Here's a new Tesla Boy song that you might like. It's more groovy than an instant hi-nrg hit like "Spirit of the Night" or "Rebecca", but still very new wave.
"In Your Eyes", that was included on Kitsuné Maison 12 is still fresh, and a string of remixes has been released during the last month. And they're all free!
Today was also the release of Kitsuné Maison volume 12. As usual there's a lot of good stuff on that. One obvious track is everyone's favourite Russians Tesla Boy and their "In Your Eyes".
We're mighty proud with our new club Virgin Ears that will open this Friday, March 25 at Debaser Medis in Stockholm. One of the things that make us real proud, is our line-up of live-acts that will perform during the night. We have flown in our Russian faves and friends Tesla Boy for their first live show in Sweden ever. That will be an awesome thing on Friday, be ready at 23.15 for something extra.
Besides Tesla Boy we're proud to announce fine Swedish girl Rosanna feat. Rocket Boy. And the rumour says that she will perform a bunch of new tracks and that make us excited. And then we have the fantastic luxury pop duo Montauk, who have had a great year. Now they will perform a live show again, it was a while ago, extra excitement for that because they chose to do it on the premiere of Virgin Ears.
The bonus to all this great live-acts are also our dj-lineup with ourselves, La Petite Putain and Daniel Odelstad. Untz untz...
If you live in Stockholm and like what Tracasseur have done for you with new music and dj-sets, you couldn't miss out on this premiere on Friday. We promise that this is going to be a remembered night filled with a lot of fun!
Tracklist: 1. Isley Brothers - Between the Sheets (Tesla Boy Edit)
2. Tesla Boy - Neon Love
3. Tesla Boy - Minsk-2
4. Tesla Boy - Thinking Of You (Toomy Disco Remix)
5. Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen (Tesla Boy Remix)
6. Sally Shapiro - Miracle (Tesla Boy Remix)
7. Tesla Boy - Electric Lady (7he Myriads Remix)
8. Anoraak - Nightdrive With You (Tesla Boy Remix)
9. Tesla Boy - Liberating Soul
10. Tesla Boy - Dark Street
11. Tesla Boy - Synthetic Prince
12. Tesla Boy - Speed of Light
13. Tesla Boy - Runaway Man
14. Tesla Boy - Spirit Of The Night
15. Tesla Boy - Rebecca
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.
#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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
#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.
"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.
#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.
#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.
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.
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.
#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.
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.
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.
#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.
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.
#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.
Tesla Boy's frontman Anton Sevidov has made a boogie mixtape to celebrate the new year that is around the corner. And now we've got the promised tracklist from Anton, you can see it below.
Tracklist: 1. Eartha Kitt - Where Is My Man (LeSale Edit) 2. Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen (Tesla Boy Edit) 3. Bedmo Disco - Love Jam (Bedmo Disco Dub) 4. Reset - Criticize 5. Thelma Huston - You Used To Hold Me So Tight (DEEP&DISCO Version) 6. SAS - Dreaming (Original Mix) 7. Matthew Kyle - Steps 8. Sting - We"ll Be Together (Tesla Boy Edit) 9. The Dead Rose Music Company - Just A Bitter Love
Tonight at 8 PM (UTC/GMT time) our friends and faves of Tesla Boy will be part of an unique event. They will perform an online show on YATV's channel "Band at Home". The live-show will be broadcast in HD and at the end of the show the audience will be able to chat with the band. You will be able to view the broadcast on YATV's website as well as on the official Tesla Boy site.
Be a part of music history and make sure to tune in to Tesla Boy's online live show! And to get into the right mood take a listen to our favourite Tesla Boy tune.
More beautiful electro-pop: Anoraak, who released his latest single as late as last month, has teamed up with our favourite Swedish nu italo duo Sally Shapiro. The result is, not surprisingly, wonderful. Just as last time these two acts collaborated on Anoraak's remix of "Anorak Christmas".
Tracasseur are back in Sweden after five fantastic days in Novi-Sad in Serbia at the Exit Festival. We're so happy being there, it was a tremendous time with friendly Serbian people, dedicated fans of us, great artists performing and amazing weather.
The summary will of course begin with our own dj-set together with Glasnost Showcase. Our gig was on Friday between 9 to 11 P.M. at the Elektrana Stage driven by the great people of Elektrana. When the sun was setting down the guys of Glasnost Showcase went on stage.
After an hour it was time for Tracasseur to enter the stage, then it was real dark because of the sun went down fast. Smacked with people in front of the stage at that time but after only 15 minutes it was crowded all way back. The audience seemed to have a great time and so did we. We were so into it that we even went in front of the stage after the final track to bow to our amazing audience.
Here is a summary video of the Tracasseur dj-set:
We started out the set in a nu disco feeling to gradual increase the tempo and finished off with more heavier electro stuff. Here are some of the tracks that were in the dj-set:
Except our own dj-set we went to see a bunch of great acts performing on different stages around the Exit Festival area within the Petrovaradin fortress.
Day 1 The first day we caught LCD Soundsystem, a great show of Chromeo (video below), a not that great show of Crookers and finished of the night with crazy Die Antwoord and Boys Noize. When the sun started rising we caught The Good Guys and Black Rose before we headed home. A great first day of Exit!
Day 2 Second day was the day of our gig, so of course this was the main thing for everybody at the festival. But when we were finished with our set we went to see a fantastic show of Moderat (video below). The night ended with Josh Wink, Ricardo Villalobos and Marko Nastic.
Day 3 On the third day we started at the Elektrana Stage with our Russian friends and favourites Tesla Boy (video below). Amazing gig that were kind of a more heavier, industrial synth sound than usual, that we liked a lot. After their gig we went backstage to have a chat with the guys and it ended up with this fine fan photo.The Twelves from Brazil were the next thing to see after Tesla Boy at the same stage. Great gig, these guys knows how to put together a show. Then we were off to the Fusion Stage to watch the Aussies Midnight Juggernauts who gave us real show to remember. To finish this day and to dance to the sunrise we caught Dirty South and Solomun.
Day 4 The last day at Exit it was time to see the classic duo The Chemical Brothers at Main Stage, crowded and massive. Then we had to run to catch the cool gang of Crystal Castles. Then it was Ed Banger time with Busy P, SebastiAn and A Trak. With that line-up it was the perfect completion of Exit Festival 2010.
Thank you Serbia, Exit, Elektrana and all you great fans out there. We will definitely be back next year!
As you know, we love Tesla Boy here at Tracasseur. And I assume you're just as big fans as we are, so you probably know that they have a new album out on Mullet Records. They also released a new single a couple of days ago. Check out the video:
It's a piece of perfect funky electro pop, as expected. Argentinian nu disco maestro Toomy Disco's remix is just as chilled out, but in more of a, well, nu disco way. And it's just as good as the original.
Tesla Boy - Thinking Of You (Toomy Disco Remix) (Removed by request)
Yes, Tracasseur are going on a tour, well not really a tour but we're going to the Exit Festival in Novi-Sad in Serbia this summer (July 8–11) for a dj-set on the Elektrana Stage. Yeah!
Exit Festival is a huge festival with fantastic bookings such as Miike Snow, Röyksopp, Crookers, Boys Noize, Moderat, Klaxons, Yeasayer, Midnight Juggernauts, The Horrors, Crystal Castles and many many more (see all bookings here).
The festival takes place at the beautiful and magical Petrovaradin fortress. What we've heard from friends and former visitors and acts, this festival is the best festival there is. So Tracasseur are really keen to be a part of this year's Exit Festival.
Tracasseur are playing together with our friends from Uppsala who runs the great club Glasnost, where we've been flipping records regularly. We're are performing under the name Tracasseur & Glasnost Showcase. And we will of course also report from the festival on daily basis here on the blog with movies, interviews and other juicy stuff.
As mentioned above we're performing at the Elektrana Stage. That stage is driven by Elektrana, that is a fantastic collective from Serbia that bring forward new and fresh electronic artists, talents, minds and everybody who creates music with brain, idea and attitude. They're also running Radio Elektrana with great success. We're hoping to bring some of the enthusiasts back to Sweden this autumn.
On the Elektrana Stage there are several other great bookings where some of Tracasseur's favourites actually are performing. We're proud to share the same stage with our favourites Tesla Boy, our Swedish friend Juvelen, the amazing We Have Band and the cool Brazilian remix duo The Twelves. It's going to be huge! Stay tuned for more on Exit Festival.
The phenomenal PEACE project by Buffetlibre and Amnesty International Catalunya, as we mentioned earlier in March, is now official. It's a massive and admirable project and includes 180 exclusive and unreleased songs from artists all over the world. It's as Buffetlibre says, the first music atlas in the net.
The compilation is available for streaming at the PEACE website and can be downloaded after making a donation to Amnesty International Catalunya. The collected money will be used for Amnesty International’s investigation and action campaigns aimed at preventing cases of Human Rights abuses around the world. You can choose your donation from €5.00 up to €25.00 and I believe that's the easiest choice ever because you get so much great music in full quality and at the same time making the world better.
PEACE got a fantastic line-up with artists such as Tesla Boy, The Toxic Avenger, Patrick Wolf, Don Diablo, Ane Brun, The Antlers, Jeans Team, Black Strobe and many many more. Complete list of artists involved is available at the PEACE website. We got ok from our fine friends of Buffetlibre to share two songs with you, but then you head right over and buy the compilation!
The songs are from the Russian success band of 2009; Tesla Boy and the more experienced Black Strobe from France.
This is going to be a quick one, the whole Tracasseur crew is going to see In Flagranti tonight. But our favourite Russians Tesla Boy has remixed the track that got Anoraak flying the charts last year. Once again big ups for our buddies over at French Express, pay them a visit as often you visit Tracasseur because they post exclusive stuff. This one is from them to you via Tracasseur, you could say that we have started a kind of collaboration.
So, I've tried to sum up the music year of 2009 in 15 tracks, and man oh man was that hard. Women giving birth often think that is hard. Luke Skywalker probably thought hitting that shaft on the Death Star with those torpedoes was hard. But none of that compares to having to weed down a 50 or 60 tracks long shortlist to just 15.
In the end people like Baxter, Chromeo, Neon Workout, Cassian, Lebatman, Beaumont, PH Groove, FM Attack, and Pelifics along with bigshots like Bag Raiders, Midnight Juggernauts, Lifelike and Fred Falke (and all the others I've forgot to mention) were axed. But I'll stop bitching and get right to it.
#15. Severin - The Edge of a Sunday (Breakbot Remix) Breakbot had a huge year in 2008, but there came a couple of gems this year too. I chose the Severin remix, even if the Yuksek one also was a favourite and also could have made the list. With an album coming out in 2010, expect to hear more from France's funkiest.
#14. Edwin Van Cleef - OvertakenEdwin van Cleef was another one who spit out excellent tracks on almost a weekly basis in late 2008 and early 2009. After some label troubles he finally released "Overtaken" on his own label this fall. Despite releasing a bunch of great remixes this was my favourite Cleef track of the year. It's just filled with such energy!
#13. GRUM - Runaway (Calling In Sick Remix) From Leeds to Leeds and to Van Cleef's roommate GRUM. There's a place that should have some decent music at the afterparties... Both of them manage to transform their sound beyond the trash electro à la Justice they both had come to master into something new, while not losing a bit of their star quality. GRUM made so many great remixes this year, with Friendly Fire's "Skeleton Boy" narrowly missing my chart. His own "Runaway" release was epic as well with the great original accompanied with just as great remixes. Calling in Sick's was my favourite though.
#12. Elke - Blue Dream Lover (Youth Remix)Elke is one of those Australian bands that really makes you realize that the success of other Australian bands like Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, Empire of the Sun and The Presets isn't just a fluke or an undeserved hype. The music scene down under really seems to be next to infinite with great bands a dime a dozen. The incredible thing is that the electro scene seems equally big with electro DJs and producers also a dime a dozen. That's two dimes a dozen! Brisbane-based Youth's nu disco odyssey is both beautiful and danceable.
#11. French Horn Rebellion vs. Database - Beaches and Friends (Hey Champ Remix) The Brazilian maximalism from São Paulo's Database made up a big part of the soundtrack to the spring. Their energetic disco edits were on high rotation and the Phyllis Hyman edit could have made the list. One track that did is Hey Champ's remix of their collaboration with French Horn Rebellion. Rockford's Cut Copy, who combines making great pop tunes with their band while making awesomely funky house remixes, continues to be one of the most underrated acts in the music world. Such a great bassline on this one.
#10. Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke Remix)I haven't listened to that much indie rock the last couple of years, but when I rarely do one of my favourite bands are indie dancers Friendly Fires. Their self-titled debut from 2008 included so many great singles which in turn resulted in even more great remixes (I've already mentioned GRUM's "Skeleton Boy"). Stuart Price aka Les Rythmes Digitales made a string of great remixes under his Thin White Duke guise. The "Jump in the Pool" remix was a match made in heaven.
#9. Holy Ghost! - I Will Come Back (Classixx Acapulco Nights Version) Classixx had a great year with their hit "I'll Get You" and countless terrific remixes. Their blend of ultra-cool nu disco and lo-fi house was a big influence on the sound of 2009. Their remix of Brooklyn funksters Holy Ghost! took the cake though.
#8. Visitor - Los Feeling (Monsieur Adi Remix) Visitor's "Los Feeling" was one of the most blogged and most remixed tracks. Fear of Tigers, Flashmen, Gentlemen Thieves, Digitalfoxglove and Wonder, Flashworx and Freak You were among those who gave it a shot and did it well. Monsieur Adi came out on top though.
#7. Paul - I Feel Change Paul haven't got the attention he deserves yet, despite being posted on Valérie. He stood out as one of the major renewers of the French touch scene, combining the house sound of Lifelike with more of pop music. He released a string of great tracks so picking out a favourite was hard, but given that we hadn't posted it for some reason, I chose "I Feel Change".
#6. Miami Horror - Sometimes Miami Horror reinforced his standing as one of the greatest stars of Aussie electro. Fewer remixes this year than in previous years but some great releases on his own. Like the "Bravado" EP and of course one of the most epic singles of the year, "Sometimes".
#5. kamp! - Breaking A Ghost's Heart (ODahl Remix) ODahl was one of our finds of the year, even if I was tipped off by a friend in Poland. His remix of Empire of the Sun's "Walking on a Dream" was a big favourite, and was close to making the list. In the end the remix of Polish band kamp! was marginally better. Something I know Olle agrees with since he's told me he thinks this is the best track he's ever done.
#4. Digitalfoxglove feat. Freak You - Beasts and Flowers The collaboration between On The Fruit's Digitalfoxglove and Freak You resulted in one of the best intros of all time. Digitalfoxglove was one of all producers who moved away from the trashy electro sound to something else. In his case that gave him more room for his great sense for melodies and harmonies. Add Freak You's funky bass and you end up with this dancefloor stormer.
#3. Coeur De Pirate - Comme Des Enfants (Le Matos Andy Carmichael Remix) Le Matos was really one of the biggest favourites for all of us in the spring. They just had (and still have) such a unique fuse of beautiful pop melodies and pumping techno. They made a bunch of awesome remixes and tracks of their own (especially in the first part of the year), but when adding the delicate voice of Coeur de Pirate we got a track that was loved by everyone, no matter if you liked club music or not.
#2. Tesla Boy - Spirit Of The Night Tesla Boy must have made one of the more meteoric rises to stardom in 2009. I was on to them by word of mouth from our eastern European connection and was immediately hooked on their blend of 80s sounding electro pop and new wave. Then they were posted by Valérie and the rest is history. The promo EP (that we daringly posted) contained five tracks that were such great pop tunes all of them, so the favourite was a close call. But in the end "Spirit of the Night" narrowly edged out "Runaway Man". Now we're all looking forward to the album which will be out early 2010.
#1. Fear of Tigers - I Can Make The Pain Disappear Fear of Tigers really affirmed himself as one of the greatest and most innovative producers in electronic music right now. He made a couple of my all time favourite tracks in 2008 (the remix of Pnau's "With You forever" is still my top track on Last.fm), and yet the release of his debut album this fall blew my mind. He combines music from all over the place into such a unique sound. From the eighties and nineties to the naughties, from electro and house to indie, his music transcends all genres. From a whole album full of perfect tens the opening track was the eleven.
We're mighty proud with our new club Virgin Ears that will open this Friday, March 25 at Debaser Medis in Stockholm. One of the things that make us real proud, is our line-up of live-acts that will perform during the night. We have flown in our Russian faves and friends Tesla Boy for their first live show in Sweden ever. That will be an awesome thing on Friday, be ready at 23.15 for something extra.
Tesla Boy's frontman Anton Sevidov has made a boogie mixtape to celebrate the new year that is around the corner. And now we've got the promised tracklist from Anton, you can see it below.
Tonight at 8 PM (UTC/GMT time) our friends and faves of Tesla Boy will be part of an unique event. They will perform an online show on YATV's channel "Band at Home". The live-show will be broadcast in HD and at the end of the show the audience will be able to chat with the band. You will be able to view the broadcast on YATV's website as well as on the official Tesla Boy site.
Tracasseur are back in Sweden after five fantastic days in Novi-Sad in Serbia at the Exit Festival. We're so happy being there, it was a tremendous time with friendly Serbian people, dedicated fans of us, great artists performing and amazing weather.
The Twelves from Brazil were the next thing to see after Tesla Boy at the same stage. Great gig, these guys knows how to put together a show. Then we were off to the Fusion Stage to watch the Aussies Midnight Juggernauts who gave us real show to remember. To finish this day and to dance to the sunrise we caught Dirty South and Solomun.
Yes, Tracasseur are going on a tour, well not really a tour but we're going to the Exit Festival in Novi-Sad in Serbia this summer (July 8–11) for a dj-set on the Elektrana Stage. Yeah!
The phenomenal PEACE project by Buffetlibre and Amnesty International Catalunya, as we mentioned earlier in March, is now official. It's a massive and admirable project and includes 180 exclusive and unreleased songs from artists all over the world. It's as Buffetlibre says, the first music atlas in the net.
This is going to be a quick one, the whole Tracasseur crew is going to see In Flagranti tonight. But our favourite Russians Tesla Boy has remixed the track that got Anoraak flying the charts last year. Once again big ups for our buddies over at French Express, pay them a visit as often you visit Tracasseur because they post exclusive stuff. This one is from them to you via Tracasseur, you could say that we have started a kind of collaboration.
So, I've tried to sum up the music year of 2009 in 15 tracks, and man oh man was that hard. Women giving birth often think that is hard. Luke Skywalker probably thought hitting that shaft on the Death Star with those torpedoes was hard. But none of that compares to having to weed down a 50 or 60 tracks long shortlist to just 15.
Breakbot had a huge year in 2008, but there came a couple of gems this year too. I chose the Severin remix, even if the Yuksek one also was a favourite and also could have made the list. With an album coming out in 2010, expect to hear more from France's funkiest.
Edwin van Cleef was another one who spit out excellent tracks on almost a weekly basis in late 2008 and early 2009. After some label troubles he finally released "Overtaken" on his own label this fall. Despite releasing a bunch of great remixes this was my favourite Cleef track of the year. It's just filled with such energy!
From Leeds to Leeds and to Van Cleef's roommate GRUM. There's a place that should have some decent music at the afterparties... Both of them manage to transform their sound beyond the trash electro à la Justice they both had come to master into something new, while not losing a bit of their star quality. GRUM made so many great remixes this year, with Friendly Fire's "Skeleton Boy" narrowly missing my chart. His own "Runaway" release was epic as well with the great original accompanied with just as great remixes. Calling in Sick's was my favourite though.
Elke is one of those Australian bands that really makes you realize that the success of other Australian bands like Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, Empire of the Sun and The Presets isn't just a fluke or an undeserved hype. The music scene down under really seems to be next to infinite with great bands a dime a dozen. The incredible thing is that the electro scene seems equally big with electro DJs and producers also a dime a dozen. That's two dimes a dozen! Brisbane-based Youth's nu disco odyssey is both beautiful and danceable.
The Brazilian maximalism from São Paulo's Database made up a big part of the soundtrack to the spring. Their energetic disco edits were on high rotation and the Phyllis Hyman edit could have made the list. One track that did is Hey Champ's remix of their collaboration with French Horn Rebellion. Rockford's Cut Copy, who combines making great pop tunes with their band while making awesomely funky house remixes, continues to be one of the most underrated acts in the music world. Such a great bassline on this one.
I haven't listened to that much indie rock the last couple of years, but when I rarely do one of my favourite bands are indie dancers Friendly Fires. Their self-titled debut from 2008 included so many great singles which in turn resulted in even more great remixes (I've already mentioned GRUM's "Skeleton Boy"). Stuart Price aka Les Rythmes Digitales made a string of great remixes under his Thin White Duke guise. The "Jump in the Pool" remix was a match made in heaven.
Classixx had a great year with their hit "I'll Get You" and countless terrific remixes. Their blend of ultra-cool nu disco and lo-fi house was a big influence on the sound of 2009. Their remix of Brooklyn funksters Holy Ghost! took the cake though.
Visitor's "Los Feeling" was one of the most blogged and most remixed tracks. Fear of Tigers, Flashmen, Gentlemen Thieves, Digitalfoxglove and Wonder, Flashworx and Freak You were among those who gave it a shot and did it well. Monsieur Adi came out on top though.
Paul haven't got the attention he deserves yet, despite being posted on Valérie. He stood out as one of the major renewers of the French touch scene, combining the house sound of Lifelike with more of pop music. He released a string of great tracks so picking out a favourite was hard, but given that we hadn't posted it for some reason, I chose "I Feel Change".
Miami Horror reinforced his standing as one of the greatest stars of Aussie electro. Fewer remixes this year than in previous years but some great releases on his own. Like the "Bravado" EP and of course one of the most epic singles of the year, "Sometimes".
ODahl was one of our finds of the year, even if I was tipped off by a friend in Poland. His remix of Empire of the Sun's "Walking on a Dream" was a big favourite, and was close to making the list. In the end the remix of Polish band kamp! was marginally better. Something I know Olle agrees with since he's told me he thinks this is the best track he's ever done.
The collaboration between On The Fruit's Digitalfoxglove and Freak You resulted in one of the best intros of all time. Digitalfoxglove was one of all producers who moved away from the trashy electro sound to something else. In his case that gave him more room for his great sense for melodies and harmonies. Add Freak You's funky bass and you end up with this dancefloor stormer.
Le Matos was really one of the biggest favourites for all of us in the spring. They just had (and still have) such a unique fuse of beautiful pop melodies and pumping techno. They made a bunch of awesome remixes and tracks of their own (especially in the first part of the year), but when adding the delicate voice of Coeur de Pirate we got a track that was loved by everyone, no matter if you liked club music or not.
Tesla Boy must have made one of the more meteoric rises to stardom in 2009. I was on to them by word of mouth from our eastern European connection and was immediately hooked on their blend of 80s sounding electro pop and new wave. Then they were posted by Valérie and the rest is history. The promo EP (that we daringly posted) contained five tracks that were such great pop tunes all of them, so the favourite was a close call. But in the end "Spirit of the Night" narrowly edged out "Runaway Man". Now we're all looking forward to the album which will be out early 2010.
Fear of Tigers really affirmed himself as one of the greatest and most innovative producers in electronic music right now. He made a couple of my all time favourite tracks in 2008 (the remix of Pnau's "With You forever" is still my top track on Last.fm), and yet the release of his debut album this fall blew my mind. He combines music from all over the place into such a unique sound. From the eighties and nineties to the naughties, from electro and house to indie, his music transcends all genres. From a whole album full of perfect tens the opening track was the eleven.
Posts
