Vocal Supporter

Great tune this - crisp, light percussion and brilliant synth work. HERE's Ossie's Facebook Fan page.



Ill Blu are one of Tim F's favourite UK Funky outfits (see Tim's fantastic blog HERE for probably the best writing on UK Funky on the net), and here they are proving their worth by making me like something coming out of Cheryl Cole's mouth for about five minutes. Huge piano chords in the chorus really push it into anthem territory but all the little squiggly tricks and pumping carnival drums also contribute to the sense of being tied to a carousel and forced to eat MDMA laced candyfloss by Cherl Cole, who keeps pushing your lips together with her leather-gloved hands and telling you ''Don't tell anybody you saw me laughing at the disabled choir girl snivelling on X Factor last night'' with her fingers laced around your neck. ''You're GOING to catch me if I fall, and if you don't I'm going to stamp on your nuts.'' That kind of thing.

I've been listening to certain UK Funky mixtapes lately and I particularly love the vocal tunes on them - which to some ears may sound offensively bland/nice. But fuck you all, you're just trying to drag me down to your drizzly shopping centre level so I have to listen to 'gritty' techno all day and grow a beard. I'm going to wear a nice shirt and try and force down some wine.













Lately I've been really seeing dance music much more in terms of big hooks and vocals than any particular concern with rhythmic intricacy or experimental textures (not that there's anything wrong with that). HERE's a link to a mix Jackmaster did recently of some of his favourite 90's commercial house tunes which helps to emphasise this side of things. I suppose there'd be more vocals in electronic music if so much of it wasn't made by guys sitting in their bedrooms. The vocals on the DJ Gib Maximum Old Skool 3 mix (which I think I've posted here before, might do a repost though I can never explain how much I love it) is absolutely MADE by the vocals, too.



On this tune, for example, the piano, strings and crunchy drums are all great but without that ''You are on my mind. You are on my mind. You - you - YOUUUUUUUU'' what would it be? Not as much, that's what it would be.



I fucking love this too. I've got a pessimist's sentimental eye for upbeat tunes - they make me feel quite sad, like watching a duck attempting to run away from a tiger on Wildlife on One.

Here's another great vocal tune:



In a more or less unrelated note:



Big RNB tune produced by Timbaland protege The Dream. One of the guys on it doing a knock off of R Kelly without any of the lyrical wit (I mean 'wit' as in when Oscar Wilde told a girl he was going to 'Make her something saucy' when she came round his for dinner and winked at her about five times before sticking the ladle up her box) - but the beat is great and the hook is impossible to resist.

Hopefully soon will be blogging about my other recent obsession - Theo Parrish (and Omar S/Kyle Hall). Won't that be grand?