THE BEST MUSIC: NEW & OLD
“This is a prime example of a pure temptation. Oh boy, your touch is heaven. This is the kind of feeling I could ride forever. Let’s push, together.”
It’s Gabe Gurnsey’s Push, released Erol Alkan’s Phantasy Sound label. The vocals are from Gabe’s collaborator and girlfriend Tilly Morris.
Uncomplicated electro house with an infectious energy. Rip in.
Happy New Year HME crew. I’m looking forward to what 2022 has to offer, but before then, one final post on 2021.
I’ve started to form a bit of a theory: are personalised end of year wrap-ups a bit like dreams? Everyone finds their own fascinating and everyone else’s immensely boring…
Anyway… here are my most played tracks of the year courtesy of Spotify and Soundcloud.
Why won’t you make up your mind?
Give me a sign.
Am I wasting my time?
Living in my head?
You’ll be sorry when I
Make up mine instead
The emotion of this Tame Impala track is taken up a notch by Erol Alkan. While the original lasts 3:19, this goes for a full 8:14, extending the band’s painful limbo and magnifying it to fever pitch proportions. And the lead electric guitars, already gripping, are elevated into full Ratatat-level raucousness. It’s a monster.
The opening sample begs the question;
A time has come to make a decision. Are we in this thing alone, or are we in it together?
And the rest of the track leaves the answer in no doubt.
This is the kind of track that stares straight into your eyes, grins and tells you it loves you. It grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you about until you giggle. It’ll dance down the street by your side. Yes, I needed this.
Bonus podcast: Together was Erol Alkan’s peak time pick, at his fictional last ever gig. That is the premise of Tiga’s podcast Tiga Presents: First/Last Party On Earth – he interviews big-name DJs about their craft, and what they would play during their last ever set. Think Desert Island Discs for DJs. Worth a listen.
So today I have something really special for you. Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve (Erol Alkan and Richard Norris) give US rock band Interpol the remix treatment. And boy they flip it into something fucking tasty.
The angst of the original vocals remains. But where there were minor sliding guitars, they overlay the most brutal of synths. One of my favourite synth loops of all time. Hit it.
Bonus track: hey, in case you are interested. Interpol aren’t even very good. And Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve are pretty hit-and-miss, so don’t bother looking around too much. Apart from this one. Cool and spooky in equal measure.
HARRY'S MUSICAL EMPORIUM 