It's only music, John!

Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - “Rothaus (Groove Edit)”

At 6 minutes, this is only 2/3 of the length of the album version. However, it is still  packed with sonic detail and surprises, not far from Can’s most danceable tracks in the polyrhythmic drumming, with extra dub echoes and sweeps.

WhoMadeWho - “The Plot (Discodeine Remix)”

Denmark’s moustachioed disco-punk kings get remixed by Discodeine (the duo of Beggin‘-fame Pilooski and brother Pentile). This track has been around for a while now, but it still oozes cool and makes me wanna dance, so why not share it?

The Juan Maclean - “One Day”

Gorgeous disco track full with violins and Nancy Wang’s sweet voice.

Panthers - “Goblin City (Holy Ghost! Disco Dub)”

Since we’re late enough for pagan / consumerist fest Haloween as to be nearing Christian / consumerist fest Xmas, I can share this 9-minute monster of groove. The only elements from the original that remain, floating as ghosts(!) above the beat, are the chorus and shards of lead guitars.

Loose Joints - “Tell You Today (allez-allez re-edit)”

Arthur Russell was one of the truly idiosyncratic voices in music from the last 30 years. He is to be found here in his most revered “disco cellist” mode, and his groove still kills me after listening to that track hundreds of times, but he wrote magnificent pop songs and extensive lyrical pieces and has left hundreds of beautiful sketches that are still better sounding and more expressive than tons of over-produced “adult contemporary” you’ll ever hear.

Old Time Relijun - “Indestructible Life”

Stupid but not inexact one-liner for that monster of a song: “What if Tom Waits had suddenly found himself in love with disco music?”

Bjørn Torske - “Hatten Passer”

This whistle-propelled track has been a constant source of enjoyment since I downloaded it about a year ago. I love all the slightly off-kilter structures (especially that oddly pulsating bassline)… and of course the whistling, that can put a smile on my face whenever I hear it.

Late of the Pier - “The Bears Are Coming (Emperor Machine Remix)”

This is for those of you (er, where are you, by the way?) who like their dancefloor tracks to be slo-mo, 4-4, 9-minute odysseys with odd stereo effects and sweeping synths. The finale is great, too.

[Totally unrelated news: [adultswim] have released yet another quality comp’, this time of South African hip-hop. As usual, it is FREE to download!]

The Aliens - “Robot Man”

Like Capitol K (a track of whom I posted a few days back), The Aliens excell at creating that mix of a Beatles-via-Madchester-via-Brian-Wilson’s-basement vibe and electronic elements (the opening is openly disco!) that is so typical of great English er, Scottish pop these days - at least the one I enjoy listening to.

(OK, the Wikipedia link for the Beatles is pure useless fun…)

Oh, and one or more of the members (couldn’t be bothered to check) hail from the sadly departed Beta Band, which tells you a lot if you are into whacky Brit, er Scottish psychedelia.

Additional info: you should check out http://www.tentracks.co.uk/: £1 for 10 brand new tracks, including one from the Aliens’ new album, and also listen to what Hot Chip did of “Robot Man”