Heavyweight soul providers Fat Freddy's Drop are about to take flight once again with the worldwide release of new album Blackbird on 24th June 2013. Blackbird is the third full-length release from the New Zealand band and will see Fat Freddy's Drop exceed half-a-million album sales worldwide, the result of playing over 800 shows in their career-to-date, clocking up 412 appearances in Europe, 27 Australian Tours and over 300 shows in their homeland.
Fat Freddy's Drop celebrate a decade of European touring by releasing Blackbird in East London. The already sold-out show at Village Underground attracted over 4,000 hopeful ticket ballot entries in just 24 hours for only 500 lucky spots.
Featuring nine tracks, Blackbird was written and recorded at Bays, the band's own studio, which was one of the last vinyl pressing plants in New Zealand and then an apostolic church. Fitchie says, 'What you hear on the album is the sound of Bays, the room itself, the vibe of the place and the performance we can get out of the band in there.'
'Blackbird is truer to FFD's musical philosophy than anything else we've done', says Chopper Reeds. 'The song structures are open and unruly - just like our live shows - whilst we've pushed ourselves to deliver rich and deeply layered arrangements that showcase Joe Dukie's exceptional voice. We feel totally at home melding together this unholy mix of disco, rootsy dub, blues, soul and electronic funk - it's what we do.'
Fat Freddy's Drop have released two studio albums, 'Based On A True Story' (2005) and 'Dr Boondigga & The Big BW' (2009), two live albums, 'Live At The Matterhorn' (2001) and 'Live At Roundhouse' (2010) and a stash of limited edition vinyl singles, including the now legendary 'Midnight Marauders' and 'Hope For
Поиск:from house to electro
Все
Dusky's 17 Steps present Floor To Floor. Featuring tracks from Velvit, Trevino, Lo Shea, Hugo Massein and Alan Fitzpatrick, Floor To Floor compiles 12 tracks that approach the modern house and techno aesthetic with a UK edge.
Joining the dots between electronica-leaning sounds, melodic house and warm-up grooves to moody techno, looping tech house tools and broken beats, Floor To Floor represents a snapshot of current UK House and Techno sound worlds - all heavily road tested in Dusky's DJ sets. Carefully compiled over a 12 month period, each track combines artistic individuality with dancefloor utility.
A statement of intent for 17 Steps future dancefloor visions, Floor To Floor journeys from the dark, brooding atmospherics of Velvit's 'Looking Glass' and Dusky's own stripped back 'Mount Belzoni to the quirky warehouse techno of Christian Piers' 'Tooth Decay' and Trevino's militant 'Ojak'.
At this moment, Global Bass music is an intimate circuit in the electronic music landscape. Airplane tickets and the internet serve to connect producers and artists in every imaginable combination. Spanning across Africa, Europe, India, the Caribbean, and the Americas, allowing for the birth of new forms of collaboration. At the nexus of the Tropical music monsoon is producer Thor Partridge, aka Thornato. Born in Sweden, Thor grew up in a household filled with traditional Greek, African, and Carribbean music. Moving in early childhood to Queens, New York, the borough's diversity further influenced his style and taste. Thor added to his rich musical palette by studying classical piano, jazz guitar, and bluegrass banjo. A passion for electronic music production, remixing, and music of the entire globe soon developed. Thor's debut EP "Things Will Change" is an amalgamation of his global influence, coupled with strong roots in dance music culture. His music is not a product of samples downloaded from the internet, but from his driving wanderlust and ability to hand select musicians to work with on location in the countries where they are from. By recording in the field with a mobile studio, Thor captures the real essence and soul of the music and where it's coming from. The EP kicks off with "Chapinero", a bass heavy joint with an infectious Colombian Gaita melody. Handclaps and chopped vocal samples make for a booming floor rocker. "Deux a Duex" turns towards the African dancefloor incorporating infectious guitars and beautiful vocal harmonies courtesy of Kongo Electro from Cape Town. "Koz Kazah" heads to the Middle East with it's violin melodies, thick sub-bass, and Arabic vocals courtesy of Karen Be. Finally, "Tera Dewana" lands us in the Indian subcontinent with it's driving beat, tablas, and Hindi vocals from Vasanth S & AKS. Thornato's "Things Will Change" EP shows that while indeed the music does change, the soul and the heart of sounds from all over the world remain consistent, and that dancefloor music is universal - no matter where in the world you are!
All Tracks Written and Produced by S3A
Mastered by Kuniyuki Takahashi
This house project, based on the idea that electronic music is a blend of different cultures and music, started 15 years ago when Max began jamming on analog machines and samplers with different projects from techno (FriendShip Connection) to house (S3A).
It is through this project that he expresses, among other things, his taste for soul and House music. Such as his beloved artists MCDE, Floating Points... he uses the process of sampling as a basis to color his music with sounds of all his inspirations, he always add his own touch and groove to get his own vision of electronic music: dynamic, warm, emotional and dirty.
Although he discovered electronic music in 92 through UK hardcore with DJ as Tanith or Producer, his culture is based on a solid knowledge of house music, soul, funk, hip hop, making him one of the most promising house artists of the French scene since 2009.
He first came to Paris with Zadig to realize his childhood dream: building a studio and later collaboration, Frendship Connection (All is just a matter of time has actually been playlisted by Marcel Dettmann).
His residency at Concrete helped him to confirm his DJ position since the last 4 years adding as well releases on Lazare Hoche Records, Hold Youth, Concrete Music, Local Talk, Phonogramme and Faces. With these releases, his remix for Laurent Garnier on Music Large and his booking request from the French legend to play with him for his residency at Rex club and Concrete, gave him legitimacy and visibility in all over Europe.
In 2014 he decided to make his own label Sampling As An Art Records and focus on finding new-blooded artists and release his very personal music. A perfect definition between underground quality emotional house music and dancefloor efficiency!
In 2015, he released a collaborative EP on Uncanny Valley Label with Max Graef and Cuthead (whom released S3A RECORDS 03 the same year), made his first live representations and currently continue to spread his vision of music.
Swiss DJ & producer, Mirko Loko, continued to indulge in his intergalactic persuasions on last year's long player Comet Plan". Released on Cadenza, Mirko's second album was enthusiastically received and picked up many fans for its collection of blissfull and wide-eyed electronica and techno sounds. Featured guests on the album included dOP's vocalist, JAW, and Francesco Tristano. 12 months on, and Comet Plan' gets revisited and remixed by two stellar names from the electronic dance community. Sebastian Mullaert is well known for partnership with Marcus Henriksson as Minilogue, the Swedish duo responsible for killer albums & singles for the likes of Cocoon, Silver Planet and Wagon Repair. Mullaert plumps for a solo remix of Venus' of epic proportions, split into two versions, Phaze One' and Phaze Two". An organic trip through the cosmos, Mullaert tweaks and teases over two seductively trippy versions, showing us a master class in minimal electronics. Hailing from Dallas, Brett Johnson has become synonymous with masterful jackin house music via singles for Derrick Carter's Classic, DJ Sneak's Magnetic, Freerange and Visionquest. Brett tackles U Special' featuring JAW, and turn in a very tasty Remix and Instrumental version. Soulful, spacey and groovy in equal doses, Brett delivers the goods in abundance on these mixes. A tight remix package that bows respectfully to Mirko's original visions, and a timely reminder, to the uninitiated, to check out the album for further inspection.
Despite building their careers out of strikingly different musical places, both dBridge and Radioactive Man have taken influence from the field in which each other operate. dBridge (Darren White) was part of the iconic drum & bass outfit Bad Company and he helms one of the scene's most solid and quality imprints in Exit Records and Radioactive Man (Keith Tenniswood) was born from the acid house scene and the off kilter electronics of his Two Lone Swordsman projects (alongside Andrew Weatherall) which led him to create his decidedly UK take on Drexciyan electro. It's by no means a stretch to learn that both producers have crates that contain their favourites from each genre but they've also found a mutual respect and connection in the studio over the last few years, leading to the dBRm moniker for Craig Richards' The Nothing Special label.
Despite building their careers out of strikingly different musical places, both dBridge and Radioactive Man have taken influence from the field in which each other operate. dBridge (Darren White) was part of the iconic drum & bass outfit Bad Company and he helms one of the scene's most solid and quality imprints in Exit Records and Radioactive Man (Keith Tenniswood) was born from the acid house scene and the off kilter electronics of his Two Lone Swordsman projects (alongside Andrew Weatherall) which led him to create his decidedly UK take on Drexciyan electro. It's by no means a stretch to learn that both producers have crates that contain their favourites from each genre but they've also found a mutual respect and connection in the studio over the last few years, leading to the dBRm moniker for Craig Richards' The Nothing Special label.
Originally released via Ascetic House in 2015, Vereker's Grace tape owes much to the canon of vintage anti-music, exploring catharsis via a transgression of traditional compositional & technical values. Working with the same thematic concerns of much of the more leftfield additions to the Avian catalogue - in it's more subdued moments, anxiety & dissafection; in it's more high energy - pure hysteria - the recording pairs basic synthesis with warped vocals in the same manner as Industrial progenitors Throbbing Gristle and Steven Stapleton (Nurse With Wound).
The reduced palette & crushed production aesthetic creates a powerful immediacy, with a twisted musicality being drawn - at times, kicking and screaming, out of the depths of the mix. Like much of Vereker's best work on labels like LIES & Berceuse Heroique, elements warp & twist uncomfortably within the tight confines of a reduced dynamic spectrum - creating a dark, heady energy.
scetic House, the predominantly cassette only label, has seen appearances from LA's Silent Servant, Northern Electronics' Varg & Avian's own Shifted - under his Covered In Sand alias
Over the past 7 years WOLF Music have steadily blossomed into a bonafide platform for both auspicious and established producers of classically-minded House and Disco catering for listeners and DJs alike.
Having amassed a catalogue of EPs and LPs including the likes of Frits Wentink, Medlar, KRL, Mr Fries and Inkswel they are now ready to release their 4th full length LP this time from long term label friends Nicholas Church and Joseph Spencer a.k.a Casino Times.
Having first appeared on WOLF for the label's 23rd release - Casino Times have since released music through their own Casino Edits imprint, Futureboogie and Permanent Vacation.
Across each release the duo have built a musical identity that's characterised by subby electronics and off-kilter sampling.
Now they get chance to stretch their legs across 10 tracks, delving into an array of new territories, which pieces together their début LP, Familiar Circles.
Ranging from the beautifully breezy Oddity to the break-laden Love In Time the album begins to take shape as a masterclass in arresting sampling.
Continuing with the subtly mournful I Hope This Find You Well featuring Desert Sound Colony, followed by the potent, burly drums of Overcome. Panning out across its entirety as an album that achieves something rare in deftly dialing a broad spectrum of moods, adding further facets to WOLF's ever-expanding catalogue.
Minimal Wave present an album of long lost tracks by Dutch electronic music pioneer Das Ding, entitled 'Missing Tapes'.
Danny Bosten formed Das Ding as a solo project in the early 1980s and released his music and friends' music via his own cassette label called Tear Apart Tapes. At the time, he was studying graphic design at art school, and in turn he ended up designing the artwork, cassette-sleeves and illustrations for the label himself. Meanwhile, he recorded his own music as Das Ding. Powerful dark electro, he made several addictive and danceable tracks which later become Minimal Wave hits. Danny made all his music in his bedroom which essentially turned into a small recording studio. He went on to release many of his own tapes and also played some live gigs.
Old tapes were uncovered around 2010, and Minimal Wave released a remastered version of 'H.S.T.A.' and select other tracks. A wave of renewed interest followed the record's release and soon people were in touch to propose live shows. Twenty years later, and after some deliberation, Das Ding was reincarnated under its old moniker but now with a revised line-up and a working set-up that reflected inevitable technological change.
Recently, Danny came across further tape archives from those early days. And from the batch, we selected our favorites to present to you in vinyl release form. 'Missing Tapes' is a limited edition LP pressed on 180 gram creamy yellow vinyl, and housed in a heavy weight printed glossy black and white sleeve featuring one of Danny's original illustrations from 1982.
repressed !
First Ep (of four) announcing the forthcoming Orlando Voorn COLLECTED double CD that will showcase what we believe is the best from the Dutch producer in his early days. This EP focuses on the housier side of Orlando Voorn and gather on one slice of wax 4 useful classic tracks for the djs.
Orlando Voorn, the artist:
He who started in the late 80's as a successful DMC DJ in The Netherlands, mixing electro and hip-hop tracks, established thenafter an historic musical connection between Amsterdam and Detroit. Orlando Voorn's unique signature of early productions, analog tweaks, funky beats and cosmic chords, quickly attracted the attention of the like of Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, for which he produced game changing classic tracks like "Game One (as Infiniti)" and "Fix (as Flash)" in the early 90's only to continue to do so until today on numerous labels (R&S, Fragile, Nightvision...) and under various aliases (Playboy, Ghetto Brothers, Format...).
Musique Pour La Danse, the serie:
COLLECTED is about... collecting definitive and inestimably valuable works by key dance producers from the past and digging with them classics, hard-to-find and unreleased gems from their vaults to bring them back for your sole and only pleasure. Stay tuned for more house music and beyond.
The multi-talented musician/producer Bing Ji Ling (Tummy Touch Records/Ubiquity Records/Lovemonk Records/Claremont 56) and DJ Alex from Tokyo are very excited to share with you a brand new, collaborative track Not My Day', that encapsulates their experience in New York, as well as their friendship. It's been a few years in the making, but well worth the wait! Alex and Bing moved to New York around the same time, and met in a bar (filled with Loft heads) after one of David Mancuso's Loft parties. Bing recognized Alex's voice from his weekly Shibuya FM radio show in Tokyo, and went up to introduce himself, being a fan. Turns out, they have many friends in common in New York, Tokyo, and beyond. They were instant friends, family. The track came out of several listening sessions from Bing's basement studio in the East Village, where Alex shared some tracks he'd be digging, across a wide range of genres, eras, tempos, etc.. Everything was very easy, very natural...Back in Tokyo Alex and Isao bring their club vibe and remix the funky and groovy Not My Day' into a magnifique electronic deep house anthem!
On the flip is Bing's version of Lil Louis' club classic Lonely People' Alex has been playing non stop, providing along here his own DJ friendly Tokyo Black Star retouch club version. Bing's version was originally recorded for his covers album called Sunshine For Your Mind' that was first released in Japan on the label Rush Production. This album came about, after years of playing solo/acoustic covers with a looping pedal in Japan. Bing has since performed the song live in New York, London, and at Croatia's Garden Festival with rave reviews!
Bing Ji Ling and Alex now live just minutes from each other in New York City as well as the Catskills, and enjoy frequent meals, music and mountains. We hope you enjoy...Happy Spring!
Italian rudeboy Ivan Iacobucci brings his brand of lowdown funk-influenced tech house to Apollonia with this sterling three-tracker. Over two decades of hard work and dedication to his craft has culminated in Ivan's untainted reputation and widespread respect within the underground from true heads like Zip and, of course, the Apollonia boys. His love of jazz in evident throughout this EP which is full of subtlety and depth, pulsating b-lines and smooth chords are interlaced with razor-sharp percussion and delicate keys. The first track 'Old In On' has a laid back, though driving, groove, pushing forward with a hefty bassline that is perfectly counterbalanced by the light twinkling keys and barely-there pads. 'Scris Frumos' encapsulates more of an ominous, tribal feeling with intricate effects trickling through every pore of its deep, dark exterior. Its atmospherics keep you intrigued, voices echo in the background and a few moments of softened chimes really intensify the already mysterious vibe. 'Mini Ass' channels more of that electro-funk that forms the foundation of Ivan's love for music, haywire radio pulses prance around stuttered beats, giving it a slightly cosmic feel, while pipes add a more organic nuance to the track. Absolutely masterful work from Ivan, and another inspired addition to the Apollonia catalogue.
Gone with the flow - after a little break the German musicians Julius Steinhoff and Abdeslam Hammouda revived their musical adventures and left all electricity untouched this time. For their new acoustic project the duo has chosen the alias Tonight Will Be Fine - a name that is familiar to those who followed their work in the past years. As Steinhoff & Hammouda they used the name for their first 12" on Smallville Records, the worldwide acclaimed house and beyond label and record store that Steinhoff co-runs. Now they reheated the phrase and chose it as the alias for a bittersweet acoustic singer/songwriter project. Their wonderful, captivating new musical venture came into life due to happenstance and old ferventness. After their trips into house music the duo parted geographically. Hammouda moved away from Hamburg while Steinhoff strengthened his label Smallville, built up a global DJ career and produced acclaimed house records on diverse labels - solo" and with his buddy Dionne as Smallpeople. In all the time Steinhoff and Hammouda never stayed out of touch, bound together through deep friendship.
At some point they met again for musical missions and started to record music that had nothing in common with their prior work. Steinhoff re-activated his self-taught guitar abilities and entered the studio of his friend Lawrence in the back of the Smallville record store to capture some steeldrums and vibraphone sounds. Hammouda brought more instruments like a banjo, a violine and tablas and they just started to record sketches and songs. Hammouda's musical backround leads to a widespread range of influences while growing up, before he got into producing hip hop and electronic music. For Steinhoff, the transformation from an electronic music producer into a singer/songwriter wasn't that new too, as his first musical steps have been routed in band music. Until his late teenage years, when he discovered house and techno, he played drums in a local indie group in Freiburg and for Tonight Will Be Fine he now also freed his old drum kit from cellar dust.
After the duo felt that their musical communication elevates into something more profound then a session thing, they provided themselves with additional instruments like new guitars, claves, an accordion, a piano and more. Initially the songs were very rough and sketchy. Musical ideas that did not have a real song structure. Then we started to arrange the tracks and added our voices and lyrics.' both reveal. Their charming singing covers almost the whole album with a characteristic sense of deep winking melancholy. Their lyrics are exercising the possibilities of words and are inspired by life, the world and all the those questions a human can ask in his time on earth. At some point both started to show their new songs to some friends and they liked it and encouraged the duo to move on. Somehow one of the tracks landed in Toshiya Kawasaki's mailbox. He instantly fell in love with it and asked if they would like to do an album for Mule Musiq. They did what was asked and after some reformatting and reinventing Tonight Will Be Fine originated 13 songs full of sweeping acoustic guitars, airy rhythms, piano melodies, gloomy accordion emotions, touching voices and a bunch of other exotic instruments, done without the help of electronics. They all form Elephant Island' - an incredibly inspirational place where impressionistic lyrics dance gently with kinetic acoustic music that comes out of plain jamming fun. The melange of a structured song base and free improvisation injects all songs a loose feeling. And shows two handsome fellas carving out their own musical utopia. It is a warming one, full of hope and musical freedom powered by an unabashed instrumental playfulness.
nstrumental playfulness.
É a5 | soliloquy
The debut album of contemporary British band LINEA ASPERA. Linea Aspera is the London duo of RYAN AMBRIDGE (Synths/Programming) and ALISON LEWIS (Vocals/Synths). They began the project in November 2011, technically drawing inspiration from electronic music from the early 1980s. Within the duo, Alison writes and performs all vocal elements, while Ryan is responsible for the writing and performing of the electronics, as well as recording and mixing of the final recordings. For their debut album they utilized small, simple analog synthesizer set up: Roland SH-09, Roland Juno 6, Vermona DRM MKiii, Korg Poly 800 and Analogue Solutions Semblance. Linea Aspera's sound includes clear influences from early electronic body music, classic synth-pop and, in some instances, industrial and noise. Lyrically the band incorporates the sciences of osteology, neuroscience, and anthropology weaving a new medical language around themes of desire, despair and renewal. Linea Aspera serve up an icebox of dark doom riding on Alison's powerful vocals with a soft but sharp touch. All songs have been mastered for vinyl by GEORGE HORN at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a specially designed jacket by DOVILE SHURPO and includes a full sized insert of all lyrics.
Mugwump's debut album, « Unspell » has recently
received serious accolades in the music press, from the
likes of Uncut, Mixmag & Mixmag Germany DJ Mag,
Nowness or The Fader to Les Inrockuptibles, Le Soir, De
Standaard or Metro and been dubbed as « Belgium's
underground answer to Daft Punk » by German
electronic bible, Groove magazine. After two singles and
remixes by Andrew Weatherall, Mark E & Jack Savidge,
Subfield are now launching a massive remix campaign with
the album's opener , « After They Fall » getting the remix
treatment by dance duos only. Mugwump old
acquaintances Tuff City Kids are man-of-the-moment
Gerd Janson (Running Back) paired with producer-of-the-
moment Lauer (Live At Robert Johnson), both delivering a
bonafide italofunk-house anthem (vinyl-only !). Runaway
are Mugwump's NYC buddies Jacques Renault (Let's
Play House) & Marcos Cabral (L.I.E.S), exceptionally
reuniting here for a big Mood2Swing revival moment,
recalling the pioneering duo at their hypnotic best. Eskimo
Twins stay faithful to the original while injecting some
London acid chug and that ALFOS flavor while Mugwump
finally rewrites his killer original with fellow partner DC
Salas into an arpeggiated disco-techno monster (digital-
only). All bases are duly covered with this summer
package. Early support by Andrew Weatherall, Sean
Johnston, D'Julz, Erol Alkan & Jamie Jones.
Following a summer of fifth birthday celebrations, Tom Trago's Voyage Direct label returns to action with a brand new 12' from Amsterdam scene stalwart Simon Weiss.
Although a new member of the Voyage Direct family, Weiss is no newcomer to the scene. He's previously delivered high grade EPs for Rush Hour, Deepermotions and Home Taping Is Killing Music, and his contribution to First Mission, Voyage Direct's fifth anniversary compilation, was one of the undoubted highlights of that set.
It's that track - the gloriously positive 'Tele-Vision', and it's cyber-house fusion of darting synthesizer arpeggios, Detroit-influenced percussion, and thrusting acid bass - that heads up Weiss' first EP for Voyage Direct.
Dutch veteran and longtime friend of the family Dexter turns in a stunning remix, putting a well-placed boot up the backside of 'Tele-Vision' via speaker-shaking sub bass, kaleidoscopic electrofunk motifs and thumping techno rhythms. It's a stunning re-make, and one that takes Weiss' fine original to even greater heights.
Flip the record for two previously unheard Weiss productions. First up is 'Ghost', a supernatural house shuffler full of alien synths, wayward melodies, intergalactic electronics and crunchy drum machine hits. Weiss flips the script slightly on 'Super Sub', pairing his now trademark vintage synthesizer refrains and tumbling electronics with a heavyweight, bassline-driven groove. It's a sweet and evocative track, but critically also packs a punch.
When commissioning remixes, the best labels think outside the box. That's exactly what Firecracker's Lindsay Todd did when seeking out producers to rework tracks from Linkwood's excellent Expressions album. On this second 12" in an ongoing series, that faith has paid dividends. Whereas the original version of "Ignorance Is Bliss" was a warm, woozy, sun-kissed deep house affair, Healing Force Project has reinvented it as a stargazing chunk of 21st century space jazz, complete with twinkling chords, low-slung double bass and reverb-laden drum solos. The Musephased interpretation of "Love Lost" by Kimochi label head Area sticks closer to the ultra-deep, melancholic vibe of Linkwood's original, but adds a frisson of excitement via bubbling, Detroit-influenced electronics and hypnotic rhythms.
- A1: Interview - Salut Des Salauds
- A2: Philippe Krootchey - Qu'est Ce Qu'il A (D'plus Que Moi Ce Négro-Là)
- A3: Gérard Vincent - Gérard Vincent Pas Gérard Vincent
- A4: Style - Playboy En Détresse
- B1: Pierre-Edouard - A Mon Age Déjà Fatigué
- B2: Casino - Pât Impérial
- B3: Bianca - La Fourmi
- B4: Trigo & Friends - La Dégaine
- B5: Hugues Hamilton - Je M'laisse Aller
- C1: Pascal Davoz - Cinéma
- C2: Anisette - Scratch Au Standard
- C3: Pilou - Ça Va
- C4: Henriette Coulouvrat - Miam Miam Goody
- D1: New Paradise - Easy Life
- D2: Gérard Vincent - Tas Qu'à Fermer Ta Gueule
- D3: Ich - Ma Vie Dans Un Bocal
- D4: Attaché Case - Les Crabes
- D5: Yannick Chevalier - Ecoute Le Son Du Soleilv
This is France in the Mitterrand years: fashions fleet as fast as governments. In the early eighties, the happy-go-lucky gather the nectar of each and every new release.
Believing in a bright future for videotex, and loosened up by the sexy talks broadcasted on the budding pirate radios, the new generation dreams of dance floors and holiday clubs. French Boogie, which preserves the spirit of these years of boodle and bunkum, is the ideal soundtrack to their dreams.
What the web now refers to as French Boogie is some synthetic funk reflecting the spirit of those days when nothing was impossible, or so it seemed. Its syncopated flow heralded the dawning of French rap. Often considered as some kind of post-disco, inspired as much by black music as by new wave, this carefree pop music with bawdy lyrics indulged in simple pleasures: holidays, swank and sun were recurrent themes. Totally in tune with its time, it incidentally glorified luxury, success, and a certain consumerism embodied, for instance, in Bernard Tapie.
In popular clubs such as La Main Bleue in Montreuil, or L'Echappatoire in Clichy-sous-Bois - where Micky Milan could be seen behind the decks - an enthusiastic audience discovered this new sonic wave, influenced as much by French pop as by Sugar Hill Gang or Kurtis Blow. The artists who first launched the movement engaged in it wholeheartedly, but as often the case with new music trends in France, humour and casualness quickly became a decoy to impose a new style. This explosive mixture, in which startling and typically Frenchy French lyrics go along New-York-style tunes, is sometimes reminiscent of the kinky comedies directed by Max Pécas or Claude Zidi. On this prolific scene, partly originating from the Jewish community, everybody was looking for success, trying to hit the jackpot with what was to hand. Famous media personalities, one-hit wonders or John Does in quest of fame, all had a go at French Boogie - more or less successfully. Apart from « Vacances j'oublie tout » by Elégance, « Un fait divers et rien de plus » by Le Club, or « Chacun fait ce qui lui plaît » by Chagrin d'amour (produced by Patrick Bruel), very few songs became hits: the story of funk in France is that of a half-baked robbery.
In this myriad of new musicians, the very young François Feldman and Phil Barney pioneered a fresh and hybrid style. Other well-known artists like Gérard Blanc from Martin Circus (Attaché Case), Richard de Bordeaux (Ich), or Jean-Pierre Massiera (Anisette, Pirate Scratch Band, Mandrake, Scratch Man...) added an eccentric touch to this sound-wave, making it often entertaining, and sometimes showy.
Capture d'écran 2015-10-26 à 12.55.43Singers like Agathe (the author of 'La Fourmi' and of the hit song 'Je ne veux pas rentrer chez moi seule') were far more than just window dressing. They even tried to give an ironic and subversive twist to this rather harmless genre. The very vindictive rebel Gérard Vincent shared in this spirit, but as a whole, French Boogie became associated with nonchalance and sauciness. Thus, Stéphane Collaro, Gérard Jugnot, Alain Gillot Pétré and other TV clowns would clumsily contribute to this French variation on funky sounds. In a few but intense years, French Boogie gave all the tips to party with style.
If some hits made it possible for the happy few to get a real house under truly exotic palm trees, the wave actually ebbed away very quickly, leaving quite a few musicians stranded on the shore. Whether they were sincerely motivated, or simply opportunistic, they had failed. In 1984, French Boogie was already breathless, and got merged with other genres: on the one hand, rap and breakdance adapted its flow to a more urban world, especially with Sydney's show, H.I.P.H.O.P, and Dee Nasty's broadcasts on Radio Nova; on the other, italo, new beat and house began to rule over dance floors, even more strongly asserting the will to develop music for clubs.
Squeezed in between the age of disco and that of modern electronic music, French Boogie was a transitional phase, but it remains an amazingly refreshing testimony to the intermingling of pop and underground cultures. The genre was hastily categorized as anecdotal in spite of its pioneering synthetic groove and matchless bass lines. An attentive ear will discover the poetry of the ephemeral beyond the eccentricities of the genre, as well as a certain unexpected avant-gardism. At the origin of major music trends, always cheerful and catchy, French Boogie is what you need to party.
Dhaze featured on Metroline Limited 76 (with Sabe) as well as on Amam, Little Helpers, Body Parts & more - Remix from Spanish producer Medu (Dissonant, Wavetech Ltd) Short info: For release number 80 we welcome back Italian producer Dhaze. Hailing from Rome, Dhaze started his self-thought experimentation with electronic music in 1996 when he bought his first sampler. His productions have seen the light of day on several undergound labels such as Amam, Little Helpers, Bla Bla, Body Parts, Inmotion and plenty more! Of course Dhaze has also already released on Metroline Limited, with fellow Italian producer Sabe, on the stunning Metroline Limited 76, Full Force EP. The EP opening is the 'explicit' Subatomic Pussy. The groove shuffles away with a clever use of drum patters and crispy hats. The mood is dark and disorienting, almost sinister with some crazy cavernous Green Velvet-esque vocal snippets that make their presence felt every now and then. And if the dark grooves of the openeing track weren't heavy enough, the following track, Waterdrip take the tension up a notch or two! The track is a relentless groovy monster, one for the darkest moments of a tech-house set but also suitable for the most obscure hours of Berghain! Not for the faint hearted! :) This time on remix duty we welcome Spanish producer Medu. Having loved his latest productions both on Dissonant and Wavetech Ltd we though about asking him to rework Subatomic Pussy and the result is excellent. Medu stripped Subatomic Pussy down to it bare elements but menaged at the same time to re-create a similarly hypnotic and driving peak time techno number! As we like our EP's to be 'all killers' and 'no fillers', to close this release in style we decided to include the incredible track 'Hardware In Love'




















