Clubland May

2010 looks like it will be a big year for DFA with the hotly anticipated final album from LCD Soundsystem due out imminently, though the excitement of that release has been somewhat sullied by being leaked on the internet ahead of the release date, a fate that unfortunately also befell their last album, Sound of Silver.

Already they’ve been warming up their release sheet with Yacht, Michoacan and Ray Mang featuring a vocal comeback of sorts for Lady Miss Kier. Black Van have also presented their début on the label, which on closer inspection reveals two veteran producers collaborating on a new disco project. Oliver Kowalski from Hamburg duo Moonbootica and French producer Kris Menace who has remixed everyone from Robbie Williams to Tracey Thorn have come together with ongoing aspirations, Yearning being the first fruit of their labour.

Showing their considerable experience, “Yearning” sets a tone of irrepressible delight that is part feel-good nostalgia and part disco invocation to lure in the fresh, bright breezes of spring. Keeping things simple seems to be the maxim here with rising and falling chords buoyantly floating on top of an unpretentious, grin-inducing bass line. Extra flourishes from some heart-bursting strings and tinkling of higher octave keys complete the track, which has more than a little bit of pop appeal to it, sounding for all the world like something Daft Punk would be proud of. There are apparently guest vocalists lined up to appear on future Black Van releases so it will be interesting to see how far they push this pop aspect of their sound. The Emperor Machine fires off their remix into orbit with a deranged piece of kitsch, sci-fi disco that incorporates the original bass line into the track but little else. In transforming the original into their own track and applying their signature Emperor Machine touch, “Yearning” loses its clean, carefree appeal, becoming the burnt out, bruised and battered counterpart to the wide eyed young innocent it once was. Horses for courses really, but my money is on the doe-eyed beauty of the original.

SIDEBAR

Ex-pat Christopher Tubbs has been making waves in the UK for a while now. His Heads Down blog http://www.headsdown.org/ is a worthy read for lovers of disco and house, featuring interviews with luminaries from all over the world, while his record label he set up with Steve Harris, Untracked is scoring major points with discerning DJ's. The latest release for the label, the 'All I Ever Wanted' EP comes courtesy of Red Rack'Em and is a quintessential piece of slow burning house.

If you're looking an album to help you through the long, dreary winter that is fast approaching, you could do a lot worse than Conforce's Machine Conspiracy. Packed full of the ebullient, swelling emotion of Detroit techno and the icy, wind swept desolation of their German counterparts, Machine Conspiracy is an instant classic, currently sitting right near the top of my favourite releases for the year.

And finally make sure you check out the incredible remixes of Mount Kimbie. The London duo have called in FaltyDL, James Blake, Instra:Mental, Scuba, and Prosumer & Tama Sumo to add weight to their faultless discography.

Top 5

Kink – Kiss The Sky

Crimen Excepta – Sexxx With Nephilim

Mudd & Pollard – Vincent

Cassy – Cassy 03 EP

Erdbeerschnitzel – 4 Months (Mark E Remix)

Classic Listening

Babatunde Olatunji - Drums of Passion LP