Merry Frenchmas

As my mimosa buzz fades away and my family begins to tinker with their presents while the turkey cooks, I would like to take a moment to share a holiday gift with you this rainy afternoon. Today we have a Christmas-themed post from the past. Le Knight Club, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (1/2 of Daft Punk) and his collaborator Eric Chedeville, released funky French house gems in the period shortly after Daft Punk changed dance music with their timeless Homework in 1997. These two tracks are off the duo's first 12". "Santa Claus" works a shiny synth line through filters over a relentless shuffle house beat, while "Holiday On Ice" features delay-effect synths reminiscent of "Around The World". Enjoy this with an extra dose of egg nog and enjoy your holiday everyone, happy solstice! Peace & Love.

Le Knight Club - Santa Claus

Le Knight Club - Holiday On Ice

So many hoes we LAPPED UP

Cross-posted at Mind Grapes

I think Jimmy and I are putting together some kind of end-of-year thing, so before we did that I wanted to drop a few rad songs that probably won't make my 'best-of' or whatever we end up doing.

As we all know, there are a few everyday situations where music is of the utmost necessity: riding in a car with your dudes, seducing a lady, going to second base with a lady, smoking pot, going all the way with a lady, etc. One of these situations, and one that is, I think, too-often overlooked, is getting ready to go out (is that girly? How about: I don't care).

By "getting ready to go out," I mean, of course, all those little things that occupy the hours between 8 or so and 10 or so--taking a shower, heating up your leftover tacos, putting on your clothes, waiting for your buddy to call you, drinking a couple beers, and then maybe a couple more. And because this time is so crucial to having an enjoyable night, it is of the utmost importance that you are jamming to something that will lift your spirits, engage your mind, and get you super-amped. This means that a lot of the gnarly music that I listen to is basically out--no Peter Gabriel (except "Solsbury Hill"), no Blue Nile, absolutely no Vangelis (OK, maybe "Chariots of Fire").

Fortunately, I have the perfect getting-ready-to-go-out song, and because I'm a nice guy, I'm going to share it with you. Use it sparingly and wisely, but I guarantee, jam this before you head out on a Friday night and you are guaranteed to have a good time.

Wiz Khalifa - Say Yeah

This song also has a dope video fyi.

Action Jackson

Despite his pedophilic tendencies and eroding facial structure, MJ is easily one of the most important figures in music of the last thirty years, but who doesn't know that, honestly. And while "Billy Jean" is still regularly slapped behind rap tracks by lames looking to get an immediate response from the crowd, others have more tastefully paid tribute to Jackson's musical legacy.

Off of Tim Sweeney (of the incredible Beats In Space radio) and Tim Goldsworthy's (of DFA) new 12", whose collaboration is T&T, come with two massive edits (or versions or something) of two classic tracks by Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. While many editors nowadays are scraping bins for obscure gems to spin out Sweeney and Goldsworthy pick two of the most well known disco/funk tracks ever made, "Superstition" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In the latter, the funky bassline is replaced with buzzy whirling acid synths and "don't stop the rhythm..." echoes throughout a massive breakdown, keep on!

Michael Jackson - Don't Stop (T&T Version)

Next is an edit by Holy Ghost! of "Get On The Floor" I found when I stumbled onto this blog the other day, Off The Radar. Far more minimalistic than the T&T remix, Holy Ghost! hardly touches the track until the breakdown in the middle, where the reworking shows its magic. Holy Ghost! has been racking up quite a few great remixes this year, most recent being this dubbed gem of Curses! featuring The Juan Maclean and Nancy from LCD Soundsystem, here. But enough of that, here is the dance-floor-filler from the hot up-and-comers from Brooklyn.

Michael Jackson - Get On The Floor (Holy Ghost! Edit)

Lastly is nothing new but one of my favorite re-edits by Todd Terje under the Tangoterje moniker. His edit of "I Can't Help It" might be his best behind Diamonds Dub. Terje takes Jackson's voice and throws it through some kind of filter that makes it sound crispy coming out of your speakers, while adding enough percussion to groove out a lovely breakdown in the middle.

Tangoterje - I Can't Help It

Lastly, I was turned onto this video the other day by my friend over at Robots In Heat, and I couldn't help but share it. Take classic Jacksons disco, add effects from Tron and a 3 minute extended ending that truly makes the video feel like an acid trip. I cannot believe this is from 1980, it is too good.

Balearic Soundtrack: Claremont 56

I've been in a balearic mood lately, meaning as the weather turns cold here and the fuses in my apartment begin to blow with all the space heaters running, I prefer to daydream about doing loads of coke on my yacht off the southern coast of France or dropping anchor off the coast of Kauai, diving through the lava tunnels by day and dancing around a bonfire on the beach as the sun sets. Claremont 56, the UK label started by Paul Mudd last year that has been pumping out beachy balearic vibes with verby guitars that Max Essa's Back To The Beach EP couldn't quite capture, that serve as the perfect soundtrack to my tropical daydreaming.

Smith & Mudd, is the collaboration of Mudd with Ben Smith, another UK resident have released the majority of the material on the label, which are mostly 12"s of tracks from their album Blue River that came out a year ago. Lexx channels the Mac and takes one of the best jams off the album, turning it into a dreamy jam you play on your yacht, the Wet Dream, after dropping anchor offshore from a deserted white sand beach in the Caribbean, then stripping down and diving into the crystal blue water.

Smith & Mudd - Shulme (Lexx Remix)

Returning from your swim as the sun sets you head into town and towards a bar on the water lit up by Christmas lights in the distance. Deep sounds emanate from inside and as you get closer the moon emerges from behind a cloud and you notice linen-clad tan locals also headed towards the bar. The sounds grow bigger and the buzzy synths begin to hum a steady rhythm. As you walk through the door the DJ puts Mudd & Pollard's "Scaffold". The track surges and wanes like the surf you can hear outside the bar and the echos of pianos and guitar begin to coerce you into a slow dance as the floor starts to heat up and bodies pack into the tiny space.

Mudd & Pollard - Scaffold

The energy is contagious and the dance party is on the brink of exploding into madness as the DJ drops the beat and comes in with The Night-S-Press "Dance". A beam of blue light turns to the disco ball and silhouettes of dancing figures are illuminated against columns of light shining forth from it and smoke fills the room.

The Night-S-Press - Dance

The dancing continues until the sky turns pale and the exhaustion of dancing for the last eight hours begins to wear on everyone in the room. As the sun breaks the horizon, the ambient version of Blackbelt Andersen's "Lørdag" comes on and the tired bodies begin to file out of the room and wander back to their abodes around the island. You return to your yacht and fall asleep only to awake in the late afternoon in time to do it all over again.

Blackbelt Andersen - Lørdag (Ambient Version)

All the music on this post is from the Claremont 56 label. The Night-S-Express "Dance" comes off of the incredible new compilation CD Originals, put together by vinyl experts Balearic Mike and Moonboots. The rest are off of the Shulme (Lexx Remix), Scaffold, and Lørdag 12"s, and are all truly lovingly crafted and genuinely felt.

Drugs to Take Music To

I busted Andorra out today, you know, digitally, on my iPod, to listen to on the PATH train coming home, and all I could think was: what a good motherfucking album. And: this dude must own a lot of Beach Boys records. And: I bet he does a lot of shrooms. For real! The whole thing sounds like a road trip up CA-1 with your buds freshman year of college, tripping on some deserted beach and trying to cook refried beans over a poorly-built fire. In a good way! 

You feel me, though: Andorra spills out in the best way, too full of energy and good will, sloppy drumming and watery keyboards, like taking drugs when you're 16 and writing down the corny shit you say ("We are the earth... breathing"). The last track, Niobe, is my favorite, but it's not really like the rest of the album--it's more E than shrooms, to be corny about it, pushing forward, darkly, with purpose, maybe, but without direction, going full speed ahead, like a motorboat on the open ocean, into blank silence, emptiness, horizon, and the end of the album.

Caribou - Niobe

Sauna Diplomacy

I've never been to Finland, but I always figured most people who live there spend most of their time ice skating, and building sleds, and, I dunno, killing reindeer. With knives. You know--rosy-cheeked, hardy people who were good at, like, making hot chocolate, and skinning bears.

Well let me tell you: this is not the case. Apparently Finns mostly just have a lot of casual sex and spend a lot of time in the sauna. Sometimes Finnish politicians and businessmen will drag people to the sauna and refuse to leave until negotiations are finished and terms are settled. How cool is that? This country has as many people as Atlanta, and they kicked Russia's ass in WWII. Like, majorly.

Anyway, this joint is from a Finnish band called Regina, and they sound like a bunch of sweaty, slutty motherfuckers, and not in that trashy French electro way, either. Think Studio, but a little colder, a little less dubby, like they just came out of their little steam hut and want to groove in some log cabin by the moving light of a big fire, windows all fogged up, before heading back out into the dark, watching their breath hang in the air on their way back to the sauna.

Regina - Näinä mustina iltoina (Schmamix)

BTW, it's also a Christmas song.

In Flight Delight

I have been obsessed with Aeroplane since they first appeared with their self-titled track on Lindstrom & Prins Thomas' Essential Mix two summers ago. Since then the Belgian twosome has racked up quite a few amazing remixes, my favorites being for Low Motion Disco, The Shortwave Set, and Das Glow. While they deem their sound simply as pop, I find their sound to be quintessential nudisco, glimmering synths, powerful percussion and breakdowns inspired by modern dance music. Today I am happy to share with you an amazing new remix they just released of the incredible Grace Jones' new track "Williams Blood" off her new album Hurricane. What struck me most about this track is how much darker it is from previous Aeroplane material. That's not saying much as most their stuff glitters electric brilliance, but the towards the end of this track they use the first overtly acid synth I've ever heard in any of their other tracks and it perfectly turns the song into a swirling monster. Anyways, just give it a listen, you will not be disappointed.

Grace Jones - Williams Blood (Aeroplane Remix)

7 Trx + Intermission

So today marks a great day as I have finally purchased a domain for my blog. Seeing as that I have been posting for nearly 3 months now I figured it was time to rid my followers of the heinous burden that is third party file-sharing sites. Divshare was good for its purposes but now I can safely direct you to the tracks I choose to share directly with my new domain. And in order to celebrate this occasion I have decided to share with you a track off of the incredible new album by Dan Lissvik (one half of Studio) called 7 Trx + Intermission. The album came somewhat out of nowhere, heralded only by an email I received from INF a few weeks back announcing its release. I quickly ordered it and it came in the mail just last week. As many followers will know I am a huge fan of Studio so my opinion may seem partial, but this is an incredible record. While it lacks any vocal components, the album consists of 9 meticulously crafted, beautifully produced instrumentals that take the Studio-sound in a more psychedelic direction. I find it funny because I've had a few conversations of late over whether the nu-balearica sound is beginning to fall flat, and while I agree there certainly are a lot of copycat acts putting the pieces together to form tracks with guitar + reverb + dubbed out percussion, Studio continues to amaze me and Lissvik has certainly not disappointed here. Enjoy this jam, one of the more upbeat tracks from his album.

D. Lissvik - Track 4

Also, on the ILM board for Studio this video popped up in the discussion of the new album and I thought it was too classic not to share. From what I've heard it was made in the studio while making the album, which makes sense given its simple nature, but it's beautiful nonetheless.

Track 5 From 7 Trx + Intermission from INF VIDEO on Vimeo.

To Believe A Lie Is The Only Crime

An interesting thing happened yesterday, I had a track taken down and Blogger sent me a notice saying it had been in violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). The track was Tom Croose's edit of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again." I don't know what brought this on, whether it was the Fleetwood Mac tag or what, and the file was removed from divshare too so I guess it wont be up anymore. But in the process of figuring out what was going on I contacted Tom Croose and he said it was totally cool that the track was up (he seems like a really nice dude too). He ended up sending me a few mixes and said more remixes and edits are on the way. Here is a link to his Stoney Baloney Mix recently posted at ISO50 and he is also one half of Worst Friends, a tropical balearic group with a Studio-like feel. I will be sure to keep you informed if his current projects as I find out.

Today we have a track from the first Bumrocks LP, El Bum. Bumrocks is the wonderful site hosted by two Chimneys out of NYC, Andre and Jeremy (one half of Tropical Computer System), that posts obscure gems regularly while hosting tracks from a very respectable list of guest bumrockers, the most recent being the UKs Phoreski. Their new LP features many mysterious tracks and reworks by a number of people ranging across proto-techno, disco, and more ambient downtempo textures. Our very own local vinyl guru The Beat Broker appears on the LP so I only found it fitting to share with you his masterful dub of Jeanne Shy's "Night Dancer". Enjoy this and check out the album here or I'm sure they have it down at Amoeba, it's worth every penny for those of you with a taste for the obscure.

Jeanne Shy - Night Dancer (Beat Broker Dub)

For a change of pace I've been listening to a ton of Italians Do It Better recently because Johnny Jewel is truly a genius with the production skills. Maybe it's because it's the perfect soundtrack for my walks to the train every morning in the melancholy San Francisco weather. Either way I have two tracks for you today from IDIB and you can track down a third soon-to-be-released dark synth masterpiece on ARAWA by newcomer Twisted Wires here. For now I have new/old Glass Candy off their new Deep Gems: Singles, B-sides, and Rarities which is basically some unreleased tracks, but mostly remixes/alternate versions of tracks off of their amazing album B/E/A/T/B/O/X. If anything this release is rather dancier than their other stuff, but Ida No's haunting voice and lyrics still keep the mood wonderfully dark. This is the most dancey of the tracks and sounds similar to the vibe Gang Gang Dance achieve, but Jewel keeps it in his own style. I cannot force I cannot fight, the beat's alive.

Glass Candy - The Beat's Alive

Taking it down a knotch on the energy level, I picked up this 12" the other day of another IDIB project, Nite Jewel, aka Ramona Gonzalez out of Los Angeles. I heard this a little while back and it spurred me to purchase the 12" when I saw it. It's a slow mover with a similar feel to Glass Candy, but a charming walking bassline that keeps your head bouncing. Enjoy!

Nite Jewel - What Did He Say

Things Are Gonna Get Easier...

So tonight Sebastien Tellier comes to town tonight and I couldn't be more stoked for the French pop god's arrival. The show is at the Mezzanine, tickets are $15 I believe (you can purchase them here) and I think doors are at 9PM. San Francisco DJs Blackshag, BT Magnum and Safety Scissors will be in attendance as well so come early and stay late for them. To commemorate this occassion I've decided to share with you a track from a Low Motion Disco 7" I picked up this summer. The track is my favorite thing Tellier has done, but if anything him singing "ooh child, things are gonna get easier..." in a ridiculous French accent makes me laugh out loud. Everything on Sexuality is much better but for those of you who haven't heard it, here is Tellier's remix of Low Motion Disco's "Things Are Gonna Get Easier."

Low Motion Disco - Things Are Gonna Get Easier (Sebastien Tellier Remix)


There are quite a few other shows this weekend as well. Tomorrow night Chicago house godfather Marshall Jefferson is at the Elbo Room in the Mission for the monthly .b.o.d.y.h.e.a.t. party, tickets are $10 and the party starts at 10PM. I will most likely be attending this party, but before that I'll be heading over to Paradise Lounge for their Holiday Party. Booze should be cheap and the DJs should be good and it's FREE with an RSVP so if the recession's got you down and you don't feel like blowing all your cash Friday night, that could be an option too!

Then on Saturday night local krautrock endeavor Jonas Reinhardt is playing at the Hemlock Tavern with Tussle and Explode Into Colors. Tickets are $7 and the show starts at 9:30PM. But if krautrock isn't your Saturday night scene, Gemini Disco is throwing their regular party at Underground SF in the Haight, and although I've never been, I might attend post the Reinhardt show. Tickets are $5 and the show goes til 2AM.