genre: house/electronica/down-tempo artist: Joshua Heath ft Colette album: Call On Me tracks: Call On Me (main mix); Call On Me (Giano Mix) street date: June 29th 2010 label: Candy Talk Records
Colette and Joshua Heath combine their diverse range of talents to deliver a track that is sure to fill dance floors all summer long. Colette brings with her a long history of chart-topping experience and ten years of hard work that has finally brought her new label, Candy Talk Records, into existence. With Candy Talk, Colette promises to "dial up a dynamic sound that defies the conventionalities of of house music" and deliver tracks that "make [their] way everywhere from dark & dirty clubs, to big ol' shiny raves."
Well, she couldn't have picked a better track to act as the label's first big release.
The main mix of Call On Me starts with a sensual beat that gets subtly built upon throughout the length of the track. Colette's emotive voice anchors the song while funky layers are continually added and stripped away so artfully that you can't help but wonder, "what just changed here?"
Fast forward a few tracks to the Giano mix (but go back and listen to the ones in between later!!) for a more trancey, more sultry, more moody version of the song. The main beat serves as the consistency-factor in this mix, while Giano plays with Colette's gorgeous vocals like a kid plays with a new toy; he uses the full 7 minutes and 16 seconds of the song to experiment with all the fun vocal variations you can imagine.
in summary: the ADD kids don't need Adderall-- they just need some Colette, Joshua Heath, and Giano to grab and hold their attention. Hey, it worked for me.
Coming from a small town, I (as in Miss Sunny Dee) never knew much outside the walls of spoon fed pop culture, including the generalizations and stereotypes personified by those on the golden screen. What I mean by this is since my town really only had one cultural arena of life (white, middle class, straight, etc.), we relied heavily on pop culture stereotypes to judge those who we had not come to know. I never really agreed with this cultural acclamation, but the only way I knew to go against it was to be "the punk," yet again relying on what pop culture had defined as alternative, such a tangled web.
Anyways, point of this story is when I moved to San Francisco, I was graciously in awe of what various ways people expressed themselves, and how comfortable each and every individual felt in such a welcoming community of people. There was no need to become part of a definition or a stereotype, nor did you have to follow the trends that media conglomerations spoon feed much of the rest of America. It was a melting pot of personae, and it taught me that I could be who I am, and wear the outfits that Chad so wonderfully explains on our podcast.
Me (right), and one of my most eccentrically beautiful friends, Brynna
San Francisco's openness, I often believe, is due to their continuing support of the LBGTQ community. With their acceptance of this vast culture, they are able to look beyond walls of stereotypes, and as one of my friends so graciously put it, make it a matter worthy of ignoring due to its normalcy. I take pride living in a city that allows adults to love and live, and never feel one doubt about their self esteem and safety.
So why do I bring all this up on our Electronic blog? Well friends, one of the very first places I realized how well the gay community was accepted within the larger San Franciscan community was at night clubs where I used to go dance. I remember sitting at the bar and watching how freely everyone looked, and how they dance with whomever they liked, co-mingling with others around them no matter what their sexual preference. I think that's when I realized what a strong power music has over how we control ourselves, and how we break molds of stereotype. Music is constantly taking strides to break the norm and be provocative, and with this movement, instigates others to be more open to things they may not have been open to before. And I think this is especially pronounced in electronic and dance music, where you are provoked by music to move.
As I walked through the Castro on pride night, the streets were alive with Electronic music, and it made me realize that exact power once more. People were all together in celebration of love and music, and it only made sense that the bass coming through that speakers was the driving heartbeat to this amazing spectacle.
Castro, Saturday Night Pride
In conclusion, I love what music (especially dance music) has done to inspire unity and creativity and instigate a flame of knowledge and acceptance, and I am so happy to live in a city that accepts those who are gay, straight, green, blue, or Sunny, and let those of us who may have felt lost elsewhere be proud of who we are.
Party on electro heads, and remember the love that is being spread through this genre of music that counters pop culture, yet still accepts everyone.
And Happy pride to EVERYONE, because being proud of who you are goes much further than sexuality.
genre: electro-house artist: Fukkk Offf album(s): Remix Is King; In Da Club-- Fukkk Offf Remixes featured tracks: Love My Shake (ft LaClopeAuBec); In Da Club (ft Hazel, Entyce) label: Coco Machete street date: February 25th, 2010; June 22nd, 2010
Fukkk Offf hails from Hamburg, Germany-- a hometown he shares with Boys Noize, D.I.M., and Digitalism. A few interesting tidbits, before we get to the tracks. I promise, they're good. 1) Fukkk Offf was still working his day job as recently as December of 2009. So... he works all day, spins all night, and sleeps...when, exactly? Solid work ethic. 2) LaClopeAuBec's remix of Love My Shake is featured on Remix is King because they won a remix contest with Fukkk Offf about a year ago. They've since exploded in popularity. That's about a billion times cooler than winning American Idol. 3) Fukkk Offf says he knows he's played a good set when the audience salutes him with a barrage of middle fingers after the encore. I like his style. 4) In an interview with Fairtilizer, Fukkk Offf stated that his music is "more than just a plingplong of sounds" and that he wanted to create a space in which he could "express feelings about love and hate in a more aggressive way, without any rules." I would say this approach is successfully reflected in his work.
Love My Shake is expertly remixed in a way that's had me dancing in my chair for the last four minutes and twelve seconds. The track starts with a simple splice of the lyrics, then adds some solid drum & bass layers with treble accents that suck you in. LaClopeAuBec masterfully strips away and rebuilds variations of these layers throughout the entirety of the song to yield a fluid transition through the prologue, conflict, climax, and resolution. Sweet.
In Da Club pairs Hazel's sassy rap skills with Entyce's sultry vocals and Fukkk Offf's addicting beats to ensure that YOUR body moves to the bass and the beat. If you listen to this track on repeat (as I have been...), you'll be rapping along with Hazel in no time. You might even get your own feisty attitude and accidentally sass your boss. Oops. STREAM STREAM STREAM! (and then dance, dance, dance)
genre: electro-acoustic artist: jdsy album: blue newspaper featured tracks: telluride, brite 8 street date: 15th june 2010 label: moodgadget
When i hear electro-acoustic, I automatically think owl city and fireflies. Yeah, this album is nothing like that. Jdsy has previously been noted for creating deep, "dark & twisty" (you love my Grey's anatomy references) songs and this album certainly does not disappoint. It's not as heavy as adage of known, but it's far from light-hearted and lends itself to introspection quite well.
Brite 8 is that song I want to listen to when I feel the all too familiar calm-before-the-storm that can only foreshadow the onset of disaster. You know what's coming, and you know you can't avoid it. So you just have to put on the right song, pour yourself some whiskey, and go into battle with a positive attitude. And if brite 8 is your battle song, Telluride is the hug you need when all is said and done. It's the apology, the request for forgiveness. It's softer, sweeter, more hopeful. The beat is reminiscent of a sublime song at the end of summer, and the chimes are the twinkling stars that provide some resolve.
[end excessive philosophizing]
Head on over to the myspace for the soundtrack to your soul-searching.
genre: deep house, downtempo artist: aim album: flight 602 featured tracks: northwest (ft niko), birchwood street date: 8th june 2010 label: ATIC records
What do you call a meal with a main course of ingenuity, a side of jazz, and a cocktail of funky? You call it flight 602, and you'd be hard pressed to find it as cleanly packaged as in an album from AIM. The record is upbeat but subtle-- kind of like an accidental night in with your best friends (...or that new guy/girl you just can't stop thinking about). AIM has accomplished the feat of providing us with an album that doesn't sound like anything you've encountered before. Our Stage 4 featured tracks are definitely of the electronic variety, but AIM holds a couple wild cards in the hole. An acoustic track - IT'S LATER THAN YOU THINK - that totally rocks, hip-hop gurgling beats, some brass, and a funky riff or two.
Stream now! It'll put a big ol' smile on your face.
genre: dub, dub house artist: dubLoner & Isaac haile Selassie album: The Fight, The Spirit track(s): The Fight, The Spirit (djunya remix; dubstep harder version) street date: May 25th 2010 label: de'fchild
According to Isaac Haile Selassie, we can thank Bob Marley for his entrance into the world of music. Selassie had reportedly fled the political turmoil of Ethiopia when he bumped into fellow travelers listening to Bob Marley-- it was at that moment he knew he had to follow Bob's lead and make music to promote unity and equality among people all over the world. Frankly, I don't see how anyone listening to any version of this track could feel anything other than at one with the universe and it's inhabitants. Selassie and dubLoner (also known as Kenneth James Gibson, a man of many aliases) have combined talents to provide us with a song that leaves its listener torn between two compelling alternatives-- I can't decide whether I want to get up and dance, or find some lemonade and a hammock.
Each remix of this track seems to target a different desire, but at its core, it remains the chillest of chill no matter what the reincarnation. Even better: I've listened to every single version, and I can't pick a favorite. Yeah, it's that good.
So thanks Bob, Isaac, and Kenneth. I found my summer jam. Yeeeeah.
