Mixtape Ahoy!

Hello people!

It's time for a brand new mixtape. This week, I've changed my file-hoster from Rapidshare to Megaupload, so that I can upload it all in one piece, rather than in two bits. If anyone has a problem with this, tough! No, seriously, if you do have a problem, leave a comment or e-mither me at norty.morty at gmail.com. The same goes for anyone looking for single tracks. I'm sure we'll be able to sort something out. Let's crack on...


GIDDY UP! VOLUME NINE

1. Lo-Fi Fnk - Steppin' Out (The Two Beauties From Hot Chip Remix) (It seems like not a week goes by without a new remix from Hot Chip and they always seem to fall into either one of two camps. They're either short, snappy, electro-pop numbers or epic, spacey, k-soul journeys. This one falls into the latter camp, with Hot Chip stretching out a trancey vibe over ten-and-a-half minutes, with not a superfluous second. Beautiful.)
2. Antena - Camino Del Sol (Todd Terje Remix) (Also going for a kosmische approach to his latest re-rub is Todd Terje. Here he takes on Antena's early eighties electro classic and gives it a Balaeric spin. Gorgeous from start to finish.)
3. Arthur Russell - Springfield (DFA Remix) (Another atypical remix from the DFA, after their wildly different mixes for Hot Chip, Tiga and Delia & Gavin. This time around they weave scattershot, pinging beats around sax and Russell's sweet vocal. It's a fitting tribute to the late composer who was such a big influence on James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy.)
4. Glass Candy - I Always Say Yes (After such spiky, no-wave beginnings, Glass Candy, alongside partners-in-crime, Chromatics are really carving out a niche in Moroder-influenced dark disco, of which this is the pinnacle thus far.)
5. The Emperor Machine - Lift Up Chong And See (Nonesensical title? Check. Sci-fi fx? Check. Can't help but dance? Check. Well, it must be another slice of robo-funk, courtesy of Andy Meecham. The man can do no wrong at the moment. Chalk him up as a genius-in-waiting.)
6. Force Of Nature - Unstoppable (From 2004, but still impeccably fresh, Force Of Nature's 'Unstoppable' has an all-over-the-place charm and a sense of adventure that is now prevalent in the space-disco genre. Guess they were two years ahead of the game.)
7. In Flagranti - We Make Love In A House Of Glass (In Flagranti's debut album, Wronger Than Anyone Else suffers from over-familiarity and some strange sequencing choices, but this, one of their best tracks still manages to stand out amongst tracks that try a similar thing, but with less success.)
8. The Rapture - Whoo Alright...Yeah Uh-huh (I know this is like the third time I've posted this in some capacity or another, but it remains an irrepressibly addictive slab of camp disco, the likes of which Scissor Sisters used to do so well, before they disappeared up Elton John's flabby arse.)
9. The Bamboos - Tighten Up (Covering classics is always a thorny issue, but The Bamboos make more than a decent fist of covering Archie Bell & The Drells' perennial party-starter by, and you probably thought it impossible, making it tighter. No need for the instructional vocal here, The Bamboos definitely know what they're doing and when the drummer starts whaling on the crash in the last minute, you'll be screaming for more. Shame they got rid of the handclaps though.)
10. Kuno & The Marihuana Brass - Marihuana Mantra (From the excellent compilation, The In-Kraut, the story goes that Kuno, whoever he is, had never had anything more than a sniff of the demon weed, let alone considering himself qualified enough to make an ode to cannabis. It matters not, because at the end of this glorious two-and-a-half minutes, you'll believe a German can be straight-up funky and not be a member of Can or Faust, so that's all the suspension of disbelief you need really.)
11. Lupe Fiasco - American Terrorist (feat. Matthew Santos) (This track perfectly displays what all the fuss surrounding Lupe is all about. Despite tackling a forceful subject like questioning Bush's neglect of the American poor, Fiasco never feels the need to shove it down the listener's throat, just relying on his highly listenable flow to work it's magic. And it does. Nice work.)
12. Subtle - The Mercury Craze (The closest that indie-hoppers, Subtle are ever going to get to a pop song, 'The Mercury Craze' is all head-spinning rhymes, hard-as-nails drums and gnarled guitar. It's even got a catchy chorus. What's happening with the world?!)
13. The Slits - Slits Tradition (With which Ari Up and the girls return with a skittery, grimey, difficult tune that takes a good few listens to get a handle on. Once you do though, you can't stop listening. Good to have you back, girls.)
14. Love Is All - Felt Tip (One of LIA's strongest tracks, this is like The Raincoats covering The Ronettes. Speaking of which...)
15. Ronnie Spector - You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory (One of my favourite cover versions of all time is this tear-jerking take on Johnny Thunders' classic with Joey Ramone on backing vox. A good place to end the tape.)

Giddy Up! Volume Nine (Zipped and Megauploaded)

Volume Ten is done and ready to upload in the next couple of days. Keep a look out.

JMx