Sealed with a kiss

Dropping by with a quick one for ya all - longtime readers might remember the name Magna - an alias of Jake Decoteau that he has since retired. I've posted about what he's up to these days, he's now making web 2.0 as hell things under the name Thorne which brings us to our tale today. About a week ago he posted a series of videos all to do with tracking down a 'mystery' house song', not entirely out of the realms of possibility, previous site owner Jordan would occasionally put out requests for rare tunes back in the day after all.

If you watch the other videos it's actually pretty impressive, leading to a found discogs page where it just so happens that there is one solitary copy available for sale. If you haven't cottoned on by now, the videos are actually an elaborate announcement countdown - with the final video revealing that it's actually a new release from a duo consisting of Jake himself and Owen Hobson.

And what a release it is - as you might have guessed already from that initial video linked above that specifically namedropped Stardust, this is a love letter to that specific kind late 90's house sound - you know the kind, it's gone by many names over the years and about as many revivals. I don't mean that to sound too negative mind you, it should be obvious to anyone reading that I have a massive place in my heart for that style, the blog was practically founded on it and I wouldn't have discovered it (and of course end up here now) if it weren't for it. Per the bandcamp description, the two are trying to recapture "that summer heat from the mid-2000s", which I think they've done admirably (at least for those in the northern hemisphere who are entering Summer that is!) I think it's a good time to drop something like this, after a bleak couple of years, I think we could all do to cut loose to some throwback house.



There's only one thing that I do hope, and that's that this duo doesn't end up too closely emulating that era of house and only putting out one release! Rest assured I'll be keeping tabs on any future developments out of that camp, and you'll hear as soon as I do. That'll be all for today, I'll be back soon enough with more but until next time - as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Happy(?) Valentine's

Remember how I was supposed to schedule out a couple posts for both mine and your convenience? Yeah, well life has a funny way of turning things around on you, so some IRL things have gotten in the way. But I ain't here to mope, I've been keeping notes for a little while about the semi-annual Valentine's post and now is the time to deploy them. This year, I've chosen to fully embrace the kitsch - we have a cross section of throwback French Touch, some Italo Disco and of course, a little Eurobeat to finish.

Burhan Doğançay - Sweet Hearts (1972)

If you're in need of a little pep in your step, this here post will do it for you. Kicking off with a refreshed relic of a time long past, long time readers of the blog will maybe remember Power Glove Records, headed by former writer Boba (who is still active, now under the name LUIN). I've been meaning to do a sort of recap post on the releases of PGR for a while - they're not hard too hard to find as you might expect given their age and netlabel status, but embedding them can be a little tricky. Luckily I've found (what I presume is) a reconstruction using the same samples over on Bandcamp. Subtly different from the original, but a prime piece of that 'French Touch' revival era.



Speaking of retro relics, Italian label Goody Music Records and its eventual offshoots and sub-labels have been doing a fantastic job of making tons of their catalogue available over on Bandcamp. Originally from 1982, Capricorn's I Need Love got the re-release/re-master treatment in 2019 - actually Claudio Simonetti of Goblin fame indulging in his disco side. It's quite a bit different from other 'Italo' stuff I've posted before, there's definitely more of an Electro thing going on here, which actually does wonders to make it feel pretty fresh. Behind the skeletal electronics there's some real funky bassline work going on which is a joy to listen to.



And of course, we can't have a loved-up post without some Eurobeat. It's almost cheating really, you can pick pretty much any Eurobeat release and find a tune with the word in the title - I actually put this to the test with the Eurokudos series below, I think of all of them that I opened there were only 1 or 2 without a single track containing the word 'love', and that's not counting the lyrical content. Eurobeat really does wear its heart on its sleeve: it has but one purpose - to be supremely catchy and invite you to dance, as you might expect from a genre evolved from Disco. And it succeeds a lot of the time, good luck getting the main vocal hook from this one out of your head anytime soon. Granted it can sometimes be a little too bubblegum sweet, but I think this one hits a nice balance between the two.



And that'll be all for today, a little shorter than I originally intended but I'm pretty happy with the selections, and I'm trying to get this one down ASAP before something else unexpected comes my way again. Still, I'll be back when I get a minute, even if it's just to share one single track. Hope you all have a lovely love day, especially with these tunes to accompany you. Until next time, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Ilictronix Podcast: Hello 2019

"The Ilictronix Show is back in the new year! Claude and Adam share and discuss their favorite tracks of the week. Claude waxes poetic about Electropop. Adam shares his favorite tracks from his NYE sets"

We are back with our first episode of 2019! I wanted to get all nostalgic about my electropop itch that comes up every couple of months, but it soon turned into a reflection of "Holy shit how are these tracks turnign 10 this year". After Adam's on-point as always intro, I open things up with the always in my heart Broadcast. Something I say in the episode is how overlooked I feel they are but what I didn't mention is how it pains me to know that there'll be no more Broadcast records after Trish's untimely passing some years ago. Though there are some rumblings from Cargill about potential future releases, so fingers crossed eh? A detour into more of what I had in mind when I chose Electropop as a theme with Au Revoir Simone, who in similar fashion are long overdue for a new release! A little bit from Gorillaz, as I touch on my relationship with Plastic Beach and how it became a listening mainstay for me (and some brief wonder at the age of the LP).

And a little bit of nostalgia to round things out for long time readers and myself; probably my most featured artists so far on the podcast, I touch on the production values and methodology behind Röyksopp's musical goodbye to the album format, The Inevitable End. As a single Running To The Sea is fantastic, if (as mentioned in the show) a little over-produced in parts. I draw a comparison to their previous big hit What Else Is There? too, but really they're very different beasts, with Running being a much more pop-informed piece. And finally one of the standouts from Simian Mobile Disco's Temporary Pleasure. There were a couple of big singles from it but it seems largely overlooked, while it does suffer from being that difficult sophomore album for the group I think it's a little unfair, case in point with Cruel Intentions. Apologies in advance for choosing for the absolutely crushing Until We Bleed as an outro track too, I promise you the rest of Kleerup's album is much more upbeat!

Adam also takes us on a rundown of his picks for his NYE mixing shenanigans. While I'm a little disappointed we don't have any recordings of them actually being played live, I almost prefer them in this format. Something about Adam talking about them while they play in the background made for a very evocative experience, same as those satisfying videos out there of people passionately talking about their craft. Something else I'd like to appreciate going into this new year is just how different Adam's selections are from mine. I mean that in the nicest possible way too, it's great for you all as listeners to have these different curated lists, and it gives me a much needed glimpse into electronic stuff I may not have come across otherwise (mainly due to me being out of touch with what's new these days, but also as we've mentioned in the past, the sheer volume of electronic stuff out there can make it tricky to find anything). Adam also had some good points on romanticising DJ culture and nightlife in general that I think bears repeating, especially this early in the new year. We've lost a fair few performers over the last couple of years, and it goes without saying that clubs and the like can be dangerous places. It also plays into some othewr side projects I have going on too but we won't dwell on it much longer, as always Stay Safe, Enjoy the music and the Full tracklist follows as per usual.

Tracklist:
Intro:
Crackazat - Holding You Close

Claude’s picks:
Broadcast - America's Boy
Au Revoir Simone - Shadows
Gorillaz - Broken
Röyksopp - Running To The Sea
Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions


Adam’s Picks
Kettama - Body
Junktion - I'm Wishin'
S3A - Antois Benime
M.ono & Luvless - Just Like Magic
T.U.R.F. -Reggie Fox

Outro:
Kleerup - Until We Bleed


Show Notes:
Adam mentioned something to go in the show notes, just reserving this space until I get a chance to listen to the EP and fill it in!

Ilictronix Podcast: The Winter One

"Claude and Adam close out the year with some festive tracks and winter themes."

We are live with our (potential) final podcast of the year! I immediately betray my 'no downtempo selections' idea I've been throwing around for the last couple of episodes. BUT in my defence, all of these are tracks that have never featured on my previous winter downtempo lists, (with the exception of The Knife) which is the reason I used them for this one. It's a real mixed bag of stuff anyway, starting off with the all time cult classic Santa Claus from Le Knight Club; one of my favourites from Crydamoure no matter the season, and all the more apt right now. After that I take you on a tour of my winter themed selections, starting with an actual factual Christmas song from Röyksopp, then I wax lyrical about the old 'chillout' records I used to pick up in a bit of a roundabout way: by first sharing yet another piece from my all time top soundtrack provider Yoko Kanno that wouldn't sound out of place on those kinds of albums, before revisiting one of the few pieces from Alpinestars' White Noise that I think has still held up all those years later. This episode marks the first appearance of The Flashbulb from me as well, one of my favourite not-mainstream producers of the already non-mainstream experimental electronic in that Aphex Twin and the like vein. Like I say in the episode, there's an intimidating amount of work in his back-catalogue, but the album that the tune I chose is from Soundtrack To A Vacant Life is a good starting point if a little on the long side. I round things out with The Knife's absolutely stellar opening track from their equally stellar album Silent Shout which I've already talked about at length in previous posts. It's good stuff.

Adam also shares his selections in this style. They're predictably more upbeat than mine as you might expect, it's a fantastic cross-section of Adam's listening and certainly one to have on as we approach the 31st. There's a whole host of stuff to get yourself stuck into; from vintage and slightly sleazy house from Paul Johnson, to the brilliantly modernised filter house of the outro track Harry Parsons' We Can Only. I'm kinda kicking myself for not adopting Adam's end-of-year theme as well, it would have been nice to do one of the old-style NYE track dumps I used to do in podcast form, but hey there's always next year! Tracklist and the rest follows.

Tracklist:
Intro:
Le Knight Club - Santa Claus

Claude’s picks:
Röyksopp - Le Cantique de Noel
Yoko Kanno - Strangers
Alpinestars - Snow Patrol (Part 2)
The Flashbulb - Warm Hands In Cold Fog
The Knife - Silent Shout


Adam’s Picks
Stash Magnetic - Things Fall Apart
Paul Johnson - Suck My Candy Cane
Rimbaudian - Drop It On EmM
The Higher - The Core
V.I.C.A.R.I. - Pascia

Outro:
Harry Parsons - We Can Only


Show Notes:
There are none for this week as far as I know! I'll give the show a listen once I'm done with work for the year and update if need be though.



And that may very well be the final podcast of the year, Adam may be throwing up some NYE stuff closer to the time or maybe in early '19 tho. I'll wrap up by thanking y'all for sticking with us for another year, especially during the latter half. We had a real spanner thrown in the works around August time which meant I had to take the site offline for about a month I think. That's all behind us now, and I appreciate those that have stuck with us during the format change from posts to podcasts as well. It hasn't been easy for us and I imagine the same goes for all you as well. But it's keeping us to a schedule, myself and Adam have had some really good talks and shared some really interesting songs along the way, there are still some growing pains and issues to iron out for sure, but overall I think it's been very successful. Here's to more podcasts to come in 2019! I'll close out with what's fast becoming my line: Stay safe, and enjoy the music out there all of you. We'll leave the light on for you.

-Claude Van Foxbat

There & Back Again

Going to share some more recent things I happened across in the run up to and in 2017, Starting with Macross 82-99. I'd heard and seen bits and bats of the stuff via twitter but never really sought it out until hearing it used as interlude music on some streams I frequent. And there I was puzzled to find people calling it Vaporwave, when it's quite clearly a different vibe altogether (and never mind much faster bpms), it's billed as future funk but I can't be too fussed with genre names these days. But I digress, onto the details.



The main reason I've been wanting to share this with y'all is that those of you in for the long haul will remember when we were riding that beautiful wave of french touch, bloghouse or the multitude of other names slapped on it, as well as having a major appreciation for the likes of Roulé and co. Where does this come into Macross 82-99 you ask? Well I think that it might fill that void in our music collection when bloghouse fell from faour. Fun Tonight for example, is giving me the kinda feelins that I had when I listed to The Peach EP back when.



There's even some more slightly downtempo early 00's feelgood house influences in the mix too, as heard on Have Hope. I'm incredibly happy to see this kind of sound come back, as it was the original tunes back when that were formative in my falling in love with electronic music as a whole, as well as having the bonus of being a nice introduction anyone looking to make their first steps into the world of electronic. I do kinda wish they were longer but given the rate that the tunes go upon soundcloud you'll have enough to get you by if you keep tabs on it.



While I do have some gripes with the name 'future funk', there is at least a measurable funk influence in there too. Maybe not as pronounced as say Chromeo or the like, but certainly there. The tune I heard being used as an interlude 82.99 AM does a good job of showing off a good cross section of Macross' sound, and is definitely an exercise in sample spotting if you're so inclined. While not my favourite of the examples I've posted, I have to give it props for turning me onto it and I will be ccetianly keeping an eye out in future.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Icarus Again

The Icarus boys the FFRR people were so nice to tell me about back when have been on the up recently, not only did I see a poster for them playing in my hometown but in my inbox was their latest est courtesy of FFRR PR!



I think you can forgive me fr being skeptical at first seeing as we've seen so many promising electronic musicians go down the shitter after they get some popularity under their belt (such as Mr. C. Harris.). But like all I'd covered from them before it opens very strong indeed, a far cry from the ravey nostalgic piano stabs they were using before. This is also the first of theirs I've heard with an actual vocal accompaniment which again could have been hit or miss, I couldn't find a credit for whoever did the vocal here but it's one of the more unique ones I've heard in dance music for a while and compliments the track well. The track is excellently structed also, it's nice to see more artists breaking the 30-second-intro-then-drop rinse/repeat mold, and with it they've easily slotted another entry on my summer playlists.

Find more Icarus on:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

Inbox Highlights 2: Electric Boogaloo

Not often we hit a twofer in the old inbox. But here we are; I've got more than a few FFRR records in my collection, but I must admit I'd not heard from them in a while but to be fair I wasn't exactly looking either. Well, they came knocking at my door with their newly signed sibling duo dubbed Icarus, hailing from from my corner of the globe, specifically Bristol.



I'd assumed it'd start quite minimal based on the art, but I was surprised to find the intro engaging from the get go, it changes it up enough times to be fresh, and when the gorgeously 90's piano drops in at 1:40 it was pretty spectacular. While I was busy taking that in the rest of the mix came crashing back it and I was instantly transported back to the late 2000's when mainstream dance was solid and the airwaves ruled by Pjanoo and Calvin Harris. Here's hoping that this gets picked up and happens again just in time for this summer. This is certainly one I'm going to have on standby for any friends in dire need of sun-kissed tunes in the coming months.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Get Over The Hump

As we all know that today is weekly Camel appreciation day, I have decided to share with you guys some awesome tunes to help get over that hump. Now some of you may be asking "where have you been all these other camel appreciation days earl?" To that I say, *kanye shrug*(my laptop broke)

On to the music.

Todays tunes come to us from a great group out of Mexico called Le Touch Lads, my fellow writer Claude put me on to their amazing remix of one of my favorite songs "L.E.S Artistes" by Santigold(Santigold remixes are the key to my inbox guys) It has a very nice groove to it, and it makes me feel like im on a beach. 7/5 stars.

Listen here!

Gone Tubin'

I like it when I find a musician's personal YouTube account they put up some neat stuff on there from time to time. Today is my day off and I got to snoopin arund on YT again, so I thought I'd share a couple of my favouries I've found, starting with Bibio's; simply called mrbibio. The first video I have from his is him toying around with some typically Bibio sounding cut up sampling bizness.



The second surprised me a little, Bibio's channel is filled with Guitar jams and whatnot that you'd expect from him, but while browsing his videos I found this. He actually does a really, really good job of it,especially considering his usual territory. I'd love to get my hands on an MP3 of this!



Speaking of house, here we have my other favourite YouTube with Rex The Dog's. (rexthedog1980) I've mentioned it before, but he does some cool stuff too, first off is another live jam session like the ones in those Bibio vids which shows off a fair amount of the lovely analogue tech that he has lying around in his studio.



But the highlight of it all for me is Rex covering his own song I Look Into Mid-Air on a circuit bent Casio VL Tone. Most Circuit bending videos are all about glitchy sounds which is fun for a while but I never see much actual music being put down, which is what made this video so special. The end result sounds like something you'd hear coming out of a cartridge titled N64 or something, it's brilliant definitely check it out!



- Claude Van Foxbat