Nalin & Kane -
Beachball (Joris Voorn Remix)
Label: Superfly
This originally came out in 96. It was never fully established why it was called beachball although I'll hazard a guess it wasn't a social commentary on lonely Goths in Ilford bedsits. No this screamed holiday anthem in large fluorescent lights. I vividly recall how the massed ranks of the dance press sank to their knees in collective awe, journalists were despatched to farflung corners of Germany to track down the mysterious Nalin & Kane and the battle to get that record signed. It represented a new breed of Ibiza anthem, more ephemeral in scope than the fluffy handbag which dominated the charts of the time. It went on to spend a year in the dance charts and became what the spanish might call a "bombazo".
And so man of the hour Joris Voorn has taken on the unenviable task of updating the track for 2010. And by jove has he done it well. The distinctive techy imprint of 2009's remixer du jour Michel Cleis can also be felt on this track although Joris Voorn has carved his own identity on the track. This is the sound of modern house and it will be ubiqutious on the larger floors this summer.
Professor Green feat. Ed Drewett -
I Need You Tonight
Label: EMI
I don't always feel entirely comfortable with remixed classics. Although not nearly as uncomfortable as I was an hour ago when exposed to the musings of the halfwit more commonly known to his Mum as Professor Green. A one-time associate of The Streets I am led to believe, his current release I need you tonight is a barely plausible rehash of the INXS classic. Professor Green has a much more interesting name than INXS but INXS had a much more interesting story, unless of course Professor Green also had lost weekends with Paula Yates, in which case he would cut an interesting figure too. But he didn't and unless he's a necrophile I doubt he ever shall either.
Underworld -
Scribble
I just had a listen to Underworld's latest offering too. I was Underworld's biggest fan from 1993-2007. This is dreadful. The alarm bells started ringing when I heard they'd started "hanging around" with the decidedly pointless Mark Knight, and the influence of his drab prog-by-numbers seems depressingly emphatic. To reiterate, I loved Underworld so much. They reinvented the way I saw live dance music. They put together the best live shows on the planet. They shaped lives. I spent more money on their music than on any other artist since The Beatles. Let's hope this disturbing record is a one-off.
Tracey Thorn
Love And Its Opposite
Label: Strange Feeling
The new Tracey Thorn LP on the other hand represents an ageing talent still at the top of her game - I heart Tracey Thorn - she is possibly the classiest Englishwoman on the planet after Janet Ellis and Delia Smith. And she makes damn good records too,. firstly with everything but the girl but also through countless collaborations with the great and the good - Massive Attack, Martin Buttrich, Style Council, Adam F, Tiefschwarz and her latest with Ewan Pearson, 'Why does the wind' - a rather beautiful, searing, string-laden example of almost perfect electronic pop.
Tracey Thorn and Ewan Pearson - Why Does the Wind