Daily Download: Justice “D.A.N.C.E.”
There’s no disputing that “D.A.N.C.E.” is 2007’s most essential club banger. Taken from the Parisian duo’s highly-anticipated debut full-length, †, this track is proof that Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé are onto something huge, and not just a couple of Daft Punk imitators.
Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.
Justice “D.A.N.C.E.”
There’s no disputing that “D.A.N.C.E.” is 2007’s quintessential club banger. Taken from the salivated-over debut full-length †, “D.A.N.C.E.” is proof that Justice isn’t another scrappy, distant Daft Punk cousin.
Kathy Diamond Miss Diamond To You
Kathy Diamond is the diva standard-bearer in the new disco movement. But on Miss Diamond to You, it’s producer Maurice Fulton’s penchant for tight disco drums, bubbling congas, boogie slap basslines, and dirty funk keys that shines through, creating a colorful canvas for Diamond’s Chaka Khan-esque vocals to take a lead role. Standouts like “Over” recall Stevie Wonder at his funkiest while simultaneously lifting listeners into a whirlwind of deep organs and twinkling strings, and lovingly depositing them in a new stratosphere of cosmic boogie. Other notable moments include the supersonic batucada of “Until the Sun Goes Down” and the slo-mo filtered soul of “On & On.”
A Chinese Actor
Modeselektor Readies Happy Birthday!
It’s been two years since Modeselektor unleashed Hello Mom! to the masses, and one wonders how an electronic outfit that brought together all things crunk follows up on such a strong debut.
The answer: fill the new album with an all-star guest list, which Modeselektor has done on Happy Birthday!. The new album features a wealth of electronic music’s great sages, including Thom Yorke, TTC, Otto Von Schirach, and a bonus track featuring Maximo Park.
As both members are expecting children this year, Happy Birthday! is a apt title for the album. The duo will be playing a few dates this summer, so catch them while you can.
Happy Birthday! is out September 11, 2007 on BPtich Control.
Tracklist
1. Godspeed
2. 2000007 (feat.TTC)
3. Happy Birthday
4. Let Your Love Grow (feat. Paul St. Hillaire)
5. B.M.I.
6. EM ocean
7. Sucker Pin
8. The First Rebirth
9. The Dark Side of the Frog
10. The Dark Side of the Sun (feat. Puppetmastaz)
11. Black Block
12. Edgar
13. hyper hyper (feat. Otto von Schirach)
14. Late Check-Out
15. The Wedding Toccata Theme
16. The White Flash (feat. Thom Yorke)
17. Déboutonner (feat. Siriusmo)
Bonus track: I Can´t Sleep (Without Music)(feat. Maximo Park)
Tourdates
07/01 Lärz, DE: Fusion Festival
07/07 Nîmes, FR: Dragonball Festival
07/08 Dublin, UK: Oxegen Festival
07/15 Gent, BE: 10 Days Off Festival
07/20 Florence, IT: Elektrowave Festival
08/03 Vienna, AT: Urban Art Forms Festival
08/04 Nice, FR: Nu-Ziq Festival
08/08 London, UK: TBA
08/11 Almería, ES: Creamfields Andalucía Festival
08/16 Tel Aviv, IL: Barzilay
Pon Di Wire: Mavado, Big Belly, Baby Cham
Looking, looking…but can’t find the reggae website you need? Consider bookmarking Ernie B’s Reggae links list–a smorgasbord of connections to labels, artists, and general reggae information. It was there that xlr8r.com came across a link for the great vintage roots and rub-a-dub label Silver Kamel (home to Billy Boyo, Ranking Dread, Jah Thomas); amazingly, 30 years on and it’s still active!
If you’ve been missing the “Ghetto Story” teller Baby Cham, he’ll be back on your small screen soon. Cham teamed up with director Jason ‘Jay Will’ Williams to chronicle his next hit, “Weh Dem Feel Like,” created by Cham’s longtime producer Dave Kelly.
Even music largely popularized through the broadcasting and sales of 7” vinyl 45s deals with growing pains in the digital era. An article in the Jamaican Gleaner reports on the increasing impact that bootleg CD sales are having on the finances of labels, artists, and producers. Thankfully, businesses have a stalwart arbitrator on their side: Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne, of respected producing duo Steelie and Clevie, is chairman of the Recording Industry Association of Jamaica (which partners with the Anti-Piracy Alliance). Browne is using this body’s authority to clamp down on illegal practices like bootlegging. “The Recording Industry of Jamaica is looking at a new method of identifying songs through codes, which will be embedded on the CDs, and every song should have a specific code,” he said.
Bay Area fans are looking forward to a rare visit from one of Jamaica’s best soundmen. Skyjuice, of MetroMedia sound, will entertain folks at Oakland’s Karibbean City, Saturday, June 30. The portly MC, known to fans as Big Belly, has a long resume of soundclash victories. For a taste, watch this clash video, featuring Supercat on Metromedia.
Reggae jazz guitarist Ernest Ranglin turned 75 last Tuesday. The vet, who started his career in the 1950s and helped usher in the ska movement, continues to record and tour frequently.
Vybz Kartel, whose single “Wine Pon You” recently topped the charts, has issued a release concerning an incident in which his SUV was stoned by men believed to reside in a community along Mannings Hill Road in St. Andrew. Kartel was not injured during the attack, and is urging his fans and well-wishers to not retaliate in any way, and to leave the investigation of the incident to relevant authorities.
Online Jamaican news source One876 reports that Munga, Mavado, Busy Signal, Baby Cham, and Vybz are all positioning themselves to be “number one artist for summer 2007,” with a flurry of singles and albums lobbying on their behalf. But Mavado is still gaining serious traction with his 2006 hit, “Whe Dem Do,” featured on his forthcoming album, Gangsta For Life, for VP. The song has been making the remix rounds, including dubstep mixes that are immediately rewound when played on underground radio stations like Rinse, SubFM, and others.
Wiley Prepares Final Solo Record
Grime blew up a few years back, and credit for its popularity must be given to London-based MC/producer Wiley. Hailed as the godfather of the genre, the man born Richard Kylea Cowie made history in East London history with his 2004 debut on XL Recordings, Treddin’ On Thin Ice. Affiliations with the Pay As U Go Cartel and Roll Deep Entourage further solidified his position as a grime innovator.
Playtime Is Overnot only marks the latest chapter in Cowie’s career, it’s also, allegedly, his last album under the Wiley moniker. A need to move in different directions is evident on the album, with mainstream rap beats and lyrics sprinkled all over the album. Still, thuggish impulses aside, it’s still grime fire, and while this may be his last, we certainly hope Cowie is far from finished.
Playtime is Over is out September 11, 2007 on Big Dada.
Daily Download: JPLS “Green01 (Skoozbot’s Twilite Remix)”
Minus’ JPLS need not pound his way through peak-time, because this version of “Green01” was made for the sunrise. Sparse, bleep-driven, and as psyched-out as Timothy Leary’s corpse rolling around in MDMA, Skoozbot’s Twilite remix of this track is the perfect companion to a sleepless night.
Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.
Uncut Modern Currencies
Originally a DJ duo composed of now-guitarist Ian Worang and Jake Fairley, Uncut was forced to change when Fairley moved to Europe to pursue a solo career. Worang built the band from the ground up, recruiting members from Toronto’s indie rock scene. While their first album, Those Who Hung Hang Here, still carried a dance-rock sensibility, Modern Currencies is closer to past touring buddies like Bob Mould and Dinosaur Jr. The layered guitars make a pleasant din on tracks like “Out of Sight” and “Chain Fight,” but they’re overshadowed by formulaic compositions and some brutally embarrassing lyrics (see: “Kiss Me”). While it shows glimmers of potential, Modern Currencies rarely bests “mediocre.”
