#36: Microhouse

I can't believe I haven't written this one up yet.

I went through a microhouse phase a month ago. First, we have an experimental minimalistic track called Heaven Can Wait, made up almost entirely of radio samples. In fact, to the point where there are over 2,000 on the one album. How the hell does one get that many radio samples? Either way, this guy's well worth his salt. Hell, it takes skill to take fraction-of-a-second bits and pieces from the radio and turn them into something resembling music, let alone a track that makes you think of the city late at night and your old college room that rocked your socks off and GODDAMN FRESHLY SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE and those nights where things just seemed to go right. Soundscapey stuff. And oh man do I love soundscapes. And hell, the title of "Heaven Can Wait" is a bold enough statement - I ain't dying yet. In fact, if heaven won't have me, then you and the rest of the world better hope that hell is damn well ready for me. Best bit IMO is at ~4'19" where the end bit starts, and suddenly it's a 6/8 beat instead of a 4/4 beat and suddenly life has changed to relax, and get some sleep. Oh man, this song is amazing. And speaking of amazing, have this:

I don't know who the hell Julian Jeweil is, and I don't know much about Markus Lange. This song came to me purely by accident, as when I thought I was getting In Search Of Sunrise 9 I instead snaffled a copy of Rave On Snow 16. Man that album has changed the way I see life. But let's get onto this song. The only reason I clicked on this song in the first place was for its title¹. So, does it sound like a perihelion? I don't know, but it sure as hell sounds like a summer song. I wanna listen to this, fully, out on the Hill one day in the middle of a summer mix. It belongs there. Bizarrely enough for microhouse, it really doesn't belong at 3am when you're chill-banging (apologies to Min) and there's very little light and you're just reflecting on life, the universe and everything. Save that for Akufen and Felix Laband. And on that note:

Something a tad different. I listened to this last night, as opposed to throughout most of Jan and early Feb. Man did it bring back a flood of memories, because this chirpy piece was released in 2005. Taran first played it for me in 2007. I was instantly hooked and instantly associated it, quite rightly so, with the house we were in at the time. Good times. Light, chirpy, minimalistic soundscape² that brings back memories and makes you think of fairies. Anything that makes you think of fairies that isn't absinthe has gotta be pretty cool. The whole song is pretty much the same thing, but it's a good "same thing" and it evolves quite nicely in the 3'26" it's been given. Now, one more, and then I'm gonna go comatose from a minimalism overload.

In lieu of "Lick Drop" by the same artist, I present Escape From New York. I would almost classify this as electro house, were it not for the slightly slower, more hypnotic beat, and the fact that it came directly from Rave On Snow 16. Man did that compilation win hard. Harder than I can ever mix. But we'll discuss my compilation later, because Escape From New York is smooth enough that it would belong in Rave On Snow, Discotek, or even Destroy if it wanted to. As is, it's only been on one of those. I'm sure its liquidy³ goodness will come to me, wrapped up in a nice neat little package of awesomeness within a year or two. So cool, and so smooth. And it's a Melbourne song, which fits well with the "Escape From New York" thing. And speaking of Melbourne, here's my own microhouse/minimalistic techno playlist.

1. Abi 99 - Joachim Spieth
2. Droplets (Early Night mix) - Dubshape
3. In Aller Freundschaft - Reinhard Voigt
4. Perihelion (Julian Jeweil rmx) - Markus Lange
5. In White Rooms (Dubfraction rmx) - Booka Shade
6. Heaven Can Wait - Akufen
7. Alcoolic (Matt Tolfrey & Inxec's "Priorities" rmx) - Popof
8. An Index Of Corporate Art - Bronnt Industries Kapital
9. Come Into My Life - Jürgen Paape ft. Alison Degbe
10. Polar Shift - Trentemøller
11. Cucuma - Stephan Bodzin
12. Lemon - Dettinger
13. Trauermusik - Partial Arts
14. Palestine Child - Remote
15. Tonite - Superpitcher

Clocks in at 79'37" when it's done right. I consider it a win.

¹For boffins who aren't so boffiny and don't know what "perihelion" means, it means "when an object is at its closest point in its normal orbit to Sol" - that is to say our sun. And we get about 91 million miles away from it at the closest point (compared to roughly 94 million miles at the opposite, or "aphelion").
²I find it ridiculous that the spellcheck doesn't accept "minimalistic" or "soundscape". Or "spellcheck". Or "microhouse". How dare it.
³Liquid music is the best music ever. Full stop.

#35: Contact High - Architecture In Helsinki

So this is 2012... Meh. First review of the year comes from not so much a challenge, but a Facebook status that turned into a thing. And we all like things.

I received a comment that this is a very bizarre song for me to like, simply because of the recurring themes of the mystical and magical, which counteracts my logical mind. Interestingly enough, some of the lines represent my mental state at certain points of my life (often multiple points, in fact). So I'm going to break it down for you. And after I'm done dancing, I'm going to rip the song to shreds, and the shreds reveal:

• my vision is gone and magic's to blame: the first example of the mystical, i.e. magic. Too easy. Next.
• you'll hold the thunder while I bring the rain: Caution: Gods At Work
• you've got a strange infatuation with elements in the air: science! Energy! Science! Energy!
• I'm done dreaming that we can fly: two in one here. Dreaming and flying. Flying is probably the ultimate motif of the mystical.
• mystical forces are circling me: like vultures?
• lost in the æther with no one to blame: well, you can't blame anybody but yourself for getting lost ANYwhere.

Why, then, do I like this mystical, magical song? Because it's not all about the (somewhat whiny-sounding) lyrics. I love the electronic experimentation of it all, and I loved the idea that, when they rocked up for Like A Version, Architecture In Helsinki were able to make an acoustic version of it. Mwah. Much love for acoustic versions. At any rate, I enjoy it simply because of that. Not much else. But, again, that's my tiny little logically-hardwired brain speaking, and I'd be inclined to say it's a ridiculously good song if I was a little more of an artsie. Or, less of a logician. Credit where credit's due, the video is also kinda fun. I wish I could be that guy. I'd be loving it.

#34: 2011 Wrap-Up

So, here we go with another end-of-the-year. I'll be honest, I don't like years ending. I don't like anything ending. But, hell, might as well make the best of it and have a bit of fun. So I'm posting my twenty favourite songs from 2011, with the following rules:

• The songs must have been imported into my library in 2011.
• The songs must not have been imported in any other form before 2011. Including remixes.
• The songs must have Gem Lines in them. (This does NOT mean I am awarding these songs Gem Line awards. Yet.)

See how un-strict I am? The songs need not be produced in 2011 either. Bizarrely, that does limit my library a bit. But, I've rustled up twenty songs, in no particular order:

• ANYTHING NEW - BIBIO
  Almost too catchy, but still with some very well-written lyrics. I enjoyed this song as soon as I heard it. That doesn't happen often.
  Gem Line: "I saw you dropped a note to self, I picked it up and it read 'I can't learn anything new'"
• EYES BE CLOSED - WASHED OUT
  I don't think there is anything to dislike about this song. Bordering on ambient, with a very epic (remember: "epic" means "heroic" in CJ-land) climax at about 3'33".
  Gem Line: "See the world clearly now"
• AMANÆMONESIA - CHAIRLIFT
  You are infinitely invited. I seem to be attracted to bizarre songs, and nothing can get more bizarre than the video of a woman looking like she's C'thulhu.
  Gem Line: "Mistaken for magic"
• STREET - JAMIE WOON
  Deliciously minimalistic. Also paints a perfect picture of a city street, specifically La Trobe Street (for me, that is). Or Bourke Street near Southern Cross Ln. Either way, beautiful song.
  Gem Line: "I'm wishing you were here with me, walking on a city street"
• FEATHER - LITTLE DRAGON
  A more recent find. I was attracted mostly by the key, and the lyric "you've got silver rays". Possibly the best-sung line of the song, because it stands out.
  Gem Line: "Will it ever float? Will it ever soar alone?"
• SUTPHIN BOULEVARD - BLOOD ORANGE
  I love blood oranges. And this song, though set (most likely) in New York City, belongs squarely in Melbourne. Don't ask me where.
  Gem Line: "Funny how it only seems to work at night"
• MIDNIGHT CITY - M83
  Again, a bizarre enough song to attract me immediately, and keep me absolutely hooked. Mostly because of the title. I love midnight and I love the city.
  Gem Line: "Looking at the mutating skyline"
• I WROTE THE BOOK - SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO & BETH DITTO
  Almost deliciously snarky song. I do like these kinds of songs, and especially any song where Simian Mobile Disco is involved.
  Gem Line: "Paradise is full of lies"
• SKY & SAND - PAUL KALKBRENNER
  Yep. An older song. Nope, I haven't seen Berlin Calling. I do intend to. It also resonates within me, for some reason.
  Gem Line: "In the night time, when the world is at its rest, you will find me in the place I know the best"
• FOREIGN LANGUAGE - FLIGHT FACILITIES ft. JESS HIGGS
  A pretty sweet follow-up to Crave You, and though nothing can beat the original I do like the direction Flight Facilities headed in this time. Disco for the win.
  Gem Line: "I can't let you go if you won't let me know"
• EMBODY - SEBASTIAN
  There's definitely something about me and bizarre or unintelligible songs. Hell, look how much of a Presets fan I am.
  Gem Line: OK, I can't tell, but it's a good enough song.
• A.I.M. FIRE! - ART VS. SCIENCE
  Much more my style of music than its predecessor, Parlez-Vous Francais?. Also takes a remix very well, as shown by the Immigrant remix.
  Gem Line: "I like a journey way into the night"
• ZIMBABWE - NEW NAVY
  A fun, boppy song that falls short of being catchy in the same way as We No Speak Americano was. Also embodies the ideals of every human being. Well, almost.
  Gem Line: "Leave the city for the open highway"
• AIN'T WAITING - TALIB KWELI ft. OUTASIGHT
  I still say this sits squarely in my collection, rather than standing out. The thing about hip hop is that it does fit in with mostly any other genre, apart from (say) classical.
  Gem Line: "I don't want to spend the night trying to figure out how to spend my time"
• TREEHOUSE - GOLD FIELDS
  Straight out of Victoria. Winning. I like its cheeky, playful nature as well as the niceness of the lyrics, as well as the fact that they are Victorian. ...OK, that was lame.
  Gem Line: "Do you know how far we are from the moon? Do you know how fast we are?"
• BOOM - LO-FI-FNK
  Another reasonably recent find. I like the fact that the band name starts with "lo-fi". Better than the pretentious wankery of "hi-fi" these days.
  Gem Line: "Those crazy summer nights"
• NEED YOU NOW - CUT COPY
  I am in love with the Architecture In Helsinki version. Absolutely in love. One of the best songs from Cut Copy, by a long shot.
  Gem Line: "Run for the last train, one of them will get you home"
• GABRIEL - JOE GODDARD ft. VALENTINA
  No idea whether this song is about an actual person or not, but that's irrelevant. Bizarre song, again, with some very different lyrical structure. Which is probably why I enjoy it.
  Gem Line: "He was stronger than I was, but it's strength you can't sustain"
• JONA VARK - GYPSY & THE CAT
  Not a huge obsession, but well worth a mention by a long way. Bordering on epic, and with some stirring words, along with an uncharacteristically nice remix by Tommy Trash.
  Gem Line: "She walks on the street, alone in the dark"
• AN ARGUMENT WITH MYSELF - JENS LEKMAN
  MELBOURNE. Well and truly iconically Melbourne, from the perspective of a Scandinavian. Love it to bits.
  Gem Line: "So rich on summer and so sweet"

Of course, this list doesn't include other jewels in my collection that I unfortunately had to cull, such as:

• Start Again - The Aston Shuffle ft. Lovers Electric
• The Call - Raized By Wolves ft. Tom Smith
• The Phoenix Alive - Monarchy
• Destroy Everything You Touch - Ladytron
• Hits Me Like A Rock - CSS
• Your Love - The Aston Shuffle
• The Island - Pendulum (parts 1 and 2)
• Look Inside (Izmabad rmx) - 4Hero ft. FACE
• Swoon (Boys Noize rmx) - The Chemical Brothers
• Niton [The Reason] - Eric Prydz

This list of 30 has been shortened from a list of 54, which has been shortened further from 214. Painfully hard, I can guarantee it. But, that's 2011 in CJ Curry's music collection. Have fun!

#33: An Index Of Corporate Art - Bronnt Industries Kapital

Are you reading this, Fenella?

Right. This is the most brilliant index of corporate art I have ever seen. Not that I've seen many. It's a piece of music essentially in three parts: one that reminds me quite thoroughly of a music box that is normally associated with kids. It's got that certain, uh, something to it that brings you back to childhood. Not quite ambient, because it's a bit fast-paced, but I like it anyway. Memories of when I was three years old and not quite grown out of the eating-sheep-shit stage. Though it also brings to mind a sunset over Melbourne. That part ends at ~2'48" and brings us into the most mellow piece of music I've heard outside the soundlab in 2011, which immediately brings to mind Melbourne's skyline at night. Loving it, and loving it hugely. To be honest, though, I'd prefer it without the electric guitar whine in the left speaker. In fact, I routinely listen to it with just one speaker for this reason. Then at ~4'16" we jump into the grittier bit, that feels more like a person's mindset while walking through Melbourne's streets at night. Spot the pattern, anyone? Yes, the pattern is that the parts of the tune are proportional to phases of night.

In all seriousness, this song is perfect for a warm - say, 22 degrees - night, taking a stroll through Melbourne. There are those who disagree and say it's a winter song. I say, this song is way too cool for them (seewhatIdidthere?) and brush them off so I can listen to this song with awesomeness. Seriously. Much the fun.

#32: Look Inside - 4Hero ft. FACE

Alright guys, I said I'd feature it last post. Here it is: 4Hero's deep house track Look Inside, in three flavours: original, Izmabad, and Nu:Tone.

Honest opinion: in comparison to the others, the Plain version is what it says on the box. A bit bland. But this wasn't the first version I heard. This was:

The Izmabad remix. And a hell of a win it was too. As I said last post, I blame Nando's Bundoora. I heard it, noted the lyrics "searching every pot of gold, running out of rainbows". And here is the result of an extensive Internet search afterwards:

So what is it about this liquid music that attracts me, again and again, like a motherfucking magnet? Apart from the fact that it's liquid music? I'd say the memories associated with the songs. Each and every one makes me think of summer (tick), Melbourne (tick), spicy chicken (tick) and being happy (HUGE TICK). Simply because I was happy in a Melbourne summer, eating spicy chicken when I first heard this. And kept hearing it all throughout summer '10-'11. Winning harder than Charlie Sheen (which isn't hard. But still).

I love Melbourne. I have an entire playlist, 150 songs long, devoted to it. I have also mixed two 1h20' sets based on thirty-nine songs from that playlist. I also love summer. Same deal, except no mixes and a playlist that is 100 songs long. The fact that both are miniscule compared to the size of my library (nearly 9,000 songs) is offset by the sheer amount of times I have played those songs. And hell, those playlists are totally incomplete. One thing's for sure: this song is in them all.

Finally, I mentioned the lyrics before: "searching every pot of gold, running out of rainbows". This gets a Gem Line award. Just like that. And I'm retroactively awarding one to Feather by Little Dragon, for the line "You are airborne, you've got silver rays". Enjoy.

#31: CJ's Addictions 6

With the release of a new chillout album comes some awesome kickass music. And I am obviously going to pour nothing but sweeping, inappropriate love and praise over the following songs, which are way beautiful and only lead to amazingness and... *sigh* I'm not making sense. I blame this, liquid music.

So we'll start with a song that, as soon as I heard it, went straight into two playlists: Melbourne and Utopia. It's a Melbourne song. (See the end of this post for a list of other Melbourne songs and you'll see a pattern emerge.) Regardless of the fact that they're Swedish, it's a Melbourne song. Much love, respect and ♥ for this song. I fell in love thanks to the chords they use, and the fact that the background synths are nice and sweeping. Minor key? Maybe. Delicious key? Definitely. As I say, it's not the first time I've fallen in love with such a song, and it won't be the last. But music is like that. I picture a sunset over the city and that glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice that I keep mentioning in my hands as I overlook the city from goodness-knows-where (because one can't get up that high without at least an aeroplane). I'M MELTING. THIS SONG IS AWESOMENESS IN A NUTSHELL AND IT IS MAKING ME MELT.

...ahem. My bizarre thought process aside, on to the next two. Here is a song by Bibio:

And here is le video of Le Bump:

What connects these two, other than the fact that they both are awesome? They're both ridiculously catchy in exactly the same way. And that way is the right way. Granted, Anything New is a bit slower and hellish to dance to (beyond a bizarre tribal dance), but it's really nice to just sit there, listen to and maybe click your fingers in time to (fuck grammar up the arsehole. Seriously). Bibio will go far in my playlist. In contrast, Le Bump is unfortunately predicted to go the same way as We No Speak Americano (ridiculously overplayed in and out of clubs and radio stations and hence annoying as HELL to listen to after a few months), but for the moment I'm not complaining. Le Bump starts by sounding like grungy house but it pleasantly surprised me when I first heard it, because it's anything but grungy. Good to see Yolanda Be Cool fucking the trend that Afrojack, Angger Dimas and LMFAO are perpetuating. Fuck them. I have Yolanda Be Cool. As for what the songs individually sound like: Anything New sounds like it comes straight out of The Sims (the original one, when it still had the isometric views and Sims didn't age) and Le Bump sounds like it comes straight out of Yolanda Be Cool. Wait...

Last: I really love this song.

Allow me to flash back for a bit. If you're allergic to flashbacks, please turn off for the next half a dozen lines or so. Last summer, I had my first ever summer Nando's experience. The chicken was pretty sweet (well, it was spicy actually) and the atmosphere was deliciously summery. But it wasn't those that sold me on summer peri-peri chicken, it was the music. Apparently they play deep house in certain Nando's restaurants during summer, because they did it again not two weeks ago. I learned to love a song by 4Hero (which I will feature next time I do deep house) and I found three more kickass ones two weeks ago. So I guess you can say summer is my time for deep house phases. And I'm going through one right now and I really love this song as a result. In fact, I love it so much I'm going to repeat myself over and over for a little while until either the message sinks in, I get bored, or you get so annoyed that you track me down based on my IP address and beat the living shit out of me. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. I really love this song. That's all I can really say, because it is - like Feathers and Anything New from before - absolutely delicious and meltworthy. Someone get a mop. I'm now a puddle on the floor.

#30: The Call - Raized By Wolves ft. Tom Smith

You want to hear good house? This is it:

These guys are relative newcomers to the house music scene, having just sprung up out of Manchester. In fact, they're so new that they don't have a Wikipedia page yet. Somebody should really get on to it (SHOTGUN NOT). They've jumped on to mau5trap Records, along with the little wizard of progressive house, deadmau5. Which immediately says to me "awh yeah progressive house". It's not quite correct, because this is halfway between progressive and straight-up electro house, but hell if I'm complaining. It's a beautiful song in its own right, but borrowing the talents of Editors singer Tom Smith sure as hell didn't hurt it. I loved it from the initial synth line at the start, because of its minimalistic nature that couples brilliantly with Smith's voice; when it gets into the sound saturation stage (~1'22") it's gone through fifty different kinds of transformations and it has evolved nice and early. So there's one big huge tick from me. I'm also in love with the fact that it's not grungy, despite the huge potential (and, I'm sure, temptation) to do so. It brings them into line with acts like the Swedish House Mafia, who are exceedingly good at that kind of music (for those wondering, yes, the Swedish House Mafia - Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello - are all Swedes and amazing producers of house music. They could give The Bloody Beetroots and The Aston Shuffle a run for their money). So, everyone got that? Comparison with David Guetta, Skrillex or LMFAO = bad. Comparison with The Bloody Beetroots, Swedish House Mafia or The Aston Shuffle = good. Comparison with The Bloody Beetroots, Swedish House Mafia and The Aston Shuffle = very good. I should feature all three one day. Or something like that. Anyway, this song is delicious. Liquid music. Hear it, love it, give me money.