The Swiss - Soap Opera

Fuck! How the hell did I miss this one? Its been around since April? Seriously? Damn.

This finds the awesome Australian disco jam band, The Swiss playing like they'd been listening to/watching Discovery/Interstella 5555 for 3 days straight, then being let loose in the studio. Its an amazing throwback style track and it really pays off. Not as super catchy as Bubble Bath, but with synths as gorgeous as this, who needs hooks?

The Swiss - Soap Opera

Reggie Rockstone x The Avalanches

Once upon a time The Avalanches promised the world (and the citizens of its small but dedicated message board) a new album really, really soon. This would have been 3 or 4 years ago now. However in order to placate their die hard fans they periodically posted links to remixes, old mixes hard to find and new mixes never before heard on their website. While the list of promised mixes remains unfinished, like their album (seriously Detox aint got shit on this, at least Detox has a name.), we were lucky enough to hear the absolute jewel of a mix that is Some People.

Some People plays like a tropical island party version of Since I Left You. It draws together their more pop and hip hop influences heard on the At Home and Gimix mixes with the old breezy Caribbean pop from the Live (Cornerstone) mix. I've listened to this mix more times than I'd care to mention but I still can't work out how they did it. The mixing on it is impeccable and I'm sure it would have taken more than two decks or else the use of some edits I would kill to get my hands on.

One of the more prominent jams in the mix is the one posted above, Eye Mo De Anaa by Reggie Rockstone. Research tells me that its a classic hiplife record from Ghana, however since I'm not an expert on African music (which following the advent of Vampire Weekend, apparently everyone else on the internet is) I will simply accept that at face value. What is important is that the song is an absolute monster. Totally craving the chance to play it at a house party one day, I'm sure it'd go down a treat. Do yourself a favor and download this classic mix and go and BUY the Rockstone track. Good times will no doubt ensue.

The Avalanches - Some People
Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre

Canyons x Tame Impala

Really excited for the new Canyons song and album coming out. Thanks Modular for the update. They're one of my favorite Australian acts today, making consistently solid disco and psychedelica for the people. They're even from Perth!

This of course has reminded me of their most quality lines of work to date, namely their remixing of pretty much every Tame Impala song, their label mates and buddies back in Perth. None of these reworks are the same in genre. It ranges from the delirium of 41 Mosquitoes to the poolside wonder of Solitude is Bliss, the disco stomp of Half Full Glass of Wine and the epic camel ride through the desert that is their Sundown Syndrome remix. However they all seem to embody this feeling of 40 degree heat and general psychadellica, a spirit which makes it true Australian music.

Its starting to heat up here in Perth, unseasonably early too. I'm fine with this, cause while I'm not fine with being back in Perth itself (no shots), it's a lot better when it is distinctively Perth. This means scorching 40 degree days, car rides with the window down and Triple J playing loud, parties, festivals and occasionally the beach. It's what I missed when I was away. Perth summers aren't for the faint of heart. But these songs will soundtrack it for you in style.

Tame Impala - Half Full Glass of Wine (Canyons Drunken Rage)
Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss (Canyons Remix)
Tame Impala - 41 Mosquitos (Canyons 41 Mojitos Poolside Mix)

SORRY LINKS REMOVED. FIND EM YOURSELF!

Cassian

Despite the my constant bitching about the loud, noisy, steaming-pile of shit electro that is the screen door to my submarine, I will always love the electro of the Australian variety. The sort of electro that is done oh-so-well by acts like Cut Copy, Shazam, DCUP and Miami Horror. That melodic and funky variety, closer to disco than anything else, that makes fans of it around the world believe that life in Australia is a permanent beach party.

Add to that list a Sydney kid by the name of Cassian. His tracks as I’ve found are insanely dope. Descended directly from that tradition of worshipping Daft Punk’s Discovery (his bootleg of High Life is especially sweet), he creates tracks and remixes that are catchy, memorable and very fun to DJ with. He’s a member of the Bang Gang roster, but mark my words, if he keeps up this run of form he’ll be getting that Modular Money in no time.* However in trying to find any more information about the guy, no bio seems to exist beyond a press release for his first EP describing him as “the original fuuuuuunky-fresh zulu synth warrior”.

Grab some tracks from him, they’re well worth it and don’t forget to head over to beatport to buy the rest, they are well worth your hard earned simleons.

Miami Horror - Make You Mine (Cassian Remix)
Flight Facilities - Crave You (Cassian Remix)
Daft Punk - High Life (Cassian Bootleg)

*I’ve always been under the impression that the way Modular works is that it takes its revenue from lesser acts like Wolfmother and The Presets and uses it to fund promotion of more awesome music, eg. Tame Impala, Canyons, The Swiss. (Cut Copy and Bag Raiders are self sufficient)

PS WHERE THE FUCK IS THE NEW AVALANCHES ALBUM? ITS BEEN TEN FUCKING YEARS!

Pitch Perfect w. Canyons

Found this cheeky little mix over at the Fader. They got this new series with Nike where they commission artists to create mixes for the 6 continents of the world for the World Cup. And lo and behold, disco mavens Canyons have been chosen to do the one for Australia. The resulting mix contains a long forgotten track from the avalanches (WHERE THE FUCK IS THEIR NEW ALBUM?!?), Tame Impala, Tame Impala side project POND and Canyons themselves and is perfect for a delirious Australian summer (or the current 40 degree heat that I find myself bathing in in Nevada right now.

Cop it HERE at The FADER.

M-Phazes

Hip Hop post this time. Australian hip hop too, though not in the usual sense. M-Phazes is an australian beat-maker (as far as i know anyways, havent had much time to investigate the man yet, though soon as i have a home again, i will find out if he raps aswell.) who has been achieving some play internationally on blogs like The Smoking Section.

Two things he's done so far have caught my attention. Firstly he's done some sweet beamaking for the Emilio Rojas track Bold and Arrogant. This is a far cry from the typical Australian productionwhere it sounds as if the beatmakers dont wanna do anything that will go past the triple j hip hop audience. Big drums, blaring sirens and a catchy vocal refrain make this a beat that stands up in the vicious US mixtape circut. The remix is the choice cut here with an unexpectedly killer verse from white boy Asher Roth who shows that when hes not pandering to frat boys, he can actually spit.

Emilio Rojas - Bold And Arrogant (ft. Styles P and Asher Roth) (Prod M-Phazes)

But more remarkable still is his Michael Jackson remix. The original is a typical MJ pop number, upbeat, with a quick passed bassline, standard fare. M-Phazes here takes it to another level turning it into a sparce yet lush, soulful number. The bpm of the instrumental is slashed in half with finger snaps and snares forming the background with a plodding bass while Michael's vocals and sparkling synths take it to another level. This is brilliant stuff. A must hear for sure.

Michael Jackson - Remember the Time (M-Phazes Remix)

i want to make music like this

Welcoming Rant/The Swiss

So I don't exactly anyone at all to start reading this travesty of a blog for some time. That being said who knows, maybe it will take off.

Anyways, firstly, gotta say. I'm a bit disappointed at the moment. Dance musics got a bit uninspired recently. Well, let me be a bit more specific. Despite first getting into this stuff at the tender age of 12 with my purchase of Discovery by Daft Punk (shit yeah thats some cred right there), i really got involved when this whole blog house thing was taking off. Even since my formative years listening to Daft Punk and Fatboy Slim, I'd dreamed of one day djing and playing the music i loved to huge crowds of people.

Yet with the advent of this whole electro movement ting, and i finally had some money in my pocket, it seemed like an achievable thing. Piles and piles of free, quality music rushing around the internet to be played to friends and danced around to like a complete tosser. Those were the days when the MSTRKRFT remix of Monster Hospital was the coolest thing around and every banger, classic, mashup, rap break down and choon seemed ultra fresh and the best thing ever. and hell alot still holds up today.

It's not like that anymore. Everything got too distorted. It wasn't fun anymore. Quality control was raped and left on the side of the road by a marauding HYPEM. Hearing rap with electro wasn't mind blowing. The new generation of producers who emerged in the gap after everyones first album really didnt know how to make songs. Like nothing against their production abilities, but there werent SONGS. The new heroes (Fake Blood, MSTRKRFT, Crookers, Digitalism) while celebrated by everyone (shit id still go seem dj/play live) really wernt making the classics that we wanted them to. The scene ran out of steam and everyone (most very slowly) started going their separate ways.

We now kinda exist in a place where the fucking buff dudes with no shirt on play 2 year old electro to the girls who have bleached their hair so much it looks like its going to fall out. People have run to the hills embracing tech-house (boring), dubstep (exciting but very very hit and miss) and disco (love it but dont always get it myself). As such a guy like myself is left in a place where he needs something to get him excited about dance music that he like and can still get a crowd moving.

So while this seems like a depressing place to be (it is sometimes:( ) all hope is not lost. This is blog thats designed to showcase the stuff that still gets me going, stuff thats exciting, quality and generally awesome. Stuff like Australian electro, disco, hip hop, UK funky, some dubstep and maybe some psychadelic indie shit. Oh and dont forget some shameless self promotion.

Anyways assuming anyone read that elitist rant, i figure they should be rewarded with at least some music. so here it is.

Moonlight Hours (The Swiss Remix)
This is Moonlight Hours by The Holidays, remixed by the Swiss in 320 goodness.
This is prolly the best thing ive heard dance music wise for a minute and best yet they're from Australia. This is what I'm talking about when i mean Australian electro, that 80's trashy but insanely smooth and funky vibe to it, that combination of cheeky synths but a driving bassline. Splits the difference for disco and electro heads and is still a good SONG. remember those things SONGS, not pieces of shit? yeah thought so.
anyways check out more here, buy the E.P ect ect.

anyways thanks for reading.
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