donderdag 20 november 2008

Nightdrive with you...


Zoals reeds eerder te berde gebracht, word ik momenteel volledig ondergedompeld in de hier heersde Franse muziekscene. Geen strakke, machinale en minimale beats, noch diepe housegrooves, maar veeleer zeemzoete, feel good disco en synthpop!
Hieronder volgt een track die grijs wordt gedraaid op een avondje uit in la France. Het betreft een track van de hand van de Franse producer, Anoraak.

Anoraak mag misschien niet zo bekend zijn bij het grote publiek, des te meer bij kenners en liefhebbers. Naast zijn liefde voor het producen, maakt hij eveneens deel uit van het alom gewaardeerde Valerie-collectief. Voor zij die zich geroepen voelen en verder willen kijken dan hun neus lang is, meer muzikale rijkdom willen bezitten dan hun gehoorwijdte hen toebedeelt en zo dieper willen graven in de het latente, bezoek dan zeker eens deze cherie van een Valerie.

September laatsleden heeft Anoraak een mini-album, getiteld Nightdrive with you, gereleased op het label Endless summer recordings, what's in a name, isn't it? De titeltrack zelf stak er persoonlijk met kop en schouders bonvenuit, vandaar ook deze post.
Anoraak schildert namelijk deze catchy en dromerig popmuziek met een subtiele knipoog naar de 90's à la Modjo en dát samen met de retro synthbasslijnen en gitaarsolo's die we tegenwoordig destileren bij een Hercules and Love Affaire.

Ik ga dus geen woorden meer kwijten, maar de muziek voor zich laten spreken. De track, alsmede een zeer geslaagde remix van GRUM, valt te beluisteren op Anoraak's myspace.

dinsdag 4 november 2008

Lovely Art

First things first: je m’excuse. Er is ondertussen al heel wat tijd verstreken zonder een post van mij kant. Net zoals mijn medebloggers, Liss. en Chris, vertoef ik in andere oorden wegens studieverplichtingen. Hoewel dergelijke uitwisseling een once in a lifetime expercience is, zowel muzikaal als intellectueel, brengt het ook wel wat onvoorziene problemen met zich mee, hélas. Een gebrekkige internetverbinding is namelijk debet aan mijn zeldzame bijdragen. Maar zoals Caith in een voorgaande post al beaamde, wil ik jullie niet belasten met mijn pied-à-terre, dus genoeg geklaag: back to business. Ik pik dan ook gedwee terug de draad op en focus me wederom op de housesectie van Raveslave. De internetloze maand heeft natuurlijk zijn tol geëist en sommige releases zullen dus aan mijn nauwlettend oog ontsnapt zijn, maar in wat volgt presenteer ik toch nog enkele tracks die voor mij persoonlijk een van de muzikale hoogtepunten vormden van de afgelopen maand. Geen straight housemuziek, maar eerder funky discomateriaal. Vraag me niet waarom, maar het lijkt alsof de Frenchies met hun muziekscène, die een nadrukkelijk disco- en seventiesrevival kent, onbewust een invloed op me heeft. Een Fremdkörper aan het woord…

De eerste track uit het lijstje, is een remix van de hand van Art of Tones, het mysterieuze alter ego van Ludovic Llorca, grondlegger van het label Brique Rouge en bekend van zijn projecten met Laurent Garnier. Ditmaal heeft hij de track Love on the line van de band Crazy P - tevens terug te vinden op hun nagelnieuwe album Stop Space Return (aanrader!) – in een nieuw kleedje gestopt. Onder het mon van Art of Tones heeft hij nog niet veel op zijn palmares prijken, maar deze release voor het label 2020 visions zal zijn bekendheid ongetwijfeld een duwtje in de rug geven. De release op zich bestaat uit drie tracks: een vocal, dub en Photon dub mix.
De vocal remix blijft grotendeels trouw aan de structuur van de originele track, maar voorziet het terwijl van een groovy basslijn uitgekiemd voor een housedansvloer. De dub mix is eerder instrumentaal, maar behoudt weliswaar de housegroove én de aanstekelijke vocals van frontzangeres Danielle Moore. Haar NYC Houseachtige en 80’s popgetinte vocals temperen de machinale beats en voegen als het ware bitterzoete muzikale lagen toe.
De Photon dub mix tast het onbekende nog wat meer af, gaat nog een stapje verder en mondt uit in een indrukwekkende late night affaire. Simpel, maar uitermate effectief: back to basics klinkt de boodschap.

De tweede track is ontsproten in het brein van man of the moment Mark E – of beter gezegd: the man tout court –. Mark E’s genialiteit kent dezer dagen geen grenzen en is – gelukkig – niet meer weg te denken, noch aan banden te leggen. Hij breidt de releases aan elkaar zoals een kledingketen dat doet in zijn gloriedagen én on top of that zijn het stuk voor stuk pareltjes. De maand oktober kent twee releases van zijn makelij: enerzijds een eigen productie, getiteld Based on misunderstandings, Part 2 en anderzijds een remix van de track The low murderer is out at night van Low Motion Disco. De eerste vormt een vervolg op de Misunderstandings House Series van het gerenommeerde Jazzanova, en de EP ziet dan ook niet zo verwonderlijk het licht op hun label, Sonar Kollektiv. Het geheel bestaat uit respectievelijk twee tracks, Fazer en Smokescreen. Beide songs zijn twee slow late night burners die subtiel en sierlijk balanceren tussen Mark E’s brandmerk van disco met een lage BPM en pumpin’ Detroit house. Atmosferisch, hypnotiserend, spacey en een dubby basslijn: dat vormen de kernwoorden van een wederom uitermate stijlvolle release.
En van hetzelfde laken een broek voor zijn overige release, meer bepaald zijn remix voor Low Motion Disco. De Zwitserse discoguru’s komen op de proppen met hun derde single voor het alom geprezen Belgische Eskimo Recordings. Mark E is hierbij andermaal op remix duty en voegt als geen ander die extra touch en flavour toe aan het originele. Hij dringt de akoestische gitaren ietwat naar de achtergrond en opteert voor een stevige basslijn die na het beluisteren blijft nazinderen, zoals het beeld van de geelrode avondzon die op je netvlies staat gebrand. Opnieuw zorgt het slo-mo effect voor die kenmerkende hypnotiserende sound en laat Mark E de tekst “out at night” op de achtergrond drijven tussen de dubby beats. Top!

Om in stijl af te sluiten, wil ik jullie het volgende lijst ook nog en passant meedelen. Het omvat nog enkele tracks die mooi aansluiten aan de reeds vermelde highlights van de afgelopen maand:

° Ray Okpara – this for deep

° Ray Okpara – Loving moonbuah

° Junesex – Worst than love (Losouls Love in times of art rmx)

° Spieltape – Reya

° Steve Lawler – Femme fatale (Ripperton rmx)

° Sebo K - Diva

° Rolando – Hiatus (Dub mx)

° Je davu – need you tonight

° La pena – Not so bad

° Dave Aju – first love

dinsdag 28 oktober 2008

The feeling of clubbing

One of the things I haven’t done during my current stay abroad is attend a proper clubnight. Sure, I’ve been to a lot of parties, some of which can be classified under the label ‘good’ and others which were the quite the opposite. I try to erase the latter from my memory – something I reckon all of us attempt to do – but in doing so, a rather unsettling thought crossed my mind. I couldn’t remember what a fine clubnight felt like…

I can easily recall some of the mammoth tunes that were dropped by a great DJ during some clubnight and some memorable things that happened that same night. No matter how hard I try though, I just can’t remember what I felt that very night or how much fun I had.


This is the reason why we go back I guess. To experience the feeling of having a good time with your friends and to know again what it feels like to forget about the everyday world and be part of a better one, if only for a couple of hours. This feeling must be the gist of clubbing. Getting drunk or taking drugs can be viewed as a sort of means to an end in this case. Some may need booze to experience the feeling whereas others are already 'feeling the groove' through the combination of being around their friends while dancing to some great tracks.

I believe it’s also what makes clubbers, and music lovers in general, alike. Whether your world is ruled by maximalist electro, hypnotising minimal, groovy house or anything in between is of little matter in clubbing because we’re all essentially in search of the same. Enough of my moralizing though; I’m off to actually experience what I’ve been babbling about. Joe from Hot Chip is coming to town for a DJ performance.

maandag 27 oktober 2008

Shout out to the West-Side

For those of you who are stuck on the other side of the planet, far away from Limburg, there's other parties to go to besides Cocadisco this weekend. And we all want Raveslave to go national, right?





They are in the middle of the recording process of their new album, but Klaxons bass player Jamie Reynolds agreed to play a special dj-set at Culture Club. Dirty Dancing deputy Cosy Mozzy gladly accepted to warm up for him and is introducing his latest project “Cosy Mozzy vs Montevideo”. From Antwerp they’ve got the renowned Fanklub Djs. Sounds like a perfect night out…

A-Trak's life story reads like the American Dream... In his own words: “When I was 13 I bought myself some turntables and a mixer. I practiced for about 18 hours a day. Then I came out of my basement, packed my lunch and won a bunch of world championships. Joy! ***UPDATE: A-TRAK CANCELLED***

You may know Kid Sister from the recent “Beeper” tune, or the single she did with Kanye West “Pro Nails”... She's also working with Pharrell Williams. Oh, and did I mention she’s dating A-Trak..?

So there you go.
Visit Culture Club if this might be something that tickles your bwalls!

vrijdag 24 oktober 2008

Coladisco*


About three years ago, nightlife was just about dead in the western part of Limburg. Club Montini – once one of the shining beacons in clubland – had been on its way back for several years. It was during those dull times that two men grew tired of the nightly boredom in the region. They saw the moribund Montini fit to serve as location for their very own club night: Cocadisco. The line-up featured Ed&Kim, Jan Van Biesen, a four hour set by Deg & Tomaz and an (at the time) unknown duo that went by the name of Corrid’or. The first edition was a smashing success and got the locals dreaming for more. And boy, were their dreams answered…

Fast forward to today. Cocadisco is a party which is famed nationwide. Its line-ups have featured international hard-hitters such as Freeform Five, Brodinski and Monica Electronica as well as Belgium’s finest DJs ( The Glimmers, The Subs, Jan Van Biesen, Hermanos Inglesos, The Revolving Eyes, …). And on the 31st of October, after a one year hiatus, it’s back!

The biggest change this time is the shift in location from De Schuur to De Brug in Nieuwerkerken. The concept is still entirely the same though: one big international headliner supported by a pack of great Belgian DJs. French nu-raver Don Rimini is this edition’s main attraction. He is being backed up by the rising stars Sound of Stereo, Goldfox, habitué Jules X and residents Ed&Kim and Corrid’or. To promote Cocadisco's third anniversary edition, we have 3 mixtapes for you from DJs that are part of the line-up. Furthermore, we'll also put up some sets of night in question in a few weeks time so those of you who were there can relive the experience and those of you who weren't will know what you've missed out on.

The first mix comes from a duo that goes by the name Sound of Stereo, the absolute Belgian fidget revelation of 2008. They’ve been a part of the Belgian clubbing landscape for some time, but it was their debut EP ‘ Nic Nag’ that really separated them from the mass. ‘Nic Nag’ wasn’t just liked by Belgian DJs, it was also picked up by international fidget heavyweights such as Crookers and Bloody Beetroots, to name just a few. Their latest track ‘Parrot Attack’ is already receiving the support it deserves by the likes of Dr. Lektroluv, who has included it on his latest mix cd.

Their producing career has only just taken off but their DJ sets are in ever-increasing demand. In the following months, they’ll be spinning all over Belgium as well as in Portugal, Italy and France.

So Sound of Stereo is the name and fidget’s the game. This is exactly what you can expect from their mix. It’s fast-paced, in-your-face and contains the hottest fidget and nu-rave tracks on the market at the moment. There’s not much room to breathe; it’s just one banger after the other. So don’t say we haven’t warned you, you’re in for a wild ride on October 31.

You can download it here

Tracklist
Sound of stereo - Zoopah Dupah EP intro
Bingo Players - Get up (Diplo remix)
Sharkslayer - So sincere
Lee Mortimer - Putto
The Yank - We can't be stop'd
Count of monte Crystal - My Condition (original)
Nadastrom - Pussy
Mickey & Jesus - Rompy Dompy
Hijack - Hijackin' (Hervé remix)
Futureheads - Worry about it later (switch edit)
Crookers - Il Cattivo
Leon Jean-Marie - Bring it on (jack beats remix)
Lil Wayne - A Milli (scottie B rmx)
Jaimie Fanatic - Old Skool Is My Skool
Sawtooth Suckah - Letting go (original)
Sound Of Stereo - Evil Panda (original)
Shinichi Osawa - Star Guitar (Armand Van Helden Remix)
Lazaro Casanova - Venganza (DJ Barletta Crunk Edit)
Destroy Disco - Fly or Bounce

The second mix comes from Goldfox, one of Limburg’s best known DJs. In his home province, he’s so omnipresent and loved as a DJ that at one point, there’s no getting past him when you’re planning on hosting a Limburg-based party. Mashing up lots of genres in his sets and subsequently adding his personal touch to them, the man’s style is to be called eclectic at the very least. One distinctive trademark are the many ultra-physical classic tunes which always make his DJ sets very energetic.

As is the case with many DJs, Goldfox couldn’t stick to merely his decks and started to host his own parties in Limburg as well as Leuven. His Rave Our Souls concept, which is hosted in Hasselt, is turning out to be a huge success with its past two editions completely sold out. There’s a new one in the pipeline for November 8 with nineties rave gods Altern8 and Human Resource in the line-up.

This mixtape shows a side of Goldfox that you don’t see very often. It’s filled with obscure electro and break beats; genres which are very dear to him but, unfortunately, quite inaccessible to the bigger crowds. The darker mood of the mix combined with the many unknown tracks gives it a sense of timelessness – a rare thing indeed.

You can download it here

Last but not least is Jules X. The odd man out, call him what you like, this 31-year-old Belgian Italian stallion has been there, done that: he was a regular at the terrific Body to Body parties at Culture Club, sharing the decks with The Hacker, Tiga and Felix da Housecat amongst others. He makes frequent appearances at MODfest, Breakdown, Cocadisco and the Vice magazine parties and last summer he also hosted 'Last night a DJ saved my life' on Switch, Stu Bru. Moreover, he throws his own Dominion shindigs at The Zoo, Hasselt and Shadowboxing parties at Recyclart, Brussels. Jules’ minimix sort of reflects his polyvalent style: from electro and hacienda classics to old skool hip hop and rock ‘n roll!

You can download it here

Tracklist
The Doors - People are strange (Jules x 808 edit)
Rockmaster Scott - The roof is on fire
Beastie Boys - Intergalactic (Jules X Knight rider remix)
MARRS - Pump up the volume
Grace Jones - Pull up to the bumper
Z-Factor - Hey DJ
Talking heads - Once in a lifetime
Hithouse - jack to the sound of the underground
Metallica - from whom the bell tolls (Jules X dance remix)
Console - 1400
Kill bill - Uma thurman
Jules X Outro (Eazy e vs Soulwax)

maandag 20 oktober 2008

Temposphere


If they say that you ain’t you-know-what in baby-who-knows-how-long, it is high time for another Temposphere season.  Last Tuesday, the game was on again in Rumba.

Okey, I may be a just a littlybittly tendentious but let’s not be corny about it, cats. Leuven generally isn’t really known as the umbilicus mundi of party. Hell yeah, if you don’t ask more than litres of beer and peroxide blondes going all omg-omg-like totally-hihihihi on plain tunes, our lil’ ole town really is the place to Hassel your Hoff. But if you, on the other hand, prefer the purple-coloured combination of dance- music -sex- romance, the city often seems a barren wasteland.  Temposphere strives to quench these party needs by presenting something quite different: something funky, something fresh, something to blow your mind.

Last week Spacid, Cait Sith, Ed& Kim and Commonphase were on duty to get kids dancey.  And you believe me cats, they did a hell of a good job.
Rumba was crowded, but not too, leaving Leuven’s hardest party harders ample space to do what they do best: show off their tightest moves and spill beer on my shoes.  The warmth was effin killing, the music hotter than chili sauce and the pretty party people got lo-lo on the ground: time to chase the glowing hours with flying feet!

Cait Sith teamed up with Ed& Kim’s Kim to set the place on fire. The combination of a turntable veteran (that, according to sources of most questionable reliability, also likes to play topless sets in the quality of Edwina&Kimberly) and rising star Cait Sith (that man who likes to compare spinning to sex on, yes sir, our national radio) resulted in a dynamic mix that kept girls dancing and guys buying them beer.

Spacid made himself the subject of Yves’ latest wet dreams, but frankly, Yves wasn’t the only one going bezoomny on the fierce set Kozzmozz-man Spacid let loose on the dancing crowd. Surprisingly, he interweaved his usual and distinguished choice of records with some more popular, and perhaps more Leuven-suited sounds, like our beloved Crookers and kindred spirits. He’s a master who knows just how to play his puppets.

Commonphase were the ones to burn this Troy and they sure did it in style. Their funky stirring beats made us easily set aside the aching feet, swirling heads and plastered douches getting un petit peu too familiar. Till the early hours, they kept us shaking it like a Polaroid picture. (By the way, sweethearts, you don’t shake polaroids. Okey? Just don’t.)

Humphrey Bogart said it just right when he mumbled: ‘Play it again, Sam.’ And our personal Sammies, Matthias& Yves, will be playing it again next month. And you better be there, ‘cause..
I was dreaming when I wrote this, so forgive me if this goes astray, but Temposhere sure means party like it’s 1999!

woensdag 8 oktober 2008

Chart Nation


My job at Raveslave consists in adding a dash of trash to the omelet of chilled out yet awesome tracks. Insecure as I am (read: lazy) I decided to call in the help of some friends, to help me out in delivering a selection of charts - containing 5 songs they go apeshit over at the moment. Not wanting to bore anyone else with pointless stories (read: lazy) I'll just get right to it:

Ed & Kim (Stu Bru, Breakdown):

Raven - Proxy
Pocket Piano (Joakim Rmx) - DJ Mehdi
Bust a Move (Diplo Rmx) - Young MC
Fake MF - Ampersand
Shake it Down - Laidback Luke & A-Trak

Goldfox (RaveOurSouls):

Comptine d'un autre été: l'après-midi - Yann Tiersen & Jay Haze
Second Phase (Redshape CTX Mix) - Mentasm
Inordertodance (Alexander Kowalski Rmx) - Housemeister
Turkish Testosterone - Adriano Canzian
Putto - Lee Mortimer

Lazerface:

Innocence (Sinden Rmx) - Björk
Old Skool is My Skool - Jamie Fanatic
Riddle of Steel - Guns n Bombs
Get Up (Diplo Rmx) - Bingo Players
Say Aha (Tepr Rmx) - Santogold

The Subs (Lektroluv rec.):

Bonzai Channel One - Thunderball
La Serena - Aqua Contact
Technarky - Cybersonic
Acid Phase - Emmanuel Top
Pizzaman - Cisco Kid

Commonphase (Temposphere, TV OFF):

Shocked - Jay Haze, Fuck Pony
Bass Shake The Ground - CLP
You've Been Magnetized (Green Edit) - Mr Magnetik
Offshore (The Phantom's Revenge Rmx) - Division Kent
Neon Human - Felix da Housecat

Der Schmetterling (Infected Music):
Focker (Boys Noize Terror Re-Did) - Late of the Pier
Positif - Mr Oizo
Get Up (Diplo Remix) - Bingo Players
Gorilla - Idiotproof
The Floor - Bangkok Impact

Jules X (Dominion):
Dance in Dark - Proxy
Glamorous Life - Sheila E
Crimewave - Crystal Castles
From Whom the Bell Tolls - Metallica
Brooklyn Queens - 3rd Bass

Deejay Tall (MODFest):
Cheap and Cheerful (Fake Blood Rmx) - The Kills
Bloodlines (Hervé's love's messed up mix) - Dúné
Jack U (JFK MSTRKRFT edit) - Diddy vs Felix da Housecat
Quadrofonia (Dysfunktion Mix) - Terrabyte
Angel of Death (Punchamidaface pt. 2) - DJ Ayres

Jay Lee (Less Toys More Noise):
Soleil (Delete's Vocal Mix) - Johnny D
Church of Nonsense - Daniele Papini
Dinamicro (Karotte by Gregor Tresher Rmx) - Luca & Paul
Mr Dry - TG
Trompeta - Sis