AUDIO: The Pass’ “Without Warning” (Amtrac Remix)
The Pass have made “Without Warning”. Now offer that song to DJ Amtrac and the end result is this hot slice of sound, showing that there’s more to life in Kentucky than Guntucky.
REVIEW: Justice’s “Access All Arenas”
Can an electronic group sell a live album to fans in 2013? Justice is going to give it a try with Access All Arenas (Elektra), and I feel they may succeed with it. Justice have become hugely popular with their pop accessible brand of dance pop, and while some might wonder if that can transfer over in a live setting, you’ll have to listen to how it is made possible with this album. The album features live versions of “D.A.N.C.E.”, “New Lands”, “Audio, Video, Disco”, “On’N'On”, and ten other tracks, each one enhancing the production and groove of the original mixes and widening things to make it work on stage.
Obviously, music is music so a live album should be able to work in 2013 but some will argue that the live album died in the 1980′s, especially with home video. One might listen to this and wish there was visual accompaniment, and maybe there will be. At times, this definitely feels like a “you had to be there” album, because part of the thrill of this music is being able to react to it with a significant other or everyone else in the room. However, if you love Justice’s sound, this will be an intense listen, especially “Phantom Pt. II”.
VIDEO: Hot Natured featuring Anabel Englund’s “Reverse Skydiving”
It may be safe to say that it has nothing to do with “reverse cowgirl”, but Hot Natured are all about “Reverse Skydiving”. In truth, it wasn’t just them, for they brought in Anabel Englund to share their admiration. Now you can taste it. Taste it inside.
REVIEW: Foreign Exchange presents “+FE Music: The Reworks”
The new Foreign Exchange album is not a “Foreign Exchange” proper album, although it could very well be an extension of what Foreign Exchange have established over the years. While they’re calling it a remix album, +FE Music: The Reworks features not only FE songs but also tracks that various members of the +FE family have done, plus a few cameos from Phonte, a number of remixes from Nicolay, and more. I feel more artists should make a “resume album” this good and this deep.
On one hand, it’s a great way to hear new mixes of familiar material, so if you’re a fan of Foreign Exchange or Phonte’s solo album, you can hear new interpretations of what you like. If Phonte had a special guest spot in something, you may hear it here. While FE has been about the soul with touches of pop, he has a few rap verses on this, for those who still demand what he had offered with Little Brother. All of this makes the album quite good, but then it gets better.
If some feel that soul music in the United States went down the tubes in the last 15 years, one can argue that it has been European artists who have helped to keep it strong, if not alive, at a time when it could have laid itself to rest. I look at Nicolay’s remix of Deborah Bond’s “Say It” and it reminds me of something I would expect to hear on a 4Hero or Jazzanova album. As for 4Hero, he handles the remix to Zo!’s “Flight Of The Blackbyrd” and with Phonte’s sweet vocals helping out in the background, it feels like a project that was… I was going to say “made elsewhere” but perhaps a better phrase would be that it sounds like worldwide music, as if I might catch it in a hot club in Japan as I would somewhere in Germany or France. Nicolay’s remix of Vikter Duplaix’s “Electric Love” sounds like it has a few purple shades to it, with slight musical hints to Prince’s “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” or Vanity 6′s “Drive Me Wild”. Hear Duplaix’s vocals made me think “the only thing that would make this song better would be background vocals from Clara Hill.” Phonte’s tracks are all standouts, and hearing these new music will make you ponder on which is the better (or preferred) mix. He has one of the best voices out there, and it doesn’t matter if he keeps things mild mannered or breaks out, I like hearing what he does.
+FE Music: The Reworks is soul, it’s a club album, it’s electronic soul, it’s disco, it has the slow jams, and there’s more than enough tracks on here deserving of maximum exposure and airplay. This is a double album with close to two hours of music, and it has some grit to it, in that there’s substance to what I’m listening to. A part of it reminds me of the music I grew up listening to, but it also sounds like the music I found a liking to while exploring magazines that looked elsewhere for inspiration. What I could not find domestically, I had to hunt for and this sounds like a great accumulation of the many things one would love to hear in an album. It may very well be an assortment of songs but it’s put together as if it was a concert performance, a set list for a concert you would feel foolish in missing. Whatever Phonte and Nicolay plan on doing with the Exchange they have organized so far, it has been a very healthy union and one that I hope will continue for many years to come.
FREE MP3 DL: Daft Punk’s “Relive” (Mixed by DJ Pizzo)
Daft Punk are about to release a highly anticipated album, so while momentum is created for it, DJ Pizzo has taken the momentum of the past and has put together a new 78 minute mix called Relive. It highlights the known with previously unknown (or little known) variations of the familiar, so if you love them, celebrate in style with this Pizzo megamix of sorts.
VIDEO: Classixx’s “Holding On”
This is a fairly boring video that’s no more exciting than a round of Rad Racer, but this is how Classixx wanted to present “Holding On”, and that’s what we have to deal with. The good news is that the song will be on their May 14th album, Hanging Gardens, which comes courtesy of Innovative Leisure.
SOME STUFFS: Classixx ready to test fans with debut album
Michael David and Tyler Blake are the duo who want to be known as Classixx, and together they’ve created a debut album to be known as “Hanging Gardens, due out May 14th on Innovative Leisure. While they’ve been successful releasing singles, they’ve never come up with an album until now, so now they’re about to be tested. Have a listen to the first single below, called “Holding On”.
AUDIO: Madeon’s “The City (The M Machine Remix)”
“Anthemic” is what the original version of Madeon’s “The City” has been called. Now you have The M Machine handling a remix, and now the track is being called “infinitely huge”. What do you think, does its entry into your earhole make you want to spread your mind?
SOME STUFFS: Matmos offer new track to benefit the Maryland Food Bank
Personally, I hope more artist will do this. Baltimore’s Matmos are about to release a new EP on October 16th called The Ganzfeld EP (Thrilljockey), and with a remix of one of the tracks, they’ve decided to not only help themselves with a promotional push, but to do things one better by posting the song to raise money for charity. The song is a remix of “Very Large Green Triangles” by Schwarz, and all proceeds from the sales of the song on Bandcamp will be donated to the Maryland Food Bank. Listening of course is free, but if you want to keep the track for yourself, purchase the digital file and know it will be going to a good cause.
For more information on the forthcoming Matmos EP, including pre-order info, head here. To purchase their other works digitally, check out the Matmos section at Amazon.com.
The duo have a small handful of shows coming up, show some support if you can:
September 13… – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live (Thrill Jockey 20th Anniversary Show)
September 15… New York, NY @ Webster Hall (Thrill Jockey 20th Anniversary Show)
November 16… Calgary, AB @ Epcor Centre (Soundasaurus Festival)
FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD: Martin Eden’s “Verions”
There are a number of artists who are considered faceless, for they are known more for their music and promoted images than their looks. Pink Floyd are an example of this. But an artist that is headless? WHAT?!?!
Not really, but this is Martin Eden. You may know Martin Eden better as Matthew Cooper of Eluvium, but under the Eden name, he will be releasing an album called Dedicate Function on October 9th via Lefse, but you can preview one of the six tracks on the album with “Verions”. It’s a bit of IDM with a nice minimalistic streak running through it, which I like. Definitely looking forward to hearing more.
