Passerine + GLOVES

So, I've had this track from back in November on repeat the last couple of days. Our old friend GLOVES has made a very nice housey nu disco remix of Passerine's "Paris Morning". Nice groove and thundering bass aside, what really sets it alight is the wonderful harmonies of those chords.



The original R'n'B dub is a nice song too.

Justin Faust - Girl Talk EP

Last Friday Justin Faust released his new EP "Girl Talk" on Discotexas. Bad timing, since we're amidst the summer holidays. Or at least I've been. Then again, Jonny would probably argue that I've been on vacation since around February. On the upside I had the opportunity to meet up with Justin in Munich where we talked about the EP (and of course how much we're looking forward to the new Jersey Shore season). Not surprisingly he was very happy with the EP; both his originals and the remixes. It seems we, him and the Discotexas people aren't the only ones since it went straight up to top 5 on Beatport's Indie Dance/Nu Disco chart. Well deserved!

To me, G.L.O.V.E.S' remix narrowly edges out Bit Funk's and Herr Styler's strong remixes as my favourite of the bunch. Great to hear some new stuff from one of the true great Australian acts. Let's hope he pulls a Bag Raiders very soon. If he does we'll try to convince him to end his World tour in Stockholm, oh let's say next spring?

Justin Faust - Girl Talk by Discotexas

Justin Faust - Get Down by Discotexas

Justin Faust - High Hopes by Discotexas

Justin Faust - Girl Talk (Gloves Remix) by Discotexas

Justin Faust - Girl Talk (Bit Funk Remix) by Discotexas

Justin Faust - Girl Talk (Herr Styler Remix) by Discotexas

Pick up the release on Beatport! Swipe this for free though:

Justin Faust - Do It Again (320 kbps)

Of all the great music we should write about but end up not writing about (since we really need to hire some interns), Discotexas' last release with Lazydisco needs a mention. Lazydisco made that awesome remix of Toro y Moi last winter remember? The EP contains more of that smooth and funky lazydisco, plus some great remixes.

DT007 - Lazydisco - More Tigers by Discotexas

Lazydisco - More Tigers (Coupons Remix) (320 kbps)

Lazydisco - More Tigers (Astrolabe Remix) (320 kbps)

After this little round-up we are happy to spread the news that our Polish darlings Kamp! will release their next single on Discotexas. That's something to look forward to!

Kimbra + G.L.O.V.E.S & Shook

One of our new favourite girls is Kimbra, one nice voice from New Zealand. Maybe New Zealand is the next thing after Australia and Canada. Leno Lovecraft is for example one big thing from the NZ island.

But focus on Kimbra and the two fine remixes of "Cameo Lover", taken from the forthcoming album "Vows", that we got from her earlier today. And it's two Tracasseur faves that made these remixes, G.L.O.V.E.S and Shook. Enjoy!

Kimbra - Cameo Lover (G.L.O.V.E.S Remix) (128 kbps)

Kimbra - Cameo Lover (Shook Remix) (128 kbps)

Bonus: the other day we wrote about the Aussie trio RÜFÜS and they have made a re-edit of a Gotye track featuring Kimbra.

Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know (RÜFÜS Re-edit) (320 kbps)

Arnie Becker's best of 2010

So it's time for a new Best of the Year post. I won't bore you with the usual "it was sooo difficult selecting the tracks", even if it was. For example my already cropped-down list of 25 suddenly grew to 34 just before I went to bed last night. I managed to get it down to 25 again today, and compared to the thousands of tracks I've listened to this year they have all been in the top of my most played lists, have meant something special or generally made a big impression on me. So if your track ended up around number 20, please don't see it as a terrible write-down; there's a lot of great music I had to exclude, and I spent more time cropping the list than getting the list in exactly the right order.

But let's go to work.

#25. Volta Cab - Clarissa

I'll start my way up to the top with Volta Cab who added to the Russian wave that the likes of Tesla Boy started. Volta Cab makes dreamy nu disco or soft house though, and my favourite track from the strong debut EP was the title track.

Volta Cab - Clarissa


#24. David E. Sugar - Flea Market (Third Party Remix)

David who? yeah, I know we haven't written about him, so adding him on my top of the year list might seem like we haven't done our job. In part that's true, David E. Sugar made a great album, and a great single in "Flea Market", so this is a small step to make it up to him. Also, I really liked the 90s rave air of the break in the Third Party remix. More stuff like that is coming up.

David E. Sugar - Flea Market (Third Party Remix)
128 kbps - buy the full quality version here!

#23. Jen Bloom - All I'm Dreaming Of

There were some strong beautiful female voices singing beautiful pop songs with up-tempo beats this year. One favourite was Ellie Goulding, another one was Jen Bloom, who with the production help of monstr made a great song, and a great single with remixes from Artwork and Dcup.

Jen Bloom - All I'm Dreaming Of


#22. The Toxic Avenger - ANGST:ONE

The Toxic Avenger released an epic EP late this autumn. Of two versions by Toxic himself and two great remixes we could have chosen either one, but since (spoiler alert!) Black Strobe will pop up later, I went with the intense, yet melodic original.

The Toxic Avenger - ANGST:ONE


#21. Delphic - Halcyon (Clancy Remix)

And now some power-synth to cover all the nutrition groups in the food pyramid. Clancy was a new acquaintance in the spring. Him teaming up with Build is really a match made in heaven. Favourite Clancy was one of his two remixes of Delphic.

Delphic - Halcyon (Clancy Remix)


#20. Build - Palm Tree

Did anyone say Build? He had already built up a great reputation for his up-tempo remixes and characteristic sound. This year he showed us that he's more than just a great remixer.

Build - Palm Tree


#19. Stay Ali - 97

Great debut EP from the talented trio Stay Ali on Technofavrik, the label run by another great; Monsieur Adi. The Swedish trio have apart from their obvious talents, the feeling for beautiful melodies sometimes that slightly quirky and artsy touch that show their background in art music.

Stay Ali - 97


#18. Punches - Feeling Right (Justin Faust Remix)

This year we were fortunate to play with some great djs. One of them was Justin Faust who we happened to have been fans of for quite a while. He turned out to be just as great a guy as producer and DJ, and his happy disco take on his music gelled perfectly with upcoming Brooklyn act Punches', who with a different sound have essentially the same take.

Punches - Feeling Right (Justin Faust Remix)


#17. Fare Soldi - Il Vecchio e il Mullet

Fare Soldi had a very productive year, spitting out remixes and original tracks. We loved the fat frico disco, and we had a great time when we played together in Stockholm. Plus we got some great advice from the label veterans for when we start a label of our own. I could have picked any of a number of tracks and remixes, but the hair metal guitars in "Il Vecchio e il Mullet" sums up their playful sound perfectly.

Fare Soldi - Il Vecchio e il Mullet


#16. Chemical Brothers - Swoon (Boys Noize Remix)

Boys Noize' remix of The Chemical Brothers's "Swoon" was the hyped track at the Exit festival this summer. Everyone played it, including David Guetta (I think), and it will forever make us remember the sunrises of the Dance Arena.

Chemical Brothers - Swoon (Boys Noize Remix)


#15. Tesla Boy - Rebecca

We are still the massive Tesla Boy fans we were in 2009, so meeting them down in Serbia made us giggle like schoolgirls. Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, but we're stoked that wheels are in motion to bring them to Sweden. They released their full-length album this year, and "Rebecca" was my new favourite.

Tesla Boy - Rebecca EP • (Preview) by Mullet Records
Buy the single on Juno!

#14. Grum - Through The Night (Perseus Remix)

Someone else who have been a favourite for ages and who released his first full-length album was Grum. Me and Jonny argued a bit about who'd get the "Through the Night" original on his list. It ended up with me having to "settle" with the Perseus remix which is just inches behind the original. Am I being too hard on Perseus? Well, they don't need to sulk since I've already heard one of their upcoming remixes which is bound to end up on my Best of 2011 list... More on that later though.

Grum - Through The Night (Perseus Remix)


#13. Fiero - Tonight

A late entry on the list, but with a bullet marking. I really loved Fiero's Janet Jackson remix and their 80s sound. And we're not talking about all the '83 italo sounds from the nu italo, we're talking about romantic '87 Quincy Jones sounds. The track that has grown the most on me is their power-ballad-house original "Tonight". Thanks Digitalfoxglove for the tip, and expect more from these guys in 2011!

Fiero - Tonight


#12. Jamaica - I Think I Like U 2 (Breakbot Remix)

Not much coming from the magic hands of Justice this year, but on the other hand Xavier de Rosnay produced the re-named Poney Poney; Jamaica. Great indie pop with electro genes. Breakbot continued to produce great remixes in the shadow of his hit "Baby I'm Yours". Jonny picked that one, so I picked his Jamaica remix which made anyone who heard it jump up and dance.

Jamaica - I Think I Like U 2 (Breakbot Remix)


#11. Pnau - With You Forever (FM Attack Remix)

"With You Forever"? 2010? Yes, one of the biggest tracks of 2009 was given this gentle treatment by one of our favourite acts last January. And since it's been my favourite FM Attack track from this year it deserve a place on my list.

Pnau - With You Forever (FM Attack Remix)


#10. Active Child - When Your Love Is Safe (Classixx Remix)

The Americans reacted to all the nu italo from recent years with pointing out that all good music from the 80s wasn't made in Milan in '83. And suddenly the sounds of the 80s retro trend jumped a couple of years ahead and over to the other side of the Atlantic. And if the Fiero track was half ballad half house, this Classixx remix of Active Child was nothing short of a classic R'n'B ballad. And heartbreakingly beautiful at that.

Active Child - When Your Love Is Safe (Classixx Remix)


#9. The Shoes - Stay The Same (Siriusmo & Jan Driver Remix)

Siriusmo is a big favourite. He's always super funky and there's usually a lot going on in his tracks. His remix collaboration with Jan Driver of The Shoes' great track starts off laidback and funky and then builds and builds. Great track to kick in a new gear in your set.

The Shoes - Stay The Same (Siriusmo & Jan Driver Remix)


#8. Robyn - Dancing On My Own (Fred Falke Remix)

Robyn has really grown out to be the queen of electropop. Her transformation from her early commercial bubblegum pop days to who she is today is truly impressive, and her success is well deserved. Fred Falke had a slower year this year than the year before. But his remix of everyone's favourite Robyn track is Monsieur Falke in fine form.

Robyn - Dancing On My Own (Fred Falke Remix)


#7. Fenech-Soler - Stop and Stare

Fenech-Soler's debut album was my favourite album this year. I just love their utterly danceable indie pop. The new single "Demons" is awesome, but my pick is the delirious rave-samba-indie song "Stop and Stare" which was on my favourite compilation of the year: Kitsuné Maison 9.

Fenech-Soler - Stop and Stare


#6. Black Strobe - Me and Madonna (Jolie Cherie Remix)

Black Strobe not only made a great remix of the Toxic Avenger track above, they released a single of their own on Kistuné, which was a solid release with great remix support. My favourite was the Jolie Cherie remix with its trance-synth break.

Black Strobe - Me and Madonna (Jolie Cherie Remix)
128 kbps - buy the full quality version here!


#5. kamp! - Distance of the Modern Hearts

Kamp! went from strength to strength and snatch a spot on my list this year too, this time with an original. "Distance..." is a piece of extremely well-written pop music with lots of breaks and build-ups leading up to a great finale. We are really looking forward to go to Poland in a few weeks to support their mini-tour.

kamp! - Distance of the Modern Hearts


#4. Miami Horror - Sometimes (G.L.O.V.E.S. Remix)

Yeah, I know I had the original on my Best of 2009 list, and I know that the G.L.O.V.E.S remix was leaked as early as last December, and I know that "Holidays" is an awesome track from Miami Horror's equally awesome album that came out this year. But I just can't look past this track that came to be my soundtrack to the summer of '10. I just love how it starts off all relaxed before erupting in a house piano orgy.

Miami Horror - Sometimes (G.L.O.V.E.S. Remix)


#3. TEETH!!! - See Spaces (DREAMTRAK DIAMOND SOUND)

This track made it to the podium even if TEETH!!! acted like amateurs and assholes when they deleted my Youtube video, giving me a first strike in the process. Such injustice will take time to forget, but it's on the other hand not Dreamtrak's fault. Plus this 90s-flavoured rave-anthem is just such a great track, and have had more than a few dancefloors go crazy.

TEETH!!! - See Spaces (DREAMTRAK DIAMOND SOUND)


#2. M'Black - Heartbreak (Diamond Cut Remix)

2010 was a lot of disco, 90s rave and power-synth. No matter how much we played Diamond Cut's remix of M'Black, we never grew tired of it. Great pop song and wonderfully well-produced. It has kind of a slow start, but when it starts to unravel after two minutes it's worth the wait. Plus I love it when the wall of sound  hits you like sledgehammer after the break.

M'Black - Heartbreak (Diamond Cut Remix)
128 kbps - buy the full quality version here!


#1. Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Monsieur Adi Remix)

My favourite track of the year is the result of a perfect match between two extremely talented musicians with what seems as great appreciation of each other (we know Ellie Goulding likes Monsieur Adi's remixes as much as we do). That the original is a great pop song helps of course. The result is an intensely beautiful song that still works well on a dance floor. I send a gold medal down to Paris that will match Adi's golden robot body perfectly.

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Monsieur Adi Remix)

RAR: Arnie Becker's best of 2010 (All the tracks, including awesome artwork)

Exclusive interview: G.L.O.V.E.S

Yama Indra Hondow-Wellby is the former front-man of the now defunct band Damn Arms, and is now producing wonderful music under the name G.L.O.V.E.S. The Australian nu disco maestro has been one of our favourite producers for quite a while, so today we're really proud to present an exclusive interview with him. Let's cut to the chase!

Hello Yama Indra, tell us what you’ve been up to lately!
Today I had a photo shoot, which I worked on in collaboration with my close friend Chris Hill of KROZM. We spent the morning tracking down a super powerful smoke machine, then picked up some film, burgers, my friend Kate (her hand was in the shot), a bottle of milk, some electric blue flouro lights and then goofed around for the afternoon taking some shots [you see the result in the pic above]. Now I’m kicking back with a chilled juice listening to some Teddy Pendergrass at my studio, going to be a late night working on a remix for a new Aussie band called ‘Gold Fields’. I’m going to be assisting in additional production for their album out next year (shameless plug!).

Sounds sweet! You have a pretty summery sound. With the Australian summer approaching, can we look forward to more music from you to light up the dark winter up north?
Haha, yeah I know, people often say my mixes sonically personify summer. There’s plenty more music coming soon, and all very summery as usual. I have remixes coming for Bag Raiders, Gold Fields and SGF-1, a collaboration EP with Miami Horror we are working on at the moment, a new Gloves EP and productions for a bunch of other artists that I’ve been working on. Music galore!

It seems you have funky basslines running in your blood; do you play the bass yourself?
Yes I play bass, but I’m really not very good. I have played bass in bands, but I can’t play really funk bass or slap. I have to record small sections at a time - lucky I’m great at editing so hopefully it all sounds like one smooth performance in the end! Do I need to say Bernard Edwards is my bass inspiration? Probably not, it’s pretty freakin’ obvious.

What are your musical influences?
I love so much music, so many genres. As long as it’s not electronic music over 150bpm, that I don’t like so much! For Gloves I think I’m most directly influenced by early Chicago and Italo House, 80s boogie funk, 70s rock and of course disco. For me personally though, the biggest inspirations on me have been My Bloody Valentine, Chic (and everything touched by the Chic corporation), J Dilla, The Smiths and Telex (and everything with Marc Moulin).

As part of Damn Arms you labelled your music yacht house. How would you describe the music you make now? Speedboat disco?
Haha, yes that works. I think my next record though will be best described as cruise-ship soul.

Sounds intriguing… The ‘Aussie electro’ scene exploded around the mid-noughties, and a few years ago it seemed all new great music was either French or Australian. What’s your take on the whole Aussie wave?
It’s really hard for me to say objectively. It’s strange though isn’t it? We have quite a small population also (only 20 million), which makes it even more perplexing. You can see many people around the world imitating each other without any heart in the music. In Australia we are still often imitating other people, but I think we put more heart into it. Also it’s just cultural evolution, we’re still quite isolated (culturally and geographically) which I think allows unique trends and styles to develop.

If the Australian wave has moved more and more towards low-fi disco, where do you think the next step is? More straight up house as Dcup for example?
For me, I’m focusing on smooth pop, quality songwriting and house music. I like the lo-fi disco thing and always have, there is now an overabundance though of soul-less and unexciting examples within the genre both here and worldwide which are boring me to death. For Australia specifically though, I think there is a new wave of disco and house influenced pop music coming which should be fresh and exciting. Right now I’m producing some tracks for an artist named Romy that are like deep Chicago house influenced pop, it’s definitely a fresh sound! (shameless plug #2?).

Do you have any personal favourites from Down Under, who we need to know about?
Some new favourites are my friends Gold Fields, World’s End Press and also Nile Delta, they are doing incredible music. Catcall is great, I produced her last single. Of course Knightlife, Shazam, Cassian, Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, Van She and any other friends I have forgotten to mention!
Also Flash & the Pan and Icehouse are my two great Australian acts from the past that are worth looking up - I’m not sure they are very known outside of Australia.

Hadn’t heard of the last two to be honest, so we’ll have to check them out. You dj a lot too, right? What sort of music do you normally play, and what music is the most fun to play?
I mainly play filter house, French house, disco house, Aussie touch, Chicago house and a few older throwback disco tunes in a set. The most fun? It’s all fun, haha.
Actually I have a friend that runs a 90s RnB/Hip Hop night and sometimes I secretly DJ there (not as Gloves) and just play lot’s of g-funk and 90s RnB hits which is always a total blast.

I know you played at a Marc Jacobs fashion-show earlier this year. How was it to play for a catwalk? A bit stiffer than usual, or did you make the models and the audience dance?
When I started playing it was during the show, so everybody had to keep seated & the models were walking. All the models were really sweet. Them, all of their friends and anyone else under 30 was dancing afterward. Such a fun night, I drank a lot of Champagne at the show then stayed out all night partying with a wild bunch of Singaporean friends at a dance festival on a tiny island offshore.

Just a regular night out then, hehe… A little bird told me you’re coming to Europe next summer. Do you have any gigs scheduled?
It’s true! I’m so excited! I’ll be based in Milan from approximately March to September 2011 and will most definitely be doing gigs throughout the European summer! Keep an eye on my facebook / myspace for dates!

We certainly will. Last question; what do you prefer – boxing gloves or silk gloves?
Silk. I’m a sucker for luxury fabrics.

Thanks for the interview!
Feel the love, see you in 2011!

Bag Raiders - Sunlight (GLOVES Remix) by GLOVES

SGF-1 - Castor Sugar (G.L.O.V.E.S Remix)

Radio Ink - Physical (G.L.O.V.E.S Remix)

World's End Press - Faithful (G.L.O.V.E.S 'China White' Club Mix)

MIXTAPE: November 2010 for Triple J Radio Mix Up by GLOVES

Bonus G.L.O.V.E.S classics:

G.L.O.V.E.S - PYX

G.L.O.V.E.S - PYX (Golden Bug Remix)

G.L.O.V.E.S - Too Much To Dream

Van She - Changes (G.L.O.V.E.S Remix)

Golden Bug - Last Dance In Tokyo (G.L.O.V.E.S ReWrite)

Get Stellar - The Moment (G.L.O.V.E.S Remix)

Miami Horror (again)

We have already written about Miami Horror's debut album that was released this week. It's excellent, and you really should buy it. The new single is called "I Look to You", and this dreamy disco-pop song is one of my favourite tracks of the album. The single is accompanied with an equally dreamy video:



As nice as it is, a big reason for this post is actually to post one of my favourite tracks of this summer; G.L.O.V.E.S' remix of last year's Miami Horror single "Sometimes". I don't know how I managed to miss it when it was released around January, but either way it's the perfect summer track with it's mellow synths and super-funky bassline, which peaks in an early-90s-house-piano bliss towards the end. It's just pure magic!

Miami Horror - Sometimes (G.L.O.V.E.S. Remix)

"Journey" from Matt Van Schie

The latest single from Van She bassist Matt Van Schie's solo project is called "Journey". It's a bit more dreamy than earlier release "Saturday Night". As our friends over at French Express described the new track: "epic new wave yacht rock". It's produced by his band mate Michael Di Francesco (aka Arithmatix!) but also by one of our favourites; Diamond Cut. Get the fine 4-track EP "Balmy Nights" here.

Matt Van Schie - Journey

Matt Van Schie - Saturday Night

Matt Van Schie - Saturday Night (GLOVES Remix)