I’ll quickly do a second post. It’s gonna be about Late of the Pier who I’m crazy about since the first time I’ve heard Space and the Woods and stuff pre-release. Their album is one of the most anticipated LPs of the UK this year. Entitled Fantasy Black Channel it’s gonna come out on the 11th of August. You should definetly buy it.

All the singles have been brilliant. From Space and the Woods (video) until the latest, Heartbeat (video). The full-lenght is produced by Erol Alkan which is a good thing and helps with the experimental electro parts. The whole record is ambitious and the Liars-esqe edge is there, full of styles and complexity from the avantgarde pop of The Bears Are Coming to the synth-metal of Whitesnake (awesome title, I love band titles) and the post-punk of Bathroom Gurgle. The aesthetics and image is like inviting Dali to create a series of paitings about the 1980s. Late of the Pier belongs to the new UK-generation beside Foals and Friendly Fires who are mixing indie, electro, hardcore, synths and post-punk, etc in an interesting new-ish way to create a unique and really progressive atmosphere. I’m not sure that the album is a great listen as a whole, it’s not perfect, it doesn’t have a controlling concept but the variety is amazing. It’s just not a perfect pop record. Listen to one of my favourites the hurrican-like VW (why is there a reference to a German car brand?) and the awesome*10 remix of Heartbeat by Hot Chip.

Late of the Pier - VW [zshare] // Late of the Pier - VW [ysi]

Late of the Pier - Heartbeat (Hot Chip remix) [zshare] // Late of the Pier - Heartbeat (Hot Chip remix) [ysi]

For those of you who had that nagging feeling in the back of your mind for so long about why D.A.N.C.E. didn’t feel R.I.G.H.T., the answer has finally come: it was actually a track from the late 1990s that missed the cut on Diddy’s tribute album to the late Notorius B.I.G. That’s it! How could you have missed the signs for all this time?! Do you think Justice could’ve come up with  the all-caps acronym-style song title all on their own? Hell no. Biggie was doin that shizz waaaay back in the day and they hopped on that bandwagon over a decade later. The problem, I hear, is that Biggie couldn’t actually dance that well, so the title just didn’t seem appropriate. Luckily Wale dusted off the mothballed track and re-released it as yet another homage to the original BigDancer. Or, at least, i’m pretty sure that’s the story of this song. You’ll never dance the same again, I’m sure.

A just-as-forced, yet somehow working for me precursor to WaleDance in hip-hop co-opts hipster history was the Diplo remix of Hot Chip’s Over and Over. Which is more right? Which is more wrong?

Wale - W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E. (Justice cover) [zshare] // Wale - W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.(Justice cover) [ysi]

Hot Chip - Over and Over (Diplo Remix) [zshare] // Hot Chip - Over and Over (Diplo Remix) [ysi]

New Hot Chip album is on the way. ‘Made in the Dark’ will be out on DFA/Astralwerks at the beginning of February. Huge hype is going on.

Somehow I never really liked ‘Over and over’. Of course, it was a hit and everything but it was somehow mediocre. Too sophisticated for disco, too disco to be a ‘laid back’ post-punk hit.

Ready for the Floor was much better. 80s fits these guys. However if you want pure disco throughout the album you’ll be disappointed. Insted there’s a song that reminds me of George Michael’s ‘Outside’, ‘Touch Too Much’ of TV on the Radio. In addition, there are ballads. Made in the Dark itself is a sad song. Piano-dominated songs full of melancholy close the album. This is a brave thing to do. There were some tracks that pointed in this direction on The Warning as well but everything was too electronic somehow.

The song I decided to share is the first one. It’s a danceable song, reminds me of Over and over but it’s much better than the latter and it shows how Hot Chip’s music became better for the dancefloor and for home listening as well. This album is more diverse and there are a lot more colours to enjoy here in the dark.

Hot Chip - Out At The Pictures

So, we’re in budapest. And, things are okay. But, could be better. There’s this party, KUNK, that’s being upgraded from its previous informal operation, into a fully fledged monthly. The resident djs, and authors of this blog are brandon (american) and cigi (hungarian). We like good music, which can be at times, difficult to stumble upon in these parts. So, if you’re an artist, dj, or just passing through town, check us out!

As a first step, a woefully inadequate introduction to KUNK flavor:

Justice - DANCE (mstrkrft remix)

Late of the Pier - Space and the Woods (neon plastix mix)

Crystal Castles - 1983

Datarock - Fa Fa Fa (shakes remix)

Daft Punk - Da Funk

L7 - Pretend We’re Dead

Hot Chip - My Piano (diplo remix)

Billy Ocean - Loverboy

(yes, that last one is Billy Ocean, mad props for the BO!)