Steve's Best of 2012

Sorry to be a little late off the mark!

2012 was a pretty decent year in electronic music wasn't it? In it, we saw a modern batch of tech house gain a steady foothold - names like Jamie Jones, Maya Jane Coles, Seth Troxler and Maceo Plex rang out often and all over the world.

But what were the highlights? Below is a wee little list of my picks of the year.

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Odeiyolaoo Mambo

Mixtape blues. Fuck.

Finding suitable tracks, putting them into order and then mixing them is proving to be an extremely frustrating process. Who would have thought?

Introduction songs, ending songs, build up songs, banging songs... GAH.

The single positive that I can take out of this whole experience is that I have managed to reconnect with the world of disco.
After a period of intermittent-at-best disco following, it was nice to see that things have been bubbling away nicely while I have been gone.

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Havah Nagilah (A Night With Future Classic)

Blouse: "Attempting valiantly to get back on the horse in 2012." 

Whilst we track down some time, please enjoy a couple of superb tracks which are inspired by the upcoming (and hugely exciting) Future Classic night at the Keystone Festival Bar. 

This year sees two masters - in the form of Prins Thomas and DJ Koze - gracing the wheels of steel.

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Cabin Party

 wow this post is going to be a good'un.. absolutely fit for a sunday of recovery.
"snooze 4 love" is a recent todd terje number, lifted from his "ragysh" release from earlier this year.. the title track had me hooked initially, but the playful synths and happy/serious vibe of "snooze 4 love" make it my new favourite.. seriously love the multi-dimensional nature of this track. so much good stuff going on:

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cloudy friday

matias aguayo is perfect for a day like this. it may be cloudy and cold outside, but his vitamin d inducing carnivale music makes me feel like doing a little sweaty samba.
it may have taken me a little while to get my head around the playful, warm carnival groove of 'ay ay ay' but im glad that i have now - getting a bit of latin sun in my headphones is nice.

Matias Aguayo - Ritmo Juarez (mediafire link)

seeing him play a kompakt warehouse party in st peters many moons ago was one of, if not the main force that got me into the world of minimal, techno and idm. he was an inspired performer that combined all forms of minimal, techno, house and 80's pop into such an intelligent and coherent set that i walked away with a renewed faith in djing as an artform.

Matias Aguayo - Menta Latte (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) (mediafire link)

grab 'ay ay ay' here if you need some friday spice.

if you are in melbourne tonight and missed the promo on waves at night, here it is again: the almighty todd terje is playing tonight at roxanne parlour! definitely an unmissable occasion for any one in the city with any sort of inclination toward disco, scandinavia, or balearia.

Wally Warning - Land of Hunger (Todd Terje Edit) (mediafire link)

have a good weekend! hope to see you at todd terje!

ive landed

so here i finally am. settled in melbourne. new city, new house, shiny new server space. and new internet connection at home (perhaps the most vital part of any blogging endeavour).
as i said before, writing for blouse sydney in melbourne will be a little strange, but im kind of freaked out at the prospect of changing our url. does anyone have any experience in doing this? is there any way to do it without getting us lost?

they say that moving house is one of the most stressful things a person can do, and i would definitely have to agree. finding space to fit all of my stuff in the new house has been a bit of a nightmare, but thankfully my man curtis was here to smooth frayed nerves. todd terje applies a little magic to this edit, stripping back the vocals and getting a bit deep..

Curtis Mayfield - Give Me Your Love (Todd Terje Tangoterje Edit)

there has been quite buzz about german group von spar recently - you may have heard the excellently lush remix of 'troops' by prince language (if you havent, you really have to get over here and check it out), but i'm really enjoying the original at the moment. percussive, tribal and a whole wheelbarrow of kraut-disco fun..

Von Spar - Troops

grab von spar's latest lp 'foreigner' here.

im not sure how i came across jimmy edgar, but im glad that i did. his bouncy 'tell it to the heart' ep has helped me to get through the craziness of the melbourne office very nicely. 'seven mile' is a light, loungey kind of track with a slight tech twinge and some great synth stabs. a nice bubbly track for a thursday morning

Jimmy Edgar - Seven Mile

grab jimmy edgar's 'tell it to the heart' here.

recap

the avalanche of quality new music in 2010 is somewhat shocking. it seems that i barely have time to calm myself after an excellent release before i find myself again pulling out my hair over something new.

take this goldfrapp remix by greg wilson for instance: probably the closest thing to perfection ive heard all year. it came up on wilson's bestival promo mix and when i heard it, i was literally stopped in my tracks. you may call them cheesy, but epic, emotion-laden strings twist my dials every time.
apparently it wont be properly released for a while, so i took some initiative and sliced it out of the bestival mix for your listening pleasure..

Goldfrapp - Dreaming (Greg Wilson Version) (DJ Set Rip) (taken down by request)

another cause for major excitement in blouse land has been the release of todd terje's 'remasters of the universe'..
there may be a few tracks and mixes on 'remasters...' that have been floating around for a while, but there are also some rare bits and bobs that i didnt even know existed.. like this version of 'all that she wants' by ace of base that he made under the name 'chuck norris'. it may be so so simple, but that familiar, smooth, rolling bassline coupled with reverby snares are a match made in musical heaven.

Chuck Norris (aka Todd Terje) - All That She Wants

grab terje's 'remasters of the universe' here.. you know its worth it.

ichisan and nakova dropped their debut long-player 'yugo tempo' on us not long ago and as expected, it is a really solid effort. i was perhaps expecting more grand, sweeping compositions (considering ichisan is on board), but in their place is bubbling, raw and suitably cosmic funk. 'tarantela' comes from the darker side of the album and features an array of stringed instruments - expect banjos and twangy guitars before the strings tie it all together.

Ichisan & Nakova - Tarantela

grab 'yugo tempo' by ichisan and nakova here..

this new pollyn/paul simon edit ambushed me while i was writing this post.. i havent listened to paul simon in quite some time, and hearing his innocent voice again was really good. pollyn hasnt changed things up too much here, instead allowing simon's voice and melodies take the spotlight..

Paul Simon - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (Pollyn Re-edit)

if you havent subscribed to allez allez's weekly podcast yet, please do so immediately.

simply shit

Readers, before you read on, visit Shit Robot's Myspace to look at his photos and photo comments (here) and then you will be in a jolly mood when you read my review.

Is it possible for Shit Robot to live up to his name and actually create a shit piece of electronic music yet? I think not. Simple Things, his latest track on DFA, is a prime example. The man can do no wrong.

This infectious late-night burner comes straight from a neon-lit Sunset Boulevard, circa 1990. As the cruising 90s beat kicks in and the young Barry White-esque vocals rise from the doldrums, this track makes me close my eyes, sway my shoulders and gently groove my behind. The classic piano chords are just enough and the song exudes élan rather than bangin' it from the rooftops. Hedonistic and utterly cool, Simple Things oozes more mojo than an episode of Miami Vice.

Shit Robot - Simple Things

The only downfall of having a near impeccable track is the tough task its remixers face. In this case, Serge Santiago and Todd Terje both struggled to add anything whilst still retaining the essence of a song that exudes flash 90s cool without even trying.

In Santiago’s case, he’s added too many dynamics. Clanging cymbals, frequent build ups and some blips here and there make the track dance floor friendly but take away from the simplicity and panache of Shit Robot’s original. It’s as though he has struggled with the track’s length as well, showing moments of excitement but lacking cohesion overall. Similarly, Terje’s remix turns up the banging beat and 90s pianos and has glimpses of intensity but otherwise lacks oomph and flattens out a track that had a lot of natural charisma. Both the remixes and the original will suit the club but there’s only one you’d want to pump with a Cadillac full of California girls and a late night of mojhitos ahead of you.

Shit Robot - Simple Things (Serge Santiago Remix)

Shit Robot - Simple Things (Todd Terje Remix)


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soundtracks

we were driving along crown st or something the other day and saw numerous pairs of shoes hanging from the powerlines. how the fuck do people do that? never mind the social connotations that shoes-on-powerlines have.. how do they get up there in the first place? seriously. do people stand there in the dead of the night taking pot shots? i think they must. absolutely mind-boggling. what happens if they get caught?

attempting to unravel mysteries like this needs some kind of soundtrack. i nominate these tracks as rad think-alongs. would be especially good if the think-along was held on a saturday night in a nightclub on the d-floor.

Todd Terje - Eurodans

Simian Mobile Disco - 10000 Horses Can't Be Wrong

so many mysteries.. how did the trolleys end up in the trees near new res in canberra? how did andy uprock become so 'talented'?

word on the street is that guy gerber is coming to australia soon to play a live set at we love sounds and to help people solve stuff.

Guy Gerber - Timing

i think he might be playing during armin van buuren's 5 hour set. if you can somehow draaaggg yourself away from the the 'armin only' arena then go and consult with guy gerber.