Roundup, January #1
This week, we have unhinged remixes and discotheque house from a synthpop icon. These are the tracks you need to know about.
Follow our Roundup Selections playlist on Spotify to stay updated on what we have on repeat.
Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX, George Daniel – Welcome To My Island (Charli XCX and George Daniel Remix)
The hotly anticipated (and long titled) Charli XCX fronted remix of Caroline Polachek’s latest is, in short, wild. George Daniel tears Polachek’s island apart, taking it from day-glo palm trees and pina colada tropical breezes to chrome plated alien spacecraft and serpentine, 3D animated futurism. It’s XCX’s show though, with her vapid verses boasting about her “Branson era” lush with innuendo and tongue in cheek attitude and winking satire.
Skrillex, Fred Again…, Flowdan – Rumble
The meeting of these three heavyweights has resulted in something far from groundbreaking, though fiendishly addictive. Who can resist bass this deep, or Flowdan’s deadpan repetition of the line “killers in the jungle.” It’s really a song built around the onomatopoeic quality of the word ‘rumble,’ and every choice follows suit in emulating the way those consonants roll off your tongue. It’s nothing new, but it will probably be a hit.
Moderat, Marie Davidson – FAST LAND (Marie Davidson Remix)
Moderat remixed by Marie Davidson sees the Canadian producer return to motorik techno after forsaking her synths in favour of fronting a rock band. And it seems she’s having a ton of fun, playing with gqom adjacent rhythms and patterns while she’s at it. FAST LAND (Marie Davidson Remix) becomes an exercise in genre experimentation for Davidson, who uses the elements of the slow burning original as tools to craft something more aligned to the track’s name. This one pops off.
Alison Goldfrapp, Claptone – Digging Deeper
Alison Goldfrapp’s first single of her freshly minted solo career ropes in producer Claptone to help forge a sonic identity outside of the synthpop duo that quite literally put her name on the map. Digging Deeper is an effervescent (albeit familiar) house track, with Goldfrapp confessing in her signature smoky vocals, “everything has changed.” At times, it comes off like a Claptone bootleg of a Goldfrapp deep cut, but who can resist that shimmering analog build dropping into a sweaty four on the floor? Gay rights!
