With some shit hot new disco infused artists, a new Hot Chip record, and co-founder Tim Goldsworthy producing the overdue sophmore Cut Copy album, this is going to be a big year for the boys down at Death From Above records......and... honestly?....its about time. DFA was supposed to be THE label of the NYC disco revival, fusing classic disco and early House, with experimental tendencies and post punk habits......but lately, besides LCD Soundsytem, Hot Chip, and The Juan Mclean, things have been a little too quiet.......or sounding dissapointingly average.
DFA has been making some moves, and its a good thing, mums.
With new artists like 'Hercules and Love Affair', and the two man outfit' Holy Ghost!' heads are going to vibe and remember just how good this NYC disco sound can be.
Heres a small Mix i put together as a little sampling of how the artists mentioned above along with the new Hot Chip and Cut Copy albums, are going to bring it in for the real thing on the dance floors in 2008
Bastard in a Basket-DFYAY mix
Tracklisting:
1. Dance to the Underground- Radio Four
This isn't new at all, actually its from one of DFA's first ever compilations released quite a few years back. Radio 4 are a post punk band from NYC. They describe their music as "made in New York, is about New York, and sounds like New York".
Reading that description makes them sound like double layer douchebags, but after you listen to this song you'll think of how wrong you were and how just simply honest that statement is.
Its in the mix cause i love it and its the compilation that turned me onto the label.
2. Holy Ghost!- Hold On
'Its like a scream inside a scream'- who else writes lyrics to dance music like that? Thats an instant classic. Perfect haunting string synth keeps up the ghostly vibes. You heard of space disco? Well this is ghost disco. Good vocals, great piano melody, and fatter than a bloated corpse synth to keep your ass looking good. Back and forth, back and forth.
3. Hercules and Love Affair- Blind
A project of the mastermind you will come to know simply as Andrew Batler, this piece of classic disco/early house brilliance is so good i think he's running the risk of having everything he does from now on existing in the shadow of this song.....Though from.... what.... i've heard of the rest of the album he is certainly no one trick hellenistic demi god pony. Great bass, classic percussion and horns that tie well together with the vocals which are part of a collaboration with Antony Hegarty of 'Antony and the Johnsons' (sidenote, doesnt he look just like the hermaphrodite Seth Rogans character hooks up with in 'Freaks and Geeks'?)
There has also just been a video released for this song, it features a innocent greek girl entering a steaming 'Eye's Wide Shut' meets' 300' type orgy.....but of course? right? Theres also a little controversy involving some of the extras vibing a little too hard at the orgy and getting down with one another on set.
How much do you like this band already without even hearing their music?
4. Ready For the Floor-Hot Chip
Remember when you listened to there last album and thought it was nothing like their debut record? Well the trend of reinvention continues, as Hot Chip's sound evolves once again. Whether its for better or for worse will be yammed on and on about......but why not just vibe a dancefloor and enjoy how tight this group is sounding?
Alexis Taylors vocals are some of the most melodically beautiful out there, and many of their signature bleeps and percussions have carried on into this album. Its like that friend who went to live somewhere much cooler than you, and every time he comes back to visit theres something exciting and new about him, like a calculator watch, but deep down he hasnt changed and he's still your bud......and thats why you dont kick his ass for being a better person than you.
5. Lights and Music - Cut Copy (Boyz Noise Happy Birthday remix)
I know putting up the remix may be a little silly, but we'll worry about that later. Firstly, you need to undestand that its been three years since Cut Copy's 'Bright Like Neon Love' was almost as good as having Alan Braxe and Fred Falke in indy band form. Now they're finally back, and with none other than DFA's Tim Goldsworthy taking over production duties, things are looking promising. So though technically, they aren't on DFA, I had to include them because of Goldsworthy's involvement, and the fact that there is a fair bit disco inspiration throughout the record. Its sounds really kinda gay, but in a reallly good way.
Its coming in february, and its kind of a big deal.
I put up the Boyz Noise remix to show that this german aint just a one note distortion lava electro doom vocoder kinda guy. He can take a group like this and add just the right amount of his cut up sound with out burning out the soul of the original, which i thought was great to hear.
