Oh wow. I love The Kills album. So fucking amazing. I mean like it’s really like dirty old garage rock with some added freakiness and phobias. Still, it’s not only that it isn’t outdated, it feels perfectly relevant. Sexy and dark, Midnight Boom is exactly what its title says. They had made an average album in 2003 when this kind of stuff was popular. Now that it’s not so much, they made an awesome record.

There are many things I like about Ed Banger’s SebastiAn. Ok, he’s hyped and everyone knows the RATM re-edit and Motor and maybe the Fool for Love remix too. However, he’s a guy from the banger crew who is constantly pushing boundaries. Seems like blessed with a cool taste he chooses music to chop-chop that is good. Like rock music and stuff. Not remixing a remix of a remix of a cover. And Dog for example is one electro-grindcore noise that can piss off a lot of people who are waiting for another perfectly beatmixed techno track on the dancefloor. I like it and that’s why I adore this remix of Cheap and Cheerful very much. Compare it to the Nite Cells edit who are like ok but they fucked it up. Or The Bloody Beetroots? Although I’m into them this one sucks. The Mathematikal rerub or The Videoband re-distortion don’t even deserve to be mentioned. SebastiAn had the taste to keep the hot rocking side of the song and twist it with his own sick disco. The breakdown at the end is brilliant.

The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (SebastiAn remix) [zshare] // The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (SebastiAn remix) [fileden]

The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (Nite Cells Bored Robot remix) [zshare] // The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (Nite Cells Bored Robot remix) [fileden]

The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (The Bloody Beetroots remix) [zshare] // The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (The Bloody Beetroots remix) [fileden]

The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful [zshare] // The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful [fileden]

I’m totally on the fence about Alphabeat. And after a few months of listening to various releases I still can’t make up my mind. At the heart of the conundrum is the fact that I usually go apeshit for any semi-gayish Scando pop (loosely: Lo-Fi-Fnk, Le Sport, et al), so my instinct would also be to jump on board with a semi-gayish Danish outfit that comes along. Nevertheless, there hasn’t been any clincher for me. The 10,000 Nights single is in my mind okay but nothing amazing, and when the Bloody Beetroots remix bubbled up I had a brief level of excitement but again it kind of falls flat for me. I’m left with the feeling that Alphabeat is a slightly less bimbo version of Aqua. Harsh I guess, but at the moment it’s where I stand.

The one track I properly dig is the Daft Punk cover they did with Frankmusik and Leon Jean-Marie… it’s a cover with a point to it — thoroughly upbeat and enjoyable.

Anyhow, what’s my problem here? Why is Le Sport okay but Alphabeat borderline? Have a listen and help me out.

Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights of Thunder [zshare] // Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights of Thunder [ysi]

Alphabeat - Boyfriend (Bloody Beetroots Remix) [zshare] // Alphabeat - Boyfriend (Bloody Beetroots Remix) [ysi]

Alphabeat, Frankmusik, and Leon Jean-Marie - Digital Love (Daft Punk Cover) [zshare] // Alphabeat, Frankmusik, and Leon Jean-Marie - Digital Love (Daft Punk Cover) [ysi]

We’ve already posted the awesome remix of the classic ‘She’s a Maniac’ track. The Bloody Beetroots are definetly interesting. They have a weird sense of humour and they love the guitar and other bizarre stuff as well. Check out this video (with Congorock) and download their new song called ‘We Are From Venice’.

On one hand it’s a cover of a baroque style fusion orchestra, Rondo Veneziano’s composition from 1983. Here’s the video. Strange, huh? (However, somehow I can understand what Justice and Daft Punk likes in it.) On the other hand, it’s probably a statement cause I can imagine how annoying it must be when some fans mistake them for Paris. ‘Are you French?’ Haha. Nevertheless, the song is cool and still has a funny/epic style and synth sound. And there are claps and everything you need for a dirty club hit. Not as hard as you might expect but everyone needs to rest the ears tired from experimenting with hard-harder-hardest electro. No one will be disappointed though the second half is weird.

The Bloody Beetroots - We Are From Venice (La Serenissima) (zshare)

The Bloody Beetroots - We Are From Venice (La Serenissima) (y. s. i.)

Since I’ve first heard the “I wanna…” chanting in ‘Trash’ about a year and half ago I adore The Whip. It was a soundtrack song for the summer of 2006.

They are from Manchester, UK. Their songs are featured on Kitsuné Mainson 3 and 4. They are remixed by and remixing the coolest acts around the UK and France. They have 5 singles out: Frustration, Trash, Divebomb (video), Muzzle No. 1 (video) and Sister Siam (video) They are going on tour next year with Simian Mobile Disco.

Everyone can guess now the kind of music they play. Usually, the whole new dance movement is ‘blamed’ on Daft Punk which is not really the truth. Whatever, they play electronic dance stuff with guitars, laptop, synth, etc. They are like a softer version of Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Here’s a selection

Remixed

The Whip - Trash (Cassette Jam remix)

The Whip - Divebomb (Crystal Castles remix)

The Whip - Muzzle No. 1 (The Bloody Beetroots remix)

The Whip - Sister Siam (Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya remix)

Remixing

The Black Ghosts - Any Way… (The Whip remix)

The KBC - KBC (The Whip remix)

Asobi Seksu - Strawberries (The Whip remix)

How badly Flashdance sucks? Nevermind, I don’t mean to hurt anyone by reminding. However there’s one thing in the movie which is cool: the song(s). Actually, excuse me, What a Feeling is just okay. In turn, Michael Sembello’s She’s a Maniac tore apart discos of 83. The Bloody Beetroots felt it’s time to revive this great musical piece of the 80s and it became perfectly set for 2007. The Italian duo deserves to be mentioned among those in France’s Ed Banger. They tour with Justice, remix Goose, Timbaland, etc. They are one of the causes usually listed when someone’s talking about the ‘emerge of Italian electro’. It’s not a surprise because it’s the first time I heard a bad 80s song (Kunk likes them) renewed by one of the new electro scene’s big players and it’s an awesome idea. You can always find some funny, dancey shit in the 80s. Wonder when are they gonna discover 90s and Eurodance…

Michael Sembello - She’s a Maniac (The Bloody Beetroots rmx)