New York City’s The Golden Filter may have just put out one of the sexiest jams of the summer with “Solid Gold” and no one knows a single thing about them. A revved up, glittery disco-bassline and icy synths anchor your feet to the dancefloor while airy female vocals breeze past on rays of golden light – a combination that’s enough to cool you on the most humid of days. The track’s slick production work doesn’t fall far from the DFA tree and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re an offshoot of an act already signed to that label. Then again, I could be way off and this could be a new jam that Nghia pulled together in drunken haze one night and just hasn’t told us. Either way, grab “Solid Gold” below and check out the equally addicting “Hide Me” on the band’s mysteriously just opened MySpace page.

[MP3]: The Golden Filter  ”Solid Gold”
Single; 2008

Jonas & Francois, best known for last year’s stunning “D.A.N.C.E.” video, among others, lend their animation skills to bass heavy French electro-funk outfit Flairs. Handmade, using 3,000 sheets of paper, a simple printer-computer and scanner trio, and seven black ink pencils, the beautiful black and white video for Flairs’ “Better Than Prince” suits the track “like the best wedding possible.” Watch out A-ha, er, um, and you too Prince.

[MP3]: Flairs  ”Truckers Delight”
Better Than Prince, Roxour; 2008

So Young But So Cold: Underground French Music (1977-1983) begins with the steady spacey synth pulses, atmospheric organs, and ethereal French-sung/spoken female vocals of Nini Raviolette’s “Suis-Je Normale.” Forgive me for the comparison, because the movie is fresh in my mind, but the track would have made the perfect accompaniment for a less “Hello Dolly” opening of Wall-E. A lonely robot rolls around a lifeless, abandoned, and eerily unfamiliar Earth set against the stark tone and icy synths of the somber song, while, in almost a robotic tone, female vocals ask “suis-je, suis-je normale? (am I, am I normal?)” The track pretty much sets the cold-wave tone for the rest of the comp which includes the austere robotic grooves of Ruth’s “Polaroid/Roman/Photo,” The Druids rare illustrated concept of “The Force,” and the cyberpunk of Artefact on “Mae.”

[MP3]: Nini Raviolette  ”Suis-Je Normale”
So Cold So Young, Tigersushi; 2004
[MP3]: The Droids  ”The Force (Part 1)”
So Cold So Young, Tigersushi; 2004

If So Young But So Cold was the first-course that aroused your appetite, then BIPPP: French Synth Wave (1979-85) is the gluttonous main course of obscure French synth-wave singles. Initially released by Parisian-imprint Born Bad in 2006, BIPPP was released in the States earlier this year via Everloving Records. Like their European counterparts, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Gary Newman, Soft Cell, and Kraftwerk, the artists compiled on BIPPP share the love of the analog synthesizer. A brief blurb on the album jacket gives an outline of the birth of French synth-wave, which gives credit to the rise of the genre to ex-Stinky Toy member Dennis Quillard (aka Janco) and singer Elli Mederios and their instrumental Kraftwerk-worshipping single “Rectangle.” Like So Young, BIPPP paints an icy-synth laden landscape that covers a six year span. Unlike the perfect pop that some UK artists were churning out, BIPP shows that the synth sounds remained more stripped in France at the time.

[MP3]: A Trois Dans Les WC  ”Contagion”
BIPPP: French Synth-Wave 1979/85, Everloving; 2008
[MP3]: Ruth  ”Polaroïd/Roman/Photo”
BIPPP: French Synth-Wave 1979/85, Everloving; 2008

For much more information on French synth-wave, as well as an extensive list of acts, check out the informative French New Wave site.

Previous “Trackback” Posts

Over the past several years we’ve come to know Ed Banger as fine purveyors of dirty electro-infused dance tracks. The label has kept us energized into the wee hours of the morning freaking out to songs from Justice, SebastiAn, Uffie, DJ Mehdi, Mr Oizo, Vicarious Bliss, and label founder Busy P. However, with the Parisian imprint’s new signee, Mickey Moonlight, the label seems to be taking a new direction from the heavy dance vibe for which they’ve become renowned.

Mickey Moonlight, the UK producer/remixer also known as Midnight Mike (aka Mike Silver) is the newest addition to Ed Banger and from the very little I’ve heard, he already sounds like a breath of fresh air to the label. Silver’s interpretation of Sun Ra’s “Interplanetary Music” is catchy disco-pop ride through the outer fringes of the cosmos with layered female/male vocals glide over miniature twisting polyrhythms and a sturdy beat. The other two tracks I’ve heard from Silver are “Music For Responsible Reprogenetics” and “A Big Ship Passing,” which are much more drone-y, floating, and ambient than his current single.

Word is that an album is due out in the near future, but for now that’s all we have. Check out the video for “Interplanetary Music” below and keep your eyes on the stars.

[MP3]: Mickey Moonlight  ”Interplanetary Music”
Single, Ed Banger; 2008

Over the years, I’ve taken my fair share of late night train rides. Getting myself and whatever else I may have with me frantically to the station and aboard the train uses up the last of the day’s energy. Once onboard and situated, there’s nothing else to do except for sitting back and enjoying the ride. In my book, there’s not a more calming and relaxing way to travel. For the time being, stresses and “to-do’s” are tucked away in bags stuffed into the overhead compartments and the next day feels just out of reach. With heavy eyes, the car’s gentle rocking gradually seduces you into slumber as the train rumbles onward into the wee hours of the night. Gazing outside, fading in and out of consciousness, the landscape takes the form of abstract streams of light flowing past like bright colors of paint streaked on a black canvas. Multiple bobs of the head soon give way to a peaceful slumber, and at some moment you wake up, always at your designated destination. Briefly the thought of staying on board and letting the train take you wherever it goes swims in and out of your mind – but reality sets in and all those “to-do’s” tucked away neatly start to make their way back into your pockets. Luckily, there’s music that can have the same effect, that’s what this is, this is music for that late night train ride to nowhere.

[MP3]: Low Motion Disco  ”The Low Murderer Is Out At Night”
Keep It Slow, Eskimo Recordings; 2008

It’s not everyday that you hear a sexy disco-pop song about a mysterious religious relic that was used to wipe the sweat off Jesus’ face on his way to crucifixion. One of the Stations of the Cross is dedicated to the event and apparently it’s a pretty big deal, up there with the Shroud of Turin, as his image is supposed to have transferred onto the cloth. Sounds like a History Channel documentary in the making – round up some extras and get ready for some killer reanactments.

If Chromatics are the purveyors of dark after-hours club music that sends us off into the cool night, quickly chilling the remaining beads of sweat clinging to our bodies, then Fan Death is the sound of that late night giving way to the early rays of dawn. The warm and bouncy “Veronica’s Veil” lays down thick slabs of synth grooves a la Glass Candy, over which a pulsating sythesized-string section is stretched, capped off with high-powered female vocals. “The Son Will Rise” with its exuberant faux horn fanfares and tribal beats along with other tracks on the band’s MySpace page are must haves for those digging on the current releases from the Italians Do It Better imprint.

[MP3]: Fan Death  ”Veronica’s Veil”
Single; 2008

Today marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with the sun not setting until a late 8:31pm. Kick back with your favorite iced cocktail and chill to the dubbed out cosmic-disco vibe of Studio‘s remake of A Mountain of One’s “Brown Piano.” Go ahead and make the track your jam for Summer Solstice ’08 – staying up late and waking up even earlier as the planetary grooves play out in the background. Summer’s officially here. Embrace it.

[MP3]: A Mountain Of One  ”Brown Piano (Remake by Studio)”
Yearbook 2, Information; 2008

On the heels of last year’s captivating Yearbook 1, the Swedish duo are primed to release seven more unique takes on everything from pop princess Kylie Minogue to California folk act Rubies to the aformentioned remix of England’s dreamscapers A Mountain of One.

Yearbook 2 is out June 23, on Studio’s own label Information. Check out the preview video for the record above and grab “Brown Piano (the Studio way)” above.

Syclops lends itself as a bit of a mystery. Little is known of the “Finnish trio” featuring Sven Kortehisto, Hanna Sarkari, and Jukka Kantonen since they don’t tour, do interviews, take press photos, or reveal much information about themselves. The “band” does however play live shows, but only for themselves, not audiences. “They” want the listener to experience their music and enjoy it unencumbered by other things like biographical information, stories, and the like. The fact of the matter is, the ambiguous Finnish trio is actually a front for the one man project of interview-shy, leftfield producer Maurice Fulton (Mu, Kathy Diamond). Why hide behind an obscure trio? I’m not really sure, but one thing I do know is that after a handful of singles including this year’s brilliant “Where’s Jason’s K?,” Fulton will be dropping his debut full-length as Syclops I’ve Got My Eye On You on DFA in June.

I’ve Got My Eye On You expands on the dark electro disco of the January 2008 Syclops single “Where’s Jason’s K?”/”Monkeypuss” (DFA) with more left of center madness. The Sheffield, UK producer’s main success under the Syclops alter-ego is that he manages to take his twisted view of disco, soul, funk and electro and turn them into solid catchy tracks. “Where’s Jason’s K?” follows an addictive hammering bassline over minimal beats for most of the track’s length. Fulton adds a cowbell here and there before the song reaches a pinnacle at its midpoint with organ freakouts and other bizarre shit. The B-side of the single, “Monkeypuss” is a acid house infused affair, harsh and bassy, primed for the dirty dancefloor.

With the brilliant Hercules & Love Affair album already under their belts this year, DFA looks to do it again with I’ve Got My Eye On You on June 10th. Previous single “K” will appear on the album along with the other tracks listed below.

[MP3]: Syclops  ”Monkeypuss”

“Where’s Jason’s K?” Single, DFA; 2008

I’ve Got My Eye On You Track Listing:
1. “NR17”
2. “The Fly”
3. “Naoka’s F”
4. “5 Out”
5. “Nelson’s Back”
6. “Where’s Jason’s K?”
7. “The E Ticket”
8. “Mom, The Video Broke”
9. “I’ve Got My Eye On You”
10. “A Lovely Sunday”

Italo-disco has played an important role in electronic music since its beginnings, surfacing in a variety of forms over the years. Acts like Little Boots, Hot Chip, In Flagranti, Ricardo Villalobos, Sally Shapiro, Glass Candy, Chromatics, along with most of the Italians Do It Better label, and others continue to reinvent the genre to today’s dance music standards. Disco Italia: Essential Italo Disco Classics (1977-1985), takes italo-disco back to its roots. Re-edited original classics by leading producers of the time and tracks appearing for the first time on CD come together on this compilation by crate diggers Strut Records.

The physical disc is packaged in a four panel digipack complete with rare photos, original sleeve artwork from each release, and extensive liner notes by electronic music writer Bill Brewster. The comp drops via Strut on May 27th. Pre-order, track listing, streams, and more on the label’s micro site.

For past italo gems and other festive tracks, check out Lovefingers.

[MP3]: Firefly  ”Love (Is Gonna Be on Your Side)”

12″ Single, Emergency Records; 1981

I wasn’t alive in the 1970s, but I have a very vivid image burned into my memory on what they were like from old family photographs, film, televison, magazines, and other imagery. Some things that immediately pop into my mind when I think of America in the 70s are big cars, crotch riding bell-bottoms, polyester, leisure suits, badass moustaches, curly hair, sideburns, tacky carpets, tinted glasses, maximum amounts of chest hair, uninspired architecture that we’re still living with today, and for some reason the color orange. Not really sure where orange fits into the whole story, but for some reason, it’s there. Oh, and what was the deal with putting brick in the interiors of homes? I’m not talking about exposed brick, but brick built on low rise walls behind couches and shit like that. Weird.

Anyway, I mention these manufactured “memories” because flashes of what I described in the previous paragraph rushed into my head on first listening to the debut full length, Silent Movie, from Quiet Village. When the 70s jive groove kicked in on the beginning of “Circus of Horror” all I could picture was a moustached Matthew McConaughey crusing around in his Corvette in Dazed and Confused. Quiet Village’s sound, however, isn’t as simple as that. The old school funk edge gives way to dreamy and drugged-out disco, while the groove continues to kick in the background. Images of muscle cars and moustaches soon fade and the listener is cast into a spooky, swirling, and exotic haze.

Silent Movie begins peacefully with the sounds of waves churning onto the shore, samples of chirping birds, and beautiful relaxing symphonic compositions on “Victoria’s Secret.” As a whole, the album proves to be difficult to pin down, as it explores a variety of styles where samples and original sounds blend seamlessly. This could be due to Quiet Village members Matt Edwards (aka Radio Slave) and Joel Martin having a wide range of influences. Edwards is better known for his techno hits, while Martin is an ex-film editor and music fanatic.

The aptly titled “Pacific Rhythm” brings together slight elements of reggae and surf tunes rooted in freaky funk and topped with symphonic strings and sexy female vocals. It’s one of the only songs on the 12-track LP that contains vocals. The elegantly composed “Utopia” features beautiful finger-plucked melodies, percussion sections that sound like drops of water hitting an echoey cavern floor and effervescent keys.

Edwards truely shows his diversity on Silent Movie, revealing his softer side as most of the album washes away the stresses of the listener, that is, until you pop off your headphones and are thrust back into reality. Highly reccommended for kicking back as the warmer summer months creep up on us.

Silent Movie is out on May 13th via !K7 Records, preview some of the album and order it on their micro-site here.

[MP3]: Quiet Village  ”Circus of Horror”
[MP3]: Quiet Village  ”Pacific Rhythm”
Silent Movie, !K7; 2008