Lead track from their forthcoming EP, 'Colours' recalls the melodic boombast that Arcade Fire have made their own, bringing back memories of the 2006 vintage of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Cold War Kids with a little of the sunnier side of The Pixies and Pavement thrown in for good measure. The whole EP is wonderful, check it out and buy it here, its out on the 7th Feb.
Manchester band Dutch Uncles are the latest to emerge from a very strong Manchester scene that includes Everything Everything, Delphic, Hurts and Egyptian Hip-Hop. They have that pop end of post-punk feel of a Maximo Park, the lo-fi sentiments of The Research and the playful time signatures and stop-start nature of Hot Club de Paris. The track above, 'Face In' was originally released back in 2008 but they are re-releasing it on the back of their headline national tour on Feb 28th.
Not many tracks manage to achieve true organic growth anymore but 'Go Outside' by Cults has been one of them. Just a glance at blog aggregator the Hype Machine shows that a massive 161 blogs have posted this song steadily since March 2010, and its in the top 100 as I speak a whole 11 months later. Originally a free track it is now getting a full release and deserved attention from Radio 1 and 6Music, out on 11th Feb.
The track itself is a sunny piece of 60s inspired pop, exuberant girl-group vocals laid over a playful little xylophone and as addictive as it is timeless.
It's not often these days that you hear an electro track that has a completely fresh and unique sound but L.A. based duo Realboy have managed to pull it off. Sampling a 1946 Fred Astaire classic they have created an infectious electro-swing banger that you can take a listen to and download below. Check out their own blog here where they post all of their new tracks and mixes first.
What better way to follow some 1940's inspired electro with some with its roots in the 1950's? Drop The Lime continues his hot streak after last years 'Sex Sax' with this rockabilly-tinged number that gets an official release on the 30th January (pre-order the EP here). Set to be a massive hit, check the leather and Brylcreem in the video below and a free download of Digital Product's remix that adds a fidget to the swagger.
Temabes is a Russian producer from Moscow with a line in some bleeping progressive electro house. I've been digging his remixes for a while, he has a knack of turning banal chart hits into exciting club bangers. Obviously the source material for this remix is anything but banal but his remix of The Prodigy's 'Omen' drops the tempo a little yet retains all the energy of the original, extending its life in the process. He's got some big tracks of his own dropping on Beatport sometime during January so be sure to check there, as well as his Soundcloud account which has free downloads of virtually all of his remixes.
I can't link the download directly, but follow this link to get his Omen remix free.
Discovered through Annie Mac's wonderful freebie Winter Warmer mixtape here is a stunning track from The 2 Bears for you. Consisting of Hot Chip's Joe Goddard and Greco-Roman Soundsystem's Raf Rundell they have been receiving radio support from all over Radio 1 with Annie, Giles Peterson, Rob Da Bank and Toddla T all playing their songs regularly. 'Church' is a more wistful, laid back affair than some of their work and this video has to be one of the cutest things ever seen!
Now for a ridiculously entertaining piece of wonky techno, it is pretty much impossible not to smile along to this song, one of the most happy, bouncy instrumentals I've heard for a long time. It comes from Depressed Buttons who consist of three members of the long-running synth-punk outfit The Faint and is released on Mad Decent Records round about now. Links below, plus a bonus video from The Faint. And remember a depressed button is merely one that has just been turned on...
After a period of domination by Justice the mantle of the most powerful electro-house moment, the kind that works on absolutely any dancefloor was passed to Deadmau5 with 'Ghosts n Stuff' last year. This year Gartner's opus has taken that mantle. Teased and teased all year long with various clips and snippets appearing in his own sets and being leaked, he finally unleashed the definitive version in October after a reputed 300 hours of work on it.
9. Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette - Hello
Infectious to almost epidemic proportions 'Hello' was a stunning track from French producer Martin Solveig and Canadian synth-poppers Dragonette. Its bouncy, mesmerizing, funky and driving with its chunky bass, hypnotic synths and scattergun percussion. The tennis match between Solveig and Bob Sinclair in the video is completely real as well, actually filmed in front of 12,000 people at Roland Garros in Paris.
8. Don Diablo ft. Dragonette - Animale (Datsik Remix)
It seems like guest vocals from Dragonette is a sure fire way to get into this years top ten and this is another stunning track featuring that infectious voice. Datsik takes the seedy tones of Canadian DJ Don Diablo's original and washes it over with a further coating of smut and filth. The whomping bass drop comes crashing in before the 30 second mark and rarely lets up throughout the whole song, interspersed with the sounds of various lasers and computer game sound effects. The vocal is constantly peaking and a never-ending ball of energy, which pretty much sums up the whole track.
7. Swedish House Mafia - One (Congorock Remix)
The trio of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso have all had a number of successes by themselves over the past few years but as a collective they have absolutely destroyed all competition. The White Isle has virtually belonged to them the past two summers and in 'One' they have the most recognisable club hit of the year. The original is a classic in its own right, the Pharell featuring vocal version we'll do our best to ignore but the Congorock remix was just something else entirely.
6. Drop The Lime - Sex Sax
New York's Drop The Lime has always been on the peripheral of my tastes, his tracks always just lacking in something to make them stand out from the crowd. It turns out that something is a saxophone. Built around the sexiest of sax riffs, which loops and loops throughout the song, militant drum machines in the background, the bass pounds over head and cheeky wolf whistles and "aye! carumbas" inflict a sense of personality upon it. Originally just a DJ tool for his own sets, the reaction was so great that he had to develop into a full release and thank God he did.
5. Specimen A - Cold As Ice
A cover of Foreigner's 1980s hit and never likely to see a release outside of the artists Soundcloud page due to issues with the rights this is probably the rarest record on the list (even in these internet times). The bitch-slap of a vocal soars even higher on this version, the piano as present and mesmerizing as ever but it is that bass drop that echoes the vocal pattern that puts this so high upon our list. It's tracks like this that make Embargo what it is, tracks that you never hear anywhere else. An absolute monster.
4. Cherry Ghost - Finally (Time and Space Machine Re-Edit)
A remix of a cover of a classic. Cherry Ghost take CeCe Peniston's belting club smash and tone it down, turning into a different beast entirely. It becomes wistful and mourning in their hands, coming across as a brooding mid-80s classic. Every single listen brings more and more and this has without doubt been the track I have played the most to myself in the past couple of months since its release.
3. Mark Ronson and The Business International ft. Boy George & Andrew Wyatt - Somebody To Love Me
The talent involved simply in the writing of this song is testament to its pop perfection. Written by a team of writers in the manner of all those classic Motown duets that it emulates, this was penned by Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, Cathy Dennis, Anthony Rossomando (of Dirty Pretty Things & Klaxons) and Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow. Wyatt's duet with Boy George is note perfect, the formers pristine falsetto balancing the latter's unmistakable voice, the 80's star's most powerful performance for years, if not ever. Tinged with emotion and melancholy, a tale of heartbreak and longing, full of regret and and soul-searching. The most beautiful song of the year, this is destined to become a timeless masterpiece, its power growing with each passing year. In fifty years time our children and grandchildren will be think of this as we do Marvin & Tammi or Ike & Tina.
2. DJ Fresh - Gold Dust (Flux Pavillion Remix)
The DnB crossover of the original was one of the big summer hits, reaching the levels of success that Shy FX used to enjoy all those years ago. The remix by Flux Pavilion was even better, managing to hold the upbeat vibe of the original while twisting it to incredibly dark places indeed. If you were lucky enough to be at Embargo the week before Christmas you'd have witnessed Flux himself jump onto the decks to play this for you, undoubtedly the biggest track of the year on the dancefloor.
1. Foals - Spanish Sahara (Deadboy Remix)
And now to my track of the year. It may not have reached the dancefloor all that often purely because of its length and the extended intro, without which the song just does not have the same impact. You simply need to have the full nine minutes to fully appreciate its power and beauty. The original was the centrepiece, the heartbeat of Foals' stunning second album - Yannis' voice sounding more fragile and emotive than ever before. Deadboy takes this vocal and slowly builds and builds upon it, layer upon layer of sound to create an epic masterpiece. After a minute the clacking beat come through, a mechanical clicking enters as we hit the second minute, replaced by the synths for the third minute. Four and a half minutes the sad organs appear, teasingly building until ravey stabs emerge thirty seconds later transcending the melancholy into a euphoric Chicago House feel. Listen to this as loud as you possibly can, its by far the best nine minutes you'll spend all year.
Built around a hypnotic, ear-popping riff straight from the off, rave horns come in around the minute mark before that huge Warp-esque drop ten seconds later which just builds and builds until the pressure drops. That riff has an undeniable groove that marks this above your average noise led banger.
19. Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
Sometimes a band appears out of nowhere with a debut single that is just so perfectly formed that you almost urge them to call it a day instantly and leave us with this as their defining legacy. A simple shuffling beat, bouncy Brian Wilson bassline line, chillwave surfy guitars, muffled vocals that sound like they have been recorded through an intercom, whistling. Whistling, like handclaps and cowbells, is always good. It sounds like early MGMT, like Empire Of The Sun, like Peter, Bjorn & John. It could fit amongst the most playful moments of Blur, or Beck. In fact it could fit in with almost every great pop song ever.
18. Katy B ft. Ms Dynamite - Lights On (Skream Remix)
Katy B has probably been the breakthrough artist of the year and the defining voice of 2010. Taking the underground sounds of dubstep and funky and pushing them into the mainstream like never before and it was a toss up between this and the Benga produced 'On A Mission' for her entry into this years top 100. Her sweet vocal juxtaposes perfectly with comeback queen Ms Dynamite's more aggressive take and Skream's production on the remix is as dark and atmospheric as ever, the elastic, bouncing bass line untouchable.
17. The Chemical Brothers - Swoon (Lindstrom & Prins Thomas Remix)
The best song that The Chemical Brothers have released for years, 'Swoon' is a hazy, sun-soaked tale of romantic bliss. In the hands of Lindstrom & Prins Thomas it becomes a nine-minute stretched out disco odyssey that has that amazing power to feel like a three minute pop song. Everything disco needs is present, squelching slap bass, organs, piano and handclaps. It's sensuality is key, you won't need to remember to fall in love with this.
16. Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi - Tightrope
It is no surprise that Monae has such tight links to Outkast, her conceptual, sci-fi obsessed R&B shares so many ideas with the early ideas of the duo and her approach to eschewing the usual record company designed route that all female stars must follow aligns her with another star with close Outkast links, Erykah Badu. 'Tightrope' is about poise and balance, about the self-confidence Monae has to carry off her outlandish vision. She blends the rat-a-tat delivery that her mentor Big Boi has made his trademark with seamless transitions into classic soul-diva wails. The tongue-in-cheek rhymes are delivered with outstanding ease, within seconds she couples 'alligators' with 'rattlesnakers' (I know that shouldn't work, but believe me it does) and 'another flavour' with 'Terminator'. This is the best R&B track since Amerie's '1 Thing'.
15. Professor Green - Monster (T.E.E.D. Remix)
It's those Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs again, this time taking a fairly innocuous hit from Professor Green and turning into a dancefloor smash. Green had made his breakthrough by releasing a string of singles that were heavily reliant on ubiquitous samples (and Lily Allen) and Monster was his attempt to stand on his own two feet. It missed the boat, showing that the Brit-rap thing was all a little turgid and out of ideas (the video basically comes across as a sketch-show parody of an early Enimem hit). To take such a dull track and turn into the absolute behemoth that this is shows just how good TEED are.
14. Doctor P - Sweet Shop
Opening like a old-skool rave track, Doctor P begs us to take it higher before unleashing the mother of all screeching, industrial wobbles. While Katy B and Magnetic Man were disturbing the charts this became the dubstep hit of the summer for all those rudeboys riding around all summer in their hot hatches, looking for the filthiest, dirtiest track they could find to disturb all the pensioners on the sidewalks. It's not clever, but it is BIG.
13. Magnetic Man - I Need Air (Digital Soundboy Remix)
For all the production genius of Magnetic Man it may be a little controversial to think that their best moment of this year was actually a remix of one of their songs. The album is outstanding, the legacy it will have on UK bass culture without doubt but to me this remix by Digital Soundboy just added something extra.
12. Big Boi ft. Cutty - Shutterbug
Much as Janelle Monae's track was the best R&B track for years, in my opinion this was the best hip-hop track for years. It has the invention that the genre has forgotten in its quest for the ultimate unit-shifting ring tone hook. It's an electro bass club anthem, a genre-hopping funk jam. It has Big Boi switching pace and tone effortlessly, the requisite old-school references, honeyed backing vocals and an appearance from Andre 3000. In short it has everything.
11. Rusko ft. Amber Coffman - Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)
Last years don of dubstep, Rusko, released his debut album this to year to huge critical acclaim. The inspired decision to feature Dirty Projector's Amber Coffman on vocals meant this became a genre-transcending classic. Sub Focus' D&B beat cuts between the soaring atmospherics, the breakdown becomes a huge build of old-skool rave and the drop screams with Rusko's trademarks.
The Spanish band's blend of traditional Basque folk instruments with drum loops, heavy synths, and lifting vocals has made them one fo the most interesting bands to break out of Europe in the past few years. This remix of their hyper-manic pop tech gem by Tek-One begins with throbbing bass before the drum break switches the whole thing into a huge wobbling mess in the best way possible.
Darwin Deez - Radar Detector
Looking at things purely for the indie dancefloor this is probably the track of the year in that sense. The work of a mysterious, enigmatic New Yorker, 'Radar Detector' was as cheerful and bouncy as it gets that sounds like a lost Strokes session from around the time of their first album.
Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill (aka Ring Ring)
The voice is almost child-like, sounding like it was recorded in a cardboard box somewhere in the corner of a studio yet manages to be so sweet, classic girl-group pop. The delivery is almost rapping yet with an air of such self-confidence, singing over a Funkadelic sample in the manner of all those classic 1980s rap artists. This is why Sleigh Bells are such a special band, they are unclassifiable. Indie-rock, girl-pop, hip-hop, funk samples, rave motifs, everything is contained within the fuzz and feedback.
DJ Zinc & Ms Dynamite - Wile Out
Teh title of the years best comeback must surely go to Ms Dynamite. Completely forgotten since her 2002 Brit & MOBO award winning debut she returned to claim the crown as the go-to girl for UK bass culture. Zinc is another artist who had his commercial peak in the garage days of ten years ago but he has always been bubbling away as one of the most innovative producers in the background, constantly evolving his sound to stay at the top the the tree. This is the sound of his patented crack house and was one of the most special moments in music this year.
Carte Blanche - Gare Du Nord
Another of this years trend of producers collaborating, Carte Blanche is DJ Medhi & Riton. Their name means having the freedom to do what you please and this track is the sonic encapsulation of such. As should be expected from Ed Banger artists this is about as French as it gets and when the French make electro they always get it right.
Flux Pavilion - Haunt You
We've already spoke about how Flux Pavilion has been one of our favourite producers of the year and after he turned up at Embargo last Tuesday and asked to play a few records I can only hold him in the highest regard. This screaming, haunting track is my personal favourite.
Gorillaz ft. Daley - Doncomatic (Joker Remix)
Each Gorillaz project always brings out some incredible guest vocalists, sometimes discovering one along the way. The stand out moment of their album this year was the incredible 'Doncomatic' largely due to the stunning vocal performance from Daley. Here Joker gets involved and drops the bass, increasing the tension while never losing the power of that vocal. This my friends, is how to remix.
Marina & The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot (Doorly Remix)
Doorly produced my number one track of last year with his remix of Temper Trap's 'Sweet Disposition' and he places high again this year with a more, yet just as powerful mix of Marina. Like the Joker remix above, Doorly shows that sometimes you have to keep the power of the vocal intact and build a remix around it, that often its the space inbetween the beats that is as important. Oh and to let the drum beat drop...
Afrojack ft. Eva Simons - Take Over Control (Adam F Remix)
Afrojack's most commercial moment of this year was not really to my liking in its original form, a little too reminicent of big room cheesy house from a few years ago. Fortunately Adam F stepped up and drove it back underground with a screeching dub beat that made it so much more powerful.
Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
After touring with Deadmau5 all year (and seemingly influencing the sound parts of his new album, '4+4=12'), Skrillex suddenly had a huge breakthrough in the latter part of this year, at one point holding 8 of the top 10 on Beatport. His inimitable style is pure filth from the very first second to last and on a loud system this track just has to be heard to be believed.
