Howl at the moon

The blog Gapers Block recently honored lil’ ol’ LWE by including us in a round up of favored Chicago music blogs. Thanks to Graham Sanford for the nod.

LCD Soundsystem, “Sound of Silver” (C2 Remix Rev. 3) [DFA/EMI] (buy)
Whereas Carl Craig has been techno royalty for many years, it’s only within the last year or so that he’s broken into the indie-dance consciousness. It helps that remixes for the Junior Boys, Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom and now LCD Soundsystem have ranked among his best work in the same time period. On “Sound of Silver,” Craig cheerfully and deservedly discards all but the vocals and builds a roiling synth monster to breath melodic fire upon the dancers. With the vocal stutters of “Like A Child” and the drawn out construction of his Kevin Saunderson and Siobhan Donaghy remixes, it’s not a hugely surprising redux, but it’s just as effective. Expect to hear this caned in parties where pajama print hoodies and tight, sleeveless shirts share the dance floor. Maybe they’ll even bond over some E!

Michael Jackson, “Thriller” (OOFT Music Phazed Edit) [Five20East] (buy)
The always generous Five20East sent me their new release, L.E.S.S. Productions’ Forever In Their Death, which features new work from Harri, The Revenge, the Alessi Brothers, and OOFT Music, including this edit of “Thriller.” In case you were in need of a great track for that Halloween party you’re DJing, this is it: looping the Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton’s sinuous core groove throughout the track’s extended length (with an extra “woo-hoo” for good measure), OOFT preserve the track’s forward motion and make it friendlier for DJs to mix. Download it while you can. Keep your eyes on Five20East for forthcoming material from Harri & the Revenge, who put together the stellar “Tunar Tune” earlier this year.

Solomun, “Samba” [Dessous Recordings] (buy)
It seems fitting to write about Solomun’s new single in the same post as C2′s LCD remix, as they both employ the same understated method of constructing their tracks. More minimally-inclined than “Jungle River Cruise” for liebe*detail or his work with Stimming, “Samba” (for Steve Bug’s deep imprint, Dessous Recordings) is all about ostinato and legato progressions bouncing happily atop sustained tones. It might take a few spins for this one to sink in, as the real action showing up in the second half of the 10 minute song, and even then, there’s not much of it. Though it’s nothing close to a samba, this reserved production could raise heart rates a few BPM without so much as batting a lash if deployed effectively.