La Roux :: I'm Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)

Everyone has now heard of La Roux. She is rather large and over-remixed. Why over-remixed? Well if you download the track below, you will hear what I mean. It has been changed to the point, that Jack Beats could have easily got away with changing the lyrics and calling it his own song. True story. That's not to say for a minute though that I disapprove of the track. I think it would fit in perfectly with most of the beats I imagine are played in Claremont. I got your back - Jocks are people too. For a La Roux mash-up of note with the Killers, click here.


La Roux :: I'm Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix) (zShare)

Metric :: Help I'm Alive (80kidz remix)

So, as stated before, Metric's latest release (Fantasies) is awesome. Today they released a remix. It seems as though 80kidz have got hold of Help I'm Alive as has every major DJ, and played around with it just a little. It has a little somethin-somethin. Give it a whirl.

Metric :: Help I'm Alive (80kidz remix) (zShare)

Bloc Party :: Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles)

Hunting for Witches was one of Bloc Party's giant tracks off Weekend In The City. I first heard Crystal Castles when I got their self titled album. I loved (among others) Crimewave (Crystal Castles VS Health). It is a winner. I stumbled across this remix, and I knew I had to have it.

Without further adieu:

Bloc Party :: Hunting for Witches (Crystal Castles) (zShare)

Yacht

When someone tells me that such-and-such-a-band are going to be playing in Melbourne when i am going to be there, and I haven't really heard too much about them, I do some research. I have now listened to bits and pieces and am getting pretty freaking excited to see them perform.

Yacht, this wonder duo from the US got hold of Phoenix's track, Armistice off their ridiculously huge album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

Armistice (YACHT Remix) - Phoenix (zShare)

I am going to see them on 12 December in Melbourne.

Myspace

Site

Originals, Remixes, Covers and All Round Happiness

Over the last few days (or week) I have been fortuitous enough to stumble across some very cool tracks. I thought I would share.

La Roux have been all over, making them one of the fastest sellout bands I have heard. They have been mashed with 'original sellout' boys, The Killers. It's actually a pretty cool mash-up. Take a listen:

Smile like you're bulletproof - The Killers vs La Roux (zShare)

Katy Perry seems to be getting her music on with every major electro act (I think particularly back to her mixing it up with Calvin Harris on the song, Waking up in Vegas). Now Boys Noize have collabed with Perry:

Katy On Boys (Katy Perry vs Boys Noize) - Dunproofin' (zShare)

So Metric's new album is such a winner. Fantasies has attracted a lot of acclaim from top music critics. They have also allowed for some sweet downloads of acoustic and on occasions, original versions of the songs from the album.

Gimme Sympathy - Metric (zShare)

Hot Chip's album, Made in the Dark disappointed a lot of people as it was way more chilled than their previous attempt, The Warning. One of the tracks that was remixed to death was their single, Ready for the Floor, a more upbeat club track. Lissy Trullie has gone one better (because there are only so many remixes that can be made of a song before it's just not recognisable). She's done a cover.

Ready For The Floor (Hot Chip Cover) - Lissy Trullie (zShare)

Enjoy kids. I know I have.

The Eigenharp

So, one of the world's newest instruments has been launched. The Eigenharp is a very interesting music making device that might be the sound of the future. It retails for $5,8k, so there is no rush to purchase it.

This bizarre instrument is part woodwind, part drum and part piano. It can be blown, tapped and stroked to make sweet sounds, or you know, not so sweet sounds if you suck at playing it. (For the record, there was no innuendo intended for this last sentence.)

The Eigenharp is the brainchild of John Lambert, a musician and software entrepreneur, whose Devon-based team has been working on the project for eight years. He got tired of setting up loads of instruments every time he played a gig.

If you want to see this piece of magic in action, click here.

Beatenberg: The New NICE

Over the weekend, I was fortuitous enough to stumble across a Beatenberg gig. I kinda crashed a birthday party where they were playing. They were unfortunately already halfway through their set when I arrived, but the few songs I did catch, I couldn't help but be reminded a little of Vampire Weekend. They were refreshing, fun, and had a wicked cool conversational stage presence.

Check out their Myspace. They have a couple of cool songs on there that I have listened to on repeat.

Also, Robin (the drummer) sent me this track for you to download:

In B Flat - Beatenberg

Up Coming Shows:

Oct 24 2009 8:00P	Obz Cafe	Cape Town
Oct 28 2009 9:00P	The Assembly (Annex)	Cape Town
Oct 31 2009 9:00P	Hectic on Hope	Cape Town
Nov 3 2009 9:00P	The Waiting Room	Cape Town
Nov 6 2009 8:00P	The Intimate Theatre	Cape Town
Nov 7 2009 8:00P	& Union	Cape Town
Dec 9 2009 9:00P	The Assembly	Cape Town

Ashtray Electric Outplay Dirty Skirts

Rudi

Ashtray Electric and the Dirty Skirts played on Saturday night at Assembly. It was a good party. AE kicked things off with one of their best sets that I’ve seen. Unfortunately, Dirty Skirts open for no-one. As a result a nearly half full Assembly venue got to enjoy what the entire place should have been fortuned to witness – an energy sapping, musically extravagant act where their was never a thought that the lads were ‘going through the motions’. One thing is guaranteed at an AE show, you will witness them having fun on stage and interacting with the crowd. For all the love and fame they have acquired, they are still humble, level headed oakes who love music and can be seen chatting with almost anyone prior to or after a show.

Andre

Then Dirty Skirts came on and sang a few songs that went something like, “Woooooaaaah, Woooooooaaaaaaaaah” and on occasions, they threw in the odd “Cape Town!” for good measure, just in case anyone wonders where they are from. I didn’t enjoy their show and haven’t since they took a six month break from playing CT clubs to record their latest album. That was a long while ago.

Jeremy singing, "Woooaaah Cape Town!"

Photographs curtesy of the lovely (and now really bald) LizeKay. Follow her rants on twitter and check out her blog.

The Dirty Skirts and Ashtray Electric @Assembly tomorrow night

This will be this weekend's highlight I reckon. Ashtray and Skirts face-off. Get your tickets now.

More information here.

Arctic Monkeys X Dizzee Rascal

I have posted this song already, but I feel the need to emphasize the track in the title of the post.

Arctic Monkeys: it's as if everything they touch turns to gold. They teamed up with Dizzee Rascal known rather for a genre of 'music' I would not even like to name on my blog. (Yes, I am that pretentious.) But it's a great track.

Temptation Greets You Like A Naughty Friend w/ Dizzee Rascal - Arctic Monkeys (zShare)

They also launched the Cornerstone video yesterday. Apparently it's pretty average. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

Annie - I Don't Like Your Band

I stumbled across this young lady and the below track earlier this week, and was not amazed, but hung onto it all the same. Since then, it has grown on me, to the point, that I am even posting it on my blog!! Wow. Way to break the more-than-a-week silence! This is actually a banging tune.

And, if you are a regular reader of Smack Talk, you will know I have been struggling with cheaply constructed and mass produced sounds. Annie missed proposed release date after proposed release date to tweak and fine tune things she was 'unhappy' with. Even in the face of leaked versions of the album, she has pushed on to perfect her sound. She has done well, a lady after my own heart. Her track, I Don't Like Your Band is testament to work ethic. The full album is due to be released on 17 November, (via The Hype Machine).

Annie - I Don't Like Your Band (zShare)

Lenny Kravitz X Justice - Let Love Rule

I used to love Lenny Kravitz's tracks like American Women and what-not, but haven't really given him an ear in recent times. This morning, while I was still wiping the sleep from my eyes, I stumbled across a this video. It's really something quite unique.

It's definitely worth a watch!

Pretty Lights : : Passing By Behind Your Eyes

(Album Artwork)

I stumbled across this album (via The Hype Machine). I am still unsure of how I feel about it, but I don't dislike it. There are parts of it that I really like, although some parts that might be a little too house-sounding for me. On the whole, it makes for some great background, lounge sound for lazy summer evening with wine, cigars, friends and laughter.

Their website is also quite awesome, very interactive and flashy. Take a look, download their album free from their site, and make up your own mind.

Pretty Lights Website

Midnight Juggernauts - This New Technology (music video)