Today’s Track: Jon Hopkins (feat. Kelly Lee Owens) – “Luminous Spaces”

January 22, 2020 — Leave a comment

Lighting up the sky with this space-ious electronic maverick! Time for your new post!

Pictured: Jon Hopkins in a photoshoot for a Q&A with Red Bull Music (2013) (Photo Credit: Sarah Ginn)

A sci-fi themed EDM anthem that will transport you to an alternate galaxy, “Luminous Spaces” is the new single from Surrey-born DJ Jon Hopkins, also featuring guest vocals from Welsh artist Kelly Lee Owens. Good evening to you, Jacob Braybrooke here! I’ve just arrived back from a university trip to the WB Studio Tour in London, where I saw a lot of the props, costumes and sets designed and used for the Harry Potter films. I’m not a huge fan, to be honest, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would! I’m a little exhausted, so I’m going to keep it short and sweet today, but it’s easy for me to write to you about Jon Hopkins since he’s one of my heroes. He’s mostly known for just making noises on his laptop, but his improvisational style is impressive and it results in the creation of a cinematic, theatrical sound, which really makes him stand out from the other fellow DJ’s working in the IDM genre. He received his major breakthrough from scoring the 2010 Gareth Edwards film, “Monsters”, before going on to release studio records like “Immunity” in 2013, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize Award that year. He’s recently announced a new “Polarity” tour, stopping off at tour dates in Bath, Dublin, Edinburgh and London, in March. No further details of a new LP have been confirmed. However, I think it’s safe to assume that we’ll be hearing a follow-up to his Grammy-nominated album “Singularity”, released in 2018, fairly soon. Hear the edit of “Luminous Spaces” below.

Once again proving that, in music, there are two sides to every coin – this is a wonderful electronic, Leftfield-inspired, IDM track which begins as a light, trance number and later evolves into a more danceable house anthem, but the track doesn’t lose the soft-spoken charm and the echo-drenched delights created by the first half. Owens opens: “Did you notice? Fill up the spaces…”, above a gently resonating line of synths and a low-tempo bassline, creating a sparkling effect of soundscapes. This gradually builds in it’s pacing and it’s structure, but it never feels slow, as the pop-laden backdrop creates a sense of 90’s nostalgia which pushes the programming of the ambience forwards at a brisk pace. Before long, layers upon layers of different synth melodies are being added to the vocal hook, as Owens renders: “To feel again”, before the track drives a sharp turn, as Hopkins takes over the music machine. He replaces Owens’ soft-spoken vocals with a deafening helping of kick drums and a vibrant, sweeping sequence of methodically formatted snares, as the slow-trance melody is replaced by the embracing of a more thunderous set of sounds. Overall, it’s a wonderful little single which showcases Hopkins’ at the best of his theatrical abilities, but it also adds new elements to his sound courtesy of Owens’ gentle vocals!

Pictured: Jon Hopkins in an interview with FACT magazine (Photo Credit: Dan Medhurst) (2015)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a dubplate reggae track from an underground Birmingham act, of which I’ve covered a track on the blog before, who publish dubplate remixes for all of their featured artists on their Bandcamp.com page! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Squarepusher – “Vortrack” (Fracture Remix)

January 11, 2020 — Leave a comment

As seen below, your Saturday post is finally up! So – you better be there or be Square!

As usual, Jacob Braybrooke here! Fancy a rave? I’m just asking that because a HUGE bombshell dropped over the last few weeks of December 2019… as Squarepusher, Warp Records-affiliated heavy techno genuis, is back! Tom Jenkinson, otherwise known as Squarepusher, is an Electronic Dance DJ known for crafting landmark releases in the genres of IDM, Drum-and-Bass, Drill-and-Bass and Electroacoustic Rock. Also known for his very industrial sound and mischief when it comes to behind-the-scenes interviews for his craft, Squarepusher also has a signature live set-up, which features a mix of electronic sound outsourcing, live instrumental playout and digital signall processing. He’s back with “Vortrack”, with the Fracture Remix paving the way as the lead single for his upcoming album, “Be Up A Hello”, due for it’s release on January 31st. Did you know that Jenkinson also provided the ambient music soundtrack for the Olivia Colman-narrated CBeebies 60-minute wind-down programme “Daydreams”? I guess that you do learn something new each day! Although that’s an interesting little tidbit, I don’t think you’ll be hearing “Vortrack” on children’s TV… For reasons that will become incredibly obvious from the video below!

A gifted ambient technician and a master of his musical craft, Jenkinson has conjured up a storm of buzz amongst motivated EDM/IDM fans for the new release from his return to the scene on “Vortrack”. The Fracture Remix is an undeniably traditional Heavy Drum-and-Bass anthem which certainly isn’t lending itself all that freely to the faint-hearted crowds of mainstream pop. However, on “Vortrack”, I feel the old-school sensibilities of the remix may be it’s biggest strength. According to publicity materials, the new record will bring a return to a “bewildering array of vintage analogue and digital hardware”, which implies, to me that Squarepusher is developing a product of nostalgia and DIY culture, which are the joyous elements which gave the way for his big breakthrough in the early 90’s. The crowd-pleasing, heavy techno jolts on the “Vortrack” remix have a discernibly murky quality to them, which brings an implication of political influence, in it’s eclectic mixing of it’s sonic palette. The tension, as a result, is very dramatic and the effect of the heavy tone is marginalized to a very solid and effective level. At the 2-minute mark, Jenkinson adds a swelling of computer-controlled bass melodies and pushes (if you mind the pun) the feeling of tension at the front seat of the track. An unabashedly retro sound, with an appealing stab of nauseous intensity, results in a solid and effective comeback from a master of his craft, who clearly knows exactly where he’s going to push his signature IDM sound.

Pictured: Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) performing a live DJ set at Donaufestival in Austria (2012)

Thank you for reading this post and… if you are going out raving tonight – have fun and stay safe! Also, make sure you’re ready for tomorrow’s Scuzz Sunday post, as I’ll be looking at a throwback emo tune from a band who have sold over 40 million records worldwide! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Floating Points – “Anasickmodular”

January 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

Is it science, magic or great music? a combination of all three? Time for a new post!

Pictured: Sam Shepherd in a photoshoot for an interview on the RedBull.com website (January 2018)

Jacob Braybrooke here! It’s not Rocket Science! Well, for this guy, it’s Neuroscience! Seriously, he has a degree in it! I’ve been listening quite a bit to Floating Points recently, a DJ of all things acid techno whose real name is Sam Shepherd, the co-founder of the Eglo Records label. His recent album, “Crush”, was released last November on the Ninja Tune label. It’s an experimental piece of music which dynamically mixes a range of improvisational sounds and electronic ambient works recorded around the world. It’s January, so there isn’t going to be much out until the early Spring heats up. That gives you the perfect excuse for you to go and check it out!

“Anasickmodular” is one of the singles from the album, which has made the A-list of BBC Radio 6Music for several weeks. It was named after the team who did the visual projections, the fact that he was feeling poorly on the day and how he bought a modular out of the box to record it! For me, “Anasickmodular” draws a heavy comparison to the likes of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. Since the genre of this single is of a similar tone and style, it reminds me of several Warp Records releases from around the mid-90’s, which partially contributes as to why I like it so much. The mixing and production of the track was created during Shepherd’s live improvised set at Dekmantel Festival in 2017, with other engineering stages completed during a tour date in Sydney. For me, this gives the track it’s freeform and carefree style, which echoes throughout the strange break-beat melodies and the ethereal, percussive garage beats. The texture, as a result, sounds very warm and euphoric, due to a hypnotic trance transition which feels like the music equivalent to a child’s drawing. A twitching, off-kilter drum pattern harkens back to Warp’s late-90’s IDM exports. The midway point is a real standout, as the assortment of ambient sounds swell up to form a synth tendril which forms the effect of an orchestral crescendo. It feels like Shepherd has definitely put his club sensibilities to the test and really pushed himself, as an artist, to deliver this track. He adds a layer of scientific IDM to make it essential!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Crush” (October 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with a look at a new track from an Irish singer-songwriter and music producer who is known for being part of the Irish Trip Hop duo Moloko, who were responsible for the chart hits “The Time Is Now”, “Sing It Back” and “Familiar Feeling”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Christmas Eve Special: Aphex Twin – “XMAS EVET_10 (Thanaton3 Mix)”

December 24, 2019 — 1 Comment

Merry XMAS EVE T_10 to you too! I know you’re a bit shy, Richard! I hope your card came! For everybody else, it’s finally time for a truly special Christmas Eve blog post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Syro” (2014)

Only the most hardcore of Aphex fans will get the Druqks reference above! I have already expressed just how much love, admiration and respect that I have for Richard D. James, otherwise known under his main pseudonym of Aphex Twin, SO many times on the blog and on social media. So, I’m not going to hammer over you with the details again. But, if you’re new to the blog – just to give you a hint, I spent a whopping total of over 95 hours listening to his material over the year of 2019. That’s not even half of it, as it doesn’t count his releases under many other pseudonyms like AFX, Polygon Window, GAK, The Tuss and others. I’m Jacob Braybrooke, I’m a nerd for Aphex Twin and this Christmas Eve on the blog, I’m covering “XMAS_EVET10 [120] (thanaton3 mix)” from Syro. I think it’s as much of a Christmas song as Die Hard is a Christmas film. I mean, it does have ‘XMAS-EVE’ in the title, so I think that’ll do for me!

I’ve been planning to write about this exact track for XMAS_EVE for about 4 months now. It’s very difficult to really explain which genre it is and how it sounds as the track is over 10 minutes long and there is just SO much to it. I should probably start by telling you that it’s been taken from Richard’s big comeback LP record following 2011’s “Druqks”, “Syro”, which was released in September 2014. On the record, Richard explores a more sonic direction and a deep-house style of production. It sounds very futuristic and complex, which is very different to his iconic 90’s releases. It’s lost it’s experimental value, as gone are the wacky melodies and the jabs at the music industry, which are instead replaced by a style of production where every single beat has been mechanically engineered to such a perfected degree. It’s entirely Meticulous and you’re going to have to give it a lot of time and work before you properly start to take different pieces from it. However, that’s a great compliment, as it is just such a fantastic record that will reward you in heaps and it’s going to stay in your Psyche for a long time, as it continues to unfold while you keep persevering with it. “XMAS_EVET10” is an ambient track, although it does have modulated vocals from Richard’s children. It’s still a little bit festive in the first few minutes, as it evokes a feeling of warmth and comfort. The childhood excitement of Christmas Day morning. As the track progresses, the Vaporwave-influenced bassline stutters and keeps replacing elements with alternating synth riffs and several hand-programmed, analogue mutations. There’s a quiet melodic energy and a 00’s IDM feel to the funky acid house rhythm. It’s deep techno done best by the legendary electronic maverick, with a sound that replaces a fading sense of familiarity with a strange sense of discovery. It’s very lush and it’s been layered very intelligently, with Richard tinkering away at the different computer-controlled beats to a near-endless level. The result is a gorgeous track that manages to justify a 10 minute long duration. How many other tracks can you think of that manage such a feat? Part of why Richard is such a hero to me is that even though the musical landscape around him changed unrecognisably in the years that he decided to seemingly retire the Aphex Twin moniker, he made his comeback with interwoven soundscapes that still manage to absolutely enthrall and captivate. I wholeheartedly feel that, as a student, I should be raving to more of this rather than the accepted dose of generic S Club 7 and One Direction that I’m being offered at my university events and I wish that more of my peers would understand where I’m coming from with that strong opinion. Now, that is my true Christmas wish!

Pictured: Richard D. James in a photshoot for a rare interview with MTV (October 1996)

You can also read my in-depth thoughts on 2001’s “Vordhosbn” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/24/todays-track-aphex-twin-vordhosbn/

Pictured: Richard D. James on a poster for a live performance at Hallum University, Sheffield, England (1993)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back in the proper festive spirit tomorrow, of course, for a Quick post (It’s my Christmas as well, you know!) on a legendary Christmas classic from a former Beatle bassist who is currently scheduled to be headlining The Main Stage on the Saturday night at Glastonbury in June 2020! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Biig Piig – “Roses and Gold”

December 14, 2019 — Leave a comment

I’m a Biig Piig when it comes to eating cakes for sure! It’s time for your Saturday post!

Pictured: Biig Piig (Jess Smith) in a photoshoot for New Sounds Mag (November 2019)

A 21 year-old Irish singer-songwriter from Cork, Biig Piig (whose real name is Jess Smith) is a remarkably fresh talent within the alternative soul genre. She made her debut on the Irish indie music scene in 2017 with a hat trick of gorgeous single and EP releases, “Crush’ n”, “24K” and Vice City”, electro-pop records which synthetically captured the irony and spiritual haze of an after-hours party. She’s since explored her sound in the West London scene after moving there from her childhood time spent in Spain and Iceland. She got the inspiration for her obscure stage name by looking at a Pizza menu – saying in an interview with Dazed that it “puts no pressure on me to be a certain way – I can be a mess, and I can also be cute and put together”. After another string of successful EP releases in 2018, Smith has made her highly anticipated return to electronic music production with “Roses and Gold”, a follow-up single to her promotional track “Sunny” released earlier in the year. The track has been playlisted by BBC Radio 6Music and Radio X, as well as late-night programming on BBC Radio 1!

A slow-burning jazz-influenced funk jam, “Roses and Gold” has the chill-out vibes that have sadly been absent since the 00’s, where you could purchase chillout compilation albums that you couldn’t buy in shops. It may remind you of Kinobe, Chungking or even a slice of pop-oriented Christine & The Queens on your first listen, as it blends a range of vocabulary from other dialects with an intimate neo-soul hypnosis of sounds which will intrigue, but also delight, you in an instant. Currently working on a new EP, Smith is very talented in evoking deep emotions and thoughts over a methodical bed of light-disco elements and a neo-psychedelia arrangement of synths and electronic production work. Meanwhile, Smith also has a clear passion for a sense of romanticism, which is communicated through her crisp delivery of the vocals: “When I looked at you/I saw Roses and Gold”, recited with a very low-tempo and stripped-back style. She continues to display an emotion of warmth in the Spanish-language sections of the track, which creates a deep atmosphere of romance and fiction. On the track, Smith told the press how the track explores our “obsession with the unattainable – whether material, psychological, or romantic – and the importance of holding onto what really matters in these tumultuous times”, which is different to the slightly dark tone that I can personally attain from listening to the track. Overall, “Roses and Gold” is the type of song that I haven’t heard in a long time – it’s a slow and methodically paced neo-soul track which calms and intrigues in equal measure and it’s a converging song to switch off and plug in your earphones to!

Pictured: Biig Piig (Jess Smith) in a photoshoot for an interview feature for Plec Picks (January 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with another weekly edition of my 90’s/00’s emo/rock/punk-themed Scuzz Sundays blog posts! If If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Caribou – “You & I”

December 9, 2019 — 1 Comment

With deadlines coming up for me on Thursday, it’s been just another Manic Monday, but Caribou is back to enlighten our moods! It’s time for your Monday music musing!

Pictured: Dan Snaith in a photoshoot for a Q&A interview with Stereogum (2014)

Leaving a six-year gap between 2014’s “Our Love” and his upcoming fifth studio release under the Caribou stage alias, which has been Canadian disc jockey Dan Snaith’s main gig since 2005, has left even his most patient fans with an awfully long wait. It’s difficult to remember that Snaith hasn’t been away from pumping out new material for very long, having dropped two new releases under his Daphni side-project in 2017. However, the overdue wait is finally over because Snaith has recently announced a new LP under the Caribou name, “Suddenly”, which is slated for release on February 28th via the City Slang records label. He’s also just been confirmed as part of the Saturday headliners for the All Points East Festival in May 2020 at Victoria Park in London next year, sitting comfortably alongside Tame Impala and Glass Animals. Not a shabby lineup at all! To start building up hype for the marketing machine of the new LP record, Snaith has unveiled a new single, “You & I”, which is a follow-up to the amazing soul-inspired, funk-heavy tune “Home” released in October.

The track starts off with a relatively slow-pace as the hallowed synth beats and the controlled drumbeat flickers between light moods and soundscape emotions like a disco ball shining down on a half-empty slow dance at some kind of school prom. Yeah, that sounded better in my head. Anyways, give it a listen and you’ll be able to hear what I mean. This is quintessentially a Caribou record, which has been mixed with a soul-laden influence of ambient experimentation lifted from the likes of Bonobo or Four Tet. From the slight tinge of neo-psychedelia and old-school electronic pop. A sudden (*boom*tiss) rush of guitar lines and autotuned male vocals provide a brief respite from the layered soundscapes and precise new-wave engineering, where Snaith manages to create an ultimate feeling of distance and dream circumstances not coming to a whole fruititon. The vocals, recited under a falsetto, “You can take your place up in the sky/I will find a way to get it on down here/Just as long as you aren’t here”, evoke an instantaneous effect of dream-pop and shoegazing, with the part-decimated vocal lines, in the drop, providing an effect of distortion, as the falsetto quickly fades out and gets replaced by a melancholic, but still dance-heavy, time-signatured sequence of IDM-heavy snares. The result is an overruling selection of themes, which bounce off each other and connect with each other to create an intelligent EDM sound which creates a wide contrast of themes and tones, all existing within an 80’s-drenched electro-funk soundscape, which creates an emotion of vulnerability and give-and-take nostalgia. Festival crowds, here he comes!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Suddenly” (February 28th, 2020)

You can also read my thoughts on “Home”, a previously released track from the forthcoming new record, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/28/todays-track-caribou-home/

Pictured: Dan Snaith hard at work producing music in his office studio!

Thank you for reading this post! Make sure you read the blog tomorrow, as I’ll be looking at a recent track from an American contemporary Christian singer who has performed across India, Uzbekistan, Israel, Guatemala and toured with Aaron Boyd. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Massive Attack (feat. Shara Nelson) – “Unfinished Sympathy”

December 2, 2019 — Leave a comment

Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy D” Marshall and formerly “Mush” (Andy Vowles) comprised the original lineup of Massive, a Trip Hop group from Bristol. Later renamed as Massive Attack, the name which stuck, the band have become Massive-ly (sorry!) influential force in the history of British dance and alternative music. “Unfinished Sympathy”, one of the lead singles from their 1991 debut LP, “Blue Lines” was later voted on many end-of-year and best-of-all-time lists, particularly since the track was named as the 63rd best song of all-time by NME in 2014. The single also reached #13 in the UK Singles Chart upon it’s original release. It came accompanied with a music video directed by Baillie Walsh, , which saw Shara Nelson, the guest vocalist, walking through a grimy street in a neighbourhood in Los Angeles, California – oblivious to the events going on around her in the surrounding area. Recently, Massive Attack have been featured in the news, as they have announced a study into the effects of climate change on live tours. As a result, the band, in their press release, have commented on making a pledge to: “map thoroughly the carbon footprint of band tour cycles, and to present options that can be implemented quickly”. In respect of this brave move, I’ve decided to take a look back at “Unfinished Sympathy” and discuss why the track, nearly 30 years on, still manages to hold up in this day and age!

“Unfinished Sympathy” was one of the group’s earliest recordings and it has become a huge cornerstone in the career of an, arguably, underrated group who have gone on to sell over 13 million copies worldwide in their career. Even now, when you revisit the sound of the track, there’s actually a grand variation of different styles here. There are plenty of vocal and percussion samples, there is an acid house influence created by the drum machine programming and even an orchestral influence being created by the string-based arrangement, which was an effort composed by Will Malone. Some of these elements were created digitally, while other elements were composed by natural instruments. The orchestral composition was later sampled for The Verve’s later hit, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. A fun fact! Back to the task at hand, it also has a soul-ska vibe created by the tribal backing vocals and the bleakness of the tone. Nelson lyricises about the ubiquity of unrequited love, over a slow-paced bassline and a sumptous melody created by the light elements of House and Techno. It’s not really a song that you would get up and dance to, but it was one of the first electronic tracks written with the people who prefer to sit down in mind, as one of the first examples of Deep Listening subgenres. Towards the end of the track, hip-hop disc scratches are present, which leads to the Violin and Cello becoming the main melody of the track, in a direction that is fearless and smart. It allows the impact of the ambient textures to shine through and for the cerebral bass melody to sink into the psyche of the listener. Overall, this is a track which deserves the universal acclaim it received at the time of release. When looking back at the reflection of the track through an audible mirror, it’s a track that will always have an audience and it should be recognised by a generation who are only given the sexually immature dance records being churned out by the system. This is coming from a 21-year-old student…

Pictured (original lineup): Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy D” Marshall and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles

You can read up on more info about Massive Attack’s music study into the environmental impacts of touring here: https://pitchfork.com/news/massive-attack-launch-major-study-of-music-industry-carbon-emissions/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Blue Lines” (1991) (Physical CD Format)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a recent track from a lesser-known British punk band formed in 2010 in Exeter, who have previously been featured twice on KEXP’s Song of The Day podcast! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Chemical Brothers (feat. Noel Gallagher) – “Let Forever Be”

November 11, 2019 — Leave a comment

How does it feel like to be a full-time student in a British university? Tiring and low on money! On a much lighter note, it’s time for your daily musing on the blog!

The Chemical Brothers’ legendary third LP “Surrender” is getting reissued for it’s 20th anniversary on November 22nd via UME, Capitol and Astralwerks. It comes with two bonus tracks “The Secret Psychedelic Mix” and “Kink Extended Remix” and three new remixes of “Hey Boy Hey Girl”. The album saw the duo explore genres outside of the Big Beat dance genre – such as house, EDM, trance and techno. It remains to have a passionate fanbase and a significant legacy as the album which saw The Chems show what they’re really capable of producing, as they really went outside of their comfort zone to record a consistently solid list of tracks. “Let Forever Be” features the vocal talents of former Oasis icon Noel Gallagher and it reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1999.

As you may expect with one of the Gallagher brothers involved, the sound of the track dips into influences from the big britpop/britrock movement from a couple of years prior. The voice of Noel Gallagher is easily recognisable as he delivers the line of “and how does it feel like to wake up in the sun? as he transports you to a realm of beaches and holidays with a psychedelic tinge, under a dizzying bassline of vibrant guitar lines and a sinking wormhole vibe of electro-pop synths. The track fixes as it proceeds, adding more colourful layers of acid house-themed ambient textures and a subdued sense of ease that makes it sound contemplative and reflective. You won’t necesarily find a massive drop or an energy equal to a thrash metal chorus, but it’s an effective slice of disco heaven and it’s as close to a rock record as The Chemical Brothers get, which is a direction and an influence that was wildly fresh and completely different to the remainder of their discography at the time.

You can also read my thoughts on The Chemical Brothers “Star Guitar” by following the link below: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/31/todays-track-the-chemical-brothers-star-guitar/

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look a track from a 24-year-old psychedelic soul writer from South London! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Todays Track: The Pet Shop Boys – “The Pop Kids”

November 4, 2019 — 1 Comment

I’m going west with a recent-ish track from iconic veterans for your Monday blog post!

Having received the BRIT Award in 2009 for Outstanding Contribution To Music and being named the most successful British dance duo of all-time, according to the Guinness Book Of World Records (I reckon The Chemical Brothers would have something to say about that!), Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, otherwise known as the ‘Pet Shop Boys”, have been on a tear since the early 1980’s by releasing hits – both mainstream and niche – left, right, front and center. They recently made a surprise guest appearance during The Killers’ headline set at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, as Brandon Flowers’ wanted to pay tribute to the British acts who have inspired him to make music. They’ve been particularly notable in the LGBT Community, with rumors of the two dating having been surfacing throughout their entire career. To be perfectly honest with you, I SHIP IT!!! I’ve never been a massive fan personally, but I admire and respect everything they have done, having brought joy and happiness to masses of people over the years. My Dad’s a massive fan, but I love a bit of “West End Girls” as a wind down on a night out. “Heart” and “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”, featuring Dusty Springfield, are also dance-floor classics. “The Pop Kids” is the leading single from 2016’s “Super”, their thirteenth LP release, released in April 2016.

“The Pop Kids” is a glittering 90’s disco-style floor-filler that feels like a stroll down memory lane for the two legends, making lyrical references to a strong relationship and an unhealthy lifestyle for two partners bouncing in different clubs and attending different club nights, which is always referred to in the past tense, with a simple verbal line of “I Loved You” proving to be one of the most emotional vocal performances provided by Tennant in the discography of the duo. The track also has musical elements of trance and dance-rock, as the vocals take momentary breaks for the Hacienda bassline and the new-wave synth beats, which break apart the overall themes of pop passion and nightlife in a past decade, when the narrators were younger. It proves to be a very effective track and one of my favourite songs to ever be recorded by Tennant & Lowe, although it only managed to reach #128 in the UK Singles Chart (I had no idea it went past 100 either!). “The Pop Kids” is a very 80s-esque track which is irresistibly funky and seems to have a good amount of heft behind it’s writing. It’s a thumping trip down memory lane that maybe should have been given more recognition, although the niche skew is a big part of the charm here.

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a British female solo artist who produced the score for the recent series of BBC’s hit political crime series, “Peaky Blinders” and was nominated for this year’s Mercury Prize award for her latest album! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

One Track At A Time

Trance