🐣 POOL BOY — OLD DOG NO TRICKS

The first thing here is a sense of familiarity. Though it is new and from a new artist going by the name of Pool Boy, the bassline is a constant refrain of the first four beats of the bassline in 'Don't You Want Me' by The Human League. Intentionally, it is an innocent nod to something everybody knows. Unintentionally, it shows the pervasive nature of "classics" of the late 20th century. Either way, there it is; and 'Old Dog No Tricks' continues with a clatter of disco percussion, scathing hi-hats, cool lounge bongos, smart handclaps.

The heaviest element of the track is that bass. Above that close-quarters groove the feel is one of haze and otherworldliness. A constant fog of ethereal synth creeping across the floor; and above that a twinkling cluster of notes hangs in the air. Lead melodies spin like submerged guitar solos, muffled and wavering. Against this mirage of sound, like a disco in a dream, real world noises pour in: birdsong, fresh and innocent, and the wash-crash of the sea, expansive and farsighted—as with the musical elements, it is light and heavy combining.

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• 🔔 This appears courtesy of London label Coastal Haze as a single ahead of the Pool Boy LP, scheduled for release on 22nd January. You can pre-order it digitally or on cassette from Bandcamp.
• 🔔 The description of the track reads: "Produced overlooking the port of Vancouver but ..who is Pool Boy?!" We have an inkling.

  1) The track itself was reposted by Cyril Hahn.
  2) One SoundCloud comment reads: "At last more music by Cyril!"
  3) Also he is Canadian, and it was produced in/near Vancouver.

  But we shall see.

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📠
☟ Pool Boy Internet Presence ☟
?????

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CYRIL HAHN FT SHY GIRLS PERFECT FORM

Wowee... Cyril Hahn has come a long way since I first wrote about him around this time last year. From basically unknown remixer and SoundCloud uploader to being bigged up by various people, such as Annie Mac (and also literally just a few minutes being played on BBC Radio 1 by Zane Lowe), touring and widespread good reviews and success, Mr Hahn is a regular success story. And an internet success story to boot, and who don't love an internet success story eh?

Anyway, this song marks his first official single, out on PMR Records - which has such tasty-sounding artists on its books as Dornik (whom I wrote about the other day) and Disclosure - and features singer Shy Girls on vocals.

To be honest, although it sounds different - more busy and bustling with different sounds and elements, plus original vocals - to his earlier things, like his now infamous remix of Destiny's Child tune 'Say My Name', the same heart is embedded in the core of the song. He plays with an almost majestic sense of nostalgia, giving an epic dreamlike quality to the sounds of our generation's younger years - 90s pop and R&B becomes near spiritual in the hands of Cyril Hahn.

The song is constructed slowly, built up with soft, mellow synth to an understated house beat, adding in occasional bass bounces as the beat itself fleshes out with a conservative clap and hi-hats. The dynamic of the song, and in all of his songs in fact, lies in dropping the sound ever further into deep rumbling ambience in sections over the song's duration. He allows the vocals from Shy Girls to breathe - itself beautifully smooth-toned - and allows it to make its own impact before coupling it with tidal synth, washes of thick layered chords that is almost like a spillage of gorgeously vivid paint.

Before you know it, there are shuddering synth arpeggios, ambient breezes and a ground-shaking bass all whipped up together in Cyril Hahn's masterful mixing bowl of sound - it's that kind of cookery where you kind of don't even need to taste the cake at the end, just eating the batter is enough: it's simply that tasty. Ermm... cooking analogy aside, it's a great song. Poppy as you like but with a really sophisticated edge that Cyril Hahn has been honing for a while now with his various remixes (Jessie Ware, Solange, Haim, etc.) - the vocals are awesome too, real smooth, could've been lifted right outta the past. But they're original, and you'll have that haunting "Perfect form" lyric chanting in your head for days.

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Listen to Shy Girls on SoundCloud
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CYRIL HAHN SUMMER TOUR DATES 2013

That's right. Cyril Hahn's on tour, wooooeee am I happy about this.

I've been badgering on about this guy for a while now, and what more can I say? His remixes are sublime tokens of awesome inescapable ambient chill pop atmosphere, dripping honey and ice cubes into overflowing cocktails of energetic bliss... bit OTT? Nah never. He really is really good. Really.

You could probably buy tickets from here (and by that I mean clicking anywhere in this sentence because sometimes one can miss a word oh yes).

Psssst. Psssst. PSSSSST! There are more dates to be announced (sorry acronym fans).

JESSIE WARE SWEET TALK CYRIL HAHN REMIX

Cyril Hahn does it again. We've been following this man since we first heard about his remix of Destiny's Child 'Say My Name' - now almost legend amongst those who have been following the short and sharp rise to international fame of Cyril Hahn himself. More than once now he has been featured on Annie Mac's show on BBC Radio 1 - you can listen by navigating her programme's page here. Boy does Annie Mac have good taste.

In any case, we're here to talk about Cyril Hahn's house treatment of Jessie Ware's 'Sweet Talk' - the prolific remixer has taken yet another strong female vocal, and instead of chopping it up into many small parts, allows large sections of Jessie Ware's vocal to have a large amount of breathing space. Cyril adds touches of reverb to the vocal, giving it an unearthly, even magical quality, whilst wrapping the whole thing up in his trademark warmth - a musical hot water bottle for this chilly season.

It starts off with a whole lot of attitude, a truncated bassline swaggers as the kick comes in, rumbling beneath everything before the first lot of echoing vocal samples floats in. The temperature heats up, the thickness of Cyril's sounds begin to blanket your ears in the heat of the energy he creates with his various drops, almost always followed by protracted, synth bass notes that clamber for your attention. He builds it up towards the end till the energy is near bursting; a creeping sensation of deep fulfilment with what you're listening to only becoming apparent when the song finishes and you immediately replay it because, yep, that's exactly what a Cyril Hahn remix does to a person: turns them into a serial song repeater. That's the sign of an addictive producer and talented artist who has big things ahead of him.

Yet again, bravo. And Jessie Ware, bravo to her too. She has an amazing voice, which has clearly been shown by Cyril's choice to remix her song, and which he has framed very nicely, very flatteringly, in his own, unique way.

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Like Cyril Hahn on Facebook
Listen to Cyril Hahn on SoundCloud
Follow Cyril Hahn on Twitter
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HAIM DON'T SAVE ME CYRIL HAHN REMIX

This man just cannot stop making excellent remixes - the songs he chooses to remix are as a surprise as ever. Yes, it's Cyril Hahn again and this time he's remixed Haim track 'Don't Save Me'. Starting with a more feel-good than the awesome heartbreakingness of his previous efforts (due, in part to the massive, known-by-all pop songs he chose to remix), this wonderful remix quickly dives into the layering and warm textures that we all know and love him for. This one certainly has more of an electro indie pop edge than his others, but that is of course to do with the choice of band, the LA-based all-girl Haim, and song - we can only assume that he builds the music around the vocal track, so he would have to go for something that fits naturally.

Hence the majorly distorted sawwave synth that provides the main electronic hook beneath the beat, and hence the intro, too. He caters for the vibe, or feel, of whatever track he happens to be remixing, whilst remaining quite at liberty to put his own stamp on it too, what with that synth so high pitched and faraway-sounding that ends up soaring after each successive drop into the chorus. Ooh yes, listen below:

This is a direction I didn't exactly think that Cyril Hahn would be going in; honestly I thought he would stick to the recent-years' worth of pop songs - and pure pop songs only. However, remixing a song by Haim shows us that his talents do not lie with just one genre in particular and it also shows us his personal taste in music - you don't actually get to see this with other artists or bands unless they also remix stuff, or unless you ask them. It marks a relatively big step for Cyril Hahn, in my opinion, who has now left people guessing what he'll do next - a clever way to create a good amount of intrigue over a well-deserving artist.

One question: how far away are we from a Cyril Hahn album, or even an EP, featuring his remixes? I for one would be ecstatic to learn some wonderful fact like that.

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Cyril Hahn • Facebook / SoundCloud / Twitter / Tumblr
Haim • Facebook / Twitter / SoundCloud / YouTube / Official site

SOLANGE LOSING YOU CYRIL HAHN REMIX [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Since we last wrote about the talented Mr. Hahn, Cyril Hahn, he has been very busy creating new tracks and getting attention on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show (23rd September 2012). Good on him, we say, good on him indeed. He's got this insane knack for being able to turn the poppiest of pop songs into epic, emotional, heartrending pieces of electro-dance genius.

From the very first few seconds of the remix he did for Destiny's Child 'Say My Name' (you'll hear that a lot in everything you see about him), it is clear to see that here is a truly original talent, who, ironically, makes a name for himself by doing other people's songs better than they themselves first imagined and recorded them.

Although this time Cyril Hahn remixes a song that is not only more obscure than both of the gigantically popular 'Touch My Body' and 'Say My Name', but also just barely released, his treatment of Solange's new 'Losing You' is still impressively powerful. Set to the fuzz of staccato synths, a funko-catchy bassline and hollow, barely audible string accompaniments, the song makes good use of the vocal sample from Solange - one thing that it seems Mr. Hahn could do in his sleep, whilst dreaming of being asleep. As the song progresses, the bass suddenly drops into a warm lava flow of heavy sound that leaves you positively tingling with good vibes.

The only thing is that, had this been yet another song that everybody knows and loves, it would have been instantly exalted to the highest heights of adoration. However, the song is still nothing short of incredible. Though it lacks the sparse use of sound in the unreal 'Say My Name' remix, it easily makes up for this with a decidedly heavier, meatier, more dense sound - something that might be an indicator of a break into the mainstream quite soon, perhaps.

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Cyril Hahn on Facebook
Cyril Hahn on SoundCloud
Cyril Hahn on Twitter
Cyril Hahn on Tumblr

DESTINY'S CHILD SAY MY NAME CYRIL HAHN REMIX [FREE DOWNLOAD]

This stunning remix comes straight from the mind of Cyril Hahn, a Swiss-born Canadian producer. It's an unexpected reworking of the absolute tune that is 'Say My Name' by Destiny's Child, and it's been done very, very well.

Starting with some mellow organ-type synths that set the mood for a decidedly chilled, summery vibe, Cyril Hahn goes on to create huge atmosphere in the song - namely with his fabulously sparse deployment of the "Say my name..." sample (which he had doctored with a lower, more masculine pitch), creating a superbly energetic build-up. When all the vocals from the chorus of the original song kick in towards the end of the song, it's like you've been waiting an age for them and it's such a joy to hear them all echoing out from the song like a beautiful boulder of nostalgia.

Everything about this remix is well-done and joyously positive, as if the solemnity of a true carefree attitude had made its way into your very heart and became the beat you danced to on the sand, in the sea, in the sky. It's wonderful.

What's more, you can download it here:

Isn't that great? I'd download it before some kind of limit is reached.

And if you liked that I really really recommend listening to the similar treatment he gives Mariah Carey's seminal 'Touch My Body'.

EDIT 18/04/2019: There is no download anymore. It's not even on SoundCloud.

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• This is Cyril Hahn's Tumblr
• More fabulous music from Cyril Hahn on his SoundCloud
• Here is Cyril Hahn on Facebook
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