Radio Free Chicago

RFC Reviews: Kitsuné Maison Compilation 11

Today we bring a special guest blogger on over from Mezzic, Dave of In The Black Box. I originally met him while studying abroad years ago, and his electronic music knowledge astounds as evidenced by his writing and music endeavors (check his EP here). He's sharing his review of Kitsuné's latest compilation, which is released May 16th, with Radio Free Chicago. Welcome to RFC! - John

Six years after the first Kitsuné Maison Compilation the Paris based fashion and electronic music label have reached their 11th instalment of the indie inspired club music collection… or is that club inspired indie music?

This is a question which has followed the label around the past decade. They feel that this, “the Indie-Dance issue” of the series speaks for itself and sits “right at the crossroads” of the two genres which have been at the heart of their label.

Whatever the ingredients that make up this fresh musical soup, it is sure to be the perfect recipe for the Summer, as one sun drenched tune gives way to another in a 17 track barrage of the newest and most cutting edge Indie-Dance music being created on the planet right now. According to the label, these tracks have been carefully selected from artists all around the world; some are so new the band doesn’t even have a name yet. So if anything Kitsuné is providing a cross-section on the global indie-dance music scene as it exists right now… A reflection perhaps on how much the music world has been opened up by the internet, it seems that now not only music listeners, but also the labels themselves are scouring the World Wide Web for the next best thing since sliced bread.

This is certainly a compilation to bring to your next house party. There is not one downer in the bunch and every track is packed full of that ridiculous sense of optimism and positivity that one feels as they crack into their first beer, and chat busily to friends about the club, the music, the possibilities of the night ahead, and the “hottie-in-the-corner” who just keeps checking you out.

“Roman” from Housse De Racket is exactly what you need to loosen those dancing limbs, with that combination of guitar and synth that seems to be the common factor that runs through this whole collection. Polarsets’ “Sunshine Eyes” with its percussion and kalimba like melodies places you at a rooftop party, at dusk on a summer’s evening, watching the sun set behind skyscrapers and the city lights illuminate the way to the dancefloor.

Kitsuné Maison 11 MiniMix by Jerry Bouthier by Kitsune Maison

It’s is clear that Kitsuné have strove to develop a soundtrack to your night out this summer. Whether you like it or not, each tune documents those specific, unforgettable moments on everyone’s night out; you will be humming along Alexander Dexter Jones’ “Phantastic Phone Call” as you pile into your wardrobe for the perfect outfit; Polarsets and Housse De Racket bring you the pre-drinks while Cosmonaut and Creep pump menacingly out of the doors of the club while you lose yourself in the collective happiness of the dancefloor. Sermon “The Touch” is for that moment when you dip deep into the groove late on in the night, pounding house grooves and chanting vocals power you through until the sunrise. Before you know it you’re halfway out of a car sunroof, feeling the wind in your hair as you breeze down empty city streets at 5am singing at the top of your lungs to Guards’ “Resolution of One”.

As a fashion label their idea must be that if you feel good listening to this music you will most certainly look good. Even at 7am as you munch on some cold pizza on the floor of some guys apartment with only one shoe and a banana skin that you acquired from some other drunken reveller only hours earlier… by this stage you are singing along to “Big Things” by Fiction and haven’t a care in the world… you feel great so you must look like a million dollars… right?

There are definitely some stand-out tracks on this compilation. I took the time to catch up with Gallops, a Welsh outfit whose killer tune “Miami Spider” has been turning heads and bending ears all around the world. After completing two cracking headline gigs this past weekend at Camden Crawl, it is clear that the band love the stage and this track reflects that with a clear live sound, a natural groove and progression that is driven through by a killer repeating guitar line. When I asked them about their live sound Mark, one of four members in the band, had this to say.

“To be fair I would say we are a live band first and foremost. That’s not to say our recordings don’t do us justice, but I do think we are best experienced in the flesh. Our music is probably best when as loud as possible.”

And on their track “Miami Spider” Mark explained

“Miami Spider was the final track on our debut EP that was released at the end of last summer through Holy Roar/Blood and Biscuits and it seems to be the most popular track from that EP. I guess it is the most catchy and immediate so we can see why. It’s quite strange and bad timing that this compilation is getting released so long after the EP, as it almost feels like we have put that track to bed and are moving on with new sounds etc. Perhaps we would of sold millions if the compilation had been released before the EP! Perhaps not. It’s definitely great to be featured though, regardless of the timing factor!”

(You can find the whole interview on www.intheblackbox.eu)

Gallops have a distinctive sound that really stands out over the rest of the compilation, however they fit right into the overall vibe of the collection which looks set to hit home at parties and clubs when it is released on the 16th of May. It is a party album, a celebration of the best bits of indie-dance, designed to get you moving your feet and nodding your head. It is the soundtrack to your nights out, your one night stands, your drunk and disorderly-s, your early morning after parties, your sunsets and sunrises. Come September each track will have a memory, and be firmly engraved on your brain bringing back a little ray of summer sunshine every time you think of it.

Release Date: 05/16/2011
Label: Kitsuné, kitsune.fr
Running Time: 65mins

Tracklist:
01. “Let’s Go All The Way” (Early Version)
02. Alexander Dexter Jones – “Phantastic Phone Call”
03. Housse De Racket – “Roman”
04. Polarsets: “Sunshine Eyes”
05. Gallops: “Miami Spider” (Ponciau edit)
06. Cosmonaut – “Say What You Want”
07. Creep – “Days” (Azari & III Remix)
08. Is Tropical – “The Greeks”
09. Peter & The Magician – “Twist”
10. The Touch – “Sermon”
11. Logo x Icona Pop – “Luvsick”
12. Beat Connection – “Silver Screen”
13. Nightbox – “Pyramid”
14. Guards – “Resolution Of One”
15. Fiction – “Big Things”
16. Exotica – “Conte d’Eté” (Afrofunk Version)

Originally published at Mezzic.

The Best Songs Ever (Part Two): Meat27's Mark Patten on Journey's "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'"

A few weeks ago I began a reoccurring segment called The Best Songs Ever. I feel it's about time to unleash my next choice on you all but first I think I should warn you that this next song is not suitable for those with delicate sensibilities. It's all about bumping the ugliest of uglies, sinking the pinkiest of pinks and beating the meatiest of meats. I feel these descriptions alone will have ruined the surprise - I mean, what other song could I possibly be talking about?! - so without further ado I present my second selection. If this isn't what you would consider to be one of The Best Songs Ever then I fear you're in for wrecking if you don't get a-checking. That's something the cool kids say nowadays, right? Right! Onwards!

Prepare your head for a big fat portion of audio double penetration that is likely to leave your brain walking like a withered cowboy for the next few months.

 

The Best Songs Ever (Part 1).

Editor's Note: Mark Patten is the amazing spitfire behind Meat27, one of Amber's very favorite blogs. Plus, he's the coolest British expat in California and goddamn, the man sure can rant.

I'm always a bit disappointed when publications and websites put together their lists of great, or possibly the greatest, songs. Whether it's in a specific genre or OF ALL TIME they seem to focus on material that is more well-known than popular. For example, John Lennon's "Imagine" gets thrown around a lot as one of the best songs ever written. Why though? Because of what it stands for and the impact it had at the time? As impressive as that may be, I can't think of any actual people who would list that as one of their favourite songs. I know nobody who would randomly put it on over and over again because it's just incredible to them. Can you party to it? Fuck to it? Stalk to it? See, it misses all the key life moments!

Isn't that what we should be looking for? Those special few songs that, for one reason or another, manage to mean a lot to a lot of people? Well, I am here to shine a light on those songs. The ones that, as far as I can tell, are universally loved and appreciated by pretty much everyone who has heard them. I'm sure there will be a few people who disagree with my selections but they're probably just trying to be cool by not liking something overwhelmingly likable. Fuck those people. Leave them with their impenetrable French new waves movies and fair trade chocolate that tastes like wax. You and me and everyone else smart enough to enjoy things that are just GOOD can gather together and just celebrate these songs. We all love them. Why? Who cares?! We just love them. That's enough. So here is the first part of my probably-not-very-long series of The Best Songs That Everyone Who's Anyone Loves. My first choice?

 

RFC Reviews: Tired Pony - "The Place We Ran From"

Editor's Note: RFC had it's first guest blogger in Abby Holmes but guess what? She became a regular contributor! So now, please welcome our (next) first guest blogger, Mike Roeder of Play B-Sides! To say we're happy to have the talented writer and photog is an understatement.

The great music finds for me are the ones that take me completely by surprise- a "nugget" that managed to evade my ever scanning doppler radar for music. The Place We Ran From (Mom + Pop Records) by Tired Pony is one of these releases and it has filled my head with music since my brother turned me on to it back in August when he heard the lead single "Dead American Writers" on satellite radio. I had a voicemail on my cell phone and a text message about this oddly-named band within minutes after he heard it!

Tired Pony - Dead American Writers

A quick bit of searching turned up that Tired Pony is a supergroup (a word too-often used these days, I'm afraid) with the principle leaders of the group being Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol (of "Chasing Cars" fame) and Peter Buck of R.E.M.

Tired Pony is a thoroughbred with a notable pedigree.

Joining Lightbody and Buck at the reins is a surprisingly large cast of characters-- most of them have a tie to Snow Patrol or R.E.M. Scott McCaughey has been a regular contributor to R.E.M. since 1994 and a few of Buck's side projects (Tuatara, The Venus 3, The Baseball Project) and contributes his multi-instrument talents to the album. Richard Colburn notably from Belle & Sebastian provides drums and percussion-- he also provided drums on early Snow Patrol sessions, and both Snow Patrol and Belle & Sebastian were on indie label Jeepster early in their careers. Uber-producer Jacknife Lee produces the album as well as contributes guitars, vocals and keyboards. Lee has worked with both R.E.M. (and invited Buck and McCaughey to this project) and Snow Patrol and is producing their next efforts. The Place We Ran From also has some high-profile performances from She & Him (Zooey Deschanel providing harmonies on a couple of songs and M.Ward contributing some guitars) and Tom Smith from The Editors turns in one of my favorite vocal performances on the album on "The Good Book." Iain Archer provides lead vocals on "I Am A Landslide" as well as providing guitars and backing vocals as a core part of Tired Pony. Iain was a member of Snow Patrol and was a secondary songwriter for the band.

With all of this good breeding, it isn't surprising that this Pony is a shoo in.

Described by Lightbody in interviews as a "loveletter to America" the album is steeped in the Americana and alternative genres that he cites as influences.The album was created in the studio and mostly in one or two takes. The formula of bringing the skeletons of the songs and finishing them in the studio in this fashion contributes to a palpable sense of immediacy to the album. Normally, the involvement of this many contributors would risk having the album bear the burden of too much scrutiny.

Overall, the album has a definitive R.E.M. tone about it, which would have been hard to avoid due to Buck's involvement. In interviews with R.E.M., the band takes equal songwriting credit due to the fact that they tend towards a democratic approach to songs, but Buck claims it is his influence in the band that pushes the band towards more experimentation. In Tired Pony, Buck votes with his guitar and the chad hangs precariously in the Automatic for the People column.

This approach seems to work, however in one case-- "The Deepest Ocean There Is" which starts out as a circular and introspective song with a great reverb-drenched baritone guitar line confoundingly ends with about a minute of someone imitating a cat screeching.