paris thursday

i have to admit that i find kavinsky to be one of the most underwhelming artists going around.. i cant seem to work out where all of his credibility and hype came from.. his cartoon avatar? his jacket?
he sure rode that 80s wave pretty well, but when that died off where did he find himself? with a black macbook full of halfhearted testarossa overdrive revamps and tired pop?
his yet to be released single 'nightcall' is a sad case of remixes (in this case by breakbot and jackson) bettering the originals..
take the jackson remix of 'pacific coast highway' for example.. the original was almost ok - the dramatic, surging melody is quite compelling; but the douchey overbaked 80s synths and irritating voiceover band together to ruin it..
jacksons version swaps out the 80s vibe with some powerful, sebastian-esque synths and takes a lot of emphasis off the vocal.. the result is a certified ed-banger-banger straight from the bloghaus "golden years".. awesome nostalgia:

Kavinsky - Pacific Coast Highway (Jackson Remix)

one person that is far from underwhelming is lifelike.. ive had a bit of time away from french/filter house recently, but have slowly been getting back into it. getting acquainted with the tracks that lifelike has produced in my absence has been an absolute pleasure..
im sure that everyone under the sun has heard this vitalic mix he stroked out a while ago, but i sure hadn't- and i have to say that im pretty pretty impressed.. somehow he manages to disguise a hands-in-the-air house bangar by wrapping it around some tight, groove-laden french house.. the drop at 2:18 makes me remember why i liked going to music festivals. seriously good.

Vitalic - Second Lives (Lifelike Remix)

these next two classic cuts are way too smooth to pass up.. they may be the perfect tracks to help ease you into another friday.
i am seriously in love with the percussive sound of liquid liquid: "so simple, yet so perfect". 'cavern' is a solid, grandmaster flash inspiring, hypnotically bass-driven affair complete with reverb laden vocals and bongos..

Liquid Liquid - Cavern

the dub mix of lola by some fellow named jon is a slow burner that is heavy on groove and snare. if this could be any more up my alley right now id have to go and see a doctor.. when the slap bass kicks in over the top of vibes half way through, my knees get a little shaky..

Lola - Wax The Van (Jon's Dub Mix)

speaking of slow burners, here is the new(ish) track from young sydney scenesters aeons.. an expansive, gritty number with layers of incredible vocal harmonies and understated melodies..

Aeons - In Great Wonder

i firmly think that aeons are one of the most exciting young electronic groups to come out of sydney in recent times.. and if recent shows at parklife, sosueme, mum and soho are anything to go by, these guys will only get bigger in '10..
get on board the good ship aeon and check out their jjj unearthed page here.. if you havent heard 'beyond the satellites' before, you should go listen to it asap..

deathlike

what could possibly be more exciting than something new from lifelike?

nothing. when i got this new remix of aussie party crew dirty laundry the other day, i have to admit that i was pretty excited.
its a bit of a step outside the ol' box for lifey with all these grungy guitars.. i was a bit confused (in the best possible way) until the bliss kicked in at about four mins.. ahhh

Dirty Laundry - Hate Me (Lifelike Remix)

i also came across this remix that he did for DK7 last year.. the strutting bassline and crystalline synths really take me back to 'so electric'. and thats one of the best things a song could ever do.

DK7 - Fashion Feelings (Lifelike Remix)

just in time

there are few things in this world that make me more excited than news of a new lifelike release. so i guess you could say that when i recently received lifelike's new sunset/sequencer release i was more than fairly excited.

although the sunset half of the release is an amazingly buoyant song (which is well worth a look), i have chosen to feature the more d-floor friendly sequencer.. kinda hoping to channel some of my future music/lifelike excitedness to him and all y'all through song.

Lifelike - Sequencer

although it starts off a little bit abrasive, this track definitely builds into a sophisticated lifelike-style banger (if you can call it that), with layer upon layer of gorgeoushhh synth. call me simple minded, but songs (like sequencer) that transparently add elements and layers with each verse or chorus always appeal to me- i love being able to follow the progression of a song.

so excited to see lifelike on sat yo- i hope he doesnt play too much progressive though. i remember hearing a live dj mix that he did somewhere and hearing way too much prog. yyaaawwwnnn
and as a final piece of future music commentary- the set times are shit. having to ditch lifelike half way through so i can go and watch nerd wasnt how i envisioned it.

as a final piece of steve commentary: after many many years, i have finally tracked down an unmixed version of this song by everything but the girl. i believe that it may be one of my favourite house songs eevverrr.

Everything But The Girl - Tracey In My Room (Lazy Dog Bootleg Vocal Mix)

this is perhaps one of the only songs that i know that can effortlessly and consistently squeeze into (almost) any set, scenario or situation and bring smiles to peoples faces and butts to the dancefloor.

bye

bye everyone.. christmas holidays are calling me. my dog needs to be thrown into the sea. ill be back in like a week or something.
hope y'all have fun time over your holidays

ive got some absolute sparklers to leave you with though.. lifelike sparklers

Lifelike - Running Out

Sebastien Leger - Victory (Lifelike's Flashing Victory Vision Remix)

NuMatic - In The Morning (Lifelike Remix)

although a bit dated, these tracks are still easily up there with my favourite lifelike songs. you can really hear the difference between these tracks and his new ones as well.. (these ones are a lot techier and d-floor friendly).
seriously, lifelike is a genius.
and im sure that like me, he would like to wish you a merry christmas

beers

ok while i finish my beer- dont you think that kris menace is one of the most under-rated music people ever?

The Presets - My People (Kris Menace Remix)

Heartache - N.U.M.B. (Kris Menace Remix)

The O T Quartet - Hold That Sucker Down (Lifelike & Kris Menace Remix)

ok so maybe hes not the most underrated person ever but i think he needs to be much more famous than he is.. i think some nokia ad style personality lifting is in order

so what

i dont care if i was the last person to get this song. it is really awesome.. like late 90's house awesome. like that remix of 'sun is shining' by bob marley awesome

Tough Alliance - Neo Violence (Shazam Remix)

like cut copy awesome?

Cut Copy - Saturdays (Kingroc Remix)

like lifelike/kris menace awesome??????

Lifelike & Kris Menace - Discopolis (A Hundred Birds Remix)
seriously - probably not cos this is probably one of the best songs to to sing- and playing it with live bass, percussion, horns and strings (instruments)- hundred birds style is probably the best thing ive ever heard

as good as jumping ship and finding a new job?

tell me is it me or my upbringing?

photo: Jack Walsh

ive talked about this before but dont you reckon that crappy weather really makes you listen to different beats..
its been wack weather for about a week now and i have been listening to nonstop gangsta shit and strummy stuff. i remember last time it was like this (not that long ago) i started listening to proggy/dubby styled electro..

listening to different beats like this is probably a good thing before the thumping doof-doof onslaught that will no doubt take place over the long weekend.

Tupac and Notorious BIG - Runnin' (Dying to Live)

Notorious BIG - Juicy (DJ Premier Mix)

awwwww shit.

on the other side of the coin, i have also been cranking the most quiet of beats.. Angus and Julia Stone
who are awesome.
ive seen them at many various festivals recently but have only been coherent enough to watch properly once. and that one time knocked my socks off. they have a sort of mystical untouchability.. plus the amazing hotness of julia stone.

Angus and Julia Stone - Just A Boy

Angus and Julia Stone - Here We Go Again

In a similar vein to the stonezzz are Windy and Destiny, an israel duet that make cool little lo-fi/folk jams. i still cant work out what i think of the album but there are definitely a few good'uns on there.. plus her voice sounds like hope from mazzy star.

Windy and Destiny - In My Melodies

Windy and Destiny - Beg Me Please

finally- before i go and drench my self in various electronica once again here are the Last Shadow Puppets. brit-pop is not usually something i like. at all. when i read that this band featured alex from the arctic monkeys i was sceptical.
but it turned out A-OK- PHEW! some cool downtempo moody bluesy ditties.

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement

The Last Shadow Puppets - My Mistakes Were Made For You

yes whoa this was an alternative/rap post. whoa. dance next time.

happy weekends!

ps wow im listening to the m83 mix of shadows by midnight juggernauts.. AMAZING check it out here (and check out the lifelike mix of Does It Offend You, Yeah? while you are there- lifelike is an absolute god. man god. man of ages. god man.)

the week after

busy-ness has occured for all wearing a blouse this weekend.. good busy-ness.. the kind where many drinks are consumed, many bumping tracks are dropped and many hours of sleep lost. mmmmm..

one thing i love- but know my girlfriend must hate- is me thinking out loud about the songs that i thought went well in one of my sets.. "hmmm i reckon "_______" went off!!! dont you???" blaaaaaaaa. must be annoying.

Wolfgang Gartner - Killer

Sono - A New Cage (Digitalism Mix)

Xinobi - BMX (Moulinex Mix) ive already posted this but cos it is fire ill post it again

Praise be to all y'all that shared funs with me and the rest of the blouse crew wherever we happened to be (in particular to those at Bamboozled, Exposed or Big Guns)

Hmmm must rush off but thought but thought id throw two awesome Headman remixes your way- the Ricky D mix is straight up stockholm quality baby

Headman - Catch Me If U Can (Bagraiders Mix)

Headman - Catch Me If U Can (Ricky D Fast Lane Mix)

PS i know this has been floating aroung blogton for a while now but i got it sent 'specially to me and would feel bad if i didnt post it cos its pretty rad

The Presets - Are You The One (Lifelike Mix)

wow what a (busy) way for the week to start after such a jampacked weekend