Today's sounds - Cult MTL

Record:

FOALS, TAPES (!K7)

Ah, analog. Cheap, cheap-ass analog. I’m not really down with the revival of the audio cassette, despite having hauled a Walkman around town as late as 2008. My audiophilia swings back to vinyl, the first format I ever bought, when I was nine years old (Roxy Music’s greatest hits). I picked up my first tape that same year (Madonna’s Like a Prayer, with fold-out packaging that stank of patchouli for at least a decade). But that’s not what was on my Walkman in those last days before I caved in and bought an MP3 player. It was mixtapes. My own mixtapes.

I don’t mean that in the hip hop sense (ie. a mostly original album). I’m talking about that old tradition of making a mix of other people’s songs. For years, (mostly British/European) record companies have issued series of such mixes by famous musicians; Under the Influence and Back to Mine were just a couple of these series to feature playlists by big-name artists.
A little more under the radar are the series by Germany’s !K7 label. They launched one called DJ-Kicks in the ’90s, and later brought non-DJs into the mix-making with sister series Tapes.

And this is one such Tape, put together by Oxford, England art rockers Foals. It starts off with a little acoustica, and it’s a tad dry, the way parties often are in their earliest stages. But then Dorian Concept’s “Tropical Hands” pulls up with some squealing, bulging grooves, and it’s on. What follows is a VIP tour of underground house, disco and dub through the ages, with originals by the likes of Condry Ziqubu, Blood Orange, In Flagranti, Arnold Jarvis, Oni Arhun, Julio Bashmore and Konono No. 1, plus savvy remixes by Frankie Knuckles, Carl Craig, Gatto Fritto etc. Not only are the builds, climaxes and comedowns steady throughout the epic 22-track mix, but the whole package is sonically diverse enough to be enjoyed by sober ears.

Check it out here.

Track:

St. Vincent and David Byrne, “Weekend in the Dust”

As much as I wanted to post the newest track from the collab between this indie queen and new wave king (“Weekend in the Dust,” a nod to my fellow Osheaga festival-goers, perhaps), the previously revealed “Who” is just a better tune. But really, how did Lady Gaga’s shoulder get into St. Vincent’s face?