Hot Chip - Hold On/Touch Too Much Remixes

Hot Chip, "Hold On (Switch LDN remix)" (YSI link)

Hot Chip, "Hold On (Mock N Toof remix)" (YSI link)

Hot Chip, "Touch Too Much (Ewan Pearson remix)" (YSI link)

While we're going to be doing less and less of the current stuff, I wanted to make everyone knew that I'm just losing my edge. I haven't lost it yet. Here's a few new remixes from the recent Hot Chip 12" Hold On/Touch Too Much Remixes, another single from the Made In The Dark album.

They've brought in everyone's favorite producer/remixer, Dave Taylor a.k.a. Switch, the house music dude who has been dropping some of the most interesting music of the past few years. He dropped 2 remixes for this, LDN and LA versions that showcase that Switch unpredictability. I don't know of any other artist now who is able to keep you on the edge of your seat in dance music like he does. He's able to draw on various styles, from house to dancehall to bassline to minimal, all in the space of a single track. The LDN remix above is a great example of how he fucks with the dancefloor, stuttering and stopping his way along, making you feel like a huge bassline is coming in which never does. He

The other two remixes are even better. Mock N Toof deserve a much bigger audience and hopefully a few more big-name remixes will do the trick. Their remix is so much more where my head is at, a nice, long extended mix that takes its time on the disco-y house track. You get some great percussion, cool keys, It's a subtle boogie, but it's a good one. Ewan Pearson has been doing this shit for a long time and he still has it. He takes on another song from the album, "Touch Too Much," keeping it much more of a song than the other ones. You get all of the vocals, Pearson has just stripped the song down (until the last few minutes, when it turns into laser tag) and added some beautiful keys and slinky drums that slowly build and build over 9 minutes to a great ending. Really nice stuff

If you haven't already done so, make sure to grab a copy of Made In The Dark, another solid release by one of my favorite bands around. Turntable Lab has the Deluxe Edition, which gets you a live DVD for your money.

Caribou - She's The One

Caribou, "She's The One (Hot Chip remix)" (YSI link)

Caribou, "She's The One (Kelley Polar's Hughes Wilson Prom Night In Hell version" (YSI link)

Not sure why, but I feel a little melancholy today. Blame it on the weather, the unread emails from an ex or just being me. I'm not sure if Dan Snaith's music as Caribou is good for me right now or if it just makes me a little bluer, but when the music is this beautiful and essential, I just need to get over myself.

"She's The One" is the first single off of the 2007 Andorra album and one of the best songs of the past year. It combines that psychedelic pop sound perfectly with lyrics about love and that one girl. It's just the type of song I love, a dark love song about heartbreak and love lost and moving on. "Every night there's a new name on her mind that I don't think I recognize/
and it's never strange just how long she stays away, I guess I'll have to compromise." Not surprisingly, this one was co-written by Jeremy Greenspan of Pound for Pound favorite Junior Boys, who do this sort of music perfectly. Anyway, if you have not bought the LP, do not hesitate in buying your copy today.

The label came up with two interesting choices for remixers, Hot Chip and Environ's Kelley Polar. Hot Chip have added a beat to the mix, stretched it out by double and added two almost-euphoric breakdowns. The first is slower and more deliberate, the second is a little more of freak-out to close things out. Definitely somthing different from the guys, not my favorite. While everyone is probably going to gravitate towards the Hot Chip remix, the real treat is the one by Kelley Polar. This one has to be heard, as Polar has turned the original into a spoken word experimental disco track. There's amazing soaring harmonies, sweeping strings, claps and off-key chords, it sounds like nothing you've heard in quite a while. The best guidepost I can say is to think back to the late 70s, early 80s when guys like Arthur Russell brought the avant-garde to the dancefloor. I'm really liking this one,

I highly recommend grabbing one of the copies of the 12" before they are gone, as you won't want to miss a chance to have the original and the additional new track, "Niobe." You won't be disappointed.

Will Eastman! Remixes! Le Freak! Washington D.C.!

Codebreaker, "Riviera On The Moon (Will Eastman blisspop remix)" (YSI link)

Air, "Once Upon A Time (Will Eastman blisspop remix)" (YSI link)

The Hourly Radio, "Crime Does Pay (Will Eastman blisspop remix)" (YSI link)

Oh, did I mention the Pound for Pound reference on the Washington Post online site? That's right, friends, this humble blog got mentioned by one of the biggest sites in the world. Can't stop, won't stop until Tom Friedman uses me as an example of the world flattening in another of his awful columns. Get at me paper of record, the takeover has begun. Seriously though, congrats to Will Eastman on this great write-up, good to see the local press catching up to what we've been saying for a minute about this dude's talent. This is a good chance to re-up this post and the songs, don't sleep if you missed this one before.

It's been a shitty week, but I'm so super psyched to post up these remixes from DJ Will Eastman, a DJ that I hope will get much more attention and hype ASAP. For longtime readers, I'm sure that you've caught many references to Will and his various parties in Washington D.C., he's been one of the bright spots in a city not know for its raging. He got started in 1998, spinning indie, britpop, dance, disco and just about anything good at various spots. He started the Bliss monthly party at The Black Cat in September 2000 and this one's still going strong all of these years later. All of this is to say that this dude deserves far more attention than he gets; he's a talented DJ who mixes all kinds of music from the past, present and future with an eye to the dancefloor, who has been on the grind, making a scene where one might not naturally exist. Like I've said before, there's nothing that makes me happier than shining the spotlight on all of those people who hustle and make a city what iut is and hopefully help them get to a bigger audience.

I hope that these remixes above are just the ticket to get the word out, as they have been the soundtrack to my week. I'm honored to be given the exclusive first shot at his remix of Codebreaker's "Riviera On The Moon." This is like looking into a blog crystal ball and seeing two names that will be hyped from Brooklyn to Budapest, as Codebreaker is a super rad electro-funk band from Madison, Wisconsin. Eastman turns the original and makes it even more dance floor friendly with a huge bass, some vocal fuckery and driving drums. The chika-chika guitars find there place perfectly in this version, especially love how he takes everything else out and leaves the vocals over that guitar work, very nice. This is just really great stuff, sitting right on that pop/dance fence where so much of the best stuff coming out falls.

I've also upped two other remixes, the Air remix is as beautiful as you'd expect, blisspop indeed. However, it's The Hourly Radio remix that you need, an official remix for the single (Shiny Toy Radio contributed another one). Eastman's taken a really great song and turned it into something awesome, turning a indie song into a dance track with that (signature?) warm bass, hi-hats and cool 80s scratching synths.

If you lie in D.C. you really should just take a second, jot down my dude's schedule and pencil those parties into your day planner or Blackberry. His monthly Bliss party goes down again soon, February 8th, the perfect way to warm up this winter or to forget about the inexplicable fact that Obama won't put mandates on his health care plan. Even better, Will has his Friday night weekly called Le Freak at the Napoleon Lounge (1847 Columbia Rd.) in Adams Morgan going full steam ahead. If you haven't made it through, tonight's your chance to find your new weekly stop. No cover, doors at 10 pm, half-priced champagne (!!!) from 9-11, Will with special guests playing all of the music you want to hear - booty bass, disco, electro, classic house, pop, rap

For the rest of the country, check out Will's myspace page or the Bliss party one, bring him to your city. I know that he was just in Minneapolis for the Too Much Love jawn with Soviet Panda, I'd love to see some of my Pound for Pound party people and promoters and DJs help him destroy some other cities. Finally, for everyone else, download those songs, check out the Bliss website for new info and songs, be friends on said social networking site above, keep reading Pound for Pound, as we will hopefully have much more from Mr. Eastman. Yeah! Blisspop!

Grizzly Bear - Friends EP

Grizzly Bear, "Little Brother (electric)" (YSI link)

Grizzly Bear, "Knife (covered by CSS)" (YSI link)

Here's something a little different than our normal fare, the psychedelic folk music of Grizzly Bear. However, when you check out the mix that's coming up next, this one'll make a lot more sense. Anyway, I actually reviewed and liked their debut LP, Yellow House, so when I saw that they were releasing an EP of remixes and B-sides called Friends, my heart when a-flutter, as I love a good remix album.While it isn't quite what I thought it was going to be, as these aren't remixes in the dance music sense, the path they chose is probably better for everyone. Most of the EP is the band reworking their own songs or doing covers, along with 3 covers of Grizzly Bear songs by their friends - CSS, Band Of Horses and Atlas Sound.

For me, it's the first half of the album, the reworking of their originals, that makes this one worth the money. Honestly, the first three songs are a tremendous peak that they don't equal again on the record, although all of the Grizzly Bear stuff is worth a listen. The thing that struck me most was how much I liked the vocals, something that is really important to me when I listen to rock music and that seems to be lacking on a lot of this experimental folk stuff imo. Their cover of the The Crystals/Phil Spector classic "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" shows this best, with a tender, almost fragile voice leading the way. "Little Brother" goes electric here and it's a doozy, with similar scratchy falsetto vocals to draw me in. From there, the tracks ebbs and flows, until the final blowout in the last minute and a half. Check for the great guitars on this one, love that sound. Check out this nice review at Pitchfork by Ryan Schreiber, which gives a nice recap of how these songs are different than the originals.

I included the CSS cover of "Knife," to give you a sense of how one of the band's songs was covered. CSS has turned the song into a cool and relaxed electro rock number, not bad, not amazing. Band of Horses do a kinda bizarre, kinda awful bluegrass-y version of "Plans," while Atlas Sound has much more of the space-y, reverbed sound that seems more in line with GB's music and probably works best.

I definitely recommend picking this one up, feel like it might be a touch more accessible than the LP. Grizzly Bear definitely seem to be doing interesting things, taking chances and just generally not acting like every other indie rock band out there.

Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler Remxes

Simian Mobile Disco, "Hustler (Kevin Saunderson remix)" (YSI link)

Simian Mobile Disco, "Hustler (Jesse Rose remix)" (YSI link)

Simian Mobile Disco, "Hustler (Shackleton remix)" (YSI link)

I'm still working on the end of the year stuff, but in the meantime I'm gonna put up some things that I had wanted to get to at the end of last year. It was a big year for Simian Mobile Disco, as they dropped their first album, Attack Sustain Delay Release, to critical acclaim and toured the world. Ironically, one of their first singles, "Hustler," which dropped all the way back in the year 2006, continues to thrill and get the remix treatment.

The most recent batch of remixes fit in perfectly with some of our recent foci here at Pound for Pound - techno, dubstep and fidget house. With the focus this week on Detroit, we've got a lead off with that Kevin Saunderson remix. I mean, Kevin Saunderson, people! Belleville 3! Dude does not disappoint here, dropping a sick, filtered techno remix that turns the original a little darker and more menacing. Those insistent kick drums start things off, taking center stage while a acid-y bassline works its way around the beat. The pace picks up, the drums get a little more jackin' until some vocal snippets and video-game synths come in around the halfway mark. My favorite part, though, comes around the four minute mark when the kick drums drop out for a bit, leaving only these filtered, wobbling synths and hi-hats. Wait for it, here comes the kick drums again and away we go on a similar, but off-kilter vibe to the first-half.

Shackleton brings the delays out to full effect, creating a molasses version. It almost seems like you are hearing it underwater, especially when those massives horn like sounds come in every so often, I almost expect to see a tugboat coming down Kent Avenue. The Jesse Rose remix might be the pick of the lot, keeping more of the sound of the original, but turning up the dirty and nasty with a fuzzed bassline and jackin' house beats. This one should destroy dancefloors.

If you haven't already copped the SMD LP, you really should do so now. It's been making the top lists for all of the major dance magazines, definitely an album you need to own.

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.

Armand Van Helden - NYC Beat

Armand Van Helden, "NYC Beat (MSTRKRFT remix)" (YSI link) 320

Armand Van Helden, "NYC Beat (Emperor Machine remix)" (YSI link)

Armand Van Helden, "NYC Beat (Prince Language remix)" (YSI link)

Let's keep going on the New York City theme. I had originally planned on posting this song early last month to honor my 1st year of New York City living. Technically, I guess I have been here more than that if you include my team in the Lower East Side, but I don't include that and don't have any recollection of it. So, yeah, yea me for a year in New York City! I moved three times, and have seen a man with his face burnt off by acid three times on the subway.

Here's the final single from Armand Van Helden's Ghettoblaster LP that I have, been out since early summer. "NYC Beat" is definitely my favorite of the onslaught of singles that have come with this album, a great original from the legendary Van Helden. Dude easily morphs into a new sound when the situation calls for it, this one's made for the indie dancing kids with its big beats, sick bass, guitars and anthem-y vocals. MSTRKRFT does their thing, chopping it up like only they can, creating another staggered monster. Would've loved them to really let go at one point and just destroy me with bass, but that's just me.

However, it's the other two remixes that deserve your full attention, both of which take the temperature down and stretch things out nicely. First, Emperor Machine turns in a bleepier, dubbier version that really works well. I just love how he takes his time and gives the song real movement, like how he drops everything out but the bass early on and builds back into a discofied funk tune that you never want to end. Wonderful. Oh, but the real treat here is the Prince Language remix, I want nothing more for Hanukkah than more remixes and releases from this dude in 2008. He brings the cowbell out early and often and you know I won't ever hate that. From there, he turns in a percussion feast, at times dubby, at times toe-tapping funky. I like it, hope you do too.

If you haven't already, grab a copy of Ghettoblaster, a great album from a dance music master.

New Order - Krafty Remixes

New Order, "Krafty (The Glimmers 12" Extended Mix)" (YSI link) 320

New Order, "Krafty (Phones Reality Remix)" (YSI link) 320

New Order, "Krafty (Riton Re-Rub Remix)" (YSI link) 320

Sorry for the lack of posting, but we've been struggling with work, poor health and a lack of inspiration lately. To help us get back in the swing of things, let's hit this softball out of the park. I mean, it's New Order remixed by three of my favorite current producers, The Glimmers, Phones (Paul Epworth) and Riton. They gave their interpretations of one of the decent tracks from the Waiting For The Sirens album that came out in 2005. I mean, if this isn't the Pound for Pound equivalent of a belt-high fastball down the middle, I don't know what is. Speaking of which, what's up Phillies? Do not let this moment pass, please.

Anyway, all three of these remixes are solid, each offering a nice take on an original that has that typical New Order synthesized indie sound. Ironically, it's the one that most closely hews to the original that works the best for me, as The Glimmers have stripped the original of its more bombastic, overwhelming sound and given it a much more shimmering, disco-fied feel. I'm never great at describing changes, but it seems that the drums have been reprogrammed, they've taken out the drone-y synths and allowed the bass to come up in the mix.

The Phones and Riton version stick out the most, messing around with the vocals and pacing quite a bit. The Phones Reality Remix keeps those soaring synths, but makes them more of an embellishment, far from their role as centerpiece in the original, as a wicked bass, bleeps and propulsive drums create a raging monster. It actually might be too intense, as there's no-let-up in the seven-minute track. The Riton re-rub has a similar vibe but stays on a more relaxed pace. The jagged bassline is nasty, the percussive elements provide some nice flourishes and the less intense pace sounds more right to me. The chopped-up vocals actually give the remix more room to do its thing, as a New Order song is such a distinctive thing, it's hard to let loose with their stuff. At times though, I feel like Riton tries to do much, like the synth smears around the 4:20 (dank!) mark don't really fit in my opinion and the whole thing sometimes seems a bit too busy.