🐣 AMELIA AIRHORN — NY IS RED HOT

The glaze of future funk, glossy vaporwave offshoot, sparkles in the big city flavours of 'NY Is Red Hot', broiling in cola sweetness and carving out a groove that bubbles with feel-good-ness, and in fact with summery red-hot-ness as well. In Amelia Airhorn's single, with its wanna-join-in communal-feeling vocals, the guitar chords hit with a robust shimmer of funk, the brass blares triumphal like beacons of upscale uptown sheen, strings glimmer like streetlights, the bass croons in subtle columns weaving with the deep thump of the beat, the jostle of it all a whirlwind of disco and dancing, the keen future funk fade-ins and fade-outs providing not only subtle parallel to builds and drops in terms of dynamic feels, but also with its irregular amplitudinal consistency conjuring a real life setting: moving through a club, nearer further from the speakers, outside for a cigarette, leaning in for a warm lips-to-ear conversation.

This track, at once flavourful both in danceability and in the inherent nostalgia-summoning, somewhat filmic nature, is or at least was a common feature of the earlier music of Ryan DeRobertis aka Skylar Spence, the pop-infused retro sample collages that awoke from then-vaporwave component Saint Pepsi. This is one half of Amelia Airhorn—the other being The Knocks, a duo with a similar penchant for funk though with a more polished surface, more Kitsuné-ready, more mainstream friendly: they never had to contend with actual Pepsi Co.'s legal team, for instance (DeRobertis' moniker change occurred in 2015).

The evocative yesteryear collage nature of the track plus album artwork and the retro airbrushed typography, this mirrors the collaborative cocktail. On its own 'NY Is Red Hot' brims with energy and noise, shines bright in the nocturnal glitz that surrounds it like mist, conceptually frames it; but with context, this merging of underground SoundCloud musicmaker and pre-initiated pop producers represents a meeting of the new unexplored avenues of making a success in music and the well-trod halls of namedrop beatmaking, traditional and unconventional, past and now, the span of time and attitude that is the foundation of future funk.

---

• 🔔 This single is taken from Amelia Airhorn's 18-track debut release, The Knocks & Skylar Spence Present...Amelia Airhorn. You can download it for free from ameliaairhorn.com, where you'll also find fun background on characters in the Amelia Airhorn universe, i.e. NYC itself.

---

---

📠
☟ Amelia Airhorn Internet Presence ☟
soundcloud ⚘ twitter ⚘ official site ⚘ ios app

☟ Skylar Spence Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ SAINT PEPSI BANDCAMP ⚘ twitter ⚘ wikipedia

☟ The Knocks Internet Presence ☟
facebook ⚘ soundcloud ⚘ official site ⚘ twitter ⚘ youtube ⚘ instagram ⚘ wikipedia ⚘ beatport

---

---

CHELA ROMANTICISE (BOYS GET HURT REMIX)

So I'll start this one by saying that I haven't actually heard the original of this song. Usually with a remix I like to hear the original version. But in this case, since I can't do that, I won't do that, and I'll just judge the song on what it is. A song, in and of itself.

It comes from a new EP, Romanticise, by Melbourne-based artist Chela released on freewheeling endless-2005-honeymoon French label Kitsuné. And as they often do, they've put a lot of remixes on the album too. Which is nice because it's a way to prolong the tastiest elements of an enjoyable song without just sticking it on repeat and risk damaging its freshness - plus it's also nice to give some exposure to those lesser known producers who "do" the remixes. In this instance, it's Japanese duo Boys Get Hurt.

Labelling themselves as emotional dance music - even "sea disco" - they create some really nice tracks that evoke sunshine and romance with a hint of nostalgia. I've even done a Q&A with one half of the duo, Yuki Abe. Their remix of Chela's 'Romanticise' exhibits that same brand of fresh, comfortable indie dance which first attracted me to them.

There's nothing really futuristic about it. Like I said, they seem to inject a sense of nostalgia into their tracks and this one's no different, despite being a remix. Perhaps it's that tropical vibe of theirs. Is that nostalgic? I suppose its of a certain time - mid-1990s, but then again what do I know. There's a beach-destined melody on the xylophone counterpointed with a marimba kinda sound that floats playfully within the beat, the new-pair-of-trainers-squeaking-across-a-polished-floor synth sound that bwips and bweeps, the bongo drumming that tribalises the atmosphere at the start. It's all delicious and catchy.

The vocals from Chela sing out with catchy emotion, moving from stretched high to low and confidential; they follow a nice stop-start pattern in the chorus that Boys Get Hurt have followed with a combined synth chord/bass off-beat rhythm. A slice of the vocal has been sampled and lowered, appearing towards the end, alongside a variously scatty hi-hat pinging - falling finally to reverberating piano chords, a shaker, that glockenspiel sound, and a clap. How else could you have wished the song to finish? It's nice. A real sunset ending.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Like Boys Get Hurt on Facebook
Listen to Boys Get Hurt on Soundcloud
Visit Boys Get Hurt's official site
Follow Boys Get Hurt on Twitter
Check Boys Get Hurt on Tumblr

Like Chela on Facebook
Listen to Chela on Soundcloud
Visit Chela official site
Follow Chela on Twitter
Watch Chela on YouTube

CINEMA UV

Heard this song on Kitsuné Maison 3, which was released earlier this year and featured, amongst others, TOYS (whom I wrote about a while back) and also FAUVE (whom I covered as well). It's by a French electronic duo called CINEMA, comprised of Calypso Valois and Alexandre Chatelard - not that I know exactly who these guys are, but they're influenced by a lot of people (as are, let's be honest, all musicians of all kinds) not least David Bowie.

But I would say more on the Kraftwerk side of things. That's definitely the telltale sound you get with 'UV' anyway.

Yep. With the plinky button-pressing synth sounds and steady robotic beat, you could actually be forgiven for thinking this was a different song from an earlier time. But of course it's not, it's brand new. There's a swarthy bass synth and coming-right-for-ya chord waves that fade in and out giving a dark mood to the song - altered vox synth, or what seem to be, add to this effect. And then there are the vocals, plaintive and hushed, that feature only for a small portion of the song, just before the moody waves come back for a little climax. Écoutez:

Head-boppingly fun. Love that melody. The whole thing gives the impression of a noiseless rave full of colourful clothes and seething with eye-contact. Paint your own picture by using your imagination! Make music fun! Anyway, CINEMA have an EP out and it's called UV. You can buy that if you like.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Like CINEMA on Facebook
Watch CINEMA on YouTube

IS TROPICAL DANCING ANYMORE

The first thing that I like about this is the fact that you can make an interrogative statement out of it: "Is Tropical dancing anymore?" I'm not sure. Just who is this 'Tropical'? Not to worry though, cause it ain't a person or a thing it's just silliness, just wordplay. Sorry.

The other thing that I like about this is that it's a nice song - yes, 'Dancing Anymore' by IS TROPICAL (formed 2009 & hailing - god I hate that word - from London) is a very nice song. It's an indie-dance song, essentially, with a hint of something troubled in the melancholic style of the singing. I suppose this reflects the lyrics of the song, "You don't take me dancing anymore, oh it's been a long time since I been on the floor" - touching really. Especially to someone who likes to dance a lot. A consideration of the fact that things change in life, everything is temporary, especially the fun relationship you think you used to have but no longer do have cause there's no more dancing and way more, I dunno, shouting or just being boring and staying inside all the time or something? Things crumble, and this song is an upbeat illustration of that unfortunate (for many) fact.

You can have a listen to the song yourself below of course my friends.

It's got a good sound huh? It's almost a hark back to those halcyon days of indie dance in 2007-8 the way it goes. It's good a good galloping bassline, a 4/4 beat that whilst not breaking into new ground serves its purpose and makes you move all the same and a nice bit of saw-wave synth in there to keep things interesting. The hooks are everywhere, in the verse, the chorus, the melody - quite addictive but feels almost like it's over too quickly. Time flies when you're having fun I guess.

The video, however, is a different story. How strange. YouTube removed it, I think, but Vimeo kept it on. It's... well, I suppose in a bizarre way it shows the sometimes unfulfilling nature of growing up. Dreams fizzle-fade and whatnot. I like the video and it certainly, um, keeps to the rhythm of the song. Watch if you ent already.

Weird eh? But anyway, all that aside, this song is the first single from IS TROPICAL's upcoming album I'm Leaving, set for release May 20th on Kitsuné. And there you have it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Like IS TROPICAL on Facebook
Listen to IS TROPICAL on Soundcloud
Hear more IS TROPICAL on Myspace
Visit IS TROPICAL's official site
Follow IS TROPICAL on Twitter
Check IS TROPICAL on Tumblr
Learn about IS TROPICAL on Wikipedia

THE KNOCKS AND FRED FALKE GERONIMO

The Knocks are a pretty successful (NME say that, together, they are one of the "20 hottest producers in music right now" but what do they know?) electro duo consisting of Ben "B-Roc" Ruttner and James "JPatt" Patterson - I'm sure you knew that already. I wish I had a cool alias like that. R-Tomz?

Only works if you actually make music, I think.

Anyway. They recently collaborated with French producer Fred Falke to create this pretty cool track 'Geronimo', released 23rd July. I say pretty cool because it exudes a minutely disappointing sense of semi-standardness. All the right elements are there, you know, the grinding distorted synth coming on like endless waves of energy, the thumping four-to-the-floor house beat, the now-and-again vocal track howling underneath everything, the half-funk bassline rumbling like a mini-earthquake. But for some reason it's just not doing all that it could.

That's not to say that it isn't a cool track. Cause it is: it's on Kitsuné, for Allah's sake! The French Touch (Fred Falke in this case) is always pretty magic.



The best thing about it actually is the build-up that these guys create. The energy is immense and it's hard not to get even a little bit excited about this track. I love the ruthless hi-hat and the galloping brightness of it all. The funk bassline is also really tasty. But, like I said, although it's good it could be better. Remember: I said minutely disappointing, not terribly or even mildly. Covering my back here.

The video - and if you haven't watched it, do - is also very cool and echoes the absolute unhindered freedom that this song sweats out as it does its hardcore workout in my ears.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
• Here's the Wikipedia page for The Knocks
• The Knocks on Facebook
• Listen to more from The Knocks on their SoundCloud
• The Knocks on Myspace.
• This is the Knocks' official site
• Follow The Knocks on Twitter
• And here's the Wikipedia page for Fred Falke
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

COMPUTER MAGIC TRINITY

Relatively new Kitsuné hero, Computer Magic has released a new EP (12th March), Orion. It's hip-swaying, disco-friendly synth, harking back nearly to the heyday of this kind of electronic music (2006/7). But it still seems wonderfully relevant. How could it not be? Not heard of Computer Magic? Don't worry. Here's something from the About section of the official Computer Magic site:

Computer Magic began in the Winter/Summer of 2010, and is the solo project of 22-year-old DJ/blogger Danielle “Danz” Johnson.

Danz is originally from upstate New York, and now resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Currently, Danz is working on Computer Magic’s first full length album with Chris Egan on drums and percussion.

If this debut album is going to be anything like this EP, filled to the brim as it is with gentle, unearthly electro stylings that have marked the evolution from the brash, party-time saw-waves of a few years ago: it's now smart, minimal, moody and marked with a sensitivity to both a bit of headspace as well as the dancefloor. Here's 'Trinity', a song from the EP - have a listen:



What do you think? It has this consistent disco-esque bassline that keeps the song going underneath fizzy synth and distorted electronic squeals that serve as a great melody. The ambient warm sound that rise up every now and again lend the song a pop quality, especially in the chorus - when everything becomes jangly and climactic. A little New Young Pony Club, you know, but darker. Electro-pop heaven for a time in our collective history that isn't all roses.

It doesn't sound new. But then again, it doesn't sound old, old as in re-hashed I mean. It sounds of a certain era, and it sounds just fine that way. If you have Spotify, I recommend giving this very Kitsuné-typical artist a good listen. Those electro-pop soundscapes come alive in this new EP.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
• Here's Computer Magic on SoundCloud
• He's on defunct old Myspace, too
• Facebook page for Computer Magic
• He also has an official site
• And Computer Magic is on Twitter!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -