Wednesday 30 July 2008

Favies


I thought for this bad boy of a post I'd just unleash the beast and post Tiga's inthemix.05 disc in full, still my favourite electronic album/mixed comp. Done in late 2005, to me it still sounds fresher than 95% of shit I've heard in the last year. So ridiculously smooth, it seems like each track was written just for each other, all drenched in Eau de Tiga. I'm a lover of flow in a mix, and this is the absolute king of flow. I SERIOUSLY urge you to buy this album. Ajax's disc is just as good: some really creative mixing, amazing tracks. It's my favourite mix of his too. You can pick the album up here (cheapest and ships overseas) or here. BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT.

Tiga - inthemix.05 Disc 1 (Expired: BUY!)

Another fantastic mix from 2005 that has boldly stood the test of time is the Bang Gang's Ministry of Sound contribution, Mashed Two. Don't be too quick to judge with its ugly MoS branding, this is an amazing comp which really makes me uncontrollably sad that I wasn't clubbing at the time. Sigh. Like itm05, it still sounds fresh in its retro-ness. I guess 2 or 3 years isn't really that long, but blogs seem to make a month seem like a decade. Anyway, buy buy buy this album too. Here are the same two options, BUY AUS (again the cheapest option for intl.) or BUY U.S. I'd probably rate disc 2 over disc 1, so keep that in mind.

Bang Gang - Mashed Two Disc 1 (Expired: BUY!)

Kiyoshi sent over a really lovely unmixed compilation of French house tunes, mostly by artists I've never heard of which I'm stoked about. My two faves are by Acos CoolKAs and The LoFi Samurai. The first is a nice spacey Roulé flavoured journey, lightly seasoned with Bangalter, Braxe and Falke. Cool galactic synths floating above a delicious punchy French bass. The second, by The LoFi Samurai, is a funky guitar strutter which is plenty old skewl. The comp is well worth checking out, as I'm sure it'll introduce you to some new hot artists. Grab it here. Also check out Kiyoshi's MySpace blog - it's a treat!

Acos CoolKAs - Discotheque

The LoFi Samurai - Demonz

Been sitting on this one for ages but I've been very lazy and eventually got beaten to the punch by the magnificent Discodust, amongst others. But, I have such strong romantic feelings for The Phantom's Revenge that I'll just post anyway. He's a busy busy man, and the latest tunes he's churned out are big winners as usual. I'm really digging his pounding remix of Division Kent, blasting away with cool guitar samples and a huuuuuge fatty of a beat. The Tzarr edit of FCF was also on the Kiyoshi comp, so I figured instead of posting the original, why not prop two artists for the price of one. Expect some serious snowballing here!

Division Kent - Offshore (The Phantom's Revenge Remix)

The Phantom's Revenge - French Cheese Funk (Tzarr Edit)

And just a couple of oldies I've been throwing back into the listening rotation.. The Serge Santiago dub of This Mess, by one of my favourite Aussie rock outfits, Wolf & Cub. Honestly haven't had a listen to their new stuff but I thought Vessels was a stunner of an album. This version really brings out the great sneaky bassline. And the classique early SMD Peaches remix that first got my attention. Definitely a keeper.

Wolf & Cub - This Mess (Serge Santiago Dub)

Peaches - Downtown (Simian Mobile Disco Remix)

I'd be keen to hear what you cats think of that Tiga mix. Stay cooool yo! BUY THOSE ALBUMS.

Tuesday 8 July 2008

France is the New (Old?) France


Or France is the old new France? Or something. I've taken a step back into the world of Roulé and delightful memories of the French House explosion are flooding back in waves of ecstasy. How about a revival? I suppose Breakbot is doing a nice job preserving + updating the sound. Any other takers?

Here's some inspiration! Starting with the most obvious and heading down to.... still the most obvious. I feel like a tool, but I was never actually aware these remixes existed. Hopefully they're new to some other ears too, because I was super impressed. Bob Sinclar's mix of Stardust is the cooolest song I could think of sliding down a couch to. Dimitri and Bibi's adds some nice disco chic flavour with Dim's typically wonderful long progression stretching it out to a 10+ minute grooveee.

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Bob Sinclar Remix)

Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Bibi & Dim's Anthem From Paris)

Bangalter, the glorious man responsible for human existence, put out plenty of great tunes on his label, but my faves are probably his remixes. His super funky mix of Roy Davis Jr's track, already an especially funky number, adds some typical Bangalter awesomeness, whilst the super-slow-to-start over-the-top-filter edit of Braxe's Vertigo breaks into an upbeat energetic bouncy ball. Bring back filter house!

Roy Davis Jr. - Rock Shock (Thomas Bangalter's Start-Stop Mix)

Alan Braxe - Vertigo (Thomas Bangalter's Virgo Edit)

More predictable classics I hear you cry? I like your enthusiasm. Let's go way mainstream with big French duos. Not much needs to be said about any of these, they're all solid gold (I'll take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to the brilliant Solid Goldberger, where i found most of the Roulé tracks!) and proof that just because music is hugely popular doesn't instantly mean it's shit. Cassius are amazing. Daft Punk are amazing. Bangalter/Falcon Supercombo are amazing. Easy.

Cassius - Cassius 1999 (Remix) (Long Version)

Daft Punk - Something About Us (Eastar Remix - Without Brass Version)

Together - So Much Love To Give (Archigram Remix)

Oh dear. I'm getting in DEEP here, soon I'll be posting the latest Ministry of Sound singles. I'll try and restrain myself after I get this out of my system: I'm guessing a lot of you agree with me (whether you want to admit it or not) that Stuart Price's remix of Four to the Floor was one of the sweetest tunes ever. I remember listening to it over and over when I was 15 or whatever, and years on it still has the same effect on me. C'mon, it's pretty fucking killer, yes? Don't be shy.

Starsailor - Four to the Floor (Thin White Duke Remix)

Ok ok, last one. I'm just in a self-dug chasm of blog shame here, so I may as well just finish off with a big blog steal (thank you discobelle) of Miami Horror's latest Presets remix. Usually I don't post Ben's stuff because within seconds of release it's all over every blog you can find, but this is just too good not to get a piece of the action. Without a doubt one of the best Aussie producers at the moment, and he keeps getting better, which makes me a proud boy.

The Presets - Talk Like That (Miami Horror Remix)

Oh well, I'm just having a bit of fun. Hope you enjoy these reminders like I have! To cap off this shameful message, here's some blatant self promotion: I urge any of you Sydney hipsters to swing by Candy's Apartment this Friday for the ridiculously fun night we're putting on each week of July. Calling In Sick are our special blog-cred guests this week, so it'll be well worth coming! Hope to see you there :) come say hello!