Went to see Michael Mayer on thursday evening at the, without a doubt, best venue in Copenhagen, Culture Box. In short it was extremely hot, sweltering hot, molten lava hot - seriously, sweat was flying everywhere (Danish summer apparently a force to be reckoned with these days!). A rather timid looking Mayer took the stage (or booth) at around 02:00 and sent an enthusiastic crowd mad. I was rather curious as to whether the Copenhagen audience would embrace the co-Kompakt founder as the true genius he is, but luckily my worries were proven wrong.
The musical hightlight for me was probably when he played Erol Alkan's great remix of Hot Chip's Boy from School. The long build up seemed to fit the up until then rather minamal based set really well. When the vocals set in at around 1:03 into the number you are transported. The fragile vocals of Hot Chip actually might offer the new direction for minimal techno which could propel it (further?) into the public mainstream, which would be fun.
The Junior Boys make interesting music. A low write-up by any means, but that's how it is. They were once famously described as: "the greatest band you've never heard." - Not bad for a duo making semi-ambient, cold and melancholic electronica.
Hailing from Canada, the duo have toured their last album Last Exit around the world and I was lucky enough to met them at their last visit in Denmark a couple of years ago, when they played at Rust. Surprisingly friendly and a bit shy, they were hoping the Roskilde Festival booker in the crowd would like them. Apparently he/she didn't, which was a loss.
Now they are ready to hit the world again, hopefully becomming more than just the greatest unknown band. Their new album So This Is Goodbye will be released sometime soon, come early fall at latest on the Domino label. The fact that I'm mentioning the album is also a point in itself. These guys are one of the few electronic acts who actually make whole albums worth listening to (Or at least one, until now).
And now the tunes:
First song is first track of their new album Double Shadow, a brilliant bass-ladden lumbering giant. Sounding a bit like a left out gem from the Booka Shade album this could be great with a few nob twiddles from the right remixer. If this song is anything to go by, I think this album could blast the Junior Boys into popular mainstream - at least the cool part of it!
Second song is a workout from Morgan Geist on the track The Equaliser. Adding a discofeel to the boys, Geist turns this into a slow creeping dancefloor assasin. The quality of Geist's remix is that he finds and underlines the link between The Junior Boys and The Knife. Something which becomes obvious when hearing this bass filled remix. Junior Boys - The Equalizer (Morgan Geist Graphic Mix) Get this great single here
New design - Same music! To celebrate the new design, here is a couple of current Distortion Disco favorites, and some of the best dance tunes so far this year:
All of them have one thing in common, they absolutely rock - if you don't have them, you are missing out! They have been heavy on the stereo during the new Distortion Disco design stage, and they should be heavy on your stereo as well, so with no further delay:
So what to write about these steady captains on the proud ship "HMS Gay Disco Mayhem"? I was rather old before I sort of got the idea behind the Pet Shop Boys. Of course Go West is an instant classic, but for some reason I never really got their over-the-top concept of pop. I'm not going to give a precise date, since I don't know it myself. It probably boils down to the fact that when good pop commands you to dance, something eventually dawns on you.
The 'Boys have just released their new Trevor Horn produced Fundamental, a powerful dosis disco for the mainstream radioes. For some reason they have become really cool again, don't know why, but they've got the cool guys remixing them and they have done a remix of Madonna. You can't really ask for more right? I bet whatever would want more, they would have it! I strongly urge you to get their new album with the limited bonus disc which has some really banging remixes! Checkout Wikipedia for a really thorough biography by the way.
The tunes? Well here's a couple of the remixes:
First one is Distortion Disco favorite Richard X, starting of with synth strings you are transported into the role of the princess at the gay prince's palace. Suddenly there is bass! You start into the best disco moves ever witnessed by man! Richard X manages to turn all the right dials to make this song even more Pet Shop Boys than the actual boys themselves. Pet Shop Boys - Fugitive (Richard X Extended Remix) Get the album here
Second song is by the Danish sheriff of electronica Trentemøller! The Sodom and Gomorra Show gets the minimal treatment, but then mutates into an electro punk monster. Enjoy that bass line! From there we get more strings, more pop and a breakdown! Distortion Disco loves a good breakdown, thus this song scores high. Pet Shop Boys - The Sodom and Gomorrah Show (Trentemøller Remix) Get more boys here
Make way for da, Make way for da, Make way for the S-O-V! Sorry, had to write it, still one of the best self-introductions by an artist ever. Since Random, Lady Sovereign has been a favorite of mine. Delightfully chav, extremely talented and funny. As mentioned in the Roskilde post, I was lucky enough to catch her at the Roskilde Festival. An excellent concert, with a suprisingly enthusiastic crowd. Just goes to show how much power the internet has these days.
It's hard to add anything new to the Lady S. saga, you all know it - So here the extreme digest: Grime queen Louise Harman left school, did small raps with Windows recording thingie, got big via internet and pirate radio. Signed to Def Jam last year. Oh yeah, and dissed Jentina along the way! Respect to Jay-Z for seeing talent when it's there!
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes Sovereign so good. Her voice though has an amazing presence, neatly demonstrated at the Roskilde concert where, despite being quite diminutive stature, she was really able to fill up the stage. I think in terms of mass, this was the smallest concert at Roskilde, but in terms of attitude and mayhem one of the biggest. I am really looking forward to the new album, and so should you. Buy it when it's released!
So time to get random:
First tune is bouncy new single Love Me or Hate Me the prealbum single. The sound is obviously Def Jam influenced, and you can clearly hear that the songs is meant to break her on the American market. Love her or hate her you can't avoid forming some oppinion when hearing this tune. Musically this song works as well - distorted bass drum and a good synth! Verdict: Love her!
Second song is the Hoodie getting a Spank Rock reworking. Seriously I can't overstate how hot Spank Rock are. Extremely talented, they bring the Sov to new hights! The song is all over the place, a zillion samples running in the background, old skool drums, and added raps! Funny thing is the chorus, which sound like there is an old C64 game running in the background. Interesting!
The other song today is his recent single Moisture remixed by Mustapha 3000 (Erol Alkan again). Like Everybody it sports this great mix between rock and electronic music with some decidedly Alkan'ish breakdowns along the way. This song shows Headmans strengths as a dance tune maestro - It's not only easy to hear his relationship with fellow Gomma guys Whomadewho, but also with !!!.
Do you remember when you heard that near legendary mixtape by Diplo: "Piracy Funds Terrorism!" - How great was that? Electronic-Hip-Hop-Grime-Pop mayhem. The mixes were done with that marvelous sense of what's cool and what's not.
Chris Rockwell and XXXChange the DJ's of Spank Rock (If you haven't get Rick Rubin of their Myspace!) have pulled a small Diplo with their killer fifteen minutte bonanza of a mixtape.
This mixtape, a tad old, whips or spanks yo' ass on to the dancefloor where it wants you to dance like an electro robot high on crack!
I don't think you can get this little baby anywhere in physical form so three cheers for the internet - Enjoy:
So another festival has seen its ending. This years Roskilde Festival was in my oppinion nothing less than great. The weather was really good, with only some heavy rain on monday 3 days before the actual music.
As is tradition RF featured a pre-festival stage upon which the local nordic talent gets a chance to shine. I visited it only once, to see Danish band Nordstrøm, which didn't rock my world, but did put on a decent show. I still rank Berlin as one the best Danish singles for a long time.
On thursday, following some heavy drinking, Pillaging, and football, I went to see The Editors. I hadn't really heard any of their tunes beforehand, but I was pleasently surprised to hear their Interpool/Joy Division brand of dark rock. Probably not a band that I will spend ages over, but all in all they were a pretty interesting band. From there it was on to music-geek darlings Who Made Who at the Metropol stage. Wearing full body animal suits Whomadewho delivered an excellent party - Amazing how many people still love Satisfaction! After the delightful disco-punk of Whomadewho I listened to a bassheavy gutkicking dj-set by Distortion Disco favorite Justice, the obvious crowdpleaser was of course Never be Alone, the devasting dancefloor bomb that can't and won't die:
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