Pansentient League - a Spotify Blog

Spotify Add-ons for Google Chrome

afront — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:34:25 +0000

Google has just released version 6 of its Chrome browser, with a focus on improved speed and simplicity. Much like Firefox, a steadily growing list of extensions and add-ons is enhancing and expanding the Chrome experience on a daily basis. There are already several great Chrome add-ons for Spotify, and in many ways they’re better and more varied than the Spotify Add-ons for Firefox we covered the other day. Here then is a complete run-down of Spotify add-ons for Google Chrome!

General Spotify Extensions

Spotify Chrome Extension

As featured on the official Spotify blog, this extension lets you select an artist or band name then click a button to display a list of search results from Spotify in a pop-up window. You can then click the song title, artist, or album to open in Spotify. It also lists the song’s popularity, length, and (uniquely) the release date. Note you can’t search for an album or song title just yet, and you may need to enable the “Allow in incognito” option to get it working.

Spot6

Spot6 is an extension for fans of BBC 6 Music. Hover over the Spot6 button to see the name and artist of the song currently playing on the radio station. You can then click the button to search for the song in Spotify. You’ll get an occasional miss (due to the syntax of song title versions) and the button is identical to Spotify Chrome Extension button, but Spot6 is a neat little extension for the BBC’s best radio station. Note that Spot6 is currently Windows only.

TDos

TDos is an extension for users of Tuenti, the “Spanish Facebook.” It is not exclusively a Spotify-related extension, but includes the option to add a Spotify function. Unfortunately I can’t speak Spanish (soy un idiota) so am not able to say much more about this; si usted sabe lo que esto hace, por favor háganoslo saber en los comentarios!

Linkify

Once installed, Linkify scans a webpage for any Spotify links. Any found then have a small orange Linkify icon in front which you can hover your mouse over to view pop-up details about the track, artist, or playlist (depending on the type of link). It also shows you album art or an artist image in the pop-up. Click to open in Spotify directly; handily Linkify converts any HTTP Spotify links to direct URIs. This is a cool and slick extension that also gets bonus points from me due to developer DJazzy’s choice of examples

Spotify YouTube Extensions

Tubespotter

With the Tubespotter extension, you can easily search Spotify for a track based on the currently playing YouTube video. View a music video on YouTube then click the Tubespotter button to open the track in Spotify (if available). Unfortunately I couldn’t get this extension running in Chrome 6, but here’s a video showing how it should work:

Webotify

This extension adds a button for the Webotify service. Click the button then paste in a Spotify track link. Chrome will then go to the Webotify page and play a YouTube video of the chosen track:

URL Shortener Extensions

Spo.tl

Shortens a Spotify URL using the spo.tl service from Phil Nash, the developer of the excellent SpotifiTunes.

Spoti.tk

Shortens a Spotify URL using the spoti.tk service:

Spotify Add-ons for Firefox

afront — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:21:55 +0000

The Firefox web browser has been my browser of choice for years. With thousands of add-on and plug-ins its infinitely customisable and with version 4.0 coming soon (here’s the beta), the Mozilla team are constantly working on improvements. There are several Spotify-related add-ons, search plug-ins and bookmarketlets. Here’s a full run-down!

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Add-Ons Available from Mozilla.org

Spotify Search

The original Spotify plug-in for Firefox, with this add-on you can select any text on a webpage then right-click to search for the selected artist, album, or track in Spotify.

Spotify Web Search

This search add-on lets you type in an artist, track etc. into the Firefox search area then returns a webpage with results from Spotify. The webpage apes the Spotify client and lists track titles, artist, duration, and Spotify popularity. Songs are ordered by popularity; click the track, artist or album to open in Spotify.

SpotifyIt

Supposed to display the name of the artist, song or album of the links displayed on the page. I couldn’t work out how to get this working though: I installed it then checked various webpages containing Spotify links (both HTTP and URI variety) but didn’t see any difference. Please let me know in the comments if you get this one working!

FireSpot

A continuously evolving project from Dr. Sounds, FireSpot previously analyzed webpages for songs then flagged each track with a small green clickable Spotify-like logo. The plug-in was then revamped to provide a playlist-generation tool: when viewing a webpage, click the FireSpot icon in the Firefox status bar to auto-generate a new playlist in Spotify with any tracks identified on the current webpage. It seems though that this post-processing plugin (weighing in at a rather hefty 3.1 MB) may have fallen foul of Spotify’s terms & conditions and is currently rather flaky (the author advises to “please remove Fire Spot at this time.“) It’s a great idea though and one I will be checking out again in the future.

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Other Add-Ons & Scripts

FoxyTunes

FoxyTunes lets you control almost any media player and find lyrics, covers, videos, bios and much more with a click right from your browser. Supports many music services, including Spotify.

Spotibot Search Plugin

Adds a Spotibot playlist generator search to your browser’s list of search engines. Type in an artist name to the Firefox search box to generate a custom playlist of related-artist tracks:

Playlistify Bookmarklet

This excellent browser bookmarklet lets you select song tracks on a webpage then generate a Spotify playlist via the Playlistify site. I find it extremely useful, although you do need to go through several steps to register the playlist before you can listen to the songs. Here’s Playlistify maestro Roeland to tell you how it works:

Other Tools

For a list of other URL decoding bookmarklets, see the Spotify URL Tools page.

If you know of any other Firefox-related apps, plug-ins or bookmarklets please let us know in the comments!

Personalized Spotify New Release Recommendations: Solved!

afront — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:20:28 +0000

With the introduction of playlist folders earlier in the week, Spotify finally gave us the missing piece in the puzzle of music management. There’s now not really any need for 3rd-party solutions or hacks to manage your Spotify music collection: you can now do it all right from within Spotify!

The other area where Spotify had been lacking was an easy way to discover new music. I’ve blogged about this several times in the past, most recently a couple of months ago when a service called SpNotify came online. SpNotify is a notification service that updates you on your favourite artists and songs on Spotify. It’s still a fantastic site, but requires a bit of effort to make the most of (you have to manually enter every band you want to be notified about). Now a new site called Spofm has arrived and I think it’s the webapp I’ve been waiting for: by combining What’s New on Spotify with your Last.fm listening habits, Spofm has finally solved the problem of keeping track of relevant new releases.

Spofm is an easy-to-use webapp that instantly tells you about new releases on Spotify based on your Last.fm listening habits (of course a Last.fm account is essential for this to work so if you don’t have one yet I strongly recommend you sign up now). All you need to do is enter your Last.fm username, select how many results you want, select your country then click Submit. Spofm goes off and reads your Last.fm stats and compares it with Spotify’s new-release feed. The page then updates with a list like this:

You can click either an album name or artist to open the new release in Spotify: brilliant! The app is slick and fast and has instantly become one of my favourite Spotify sites. It may miss a few new releases, but this is due to the limitations of Spotify’s feed and not really anything Spofm has control over. Developer Martin has already improved Spofm based on user feedback, so click the Contact link on the page if you’ve any suggestions for improvement. One thing Martin is thinking about adding is an RSS feed, for example.

In future it’d be great to base the recommendations on Spotify’s own stats on your listening habits (the Top Lists > For Me data), thus removing the need for a Last.fm account. But until Spotify make this information available from the API that’s not gonna happen. For now then, Spofm is one of the best personalized Spotify new release recommendation services around.

My Top 10 Tracks: The Pansentient League

afront — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:39:14 +0000

If you read this blog then chances are you love music. Music has inspired me throughout my life: in fact according to my mum, when I was a toddler I pointed my chubby little baby finger at the family record player and spoke my very first word: “ec-cord!” I’ve listened to a lot of records since then. And cassette tapes. And CDs. And MP3s. And Spotify streams. I’ve been to hundreds of gigs, sat through recording sessions, manned the merch stalls and dreamed of being a pop star too. But I always failed completely to learn any musical instrument or write any songs; I’ve learned the hard way that it’s best to leave that to the professionals. So here then are my Top 10 favourite tracks by a few of those talented people. Each one is a song that instils a sense of awe and wonder in me, and a delight that gives me goosebumps and pleasure like only music can. I hope you like them.

1. Jean Michel Jarre — Oxygène (Part IV)

One day, not so long ago in the late 1970s, I was sitting in the family room listening to my Beatles records when my mum came home with a new LP. One look at the cover and I was intrigued: what in Earth is that? The record was Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygène and it was to change my life. I’d never heard anything like it before; it left me awed, amazed, and above all breathless. Where did those sounds come from? Those beautiful, eerie, alien noises that ebbed and flowed and didn’t even have a singer on it! I think I played that record all evening until I was sent to bed. I got up early the next day and raced downstairs: yep, still there, I hadn’t dreamt it. This was the future and I knew then that Rock and Roll was dead: we’d evolved something better.

2. Kraftwerk — Neon Lights

When I started high school I met this eccentrically dressed kid in my class who said to me: “It’s more fun to compute.” How right he was. We both signed-up for the school’s new computer club, with its ageing Commodore PET and shiny new ZX81. “I program my home computer,” said Stuart. I looked at him quizzically. “You have one of these at home?” I asked. “Sure,” he said. “Come round for tea and I’ll show you.” As we sat in his room waiting for a game to load, he put on some records and I had my second electro-shock moment. This was the first time I’d heard O.M.D., David Bowie, Gary Numan and Kraftwerk. Mein Gott! there were those goosebumps again. Fick Mich! what incredible music. Although Computer World quickly became (and remains) my favourite Kraftwerk album, Neon Lights from 1978′s The Man-Machine album is my favourite Kraftwerk track. There’s something so seductive about it: dreamy and eternal, I find this testament to technology wonderfully uplifting and comforting. Incredible really, for a song about street lighting.

3. The Human League — Dreams Of Leaving

The truth is, before The Human League everything else was just tuning up. That’s what I heard anyway. Choosing a Human League song for this Top 10 was really hard: Darkness, Open Your Heart, Being Boiled, countless others… but there’s one song that always thrills and disturbs me in equal measures: Dreams Of Leaving. It wasn’t a single, doesn’t have a chorus, pre-dates the girls and hasn’t been played live since 1980. Dreams Of Leaving is like an anti-Day In The Life; its 3-part structure has a beginning, middle and end that combine to produce something greater than the sum of the parts. The drudgery and stress of the salaryman has never been more succinctly expressed in a song, with notions of alienation, despair and paranoia and ending with an uncertain future and forced optimism: this is a very goth Human League! But Dreams Of Leaving features some of the best synth sequences the League have ever done I reckon, the indignity of labour all rolled into one song. And when that bass line kicks in at 3:47 you know they mean business.

4. Black — It’s Not You Lady Jane

Turn up the volume now please. More, turn it up more. Louder! LOUDER! If you only know Black for their jazz-pop chart-friendly singles then 1987′s It’s Not You Lady Jane might come as a bit of a shock to you. It’s so unlike the rest of their songs that it didn’t even make it onto the album proper: you had the buy the then new CD format to get it as a bonus track. But what a stunning, powerful track it was! It’s Not You Lady Jane is one of the first electro-industrial songs, with its relentless pounding synth loops, frantic beats, and lyrics dripping with vehemence. This is a song for all you spurned lovers looking for payback — how could they do that to you after all you’d given them?? When Colin Vearncombe sneers “Get out of my face!” you get the feeling that punk is alive and well and learning how to program sequencers. Play it loud and get it out your system my friend, just in case s/he doesn’t hear you.

End Of Part I

Part II

5. David Bowie — Five Years

Time for a mid-list apotheosis. You’ve got five years, give or take. Bowie is a man whose songs have come up again and again over the course of this Top 10 Tracks feature. The synthpoperati revere him and it’s with good reason: he’s one of the finest songwriters and performers England has ever produced, and directly influenced pretty much all the synth bands that came out of 1980s Britain. Everyone has their personal favourite Bowie song and this is mine: Five Years. Its understated fade-in heralds Bowie’s best ever album. After several pretty good albums, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars takes Bowie to his peak: it’s faultless and magnificent. Five Years tells of an Earth doomed to destruction and the aftermath of that knowledge; it’s like a complete sci-fi disaster movie rolled in to a four-and-a-half minute pop song. Each verse is an observational vignette, the signer walking through the city as the inhabitants face up to the stark realisation that they’re not going to live forever after all. Some lines are a bit clunky but starting the album with Five Years was a master-stroke, a stark but sentimental statement that sets the scene for the doomed life of Ziggy Stardust, rock star.

6. The Associates — Breakfast

Billy MacKenzie is my favourite singer. He’s irreplaceable. I’ve chosen Breakfast from Perhaps, 1985′s “ghost train of an album.” Plagued by set-backs and expensive re-workings, Perhaps was not the commercial success Warners had hoped for but it’s the record that introduced me to Billy and I still think it’s his best album. With producers including Martin Rushent and Martyn Ware, the credentials were there to give Perhaps a synthpop-based sound. But Billy’s voice always transcended whatever music accompanied him, and this is most apparent on orchestral synthpop ballad Breakfast. I’ve still no idea what he’s singing about here (a lover’s betrayal?) but that’s not the point: it’s how Billy sings it that matters. It soothes and seduces you, lulls you with lush strings and one of Billy’s most impressive performances ever.

7. Mary Coughlan — Red Ribbon

Back in my student days in Edinburgh, I knew this singer who introduced me to a bunch of new music I still enjoy to this day: Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie, Nitzer Ebb, and Irish jazz-folk singer Mary Coughlan. Coughlan had just released her second album Under The Influence; I’d never really listened to jazz or blues before and was surprised how much I liked it.With songs about prostitution, religious oppression, vices and addictions Mary tackles some serious subjects in a contemporary way. My favourite Mary Coughlan song is the lighter Red Ribbon from her 1990 album Uncertain Pleasures. Written by Mark Nevin from Fairground Attraction, Red Ribbon is a playful lament about what-might-have-been and how a song can remind you of past lovers, especially the ones you still carry a torch for. This song gets me every time.

8. The Divine Comedy — Going Downhill Fast

So this is a song about riding a bike down a hill. Not particularly inspirational you might think, but listen closely: this two-and-a-half-minute chamber-pop song can give you more of a jolt than any drug, can lift you up more than any self-help book, can raise your spirits more than any feel-good movie. Going Downhill Fast perfectly encapsulates the sharp wit and life-affirming theme of the Promenade album. What can be more thrilling than lifting your legs up and racing down a hill on your bike, danger be damned since “four times in five we forget we’re alive and neglect to remind ourselves.” It’s a joyous song from Neil Hannon’s best album I reckon. There’s even a Barber’s Quartet in this one: what more could you want?

9. The Beautiful South — I’m Your No. 1 Fan

Along with Frazier Chorus, The Beautiful South were one of the few 90s bands whose lyrics were always sharp and witty. Their album 0898 Beautiful South is full of clever, funny, bittersweet lines and packed with memorable pop songs from start to finish. I’m Your No.1 Fan is one of them, an endearing love song and homage but with darker undertones… it is The Beautiful South after all. Heaton and Corrigan take turns to describe their warts ‘n’ all background before an obsessive (but honest) declaration of love and devotion: “Amongst the false applause and deafening cheers, I’m your No.1 fan.” One for the stalkers then.

10. Kylie Minogue — Light Years

My last song is Light Years by Kylie, the perfect song for any disco-geek to depart with. Tucked away at the end of the album of the same name, Light Years is a finely-tuned slice of Moroderesque Hi-NRG disco music, with intergalactic tendencies and a pre-packed sci-fi concept. The lyrics are simple but charming (“Rocketing to Outer Space in orbit, take us to the pop stars on the moon“) and Ms. Minogue has never sounded so reassuring. I love the countdown intro, the phasing effects from 2:56, the helpful user instructions and credit-roll ending with those soothing synths and farewell message. It’s a fitting end and start to any journey, a disco requiem and shining hope for the future.

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Spotify Playlist

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In memory of Fergus Cooney, 1969 — 2010.

Their Top 10 Tracks: Closing Comments

afront — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:41:28 +0000

Last month, I asked about 60 bands and music folk I admire to send me a list of their Top 10 favourite songs, with a few words to say why that song was especially important to them. I said it was for a feature I had planned for my Spotify-injected music blog. Twenty-four of those musical maestros sent in their lists with commentary that was at turns enlightening, amusing, heart-warming, and above all inspiring.

It really has been a pleasure and honour to feature these guys: I want to thank you all for taking the time to respond and for coming up with such excellent and varied lists. You’ve opened my eyes (and hopefully a few reader’s eyes too) to the range and depth of musical inspiration and admiration behind some of my favourite artists around today. Respect!

Participants

I didn’t hear back from about half the bands I asked to participate. A couple took the time to reply to say they were currently too busy (Ladytron, Human League). These two being too busy was great news regardless A few bands agreed but unfortunately didn’t get their Top 10s done in time: Client, Katsen, Back To The Phuture, Mommy Hurt My Head. Maybe next time!

So thanks again to all the participants: Chi, Mirrors, Andres, Solvent, Oblique, Empire State Human, Adrian Longarms, Julian Brandt, Hyperbubble, Rupesh Cartel, Northern Kind, Jake, Electro Arc, I Monster, Electric Dream, Johan Billing, Slave Republic, Flux, Vision Talk, Orac, Tenek, Parralox, Andy Spotibot and Freezepop.

The Heroes

From the 24 Top 10′s, that should make 240 tracks give or take the Parralox effect. The range of selections was both surprising and all I’d hoped for. From classical to folk, jazz, and blues; from rock & roll to metal and alt-rock; from prog-rock to krautrock, disco and funk; from industrial and EBM to electro and synthpop. Yes, there were a lot of synthpop acts who participated in the feature and this is naturally reflected back to the Top 10s. But their diversity of choices was delightful and educational, and with Spotify providing 87% of the music (see below) it was a joy to listen along to such an eclectic selection.

Of course some bands were picked by more than one participant. The Top 10 of Top 10 Picks are:

Kraftwerk (picked 7 times)
Human League (picked 6 times)
Depeche Mode (picked 5 times)
David Bowie
Propaganda
Soft Cell
Elvis Presley
ABBA
Yazoo
OMD

As for individual songs, three were picked more than once:

Soft Cell’s Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
David Bowie’s Ashes To Ashes
P.Machinery by Propaganda

The Spotify Factor

Every list in the Top 10 Tracks feature had an accompanying “My Top 10″ Spotify playlist. Mostly this was so that you could listen along to the chosen tracks, but it also served to show just how deep Spotify’s musical archive is now. Across all the Top 10′s, the average was 8.7 out of 10 tracks available on Spotify. Many easily had all ten, while Electro Arc’s penchant for obscure tape-only EBM resulted in the lowest count of only 1 track available on Spotify. But at a success rate of almost 9/10 for a mostly random selection of songs, Spotify is clearly well on its way to the stated goal of hosting “all the world’s music.”

The Social Effect

Although there’s no kind of competition here, I thought it might be interesting to see which Top 10 lists have the biggest impact so far on Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify:

Most “Liked” on Facebook:

Bedsitland
Northern Kind
The Chanteuse & The Crippled Claw

Most Tweeted:

The Chanteuse & The Crippled Claw
Rupesh Cartel
I Monster

Most Subscriptions on Spotify:

Andres Sehr from Spotify
Planet Earth Rock And Roll
Electric Fantastic Sound, Oblique, The Chanteuse & The Crippled Claw, Bedsitland

Obviously the more recent Top 10s are at a disadvantage here, as are US-based bands for Spotify subscriptions (since most of their fans are unable to use Spotify).

My Top 10 Tracks

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Pansentient League’s Top 10 Tracks feature as much as I have. I lost my job recently so managing this gave me something to look forward to and a reason to get up in the morning! Normal service will resume shortly… before that though there’s one final Top 10 list to come: my own Top 10 Tracks by The Pansentient League. See you on the other side!

My Top 10 Tracks: Spotibot

afront — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:04:55 +0000

Spotibot is the Spotify-powered music-discovery service that took the Best Overall trophy in this year’s Spotify Community Site Awards. From its early days as a URL and Twitter tool for Spotify, Spotibot has grown into a suite of services for all Spotify users, most notably the Playlist Generator is the ideal resource when you’re looking for something new to listen to.

I asked Spotibot developer Andy Smith to tell us about his Top 10 favourite songs. With picks including The Flaming Lips, Belle and Sebastian, and Captain Kirk (!), Andy’s list is clearly a labour of love and his passion for music shines through in the track comments. Check it out below!

1. The Flaming Lips – The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song

The best gig I’ve ever been to was The Flaming Lips in Manchester when they were touring this album (At War with the Mystics). Anyone familiar with their gigs will be familiar with the unifying nature of their music set to laser-shows, giant foam hands, enormous balloons and confetti bazookas. I could have chosen pretty much any song from that accessible, poppy album, but this opener is a rich mix of clever lyrics, bouncy beats and the unique Flaming Lips craziness. It’s also the most light-hearted yet brutal analysis of the human condition ever etched into vinyl.

2. The Crash – Still Alive

The Crash are my guilty pleasure that I don’t feel at all guilty about. Finnish popmasters featuring driving 80s rhythms, samplers and synths that’d make Van Halen blush. I saw these guys at some crazy hour of the morning at an outdoor festival in Finland one summer. Being that far north meant the sun was still visible… then it started to rise again. Good times.

3. William Shatner – That’s Me Trying

I have the feeling I might be the only Pansentient Top 10 contributor to feature William Shatner, but this 2004 collaboration with Aimee Mann and Ben Folds blows away Shatner’s previous comically throwaway act to reveal a very personal record that has been elegantly penned by Shatner himself. Taking the form of a letter to his estranged daughter, and co-written with author Nick Hornby, this track really demonstrates how emotional a spoken-word record can be.

4. Cloud Cult – Take Your Medicine

If you’re here, I assume you’re a hardcore music fan, so you’ll understand the seriousness of this next statement: Cloud Cult are hands-down my absolute favourite band. Elegant, lyrical multi-instrumentalists who deserve a place in the Top 10 just for lead singer/songwriter Craig Minowa’s incredible ability to express difficult emotions through scrappy poetry. This song takes the idea of exploring your inner demons and exposing them for what they are in order to bring about a form of self-rebirth and allow the inner beauty to escape. Of course, he says it much better than I can, and doesn’t sound half bad doing so.

5. Belle and Sebastian – White Collar Boy

Belle & Sebastian made a name as lo-fi indie mumblers recording top tunes in an old hall. Then via a handful of 60s/funk inspired EPs they arrived with The Life Pursuit: a tour-de-force of incredible songwriting, catchy tunes and great subject material. I could have picked a number of songs from this album, but this track in particular has so many amazing lyrics in it. Even the backing singers get some: “She’s a Venus in flares and you wanna split hairs?” Brilliant.

6. Sigur Rós – Staralfur

I have always admired Sigur Rós for their ability to shape harmonious soundscapes without being bound by standardised themes, structure, and even language. They seem to have this magical ability to take the essence of sound and somehow develop these delicate, vulnerable, euphoric creations that no doubt took hours of work to fully realise.

7. Johnny Flynn – The Box

I’m definitely going indie-folk in my old age, and a chance Spotibot discovery of Johnny Flynn was a welcome addition to my growing love of the genre. His repetitive foot-stomping chorus is dangerously catchy and his style of delivery makes it simple fun to sing along to. I have been known to sing this track to myself around the office for days at a time.

8. Peter and the Wolf – Chemistry Set

A love song that draws emotional smilies from middle-school chemistry experiments? Yes please! “Like Group One metals in a wet sink; we’re volatile, volatile!” Clever, amusing, and oddly relateable.

9. Fun. – Be Calm

If you read my interview on Pansentient a few months ago I hope you’ve already heard this record. If not, why not? Discovered again via Spotibot, this opening track brilliantly offers a comforting lyric to anyone who absolutely reaches the end of their tether. Born from the ashes of the band The Format, Fun. prove there is dignity and credibility in modern pop.

10. The Decemberists – The Mariner’s Revenge Song

When I told my fiancée I put this on the list, she chuckled that “you can’t get any more Decemberists than that!” -- and she’s right. The ultimate story-song from the blackened, smoke-filled cobbled streets of Colin Meloy’s mind charts a journey of one young man’s quest to track down and extract terrible, gruesome revenge on his late mother’s rogue of an ex-lover. Don’t worry if that sounds too dark for you, the shanty-styled accordion keeps things bouncing along quite nicely.

Spotify Playlist

My Top 10 — Spotibot, featuring all 10 of Andy’s picks!

Links

Website: spotibot.com

My Top 10 Tracks: Parralox

afront — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 06:11:25 +0000

Parralox are the multi-talented John von Ahlen and Amii, two antipodean popsters who blend chart-friendly dance music with synthpop and Hi-NRG to produce a unique contemporary sound. I love these guys, I think they’ve produced some of the very best music to come out in the past few year. I reviewed their Isn’t It Strange single back in March and was honestly impressed: it’s chock-full of brilliant mixes and other exclusive tracks. With single Supermagic due out to coincide with their much-anticipated appearance at the Infest festival at the end of the month, and with 3rd album Metropolis planned for release in November, Parralox are a band whose prolific output is a delightful reward for their fans.

I got in touch with John and asked him to let us know his Top 10 favourite songs. With typical attention to detail, he replied with ten songs but then tweaked and changed his list several times before deciding on twelve songs with a plea to make it a Top 50 next time Here then are John’s chosen tracks!

1. Jean Michel Jarre — Ethnicolor

One of my all time favourite tracks ever, if not only for the brilliance of the Fairlight CMI programming, then for its sheer originality and execution. This album was (and will always be) ahead of its time. It still inspires me as much today, as when I first put the needle to the record in 1984. I’m listening to it right now (why aren’t you?)

2. This Mortal Coil -- Song To The Siren

Most people think I’m only into synthpop, but in actual fact I am obsessed with production and songwriting, no matter what musical form it takes. In the 80′s we were fortunate to witness an explosion of creativity which I haven’t seen since. This song is still a template for my production style today, vocals included. A classic song that I will never tire of. I could have chosen Massive Attack’s Teardrops, but Elizabeth Fraser sounds heavenly on all her recordings.

3. Depeche Mode — Stripped

Do I really need to tell anyone why this track is so good? It’s full of Blackness and Synclavier with a dash of Wilder. Close your eyes and be transported to a time when samplers were 12 bit and the world was naive. Is it any wonder that we tragically long for those simple days of synthetic perfection and recollection?

4. Propaganda — P:Machinery

So hard to chose just one Propaganda track. I could really have chosen anything off their debut album. This track compels me with its constant and hypnotic bassline. I still strive to achieve the perfection of this album. I could have just as easily chosen Femme Fatale or Dream Within A Dream.

5. Pet Shop Boys — Left To My Own Devices

I consider this to be the all time classic PSB track. Sometimes it’s hard to separate a good/bad track from the associated fond childhood memories it engenders, but this track remains forever treasured. Produced of course by an all time genius (Trevor Horn). It’s a perfect combination of pop sensibility and intellectualism.

6. Sinitta — I Don’t Believe In Miracles

One of SAW’s best ever songs (apart from What Do I Have To Do and Love, Truth & Honesty). I will never get sick of this one. Whenever you hear Syntom Snares in my songs, you can thank Sinitta. From the moment I first heard this in 1988 it’s been a fave. Most of her other songs have dated but this one has a timeless feel to it. I’ve heard that Sinitta hates this track. Shame really.

7. The Human League — Morale / You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling

When I was about 13 and an Australian Champion Ballroom dancer (Under 16′s Modern Category, 1981), I tried many times to get the dance instructors to play this track and convince them of its brilliance. I was always met with strange looks, which always puzzled me. Didn’t they understand how epic this track was? And still is.

8. Kate Bush — Running Up That Hill

What an amazing artist, what an amazing song and what an amazing video. It was difficult to choose between this, Cloudbusting, Babooshka and Wuthering Heights. Another example of English literary lyrical genius and Fairlight CMI programming that borders on the sublime. I nearly have a tear in my eye as I listen to this song and write these words. Really!

9. Kraftwerk — Radioactivity

I really hate having to list my top ten favourite songs. It would be much easier to list my top 1,000 favourite songs. It’s Kraftwerk: I don’t really need to explain further, do I? Maybe I should, as lyrically this is as close to an electronic Nirvana as I could imagine. It’s in the air for you and me….

10. The Human League — The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (Remix)

If you’ve read my interviews, you’ll know that The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (Love & Dancing Remix) is the track that brought together my love of electronics and music. I had never realised before that point that the two could be combined in such transcendent harmony. At certain times when I listen to this track I am simultaneously transported to my childhood, and also energised with such a ferocious burst of inspiration it’s scary. But that’s the power of music.

11a. New Order — Confusion (12″ Version)

11b. The Human League — Fascination (Improvisation)

Sorry but I have to add this combo. I remember buying these two 12″ Vinyl records from Missing Link in Geelong. I think it was Missing Link… it was a well known record store that sold heaps of cool imports. Anyway I bought them both at the same time and played them back to back for months on end. Those four fucking amazing mixes of Confusion! I’m still trying to attain that greatness in my own production. And then the newly funked up Human League, who actually managed to crack a smile on the front cover of Fascination! What’s that all about? Well, Fascination was brilliant too, especially the Improvisation.

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Spotify Playlist

My Top 10 — Parralox, featuring 8 of John’s 12 (ahem) chosen songs
Listen to Parralox on Spotify

Links

Website: parralox.com
MySpace: myspace.com/parralox
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Parralox/53192255503

My Top 10 Tracks: Freezepop

afront — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:00:54 +0000

Freezepop are an American electropop band who released their first album Freezepop Forever in 2000. They’ve since released two more albums and a slew of excellent EPs, remix albums and singles. Freezepop’s tech-savvyness and geek-friendly attitude has resulted in many of their songs being featured in videogames like Frequency, Amplitude, Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I’ve been a huge fan of these guys since the beginning: their quirky fun sound and East-coast cyberchic is the perfect antidote for Scotland’s bland indie guitar bands and dreary weather. After a slight personnel shuffle Freezepop are now finishing off their shiny new album called Imaginary Friends, planned for release in November. I asked singer-songwriter and founder member Liz Enthusiasm for a list of her Top 10 favorite songs. You might be surprised by some of her choices: check it out below!

1. Duran Duran — Last Chance on the Stairway

My favorite song, ever, ever. That bridge?! Holy moly. After having seen a great many Duran Duran shows without seeing them play this, they FINALLY added it to their set list the last time I saw them. It made me a very happy girl.

2. A-ha — The Sun Always Shines on TV

I recently saw all three NYC shows on their farewell tour. They are so incredible live! Morten can still hit the high notes and makes it seem effortless. They are criminally underrated in America.

3. The Human League — Seconds

I had a bit of a hard time deciding which Human League song to choose, but this one won. BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME.

4. The Church — Destination

Starfish is one of my all-time classic albums, and this song is the dreamiest.

5. Ride — Unfamiliar

Oh man, I loved Ride. They were just one of those bands I was instantly smitten with. I want Ride to get back together. Can this happen? Please?

6. INXS — Don’t Change

Listen Like Thieves was a very close second.

7. Stone Roses — I Am the Resurrection

Yes!

8. Low — Words

I’ve loved almost everything they put out, but it’s still the first song on their first album that’s my favorite. It’s so amazingly stark.

9. Tribeca — Modern Issues of the Heart

I guess they’re the only “new” synthpop I have on this list (i.e. made in this decade). The Scandinavians are gifted when it comes to electronic pop, it’s like magic.

10. Journey — Any Way You Want It

This song kicks so much ass!! I know Don’t Stop Believin’ has had quite a revival, but just try not to sing along to this at the top of your lungs. (If you are able to resist, perhaps you are not a very “fun” person.)

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Spotify Playlist

My Top 10 — Freezepop, featuring 9 of Liz’s 10 chosen tracks
Listen to Freezepop on Spotify

Links

My Top 10 Tracks: Electronically Yours

afront — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:00:18 +0000

Electronically Yours is one of the longest-running synth-pop websites. Originally a Human League fansite, EY has since grown to encompass all-things synthpop and electropop, focusing on both established acts as well as up-and-coming bands. Site owner and editor Orac is ably assisted by his team of contributors, chief of whom is the enigmatic Babooshka. As well as running the website, Orac masterminds the Electronically Yours record label which has put out some fantastic releases, including the superb compilation Electronically Yours Volume 1. Gorgeously packaged, this 2x CD features the very best of current female-fronted analogue electro.

I asked EY for a list of their Top 10 current favourite tracks. Orac and Babooshka provided five picks each along with some excellent commentary. Check it out below!

1. La Roux – Under My Thumb

[Orac] I’ve never really had much time for The Rolling Stones surprisingly enough or anything from the 60′s (except maybe Dr Who or the odd track by The Kinks). One night several years back during Client’s Being Boiled club night in Notting Hill, the DJ broke away from Kraftwerk classics and slipped in Under My Thumb. I had no idea that it was a Stones track and I was rather oddly nodding my head along to it thinking that the bassline would work really well if it was belted out by some unstable old analogue synth. Elly Jackson aka La Roux have just recorded a cover of this track that is rumoured to be the next single and she sings it beautifully. It’s not quite what I was expecting -- the original guitar bassline has been totally removed but in its place comes some lovely Blancmange-like synthy bits. Quite a radical re-working really.

2. The Knife – Marble House

[Babooshka] With a love for Karin Driejer Andersson’s vocals and fearless approach to making electronic music, I could easily fill my choices with The Knife and Fever Ray. Experimental to the point of this year’s bonkers Darwinistic Electro Opera, it is hard to choose with classics like Silent Shout and Heartbeats. A favourite for me is the eerie weirdness of Marble House and with the quirky appeal of this Nordic duo, the live versions are always the best. Thanks to ‘The Orac’ for introducing me to The Knife after my complaints of recent electro music being ‘samey’ and not pushing any boundaries.

3. Blancmange –What’s Your Problem (Extended)

[Orac] When I first heard La Roux’s debut, I was initially delighted that someone had decided to resurrect the Blancmange sound — a band who were very original, should have had more hits and should have had a bigger following. Months later, La Roux’s camera shy Ben Langmaid would later admit to being a huge fan of this almost forgotten synth duo and the influence is obvious in their Bulletproof. The inclusion of What’s Your Problem on La Roux’s Sidetracked compilation prompted us to dig out a very dusty 20 year old CD of Blancmange’s Greatest Hits and this track was tucked away at the end. It was never a huge hit (reaching number 40) and was barely played on national radio at the time. I heard it just the once. Fell in love with it then quickly forgot about the track for years. Love it even more to the point where I can’t stop playing or blipping it. The chorus is fabulous. Why wasn’t this a bigger hit and why have Blancmange shunned the retro tour circuit? I think Neil Arthur & Stephen Luscombe could make a killing here.

4. Miss Kittin and the Hacker – 1000 Dreams

[Babooshka] Electroclash queen Miss Kittin and her loyal hacker are another top choice for me. With her provocative and heavily accented deadpan humour in the track Frank Sinatra and 1982 packed with cool references from electro’s heyday, you can’t help but love the shiny synth pop catchiness of last year’s 1000 Dreams from their recent album. With continual discussion over gender dominance in electro, the boy/girl combo continues to work unfalteringly as far back as Yazoo.

5. May68 – My Ways

[Orac] Mancunian electro with May68 who many probably wouldn’t have heard of with fellow Mancs Hurts and Delphic being marked as “the ones to watch.” Hurts have struggled a little bit whilst Delphic can be found in bargain bins. On a commercial level boy led electro has struggled in replicating the success of La Roux and Ladyhawke who both had the tunes and all important hooks. On the back of My Ways, May68 grabbed a slot at Glasto and it proves the power and pull of a perfect unpretentious pop song. Featuring classic boy girl vocal interaction and a stomping chorus, this is probably one of the best tracks I’ve heard so far this year by a new act. They look as if they are having a lot of fun too in the process which makes me think that Hurts need to smile more and avoid the mistakes of their last video. Factory Records legend Mark Reeder contacted EY after hearing My Ways. EY fixed it for Mark and there could well be a Reeder mix for the next May 68 single.

6. Crystal Castles – Vietnam

[Babooshka] 2010 pick has to be from the brilliant second album from Canadian duo Crystal Castles. Fearlessly experimental again and despite all the accusations over sampling, they still manage to sound unique. Surprisingly melodic tracks like Celestica and Suffocation give way to shrieky techno Baptism and the beautifully sampled Sigur Ros on Year of Silence. A hard choice as this is on continual play at the moment but for me Vietnam stands out with its memorable build up of crunchy synths and unpredictable appeal.

7. Yazoo – Happy People

[Orac] I must have played You & Me Both just twice following the shock of the Yazoo split. I was so devastated that I wiped my c-60 copy with something like Howard Jones’ Humans Lib -- the actions of an electro emo, according to the lovely Babooshka. It wasn’t until the Yazoo live gig in London of 2008 where the second album struck me as being rather brilliant. EMI sent EY HQ the remastered boxset a while back and it’s been like discovering a new electronic gem once we finally took it out of the flimsy box. Happy People is a chirpy Vince classic with some odd lyrics and I’ve been playing it an awful lot lately. Could have been a single?

8. Bat for Lashes – What’s A Girl To Do?

[Babooshka] Not technically electro but I’m hiding behind Orac on this one as I know he loves it too. Natasha Khan hasn’t returned to anything that quite sounds like What’s A Girl To Do? which is a pity as this early track is just hypnotically brilliant. Whimsical dark pop is always a winner for me and the seemingly Donnie Darko inspired video suits it perfectly. For the electro purists there are some more synthy led remixes of this track but they are not nearly as good.

9. Propaganda – Dr Mabuse (Long Version)

[Orac] For the last few weeks I’ve been mainly listening to a CDR copy of the SACD version of A Secret Wish and falling back in love with it all. The remastering on this version is simply quite amazing. In a recent interview with EY, Ralf Dorper mentioned that Susanne Freytag had been lot in the mix but you can hear more of her in the SACD version. Propaganda are fascinating for all this audio variations and extra mixes but best of all is how timeless all this album sounds. It could easily have been recorded this year a few doors away from the Crystal Castles studio. It’s hard to believe that there is 25 years between A Secret Wish and Castles 2 (my fave album of the year….so far). Very hard to pick a favourite from A Secret Wish but I guess their most iconic hit is Dr Mabuse -- the track that would go on to inspire the Pet Shop Boy’s Left To My Own Devices (probably the Pet’s finest singular moment). 7m.05 s into the original Long Mix simply sums up our love for this genre. Ralf referred to its “relentlessly marching basslines” and 25 years on, this piece of music with sweeping orchestras and analogue chords sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Geniuses…. the lot of them….. and everyone should own a copy of the lovely deluxe edition.

10. Depeche Mode – Perfect

[Babooshka] Could be highly predictable with Depeche Mode but feel like flirting with controversy with this one and picking from Sounds of the Universe. I love this album and think Gore/Gahan came back successfully with their classic brand of synth and new wave guitar sound. I’m going for the melodic loveliness and strong bassline of Perfect after weighing it up against the ill fortune of Wrong, the mind cleaning declarations of Peace and innocence of Little Soul. Perfect to me sounds as good as anything on Violator and they continue to be creative and deliver with fresh electro arrangements when a lot from the same era now sound worn out.

Spotify Playlist

My Top 10 – Electronically Yours, featuring 7 of Orac and Babooshka’s chosen tracks. The extended versions of the Blancmange and Propaganda tracks are not yet on Spotify, so I substituted the regular versions and added the Stone’s original for the La Roux cover.

Links

Website: league-online.com

My Top 10 Tracks: Tenek

afront — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:55:23 +0000

Tenek are Geoff Pinckney and Pete Steer, a UK-based synth band with a sound that features shades of classic electronica fused with a contemporary twist: synthpop with futurepop leanings. Debut album Stateless was one of my favourite albums of 2009 and I recently reviewed (and loved!) their new single. Tenek’s highly-anticipated follow-up album On The Wire will be released next month; you can pre-order it here. I asked Pete for a list of his Top 10 favourite tracks: check it out below, with inspired picks from the likes of Nine Inch Nails, White Lies, and Ultravox!

1. Gary Numan — We Are Glass

Everybody always picks Cars or Are Friends Electric? but I actually prefer this as I think it’s more anthemic. Gary Numan was my first musical hero and what inspired me to want to be a musician.

2. David Bowie — Ashes To Ashes

I just love everything about this song, the lyrics and vocal delivery and the soaring synth solo at the end is truly stunning.

3. Thomas Dolby — One Of Our Submarines

Thomas Dolby was never quite as big as he should have been in the 80′s but he’s a musical genius. This atmospheric song has a great melody which I’ve always thought sounded slightly similar to the theme from The 6 Million Dollar Man!

4. Nine Inch Nails — Head Like A Hole

I first heard this in 1990 when a friend of mine came back from the USA with the Pretty Hate Machine CD. I like the way the track just lifts off in the chorus; it opened my music tastes to a harder style of electronic music than before.

5. Heaven 17 — Let Me Go

Not the obvious choice of song from them as I don’t think it even dented the charts but it’s a fantastic song with a great production. We actually got our band name from the Heaven 17 track Fascist Groove Thang -- we thought it was the sound of the echo at the end!

6. White Lies — To Lose My Life

A more recent track for a change. I think the lyrics of this track are superb and their début album of the same name is quite something for such a young band. Fantastic chorus too!

7. Ultravox — All Stood Still

One of my favourite bands, this is such a powerful track and a perfect mix of guitar and electronics. Finally got to see them live last year for the first time and they didn’t disappoint.

8. Queens Of The Stone Age — Go With The Flow

My brother introduced me to this band and I was immediately hooked. This song has a great video and is from Songs For The Deaf which is one of my favourite albums of all time. I went to see them live in Brighton a few years back and it was the loudest gig I’ve ever been to, I couldn’t hear properly for days afterwards!

9. John Foxx — Burning Car

He was an innovator of electronic music in the late 70′s but didn’t really get the credit he deserved as others came along and had greater success. This is a great track with a fantastic lead synth line and cool, spooky atmosphere.

10. OMD — Messages (Single Version)

Again, not the obvious choice but I prefer this as it has a great sound and is much improved from the version on their début album. Have seen them live many times and they always put on a great show.

Spotify Playlist

My Top 10 — Tenek, featuring all 10 of Tenek’s chosen tracks!
Listen to Tenek on Spotify

Links

Website: tenek.info
MySpace: myspace.com/tenekuk
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/tenek/101146076592883