Monday, March 9, 2015

Utropstech - Malplacebo

Got a tip the other day from a friend knowing a guy that was about to release his second EP. It sounded interesting when he told me about his music and then I forgot about my friends chat conversation. But my friend reminded me yesterday and I took a listen to Utropstech. I was extremely happy that I took a listen! Such a solid EP from Utropstech.

One of the greatest things with running Tracasseur is the chance to get to know unknown and small artists and producers around the globe that are great. The feeling when you know that you have such a gifted talent in front of you and you can be able to help out with a post, showing the world something totally new and fresh. Today that feeling is all about Utropstech!

The short story about Utropstech is about a 25-year-old guy living in a small city in Sweden named Skövde. The city of Skövde isn't famous for bringing forward great tech house producers, but now they have their first really talented one. Utropstech has been producing back and forth for twelve years and most of time just for the fun of it. He has also been into the EDM but the last three years he has become more serious and landed in the style that he kind of always have wanted to produce, tech house.

I love his work with all the details and small sounds in his music and he also told me that he always been focusing on the soundscape and the "perfect" details. This EP sums up pretty good Utropstech's way of thinking tech house the last year. Very well thought I must say! I'm already longing for the next release. This release is out on Sequence Media Group, a label from his hometown of Skövde, that have understood the golden opportunity to find the home producers on the west coast of Sweden.

SoundCloud-links below to listen, if you prefer Spotify click here and if you want to buy the EP head over to iTunes.







Thursday, February 12, 2015

[Free download] Kids At Midnight - Survival

Awesome Aussies #2: Kids At Midnight's new single "Survival" reminds me of another bunch of talented women; the Haim sisters. It also shows Jane's versatility that she can make utterly danceable house and disco tunes in addition to this dreamier and more delicate sound. Just such a beautiful song!

Tear Council - Anywhere

Awesome aussies #1: Matt Van Schie has teamed up with Van She colleague Michael Di Francesco to make this dreamy synthpop/tropical/nu disco gem under the name Tear Council. It's just as awesome as you'd expect from the pair.


Saturday, February 7, 2015

Friend Within - The Square

The upcoming Friend Within EP (out 15 March on He Loves You) seems to be of the usual high quality that we've come to expect from our friend. At least judging by this acid weapon.

[Free download] Modjo - Lady (Terace Rehash)

If you have plans painting the town red tonight this tune will definitely help you get into the spirit. Kiwi/Aussie house duo Terace has updated Modjo's 2000 classic Lady (Hear Me Tonight). It's still as catchy as the original, but with a bouncier beat and deeper bass. Best thing is that it's available for free download on thei Facebook page!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Tracasseur Guest Tape #7: Frederique

Wow, we're really pounding out these Guest tapes, aren't we? Since we, and especially me, really like the UK sound so much, what could be more logical than to ask a German with a French name to do the next one? Hannover DJ and producer Frederique has a very wide range of mostly British music styles ranging from (real) dubstep via bass to house music as evidenced in this little musical journey that he's kindly hammered together for us.

Before we get to the mix,  I think you should check out some freebies and upcoming releases:



And without further ado:
 

Tracklist:

Azzido Da Bass & Timo Maas - Dooms Night (LO’99 Edit)
Andrew Diggs - The Ghost
DevelopMENT - Run ’di’ Track
Focus - Sculpture (VIP)
AndMe. - Thoughts Of You (Tempo Elektrik Remix)
Beyonce - Haunted (Prince Club 6am Remix)
Frederique - Mainstream Gibberish
Frederique & Aaron Jackson - Frequency Test
The Living Graham Bond - Group Logic
Claude VonStroke - Big Ten
Worthy - So Delicious
Cause & Affect - Get To The Chopper
Foamo - Sherlock (My Nu Leng Remix)
Drums Of Death - Calloutchaname

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Louis La Roche - The Receiver EP

British nu disco/French house veteran Louis La Roche is out with a new ep on Mike Mago's BMKLTSCH label. Cool combo since Louis haven't really dived into the deep or UK house trends that Mago use to release on his label, and this ep is much more nu disco than usual BMKLTSCH releases. The original is a very energetic and catchy house banger, our Swedish broder Blende makes a nu disco funk version while The Young Punx makes a slightly more laidback house track that will blend in with your favourite tropical stuff.
 

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Dan Lissvik about to release new EP

I always call Dan Lissvik a mastermind and he always proves me right calling him so. This time he got a new EP coming out February 9 on Smalltown Supersound in his own name. If the other track (and maybe the intro is awesome too) are as good as "Airwalk" we're all in for a treat. The EP will be out both digital and on vinyl, follow the SoundCloud link to get all links to pre-order your copy.



Monday, January 26, 2015

The Avener releases debut album

French deep house producer The Avener released his debut album "The Wanderings Of The Avener" in France a couple of days ago. Unfortunately rest of Europe has to wait until February 23 to be able to buy the album.

The Avener released "Fade Out Lines" last year and it was a tremendous tune. Early this year he released the first track from the album "Panama" and it was even better. So it was with great expectation that I waited for this release. After listening through the album there are a bunch of great ones. For you not living in France, you can still take a quick listen of all tracks here. Now it really sounds that we're from France and with our French-sounding name it's easy to think so, but you know that we're true Swedes, but we got our pre-listening connections.

Below we have gathered some of the tunes from the album that you all can listen to fully.







Saturday, January 24, 2015

Ross Couch - Stronger EP

If you compare house music to another umpbrella genre like jazz music (which house obviously is pretty closely related to), you'll see that both genres have a lot of sub genres depending on stuff like where and when it's conceived, what other genres have been allowed to influence it, how commercial or how artistic pretentions you want to have, and so on.

Now, if you think about old-school jazz music of the sort Woody Allen likes to use in his movies, it would be basically the equivalence to the sort of classic soluful house music that Glasgow producer Ross Couch makes. Have a listen to his Stronger EP, out now on his own Body Rhythm label, and I think you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

The 100 best tracks of 2014 according to us on Spotify

Here it is! Our finest selections of gems from the last year on Spotify. The 100 best tracks from 2014 in a bunch of different genres and styles and of course it also includes our personal top 20 tracks. We think it sums up the year pretty good in 9 hour and 22 minutes. Lots of really fantastic music in there, we hope you will dig it big time! Enjoy!

Friday, January 9, 2015

Sebastian's best of 2014

You know, there are people like Doctors Without Borders helping Ebola victims in Western Africa, people like Malala who risks her life fighting for girls' right to education in Afghanistan, women giving birth and such like. But none of them really understand how hard it is to come up with a best of the year list for your music blog.

I mean, you literally have to spend days listening to your favourite music of the past year, trying to figure out what the hell you have been listening to? Is this a possible inclusion? Is this top track from the top 60, perhaps something for the top 20? Is this song number 5 or 6? And then doing this when you feel like maybe watch a movie instead, or maybe do some facebooking. Not to mention coming up with some sort of intro at the top of the page that has to conclude the whole year.

What I'm trying to say is that I think it's hard to really understand what hardship us artist souls, who every now and then post a track we like when/if we feel like it, and maybe say something moderately funny or insightful about it, go through each year. Not that I want to make Malala feel bad or anything, but it's something to think about.

So, what happened in 2014? Well, even less italo-inspired nu disco, deep house growing bigger and more mainstream and the early adopters of the recent deep house trend moving over to retro sounding techno. Then you had more American back to the roots with acid house and trap/bass. In accordance with going through the rest of the electronic genres originating in the late 80's and early 90's, I also think we saw a return of EDM's nerdy distant cousin IDM with a more cerebral and conceptual take on music rather than the more instincts and urges-fuelled bass and garage or the more spiritiual side of the soulful deep house. I'm thinking of the return of  Aphex Twin but also a whole host of other producers starting doing more ellaborate and introvert music.  So house music is going in different directions: more high-brow, more classic soulful and afro beat or more ghetto, all the while middle of the road deep house seems to be becoming the new EDM. Where will it end?

As usual, is this an Objective List of the Ojectively Best songs of the last calendar year? No, it's not. I probably forgot a bunch of songs (I always do), and are they really the ones I've liked the most over the year or my favourite songs from 2014 of january 2015? Well, I try to aim at the former, but I can't guarantee that I succeed.


#1. Caribou - Can't Do Without You (Tale Of Us & Mano Le Tough Remix) [City Slang]
The top of the list really illustrates the hardship I was talking about in the intro. It became clear pretty early that Caribou, who probably made the second best album of the year, would top the list? But what song, and what remix? The original of "Our Love" was and still is a big favourite (including the video), Carl Craig's remix of "Your Love Will Set You Free" has been on many lists and is great too, even though I'm somehow not convinced that the vocals match the song very well. One that do that better is Tale Of Us and Mano Le Tough's remix of "Can't Do Without You". Plus it has that je ne sai quoi - especially after that beautiful build-up after the breakdown - that would make the eyes fill up. You know, if I wasn't so electronic I shit bits.




#2. Copy Paste Soul - The Fall [2 Swords]
More techno as number two, even if Copy Paste Soul has been pumping out high quality house and garage the last couple of years."The Fall" is a classic Detroit techno track that could have been made by someone like Derrick May, Claude Young or Stacey Pullen in the early 90's or so. Or why not Carl Craig who lost out on the number 1 spot?




#3. Leon Vynehall - It's Just (House of Dupree) [3024]
An example of this more cerebreal and conceptual current is Leon Vynehall, who in my mind made the album of the year with "Music for the Uninvited". The Aphex Twin (looks a bit like him, doesn't he?) or Philip Glass of house music made an extended EP or mini-album exploring the rhythm of house music, but in a more conceptual way. At the same time it's an homage to sitting and playing old cassette tapes, with its cut and paste and very analogue soundscape. Sounds boring and undanceable? Not at all, it's always extremely groovy, but perhaps you want to dress in all black and put on a beret before you start dancing. "It's Just (House of Dupree)" gets to carry the torch for the whole album.




#4. GRADES - Crocodile Tears (Cause & Affect Remix) [Warner]

A bit more catchy is Cause & Affect's remix of GRADES' "Crocodile Tears", making the sweet 2 step pop song into a trap and electro infused piece of futuristic soul with a bit more ghetto edge. This is how crappy mainstream R'n'b *could* sound.




#5. Misun - Eli Eli (Colour Vision 'Mid-Century Modern' Edit) [Unreleased/free download]
Next up is probably the most lo-fi track of the bunch. Colour Vision is someone I promise you'll hear more about (including you Corey). A great debut called "Sur Chic", a host of great tropical house remixes, including an awesome version of Ten Wall's "Walking with Elephants" made up for a very productive year. The favourite was a rather delicate rework of Misun's great original. Has a great Motown or Dusty Springfield feel to it, doesn't it?


#6. Groove Armada - Love Lights The Underground [OM Recordings]
More veterans showing the n00bs how it's done. Groove Armada have been around since the cover of Select magazine either had a picture of Blur or Oasis on them. Or "the next Oasis" of course. "Love lights the Underground" is an awesome EP and the I just love the way those warm piano sounds break out of that trance-inducing techno loop. By the way, go Blur obviously!




#7. EV4NS - Know Ya [Tracy Recordings]
Young French producer EV4NS made one of the best house releases this year out on Spanish label Tracy recordings. Pretty funny, syncopated rhythm, but just a great, soulful deephouse stomper!




#8. Chet Faker - 1998 [Future Classic]
Chet Faker's "1998" is a great piece of techno pop à la someone like Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. I have no idea if something in particular happened in 1998, and since I don't listen to lyrics, listening to the song doesn't shed any light on the matter. But it's a song that still manages to resonate somehow.




#9. Beesmunt Soundsystem - How I Wish [Just Jack]
There's such a lot of great house music coming out of the Netherlands right now. Beesmunt Soundsystem's "How I Wish" is such a great house track with its pumping rhythm, hammering piano and catchy vocals.




#10. Cucumbers - Say My Name [Pura]
It's been somewhat of a shaky year in Swedish-Russian relations last year. Was it a submarine or wasn't it? We still have the warm relations with our brothers and sisters across the Baltic Sea though. We had a great trip to St. Petersburg in the early summer, we're still the same big fans of Russian music, and one of my most frequently played tracks was Cucumbers' "Say My Name" with its sample from Whitney Houston's "Love Will Save the Day". Ochin harasho!

(second half of the Soundcloud track)




#11. Cyril Hahn ft. Rochell Jordan - Slow [Virgin EMI]




#12. Isaac Tichauer - Changes [French Express]




#13. Ante Perry - No Entrance With Shorts [Be An Ape]



#14. Wilfred Giroux - Stronger [Polkadot] 



#15. Odesza ft. Shy Girls - All We Need [Counter]


#16. Dorsia - Ghana [LOFT]



#17. Josh Butler & Bontan ft. Josh Barry - We Found A Place [MTA]



#18. No Artificial Coulours ft. Alex Mills - Reach For Me (Deetron Remix) [PMR]



#19. Julio Bashmore ft, J'Danna - Simple Love [Broadwalk]



#20. Low Steppa - So Real (Low Steppa Club Mix) [Simma Black]

(first half of the track)

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Jonas' best of 2014

2014 has come to an end. So it's time for the highlight of the year when we give you our personal top 20 tracks along with the Spotify Best of list (will be out in 1–2 weeks after this post).

My year in music has partly been that we all three at Tracasseur have had a lot in our personal lives that has made the blog more calm the last months. We are sorry for that, but we promise a fresh start in 2015 with a new design of the blog to be released soon and some other new interesting ideas. Stay tuned!

The other part has of course been the music, the music that I love so much. This year has once again given us some really great stuff. Even if other things goes on in your life making the time for music less, I always keep the music close to my heart and it also fills it wich such joy. Music is fantastic in many ways.

During 2014 I could also really sense the comeback of nu-disco and in 2015 I think the nu-disco will be back bigger than it has been in a couple of years. I could sense that vibe in the choice of my top tracks this year: almost every track in my top 20 list has vocals!

Besides that my list this year consists of everything from super fresh acts to some really hyped ones in the charts. I hope my top 20 selection will have something for everybody :)

Enjoy my friends!

#1. Eelke Kleijn - Mistakes I've Made
A track that hit my ears late in 2014 but it hit my ears well. It has kind of been on repeat in my headphones since it found me and I haven't got tired of it even slightly. That proves to me it's an amazing tune that the Dutchman Eelke Kleijn has made and I also find it to be a well-worthy number one this year! It's a simple tune but yet so great!




#2. Gidge - You
The new Swedish duo Gidge, from Umeå up in the north, released "You" in the spring as the first track to be released from their debut album "Autumn Bells", that was out in the autumn. I love this tune how it works in two parts, where the first part just builds up an epic atmosphere and the second part picks up that atmosphere but also takes the track into another level with some pitch vocals and an even more intense and monotone beat. On repeat for 8 minutes x many times = A lot of atmospheric hours!




#3. David Keno, ME & her - Walking Boots
A superb collaboration between David Keno and the the two soul-sisters ME & her. "Walking Boots" is one of my most played tracks out in the clubs in 2014. The reason is of course a kick-ass track! Perfect vocals along with a perfect deep and techy sound.




#4. Eagles For Hands - Handprints
This track from Eagles For Hands speaks for itself. Just take a listen and you will like it a lot, another listen and you're hooked and after the third listen you will love it! That was kind of how "Handprints" got into me. Now it's your turn, if you haven't heard it before of course.




#5. Kleerup feat. Susanne Sundfør - Let Me In
The Swedish music genius Kleerup has been doing other musical projects for a while and he has also been producing the music to the dystopian space epos "Aniara". But when he returned as Kleerup himself he made it with a new BANG! His mini-album "As If We Never Won" was as good as we hoped and there were a few nice collaborations on it. The best one was with the Norwegian super-woman Susanne Sundfør, who has been everywhere for the last two years. Kleerup and Sundfør together was the dynamic duo that I was looking for! A double BANG!




#6. Oliver $ and Jimi Jules - Pushing On
Another great collaboration, this time between German based Oliver $ and Swiss based Jimi Jules. These two have worked together before and with "Pushing On" they wanted to do a new great collaboration. By using the great vocals from The Quantic Soul Orquestra along with a sound that reminds me of some tropical vibes connecting with classic deep Chicago house.




#7. SRTW - We Were Young (Sascha Kloeber Remix)
Sascha Kloeber made this wonderful deep remix of the mysterious act SRTW. I haven't been able to find the original anywhere, so maybe this is the original then I suppose because even SRTW points to this version. No matter what, it's a really nice tune with smooth vocals.




#8. NONONO - Like The Wind (D. Lissvik Remix)
I always say that Dan Lissvik is a mastermind and every year he proves me right with whatever he takes on. His productions of other acts, his own projects like new great Atelje (check it out!) and his own remixes like this one of NONONO. Everything is always golden! Golden Lissvik!




#9. Röyksopp feat. Jamie Irrepressible - Here She Comes Again
This year Röyksopp toured with Robyn. They also released their last studio album in the old style format. Smart thing they also did was to put this great tune on their album. Many people think their greatest track from the album was with Robyn but I'm holding this one with Jamie McDermott from The Irrepressibles a bit higher.




#10. Chi Thanh - Hotel DAmour
First tune on the list without vocals. This tune doesn't need any vocals when you got the multi-instrumentalist Chi Thanh to serve you music as sweet as "Hotel DAmour" for example.




#11. Jetlag feat. Esther - Walk With Me (Martin Roth Remix)



#12. Above & Beyond feat. Alex Vargas - Sticky Fingers (Lane 8 Remix)



#13. Xinobi - Polana



#14. Lilly Wood & The Prick - Prayer In C (Robin Schulz Remix)



#15. Tapesh & Dayne S - How I Do



#16. Da Lukas - Right Thing! (Club Mix)



#17. Jessie Ware - Tough Love (Cyril Hahn Remix)



#18. Joyce Muniz feat. Bam - Back In The Days



#19. Apollo 84 feat. Hannah Jacques - Catch the Feeling



#20. GusGus - Crossfade (Maceo Plex Mix)