Non Et Non? Oui, Anon!

An eighty minute French electro dance mix to soundtrack your Olympic weekend, as requested by Anonymous on Tuesday. 

To mix my metaphors, when Anon made this comment, it became an itch I had to scratch and I ended up going down a rabbit hole. But it was so much fun! So much so, that I've spent so much time deciding on the tracks and stitching them together that I've basically run out of time to write about it...!

Anyhoo, from my initial thought that I might not have much to play with, the reality is that I seem to have tonnes of the stuff. to the extent that I've had to leave out several artists that I like, such as The Hacker, i:Cube, Le Knight Club and Rone because I didn't have the room.

From a ridiculously long long list, I had to impose further rules to help me whittle it down to a CD-R friendly size. 

 

So, first of all, the artists all had to be French passport carriers, so that cut out Francophiles such as Classixx (sorry, Anon!) or Aeroplane.

Secondly, if I was choosing a remix - which ended up accounting for most of this playlist - it also had to be by a French artist. Great though they are, remixes by Justin Robertson, Adrian Sherwood or even chancers like Les Rythmes Digitales aka Jacques Lu Cont (Stuart Price to his mum) had to go.

Thirdly... well, that was enough to go on actually and what I ended up with is a 16-track selection that I think hangs together pretty well.

There are loads of familiar names, as per Anon's list: Daft Punk, M83, Justice, Air, Étienne De Crécy; others such as Miss Kittin, Fred Falke, Château Flight, Sébastien Tellier, Kid Loco and Cassius. 

 

Some might be less familiar: La Horse (Ivan Smagghe & Julien Brambilla), Para One (Jean-Baptiste De Laubier), Dombrance (Bertrand Lacombe) and Donovan (David Saïd & Nicolas Nekmouche); all worth checking out in their own right.

Unfortunately, my tardiness with this post means that I've blown any chance of getting a look in with Rol's Saturday Snapshots over at My Top Ten. I'll be lucky to get a certificate of attendance, let alone a bronze medal...!

 

1) Sexual Sportswear (Donovan Remix): Sébastien Tellier (2010)

2) D.A.N.C.E. (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix): Justice (2008)

3) Sexy Boy (Étienne De Crécy Et Les Flowers Pistols Remix): AIR (1998)

4) Hypercommunication (Joakim Cartoon Muscles Remix): Poni Hoax (2008)

5) Midnight City (Team Ghost Remix): M83 (2011) 

6) Les Antipodes (Joakim Remix): Château Flight & Bertrand Burgalat (2004)

7) Saké (Blackjoy Version): Jupiter (2011)

8) Maneki Neko (Château Marmont Remix): Miss Kittin (2013)

9) Tom Select (La Horse Remix): Discodeine (2009)

10) Patterns (Mondkopf Remix): Villeneuve (2009)

11) Gorgeous (Dombrance Remix): Yuksek ft. Confidence Man (2020)

12) Spinach Girl (The Family Remix By Villeneuve): Agoria ft. Sylvie Marks & Kofea (2003)

13) Prix Choc (Ultra Dark Mix): Étienne De Crécy (1998)

14) She's My Lover (A Revolution Sitting Stoned In A Field - Remix Edit): Kid Loco (1997)

15) Prime Time Of Your Life (Para One Remix): Daft Punk (2005)

16) Feeling For You (Edit): Cassius (1999)

 

1998: A Grand Love Story: 14

1998: Prix Choc EP: 13

1998: Sexy Boy EP: 3 

1999: Feeling For You EP: 16

2003: Spinach Girl EP: 12

2004: Les Antipodes Versions Speciales EP: 6 

2006: Human After All: Remixes: 15 

2008: D.A.N.C.E. EP: 2 

2008: Hypercommunication EP: 4

2009: Death Race EP: 10

2009: Sexuality Remix: 1

2009: Tom Select EP: 9

2011: Midnight City Remix EP: 5

2011: Saké EP: 7

2013: Maneki Neko EP: 8

2020: Nosso Ritmo EP: 11

 

Non Et Non? Oui, Anon! (1:20:25) (KF) (Mega)

We All Need Something To Live For, Baby

A short mix, long on uplifting beats and featuring a bunch of tunes that have had me dancing around the house - and occasionally in the garden, to the mortification of my family - this summer. 

I know very little about Mundo D, other than he's a producer from Valencia called Edmundo De Diego Del Castillo. He has released a few EPs and remixes in the past few years, including this little gem, which came out via Nein Records at the end of May. Argentinian DJ & producer Cosmosolar aka Alejandro Gamba is also new to me but the two come together wonderfully on this opening track.

 

Holiday is the only track on this selection from 2021 but I belatedly bought it this year after falling in love with Confidence Man's second album, Tilt, which came out in April. Remixers Bruise are a duo comprising Christian Campbell (Sona Vabos) and legend Darren House (aka Diesel of Rocky &... and X-Press 2 fame) and they do not disappoint on this version. If you didn't catch Confidence Man's Glastonbury set, I'd highly recommend checking it out, including this energetic version of Holiday.

 

I featured YouTube videos of Yuksek's remix of Adama by Omri Smadar in early May and Neu Tech by D.S.D. aka Damien Doherty a couple of weeks later and both tracks have remained on heavy rotation at Casa Khayem since.

Richard Sen has been particularly smashing it with some superb remixes in the last few years for Rheinzand, Unloved and GLOK. Lata Mangeshkar was his contribution to Paisley Dark Records' charity compilation Shelter Me and a highlight of a frankly superb album from start to finish. 

 

David Holmes has already released one of 2022's top tunes, It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love. Not content with that, there's a new 22-track double album from Unloved called The Pink Album, coming in September. Lead single Mother's Been A Bad Girl hit the ground running in June, with a clutch of remixes, including vocal and instrumental bangers from Horse Meat Disco.

 

Bringing things to close is a track by Luxxury aka Blake Robin that's so new, it came out in the last 24 hours. I Need Somebody features on Luxxury's brand new 11-track album Alright. If you're quick, you can pick up the digital Deluxx 27-track edition on Bandcamp for a tenner (US or UK), featuring bonus instrumental versions.

 

And, before you know it, your 45 minutes are over. Worth another spin? You'll be the judge of that. 

 

More summer sounds tomorrow.

 

1) Fight Your Enemy (Cosmosolar Remix): Mundo D (2022)

2) Holiday (Bruise Remix): Confidence Man (2021)

3) Adama (Yuksek Remix): Omri Smadar (2022)

4) Neu Tech: D.S.D. (2022)

5) Lata Mangeshkar: Richard Sen (2022)

6) Mother's Been A Bad Girl (Horse Meat Disco Remix): Unloved (2022)

7) I Need Somebody (Album Version): Luxxury (2022)

2021: Holiday EP: 2

2022: Alright: 7

2022: Mother's Been A Bad Girl EP: 6

2022: Phase Of Motion EP: 3

2022: Shelter Me: 5

2022: Thee Wild Army Vol. 6 EP: 4

2022: Your Enemy EP: 1

We All Need Something To Live For, Baby (45:00)

You Brightened Up My Scene With Images Stolen From My Dreams

An all-female vocal selection for this Sunday, featuring several highlights from this year, sprinkled with choice songs from the depths of my collection. 

The selection starts with the song that triggered the idea for this post, dusted off when I was sorting through some CD singles in the attic. Sweetest Child was a one-off single that reached #45 in the UK in August 1992. The song was a collaboration between Youth (DJ, producer & Killing Joke) and Maria McKee (Lone Justice and Top Gun movie chanteuse). The Official Chart Company lists the song as a solo McKee but in fact the sleeve states "featuring Maria McKee" and doesn't actually name the act as Sweetest Child. I've gone with the latter eponymous title for simplicity's sake. I've gone for the effects-adorned accapella here, but I'll showcase one of the other mixes one day, featuring some guitar shredding from the much-missed Robert 'Throb' Young of Primal Scream.

There are a clutch of superlative remixes: Lee 'Scratch' Perry's final creative work for Dot Allison is a winner; Märtini Brös lend an indie edge to fellow Germans Toktok vs. Soffy O.; Kate Simko's beats and strings washes Bishi Bhattacharya's sweet vocals; Scotland is the last stop on the musical tour, White Label remixing a highlight from Jan Burnett's collaborative project, The Grand Gestures, featuring the wonderful voice of Emma Pollock, formerly of The Delgados.

 

A couple of cover versions are featured: Hayley Richman hails from Montreal, Canada and delivers a striking cover of Talk Talk's Life's What You Make It. Catherine Anne Davies, a Welsh artist who records as The Anchoress, similarly has a bold attempt at The Cure's Friday I'm In Love, and I love it. 

 

The selection is mostly downtempo, but includes a few more upbeat numbers. Katy J Pearson hails from my birthplace Bristol, is on the Heavenly label and drops her second album (three, if you count her lockdown mini-album of field recordings) in July. I've pre-ordered on the strength of the three singles released so far, including today's selection Alligator.

Jez from A History Of Dubious Taste recommended Ibibio Sound Machine's latest album, Electricity, and he's right, it's an absolute corker. Eno Williams is a compelling voice and frontperson and with Hot Chip on production duties, it's a winner from start to finish. 

 

I've enthused previously about Yuksek's album, Nosso Ritmo, and this is a standout track featuring Queen Rose. Parental warning: you can probably decipher the song title/acronym G.F.Y. and the F-bomb is dropped liberally throughout. 

 

I had to include a few of my other favourite female artists. Martina Topley-Bird returned last year with a fantastic album, Forever I Wait; for this selection, I've dipped back into her back catalogue for a more obscure B-side from 2003, but no less beautiful. 

 

Lisa Germano first came to my attention via the Inconsiderate Bitch EP on 4AD and Puppet was a standout song. The version featured here is from the earlier US album before Ivo & John Fryer signed up Germano and remixed several songs for the release of Happiness in the UK. 

Last, but by no means least, is Billie Ray Martin with a song from the sublime 4 Ambient Tales EP, produced by The Grid. It was one of her first releases after the demise of Electribe 101 and what's proved to be a substantive and fascinating solo career.

Today's manipulated cover image is a photo of "American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist, feminist, and pop music critic" Ellen Willis, which I've been wanting to use for a while and seemed spot on as a accompaniment for this selection.

1) Accapella Sweetest Child (Remix By Youth): Sweetest Child ft. Maria McKee (1992)

2) Love Died In Our Arms (Lee 'Scratch' Perry Remix): Dot Allison (2022)

3) Modern Woman: Erin Rae (2021)

4) Missy Queen's Gonna Die (Märtini Brös) (Remix By Clemens Kahlcke & Michael Pagliosa): Toktok vs. Soffy O. (2002)

5) Alligator: Katy J Pearson (2022)

6) G.F.Y. (Album Version): Yuksek ft. Queen Rose (2019)

7) 17 18 19: Ibibio Sound Machine (2022)

8) Reflektions (Reworking III) (Remix By Kate Simko): Bishi (2022)

9) Life's What You Make It (Cover of Talk Talk): Hayley Richman (2015)

10) Skyscraper: Martina Topley-Bird (2003)

11) Puppet (Original US Album Version): Lisa Germano (1993)

12) This Road: Denise Sherwood (2022)

13) Friday I'm In Love (Cover of The Cure): The Anchoress (2022)

14) Hearts (Single Version By The Grid aka Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Billie Ray Martin (1993)

15) A Certain Compulsion (Remixed By White Label aka Steve Aungle, Anth Brown & Tom Doyle): The Grand Gestures ft. Emma Pollock (2016)

 

1992: Sweetest Child EP: 1

1993: 4 Ambient Tales EP: 14

1993: Happiness (USA): 11

2002: Missy Queen's Gonna Die EP: 4 

2003: Anything EP: 10

2015: Life's What You Make It EP: 9 

2016: The Grand Gestures Remixed: 15

2019: Nosso Ritmo: 6

2021: Lighten Up: 3 

2022: Electricity: 7

2022: Friday I'm In Love EP: 13

2022: Pay It All Back Vol. 8: 12

2022: Reflektions EP: 8

2022: Sound Of The Morning: 5

2022: The Entangled Remix EP: 2

Images Stolen From My Dreams (57:18)

In researching this post, I ended up revisiting (or in some cases, discovering) the official videos for several songs on YouTube. They're far too good to keep to myself so, following the track list sequencing, here are Sweetest Child ft. Maria McKee, Erin Rae, Toktok vs. Soffy O., Katy J Pearson, Yuksek ft. Queen Rose, Bishi, Hayley Richman and a very unsettling promo for Lisa Germano's Puppet. 

 

If you only have time to watch a couple, then the videos for Erin Rae and Katy J Pearson are recommended.

'Cause It's My Time And I Stand Proud

Yuksek is a French DJ and producer, better known to his butcher, baker and candlestick maker as Pierre-Alexandre Busson. Most of the songs and remixes in my collection date from 2009 to 2012, when he was creating a sound not dissimilar to Justice, another French act that I liked very much.

Since his initial releases in 2002, Yuksek has continued to develop his sound, with his fourth and most recent album, 2020's Nosso Ritmo, diving into addictive disco and electrofunk to great effect (and the cause of my divergent, pre-emptive post yesterday).

I've taken ten Yuksek songs and remixes for other artists from the late 00s/early 10s, shaped them into two sides of imaginary vinyl and present a little under 45 minutes of Gallic grooves to get you in the mood for a wonderful weekend.

Side One

1) Fool For Love (Yuksek Remix): Das Pop (2008)

2) A Certain Life: Yuksek (2009)

3) Mistake (Yuksek Remix): Moby (2009)

4) I Like To Play: Yuksek ft. The Forum Digital Choir (2009)

5) Rue De L'Aresnal (Yuksek Remix): Bot'Ox (2010)

 

Side Two

1) So Far Away From The Sea (Remix by The Twelves): Yuksek ft. The Bewitched Hands On The Top Of Our Heads (2009)

2) Shame On Me (Yuksek Remix): Amanda Blank (2009)

3) Always On The Run (Album Version): Yuksek (2012)

4) Lisztomania (Yuksek Remix): Phoenix (2009)

5) Extraball (Y A L L Remix): Yuksek ft. Amanda Blank (2009)

 

Side One (21:54)

Side Two (22:08)

This Is The Start (Of The Weekend)

Down the rabbit hole again. Today's post was supposed to be a selection of Yuksek tracks and remixes from my collection, mostly from the late 2000's. 

Whilst doing a bit of research, I discovered that he released an album, Nosso Ritmo, in February 2020. It completely passed me by in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown shortly after, but is on my list for a digital purchase this Bandcamp Friday. Second track in features a collaboration with Confidence Man, who appeared on this blog in their own right on Monday. Aptly titled Gorgeous, there's an even better Extended Disco Version amongst a slew of remixes on the 5-track 12" that was released in Australia in August 2020.

Taking a left turn from there, I also discovered a couple more Yuksek remixes from earlier this year, including Nathalie Duchene, a fellow French DJ and producer, who dropped the Praia EP in March on 12" vinyl and digital formats.

A couple of weeks ago, Yuksek's remix of Adama by Omri Smadar appeared on his Phase Of Motion EP. I think this one may only be available digitally but is well worth a listen. I'm also quite partial to the original mix.

All of these (with the current exception of Phase Of Motion) are available on shiny black plastic or digital formats. You can find lots of cheaper alternatives to Bandcamp, e.g. Juno, Boomkat, but it is Bandcamp Friday today so whilst you may pay more, a larger chunk goes directly to the artist. 

 

As an added incentive, you can buy the Nathalie Duchene/Yusek remix of Praia as part of Toy Tonics' Support Ukraine compilation, a 13-track name your price album that's worth your time and money.

Back to the originally planned Yuksek post tomorrow...

Gorgeous (Album Version): Yuksek ft. Confidence Man (2020)

Gorgeous (Extended Disco Version): Yuksek ft. Confidence Man (2020) 

Praia (Yuksek Remix): Nathalie Duchene (2022)

Adama (Original Mix): Omri Smadar (2022)