Weekend Energy Preview 4-23

Here’s what’s in the mix for this Saturday night’s Weekend Energy. This week’s show is so jazzed up, it’s like an Ornette Coleman horn solo smothered in ketchup and served with fries..

Highlights

Polarsets – Sunshine Eyes (SKIES Remix)- Summer came early this year. Sunshine Eyes by Polarsets could very well be – should be – the song of this summer. It’s poppy, crisp and fresh, like squirting a lime into your eye. The SKIES remix is a bit bolder, more body, heavier bass – perfect for the refreshing yet more frustrating spring season. Check out the delightful video.

Is Tropical – The Greeks – See this week’s “Discovery” below.

Captain Capa – Faraday (Timo Katze’s Awesome 80’s Action Mix) – German duo Captain Capa is sort of a second discovery for me this week. I came across the catchy emo-power ballad Faraday, blown away by its overall quality catchiness. It’s one of those songs that needs to try hard for its listening appeal. What I mean by this is that there is a lot of blending of styles (emo, rock, electro, punk, power-pop, new wave, indie dance…) here and Captain Capa is doing it flawlessly. Now, I loved the original cut, but when I saw the title of this remix, I have to say I was interested. The Awesome 80’s Action Mix, beginning with thoroughly old school drum beat and synth lives up to its name. While not as stylistically dynamic as the original, the 80’s mix is soaring and powerful. It’s feel-good music in its purest form and it totally soars.

Tremourz & J.Rabbit – Sexy Party (Terravita Remix) – I was a bit hesitant, by the title, that this would be another cheesy big electro house song… Couldn’t be further from the truth. This fat monster sat the top of the Beatport Dubstep chart so ridiculously better than everything below it. It lends its name from the ‘sexy parties’ infamously held by Stewie Griffin, and samples him a little bit… Truth be told the only thing sexy about this song is the absolutely filthy trashed-out grunge bass balanced with a whip-cracking twangy guitar. While not entirely dubstep, this song far outweighs anything I’ve ever heard in that and the drum’n’bass genres.

(After the jump read this week’s Discovery and what Almost Made It)

Discovery

Is Tropical

From the first five seconds of The Greeks by yet another brilliant sign by Kitsuné Records – Is Tropical, I knew there was something special. The classic Oriental-esque chimes build up to an inescapably rollicking guitar riff, complete with the esoteric and suggestive line “You only get what you give away, you’ll only get it if you give it away.” This London-based band follows the gigantic footsteps of other Kitsune success stories, but unlike some of the one-shot French-styled groups have emerged over the past year, Is Tropical refuses to play it safe. Their lyrics are meaningful, they’re experimenting with exotic sounds and their other major release, South Pacific just rocks on the distorted synths. I really hope Is Tropical finds their own more and makes an effort to stand out. There’s tons of potential here beyond the indie-dance trappings. Also, I love the static image in the “video” below.

Almost Made It

Blazerflame

The Freshest Kid by Blazerflame almost made the cut, and will probably be my opener very soon. The original mix begins with a solid electro-breaks buildup into some nice and dirty grinding beats and with well laid retro soundbytes. It compares a bit to some of the best by Quadrat Beat (among the best breaks artists in my opinion), but at roughly 2 minutes in, the song powers down and cycles back into a totally fresh sound. Blazerflame lives up to the name of this incredible mix. I actually had the Atom West song on the short list, but couldn’t find a cut of it on Soundcloud. The Atom West remix, perhaps named after one of my favorite actors 😉 …Substitutes some of the punchiness for a medley of 8-bit clips like a spicy summer cocktail. Atom West also ramps up the builds a bit more lending to a stronger drop. Both versions are excellent and present a solid freshness into a genre that honestly… needed it.

Second Hour Rewind

The second hour rewind is the previous week’s first hour. Featured artists include Wolfgang Gartner, Kaskade, Make the Girl Dance, Ampeer and more!

“Crank up your stereo, bust out the strobe light and kick up the bass.”

Weekend Energy has been blowing out car stereo systems, upsetting the neighbors and enhancing the night life of western Kentucky every weekend since July 2007 on WKMS. Host Matt “McG” Markgraf pours through hundreds of songs each week to create “the loudest show on public radio” featuring the best techno, dance and electronica from around the world.

Weekend Energy airs Saturdays on 91.3 WKMS from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Stream it live on wkms.org Saturday nights.

Hear the show streaming online.