So Young But So Cold: French Underground Music 1979-1982

J.J. Burnel, "Euroman" (YSI link)

Kas Product, "So Young But So Cold" (YSI link)

I believe that Volga Select and Tigersushi presented this CD, So Young But So Cold: French Underground Music 1979-1982, solely for me. First, the title is B-A-N-A-N-A-S. It's not just that the title, minus the French underground part, is going to be the name of Chapter 7 of my autobiography, chronicling my 20-28 years. [Incidentally, Chapter 8 is called The Best of Times and chronicles my marriage to Christy Marks, ascension to the role of today's Jane Jacobs and jut general radness of my thirties.] It's also that it's about being cold and detached and distant, which is so me. It's also the fact that it's about the French, my national obsession (shout outs to Eric Cantona, Emanuel Levinas and of course, my father). Plus it focuses on that Pound for Pound golden period, the late 70s, early 80s, when new wave, no wave, disco, electro and hip-hop all came together and melded and reformed and melted faces.

Seriously though, this is one of the best compilations I've heard in a long time. It's everything a compilation should be, a chronicle of an forgotten period of music that deserves to be remembered. It's not surprising that Volga Select was behind this, as it features the amazing death disco man, Ivan Smagghe, as one-half of the duo; the dude has an ear for the dark side of the underground (cf. Death Disco). He was joined by Volga Select partner, a.k.a. Mark Collin, in compiling the music on the disc, This one takes a look at the underground of French music for a three-year stretch that isn't associated as much of a golden period in that country's musical history. The music here covers varied ground, from more new-wave-y stuff to disco-not-disco tracks to experimental stuff; the common theme is the coldness of the music, dominated by machines like the synth and drum machines; one wonders if the government gave out drum machines and synthesizers to every child in the country. Better health care and free Rolands, people! Vive la France! Anyway, the title of the album fits perfectly, as these young groups all seem to have sucked the joy out of the disco that came before (and I mean that as the highest compliment). They've turned in machine music and complimented with detached vocals sung with no divaness at all.

I've chosen a couple of my favorites that should give you a sense of the music on So Young But So Cold. "Euroman" by JJ Bernel is probably my favorite, a minimal, slow-building track that would have fit well with the whole NYC scene of this same period. There's static-y drums, strummed guitar chords, a deep, dubby bass and the whisper-y French vocals of Bernel (I assume). It sounds like the thing could explode at any moment, but it never does. It stays nice and calm, never getting carried away. Awesome. I also went with the title song by Kas Product, "So Young But So Cold." This one's got a electro punk vibe, with some wicked synths, drum machine devastation and intensity. Mona and Spatz Soyoc ironically may have the least cold song on here, as the vocals get belted out with punk abandon. I really could have chosen any of the 16 tracks, as they all work for me, not a letdown on the whole disc. My only disappointment with the CD is the lack of quality liner notes; it would have been nice to have a little more historical information about this period in France, the story on these bands, whether there was a scene or if these bands worked in isolation, what happened to them, etc.

As you can tell, I recommend this as highly as possible, an essential purchase for anyone who likes the music and attitude that lies behind this blog. Grab your copy at Forced Exposure of the repressed version before it goes out of print again and you have to scour ebay or beg your friend for a copy. So Young! So Cold! Yeah!

Living In Narnia

This is Perry and he is handsome. You should see his Purim outfit.

As I am sure you have noticed, there haven't been any posts here at Pound for Pound for awhile. I wish I could give a clear outlook on what the future holds, but I can't. I'm taking a break to take the GREs and putting all of my passion and energy for gay disco and acid house into analogies and polynomials. I hope to be back, but in the meantime, I wanted to spend the next week or so highlighting some of my favorite sites to read, a survival guide of sorts for the P4P hiatus.

There's only one place I could begin: Living In Narnia, possibly the most interesting, most insane writing since Henry Miller was in his syphilis heyday. Narnia is the work of one MF, one of only two real people to have ever gotten their full name listed at Pound for Pound, i.e. she's really important (bonus prize if you know the other name). I have a huge ego and I always like to be thought of as the funniest person in any room, which is why I am never in the same room as M (there's other reasons that may or may not involve a sad breakup, but that's none of your business, to be honest) She is hilarious and funny, the person you plant yourself in front of at a party and just listen to her hold court all night. I'm not sure if she is serious about the stand-up comedy thing, but it would be the perfect forum for her and her neuroses, like a Sarah Silverman who's actually funny. Until then, we're all going to have to be satisfied with getting to read her daily thoughts in the blogosphere.

The site is relatively new, so you can get in on the ground floor now, so when she's world famous and doing an HBO special, you can say you knew her way back when. As far as I can tell, she must sit and blog every second of the day, which is good for us. Her prodigous output is always high-quality, covering pop culture, her own crazy life or whatever else pops into her head. Best of all, there's a nice emphasis on boobs and boob size, which may be just for me. It's just a great, daily read and I truly hope that every one who stops by here makes it a part of their life. I will consider it a personal favorite if you do. Living In Narnia is calling people, go through the wardrobe and enjoy!

Studio - Yearbook 1

Studio, "Origin (Shake You Down By The River)" (YSI link)

I mentioned Studio recently with their awesome Kylie Minogue remix, needed to put up tracks from their recent LP, Yearbook 1. This album is really just a repackaging, bringing together their earlier West Coast LP and No Comply 12" into a super-dope CD. It's probably easier to say that that is one of the best releases from 2007, one of those albums that seems completely confident in itself, in spite of, or maybe because of, the fact that the music sounds like little else out there.

We didn't really give much detail on Studio when we referenced them previously, so let's do a little background, little being the operative word. The Swedish group consists of two members, Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hagg, who have a handful of releases on the tiny Information label. They seem to be a part of this cosmic disco/Scandalearic scene that has formed around Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, which has stretched out, slowed down and loosened up electronic music.

Yearbook 1 is only eight tracks, but it clocks in at over 70 minutes long. There aren't any bad songs in my opinion, a great mix of shorter songs and epic jams, instrumentals and vocals, cosmic disco, pop, electrorock and more comes and goes during the course of the album. Take the track above, "Origin (Shake You Down By The River)." It starts out with an warped laugh moving from one ear to the next, then what sounds like a jet takes off and out of this intro, an awesome, funky bassline, a dreamy guitar and percussion comes in and suddenly a Latin/Afrobeat-ish track quickly comes forward. As the song progresses, the pace picks up and things get more rocking, without ever feeling forced. That might be the greatest part of this album, its willingness to take its time, to not rush. Two of my favorites tracks, "Out There" and "Life's A Beach," clock in at nearly 16 minutes and 13 minutes a piece, mini-masterpieces that hearken back to the disco epics. Man, this is rad music, I can't recommend it more highly right now.

Okay, one big reason for doing this post is to help get the word out and get this CD and all of their previous work a US release. C'mon respected labels, bring this one to the states, the kids are just waiting to have the minds blown by this group. If you can afford it, cop the imported version from Amazon for a little less than $30. Or perhaps a better option is to buy West Coast, the 2006 LP, which is available for domestic prices. I mean, you really need this music in your life, let's hope someone steps up and get their upcoming album a widespread release.

Soulwax - Most Of The Remixes We've Made For Other People...

Justice, "Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax remix)" (YSI link)

DJ Shadow, "Six Days (Soulwax remix)" (YSI link)

Arthur Argent, "Hold Your Head Up (Soulwhacked mix)" (YSI link)

It's the time of year when everyone starts looking back, compiling their best-of lists and whatnot. It's the perfect time to look at one of the best releases of this year, which looks back at the past decade of remixes from the seminal dance combo Soulwax. If you read this blog or care about electronic music, you already know about Soulwax. For those that don't, Soulwax is a Belgium music conglomerate run by the Dewaele brothers, Stephen and David. Under that moniker, they've made original studio music, play live around the world and remix other artists. They DJ as 2ManyDJs, world famous for their sets and How To Kill The DJ mixes. All of our favorites today, from Justice to Simian Mobile Disco to Digitalism, are in debt to these guys.

To celebrate a documentary called Part Of The Weekend Never Dies, which chronicled Radio Soulwax, Parlophone and Soulwax have compiled (almost) all of the remixes the guys have done over the past 10 years, from their 1997 Lords of Acid one to this year's Justice and Klaxons. I tried to give a good sampling above, covering the different ground that the guys have in terms of remix projects, including my favorite remix on the CD, the Soulwax remix of DJ Shadow's "Six Days." I left out the Daft Punk, Kylie Minogue, LCD Soundsystem, Klaxons and more, just to give you a sense of how stacked this compilation is. I did want to pay special attention to the Soulwhacked mix of Arthur Argent's "Hold Your Head Up," which was completely new to me. This one is sick, sick, sick; it's start off slow and relaxed, as instruments get added to the mix. Then, an awesome robotic voice comes in repeating the lyrics, Slowly but surely, a nasty bass comes in and the rocking drums rock harder and you get just a great tune. P.S. Pay special attention to the lyrics, my friends: "When it's love that brings you down, don't ever let them know. However hard they hurt you, don't ever let them know. Hold your head up."

Oh, and for the record, here's the full title of the album:

Most of the Remixes We've Made Over the Years Except for One by Einsturzende Neubaten Because We Lost it and a Few We Didn't Think Sounded Good Enough or Just Didn't Fit In But Including Some That are Hard to Find Because Either People Forgot About Them Or Just Simply Because They Haven't Been Released Yet. A Few We Really Love. One We Think is Just OK. Some We Did For Free. Some We Did For Money. Some Just For Ourselves Without Permission and Some For Friends as Swaps But Never On Time and Always At Our Studio In Ghent.

Clearly, this one gets our highest recommendation. It's just an amazing package for fans and DJs alike, 2 discs of pure bliss, Disc 2 features a mix by 2ManyDJs that takes you on a journey through the remix catalogue. This one is not easy to find for some reason, but HMV has it at a great price.

Burial - Untrue

Burial, "Archangel" (YSI link)

Burial, "Untrue" (YSI link)

I'm about to embark on one of the biggest/scariest moments of my life, it's raining and miserable and I'm physically and mentally exhausted [ed. note: I wrote most of this yesterday when it was raining and I was embarking on said moment]. I can't think of a better time to jump back into dubstep by taking a look at its most acclaimed artist, Burial? Actually, I probably should be doing a post on love songs or brainless sugar pop tunes, but whatever.

Burial's Untrue is his second LP on Hyperdub and an immediate contender for album of the year. It's a really stunning achievement, picking up the corpse of trip-hop & UK Garage and lacing with huge subbass, skittering rhythms and detached, smeared soul/R&B vocals. It's those vocals that leave the most lasting impression, disembodied sounds longing, searching, hoping to connect but failing repeatedly. Check the sampled, robotic voices on "Archangel," which seem to be conversing. One asks "If I trust you" repeatedly to no answer, which fits the dark, unfulfilled nature of the music. Burial also adds these haunting effects deep in the mix, whether the crackling, rain-like ones on "Untrue" or the creepy wind sounds on "Archangel," that only add to the dark, sinister mood. All in all, the album is more focused than the excellent, self-titled debut, perhaps a reflection of Burial's confidence in his sound, avoiding more standard dubstep songs here.

I referenced dubstep and the album has come out on its premier label, but it's not a place to start with that genre. In fact, this album really seems to have as much in common with Massive Attack as it does with Skream, which isn't a bad thing. The pacing is different, the bass isn't as massive, a bit more melancholic and neurotic. I don't have as much knowledge of UK Garage, but what I have heard makes me think that that may be the biggest influence. The breakbeats and r&b vocals, however, are mutated by Burial's reverb and pitch-shifting, as he plays with time like its cotton candy. Creepy cotton candy, though, not the girl-y pink shit. Some have referred to it as futuristic soul, or Massive Attack for 2020, give it a listen and see what you come up with.

I can't recommend this one more highly, one of the best albums of the year from what I can remember. Like The Knife last year, this album heads into the darkness with various genres and comes out with a classic, although not in the dancefloor sense. This is for those late-night subway rides or nights in your room with the headphones in, when it's dark and things seem a little unsure. Buy your copy now, no hesitation. Check this cool interview with Burial conducted by Kode9, plus this excellent review by Phillip Sherburne for Pitchfork (okay, he's a way better reviewer than me, get over yourselves!)