Simian Mobile Disco

Hey.

Okay guys, what happened? Out of the original big 4 acts that represent 'the golden age' of electro (That is to say, Justice, SMD, Digitalism and MSTRKRFT, between the years of 2005 - 2007), Simian Mobile Disco had so much potential. They had a great album, their live show was indeed live (read: not DJing) and their DJ mixes were fantastic.

So when I heard this -

http://boomkat.com/vinyl/299207-simian-mobile-disco-aspic-nerve-salad

Well.

Seriously though. This is just really fucking galling. Look, I wasn't crazy about Temporary Pleasure, but I did like it. It wasn't packed with exclusively brilliant tracks like Attack Decay Sustain Release was, but it most definitely had moments. But, just read the totally childish and woefully outdated writeup on the Boomkat website (which I pray to God is their own copy and not SMD's), because, um

-

"For the Boys Noize types there's 'Aspic' on the A-side with climactic rave synths and acid house beats."

"Beating out a proper minimalist tattoo with maximalist dub chamber FX making for a striking cut that should find a wide audience. Impressive!"

For the Boys Noize types? Climactic rave synths? First of all, what constitutes the abuse of the word 'rave' might be a topic for a whole different post, but let's get serious. Second of all, fuck off with your 'climactic rave synths'. Seriously.

Oh, that last quoted part was in reference to your desire for something a little darker.

Which is apparently minimal techno.

Anyway, here are the before and after examples.

Impressive!

Phil.

Kraftwerk

Hey Everybody.

Taking things for granted. We've all done it. Some things are so ubiquitous and integral to our day to day lives, that it's depressingly easy to forget they're even there. Kraftwerk are like this. So much music - pop , electronic, dance, hip hop - owes so much to Kraftwerk.

So, if you haven't heard these:

You have a lot of explaining to do.

Phil.

Remind me.

Hey everyone.

Whilst making a playlist for a friend of mine, consisting of some new tracks I'd recently laid my hands on, my interest was peaked by how a few of them reminded me immediately of other songs. It's not necessarily obvious - or maybe even real - but it sure does make a nice combination.

So, when I first heard this -

I thought of this right away.

And when I finally got my hands on this -

Well.

Phil.

(Oh, and pre-order Kavinsky's new EP here, okay?)

Gorillaz (Alex Metric + Louis La Roche Remixes)

Gorillaz' comeback single "Stylo" was a bit of a damp squib in its original form, but these two remixes from man of the moment Alex Metric and blog favourite Louis La Roche more than make up for it. Louis' version is a slow chugging beat, revolving around a sampled funk riff with the odd vocal snippet thrown in, while Alex goes for a much more epic approach, starting out with a simple beat and chorus chant, before getting Moroder-y as fuck, then finally plunging head first into a full-on disco onslaught.





Keep it funky,
Joe