Posts Tagged ‘Daft Punk’

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What’s Happening to Our Producers?

Monday, October 27th, 2008

I can’t say I’m not a little frustrated. The normal process by which I write a majority of my updates seems to have fallen through; In the past, my time was very rarely spent actively searching for new tunes to cover. In fact, the case was actually quite the opposite, in that most of the music I choose to share has found it’s way to me, simply due to the tendency of high quality music to spread rather easily through our tightly linked disco districts. Recently however, I’ve been lucky to encounter a track or two that I can even bring myself to listen to, much less love. Maybe it has something to do with this supposed “recession” we’re in. Maybe the contracting money supply is also contracting the creative pool of the many producers that most of us rely on to keep our spirits lifted. And yes, I can see how one might point out that my guess makes little sense, but how else should I account for the drastic change in the quality of music output? Seriously, check this out:

Two of my favorite artists of all time are Daft Punk and (to a somewhat lesser extent, due to their having not been around for quite as long) Crookers. Both artists have managed to put out works that far exceed the standard, to the point that they’ve created miniature revolutions within their respective niches, and both have done it on more than just a few occasions. After listening to their latest, however, I’ve found myself stumped (not to mention nearly brought to tears) as I wonder whether either will make a recovery from the extremely questionable tunes they’ve released.

Crookers

Crookers have always kept their style plain and simple. Their clean beats are well cut, and feature an exceedingly minimalist nature, but despite this, they’ve always managed to keep their tracks progressive enough that upon reaching the end, one feels as though he or she has been taken through the song, and not simply exposed to a couple of bland beats for three minutes. Their remix of Isa Gt’s “Pela O”, however, turns their reputation upside down. Literally none of what’s mentioned above is present in this track. In fact, with random loops that simply repeat and alternate back and forth providing the sole bit of substance for the track, it’s hard to find anything interesting at all.

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Isa Gt – Pela O (Crookers Remix)

Daft Punk

As much as I hate to say it, I think the Daft Punk track I’m about to include is even more of a failure. I’m actually banking on the off chance that perhaps some lonely bedroom producer discovered how to recreate the Rollin’ and Scratchin’ synth line, and then proceeded to use the Daft Punk name to promote his mix, because I find it incredibly difficult to accept the fact the both Guy Manuel de Homem Christo and Thomas Bangalter would find this take on Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out suitable to release.

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Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out (Daft Punk Remix)

Please children… work your magic. Make me feel better.

Edit: I can’t explain to you how relieved I am to have discovered that this “Daft Punk remix” is, in fact, a counterfeit. As such, in an attempt to halt the spread of an undeserving bedroom producer’s pilfered track, I’ve removed the download link. The stream, however, will remain up for some time, in order to make an example of this unfortunate experience.

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It’s About Time We Start Rubbing Our Tummies Again

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

I realize the Lemur‘s probably going to egg my home for saying this, but I feel I owe you all the deepest of apologies for having nearly disappeared from the blogging world for more than a week! *Cringe* Now, I could go on and spend a bit of time assuring both myself and the disco starved kids around here that my excuse is within reason, however, I feel that it makes more logical sense to simply satisfy the collectively lustful hunger for audio that I’m sure we’re all likely experiencing, as soon as possible. (My excuse would have been lame anyway) As such, I’m proud to present to you, without further ado, Roger… Seventytwo!

Rogerseventytwo

So I realize I’ve I’ve been doing quite a bit of genre classification recently, and I’m not entirely too proud of it. Genre’s tend to be based more off of the mathematical side of music (how many beats in a bar, different repetition styles, etc.), and it’s only thanks to my rediscovery of this particularly festive Rogerseventytwo track that I’ve been able to regain control over my mind, so that I might return to appreciating and grouping songs based on the way they make me feel, and not the title that iTunes assigns them.

You might ask why it was this particular track that jarred me back into reality, and I could definitely spend some time answering that question if I wanted to. I could mention the sparks that flew the first time it came on. I could mention the peak hour, euphoric feeling that only a certain few tracks have ever allowed me to feel. I could mention how it was instantly categorized in the holy archives of my mind among the likes of Daft Punk‘s One More Time, and Voodoo Chili‘s I Need, as one of those triumphant, blissfully sustained cries of joy where no matter how many times you’ve heard the same 4 second loop, you’re always disappointed when the track winds to a close. But in this case, I don’t think there’s any better way to experience the wonder that our humble little Dutch friend has fabricated than first hand. I would, however, recommend that a buddy agrees to keep an eye on you before you let this little kicker do it’s thing. You’re going to want someone to find you when you get lost in your head.

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DJ DLG – Paramount (Rogerseventytwo Remix)

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Around the World A-round the Werrrlldd

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

We all know the internet has had quite a large effect on the music industry; Sometimes I doubt that there remains a single soul left in the world that hasn’t contributed a dollar to Apple’s iTunes at least once in their life, but looking at this massive change from a modern perspective, it’s all good, right? Digitalization has allowed artists like Radiohead (and several other open-minded trend setters) to release their work upon completion and without corporate delay. Further, I feel it’s safe to say that a fairly large chunk of those of you who are reading this would find yourselves shit out of luck when it comes to discovering new music without the abundance of audio blogs on the net. In fact, you might actually be forced to (gasp) scour a record store. And I mean, yes, there’s the whole issue of creative copyrights, but seeing as it’s been discussed just about everywhere else on the net, I’m sure we’re all quite aware that merchandise and performance make up most of a musicians income anyway, so really, the only ones getting hurt by free music downloads (in most cases!) are the massive (although it must be mentioned that they seem to be losing steam) record labels. Point being, to sit back and accept the digital takeover as a collective win for the music world is quickly becoming an effortless feat, and this makes it twice as hard for the hesitant few to point out the complications that most certainly do arise.

Sure, there are thousands of complications here and there that I could complain about, but what’s really getting to me as of late is the notion that the ease of the transfer of music across the globe may actually be having a negative affect on the concept of culture that separates one nation’s musical style from another’s. Thinking back a couple years, ever since French artists like Justice pioneered the nu-rave electro sound back in late 2005, we’ve been hearing nothing but knock offs of that particular sound, regardless of the country of origin, and it’s only when an artist emerges that truly has pioneered a unique and individual style that it becomes easy to see what we’re missing.

Balkan Beat Box

Hailing from all over Eastern Europe, the project known as Balkan Beat Box claim a “strong urge to create a new musical breed that surpasses the old reality borders,” and after having a listen to a couple of their works, you won’t doubt that they know what they’re doing, and exactly how they’re going to do it. Their music incorporates the talents of 10 unique instrumentalists to create an almost Klezmer-fused electro style distinctive of the Eastern parts of Europe, and though you might find yourself a bit overwhelmed and confused at first, approaching these tracks with an mind will truly open the floodgates of possibility and leave you begging for more. In fact, the Balkan sound has so quickly become irresistible that several other artists, including the Italian Crookers, who were previously completely unrelated to the sound have already made the effort to embrace it within their own work.

Here’s a funky saxophone heavy Balkan Beat Box track, as well as the aforementioned Crookers effort.

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Balkan Beat Box – Digital Monkey

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Crookers – Gipsy P

Rayflash

Hopping back in the plane, I must say it’s certainly about time we return to Japan to follow up on the early summer post on the Japanese crunch god, Rayflash. Though I can’t go so far as to say that his music has much of a Japanese influence, I can certainly endorse the fact that Ray has truly extended his reach into entirely untouched areas of electro. His mixes are notorious for their audible pool of influences, reaching just as much into the Daft Punk library as they do into the heavy electro of artists like Circuit Freak and The Bloody Beetroots, and his latest track is certainly no exception. His nearly eight minute long remix of Artego‘s “Girl” will take you on a pummeling electro journey through crunchy, hair-raising worlds, and I can guarantee that, assuming you make it out alive, the place you end up will not be the one you expected. All things considered, I would advise that you make use of your seatbelt.

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MP3: Artego – Girl (Rayflash Remix)
YSI: Artego – Girl (Rayflash Remix)
ZShare: Artego – Girl (Rayflash Remix)

And for those of you who simply can’t be satisfied by a paltry single track, I thought you might like to know that our good friend Ray has made a special effort to cater to your (and I do mean your; he loves us all) interests. He’s come up with a mixtape that will fill more than an hour of your life with the warped out glitches of his dj sets, and may I say that he’s done an unbelievable job. You may have noticed I’m not prone to posting mixes, but trust me, this one will take power over you. I simply couldn’t hold back.

YSI: Rayflash DJ Mix 2

ZShare: Rayflash DJ Mix 2

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I Finally Understand the Meaning Behind “Too Many DJ’s”

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

I just had a rather frightening thought: Am I being unreasonable, or have we actually reached the point in music history where the number of remixes and remix artists outnumbers the number of substantial original works being put out? Either way, the functionality of the music industry has undoubtedly changed quite a lot in the past couple years. It’s strange to say that I recall a time wherein a remix was a strange and exciting thing. I suppose it figures, though; We had little more than Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, and The Chemical Brothers to work with, and considering the large expense of equipment at the time, the field of remixes was, naturally, an empty one. At this point, however, the case is quite the opposite: It seems the bedroom producers nearly outnumber lawyers, and as such, I’m forced to cross my fingers each time I come across a remix of a song that I particularly enjoy in hopes that its bedroom producer hasn’t wreaked an excessive amount of havoc upon the once sparkling creation.

(I should mention that I really am very curious as to how other people feel about this issue. If you’ve got an opinion one way or another, feel free to express it!)

LAZRtag

Fortunately, I’ve recently been struck with an extensive good luck streak, and have been pleasantly surprised with my finds. As you may have surmised due to a recent post, I was thoroughly impressed by the job that Los Angeles’s Classixx did on their Ting Ting’s Shut Up and Let Me Go remix, and at the time that I posted, I would have argued that another artist making an attempt at an additional mix would be foolish (and would indeed further my statement about the lawyers)–In case you haven’t guessed, that’s no longer the case. Where Classixx was able to take the original poppy track and turn into something soft and elegant, the quick-rising group known as LAZRtag has chosen quite the opposite approach, and built a nine foot monster of sound that, to put things nicely, will inevitably consume you. Sure, it’s a classic, generic electro banger, but hey, who doesn’t love a fat synth to sweat to every now and again, especially when you’ve got the cute Ting Tings girl singing for you all the while.

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The Ting Tings – Shut Up and Let Me Go (LAZRTag remix)

And while I’ve got you thinking heavy, I figure I owe the blog world a bit of a refresher: I spent a considerable amount of time yesterday searching for Boys Noize‘s 2006 remix of Tiga‘s Move My Body, only to be disappointed to find that it had all but disappeared. Boys Noize‘s latest works have indeed been inexplicably creative and fun, but when the cravings for his original home-brewed party techno arrive, they must be satisfied. *Sigh* Sometimes I just can’t help but miss 2006.

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MP3: Tiga – Move my Body (Boys Noize remix)

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It’s the Rapture! Again!

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

I’m usually not one with much too say in the way of hip hop, but I must admit that this post (and my life for that matter) have had some real hip hop trends as of late. I made a comment a while back, about the time that Ed Banger’s lone hip hop act DSL made an appearance, about how it seems as though France and the US have seemingly begun to swap music tastes (we’ve handed rap over to them in exchange for gnarly electro), and three months later, I’m only further convinced. Check it out:

DatA

A month or so ago, the venerable ol’ Ekler’o'shock artist known as DatA released his first single in quite some time, and to more than a bit of acclaim: His collaboration with Sebastian Grainger of DFA79[R.I.P.] put enough class into his classic French electro to push his beats to the top of The Hype Machine (and all those other lists that tell us what’s up), and all of us were most definitely thinking, “Wow, props to that kid. He’s come a long way from Aerius Light.” I think it’s safe to say, however, that what we definitely were not thinking was, “I can’t wait for the hip hop version of this track.”

“What!?”

Shh shh shh child, this is nothing to get upset about. I assure you, he’s pulled it off quite well. (In fact it seems as though DatA is quickly becoming one of those artists for whom you resign all forms of doubt and simply allow yourself to trust that whatever their endeavor be, it shall be phenomenal.) Essentially, the guy’s emulated a version of the synthesizer that has been the [oh so cliched] backbone of awful American hip hop for too many years, and combined it with a remarkably executed auto-tune effect on Grainger‘s voice (think Romanthony’s part on Daft Punk’s One More Time) to stitch together a track that’s both fresh (for the French) and refreshing (for the US). It’s also probably worthwhile to mention that the hip hop style of Rapture Pt II really brings out an element of sadness and desperation in Grainger‘s voice that was partly masked by the thick electro waves of the original; It really does give the lyrics a bit of an impact boost.

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MP3: DatA – Rapture Pt II

So we’ve hit the hip hop side of disco, now how about the disco side of hip hop?

Aesop Rock

I realize I’m more than a bit behind in commenting on a track from way back in the 2007 era, but some strange form of supernatural has thrust the following across my path so many times in the last week or so that I simply can’t help but share. I’m sure that if you aren’t already familiar with the fast rising act known as Aesop Rock, that you’ve at least heard the name. Aesop has, in the past year or so, been summoned to participate in projects as large as Nike’s Running Man (the very same project for which A-Trak just finished a piece), so naturally, there’s no need to doubt that he has more than a bit going for him, but because that’s likely not enough motivation to get yourself down to Amoeba to pick up his record, I’m going to take the liberty of sharing with you the track that’s been on repeat on my playlist for days. It’s clear that the roots lie in hip hop, but a gently driving 1-2 beat pushes the feel closer to something that could easily have come from Kid Sister, or one of the many other hiptronica fusions we’ve been seeing so much of. I’ll leave you with this piece of advice, if you’re planning on traveling anywhere sometime in the near future, I highly recommend that you reserve the first impression of this track for your journey; I’ve found that it does an excellent job of making the wonder and beauty of everyday life astonishingly apparent.

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MP3: Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass

Much more to come later today.

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A Few International Hooks

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Deepest apologies for my having been so sloppy with my posting habits recently. It seems as though “the man” has finally backed me into the corner and forced a “real job” upon my soldiers.

Regardless, I feel I owe you, the good people of the disco scene, not one, but two teaspoons of cherry flavored beats, both to make up for the sparsity of my recent activity, and to express my heartfelt sorrow.

Love Motel

A short little note in my inbox recently clued me in to a project that I’ve been unfortunate enough to have missed out on for much too long: Love Motel. Not only is the Swiss glam-rock / electronic band an intriguing new sound in itself, but they’ve recently finished a particularly large remix endeavor, to which many a distinctive producer (you’ve likely become familiar with the likes of Cryptonites and Be Trash, both of which were previously featured in the BuffetLibre Rewind project) has contributed. I particularly enjoyed the krafty little Kaz rework, a track that (after you’ve indulged of course) will have traveled all the way from Kyotango, Japan to reach you. Seems as though Japan has taken a quick liking to this trend toward the bouncier we seem to be seeing.

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Love Motel – Dial God USA (Kaz dub)

The Cryptonites remix is more than a bit intriguing as well. Although it does employ a good deal of their usual heavy, grungy style, it manages to preserve the indie-ish feel, as well as the gratifying chord progressions of the original track, quite well.

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Love Motel – Je Pleure (Cryptonites remix)

Keenhouse

(Thanks to Neonized for the image.)


Here’s a change of pace: I’m fully convinced that Los Angeles’s Keenhouse, who also happens to have been featured among the BuffetLibre remix artists, has either spontaneously become great friends with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo, or simply robbed them of their book of secrets, because his beats all seem to wreak of the Daft Punk chord progressions and overall style, and oh is it good. Nearly every track manages to capture the euphoric, positive energy for which we so dearly respect the masked duo, and as such, I simply can’t help but smile and bounce around a bit when these tunes present themselves.

Caution: Listening to these tunes on headphones may, in fact, cause you to look like an idiot, for you’ll likely find yourself getting your groove on at highly inappropriate times to music that no one else can hear. You’ve been warned.

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Keenhouse – Deep in the Forest

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Division Kent – L’heure Bleue (Keenhouse remix)

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