ep review

EP Review: Feel Like Movin' / We Got A Love - The Juan Maclean / Shit Robot

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order vinyl & high-quality digital at http://store.dfarecords.com/products/dfa2408 The Juan Maclean Feel Like Movin' (featuring Nancy Whang) DFA2408

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This fantastic new split single from DFA showcases some inspirational new stuff from label stalwarts The Juan Maclean and Shit Robot. Neither song significantly changes the sound each artist has been pushing recently but both feel like they've been honed to close to perfection.

The Juan Maclean's "Feel Like Movin'" features vocals from regular collaborator and (technically ex-) LCD Soundsystem member Nancy Whang, who delivers the kind of semi-deadpan, semi-loved up vocal she used on The Juan Maclean's "Happy House". The track is an upbeat twisted piano-house track full of uplifting and optimistic vibes. Whang's vocals plead you to dance and the track has a weird parallel to The Juan Maclean's beautiful "Dance With Me". Where the latter was aloof but touching, robotics trying to break through into humanity, this is the opposite: sweaty and familiar and up-close. "So let your heart get crazy / and let your head get dizzy / let yourself get busy, it's easy" calls Whang, probably as she disappears into the throng of the dancefloor. It's the rushing intimacy that only comes from lost evenings with lost boundaries.

Shit Robot's "We Got A Love" features comedian and musician Reggie Watts and comes from a similar place but it is a little more understated. Deep throbbing drums and a dubby bass create a momentum whilst the piano loop recaptures early-90s urban distance. Watts' vocal is scattershot and adlibbed, flipping from falsetto to baritone and back within the same verse. It feels like one of Shit Robot's most fully realised tracks since the excellent "Simple Things (Work It Out)".

Both The Juan Maclean and Shit Robot are due full releases in 2014. Feel Like Movin’ / We Got A Love is out now through DFA and is limited to 500 stamped and numbered copies. Grab the digital release of "Feel Like Movin'" and "We Got A Love" from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate links].

 

EP Review: Crystalised - Art Department Presents Martina Topley Bird feat. Mark Lanegan & Warpaint

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Art Department Presents Martina Topley Bird Featuring Mark Lanegan & Warpaint Crystalised No.19 Music September 23rd / October 7th No19040 vinyl / digital No19 take a detour into downtempo indie/funk excellence for their surprising but exquisite next release, Art Department Presents Martina Topley Bird Featuring Mark Lanegan & Warpaint -- 'Crystalised'.

On first listen this new single from Art Department blew my mind. The duo are better known for their dark techno production, and to a certain extent that is audible here, but the main radio edit suggests they could be priming themselves up for some cross-over production action.

This EP is based around a cover version of The xx's beautiful but somewhat over-familiar "Crystalised". Rather than just remix the original though Art Department have some serious talent involved to re-imagine it. The single edit is this re-imagininng in its most original form - a loose and fuzzy track with vocals from Martina Topley Bird and Mark Lanegan.

The vocals feel sultry and bluesy were the originals were nervous and exposed - it sounds like you'd expect The xx to sound once they've played this song on tour for another 25-years, in a good way, like Fleetwood Mac's tense over-familiarity simmering over into the music. Topping it off is some typically moody instrumentation from Warpaint. Something about their sound always feels like it deserves to be heard drenched in the pissing rain with boots full of mud. This is no different. It reeks of bitterness. In a good way.

Crystalised - Art Department Presents Martina Topley Bird feat. Mark Lanegan & Warpaint

Alongside this stark reimagining are five dance remixes and following in such footsteps it is inevitable that none of them are quite as exciting... It would have been much more interesting if Art Department had instead included an extended version of that radio edit.

Art Department themselves provide two mixes - a Director's Cut Signature and Director's Cut Unmarked Dub. The former sounds pretty much like you would expect a tech-house version of "Crystalised" to sound - its swirling FX and synthesised take on the original's delicate melody is impressive, yet it still feels a little overly plastic. The dub is similar but light on vocals, replacing them with a gradual build that combined with the memorable melody will prove a great track to drop into deeper sets.

Additional mixes come from Agoria, Deniz Kurtel and Tone of Arc. Agoria's mix is played slow, with plenty of feeling, bass forming a wall-like barrier against lots of distortion. Kurtel plays it straighter but darker - throbbing bass creating a sinister feel whilst Synths and echo provide a sense of isolation. Finally Tone of Arc's mix is full of eighties electro-swagger, fuzz and clicks combining with robotic bassline to create am industrial feel.

This is an intriguing release - I just can't wait to hear what comes next... 

Crystalised is released on No. 19 Music.