So I’ve a little bit of a change of pace to bring to you kids here (for me at least). Its this slightly glitchy remix of a rock number set over to us by Plim Souls. Its one of those tracks that isn’t gonna blow up a dance floor, but when it it finds its way into your play list you’ll get so caught up in the moment the next 5 minutes of your life is nothing but total auditory immersion. Its in the same frame of mind as the To Strings remix of Sufjan’s “Chicago” which, coming from me, is a big complement.
We can bring you this track because of yet another instances of a major label screwing over good music for the sake of bad pop tracks! Thanks guys, we love you! Keep making poor decisions so that we can provide exposure to good artists.
Check out more from Plim Souls via their DanceSpace: http://www.myspace.com/dancewithplimsouls
There’s a bunch of really solid dance style tracks up on there as well so its sure not to disappoint.
In the few years that Resonator’s existed, we’ve seen a handful of bands that we championed end up in that cloudy, depressing void of “not broken up, but not creating” murky ether. We’ve listened to a lot of singles, chattered incessantly at 3 A.M. about the majesty of tracks (”She waits for me” comes to mind immediately), drunkenly stumbled home at one in the morning after paying no more than 99 cents for two hours of music that we’d then blog about with great fervor, only to have the band responsible disappear into stasis.
If I mentioned how heartbroken I get these days when I look back at our 2005 and 2006 playlists, I’d bemoan for the next hundred words to the point of composing an entirely new Jackson Browne song. As such, I’ll instead re-frame this by mentioning what a refreshing surprise it was when a full-length album by Temposhark, alums of Future Next Big Thing Class of 2006, crossed my desk recently.
These boys, Rob and Luke. were responsible for one or two toss-off electrorock singles that never really immersed themselves in my consciousness the way that, oh, the music of Rock Kills Kid did, and truth be told they didn’t really stand much of a chance way back when for iTunes playlist time on my now-defunct Powerbook. As such, other than a cerebral knowledge of what the Temposhark sound reads like on paper, I came to the songs on The Invisible Line with an empty, open mind.
And I can’t be thankful enough that I did.
My first few times through The Invisible Line were listening through headphones on a discman (kids, once upon a time we didn’t have iPods!), and I was immediately struck by how cinematic the slick, synthetic orchestration that holds forefront through the entire album is. The teasing, taunting come-on of an album opener “Don’t Mess With Me” is meant to be played over a film’s opening credits, but it also serves as an opening scene of sorts for what Temposhark’s presenting herein. I’m told that older, more raw songs, like “Joy” have been reproduced, reconfigured and restructured to fit with the lush aesthetic that holds court on The Invisible Line, but I’ll again say that memory prohibits me from confirming or denying such claims. What I can say for certain, though, is that, for a band that burst into the UK dance-rock scene with remix singles, cheek, spunk and great face for photos, Temposhark 2008 sounds less like they’ve not aged a bit and more like they’re so far ahead of their time, so spectacularly, shimmeringly concerned with telling stories of scope and swath that they’ve damn near come back ’round to show dancerock how it’s done.
There’s not a wasted moment, not a tossed-off movement, not a solitary skippable song on the whole of The Invisible Line. A lot of this is owed to the fantastic, fanatic-grade nuances overlayed by the one and only Guy Sigsworth (causing me to give a silent prayer of thanks that Phones-it-in Epworth wasn’t tapped for board duties on the LP), soundtracking vocalist Robert Diament’s velvet growl with James Bond-worthy moments of swooping strings and cascading authentic piano, before Luke Busby’s beatsmithing creates moments of sparse, Tech-infused throbs of pulse. About a third of the way through the album, it becomes apparent, thrilling even, that The Invisible Line, while ebbing and flowing, is a connected path-the titular line may flux, but the pervasive mood never breaks.
By far, the standout track on the album, at least after approximately ten complete listens, is this, Rob’s knife-cloaked-in-the-pillowcase duet with one of the Shark boys’ first champions, Imogen Heap. As the soothing opening gives way to fuzzed out guitars, a stuttering percussion line giving way to what, eventually, becomes a bob-and-weave chorus that’s less the expected call-and-response and more Rob and Imogen clutching themselves from one another . From the moment Rob decides he’d better put his “jeans back on”, this becomes the jilted breakup song of the year thus far. And we haven’t even gotten to the bridge yet. Temposhark: It’s Better To Have Loved
A quiet, plaintive electro-ballad that shows off the two killer aspects of what make Temposhark so good-Rob’s voice and Luke’s way with a wrapping a subtle, minimal beat around a song’s meaning.
After what, for me, was the most lack-luster year in music in a very, very long time, the sound cohesion, of beauty juxtaposed with harshness, on The Invisible Line is pretty damn near perfection. Tell me, please, that 2008 is the year everyone quits worry about melting faces and goes back to melting dance floors and hearts simultaneously. That’ll be quite the accomplishment.
Bigs ups to the Basstown crew for an awesome weekend in Boston. Music was spot on, every one was friendly as hell and the Boston kids were dancing their asses off everywhere I looked. So, to celebrate in true Resonator Fasion, here’s pretty much my whole set from Saturday in remix format.
RUN DMC - My Adidas (Pilotpriest Remix).mp3
Links: Pilotpriest
One of the dopest remixes in recent months, this track has killed dancefloors comprising of two completely different types of crowds. I snagged this from KissAtlanta but they appear to have taken it down and, since its no longer posted anywhere else, I’m not gonna post it up here again. Sorry kids. You should take the time to stream it from Pilotpriest’s myspace though.. its a killer.
Three 6 Mafia - “Stay Fly (D & G remix)”
Links: D&G
Some random dude dancing his ass off with a custom shirts for the night asked if I had any Three 6 Mafia. Normally I’m not one to pander to requests at deejay nights, but I happened to have this remix that’s been chilling in my collection for almost a year now. I think i’ve posted it before, but its ravey as fuck and I don’t think anyone had any issues with it.
Juiceboxxxx - “Sweat (Blanche DuBois Remix)”
LINKS: Juiceboxxxx | Blanche DuBois
I’m sure you remember the original of this.. it was a catchy and dancy blog smash hit over the summer. Well this remix notches up the funkiness a level to absolute can’t-help-but-get-down-on-the-dance-floor levels and I can’t get enough of it. Figured this would work really well as a transition into the more electro-styled tracks I wanted to drop. Pretty sure the crowd dug this as well, but I was too busy jumping around like an idiot to tell, honestly.
The Touch - “Heart Of The City (Stuffa Remix)”
LINKS: The Touch | Stuffa
Really solid track. Not a banger like the ones I have later, but it fit perfectly as a transition into more throw-your-hands-in-the-air material. Plus looping the ending provides a perfect transition into..
Robyn - “Be Mine (Ocelot Mthrfckrs Remix)”
LINKS: OcelotMTHRFCKRS | Robyn
Best. Remix. Evar. Or at least within the recent memory. I’d been saving this one for a while and wanted to use it to highlight a live set with a crowd rather than one of my radio sets (sorry guys!). Damn did people love this. Ocelot never disappoints.
Xinobi - “BMX (Moulinex Remix)”
LINKS: Xinobi | Moulenx | Disco Texas
A staple of mine at this point. Its starts off so unassuming and then just kicks it up into high gear. Perfect track to keep up the energy coming out of Robyn’s driving vocals.
Muscles - One Inch Badge Pin (Vanshe Tech City Gym Remix)”
Links: Muscles | Muscles Music | Vanshe Tech | More Muscles | More Vanshe Tech
Older remix but still solid. I had just heard the Shizam remix of “Sweaty” earlier in the week and couldn’t get Muscles out of my head. Didn’t want to play that Shizam remix here (didn’t think it was the right flow) and this one fit right into the throw your hands up mentality I had going.
The brothers Spitzer have sent us over a new remix in part to “thank everyone for the previous postings”. As if we need thanks for other people giving us good music! Its as yet un-released, was sent out a few hours ago, and is already starting to make its way around the blog sphere AND -as with the previous material- this remix delivers.
Need more info? here’s there Bio [translated from] their own words:
“Hidden behind “Spitzer” are two Rock brought-up brothers. Two
brothers who got breast-fed in their earlier years by Axl Rose and
Jimmy Page. After 7 years of faithful and loyal services towards the
Indie music scene, they decided to abandon their mediator and
drumsticks for a new passion. They found themselves utterly seduced by
the synthetic environment and the animal beats of Techno. Musicians,
and now producers, their music became a hit amongst bloggers on the
net. The blogosphere was amazed by the twilight dark ambiance and the
frenetic robotic sound of some of their tracks available on the Web.
Understandably backed up by the whole electro Lyon community, booked
by the Festival des Nuits sonores, they were also called by Kylie
Minogue to create a crazy remix, that is still very secret. Track
after track, Spitzer creates a new map without boundaries nor rules,
frenetic and grandiose techno music set in between Nathan Fake’s
grandiloquence and the rhythmic scathing of Trentmoller. Sought by
many labels, Spitzer is already cooking some new remixes and is
working to finalise their first EP, “Roller Coaster”. The two brothers
will also start an Australian tour beginning April 2008. The two
Spitzer brothers will road trip from one club to another and get the
dance floor groovin’.”
(anti-riaa note: While I’m pretty sure (I.E positive) this remix will end up being released on a major label (it is Kylie, after all), I made the executive decision that since we a) have given Spitzer love before b) they themselves are still unsigned and c) they are awesome as we love them, it was not completely breaking our rules to post it. This is the opinion of hacks and does not reflect the rest of Resonator, but personally I think its the only opinion that matters!)
P.S. This post contains excessive use of punctuation because I’m hung over and, frankly, I just want to.
(hacks note: I killed the inline players since they weren’t reading the encoding on these files correclty)
You kids should hate me.
I’ve all this good music over flowing my inbox, and here I am not posting any of it. Between work, moving, a birthday, holidays, a few going away parties, new years and just general laziness, I’ve been slack in my postings. But fear not! Well maybe. I’m currently residing in the middle of nowhere for a few months (so long atlanta!) and de-compressing/saving up/apartment hunting. I’ve a ton of stuff backlogged, so lets get started with on old favorite of mine: Dirty Disco Youth
See he’s on the loose again with some new production work. The last I heard from him was the “Idealistic” remix and then since then its been pretty silent, but he’s back championing a new maximal vibe.
This is the flag ship track for his new sound I guess you could say. Its a hard-edge track filled with digitized vocals and relentless synth lines all up in your face. This grew on me the more I listened to it, so give it a few spins before your give your judgment.
Next up, he remixes Outlander by taking the old-school house sound I’ve always loved (even when it wasn’t so old school) and adds in a grungy, tweaked out guitar over-tone to it. It stays housey and funky while getting a update for the times.. its another solid track to work its way into the feet of party goers everywhere.
Lastly, he comes to bat on a New Young Pony Club remix. I personally dog the synth lines and backing tracks, but think there’s a bit too much of the NYPC vocal on top of it. Minimize the vocals, Maximize the music.. or at least that’s my take on it. Also speed it up about 5bpm for the best effect! Check it out for yourself and see what you think:
ADDITIONALLY! Here’s a banging live set he put together. It layers track on top of track and does some interesting blending of multiple tracks/remixes by the same artist on top of one another, including a lot of older material you may have forgotten about. Definitely worth a listen or three.
Our friends over at Wordsmiths Books have apparently decided not to let up in 2008. After opening the largest independent bookstore in the state of Georgia last year, they quickly forged a path of combining the worlds of various media-books, music, film-and have played host to, honestly, a handful of the best and most memorable performances Atlanta’s seen in recent memory (Final Fantasy was a stand-out, as was One Hand Loves The Other, and let’s not forget the Res birthday bash with Lismore).
Now, apparently not content to horde their little black book, Wordsmiths Books has joined forces with the BabyGotBooks blog-what Gawker would be if it had a little more heart, a little less to drink, actual book reviews and a slightly southern accent-to present *gasp* an actual, honest-to-god reading series in Atlanta. The two combined forces are launching BabyGotBooks Reading Series: BGB Vol I.this Wednesday, Jan 23rd, with Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield reading from his memoir of love-via-mixtapes called, fittingly, Love Is A Mixtape. Post-Rob, Atlanta rockers and Res faves The Swear (who, you may recall, Hacks and myself accidentally fell in love with when we showed up way too early for a Subways show) will play set after Rob reads, there’s the promise of free drinks, free coolness and, frankly, the fact that this sort of thing is finally happening in this city is cause enough to celebrate.
As such, I’ve wrangled Tim, head honcho over at BabyGotBooks, to drop a little knowledge on y’all about what it is that’s being accomplished by the intersection of reading and rocking (the two “r”s, along with, well, look at our name…):
If you’ve been a music fan for any appreciable length of time, chances are there are a number of songs that have become hopelessly and permanently associated with specific people, places, and times. For me, the sound of Johnny Marr’s fuzzy opening notes to How Soon is Now will always instantly transport me back to my freshman year of college where the song featured prominently in the background to all sorts of shenanigans. (For the record: I’m old, but the song wasn’t brand new, even back then.) Music, while it can be appreciated alone, is ultimately best enjoyed with a group, whether the focus is specifically on the music or not.
Literature, on the other hand, tends to be solitary. Unless you’re listening to an audio book, you must retreat somewhere alone to enjoy a good book. The best books can be passed around, shared, and discussed, but only after each person goes off and enjoys it alone. Very rarely will two people be seen reading the same book at the same time and pausing to jump up and give each other high fives. “This is AWESOME man.” As much as it should happen, it just doesn’t.
It’s interesting to me that as much as music is shared and universally enjoyed, books about music almost always get it wrong. I think that the problem lies in the specifics. If you write about the coolest music ever, no matter how convincingly, somewhere along the way we’re going to disagree. Probably right about when you start talking about OK Computer. Despite the universal-ness of music, the reasons for our enjoyment of specific songs is still unique to the individual and deeply personal.
Rob Sheffield’s book Love is a Mix Tape gets at the heart of what it is that can make music transcendent. Each chapter of the book begins with the copied insert from a cassette mix tape that he and his wife mad for one another at various times during their relationship. In spite of Sheffield’s street cred as a writer/contributing editor for Rolling Stone, there are some dubious selections here. (Um, Hall and Oates?) In the context of this book, however, the questionable choices can and should be overlooked for the larger point that the book makes.
Sheffield’s wife died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm just as they were beginning their lives together. A box of tapes that Sheffield is left with provide a conduit for memory, serve as a time machine to a happier past, and ultimately aid healing. The book is really a love letter to the remarkable power of music.
Which is a roundabout way of saying that I hope that you’ll be able to join us for the very first event of the Baby Got Books which will feature Rob Sheffield reading from his remarkable book. Following the reading will be live music from The Swear . The reading will be held at Wordsmiths Books in Decatur, GA (Google Maps). Wordsmiths is located just off Decatur Square and is one block from the Decatur MARTA station. The evening is FREE, and FREE drinks will be provided. If you don’t have the book yet, be sure to support our favorite indie book store by picking up a copy of the book there. Did we mention that the evening is free?
If you make it to the reading, be sure to say find me and say hello.
Thanks for having me over!
Gracias, Tim…but that’s not all, oh no, that’s not all.
Our good friends The Swear have done us the favor/honor of leaking us (without threat of retribution via court or jail!) the first song ready from their forthcoming 2008 album. As such, we’re presenting a kinda-exclusive here, with the newly-polished “History Of Cinema”:
And, folks, there you have it. A convergence of the literary and musical worlds, a realignment of the stodgy feelings of book readings, a perspective on why Reading Series’ matter, and something for you to do Wednesday night if you’re in Atlanta. Also, a new Swear song. In my book, there’s not much better.
Before you just totally write this off as “tlda” (too late dumb ass), listen to his medly of “Swing low, Sweet chariot” and “Amazing Grace”. Someone put this kid in “Showboat”. Listen to “Love” and think Kate Bush’s seminal “Running Up That Hill” (aka “the only time a human being has ever used a Fairlight”).
The rest of his other stuff? Call me crazy, but if this whole “8 Bit I’mma-make-a-song-and-not-try” thing is really going to catch on this year, and since snap, crunk and hyphy have all been kinda quiet on the new-production front, Tay needs to farm this stuff out to Chris Brown and the like. Maybe he could produce the great Usher comeback record.
Also, his official t-shirt is pretty fucking nifty:
It’s a shame that, were you to wear this shirt, you’d end up getting your ass kicked nigh-instantly.
In the event you’ve no freaking clue what started this, just peep a gander at the Youtube clip that wouldn’t stop in 07:
‘Nuff said. And remember: Chocolate Rain. The schoolbooks say it can’t be here again**.
**wtf?
Note from …trixie: Tay Zonday will be playing TONIGHT in Brooklyn at Club Europa. Details are here at Brooklyn Vegan.
Among the highlights: A Number Of Names’ beyond-classic “Shari Vari”, a Detroit slab of hotness that, inevitably, found an Electrocla$$$$$h-in resurrection (not undeserved, mind you); with its over-stoic, European-esque vocal delivery and the dark, slicing synth undercurrent, “Shari Vari” has long been a gem just laying in wait for generations of various phases of electronic music to find it.
Now, though, with folks like JUSTICE having not just removed the dance music prejudice but pushed the whole genre into the fore-front of popular music, it’s about time the phenomenal no-wave of Detroit, New York and Berlin found its way back to the top.
The amount which I adore the freakish, electronic massacre that is Adam and Nicola of ADULT. is belabored. The greatness with which they handled this, a re-take of the original “Shari Vari”, isn’t. In fact, I daresay it’s my favorite version out of the billions done in appreciation of the song, but it oft gets passed over (in the same way ADULT. themselves too often get passed over). If you need colder, more frozen, more removed-this is it.
Ok, not to sound like Shawn and bitch about how there’s no good music coming out, because I’m sure that there is… It’s just not finding me. I’m so stuck in local-land these days that everything I listen to is someone’s demo that they won’t let me post on Res.** In any case, I’ve had a jones for something dark, floor destroying, and twisted, and my favorite boys from Australia have delivered with a sick new single.
Julian and Kim have topped previous stomper “I Go Hard, I Go Home” with “My People,” but it’s definitely in the same vein– a blow out the subs, lose your mind sonic equivalent of a strobe light.
While the original is definitely my favorite, I have to say that the disjointed, all over the place, kitchen sink DIM remix definitely has a time and a place.
It’s good to see that they’re just getting better and better. I can only hope this heralds a forthcoming new album in the next, oh, five minutes because I’m definitely hungry for this stuff. Download the EP at eMusic.
**HELLO, PEOPLE– LET me post your demos. You WANT people to come and see you, right?
Note: While we know that many Modular records are distributed in the US by Interscope, we found no evidence of any affiliation with this particular release to an RIAA sanctioned label or distributor. If you do, please let us know and we’ll remove this post immediately. Thanks! — The Resonator Management
adBRITE