuming lo-fi synth laden psychadelic space indie.







Turzi - Amadeus (alt link)







Turzi - Afghanistan

Mixtapes & Cellmates - I Left (alt link)
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Slagsmålsklubben - Speedboats (alt link)
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Pluxus - Perm (alt link)
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Société des Admirateurs - When I Go Gymnastique
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Back in sometime in December.

It's been a good while since i've listened to any Comtron and that's not a good thing. If you're not familiar with The Comtron Group they are anti-corporate Dutch businessmen who deal in illicit electro beats. Fellow Dutch duo Blokgolf have put their hand to one of Comtron's tracks and come up with a very very impressive remix which will remind you very much of yet another Dutchman - Alden Tyrell, as well as giving a bit of musical nod to the likes of Midnight Juggernauts etc. Great tune.






Comtron - Evil OS (Blokgolf Remix) (alt link)







Comtron - M.O.N.E.Y.






Forgotten 8-bit treasure





Twilight Electric - Chewing Gum (alt link)

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Today is a retrospective look at the pop music of Thailand and France.

I am intrigued by world music from times past, particularly the releases of Sublime Frequencies who specialise in distributing music from the remotest corners of the globe that was never well known enough in the first place to ever be forgotten. Sublime Frequencies is a collective of explorers dedicated to acquiring and exposing obscure sights and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers via film and video, field recordings, radio and short wave transmissions, international folk and pop music, sound anomalies, and other forms of human and natural expression not documented sufficiently through all channels of academic research, the modern recording industry, media, or corporate foundations. The fruits of their efforts inlcude the political pop music of Niger circa 1980, illegal electronic gang funk from Rio de Janeiro. And a collection of Thai pop music from the 60s-80s. Have a look through the Sublime Frequencies site - the info on each release makes for some interesting reading.


Here is a couple of Thai disco-pop nuggets from the 1970's






Chailai Chaiyata & Sawanee Patana - Kwuan Tai Duew Luk Puen (alt link)






Chalermpon Malakum - Pleng Show (alt link) Katy David - Plus Tard




Christine Delaroche - Des Tigres Et Des Minets




Stella - Pourquoi Pas Moi




Clothilde - Saperlipopette




Taken from the fantastic Femme De Paris compilations.

Tracey Thorn - Raise The Roof (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix)
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Lost Valentinos - Nightmoves (Comets Valitalo Remix)
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Trippple Nippples - PPP (Lowbrows Remix)
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Hi-Jack - Hijackin' (Herve Remix)
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Emok vs Ndsa - Harbour Candy (Soledad Remix)
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Phil Collins - Sussudio (Triobelisk Remix)
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And I know it's been covered by all the other cooler kids, but this tremendous take on Starlett Johansson is too good not to include in this hodge-podge of remixes for the weekend.




The Teenagers - Starlett Johansson (Connan And The Mockasins Remix)
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May you have many witty and informative encounters throughout your weekend.

Norway spearheads disco revival.





Bjørn Torske - God Kveld (alt link)





Lindstrøm - The Contemporary Fix (Bjørn Torske Remix) (alt link)






Bjørn Torske is seriously good at crafting these warm electronica funk jams. His album Feil Knapp is one of the more innovative and interesting electronica albums of the year.




Bonus Beat


Giorgio Moroder - Utopia - Me Giorgio (alt link)

Don't be expecting those harsh tasty dancefloor beats. Today is about electronica's role in relaxation. Very different tracks - very similar result.




Console - Untitled (alt link)
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Oliver Nelson - Stolen Moments (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix) (alt link)
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FortDax - (as yet untitled) (Piano Magic Remix) (alt link)
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Denzel + Huhn - Kleiner Bruder (alt link)
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A Lily - Lights Shone Brighter. My Delicate Sun Is My Sparklin' Sun (alt link)
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Isolee - Face B (alt link)
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Alex Smoke - Left Drift (alt link)
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Flying Lotus - Spicy Sammich
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Beats For Beginners, pretty 2004? Nah, they're back resurrecting the DJ's they killed last time around with a new 6-track EP Lazer Beams For Eyes which features a remix from that Melbourne kid ZZZ. One for the weekend.








Beats For Beginners - Lazer Beams For Eyes (Beats vs ZZZ Remix) (alt link)









Now for a musical equation.





Think About Life - Serious Chords






Sunset Rubdown - Swimming (alt link)






Shapes And Sizes - Intro To Being A City






Magic Weapon - Fireflies (alt link)






Magic Weapon is the result of Shapes And Sizes' Rory Seydel, Sunset Rubdown's Jordan Robson-Cramer and Think About Life's Matt Shane combining forces to become Canada's premier lo-fi indie conglomerate. I'd even go as far as to say that the Magic Weapon EP is better than the latest Sunset Rubdown effort, but these things are of course subjective. Thanks to Transparent Magazine for bringing them to my attention.

Genjini are my love of the day. They are from France and lie somewhere between, Whitey, Errors and Love Is All (i suppose). There's some tracks to listen to on their MySpace with Shake And Go being a particularly teasing to your feet.






Genjini - Shubbeez (alt link)






Swede's remixing Swede's. MPTP and Samuraj Cities the two bands in question. The track taken from THIS 7" which also features a remix by Zeigeist.






MPTP - Jim Morrison (Samuraj Cities Remix) (alt link)






Not posted any 8-bit melodies in a while. So here is the witty and informative Mr. Spastic and the guitar-chiptune combination of The Depreciation Guild. From 8bitpeoples.






The Depreciation Guild - By Sundown (alt link)




Mr. Spastic - Ichi Ni San Cuatro (alt link)







Chiptunes are fun. So are the prehistoric electro carnivores that are Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - seriously check out their MySpace. The songs on there are double good! In related news, I heard all 46 Land Before Time films will be played on TV over Christmas and New Year.

I've been meaning to post about Abe Vigoda for a while. I really enjoyed their Sky Route/Star Roof effort, then after hearing their follow up effort Kid City, my love for them grew elevenfold. Get with them, especially if you dig stuff like Mika Miko etc. There's some more ace songs for download on their page.





Abe Vigoda - All Night And Day (alt link)





Abe Vigoda - Coming In (alt link)






D.I.M. will be playing a set in The Zoo, Manchester on 30th November alongside none other than SebastiAn. And if you have lots of money and a truly exceptional taste in music you could make a real day of it and go see the ethereal Scandinavians Efterklang at the Roadhouse prior to checking in at The Zoo.







D.I.M. - Noize (alt link)




Efterklang - Maison De Reflexion (alt link)

So, during a bi-annual tidy up of my car I uncovered many things. T-shirts, beer cans, magazines and lots of CD's, most without labels the result of hasty mix CD making. Here are a couple of absolute gems I uncovered off this one blank and very scratched yet still functioning Tesco CD-R.







Kevin Blechdom - Get On Your Knees (alt link)
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Revolution 9 - Computer Girl (alt link)
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I have raved about Skullening previously, but that was a year ago. Considering the massive uptake in the noise-punk stakes of late i'm surprised Skullening haven't created more blogwaves. I'll reiterate what I said back then, Skullening are a loud and trashy noise punk quartet. Sinister organ and pure bass distortion coming through your speakers at a squillion MPH.







Skullening - Rainboner (alt link)





Skullening - New AIDS (alt link)





Skullening - Bugs That 'R' Dead

The Dntel and Mia Doi Todd partnership is one i've loved previously on this here blog. And here today is some more, this time with Dntel remixing one of Mia Doi Todd's solo efforts to a typically high standard.







Mia Doi Todd - Deep At Sea (Dntel Remix) (alt link)







And on the topic of high standard remixes here is another. This one is by Phoreski who conjures up an eight and a half minute long take on Coyote's Blue Skies in a subtle disco electronica style. Very nice.







Coyote - Blue Skies (Phoreski's Russian Revolution Mix) (alt link)

With the proliferation of heavy bass and squelchy distortion that you see on every blog you read, you'd be well forgiven if you thought something akin to the following: "Yeah yeah i've heard it all before, and quite frankly I blame France." But wait, one more excellent exponent of said sound wouldn't hurt surely? Of course not, man in question is London's Blende who dishes out a quite tasty mix of Detect's Dance Division. Detect has also done an ace remix of the wonderful Adam Kesher in times past.









Detect - Dance Division (Blende Remix) (alt link)


BUY






Adam Kesher - Modern Times (Detect Remix) (alt link)

















Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear







Fast becoming one of my favourite tracks of recent times. To me it'd make the perfect soundtrack to a sad love story set in space circa 1978.

Been a while since I posted a remix, so today that is what is in the offing. Liverpool's Dogshow are certainly a promising ensemble, and while the remix that follows may well show them to be capable of SMD like renderings, what i'm more excited about is their live show. I'm all about eccentric displays, analog synths, live drummers, lighting and visual arrangements. There's some videos on their MySpace as well as a few more tracks for you to hear, and some upcoming dates with Kissy Sell Out listed.










Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl (Dogshow Remix) (alt link)











After an enjoyable first trip to Sweden earlier on in the year, we have decided to make a return visit, this time to go to Stockholm, so if you're familiar with the place then please feel free to recommend some things to do and see, places to drink and dance etc.


I'd really like to go underground and hunt down this guys work when i'm out there, but the likelihood is zero.


A song by a Stockholm band pretty much gave me the idea for the blog name Keytars & Violins (i'm not that imaginative you see). It remains one of my favourite songs since 2004.








Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Trumpets And Violins (alt link)