We’ve seen the SNL television spots, we’ve seen the giant billboard, we’ve seen the “Creator’s Project” interviews and we’ve seen the Coachella teaser. Everything surrounding Daft Punk‘s upcoming album Random Access Memorieshas been very meticulous and extremely secretive, showing off only bits and pieces of their first new studio single, “Get Lucky.”
But now the wait is over, as the massively popular French electronica robot duo has granted us access to the track in its official form today at precisely 12:01 am EST. Along with N.E.R.D member Pharrell Williams’ smooth falsetto and Chic bandleader Nile Rodgers’ absolutely funky-to-the-nth-degree guitar riff, “Get Lucky” is seriously looking to become the summer disco hit of 1978 of 2013. Stream it above.
Daft Punk’s Random Access Memoriesis out May 21st on Columbia.
Two of our favorite nu-balearic producers join forces on this magical Greeen Linez remix of Sorcerer’s “Cobra Coven”. Sorcerer is Daniel Saxon Judd, a San Francisco-based guitarist and drum machine maestro who also plays in the excellent bands Windsurf and Shock. The “Cobra Coven” remix merges Judd’s dubby, cosmic vibes with the otherworldly funkiness of Greeen Linez, a binational production duo made up of Cambridge’s Christopher Greenberg and Tokyo dweller Matt Lyne. When we featured Greeen Linez’s track “Hibiscus Pacific” back in July, I half-jokingly described their music as “yacht funk” (which is about as legitimate a genre as crab-core or seapunk). Matt tells me that, in fact, the Greeen Linez project is inspired most directly by the “City Pop” sound that emerged in Bubble Era Japan in the 1980s:
“We are very influenced by 1980s Japanese fusion and ‘City Pop’. City Pop uses a lot of synthesizers (particularly the Yamaha DX7) and also draws influence from disco, boogie, and AOR sounds from America. Often the lyrics have connections to city life and fast cars but with images of resorts and coastal summer paradises, either lyrically or in the sleeve designs and jackets – day trips to the coast and so on. It sounds like it comes from a strange exotic blissful dreamland, although we can also feel a sense of melancholy or tension behind it, which although it was probably unintentional at the time, almost points to the historical moment when the bubble economy in Japan burst, and this paradise was lost.”
However you describe them, Greeen Linez make some of the most interesting electronic music we’ve heard of late. Their “Cobra Coven” remix comes with a delightfully strange found footage video compiled by Matt himself. If you’re into cheesy laser effects, field hockey action montages and shapely Asian ladies strutting around with armfuls of baguettes, then this should be right up your alley. The remix will be included on Sorcerer’s Island Rescue EP, the first release slated for Matt’s new Diskotopia sublabel, A Kind of Presence. Stay tuned for more eclectic electronic stylings by following A Kind of Presence on Twitter.
The London electro-pop five-piece Hot Chip is back with a new single, and fans are rejoicing. Yes, boys and girls, get your platform shoes ready because the group’s latest release “Night and Day” is funkier than ever. A bouncy Jock-Jams-esque bass-line—one that would be equally comfortable as the theme music to Contra or Battle Toads—is paired with a mid-tempo beat to function as the backbone of this eerie experiment in early house music. It hits slowly, but surely. Indeed, this disco-joint is as smooth and sexy as it is spooky and serious, so bring your A-game to the dance floor. And also, enjoy.
Some had surmised that Boy Crisis had folded it up and gone underground. Some guessed that they descended back to the primordial-funk-ooze beneath Studio 54 where they were apparently spawned. But a new video (of an old song) recently emerged from cyber-space indicating that, just maybe, Boy Crisis lives! Let’s hope so. The world needs this druggy, love-soaked funk-pop more than ever. So if you’re feeling down and out, “L’Homme” has the synth blasts, disco beats, and pop bombast you need. Above is your remedy. You can grab an exclusive download of the track over at RCRD LBL.
Sophia Knapp, of the girl-trio Lights (now Cliffie Swan), is branching out on her own. Her debut LP Into the Waves will be released late this month on the talent-packed label Drag City, and will feature the musical company of Americana’s favorite gravel-voiced bedroom-crooner Bill Callahan on several songs. If “Close to Me” (which does not feature Callahan) is any indication, the album will be delightful. On this light and fluffy sonic-gem Knapp shoves Stevie Nicks, sparkling champagne, pineapples, piña-colada mix, and a fairy dusting of funk into the blender and mixes up a sexy cocktail of girl-pop. Drink this puppy up and you’ll be dancing with diamonds on the soles of your shoes. Guaranteed.
Funk music is ingrained in DC’s history. So much so that DC was able to create and cultivate Go-Go music, it’s own blend of funk – a genre of music championed by the incomparable Chuck Brown. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Godfather would applaud what Big/Bright is trying to do. The band takes elements of traditional funk and combines them with distinctly electro and pop production. The result is a soulful groove that you can’t help but dance to. The standout (and one of only a few tracks the band has floating around) is “French Dude”.
You can catch Big/Bright live with fellow DC up-and-comers Black Hills and Brooklyn-by-way-of-Passion-Pit side project Aislyn this Friday at Red Palace.
I need to preface this post with the fact that I like funk. Much like Bagel Bites, I enjoy it in the morning, evening, and suppertime. So when I heard Pickwick’s Hacienda Motel, I was obviously down with that resonating and–yes, funky–bass line. The band hails from Seattle, WA and they love to bring in the crowd (as evidenced by this KEXP session). Unsigned and selling their stuff on Bandcamp, their brand of surf-funk rock is on the rise out West with performances at Bumbershoot and the Doe Bay Fest. If you have a pulse and like to clap, throw on “Hacienda Motel”. Much like milk (and Bagel Bites), it does the body good.
In the words of the esteemed Sir Charles Barkley, you’d have to be a “knucklehead” not to make it out to the August edition one of the hottest monthly dance parties D.C. has to offer; Que Sera at Napoleon. This month’s version is called “Dancing in the Streets” and features none other than our good friend/ATG-collaborator Philippe Chetrit on the one’s and two’s alongside fellow DC DJs Aaron Baird and John Philip, or as they like to call themselves, the “Usual Buffspects.” In preparation for the event, Philippe has thrown together an essential party mix, which you can enjoy below.
Put on your party hats and dancing shoes because, this Thursday, it’s going down.
Tracklist and album art after the jump:
STREAM: Philippe Chetrit – “Que Sera Slaughterhouse Mix”
If The Black Keys helped bring blues-rock back to the masses in recent years, Hot Bodies in Motion definitely adds something new and palpable to the genre. Based out of Seattle, they describe their sound as “Baby-makin’ mammal funk, laced with old-school blues roots” and it’s a potent concoction. They can jam out acoustically or turn on the fuzz and make some serious noise when plugged in. Ben Carson croons and can carry a song on its own, but the band is at its best when it slows down at the end of the song “Old Habits”. The entire band lets you know that old habits die hard and then emphatically punches out with an old school blues riff. It’s pure, unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll.
The video for “Old Habits” combines pizza, a hot chick and sharp objects to tell the twisted story of one late night at a pizza shop. Trust me, this is better than a jumbo slice.
It’s like Marvin Gaye was resurrected and schooled in electronic music…maybe that’s just me. London-based producer Tyson brings disco-funk back with a slightly new flavor, seasoned with his beautiful falsetto vocals.
Always shown masked in a Phantom of the Opera-esque mask (with teeth, rawr), Tyson is elusive, mysterious. Totally feeling that.
The current must listen to track is “Love’s on the Line.” You can also grab “Die on the Dance Floor” and “Out of My Mind” on his Soundcloud.
