So I went to the previously mentioned Soulwax thing in Den Grå Hal in Christiania. The gig was free courtesy of some jeans manufacturer which meant that the 600 capacity venue was pretty packed about an hour after the doors were opened. For people in Copenhagen it looked like a really good opportunity to strut their stuff and do some posing.
(A small note about the picture. Look closely and you will see the ghost version of one of my friends in there.)
The venue itself is a big hall and for the night huge screens were placed on each wall to shower the crowd in cool graphics and subliminal messages. (MUST BUY JEANS NOW)
Before Soulwax took the stage at about 23:00, the rather excellent Boys Noize did a warm up Dj set which didn't produce the level of enthusiasm that it should among the crowd. The setlist was heavy on their own remixes mixed with some killer tunes - I was actually really well entertained by the set.
Soulwax took the stage all dressed in complete white and managed to have a bit of Kraftwerk going for them. I found the show pretty good, highlights being a cover of Tomas Anderssons Washing Up, and of course the Nancy Wang vocal version E talking, which rocked - You simply can't help but play the air-bass to this song! The show was pretty quick which meant that people didn't really get a chance to get into the music. I think a lot of people were there expecting to hear the dj antics of the 2 Many Dj's part of Soulwax. Still I enjoyed it and I really look forward to seeing them doing something with Justice on Roskilde Festival in a months time.
After Soulwax concert, 2Many Dj's did a rocking dj-set, the highlight for me being a really good mix of Franz Ferdinand and Les Rythmes Digital. Sometimes it just falls into spot!
First song is a Boys Noize remix of the Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I love You less and less, which is basically how I feel about the Kaiser Chiefs' original version of the song. The Boys Noize really go to town with vocal, shifting tempo and pitch giving it a silly, but pretty cool sound none the less. The song is basically turned from wanna-be arty into mono synth and drum machine delight - Enjoy!
Second song is from the Nite Versions record by Soulwax. The theme of the album is remixes of their album Any Minute Now done by themselves. This song is NY Excuse taken to a whole new level - The new title of the song is referring to the fact that their is quite clear signs of Lipps Inc.'s classic Funkytown. Listen to the bass line and the guitar at about 2:30 into the song.
Berghain - formidable fortress of techno and house! I was in Berlin this weekend and of course had to go to Berghain which had an awesome programme (as usual). Booka Shade at 03:00, Vitalic at 05:00, not to mention Richardo Villalobos at some point during the following afternoon. They actually party for over 24 hours straight! (or is that gay?). Besides having some of the coolest DJ's in Europe and probably one of the biggest soundsystems, Berghain also offers some of the most aggresive gay clubbing that I have witnessed - Besides free condoms in the bar, there is actually free rubber gloves - Now that's gay!
The music was as mentioned really good this evening, both Booka Shade and Vitalic playing live (We didn't stick around for Villalobos, we're only human after all). I had my fears that Booka Shade would be a bit boring live - Their album being a bit leaned back and more suited for background music than for actual dancing. How wrong I was. Their live set featured live drumming and a lot of knob and dial twiddling and generally they were really good at breaking down and building up. Playing in the Panorama Bar part of Berghain, the room was packed and people went wild! Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier as Booka Shade are known when of work are also the masterminds of the Get Physical label which also is the home of M.A.N.D.Y.
The songs I have decided to post today are both of the new album Movements which has received rave reviews! Body Language is the single which is nothing less than awesome, live having an added bass drum! This was their second last song on the evening probably the highlight of their show - the ravers just went mental. When listening pay especially notice to the melody line of the synth-bass which is simply beautiful.
Second song is Paper Moon which sounds like it could have real cross over potential, something which actually could push Booka Shade into the popular mainstream a la Röyksopp. The melody reminds me of some UK garage number which name I don't remember. The key to this tracks is the absolute pleasure it induces, you simply can't help but smile and bump your head when the almost silly vocal sounds enter the musical picture.
Besides Booka Shade there was as mentioned also the mighty Vitalic. I think the best way to describe Vitalic is to note that if you had a couple of speakers blaring out Vitalic mounted on top of a tank you would be invincible - The ultimate weapon! The sound of Vitalic Aka Pascal Arbez is that of heavy heavy house, techno and rock mixed. It's a constant beating of your gut, but in a good way! The show in Berghain was also that. You had the feeling that you were lying in fetus position on the dancefloor while a huge Dance Commander was kicking you in the stomach, yelling: "Dance Motherf****r, Thats an order!" Vitalic rocked the mainfloor in Berghain, which was the ultimate setting for this character, the big synths came to their right in the huge room. Though I was pretty caught up in the momement I think that people generally enjoyed Vitalic, if not, their loss.
I'm only going to post one song by Vitalic - An old must-have which sounds like every song known to man, made to have sex in a blender with a nuclear dance bomb! It is of course La Rock! This is the perfect peak time record, the song that has to be played just when you think the party can't possibly get any better!
Today we look at young Nathan Fake (Actually his birthname... Mental note: Get cool surname!). Nathan is twenty two years old and from England and is one of the many "man of the minute" guys. He made a name for himself way back in 2004 with the single Outhouse released on James Holdens Border Community Label and has since done various remixes and a couple of other records.
The two tracks on offer today are taken from Fake's recent album Drowning In A Sea Of Love. The album takes a step away from the usually techy sounds of Border Community into more ambient waters.
First track of the day is a great soundtrack for a sunny picnic. Pounding kick-drums nowhere to be found - instead washes of lazy, lush synthizisers and easy beats create a romatic summery feel.
It seems like Nathan Fake has a love for huge synths. The next one is all about the absolutely massive layers of sound that jump out of the speakers half a minute into the song. A bit reminicent of M83 or even early nineties shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine. Only not as grumpy.
Finally! Barça are back on top where they belong. Though this blog is not dedicated to football, you have to give respect where respect is due - My favorite team outside of Denmark are now the European Champions. The final itself was not worth watching, but Barça have played some of the most beautiful football ever during this tournament, so all in all Barca are the just champions.
The song today is the hymn of FC Barçelona, the rallying call for Catalan football fans. Don't ask me what the lyrics are about. All I can make out is the cry Barça Barça Barça, and something about the colours of the jersey. Anyway here is a few minutes of goosebumps for glory of Barça:
Tot el camp es un clam som la gent blaugrana, tant se val d'on venim, si del sud o del nord, ara estem d'acord, estem d'acord, una bandera ens agermana. Blau grana al vent, un cret valent, tenim un nom, el sap tothom: BARCA! BARCA! BARCA!
Jugadors, seguidors Tots units fem forca son molts anys plans d'afanys, son molts gols que hem critdat, I s'ha demostrat , s'ha demostraat, que mai ningu no ens podra torcer. Blau grana al vent, un crit valent, tenim un nam, el sap tothom: BARCA! BARCA! BARCA!
Today we go downunder to Australia to look at The Presets. It's a rocking electro duo who are on the same label as Cut Copy. Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes as they are known among their friends, probably, both have a background in classical music, which might be from where they draw their ear for technics of a good tune.
“By day we battled with Beethoven, Stockhausen and 18th century harmony, by night we were out dancing to the Pet Shop Boys, New Order and Acid House.”Julian said in a recent interview. This clearly shows in their defiant sound which draws inspiration from all over the board. If you had to group them though you would probably put them in some sort of electro / electroclash box, but who needs groups?
Apperantly their live shows follow a similiar route with a lot of drama and costumes and what not! .... Hmmm so what I'm saying is that they are the new scissor sisters? This of course would not be fair to either band, but they do have the same power to make you want to dance, something which, as mentioned ealier, is something I rate highly.
First song of the day is Are you the one, which they describe as "English soccer hudlum meets brazilian house music" - whether true or not should make you want to hear this song. It has an infectious chorus and a nice pounding beat! The song is the first single of their new album released last month and it sounds a bit like Captain Comatose. Enjoy this at max volume:
Second song has also gotten a single release. It's Girl and the Sea in a Captain Comatose remix and its great. The synths in this songs are to die for and if things were as they should be in this world every song would feature synths like this. This song though does not sound distinctly Comatose, but it rocks anyway. The Presets - Girl and The Sea (Captain Comatose Remix) Get it here
Just a small post today, since I have a huge headache and have to travel 5 hours on a train to see my parents.
Soulwax are doing a thing in Copenhagen next week, for free! I urge everyone to go see them. The title of the events is Radio Soulwax presents Nite Versions Live, 2 Many DJ, so I assume that they are going to do a dj-set or something like that. Hopefully heavy on their actually briliant Nite Versions record that was released last year. The picture todays is the cover, looking at it doesn't exactly cure my headache - see if you can spot the title of the album.
Anyway to give everyone a taste of the wonderful world of Soulwax, here is an older dj-set that rocks. A thing to look out for is the non-discriminatory use of genres - There should be something for everyone in this little hour’s worth of entertainment:
01 Salt n' pepa vs. The Stooges "Push it like a dog" (Soulwax remix) 02 Felix da Housecat "Silver Screen Shower Scene" 03 Bobby O "She has A Way" 04 Bobby O "Im so hot for you" 05 Madonna "Vogue" 06 Daft Punk "Aerodynamic" 07 The Beatles "Sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band" 08 808 state "Flow Coma" (AFX remix) 09 Lio "Anour Solitaire" 10 Missy Elliott "Lick Shots" 11 Elastica "Connection" 12 Basement Jaxx vs. The Clash "Maginificent Romeo" (Soulwax remix) 13 The Jamie Starr Scenario "Welcome To The Light" 14 The Jacksons "State of Shock" 15 World's Famous Dj Team "Radio Promo" 16 The Beach boys "God Only Knows" (a capella) 17 Michael Jackson "Billie Jean" 18 Carlos Morgan "Shake Your Body Down" 19 Nasty Habits "Shadow Boxing" 20 B52's vs. Natural Born Chillers "Rock The Funky Beat" 21 Alpha Wezen "Into the Stars" (Firebirds remix) 22 David Bowie "Modern Love" 23 Kenny Loggins "Footloose" 24 Hairy Diamond "Givin' Up" 25 Freelance Hellraiser "Stroke of genius" 26 Kosheen "Hide U" 27 Nas "Hate me now" 28 T99 "Anasthasia" 29 Marilyn Manson "The Beautiful People" 30 Janis Jay "Fly Too High" 31 The Spice Girls "Wannabee" 32 Girls On Top "We don't give a damn about our friends" 33 Notorious b.i.g. "Hypnotized" 34 Dj Kool "Let Me Clear My Throat" (Dj Lbr remix) 35 Breakestra "Cramp Your Style" 36 Hanayo "Joe le Taxi" 37 Klien & Mbo "Dirty Talk" 38 New Order "Blue Monday"/"The Beach" 39 Basement Jaxx "Jus 1 kiss" 40 Chemical Brothers "It Began in Afrika" 41 The Disco Boys feat. Rb "Born To Be Alive" (Felix da Housecat remix) 42 Bentley Rhythm Ace "How'd i Do Dat" (Chicken lips remix) 43 The Microbop Ensemble "Groove Baby" 44 Domino "Up the par" 45 Destiny's Child vs. Nirvana "Smells like booty" (Soulwax remix) 46 Dukbreakz "Dubbreaks" 47 Darkus "The Wisemen Speech" 48 Lazy Dogz "I Don't Care" 49 Ladytron "Playgirl" (soulwax remix) 50 Paul Simon "Late in the Evening"
"Drug Pete has landed!" This was the headline of Danish tabloid paper Ekstra Bladet a few days ago. The headline of course referred to the young ex-libertine and his problems in managing a heavy drug use and 'cocaine' Kate Moss - Hmm come to think of it, no one would probably be able to manage that.
The problem with this headline of course is that it did not mention the fact that it was actually Pete Doherty’s new band Baby Shambles who had landed and who were going to give two concerts in Denmark.
I was lucky enough to catch them yesterday in Vega in Copenhagen after they were moved to a bigger venue to satisfy popular demand. I openly admit that I only went to see the Giraffe and not because of my knowledge of their music, actually I'm not particular fond of this peculiar sort of British rock. Because the band were a bit late I had a good chance to check out the crowd - most of them being rather young - I'm guessing 15-16 years or there abouts. These younglings who proceeded to give quite a good show during the actual concert hailed sympathetic Pete Doherty as the George Barlow of the indie rock scene.
Doherty and band gave a really good concert, to my big surprise. The songs were good, the bass-player looked like Joe Strummer, Doherty was extremely patient with the hail of crap thrown at him and the level of rock and roll demonstrated was simply terrific.
My total lack of knowledge of the musical catalogue of Baby Shambles is reflected in my total lack of creativity in my choice of todays songs
First song is Fuck Forever which live had a really reggae-ish beat going - fitting when one thinks of the Clash paraphrasing death or glory theme of the song. It was easily the song which got the best response and an effective set closer. The stabbing guitars of the studio version were sadly lacking, but a good song none the less.
Second song is Albion, a slow paced acoustic number. Although I prefer the tempo of Fuck Forever this song also has its charmes. The live version was probably the high point of whatever buzz Doherty had going yesterday evening. Amazingly it seemed to underline the drunken attitude of the song that Doherty was unable to sing into the mic for most of this song (Actually not his fault, the mic stand was malfunctioning, like both of their guitars and a few other things). Anyway enjoy this trip to Albion:
The guys on the left are two fourths of French pop sensation Phoenix - alround nice guys with a remarkable ear for making a catchy tune.
The picture, though not taken by me, is from Danish concert hall Vega and I was in the audience. The concert was really good and they came of as really sympathetic, albiet a bit too un-edgy at times. On the other hand who cannot like a band who has made souch ace tunes as If I Ever Feel Better, Too Young,and Everything is Everything. Actually everything is a good description of what makes Phoenix so good at their particular brand of pop. It is almost impossible to find something which one can call a fault or lacking in Phoenix, besides affore mentioned lack of edga, but hey, they're French - They don't need edge!
Todays two songs are from the album to be released on the 15. this month. It's going to be brilliant and I strongly urge you to buy it.
First song is Lost and Found, a typical Phoenix song with its laid back tempo. The song demonstrates a new found edge (Edge in the sense that the sounds of phoenix normally reminds the listener of butter) and lets the drums have more prominence than in previous songs.
The second song of the day is yet another gem from the new album - This could also be a good bet for a single release. Sounds a bit like a new version of Too young which of course is nothing to complain about. This tune is instantly catchy, you get pictures of trendy people dancing at some private party in your head - oh how cool they are.
These guys are so good! Toronto based MSTRKRFT is made up from Jeese Keeler from Death From Above 1979 and Al-P from Girlsareshort. Their trick or stunt is making the indie kids dance to electro and house without thinking they are losing some of their oh so important indie-cred!
"Everyone's over Pearl Jam and Jeff Buckley," says Keeler. "You can go cry by yourself People want to have a good time, not sit at home listening to 'Even Flow.'" - How true this is! For some reason a lot of people are really genre specific, something which is nothing more than a musical loss for them, and painfully annoying when you're dj'ing. MSTRKRFT is a big merry 'fuck you' to genres - the only criteria that needs to be fulfilled is that it rocks (Not in the rock genre sense, but in the 'whoaaa this fucking rocks! -sense).
This of course has not gone unnoticed by many a label around the world, and thus many rock bands are trying to tap into the electronica credibility that these guys offer:
Example A: The Panthers. MSTRKRFT adds a really thumping bass, sounding like a mix between Justice and DFA1979. Above the really well produced drums, the guitars ride the electronic malstrom like bolts of lightning - This is what a good dancetune is all about!
Example B: Bloc Party. These guys are already big, and actually not that concerned with genres. Their take on post-punk mixed with classic British virtues have already taken the dancefloors with storm. That though is no reason not to turn up the electronic factor with about 100%! Ready, set, rock!
Bonus: Because of the relative slow posts lately I have decided to post a small bonus: The unfinished version of Paris, their new single. Out one of these days, you can listen to the full version on their MyPage. It's going to be a nuclear dancefloor bomb!
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