DISCOBOLUS music news & reviews
DISCOBOLUS music news & reviews
king of clubs
JASON NEVINS CAN’T
GET ENOUGH OF REMIXING.
PATRICK LEWIS PROFILES
THE MAN BEHIND MIXES
FOR PINK, FERGIE, DANNII
AND FAT BOY SLIM.
Although he started out as a DJ, Jason Nevins is more famous for his
remixing talent. When he released what became the club anthem of the year
in 1998 – a wicked rendition of Run DMC’s ‘It’s Like That’ – he knew it was
going to be huge. But not the kind of huge that meant 5-million copies sold!
All was not sweet victory however, because due to a record company
loophole, Nevins was paid a pittance in comparison to the rap outfit whose
bank balances improved somewhat significantly. A decade later, he’s putting
it down to experience and hasn’t let it interfere with his love of taking on
record company requests and remixing his favourite artists.
“It’s very simple,” boasts Nevins, “I can tell after listening to a track for
just 30 seconds what I’m going to do with it. It’s important to keep the chord
structure and not to change the original too much. You have to remember
the basic sound is what made the song successful in the first place.”
Nevins has always been based in his hometown, NYC, which
interestingly doesn’t affect his remixing sound.
His studio there is where he remixed Pink, Fergie, Kelly Clarkson and
even Fat Boy Slim – who became a close personal friend. Another career
highlight for Nevins is remixing our very own Dannii Minogue. Happy after
the success of Minogue’s ‘Put The Needle On It’ (“we did that at Pinewood
Studios, England, where they make the James Bond films so it was very
exciting and I think it added something to the music”), he recently remixed
Dannii’s ‘Touch Me Like That’, a delicious slice of club-pop based on the
1970s Sylvester classic ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’.
The track has just topped the UK club charts, confirming Dannii’s
status as ‘Queen of the Clubs’, yet it in the world of remixing, Nevins
wears the crown. Patrick Lewis
a few more for
the dancefloor
Although expected to be her last long-play release through
Warner Music, Madonna’s 11th studio LP ‘Hard Candy’ sees to
it that she exits her record company contract with a bang, not a whimper.
The title alone ought to give you the hint that this ain’t no fluff the
Material Girl is dishing out.
“The title is a juxtaposition of tough and sweetness,” tells Madonna.
“Kind of like I’m gonna kick your ass but it’s gonna make you feel good.
And of course, I love candy.”
Solid sweet tracks include the blistering opener ‘Candy Shop’, the
pulsating first single ‘4 Minutes’, and other tunes with very Madge themes
from nightclubbing (‘Dance Tonight’, ‘Beat Goes On’) to religion, or lack
thereof (‘Voices’, ‘Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You’).
Dubbed her most ‘urban’ record to date, Madonna collaborates with
Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams (of The Neptunes) and Nate
‘Danja’ Hills, to deliver a collection of songs that, once again, although
inspired by marginal and underground music genres, simultaneously takes
these to new and exciting ground. Michael Mastess
running with scissors
ravin’ about
the new
buddha bar
CREAM CHATS WITH
DJ RAVIN, RESPONSIBLE
FOR SEVERAL
EXCELLENT ‘BUDDHA BAR’
COMPILATIONS INCLUDING
THE LATEST INSTALLMENT,
NUMBER 10.
Over the past 11 years, there have
been almost as many Buddha Bar
releases, why do you think the
compilations are so successful?
Simply because of the style of the
music. Back then it was a new
concept in lounge, but now it’s about
standing out from the pack with
exotic tunes.
What do you get out of playing
music for people? I just love
to give people a beautiful souvenir;
kind of like a bouquet of music with
lots of emotions.
What would you consider to be
milestones in your career?
I think compiling albums for
Buddha Bar would have to be
What’s an unusual place you’ve
sampled the sounds of nature
for and used in your Buddha
Bar compilations? On a small
island in the Maldives. And in
various small villages around the world.
Which compilation has been
your favourite to work on?
‘Buddha Bar 3’ because it was my
first and was a new challenge for me
as a compiler, after Mr Challe.
For people who’ve never been,
explain why Buddha Bar is a
must-visit when in Paris. Because
it’s a unique place with lots of soul;
it’s very romantic; and, of course,
the music is always beautiful.
Are there plans to open other
Buddha Bars around the world?
Jakarta, Macao, Dubai, Moscow,
London and Kiev are all on the cards.
Phillip Marillo
Buddha Bar Volume 10, featuring Nitin
Sawnhey, Lulu Rouge and Kaya Project
amongst others, is out through Creative Vibes.
Could
be
solid
gold
more from
miss janet
Okay, who in the history of music
do you know has dared incorporate
the theme of menstruation in a song
apart from bad boy Alice Cooper and
his (rather tortured) ‘Only Women
Bleed’? And who’d have thunk Miss
Janet would sound so swift delivering
the lyric“ My swag is serious, something
heavy like a first-day period”? The
younger Jackson – albeit with less
of a burden on her back than brother
Michael – titillates once again on her
latest LP ‘Discipline’. “She’s a good
bad girl!” screamed a USA Today
headline of Miss J, and they’re quite
right. There’s plenty sexual tension
on ‘Discipline’. In fact it reverberates
like a vibrator that just can’t be turned
off. Producers include mainstay
cream 80 www.creammagazine.com
up there. It’s an institution now.
And I love the current state of the
lounge trend; unique with its ethnic
grooves mixed in with electronica.
Nineties Euro-dance music is the type that gets heard at 4am as the
washed out tool in the faded 2 Unlimited tee takes over the jukebox. It’s never
been cool, right? That is until Cut Copy tampered with the taboo.
Back in 2005, the trio gave us our first diluted glimpse into the skeazy world
of romanticised synth pop with their debut LP ‘Bright Like Neon Love’ finding it’s
way into underground fluoro-fixated clubs all over the country.
Melbourne boys Dan, Mitchell and Tim were among the first acts to pay
tribute to all things crass and camp about the last three decades, brazenly
mimicking the synth-saturated breathiness of 80s acts like New Order and
Fleetwood Mac yet bathing in their own beacon of cool that only comes with
a record deal with Modular.
A refreshing fusion of jagged post-punk and icy nuwave synth pop has left
the group floating in the ambiguous realms of ‘indie dance’ where rock and
electro live together in a musical world free of ideological hang-ups. Coming
two years after their debut LP, baby number two ‘In Ghost Colours’ has been
surrounded by the kind of hype you’d expect from a new Daft Punk album
or the announcement of a Jackson Five reunion.
Frontman of the trio, Dan Whitford, is itching to get out and tour this new
record after promoting it’s big brother ‘Bright Like Neon Love’ overseas for
the past two years.
“To us, our first record is just so old. We staggered its release overseas
and so we’ve been playing those hits for a couple of years.” He quickly adds,
“But we’re not a band that refuse to play their hits or anything.” And boy do
we predict a lot of hits.
Last year the lads headed to New York’s Plantain Studios to get geeky with
music nerd and DFA in-house producer, Tim Goldsworthy, who not only pimped
up their record but pumped up their nightlife too.
“He sort of showed us round to his favourite spots… he and the DFA
guys definitely knew what was going on,” says Dan before drummer Mitchell
cracks up laughing. After a bit of coaxing the boys go into a detailed story
about a particularly messy night in New York where a zillion beers and a
heavy blizzard later, they ended up in a lesbian bar where they thought they
were “going to get bottled”.
“It must have been a full moon,” says Mitchell, “Because we just went crazy.”
Already able to boast a support gig to Daft Punk, a European tour, and a
stint at Australia’s notorious V-Festival, it’s safe to say this digi-pop trio have
clocked up more frequent party points than the
average highflying raver. But unlike the Spice Girls,
Cut Copy promise not to pull the plug on Australian
audiences with an album tour planned for later in the year.
“Hopefully it means something to the people who
listen to it.” Ah Dan, we don’t think there’ll be any
problems there. Cassie Steel
Rodney Jerkins, along with
Jermaine Dupri, Ne-Yo, Stargate,
Tricky Stewart and The Dream,
and although all the tracks are
interspersed with annoying and
unnecessary ID’s (so typical of Janet),
almost every one is of the highest
hip-hop or soul caliber.
Lisa Andrews
These days when an electronic outfit is described as producing
“wonky robotic dance music”, it’s a good thing. And even better
if it’s dissonant and dislocated. On The Bionics’ latest 10-track release
‘Solid Silver’, earthy electronics work hand in hand to create a kind
of organic digitalism; a distorted soundscape that is surprisingly pleasant
to the ear and even kinder to the booty. With roots in pop, disco,
techno and house, the album pays tribute to a musical family tree that
branches out as far as futuristic dance and cyber club-disco. The trio
prove their worth in first single ‘Love Chains’, where a kaleidoscopic mix
of beats and effects evolves into a melodic
soup of jazz complete with keyboards,
solid vocals and syncopated (dis)harmonies.
‘Solid Silver’ may be the name of the
record, but solid gold is what they deserve.
Cassie Steel
The Bionics ‘Solid Silver’ is out through
Creative Vibes.
whip it (not so) good
Manchester cool kids The Whip know how to juice a good beat, but their
watered down clichéd party-boy sound makes us thirsty for something with a little
more pulp. Pleasant poppy beats and easygoing electronic melodies makes ‘X Marks
Destination’ the kind of album that you enjoy listening to once but find too bland and
same-same to drool over. A little more dirt, a little more dance, and a lot more depth is
what The Whip needs if they ever want to stand out in the overpopulated continent of
cutesy electronics where it seems anyone can grab a synthesiser and spit out a sexy
tune. In ‘Frustration’ the boys harp on about it being cold outside, yet their winy voices
and timid beats leave us wanting to lock them out there shivering in their own mess.
The album is skilled and well produced, yet the only way you’ll find the tunes fresh and
pioneering is if you haven’t been clubbing in the last five years. Cassie Steel
The Whip’s ‘X Marks Destination’ is out through Liberator Music
Tuning into the opening track ‘Another Day’ on Jamie Lidell’s latest album ‘Jim’,
you’d think you’d stumbled across an old 45 by The Four Tops or one of them other
groups of hip-cats who would croon on the 50s Motown circuit. But no, Jamie hails
from Cambridge, England; lives in Berlin, Germany; and is signed to indie label, Warp
Records. He also looks very different from our soul brothers of yesteryear (them clad
in stiff suits) as he instead opts for more of a ‘fluoro bogan’ look you’d come to expect
from electro artists.
Aesthetics aside, let’s get to the real shit here: the music. This 35-year-old has
a knack for layering soulful vocals and smooth percussion into antique mics, coming
out the other end sounding like a beat-boxing one-man band. Basically, you think you’re
listening to a trio of soul dudes singing, but really it’s all just him. Heck, half his raw
ideas are sung into a mobile phone when on the move, and we wouldn’t be surprised
if some of these made it onto the final recordings.
While it’s one thing to hear his studio work (from his ‘Freakin’ The Frame’ EP of
1997 through 2005’s ‘Spymania Multiply’ to the recent ‘Jim’ – Jamie’s nickname,
naturally), it’s an altogether different experience to watch the man go mad live. Things
get so out of control on stage, in fact, that at a recent gig in Bumbershoot, Seattle,
Lidell set one of his speakers on fire.
Fans of television’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ would be familiar with his song ‘Multiply’,
while followers of indie-rock act Feist might have also heard his vocals injected into
a few of their tracks. Wherever you’re hearing him, what you’re tuning into is the
electro future of R&B. It’s appreciating the old-skool (like Jamiroquai used to) but
sandwiching the soulful vocals between bubbly electro-beats.
Typically addictive tracks on ‘Jim’ include the disco-driven ‘Figured Me Out’ and
the hillbilly-meets-P-funk of ‘Hurricane’. Unusual instruments flesh the record out,
including a talk-box and even a Moroccan coconut flute – examples of some of the
humorous touches percolating through Lidell.
“While I’ve put the brackets around my schizophrenic outpourings [on the new
album], I wanted to add a lot more Sesame Street,” he tells. Hearing how polished it
all sounds, somehow we figure he’s kidding here. Lisa Andrews
Jamie Lidell’s ‘Jim’ is out through Warp Records / Inertia.
cream 81 www.creammagazine.com