MORE LIKE, LINDSTRØM & PRINS ANASTASIO, AM I RIGHT

Cross-posted at Mind Grapes

Well, we are basically just, like, best friends with Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas, and when we’re not going out on double dates and playing Settlers of Catan together sometimes they’ll just, like, send us some music that they’re working on, because that’s the kind of relationship we have. Well—I mean—their publicist sends us the music. And, I guess, it’s not really, like, a lot of music. Just one edit. But: it’s a good edit! Straight from their new record, II, we’ve got the “Groove Edit” of “Rothaus,” which is track 2 on the album and a highlight for me.

The thing about II that you need to be warned about, going in, is that it’s, um, a jam record. Not Phish, haters, but, you know, second cousins. And—and this is hard for me to say—I’m OK with that. Really. On first listen, this edit doesn't do much: tightens the track a little bit, makes it easier to take in—and probably easier to dance to, in a sort of obtuse way—but it's hard to take something this "jammy" and straighten it out. So what you get is a lot of cautiously sloppy live instrumentation and synth noodling, which is what we in the biz call "rad." Perfect to listen to while cooking, jogging, throwing a coke-fueled week-long orgy, going to space (literally), going to space (figuratively), cleaning your house, etc.

And, you know, there was a time in my life when "jammy" shit like this would have received a derisive sneer and possibly an exaggerated roll of the eyes. I am no longer that small-minded person. In my old age, I think I can say—I think we all should say: I welcome the jam. And: guys: "Rothaus" is the jam. Enjoy.

Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - Rothaus (Groove Edit)

NOTE: Founding partner Ash Williams is on a trip to THE FOURTH DIMENSION for the next couple weeks—he's going to try and post some from the road, but till then it's all me. Expect some Steely Dan, Pat Metheny, MP3s of me making fart noises, etc.

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

Cross-posted at Mind Grapes

Hey y’all—apologies for not posting for a month! Been busy—but OMG have I got some shit for you.

I livetweeted the first five joints on Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas’s new album, imaginatively titled II, but I didn’t get a chance to give my 140-character reviews of the rest of the tracks—luckily my reaction to those tracks, and the album as a whole, can basically be summed up with this picture:

Yes, it’s that good. I’ve only had it for about 48 hours now but I’ve listened to it a dozen times and I’m sort of floored. I don’t expect everyone to love it like me (though I do expect people to love it)—it’s just that, it’s like they made it for me: everything I’ve ever liked about the two Scandos packaged together in a beautiful little box.

I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to write about it later. But what is killin me—and I mean, really, killin me, like, I am dead from this fuckin song, is the first track, “Cisco,” and if I can be more specific, the synths that roll in at around 3:00. The whole thing is a really beautiful example of the power of layering, and it spends a lot of time building itself up—bass line, congas, guitar here, guitar there—but that synth drop (so quiet! So sinister! Like gathering clouds! Landing spaceships!) is like +1000XP—level up.

Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - Cisco

Vamp Fad?

This weekend I caught the new Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In and I must say I loved it. The story follows a bullied young boy who finds his first love in a young girl who happens to be a vampire during a long and cold Swedish winter. But over the course of the weekend I have found out that quite a few of my friends think that there is some sort of vampire fad that is taking place, citing the new series True Blood (which I must say I am addicted to) and the new film Twilight. Maybe it's the horror enthusiast in me trying to protect the artistic validity of a few films and series I have seen of late from the "fad" labeling which seems to instantly disqualify them from serious consideration. Either way, I would recommend both Let The Right One In and the new HBO series True Blood, both for different reasons, but both focusing on vampires.

I also thought it fitting for a track I wanted to post for some while now. It comes off of a new 12" from R&S Records, the hard-hitting famous dance label that began in the 80s, featuring two reinterpretations of classic rave tracks, Outlander's "Vamp" and Capricorn's "20Hz". As I've said before, I'm a sucker for piano house and techno tracks from the 90s, and the hit "Vamp" from 1991 is no exception to the rule. This high energy classic features a piano sample I'm sure some of you will have heard before and was featured in several Justice mixes over the last few years. Here we see it remixed in the Prins Thomas diskomiks style, replacing the drums and bass with more organic instrumentation to give it a truly scandodisco flavor, while keeping the original samples and structure fairly untouched. I must admit I was a little surprised to hear the king of kraut, cosmic, and all things boogie turn to a rave track for inspiration, but then again he has recently remixed the Ricardo Villalobos track "Fitzpatrick" in similar fashion. Rave? Minimal? What could be next for PT? Enjoy this for now.

Outlander - Vamp (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)