It's the Supersound

Since Flume’s rise to mainstream success and the accompanying influx of 14 year olds at his shows, there have been plenty of people writing off the Sydney producer’s work as disposable music for teeny boppers. It’s a predictable and frankly dumb stance to hold, but it comes with the territory.

However this new remix of Disclosure’s ‘You & Me’ proves how important it is to have someone like Flume at the top of mainstream music. Oh and it’s a bloody cracking tune too.

Dense layers of strings under Eliza Doolittle’s reverbed-out vocals give way to a shuddering synth that sounds like a thousand saxophones playing on the other side of an infinitely thick wall. The saxophones play with equal parts jazzy swing and hip hop groove, all the while a mutated drum set gets bashed away in perfect time by some android percussionist.

A young guy whose music is experiencing crazy levels of success could be forgiven for playing it safe for a while. That’s why it’s so refreshing to see someone like Flume release a remix like this – one full of boundless creativity and fuckloads of groove.

I raise my headphones to you Flumey Flim Flam. Yep, that’s a thing.

Pedro Winter is without a doubt one of the most influential people in electronic music today. As an artist manager and head of Ed Banger Records, he’s been the driving force behind the careers of Daft Punk, Justice, Cassius, SebastiAn, Breakbot and so many others. Not only this, but he’s carved out a career for himself as a selector. Anyone who’s ever seen a Busy P set will know that he’s no lousy Jack of all trades.

There are almost too many things to ask the Frenchman. So, with a little shitloads of excitement, our writer Sandro Dallarmi embarked on that quest and got on the phone to Pedro himself. However, Busy P lived up to his name – he had a ridiculous amount of stuff going on and wanted to postpone the interview for later that evening. While he is busy, the man also lives up to his promises, so read on to hear his thoughts on American festivals, the 90s house and garage revival, and a sneaky party that Ed Banger are throwing down in Australia very soon.

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Sandro: It seems like a lot of the Ed Banger crew has been absent from the major US festivals lately. Is this intentional?

Busy P: Justice did a 1 year world tour, they deserved to rest. We are doing a big Ed Banger stage at HARD Summer in august in L.A with Mr Oizo, Justice, Breakbot, So Me and me as Busy P. We did Coachella, Lolapalooza, Ultra, etc. Sometimes it’s good to take some time off and come back stronger. Also, electronic festivals need to re-think their vision. This whole EDM thing is scary. I prefer to play a smaller room with kids who know who we are rather than a 10,000 capacity tent with kids who don’t know who Romanthony is!

Sandro: Did you see what Wolfgang Gartner had to say about mainstage DJs playing nothing but Beatport top 10 hits? Any thoughts on the topic?

Busy P: Nope I did not see, but I think we agree on this.

Sandro: Regardless of your feelings about America, it’s fair to say that Australia is never lacking some Ed Banger love. Do you remember Adelaide Parklife 2010? You had a conga line on the stage with some really special people like Mehdi and Ajax.

Busy P: You are talking about magic moment, especially since we lost those 2 amazing people. This is the only reason why i am doing all this. Ed Banger is about conga line, having fun and bring the nicest people together. Ajax and Mehdi were guys with big smile on their face, this is why we need to continue what we started. I wanted to stop Ed Banger when Mehdi passed away. I continue thinking of him everyday.

Sandro: There will be good times Down Under again soon, with the Australian Ed Banger 10th Anniversary party approaching. What have you got planned?

Busy P: We are working on it…But YES OZ is def part of my plan for this celebration. Our history is linked with the electronic invasion in OZ. I think we grew up at the same time. I remember the first Parkilfe, now it’s one of the hottest fest in the game

Sandro: I was reading an interview with you from 2007, when the French touch sound really hit its stride. You said that you didn’t have a plan and you were just concentrating on the present. Now we’re in 2013 and many genre fads have come and gone. Has your attitude about how you run Ed Banger changed?

Busy P: Nope and that’s the secret. I do things, I don’t plan things. I never wanted Ed Banger to be stuck in one sound. If people are still thinking we are doing noisy banger, then I can’t do anything for them. Mr Flash, DJ Mehdi or Krazy Baldhead are not doing the same music as Mr Oizo or Justice!

Sandro: Speaking of genre fads, 90s UK garage and house is having a huge revival at the moment thanks to guys like Disclosure, plus we’re hearing really warm, soulful sounds at slower tempos from artists like Bondax and Flume. What do you think about those guys?

Busy P: I am coming from this, I discovered house music with Kenny Dope, Louie Vega or Kerri Chandler. So I am very happy I can play my old records. It’s good to see kids really “dance” in clubs rather than stage diving (I had fun doing it) but it’s good to change.

Disclosure have become a big name in the last year with releases such as Latch and White Noise. To continue with this swell of popularity recieved from these singles, Disclosure will be dopping their album Settle 31/5/13 . All being big fans of Disclosure here at Stoney, we have decided to do a ’round table discussion’ style of review of the album as apposed to giving a single author perspective; think of it as three different reviews rolled into one. Although, there are some great tracks on here, we were all independently left with feelings of wanting a little more.

Intro / When A Fire Starts To Burn

Sandro: Three pop-minded singles preceded the release of Settle, so some Disclosure fans were concerned that the album would stray away from the sound of earlier club-based tracks like ‘Tenderly’ and ‘Flow’. Howard Lawrence told us that this concern was unfounded, and the LP kicks off with some proof of that.

Kish: This is an interesting way to start the album. It’s less an intro and more a prelude to When A Fire Starts To Burn and thinking of it that way makes me like it a lot more. When A Fire Starts To Burn is the perfect club track. Armed with a catchy melody and a repetitive vocal that successfully avoids being completely annoying – it’s the perfect warm up track to what I’m hoping is going to be a classic album.

Ben: This track has taken a little while to grow on me. I feel like there is not a whole lot to hold onto except for the main ostinato that roles in from start to finish. It’s not bad, but it’s not a great track.

Latch feat. Sam Smith

Sandro: Endlessly played but never rinsed, ‘Latch’ is catchy enough to get stuck in everyone’s head, but sonically adventurous enough to keep music nerds coming back for more. The bar for electronic pop music rests here.

Kish: Thrown back into the arms of familiarity and a classically Disclosure track, Latch will always be one of my favourites.

Ben: Classic track from these guys, it really is representative of Disclosure’s talents; strong memorable melodies, great layering and composition and of course chilled vibes.

F For U

Sandro: Very tight production, but no amount of Disclosure magic can make Howard Lawrence’s voice sound anything less than dull. Not bad, but it’s certainly not album-worthy.

Kish: The ‘F’ word isn’t what you think it will be. I like the bass line and the underlying funkiness but even the slight excitement of a naughty word possibly being thrown in there isn’t enough to save this from being quite lacklustre.

Ben: I heard this and was immeadility hooked on the vocals, which completely drive the track. However, I feel like there could be some more variety in the use of melody in the bass and definitely in the synths. I can see remixes of this out doing the original. Despite this, it is a good listen, it just sounds slightly rushed.

White Noise feat. AlunaGeorge

Sandro: I’m a huge fan of AlunaGeorge and Disclosure but I don’t enjoy this track at all. The melody is a little too sweet for my taste, and it just feels a little empty. Only one half of AlunaGeorge actually contributed to the track. Perhaps a touch of George Reid’s production would’ve bridged the gap between Aluna Francis’ vocals and Disclosure’s instrumental.

Kish: As I move on to White Noise (which is great – perfect vocal, catchy hook) I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this record – had Disclosure already released all their material leaving everyone’s appetite far from whet.

Ben: I honestly steered clear of over-listening this when it first came out and don’t even have my own copy of it, personally I am more plugged into the HudMo remix. However, it’s still a solid track in regards to melodic structure/originality and can really see how it appeals to pop orientated listeners. In saying all this, when ever I hear it on the radio I crank it.

Defeated No More feat. Edward Macfarlane

Sandro: At one moment in this song, Macfarlane’s falsetto soars weightlessly on an updraft, high above the monstrous synth vortex that spins gently down below. It’s a stunning moment already, but the mantra repeated amidst all this is “got to get it; got, got to get it on”. Therefore I’m claiming ‘Defeated No More’ as a certified 4am lurve jam regardless of whatever the actual intended message of the song was.

Kish: I don’t know who Ed McFarlane is and I guess he has a nice voice. I don’t want to be as negative as Amanda Byne’s press about this album but this track just doesn’t do it for me. It’s just… dare I say it, a poor man’s Latch. 

Ben:  I do quite enjoy this tune, it fits well within the grain of the album. I dig the syncopated synths, the warm vocals, however, I feel like it’s just a little bit bare. Perhaps some more complex melodies in the vocals could beef it up a bit more.

Stimulation

Sandro: ‘Stimulation’ keeps on pushing until you can’t bear the intensity but simultaneously don’t want it to stop. When the track’s bassline first slips in, you know that it’s going to keep your skull buzzing for days, especially when combined with that perfect scream-it-at-the-top-of-your-lungs vocal sample. And that’s plenty. But then the fairly standard house beat gets some flavour. Rapid-fire percussion skitters its way around the track, accompanied by tweaked vocal snippets popping up around the room like Whac-A-Moles.

Kish: It seems what I’ve been missing from Disclosure are all these really cool club tracks. This is a piece of housey goodness dripping in 90s nostalgia on par with Bicep’s releases.

Ben: This is something I would expect to hear in a club but would probably skip in my own personal listening time.  It’s not bad, but again, there isn’t a whole lot holding you to this tune. In addition to this, its a little incongruent with the rest of the album.

Voices feat. Sasha Keable

Sandro: Settle as an album is disconnected for the most part – a collection of separate tracks rather than a sustained body of work. In fact the transition from ‘Stimulation’ into ‘Voices’ feels so damn perfect that it only serves to highlight the huge downfall in this area over the rest of the record. ‘Voices’ by itself is an album highlight. From sparse beginnings, it blooms into a lush imagination of its former self before snapping into an all-out foot stomper.

Kish: And it’s at this point I feel a turning point in the album and the only track that made me hit repeat. It’s the perfect balance of the new and old Disclosure which I think will keep all fans happy

Ben: This is what Disclosure is all about! Voices tessellates beautifully with the rest of their back catalogue. Its heavy with melody, brings those smooth compressed synths to the table and really takes you to a warm place. Totally digging this tune.

Second Chance

Sandro: The flow of the album experiences its most unappreciated stutter here. A warped r&b slow jam interrupts what could’ve been a mid-album power trio of ‘Stimulation’, ‘Voices’, and ‘Grab Her!’. It’s a very intriguing standalone track that’s quite different from a lot of Disclosure’s other work, but it’s sadly placed very awkwardly in the context of the album.

Kish: I’m not quite sure how I feel about this track. It’s an unwelcome interruption to the house vibes I was feeling a few moments ago but I’m sure it has its place somewhere at a house party, in a bedroom at the house party, where everyone is inhaling nitrous oxide and in need of a chiller track.

Ben: I am not feeling this track, it’s not really in the vein of the rest of the album, still an interesting track, but not really my cup of tea. I feel like it lacks the emotive flavour that Disclosure so often produce. This would be better as a B-side on a single release.

Grab Her!

Sandro: This one’s similar to ‘Stimulation’ in its execution, and that’s a very good thing. It’s much more percussive and bouncy though. Think ‘Tenderly’ with a hint of tech house vibes floating around. It’ll pump just as hard in low-ceilinged clubs as it will at when the sun’s beating down at summer festivals.

Kish: As soon as this track begins, I know it can only really go two ways – I’m going to hate it or love it. Neither happens. I’m stuck in the middle of a somewhat unimpressed, disappointed shoulder bop. I really want to like it, the vocals are right up my alley but it’s the odd, slightly bizarro circus feel that throws me completely off. Maybe it’s a grower?

Ben: If you heard this out of the context of the album, you would probably not pick this to be Disclosure. To me it’s kind of like a combination of When a Fire Starts to Burn and Second Chance, It’s lacking the emotive salience and something to hook into. I am not really a fan.

You & Me feat. Eliza Doolittle

Sandro: Garage pop done right. Warms synths calm the nerves while rampant percussion snaps and fizzles away. Eliza Doolittle’s vocals hold everything together and add just enough to the table without dominating everything. The sound of anologue synths imitating fast-rising bubbles (that’s what it’s like when I paint it with my imagination brush anyway) always brings a grin to my face, and Disclosure use surprising, subtle sounds like that a lot in this one. Bonus points.

Kish: I feel a slight wave of release when You & Me begins to play. I’ve built this odd sort of reliance on the few already released tracks from this album. They all offer this warmth that is so hard not to love and getting so little of that from this album is what is the most disappointing. This is the kind of track you’d take home to mum and dad with a guarantee of a big thumbs up.

Ben: This track clicks you back into gear with tracks like Latch, Voices, January and Defeated . It is reminiscent of back in the day Disclosure, being rich in melody, using more layered synths and utilising more complex structure.

January feat. Jamie Woon

Sandro: A perfectly structured tune that’s experienced like the first bite of a rare steak. The start of the track is the fork you stick into the steak that gives you a sense of how tender it is. It all builds so gradually from there – increasing amounts of juices slowly ooze out of the meat as you cut around your fork. Just as you think all is revealed, you take that first explosive bite. That’s when that percussive bassline finally kicks in under Jamie Woon’s melodic vocals. And those vocals. They’re poppy but complex. Catchy while still intriguing. Very much the gravy drizzled on top of this meal.

Kish: This was exactly what I was waiting for and in the dying minutes, Disclosure finally deliver. Jamie’s vocals are perfectly paired with the melody and songs that speak wistfully of love appear to be Disclosure’s forte.

Ben: Smooth, deep and soulful. This track blends skilled, melodically rich vocals with that original Disclosure sound, definitely a stand out track on this album.

Confess To Me feat. Jessie Ware

Sandro: They haven’t made another ‘Running’ remix here, but they’re not trying to. I was actually shocked at how mean that main synth is. Fat and aggressive, it’s great example of Disclosure stretching the box that people put them in without breaking it.

Kish: When I saw the track list for the album, I was probably the most excited to hear this track. Jessie Ware rarely falters and her voice is like warm butter on the  piece of toast Disclosure have served up.

Ben: This track has really grown on me. The detuned ringed synths and they how do and do not melodically match up with vocals keep your ears focused on what is and what isn’t happening. Although obscure, Confess is obscure in the grain of their previous work; it’s like disclosure, but it’s not.

Help Me Lose My Mind feat. London Grammar

Sandro: A stunning, emotional slice of deep house. Warmer and more sweeping than anything else on the album, and it’s got a silky vocal courtesy of London Grammar that compliments the vibe perfectly. The perfect close to a collection of tracks that unfortunately in nothing more than the sum of its parts. It’s definitely an album with depth and variety, and it will have me coming back for more. However the lack of any discernible vision for the album as a whole leaves me unlikely to ever listen to it from front to back again.

Kish: As the album winds down, I’m left with the slight twang of disappointment in my ears. It was not the album I was expecting and I think that maybe it was rushed? Despite all that, Help Me Lose My Mind is undoubtedly the perfect song to end the album with. Full of warmth unlike that of a sunset on a cold day, I put $10 on this being their next hit to be paired with a really cute video clip I’ll watch with my BF on Channel V.

Ben: As the synths roll in, the vibe tones down and a more electro-pop spin of Disclosure’s sound predominates. London Grammar’s vox kick in and you’re left in a dreamy kind of aura what was. However much like some of the other tracks on here, I feel like that this track wasn’t quite finished and that this was a draft. The idea was there and it was kind of conveyed, but it could of been better expressed.  Having been a huge fan of Tenderly/Flow, Carnival ep and their other works, I listened to this album with the mentality that it would emulate the same qualities. Overall, I was slightly disappointed, it sounded rushed at some parts, with some tracks following a specific vibe whilst other went in a complete different direction that was not congruent with the album or their sound. Further more, it just didn’t sound finished. Despite this, the better tracks such as Latch, Voices, January, Confess, You and Me, Defeated and F for U make this album well worth it’s purchase.

Overall Rating

Sandro: 3.5/5

Kish: 2.5/5

Ben: 3.5/5

With the release of Disclosure’s debut album, Settle, less than a week away, Toro y Moi decided to touch people’s excitement buttons by slipping a sneaky remix onto the internet via his SoundCloud account. Eliza Doolittle’s vocals over Disclosure’s production has already provided us with a perfect garage-pop jam, but Toro y Moi thought that ‘You & Me’ needed to simmer for a little longer before serving.

Taking cues from Disclosure’s own ‘Latch’, Toro y Moi sends hats and snares rolling along in triplet patterns behind the vocals. Everything is a little more subdued than the original track. After meandering on for a while though, things gets interesting when a collage of chopped vocals take centre stage. If that isn’t enough for you, there’s a very unexpected outro – perhaps a different approach to the remix that wasn’t good enough to take control, but too good to waste completely. Either way it’s worth a listen. A track for the ears, not the feet.

Keep an eye on Stoney Roads for our track-by-track review of the album, coming sooner than you think.

There is a lot of affection for Swedish House Mafia in this world, and it’s not hard to see why. They’ve produced six huge pop/’EDM’ crossover tracks since their formation in late 2008, and the production behind their stage show is nothing short of a spectacle. However much to the disappointment of their millions of fans, the trio of Swedish lads announced in June last year that they would be parting ways. They came, they raved, they loved.

As the screen finally faded to black after their extremely extensive farewell tour, a lot of people who don’t ‘heart’ Swedish House Mafia were joyful. They then proceeded to express their joy through the majesty of the English language, which went something along the lines of the following.

“We’ve already forgotten the last name of that Felix bloke who jumped from the edge of bloody space, but somehow the entire world knows the words to Swedish Cunt Mafia’s latest boring-as-shit single!”

“im sew excited tha sexxxi swedes r doing #1LASTTOUR!!! <3 <3 <3″

“SHM have literally produced six tacks together over 4 years. I’m pretty sure one of them was just an advertisement for vodka. They sure worked hard for this success *tips hat sarcastically*.”

Now an article from Mixmag has revealed the highly likely probability of a soon-to-be-announced Swedish House Mafia documentary. It’s sure to be an inspiring tale of the Swedes’ significant contributions to music. Many will take heart from this film, and go on to create their own marketing schemes music.

If, tragically, this announcement turns out to be anything other than a Swedish House Mafia documentary, it should be understood that the impressionable young artists of the world can always return to the words written below if they’re ever in need of creative inspiration ala SHM.

In music, you shouldn’t challenge expectations. Instead, always strive to create a sound that is different enough that it seems like a rebellious option for the youth to get behind, but bland enough that it doesn’t obscure the simple melody. That way, the song will be easily remembered by people once it gets added to the playlist of 20 songs that mainstage DJs are allowed to play at music festivals. If you follow this formula and lick the penises of enough label reps, you’ll be destined for success!

Now as a reward for reading about a Swedish House Mafia documentary for so long, here’s some new music that we actually like. It’s not for everyone but that’s really quite ok.

We’re still not sure if Trippy Turtle is in fact Cashmere Cat under a different name, but the tunes coming out of the former’s SoundCloud account are brilliant, regardless of any identity conspiracies.

Moaning saxophones and synths straight outta the eighties flirt with Trippy Turtle’s usual Jersey club vibe on this one. It’s the producer’s first original track, but that’s not saying much seeing as though all the remixes we’ve seen from the Turtle have been wildly creative. So many strange samples are used, to the point where it becomes laugh-out-loud funny at times. That’s actually a pretty incredible thing for music to do, if it can make you dance at the same time. Trippy Turtle’s music does exactly that.

Giggle yourself onto the dancefloor.

Despite the internet’s endless supply of pornography, it’s stuff like this mix from Karma Kid that keeps me plugged into my laptop beyond 5am. The latest i-DJ feature from the folks at i-D Magazine presents a warm, maturely-crafted mix from Karma Kid.

Immediately before listening to the mix, I was listening to this old tune. Despite having almost nothing in common with Karma Kid, The Lovin’ Spoonful provided the perfect prelude to his mix. Their song eased me back into my chair and allowed me to reminisce for a while. Then Karma Kid’s mix began, gently but swiftly whisking me off into the future. If you’re in the right headspace (being sleep-deprived admittedly helps) then that contrast between old and new can completely change the listening experience of the mix. It’s a huge moment when Maribou State’s swollen bassline blows bubbles underneath Fatboy Slim’s classic tune, and the groove of Eats Everything’s rendition of Adam F’s ‘Circles’ really hits you hard.

Regardless of whether you’re a marginally insane insomniac, this is an outstanding mix that’s well worth your time. Check Karma Kid on Facebook and Soundcloud

Norway’s finest purveyors of glitchy, melodic beats have recently released their 4th EP, Relativity 3. The duo call themselves Lemaitre.

They’re well worth keeping an eye on, so Stoney Roads writer Sandro Dallarmi had a chat with them.

Sandro: There are a lot of guitars and synths in your tracks. Do you record those sounds from physical instruments in the studio?

Lemaitre: Yeah, we try to record as much physical instruments as possible to keep the sound as organic as possible. Mostly guitar, piano and some drums. We use a Prophet 08 and a Little Phatty for a lot of the synths. Though most of the synths are software.

Sandro: I assume your recording process involves many hours in front of the laptop too, yes?

Lemaitre: Most time is definitely spent in front of a computer. Resampling sounds and the samples we make, programming synths, drums and tweaking the overall sound happens through Ableton Live.

Sandro: How does all this translate to a live setting?

Lemaitre: We try to play what we can live. We have guitar, vocals, a DSI Prophet synth and a Moog Little Phatty on stage. A lot of the sounds in the songs is really hard to recreate on a live instrument so we run a lot of things through Ableton live as well.

Sandro: Your sound is quite French, belying your Norwegian heritage. Which music in particular led you to the sound you have now?

Lemaitre: We grew up listening to Daft Punk, The Strokes and Phoenix. Later influences has been a lot of old funk, disco and soul. Also listen to a lot of hip-hop and all kinds of electronic music like DnB, glitch hop, techno etc. We listen to a lot of stuff and we pick out the elements we like best from all of them. You can’t make good music without having listened to a lot of other good music.

Sandro: You guys sing lead vocals on a lot your music. Do you feel that vocals are necessary for the type of music you’re trying to create?

Lemaitre: No it’s not necessary. Some songs work better without it. But often we find it more interesting with vocals. It adds another layer to the music often. While other times it can take too much space away from a great instrumental, so we are very decisive on where we put vocals and not.

Sandro: Do you think of your music as pop music?

Lemaitre: It’s partly pop music. But we try to be a little quirky and put some unusual elements and chords into the music. I guess it’s electronic music with pop, funk and indie influences.

Sandro: You’ve released 4 EPs that I know of, alongside many other standalone tracks. Do you have plans for an album?

Lemaitre: Yeah we would love to do an album as soon as we have time to sit in the studio for one year straight. But we really like the EP format. You get to focus on 4-5 tracks and make those really good. And when you’re finished you start from scratch again which is always a good feeling.

Sandro: When will we be seeing you in Australia?

Lemaitre: Hopefully sometime the coming months. If not we will definitely come down next summer in Australia!

You can check Lemaitre on Facebook and Soundcloud.

If The xx started making bangers, they’d probably sound something like this new remix from Ta-ku. While countless club tracks are packed tight with the highest density of sounds possible, Ta-ku leaves this one with plenty of room to breathe. He’s got a point too, because against all logic, the beat bumps so hard that it’ll crack open your energy drink for you.

The vocals of The Presets’ Julian Hamilton have been twisted and ripped apart by the Perth producer. They writhe unnaturally alongside purposeful percussion that’s sharp up top and thunderous down below. That is, until a lone mallet strikes a single note, interrupting the freakshow. It’s a ruder shock than walking in on your mum in the shower. Unlike that situation however, you’ll be gyrating again soon enough.

Thanks to Ta-ku’s ability to conjure up energy from empty space, this new remix slips perfectly into his perpetually-increasing arsenal of hip hop weapons.

People whose ears were drawn to Ta-ku thanks to his soothing Nujabes and J Dilla tributes aren’t being left out to dry though. According to a Facebook post, the ridiculously busy producer is “making versions of my favourite hip hop love joints”. Trying to construct a tiny sub-genre cage around this man is pointless when he’s constantly brewing up new stuff in the studio. It’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

‘Fall’ remixes drop May 10th on iTunes!

Most of the time, hearing bouncy piano chords in house music makes your brain immediately scream “OLD SCHOOL”. Bodhi are having none of that. They’ve soaked their piano in a vat of shimmering future juice, and their track sounds unquestionably modern as a result.

Bodhi are the next in a seemingly endless stream of brilliant producers coming out of the UK. From Cardiff specifically, the two fellas behind this absolutely pumping chunk of sound have got an arsenal of tunes stacked over at their SoundCloud page. Check them out.