Good Weather For Airstrikes

In the weeks leading up to the unveiling of Guillemots’ new single, buzz around the industry was that the band had penned the perfect pop song. And guess what, they done did it.

To quote a breathless Zane Lowe after the conclusion of the first-ever radio play of Guillemots new single, “Get Over It”: “Did you see that coming?” And to be perfectly real with you, no I did not. To say “Get Over It” exceeded my already high expectations would be a significant understatement; this is some “Trains To Brazil” next-level shit right here. “Get Over It” unequivocally marks the pinnacle of the band’s commercial viability to this point in their career, while in now way suppressing their seemingly endless fountain of ambition.

Driving guitars, oscillating synths and the union of Fyfe and Aristazabal’s soaring vocals converge to create a track that, like all great Guillemots songs, is equal parts timeless and forward thinking. And just like “Trains To Brazil”, the message is beautiful: Don’t let anything get you down - get over it. But in the same way the euphoric optimism of “Trains was tempered by overt references to terrorism and the anxiety of life in a post-9/11 (or post 7/7) society, Dangerfield doesn’t hesitate to admit that his advice is not the easiest to follow, even for him. “I want you, I want you like I’m 18″, or hero confesses, before going on: “In another life I’m drenched in sweat with you”, alluding to a past love gone but seemingly not forgotten. It’s this lyrical depth that makes Dangerfield such a special songwriter - the brilliant instrumental and basic lyrical sentiment of “Get Over It” ensures it success from square one, but as always, Guillemots refuse to settle for good enough. It’s this desire to push boundaries and achieve perfection that make them such an exciting band to follow, and the single is all the better for it. An immaculate lead single then, and if the rest of the songs on Red, its parent album, are half this good, then Guillemots just might be usurping Bloc Party in my pantheon of favorite bands before the year is out.

MP3: “Get Over It” - Guillemots

Seriously, the first time I listened to this song the clouds parted, everyone around me broke into synchronized dance and I was sliding down rainbows and riding unicorns and shit. Granted, that could have been all the LSD, but I’d like to think this track has some serious magic in it.

MYSTERY JETS VS EROL ALKAN VS SWITCH
In other British indie-pop news, Mystery Jets released my frontrunner for album of the year last week with their sophomore effort, Twenty One. Singles like “Young Love” and “Two Doors Down” are guaranteed to be huge records in the UK, but lead-off track “Hideaway” is the real stunner of the bunch. One of their darker, more rocking efforts to date, it’s my current favorite track on the album and the news that a Switch remix will be dropping soon and this trailer have me beyond pumped. DJ Neoteric also debuted the remix in his latest mix, but according to the Jets the track doesn’t exist as a lone MP3 anywhere outside of Erol, Switch and Neoteric’s respective hard drives. Keep an eye on this space though…

MP3: “Hideaway” - Mystery Jets

Globetrotting ain’t easy. My two-week bender across Europe has left me with a head cold of epic proportions and so now it’s a beautiful day in Barcelona and I’m stuck inside with this here blog shit. A blessing in disguise though I guess, as I’ve been trying to find time to devote some words to Danger’s unfuckwithable set at Berlin’s Club Maria last Friday night.

First things first: Fuck pretty much everything on Ed Banger, Danger IS the next great hope for French electronic music. I told you so way back when, but with only one (albeit phenomenal) EP under his belt it seemed a bit early to give the 23 year-old maestro such a lofty title. That said, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who saw dude obliterate Club Maria in Berlin last Friday who would disagree. I’ll say it: this was THE best DJ set I’ve ever seen, and this is coming from a kid who’s seen SMD, Justice, and Girl Talk in their various incarnations upwards of five times each. At such an early stage in a DJ’s touring career, it’s hard to know what to expect from an hour-long “live” set. SMD and Justice both underwhelmed significantly until they got some higher production values behind them (Simian with their over-the-top light show and Justice with their flashing cross and monolithic amp setup), but less than a year into his touring life cycle Danger seems to have it all figured out. Working with nothing more than a pocketful of absurdly hot jams, two laptops, a mixer, and an incredible visual backdrop documenting different animated moments in his mysterious genesis (something about a pyramid, a jungle, a bunch of flashing lights and a shadowy alien-looking creature), Danger keeps it simple while managing to put on one of the most brilliant audio-visual spectacles this side of Mssrs. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo, so much so that he can even be forgiven for perpetuating the DJs-wearing-masks pandemic.

Danger took the stage around 1 to a sparsely-populated dancefloor and immediately started dropping the heat, tearing through a set exclusively comprised of his own material, with what sounded like a few as-yet-unreleased remixes thrown in for good measure. The video accompaniment was amazing, but it was the tunes that really made the night, as the visuals unfortunately malfunctioned and dropped out about halfway through his set. It didn’t matter though - Danger didn’t miss a beat and just kept on doing his thing, playing the mixer like it was its own instrument and dancing every bit as hard as the crowd, a refreshing change for the cooler-than-thou DJ types that pervade throughout the French scene. The new material sounds amazing, but it was “11h30″ the headline track off his 9/14/2007 EP that provided the uncontested pinnacle of the night, with that incomprehensible chorus and omnipotent bass surges absolute destroying a dancefloor that had since filled to max capacity since the start of his set. Furthermore, “11h30″ was my absolute favorite electronic single of last year, coming out of nowhere to edge out “D.A.N.C.E.” and “Pogo” on my perpetually-unreleased year-end lists. If you somehow missed it the first time around, jump on the bandwagon and revel in what you’ve been missing out on.

MP3: “11h30″ - Danger

Danger’s also got a remix of Sebastien Tellier’s “Divine” coming down the pipeline for the upcoming single release of the track. I was of the mind that this would be his first official remix, but it looks like Mr. West and company are one step ahead of the pack as usual, as Danger’s remix of up-and-coming John Legend protege Estelle recently hit the blogs to much pomp and circumstance. Here it is in all its unreleased glory.

MP3: “American Boy” (Danger Remix) - Estelle ft. Kanye West

Those of you who want to get a taste of the Danger live experience should check the video linked below, as it’s got mostly high quality sound throughout and does a good job documenting the visual accompaniment as well. You can also hear an early edit of his “Divine” remix towards the end (around the 14-minute mark), so it’s definitely worth checking out here if you can’t wait a few weeks until the single release.

What else is good? Well I finally regained access to the internet yesterday, only to find that The Devil, You + Me, the LONG-awaited follow up to the Notwist’s Neon Golden, had hit the internet and that City Slang was giving away its lead-off track for free. You’ve not read much of the Notwist in these pages as they’ve been dormant for most of the decade, but Neon Golden is one of my favorite albums of all time and I couldn’t be more excited to delve into their latest offering. I mean, I was only 15 at the time of Neon Golden’s release and thus not exactly as on top of my music shit as I am today, but I can’t think of a better album released in 2002, so suffice it to say I’m pretty fucking pumped. Here’s The Devil, You + Me opener “Good Lies” and my favorite track off its predecessor, “Consequence”. Has there been a better track to get vulnerable to in history? Doubtful.

MP3: “Good Lies” - The Notwist
MP3: “Consequence” - The Notwist

Finally, there’s nothing better than walking around Barcelona with this on your ‘phones, which I still hold in the highest regard as one of the greatest songwriting accomplishments of the 21st century. Hyperbole much? Yeah, but I mean it really is that good.

MP3: “Sao Paolo” - Guillemots

So things have been (and may continue to be, I’m afraid) a bit quiet around here this week as I’m on spring break and traveling Europe (Prague->Berlin->Barcelona->Maorca) until the end of the month, but I’ll be doing my damnedest to drop in with periodic updates and I’ve got my polaroid camera (just to make sure things stay extra hipster) and my full library of music with me so I’ll see what I can do. At the very least I’m leaving you with “No Comply”, one of the best and most overlooked tracks of 2007, which was slotted at #15 on my ill-fated Top 50 Singles of 2007 list, but somehow has gone unmentioned on these pages until now. I’ve been listening to it damn near on repeat recently and it’s undoubtedly worthy of your attention especially considering how underheard and underpraised this shit was last year, so be sure to get at it below.

2007 saw Studio quietly establish themselves as one of the most promising acts in the vast Scandinavian electronic music scene, with “No Comply” standing out as the group’s masterwork to date. Accessing the same place occupied by Royksopp’s “Eple”, the song is a lesson in blissful escapism, bouncing along on a sunny melody that makes the track a curious export from a region that will go without sunlight for weeks during those long Scandinavian winters. This is the kind of thing you’d expect if the next big electronic scene popped up in Bermuda, but regardless of its origin it was one of the absolute best tracks of last year and a big reason you won’t be forgetting Studio’s name any time soon.

Like their fine remixes, “No Comply” showcases Studio’s unique balearic sound and expansive production style, the duo’s knack for breathtaking atmospheric soundscapes and decidedly low-key instrumentals setting them apart from the rest of the pack in the crowded Scandinavian electronic scene. There are vocals here, but whereas their excellent Kylie Minogue and Shout Out Louds remixes are driven by the originals’ vocal structures, it’s the consistently-evolving instrumental of “No Comply” that dictates the where to song will flow to next, the chorus owing it’s success far more to its brilliant downward spiral of shimmering guitars than the repeating “It’s all in good time…” refrain. The pristine instrumental would have ensured the song success even without vocals, though the lead vocal here proves its value in its ability to lend the song an accessibility it might have forfeited without them. All in all, this is one of the best things to come out of Scandinavia in ages and Studio seem fully prepared to enjoy Royksopp-esque levels of international success and should no doubt be able to if they can maintain the high standard set on “No Comply” on future efforts. This shit is perfect for the season and likely won’t be leaving my speakers during our stopover in Barcelona and Maorca, and I hope it can provide the perfect soundtrack to some of your sunnier plans as well.

MP3: “No Comply” - Studio

And just to round things out, here are a few more reasons to get all hot and bothered over the Swedish duo in the form of their aforementioned and previously-posted remix work for Kylie Minogue’s “2 Hearts” and Shout Out Louds’ “Impossible”.

MP3: “2 Hearts” (Studio Version) - Kylie Minogue
MP3: “Impossible” (Possible Remake By Studio) - Shout Out Louds

It seems like only months ago that everyone was beginning to lose their shit about “Gravity’s Rainbow”, “Atlantis To Interzone” and Klaxons’ whole futurelove dance-rock sound, but the influence of the Great Klaxons Takeover of 2007 has already begun to manifest itself in a new wave of like-minded British rock acts. First there was the Author bursting onto the scene with “Taxi” late last year, and now here we have Magistrates, who sound like Klaxons squaring off with Prince, all frantic group vocals and glossy falsettos. The Essex-based quartet remain relatively unknown in the London indie scene, but with a slot supporting Black Kids’ sold-out ICA show later this week and their name skipping across the radar of more and more A&R folks around the industry, you better believe this is a band to keep a close eye on in 2008. I’ve even heard one industry head say he thinks they’re the best new band he’s heard since Vampire Weekend, but I’ll leave that for you to decide. Here’s “The Inbetweens”, the finest cut off the band’s phenomenal three-track demo, the rest of which you can and should check out on their MySpace.

MP3: “The Inbetweens” (Demo) - Magistrates [exclusive]

In other news, we DJ’d Apocalypso at the Old Queen’s Head last Saturday and I think it’s safe to say we made a pretty excellent debut. Things were helped significantly by the fact that we got 20 or so of our friends heavily boozed up and had them pad the audience and dance their balls off, but we held our own on the decks too despite some initial technical difficulties. We played a good 15 tracks or so including a few easy crowd favorites, but this one in particular went off unexpectedly well. Sadly we had to play it in 128 kbps because as far as I can tell it doesn’t exist in 320 anywhere, so if you’ve somehow got the hook up drop us a line, will you?

MP3: “What Am I Fighting For?” (LA Priest Remix) - Unklejam

Shortly after arriving in the UK in January I got an email from one Mr. Jeremy Warmsley tipping me off about an internet TV show he’d launched with his flatmate Fay Buzzard. Built around intimate live performances from London’s brightest young songwriters, Welcome To Our TV Show is a really special look into the extended family of musicians that many of London’s brilliant folk and indie talents belong to. Episode 1 features performances from the Mystery Jets, Laura Marling, Noah & The Whale and of course Warmsley himself, while Episode 2 has Lightspeed Champion, Laura Groves, Emmy The Great and a duet between Emmy and Jeremy in the clip’s final scene. I’m still too incompetent to figure out how to embed YouTube clips on Wordpress, but you’ll find links to both parts of each episode below and I highly recommend you check it out.

Episode 1 (December): [Part One] [Part Two]
Episode 2 (January): [Part One] [Part Two]

The best part of all this, though, is Jeremy’s been kind enough to provide me with MP3s of all of the tracks performed and recorded on the show, and given that many of the songs performed are rare or unreleased material and covers, I’m really happy to make them available for download. Downloads of all of the songs from episodes one and two are available below, but you should definitely view the videos as well.

Episode One
MP3: “Flakes” (Live) – Mystery Jets
MP3: “To Cyril At Crunkmas” (Live) – Noah & The Whale
MP3: “Shine” (Live) – Laura Marling
MP3: “Going Out of My Head” (Live) – Jeremy Warmsley

Episode Two
MP3: “Boat Song” (Live) - Emmy The Great & Jeremy Warmsley
MP3: “Hooker Song” (Live) - Lightspeed Champion
MP3: “I Wish I” (Live) - Laura Groves
MP3: “24″ (Live) - Emmy The Great

Good news and bad news… Bad news: Despite the absurd amount of work that both Rya and I have put into it, the Great Top 50 Singles Project of 2007 has been abandoned. That said, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if it popped up here at some completely arbitrary point far removed from 2007 like July or some shit, so keep hope alive if you can even be bothered to care at this point. Good news: I’ve amassed a ridiculously large backlog of content to post in the epic amount of time spent on that Top Singles bullshit and now that I’ve put it behind me I can get back to my regular posting habits and start disseminating the aforementioned hot jams to the masses. Furthermore, we’ve got a shit ton of exclusive content lined up for you in the coming weeks, so stick around, will you?

Said exclusive content will begin later today or tomorrow, but here’s this in the mean time. I never thought So-Me could top “D.A.N.C.E.”, and then he raised the bar again with his video for Kanye’s “Good Life”. Then he goes and drops this shit on us? Out of control. Fuck YouTube, hi-res download below.

Video: “DVNO”
Artist: Justice
Director: So-Me, Machine Molle and Yourgo Tloupas
Watch: [Daily Motion]
Download: [Quicktime • 32 MB] [direct link]

Word on the street is dude’s got a live action feature-length film in the works. Excited much?

ALSO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:

Dekker is a friend of mine from Clinton’s and he’s been putting on his excellent Apocalypso night at The Old Queen’s Head in Islington for exactly a year now, and to celebrate they’ve got an extra special line-up all ready to go for Saturday, featuring none other than Paul Epworth A.K.A. Phones A.K.A. Epic Man A.K.A. the fucking man headlining and yours truly getting things started on the ones and twos from 9-10:15 PM. My roommate and I have been DJing under the name Fresh Prints since… alright well this is our first formal gig outside of a few afterparties here and there, but I assure you it’ll be awesome. Anyone coming down (which you should, even if only to see Mr. Epworth do the damn thing from 1:30-2:45) shouldn’t expect any world class transitions or superior mixing skills on display during our set, but you can fully expect to hear jams of the extremely hot variety dropped in spades. Rounding out the night are a live performance from Miss Odd Kid and sets from the Magic Circle and Adventures Close To Home DJs, both of whom know how to put it down with authority, and of course Dekker himself. Set times are below, as well as one of Phones’ finest and most obscure remixes to get you in the mood. See you there?

MP3: “Never Felt Like This Before” (Phones Volt Version) - Shaznay Lewis

• Fresh Prints (9:00-10:15)

• Adventures Close To Home (10:15-11:30)

• Magic Circle (11:30-12:15)

• Miss Odd Kid (12:15-12:45)

• Dekker (12:45-1:30)

• Paul Epworth (1:30-2:45)
• Naomi // (2:45-3:30)

• Everyone (3:30-4:00)