Had a cracker of a night on Friday seeing Zane Lowe play Sugarbeat at Cabaret Voltaire. Blau! was the first track he played and I hadn’t fully appreciated just how BIG that track was. Here are some more jamz I’ve been bopping my head to. The Rubix remix is by far the best on the Romane EP. This fresh-ass Foamo remix is also catchy as hell. Finally, got emailed by the Don Diablo posse his new track with Sidney Samson. Samsonite! I was way off.
The two people in this car were charged with “reckless conduct”. Bet you a fucking tenner they were listening to the following CHOONS on full blast. The driver probably thought “Yeah fuck it, I’m driving down a frozen river!Take that SUCKAAAS!”
I swear to god if Uffie came out with ‘Electric Shock’ she’d be cleared of crimes to music instantly. We Love Machines are really rather good. You should look into them.
This is what I got up to on New Years. Missed Aeroplane unfortunately because I was bringing in the bells at a house party :’( Great night. Highlight? When Erol blasted the Harvard Bass remix of Acid Girls.
Here are my favourite songs of 2009. I seriously could have went into the hundreds on this one but I seriously cannot be holed. Besides this top 20 took me fecking ages. Enjoy!
20. Major Lazer – Pon De Floor
To me this song sounds like it should be released in 2015, it’s THAT ahead of its time. As it is, it ended up sending dancefloors into chaotic frenzies whenever it was played in 2009.
The first half of this song I imagine myself cycling along an old cobbled street Hovis-stylee, the sun hot on the back of my neck. The second half, the street turns into a grassy hill and I’m speeding down it, racing my giggling friends who all look like they’ve jumped out of a T-Mobile ad. I’m wearing GAP obvs.
Why did this song not blow-up chart-wise? I swear to god I was so sure Radio 1 would be playing the shit out this banger. Not Tiga’s fault – I blame marketing. WTF were they thinking. Such a catchy track with funny lyrics that should appeal to Joe Public. Fuck them, Tiga, it’s the sound of your talent.
First summer anthem of the list (well it’s my favourite season after all) and out of the stalls runs a fucking camel with a party hat. Yes Wilco are brilliant – I don’t even need to exlain why this song rocks my cocks.
There’s something missing on the album version of this song, hence why I’ve picked the 12″ Mix as my number 16 track of 2009. I love Javelin because all I can hear when I listen to them is potential.
15. Royksopp – The Girl And The Robot (Feat. Robyn)
One of the best pop songs of 2009. Robyn is absolutely stunning on this track. The melody sounds so familiar to me too but that’s how good Royksopp are I guess. Stop playing mind games on me, fuckers.
Hypnotic as hell, I think I played this song about 20 times in a row after the first listen. Starts to worm away at your conscious state after about 2-mins. Cracking remix.
The good bit doesn’t shimmy in until about 3-mins in but this song still makes me have the ‘YES feeling’. Sampling the Grateful Dead was a masterstroke. I’ve heard the song they pinched “What Would I Want? Sky” from and the lyrics are actually “Sky! Whoa, I walk“. My mind boggles at their talent.
Of the songs on this list, this song probably best summarises my life in 2009. I wasn’t a deadbeat (although I did try like hell), but I think the world was. Global recession, climate catastrophes and the death of MJ. Did we care? Did we fuck. We were deadbeats.
THE catchiest chorus of the year I swear I even heard the cast of Greggs the bakers singing this when I went in for a sausage roll. More than that though, this is a fucking fantastic song. What a nerve La Roux has to think she can sing “Bulleeeeeeeetproof” and get away with it. If only more songwriters had the confidence to extend a word like that.
“Ra Ra Ah Ah Ah, Roma Ro Ma Ma, Ga Ga Ooh La La” She’s a filthy bitch eh, but she’s only gone and nailed the pop single of the 2009 for me. People, we’re in the early (and extremely talented) stages of this bint’s career. Think Prince/Bowie/MJ. Cherish it while it lasts – she’ll soon be seen wearing nout but a merkin to the Grammys 2012, marrying Susan Boyle in 2016 and replacing compare the fucking meercat dot com in 2020. “Seemples Ro Ma Ma“. Or not.
If a dance floor ever needed to be quickly turned into a pit of writhing bits, tits & clits then just hit them with this. Out-doing most DJs this year in my opinion, Proxy had a cracking year for his original material as well as his remixes for other people. This Tiga remix is my favourite by a country mile. Proxy got what we need, babe.
This song is to blame/thank for one of the most euphoric moments of my life, followed by one of the most hungover days of my life – hence the blame. Yet I’d happily go through a week of hangovers just to experience the pure joy I felt when hearing Grum play this when I saw him a couple of months back.
Forget Lisztomania, lets bring it back to 1901. Why are there less remixes for this song compared to Lisztomania? I’ll tell you – because it’s hard to top perfection – and with a chorus made for kings who could possibly contemplate mashing this up!? Indie discos were lit up with the sound of Phoenix in 2009, and so they should have been.
“Fuck!” Duke Dumont, along with being a super duper talented DJ also shows to me that he’s got a sense of humour – and I love that. Chopping this song up so much that he’s basically diced potty-mouth Lily Allen into a million pieces and reassembled them – Transformers-stylee - into something bigger and better.
The final summer anthem on this list and one I feel would sound good sound-tracking the End Credits to my life. Just look at the cover of his ‘Well Known Pleasures’ EP. If the camera were to pan around 180-degrees, I imagine it would see a beach full of sun-kissed twenty-somethings dancing their hearts out listening to this song and it would be the best moment of their lives. Now how’s that for hyping a song?
One of the very first posts on Scottish Friction (back when I was still using blogspot – hi old fans!) was this song. Sounding like a bomb blast stuck on repeat, this track absolutely kills when I’ve heard it on the dancefloor. Absolute genius. Oh and p.s. Royksopp’s album should have probably got an honourable mention in SF’s Best Albums Of 2009.
Although it takes about a minute and a half to get into it the pay-off is worth it. Gloriously chopped up vocal samples slide alongside soul-beating bass notes. You won’t be disappointed. He should rename himself dub-steppenwolf. That’s not even funny. Definitely one to watch on 2010.
So much more complex than they make it sound (seriously, listen again), ‘Two Weeks’ blew me away when I first heard it – and it has held up to repeated listens amazingly. Plinking keys, angelic harmonies and drums that are out of this fucking world (that school bell smashing at the end makes me play air drums every time). This should be played to everyone.
1. Florence And The Machine – You Got The Love (The xx remix)
Yeah I know it’s a remix of a cover but it is by far the best version of this song. It’s comparable to when Bob Dylan said that Hendrix’s version of ’All Along The Watchtower’ was “Jimi’s song”. ‘You Got The Love’ now belongs to The xx as far as I’m concerned – they just perfected an already great song. The stuttery drums, the wayward bassline, the sexy interplay between the kids xx, and as if to add insult to injury they go and chop up Florence + The Arsehole’s vocals to buggery. If I was Candi Staton/Flo now I’d be howling in pain after getting my arse handed to me by a bunch of brilliant 20-year-olds.
Saw Jack Beats on Friday there and they (or should I say he – it was one guy, I thought Jack Beats were two people???) tore the fucking roof off the Cabaret Voltaire. Was rammed and sweaty and pushy but the beats were glorious. The one that I lost my shit for was SonicC. I’d never heard it before but it completely blew my mind. So after ID-ing the track (thanks Erol Alkan Forum) I’ve played it to death. I also love Kissy’s version which is a lot more playful.
When Jack Beats “dropped the bassline” the place went mental – I think I got about 4 elbows to the windpipe. The last two tracks I’m posting are just big bangers that deserve to be played at full volume. First is RipTidE who I’ve posted about before – his track Fk Me is huge and sexy and kinda sounds like Santa farting and you should download it immediately. Second is the excellent Para One remix of Boys Noize which I’d only first heard a couple of days ago.
Saw Steve Aoki on Friday just there. I was absolutely hammered and therefore dancing like an absolute gimp on the dance-floor. He played a really good set and did about 150 stage dives – love it, wish more DJs would do that. And yes he played Warp 1.9 and yes it was amazing. I shook his hand at the end for being a legend.
No Steve Aoki songs but Dim Mak-related material so stop complaining. Plus I ♥The Bloody Beetroots. Their Groove Armada remix is one of my favourite this year – I bet in the live environment it’s fucking euphoric. The Timbaland remix packs a big punch too.
Radio discoveries next. Kissy Sell Out played this Lucky Dip remix the other day and it stood out right away as one of the best ones he played – it actually made me smile when I first heard it. Takes a while to get into (~1min before it stutters in) but is a really playful remix and it’s worth the wait. Heard this Felix Da Housecat remix on Alex Metric’s Radio 1 show and same again, it stood out from the pack so I’ve ripped it for your pleasure. Finally, this Jaymo & Andy George (another Radio 1 staple) remix is fantastic. Exactly what I want from a remix.
Polymath is a very promising new DJ from the capital of the Highlands (Inverness) and fashions dancefloor grenades from Electro and Disco-House with added WAMP WAMPBANG BANGWTFWASTHAT! Recently featured on the Andy & Jaymo show on Radio 1, he’s also been getting colossal interest from Ministry Of Sound, who wanted ‘Azza Azza’ for their new Hed Kandi ‘Destroy The Disco‘ but unfortunately he couldn’t get his sample cleared in time. BOOOOO! The tune actually reminds me of Fake Blood’s ‘I Think I Like It’ and I think I LOVE it. See what I did there.
‘Azza Azza’ has DANCEFLOOR written all over it. ‘Diamond Berry’ has this mental muffled fuzz breakdown in it that I can’t stop spinning. Polymath also likes to remix and here he’s made ‘Rock City’ by Sonic Tramp actually listenable! Watch out for that drop at 1.15 (d-_-b)
Arthur’s Seat from Blackford Hill, Edinburgh
Head over to his Myspace right now and give him some love!
The internet is a fast moving beast, so the streaming MP3s that are posted may not work after a while due to them being taken down. And since I can't be arsed uploading them all again it's tough shite. I'll always post a link to a downloadable MP3 though. As always, if you like what you hear - away and buy it eh!
p.s. if I've put up a song you'd rather not see here then let me know, you can email me here
